BBC Releases ‘Doctor Who’ 50th Anniversay Trailer

With just two weeks before it’s airing, the BBC has finally released an extended trailer for Day of The Doctor, the 50th Anniversary episode of Doctor Who.

The plot: “The Doctors embark on their greatest adventure in this 50th anniversary special. In 2013, something terrible is awakening in London’s National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor’s own dangerous past comes back to haunt him.”

While this story line seems everyday, the trailer reveals that for the first time since the series returned in 2005 we’ll get a (detailed?) look at the Time War that cost the life of Gallifrey and the Doctor’s people. It will also explore how John Hurt’s Doctor figures within the personal timeline of the Doctor as well. David Tennant is back as the 10th Doctor -but since Rose is back as well (and in images seemly going all Bad Wolf again) is this the Meta-Crisis Doctor (thus human/Timelord) from Journey’s End or the tenth Doctor taken out of time to aide both Matt Smith’s Doctor and John Hurt’s Doctor?

The special will air on November 23, simultaneously around the globe, which means on the East Coast, it begins at 2:50 in the afternoon, 1:50 in the Midwest and 11:50 here on the West Coast. It runs 76 minutes.

In the lead-up to that debut, BBC America is planing a week long celebration of Doctor Who. While sadly they will not be airing older serials (beyond re-broadcasting the year-long Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited Marathon: The First through Tenth Doctor on November 18) they do plan marathon episodes of Doctor Who (Doctors 9 through 11) on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Also debuting on November 18 is Doctor Who: Tales from the TARDIS (9:00 –10:00) which is “An all-new special that features the series’ actors and producers sharing their experiences and memories of the world’s longest-running sci-fi show. The special features exclusive interviews with principal cast members from the show’s 50-year history, including actors who have played the Doctor: Matt Smith, David Tennant, Tom Baker, and Peter Davison, actors who have played companions: Jenna Coleman, Karen Gillan, Freema Agyeman, and William Russell, as well as the current lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat. The discussion includes how the actors got cast, how the roles changed their lives, how a ‘regeneration’ is recorded, and how filming the show in the 60’s compares to today.

And The Science of Doctor Who with Brian Cox (10:00–11:00). A former rock star and Britain’s popular TV physicist, Professor Brian Cox explores the universe of the world’s favorite Time Lord when he takes the audience on a journey into the wonderful universe of Doctor Who, with the help of celebrity guests. In this exclusively recorded special from the lecture theatre of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, Brian reveals the science behind the spectacle and explains the physics that allows Doctor Who to travel through space and time. Fun, but filled with real science, it’s a special night for Who fans and anyone with a thirst for understanding.

Then on Friday, November 22 comes the special Doctor Who Explained (8:00pm-9pm) which explores the mysterious and two-hearted alien who is the Doctor. Through exclusive interviews with principal cast members from the show’s 50-year history, including actors who have played the Doctor: Matt Smith, David Tennant, Peter Davison, and Tom Baker as well as actors who have played companions: Jenna Coleman, Karen Gillan, and Freema Agyeman, viewers get an insight to what happens behind-the-scenes of the award-winning sci-fi show.

Also airing that night is the origin TV Movie An Adventure in Space and Time – 9:00pm ET. What do you get when you mix C.S. Lewis with H.G. Wells, and sprinkle in a bit of Father Christmas? An alien Time Lord exploring space and time in a Police Box spaceship called the “TARDIS” (Time And Relative Dimension in Space). Written by Mark Gatiss, the BBC AMERICA co-production, the film stars David Bradley (the First Doctor, William Hartnell), Brian Cox (BBC Head of Drama, Sydney Newman), Jessica Raine (Producer, Verity Lambert) and Sacha Dhawan (Director, Waris Hussein). An unlikely trio of misfits set out to create a genre series that all ages would love. William ‘Bill’ Hartnell, displeased with his career, was presented with a chance to break out of the hard-man roles he’d become known for. And with the instincts of first time producer, Verity Lambert and first time director, Waris Hussein, the Doctor was born. As the success of the show grew, William went from unhappy curmudgeon to beloved television star who relished his career resurgence and found a new lease on life. But all good things come to an end. How will Bill face leaving behind the part that has made him a hero to millions of children? And can the show survive without him? Journey back fifty years through space and time to witness the exciting beginning and untimely end of the First Doctor in this touching drama.