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Tag: Steven Moffat

  • BBC’s ‘Doctor Who’ writer Steven Moffat replaced by Chris Chibnall

    BBC’s ‘Doctor Who’ writer Steven Moffat replaced by Chris Chibnall

    MUMBAI: After six series at the helm, the multi-award-winning Steven Moffat has decided to step down as the lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who.

     

    Moffat took over the reins on Series 5 in 2010 and during his tenure the show has become a truly global success. He has been responsible for introducing the eleventh and the twelfth doctors in Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi; as well as two companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) and iconic characters and monsters including River Song (Alex Kingston), Missy (Michelle Gomez), Rory Pond (Arthur Darvill) and the terrifying Weeping Angels.

     

    Additionally, the hit 50th Anniversary special in 2013, which saw fans around the world celebrate the world’s longest-running sci-fi series with the Doctors Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt battling the deadly Daleks in a feature-length episode. Steven’s final series will air on BBC One in spring 2017 and there will be a Christmas Special in 2016.

     

    Moffat says, “Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I’m just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out. While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch, I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him. It took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British Television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future. At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip.”

     

    Like Moffat, Chibnall is also a lifelong Doctor Who fan and a multi-award-winning writer and executive producer. He has most recently achieved success with the triple-BAFTA-winning hit ITV seriesBroadchurch. His other credits include The Great Train Robbery, United, Law & Order: UK, Life On Mars and Torchwood. Chibnall’s debut series will launch in 2018.

     

    Chibnall says, “Doctor Who is the ultimate BBC programme: bold, unique, vastly entertaining, and adored all around the world. So it’s a privilege and a joy to be the next curator of this funny, scary and emotional family drama. I’ve loved Doctor Who since I was four years old, and I’m relishing the thought of working with the exceptional team at BBC Wales to create new characters, creatures and worlds for the Doctor to explore. Steven’s achieved the impossible by continually expanding Doctor Who’s creative ambition, while growing its global popularity. He’s been a dazzling and daring showrunner, and hearing his plans and stories for 2017, it’s clear he’ll be going out with a bang. Just to make my life difficult.”

     

    BBC One controller Charlotte Moore adds, “I want to thank Steven Moffat for everything he has givenDoctor Who – I’ve loved working with him, he is an absolute genius and has brought fans all over the world such joy. I will be very sad to see him leave the show, but I can’t wait to see what he will deliver in his last ever series next year with a brand new companion. I have decided to schedule Steven’s big finale series in spring 2017 to bring the nation together for what will be a huge event on the channel. 2016 is spoilt with national moments including the Euros and Olympics and I want to hold something big back for 2017 – I promise it will be worth the wait! I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Chris Chibnall, a wonderfully talented writer who I know will bring something very special to the hit series.”

     

    BBC Drama Commissioning controller Polly Hill says, “Like Charlotte, I would like to thank Steven for his brilliance, which has made Doctor Who a global hit under his tenure. Chris Chibnall is the perfect successor to take over the reins of this incredible show, so I am delighted that his love for Doctor Who has made it impossible for him to resist! Chris is an incredible writer and his vision and passion for Doctor Who gives it an exciting future and promises to be a real treat for Doctor Who fans across the world.”

  • BBC’s ‘Doctor Who’ writer Steven Moffat replaced by Chris Chibnall

    BBC’s ‘Doctor Who’ writer Steven Moffat replaced by Chris Chibnall

    MUMBAI: After six series at the helm, the multi-award-winning Steven Moffat has decided to step down as the lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who.

     

    Moffat took over the reins on Series 5 in 2010 and during his tenure the show has become a truly global success. He has been responsible for introducing the eleventh and the twelfth doctors in Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi; as well as two companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) and iconic characters and monsters including River Song (Alex Kingston), Missy (Michelle Gomez), Rory Pond (Arthur Darvill) and the terrifying Weeping Angels.

     

    Additionally, the hit 50th Anniversary special in 2013, which saw fans around the world celebrate the world’s longest-running sci-fi series with the Doctors Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt battling the deadly Daleks in a feature-length episode. Steven’s final series will air on BBC One in spring 2017 and there will be a Christmas Special in 2016.

     

    Moffat says, “Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I’m just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out. While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch, I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him. It took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British Television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future. At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip.”

     

    Like Moffat, Chibnall is also a lifelong Doctor Who fan and a multi-award-winning writer and executive producer. He has most recently achieved success with the triple-BAFTA-winning hit ITV seriesBroadchurch. His other credits include The Great Train Robbery, United, Law & Order: UK, Life On Mars and Torchwood. Chibnall’s debut series will launch in 2018.

     

    Chibnall says, “Doctor Who is the ultimate BBC programme: bold, unique, vastly entertaining, and adored all around the world. So it’s a privilege and a joy to be the next curator of this funny, scary and emotional family drama. I’ve loved Doctor Who since I was four years old, and I’m relishing the thought of working with the exceptional team at BBC Wales to create new characters, creatures and worlds for the Doctor to explore. Steven’s achieved the impossible by continually expanding Doctor Who’s creative ambition, while growing its global popularity. He’s been a dazzling and daring showrunner, and hearing his plans and stories for 2017, it’s clear he’ll be going out with a bang. Just to make my life difficult.”

     

    BBC One controller Charlotte Moore adds, “I want to thank Steven Moffat for everything he has givenDoctor Who – I’ve loved working with him, he is an absolute genius and has brought fans all over the world such joy. I will be very sad to see him leave the show, but I can’t wait to see what he will deliver in his last ever series next year with a brand new companion. I have decided to schedule Steven’s big finale series in spring 2017 to bring the nation together for what will be a huge event on the channel. 2016 is spoilt with national moments including the Euros and Olympics and I want to hold something big back for 2017 – I promise it will be worth the wait! I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Chris Chibnall, a wonderfully talented writer who I know will bring something very special to the hit series.”

     

    BBC Drama Commissioning controller Polly Hill says, “Like Charlotte, I would like to thank Steven for his brilliance, which has made Doctor Who a global hit under his tenure. Chris Chibnall is the perfect successor to take over the reins of this incredible show, so I am delighted that his love for Doctor Who has made it impossible for him to resist! Chris is an incredible writer and his vision and passion for Doctor Who gives it an exciting future and promises to be a real treat for Doctor Who fans across the world.”

  • AXN to premiere ‘Sherlock: The Abominable Bride’

    AXN to premiere ‘Sherlock: The Abominable Bride’

    MUMBAI: AXN is starting off 2016 with a special treat for Sherlockians in India. Catch the premiere of the much-awaited special episode from BBC series, Sherlock, entitled, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, on 9 January, 2016, and watch the repeat on 10 January 2016 at 12 noon only on AXN.

     

    Set in the Victorian London of 1895, this special episode will witness Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in a different era. The world’s most famous detective-duo find themselves amidst a Baker Street of steam trains, hansom cabs and top hats. But some things remain reassuringly the same, such as their friendship, the adventure, the murder… and the dialogue, “The Name is Sherlock Holmes and the address is 221 Baker Street”.

     

    Talking about the premiere of the special episode, Sony PIX & AXN India executive vice-president and business head Saurabh Yagnik says, “Sherlock is an icon worldwide, and AXN is the home to Sherlock in India. The fans here have waited two-long years to see the new episode of this cult show, and we are very excited to be premiering it. In Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, viewers will witness a very different, Victorian version of the contemporary Sherlock. Tuning in to this two-hour special episode will definitely enthral the viewers as they are taken into a different era of mystery and crime-solving. We expect to delight our viewers with this offering because they know, if it’s Sherlock, it has to be on AXN.”

     

    The Sherlock series is written and created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, and inspired by the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Before the production of Season 4 kicks off later this year, this special episode will be a treat to the Sherlock fans in India, who can now catch the premiere exclusively on AXN!

     

    “Sherlock has become a global phenomenon that we at BBC worldwide are extremely proud of.  AXN India has been a valued partner for Sherlock for the past three seasons and we are very happy to work with them again for Sherlock: The Abominable Bride. We are confident that this special episode will captivate Sherlock fans in India”, adds BBC Worldwide India SVP & GM Myleeta Aga.

  • This Christmas, treat yourself with a Sherlock video tape!

    This Christmas, treat yourself with a Sherlock video tape!

    MUMBAI: Sherlock certainly knows how to make a re-entry. The acclaimed series is set to return next month for its third season on AXN India and, to further stoke anticipation; the BBC has released an enigmatic new mini-episode online. It tracks the return of Benedict Cumberbatch’s brilliant, socially-challenged detective from a grave that, one could deduce, he never filled.

     

    “Many Happy Returns” follows up “The Reichenbach Fall,” the Season two finale of January 2012 in which Sherlock faked his suicide in London. The 7 minutes 12 seconds episode is written by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. Moffat had earlier said that the new villain of the show will send a chill down the spines of the viewers. Now, years later, we open on a mysterious blonde drug smuggler uncovered among a group of monks – a stunning discovery that could only be attributed to Holmes, or so insists Detective Anderson (Jonathan Aris) – never a big fan of Sherlock’s – who tries to convince Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves) that the detective isn’t dead after all.

     

    Anderson points to two other cases – including one murder involving ice cream “solved” by an inspector in New Delhi – that bear Holmes’ trademark reasoning and reluctance to accept any credit. Still, Lestrade remains unconvinced, even as Anderson traces a line of miraculously solved crimes that seem to indicate a return to London.

     

    After finishing his pint, Lestrade goes to see John Watson (Martin Freeman) and hands Holmes’ trusty sidekick an uncut version of a video message the detective once made for Watson’s birthday. In it, we finally see Sherlock, unsure how to tell Watson why he can’t attend his birthday party. (The real reason: because there will be people.) “So what do you want me to do at the end?” Holmes asks. “Shall I smile and wink? I do that sometimes; I’ve no idea why. People seem to like it. It humanizes me. Its fine, whatever.”

     

    After insulting his friend in the sweetest way possible, we see Sherlock’s message, in which he offers Watson many happy returns and promises, “Don’t worry, I’m going to be with you again very soon.” But just how the presumably deceased detective intends to rise from his apparent demise is hardly elementary. Then Watson is distracted by a ringing phone. So how does the clip end? With Holmes offering a wink and a smile, of course.

     

    Thanks to Sherlock, Cumberbatch has seen his Hollywood stock rise significantly in the past few years. He recently voiced the titular dragon in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, starred as the nefarious John Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness, and made a turn as Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate. Over the summer, Pacific Rim director Guillermo Del Toro said he was hoping to cast the actor in his upcoming adaptation of Frankenstein.

     

    Season Three of Sherlock will air on Friday nights on AXN starting 3 January.