New Doctor Who DVDs, Production Details & Plot Teasers Announced

Source: BBC Shop

August 23rd marks the first day of the reign of Peter Capaldi. Are you ready?
BBC Worldwide and executive producer Steven Moffat have today announced details on upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray releases and the production of the eighth season of their hit science-fiction drama Doctor Who. The show's cast and crew kicked off their globe-spanning marketing event The World Tour in Cardiff this morning, confirming a host of rumours surrounding the future of the programme (both in televisual and retail form) during a range of interviews with entertainment media correspondents and the hordes of fans who queued diligently for a seat at the subsequent première screening of the new series' opening episode, "Deep Breath".

Much of the news contained within this article comes direct from the horse better known as Steven Moffat's mouth and can therefore be summarized via the bullet-point list of comments which readers will see below. Before that, though, we're now able to confirm (thanks to a promotional email submitted to On-Screen by BBC Shop earlier today) that "Deep Breath" will be released as a standalone title on DVD (for an RRP of £9.99) and Blu-Ray (£11.49) this September 8th. Although the dedicated Whovians amongst our readership will surely wait out the superior The Complete Eighth Series box-set (due to hit stores this November), that the "Deep Breath" vanilla package will feature the 10-minute behind-the-scenes documentary chronicling the episode's production that is due to air as part of its upcoming cinema screenings (along with a 5-minute prequel and a live Q&A session streamed direct from Leicester Square) should be more than enough of a lure to convince some members of the fandom to part with a tenner or more (depending on where and when they shop, of course).

Now let's move onto the meat of today's updates on Doctor Who's future, namely the hints which the Moff provided at the first in a number of international events scheduled to comprise the so-called World Tour. Once you've gained a firm hold on a substantial pinch of salt in one hand (this is the Master of Deception who assured us that no classic Doctors whatsoever would appear in "The Day of the Doctor, after all), read on to discover what's (possibly) next for the Beeb's most acclaimed TV series to date (and after that, be sure to check out Lizo Mzimba's report on the Cardiff screening, which features new footage aplenty from Season Eight, below the text):

• ON THE GROWING SUCCESS OF DOCTOR WHO SINCE ITS REVIVAL - "Russell [T Davies, Doctor Who's show-runner between 2005 and January 2010] said 'we could get 10 years out of this'. None of us could imagine that nearly ten years later it would be getting a bigger and bigger reaction every year. So that's just phenomenal, absolutely amazing. It's terrifying, but dear God I will miss these days when I'm back on BBC 28."
• ON NEW TARDIS CREW MEMBER DANNY PINK - "[He's] our secret weapon!"
• ON THE 2014 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - "We're not letting [lead stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman] off the hook because they're going to be doing the two premières [the latter of which took place in London this evening] today, then they're going off on the World Tour, then they're coming back to shoot Christmas. There's no let-up, not when you're on this show!"
• ON THE POSSIBILITY OF A 10TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL - "We've only just done the 50th! After the huge fuss over 50 years of Doctor Who, I think it's time to settle down and move forwards. So we're not planning that...unless I'm lying."
• PETER CAPALDI ON THE DOCTOR'S LATEST CHARACTER ARC - "You'll see the Doctor struggle with who he is and whether the morality he cleaves to is an accurate representation of his spirit."

Doctor Who will return with its feature-length season opener, "Deep Breath", on BBC One and in cinemas worldwide this August 23rd.