Doctor Who Prom (2008)

HOME

TheInfoList

Click Here for Items Related To - Doctor Who Prom (2008)

OR:

Doctor Who Prom (2008) on: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Amazon]

Prom 13: ''Doctor Who'' Prom was a

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

showcasing incidental music from the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', along with classical music, performed on 27 July 2008 in the Royal Albert Hall in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as part of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

's annual

Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

series of concerts. The ''Doctor Who'' Prom was the thirteenth concert in the 2008 Proms season, and was intended to introduce young children to the Proms. The ''Doctor Who'' Prom showcased the work of

Murray Gold Murray Jonathan Gold (born 28 February 1969) is an English composer for stage, film, and television and a dramatist for both theatre and radio. He is best known as the musical director and composer of the music for ''Doctor Who'' from 2005, unti ...

, who has composed the incidental music for ''Doctor Who'' since its return in 2005. Other classical pieces were also played. The concert was conducted by Ben Foster and Stephen Bell, and performed by the

BBC Philharmonic The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at Med ...

. It was presented by actress

Freema Agyeman Freema Agyeman (; born Frema Agyeman; 20 March 1979) is a British actress. She rose to fame with her role as the Doctor's companion Martha Jones in the BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' (2007–2010), and received further recognition f ...

, who played companion

Martha Jones Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series, ''Torchwood''. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in ''Doctor Who'', afte ...

on ''Doctor Who''. Other ''Doctor Who'' actors and performers dressed as ''Doctor Who'' monsters also made appearances on stage and in the audience. The concert included video montages of scenes from ''Doctor Who'' and a specially filmed "mini-episode" of ''Doctor Who'' called "

Music of the Spheres The ''musica universalis'' (literally universal music), also called music of the spheres or harmony of the spheres, is a philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies – the Sun, Moon, and planets – as a fo ...

", which was presented on a screen above the orchestra and included live interactive elements. The ''Doctor Who'' Prom was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and recorded for subsequent television broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

on 1 January 2009. It was positively reviewed in several newspapers. The success of the 2008 Prom led to more ''Doctor Who'' Proms for the 2010 and 2013 Proms seasons.

Development and purpose

In 2006, the ''Doctor Who'' production team had presented a concert titled "Doctor Who: A Celebration" at the Wales Millennium Centre in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, as a fundraiser for '' Children in Need''. The success of that concert encouraged ''Doctor Who'' producer

Julie Gardner Julie Ann Gardner (born 4 June 1969) is a Welsh television producer. Her most prominent work has been serving as executive producer on the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off shows ''Torchwood'' and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. ...

and David Jackson (then Head of Music at BBC Wales) to meet the Director of the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

, Roger Wright, and suggest a ''Doctor Who''-themed Proms concert. The ''Doctor Who'' Prom replaced the '' Blue Peter'' Prom, which had been held from 1998 to 2007. The ''Doctor Who'' Prom was part of an ongoing drive to make the Proms more accessible and inclusive. Some critics accused Wright of "dumbing down" the Proms, against which Wright defended the programme, pointing out that "we're hosting a concert for families that include pieces by

Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

and

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

." Gardner and ''Doctor Who'' producer

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include ''Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scien ...

decided to create a "mini-episode" of ''Doctor Who'' to be shown during the concert, in part because actor

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show ''Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

, who played the Doctor, was unable to participate in the live concert due to his commitments to the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. Davies incorporated interactive elements into his script to ensure that the live performance was "an event": The official price for pre-booked tickets was £10 for adults and £5 for children. These tickets sold out, and 3,000 people signed up for a waiting list in the event of any cancellations. Prior to the concert, tickets were touted on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

for up to £250. As at all Proms concerts, 500 tickets were sold for £5 on the day of the event. The queue for £5 tickets for the ''Doctor Who'' Prom began at 5:00 in the morning. 6,000 people attended the sold-out concert. The audience included many families with children, as well as older ''Doctor Who'' fans. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' described the concert as the "most over-subscribed concert" of the Proms season.

Programme

In addition to the ''Doctor Who'' music by Murray Gold, several classical pieces were included in the concert, including one piece which had its United Kingdom début. Julie Gardner told ''Doctor Who Magazine'' that the concert's planners considered a theme of "time and space" to tie in with ''Doctor Who'', but decided that this "would lead to using the big sci-fi tracks from the likes of '' 2001'', which would make the concert feel too much like a 'film and TV soundtrack day'." Instead, the producers chose "the Doctor's love of humanity" as a theme, and selected pieces which they felt connected with that theme.

Act One

Act Two

Production

The concert was conducted by Ben Foster and Stephen Bell, featuring the

and the London Philharmonic Choir, with solo performances by Tim Phillips and Melanie Pappenheim. Foster also arranged Gold's compositions for the performance. Freema Agyeman, who played

in the third and fourth series of ''Doctor Who'', presented the programme with guests Noel Clarke and Camille Coduri, who respectively played

Mickey Smith Mickey Smith is a fictional character portrayed by Noel Clarke in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The character is introduced as the ordinary, working class boyfriend of Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), a London shopgirl ...

and

Jackie Tyler Jackie Tyler is a fictional character played by Camille Coduri in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. The character, a resident of contemporary London, is introduced in the first episode of the 2005 revival as the mot ...

in the first, second and fourth series of the television programme.

Catherine Tate Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007) ...

, who played the Doctor's companion Donna Noble in the 2006 ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special and the fourth series of the programme, made a surprise guest appearance to introduce "Donna's Theme", not having been listed as being a presenter in the lineup. Sarah Walker presented BBC Radio 3's coverage of the concert. The full concert was rehearsed on Saturday, 26 July, the day before the performance. (At the 2006 ''Children in Need'' concert in Cardiff, a dress rehearsal had been attempted on the day of the performance, but there was only time to run half of the show.) The staging included the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior a ...

prop centre stage, next to the bust of

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the The Proms, Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introd ...

; a wall bearing the graffiti "Bad Wolf" was placed behind the

police box A police box is a public telephone kiosk or callbox for the use of members of the police, or for members of the public to contact the police. It was used in the United Kingdom throughout the 20th century from the early 1920s. Unlike an ordinar ...

and the bust. The monsters and aliens who appeared on stage and in the audience were played by artists who had portrayed them on television, including Dan Starkey as the Sontaran Commander Skorr (a role he had played in the 2008 episodes " The Sontaran Strategem" and "

The Poison Sky "The Poison Sky" is the fifth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 3 May 2008. The episode features both former companion Martha Jones and the alien Sontarans. It ...

"). In the plot of the mini-episode "Music of the Spheres", a space-time portal opened from the interior of the Doctor's

to the Royal Albert Hall. During the episode, both the alien

Graske This is a list of fictional creatures and aliens from the universe of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and spin-offs:''Torchwood'', ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', ''Class'', '' K-9'' and ''K-9 and Company ...

and the Doctor's musical composition "fell" through the portal. Actor

Jimmy Vee James Vee (born 3 February 1959) is a Scottish actor, puppeteer and stunt performer. He is best known for playing a number of ''Doctor Who'' monsters and aliens including Bannakaffalatta in the 2007 Christmas special '' Voyage of the Damned'' ...

appeared on stage as the Graske, and sheets of music manuscript paper dropped onto the orchestra from the flyloft above the stage. Prior to the piece "Davros and the Daleks", a Dalek (operated by Barnaby Edwards, voiced by Nicholas Briggs) appeared on stage, and

Davros Davros () is a character from the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was created by screenwriter Terry Nation, originally for the 1975 serial ''Genesis of the Daleks''. Davros is a major enemy of the se ...

appeared in the audience, announcing that the Royal Albert Hall would become his new palace, and the audience his "obedient slaves". Julian Bleach, who had played Davros in the 2008 television episodes "

The Stolen Earth "The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the Doctor Who (series 4), fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One ...

" and "

Journey's End ''Journey's End'' is a 1928 dramatic play by English playwright R. C. Sherriff, set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, towards the end of the First World War. The story plays out in the officers' dugout of a British Army infantry c ...

", reprised his role under Davros' heavy makeup for the concert.

Broadcast

The ''Doctor Who'' Prom was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. BBC Radio 3's recording of the concert could be

streamed Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

downloaded In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

via BBC iPlayer for a week after transmission and the concert was recorded for later television showing on

. During the interval of the concert, BBC Radio 3 broadcast "Let's Do the Time Warp Again", a 25-minute commentary by science fiction writer Justina Robson. In the essay, Robson discussed the moral contradictions of ''Doctor Who'' and compared the programme with religious texts as a cultural touchstone. Highlights of the concert were televised on

and

BBC HD BBC HD was a 24-hour high-definition television channel provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007 before its discontinuation on 26 March 2013. It broadcast ...

on 1 January 2009, and were also made available on digital television via the " Red Button". The television broadcast included "Concert Prologue", "All the Strange, Strange Creatures", "The Doctor Forever", "Rose" and "Martha vs The Master"; the mini-episode "Music of the Spheres" (with audience reactions); "The Daleks and Davros", "Donna"/"The Girl in the Fireplace"/"Astrid", "This is Gallifrey", "Doomsday", "The Doctor's Theme/Song of Freedom" and the "Doctor Who Theme." None of the non-''Doctor Who'' music was included in the highlights broadcast on television. This edition of the concert was released as a bonus feature on the DVD for "

The Next Doctor "The Next Doctor" is the first of the Doctor Who (2008–2010 specials), 2008–2010 specials of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'' that was broadcast on 25 December 2008, as the fourth List of Doctor Who Christmas s ...

". Uncut video of the concert was available via the Red Button for a period beginning 11 January 2009, and for a period beginning from 12 January 2009 was available to UK residents on the BBC's Doctor Who website.

Reception

Writing in ''

'', Caitlin Moran called the event "the hottest ticket in town this week," and added, "As a child's introduction to orchestral recitals, it is peerless." Moran also noted "a moment of squirming shame" at the realisation that composer

has not won a BAFTA. Matthew Rye of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' called the production "fluently staged" and called Gold's music "evocative"; he also described "The Torino Scale" as "a visceral miniature". Bruce Dessau, writing in the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', felt that the classical compositions "jostled for attention" with Gold's work, and called "The Torino Scale" "cacophonous". Of the ''Doctor Who'' pieces, Dessau singled out soloist Melanie Pappenheim for her performance of ''Doomsday'' describing it as "haunting" and that it "hoisted the emotional level to a peak unsurpassed even when the team saved Earth, accompanied by the soaring ''Song Of Freedom''." Dessau's sole complaint was that the concert gave insufficient attention to the work of the

BBC Radiophonic Workshop The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was one of the sound effects units of the BBC, created in 1958 to produce incidental sounds and new music for radio and, later, television. The unit is known for its experimental and pioneering work in electroni ...

, and that the programme's conclusion with the ''Doctor Who'' theme "felt more like an afterthought than a climax." In ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'',

Nicholas Lezard Nicholas Andrew Selwyn LezardThe Cambridge University List of Members up to 31 December 1991, Cambridge University Press, p. 814 is an English journalist, author and literary critic. Background and education The Lezard family went from London to ...

praised the idea behind the concert: "One can imagine no better way to get children interested in classical music than by plonking them down in front of an orchestra belting out music from Doctor Who." Lezard noted that the non-''Doctor Who'' music "was received with baffled tolerance"; he said that the BBC Philharmonic played "Montagues and Capulets" "crisply and excitingly", but felt that "Ride of the Valkyries" "tends to sound a little underpowered unless played by two orchestras at once". Lezard called Gold's work "a little derivative" but "perfectly suited to the task"; however, he complained that Gold's orchestration of the ''Doctor Who'' theme "drowned"

Delia Derbyshire Delia Ann Derbyshire (5 May 1937 – 3 July 2001) was an English musician and composer of electronic music. She carried out notable work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop during the 1960s, including her electronic arrangement of the theme ...

's original arrangement. He wrote that "the hundred-strong choir and soloist Melanie Pappenheim performed flawlessly," and also praised the technical execution of the complex programme. In a review of the ''Doctor Who'' Series 4 soundtrack, Abigail Sanderson mentioned that although some had objected to the Doctor Who Prom, even "fearsome critics" agreed that it "was an excellent forum for introducing younger listeners to concert music." Covering the event for '' Doctor Who Magazine'', David Darlington noted that the stated aim of the Proms is "to encourage an audience for concert hall music who, though not normally attending classical concerts, would be attracted by the low ticket prices and informal atmosphere" and concluded that if the children in the audience had such a love for ''Doctor Who'' "that they have come all this way to spend an hour or two listening to the music from the show, and that they will happily also sit through a formal, experimental and rather abrasive piece of modern classical music and then enthusiastically applaud at the end, then all concerned can be happy with their day's work." Michael Beek, who wrote the programme notes for the concert, called it "a very theatrical experience", but suggested that it was "a small shame" that the

BBC National Orchestra of Wales The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisatio ...

, who record the music for the television programme, had not been invited to perform. Beek also said that the performance of "Song for Ten" by original vocalist Tim Phillips "left a lot to be desired". Reviewing the highlights from the concert shown on television, Paul Byrne of Dublin's ''

Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Even ...

'' called the concert "a delightfully silly idea" with an "irresistible charm". Anna Lowman of TV Scoop noted that some of the power of the featured ''Doctor Who'' music came from the audience associating the themes with powerful scenes from the television series. She added, "It was a joy to watch it on the TV, so I can only imagine that it was magical to be there on the night itself." Writing in ''The Daily Telegraph'',

Gillian Reynolds Gillian Reynolds (née Morton; born 15 November 1935) is an English radio critic. After writing for ''The Guardian'' from 1967 to 1974, she was the radio critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' for over 42 years, from 1975 to 2018. She then continued ...

listed the ''Doctor Who'' Prom as one of several successful elements in the 2008 Proms season.

Jenny Abramsky Dame Jennifer Gita Abramsky, (born 7 October 1946) is a British media producer and philanthropist. She was chairman of the UK's National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF). The NHMF makes grants to preserve heritage of outstanding national importanc ...

, the BBC's former Director of Audio and Music, praised Proms director Roger Wright "for creating such a wonderful and exciting event that clearly grabbed children's imagination." Anna Picard, music correspondent for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', included the ''Doctor Who'' Prom as a highlight in her year-end review of classical music in 2008. However, by April 2009 a journalist for ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' said that "there have been complaints that the Proms need no more gimmicks – such as David Tennant hosting a Doctor Who prom for children last year" (although Tennant did not host the Prom).

References

External links

*
The official BBC Proms website

Programme of events for Sunday 27 July 2008 on the official BBC Proms website

"About the Music / Programme Notes", including Russell T Davies's introductory note, on the official BBC Proms website

The official BBC ''Doctor Who'' website

''Doctor Who'' Prom 2008 at the official BBC ''Doctor Who'' website
{{Good article Music based on Doctor Who 2008 in London 2008 in radio 2008 in British music Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall Dr Who Proms July 2008 events in the United Kingdom