"The Snowmen" - Ratings Update

TVRatingsUK have tweeted an update on the viewing figures for "The Snowmen".   As previously noted, a total of 7.59m watched the episode on Christmas Day (5.75m live and 1.84m later in the evening).  After 5 days of recorded/on demand viewings the figure currently stands at 9.72m - making the show 4th on Christmas Day following "Eastenders", "Call the Midwife" and "The Royle Family".  The breakdown is as follows:

830k on Boxing Day
585k on Thursday
710k Friday - Sunday

These figures do not include the BBC3 repeats so a final figure of over 10million is looking increasingly likely.

"The Snowmen" - Music Videos

I love fan made music videos - I just can't get enough of them.  There's nothing quite like relaxing back, headphones on, watching some of your favourite clips whilst you have a bit of a warble to the song accompanying them.  Made well, they're fantastic.  Here are a few based on "The Snowmen" which I highly recommend:

First up, here's a general "The Snowmen" tribute video by the very talented tardistakeoff - you really should go to their channel and check out their many superb videos:



Next, is a cracker by punkfan1997 with "Ordinary Day":



This next one is a bit unusual - it's by xxStardust92xx.  It's called "Christmas Time" and it's by Cider Sky - who I'd never heard of.  It takes a good video for me to keep watching when I don't know the song:



Finally, another unusual one - this time by ForsakenWwitchery.  It's unusual for two reasons.  First, it's only 1 minute 24 seconds long - so doesn't use the whole song.  Normally, I don't like that but in this video it works.  Secondly, it's a cover version - but this cover version is better than the original:


Feel inspired?  Fancy having a go yourself?  Well, here are a couple of online articles that may help to get you started:

How to make fan music videos of your favourite television shows

Foolish Passion - have step-by-step tutorials for programs on both Mac and PC.

New BBC1 2013 Trailer includes "Doctor Who" clips

The BBC have released a new trailer to promote shows airing in 2013.  The trailer includes a couple of new "Doctor Who" clips - probably from "The Crimson Horror".


It's worth a look and here are a few screencaps from the trailer to whet your appetite (apologies for the quality but typically the only version available is definitely NOT HD):

Video - Matt and Jenna interview each other

The BBC have uploaded a new video where Matt and Jenna interview one another...

So...Who DID win the Christmas Day Twitter war?

Oh, the great Christmas Day twitter war - which programme generated the most tweets on twitter on Christmas Day?  Well, it depends who you believe because two different sources have come up with different sets of supposedly accurate information.

In the red corner, we have a report in "The Independent" which uses information from internet service provider, littlebigone.com.  The top 5 according to them are:

1. Doctor Who - 1,600 mentions
2. Eastenders - 1,210 mentions
3. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - 809 mentions
4. Downton Abbey - 395 mentions
5. The Queen - 365 mentions

These figures do seem rather low considering the sheer amount of traffic on twitter at any one time.  The isp also doesn't reveal HOW they compiled the above information.  To my mind then, a bit dodgy.

In the blue corner, we have secondsync.com who say they "analyse social media conversations around tv shows to provide insights for clients in broadcast and advertising".  Their figures for Christmas Day reveal a different story:

1. Eastenders - 224,074 tweets
2. Doctor Who - 64,049 tweets
3. Downton Abbey - 36,453 tweets
4. Toy Story - 29,024 tweets
5. Coronation Street - 15,249 tweets

secondsync.com are not an isp - analysing social media conversations in regard to tv shows is what they do. Look at the figures for "Doctor Who" - 64,049 tweets is a much more believable figure than a mere 1,600.  Myself and my friends would probably account for quite a chunk of that 1,600 by ourselves!

I'm more of a mind to take the secondsync.com figures as being a more accurate representation.  Unfortunately, it means that "Doctor Who" didn't quite win the twitter war - but they DID get almost double the amount that "Downton Abbey" did.

Review - "The Snowmen"

To use Madama Vastra’s “game” and sum up “The Snowmen” in one word is actually relatively simple.  Yowzah will do it quite happily and I’m very glad of that because this episode is extremely important.  “The Snowmen” is not only the episode that takes us into the anniversary year but it also introduces us formally to new companion, Clara, played with great aplomb by Jenna-Louise Coleman.   We were also promised new titles, new music and a new Tardis interior - as such, it HAD to be good…and indeed it was. 

The new titles and music were fantastic.  The title sequence was just so much sharper than it has been and saw a very welcome return of the “face” – fleeting though it was.   The vortex was still there but it was more of a Pertwee/Baker type than the “cloudy” vortex of recent years.  Also, entering the episode via the opening doors of the Tardis was a masterstroke.  The new theme tune was a most definite nod to Classic Who – it started similarly to last season’s theme then segued beautifully into a more retro version.  Definitely, less jazz and more scare.

The new Tardis interior is, quite frankly, gorgeous and, as usual, the promo pics released beforehand did not do it justice.  It’s so much more mechanical – the console is much more logical than the hodgepodge of junk that the previous one consisted of.   The Gallifreyan language is a very nice touch and, again, the sheer simplicity harks back to the Classic era.  This episode featured, I believe, the first continuous shot following the characters as they enter the Tardis from outside and right into the new Control Room.

"The Snowmen" - AI Figure

"The Snowmen" had an AI (Appreciation Index) score of 87.  Anything over 85 is considered "excellent".  In comparison with previous years, "The Snowmen" matched the highest Christmas AI score for the show with "The End of Time part 1".  Last year, "The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe" managed 84.

"The Snowmen" had one of the highest Christmas AI figures - beaten by "Downton Abbey" and "Call the Midwife" who both scored 90.

The repeat of "The Snowmen" last night on BBC3 gained the episode another 0.56m viewers.  It managed 7.59m on it's first screening on Christmas Day.

Video - Matt Smith's Christmas Message 2012

It's a bit late, but BBC Worldwide have finally uploaded a Christmas message from Matt Smith:

Screencaps - Coming Soon 2013 Trailer

Another batch of screencaps for you - this time from the "Coming Soon" 2013 Trailer.  As usual, they're in the flickr gallery - samples below - and feel free to take and use:

Video - "The Snowmen" - QandA with Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman and Steven Moffat

"The Snowmen" was recently screened to a select number of journalists etc at BBC Television Centre.  The BBC have now uploaded video highlights of the question and answer session:

"Coming Soon" Trailer and title sequence - HD

BBC America have uploaded a HD version of the "coming soon" trailer to youtube.  You can watch it below:



Screencaptures will be coming shortly.

BBC America have also uploaded a HD version of the new title sequence:

"The Snowmen" - Overnight Viewing Figures

"The Snowmen" gained an overnight viewing figure of 7.59m with a 33.9% share of the total tv audience.  This figure is slightly down on last year's where it managed 8.9m but this year the episode was screened in an earlier time slot.

"The Snowmen" was fifth overall, behind "Eastenders", "Coronation Street", "Strictly Come Dancing" and "The Royle Family Christmas Special".

With "time shifting" still to be taken into account, I expect the consolidated figures (due for release next week) to show a marked increase.  "Doctor Who" seems, in general, to gain an extra 1.6m viewers on average in the consolidated figures and this usually increases to around 1.9m for Christmas episodes.  It's very likely therefore, with the earlier time slot, that even more will time shift their viewing this year.  Don't be surprised if the final figure hits 10m or more.

50th Anniversary Royal Mail Stamps

As part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations, the Royal Mail will be releasing a set of stamps featuring all the Doctors.  There will also be a five stamp miniature sheet featuring the Tardis as a first class stamps whilst the other four stamps will be second class and feature a Dalek, Cyberman, Ood and Weeping Angel.

The stamps will go on sale from Tuesday 26 March 2012 but can be pre-ordered by registering with Royal Mail here.

Video - Clara Steps Into the Tardis for the First Time

Another lovely upload from the BBC - a clip from "The Snowmen" showing Clara stepping into the Tardis for the first time.

Video - Behind the Scenes of "The Snowmen" and Coming Soon Trailer

The BBC have uploaded a couple of videos following tonight's fantastic episode, "The Snowmen".  First up, here's the behind the scenes video:



And here is the absolutely awesome "coming soon" trailer - I would advise not watching until you have seen "The Snowmen":

Merry Christmas all!

Merry Christmas all - we're now mere hours away from "The Snowmen", which is mooted to be one of the best Christmas episodes yet.

After the episode, there will, of course, be some behind the scenes content from the BBC which will be on this site as soon as possible.

Thank you all for supporting this blog, for sending in requests and entering the competitions.  There will be more competitions in the New Year and, if things go as planned, we hope to include a signed photo or two as prizes.

Have a great Christmas, enjoy "The Snowmen" and we'll see you on the flip side.

Video - Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman introduce "The Snowmen"

The BBC have uploaded a new video - Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman introduce "The Snowmen"...when Matt's not too busy teasing Jenna, that is:

BBC Breakfast - Jenna-Louise Coleman Interview and Behind the Scenes report

Jenna-Louise Coleman was a guest on today's BBC Breakfast and, during the interview, the BBC showed a new clip with Clara meeting the Doctor for the first time.  The link to watch the interview (the BBC sometimes don't allow embedding and this is one of those times) is at:

Jenna-Louise Coleman - BBC Breakfast

Later, they transmitted a behind the scenes report by Lizo Mzimba which includes an interview with Matt Smith and, of course, a clip or two:


Thanks to dailynews4updates for uploading this.

Matt Smith Interview in "The Telegraph"

"The Telegraph" have posted an interview online with Matt Smith where he talks about Jenna-Louise Coleman, "The Snowmen" and the 50th Anniversary.  You can read the full interview here but a couple of interesting snippets are below:

Will this be your last Christmas special? 

No. 

Are you doing the next one? 

Well, I might be. I hope so. Yeah, 2014, who knows? We’ve got a 50^th anniversary and then after that of course – that goes out in November – so one assumes there’ll a Christmas special after that and I would hope to be a part of it. I take each year as it comes.

A nice, emphatic "No" there.  Let's hope we can dismiss ponderings about a regeneration in the Anniversary special.

Are we going to get any payoff with regards to Oswin being a Dalek?

The Christmas episode is more about the meeting of these two new people, one more reluctant than the other. But of course by its very nature we met [one] version in a different time zone. At that stage he doesn’t even know. I imagine as the series goes on there’ll be putting two and two and making whatever. What’s interesting is that it’s having a new companion, that new role for the Doctor, it does something to him, hopefully it changes the way he is slightly and affects his personality.

A nice hint drop that Clara and Oswin may not be the "two completely different characters" that the Moff has been saying.

Thanks to Ruther for the heads up on this one.

Screencaps - Matt on "The Graham Norton Show" - 21 December 2012

Another batch of screencaps for you all - this time from Matt's appearance on "The Graham Norton Show" on 21 December 2012.  There are 40 or so caps in the flickr gallery - samples below - and feel free to take and use.

Video - "The Snowmen" Preview Clip - "At Your Service"

The BBC have uploaded a second preview clip for "The Snowmen" - this time Jenny and Vastra confront Doctor Simeon:

Screencaps - BBC America's "sneak peak" at "The Snowmen"

More screencaptures uploaded for you - this time from BBC America's "sneak peek" at "The Snowmen".  As usual, they're in the flickr gallery - samples below - and please feel free to take and use:

Video - BBC America's "Sneak Peek" at "The Snowmen"

BBC America transmitted a sneak peek at "The Snowmen" last night - the video is below and it includes comments from Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman and Steven Moffat:

Video - Preview Clip from "The Snowmen" - "Don't Talk to Them"

The BBC have uploaded a new preview clip from "The Snowmen" called "don't talk to them":

Video - Matt Smith interviewed on "The Graham Norton Show"

Courtesy, once again, of the wonderful http://doctorwhotv.co.uk, here's the full interview with Matt on "The Graham Norton Show" last night:


Matt Smith Graham Norton December 2012 by doctorwho-tv

Video - "The Snowmen" - new clip from "The Graham Norton Show"

Courtesy of http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/, here's the new clip of "The Snowmen" that aired during tonight's "Graham Norton Show":


The Snowmen Doctor Who Clip by doctorwho-tv

Video - Matt Smith gets a Christmas kiss...

The BBC have uploaded a sneak peek at tonight's "Graham Norton Show" where Matt joins Dustin Hoffman, Jennifer Saunders and Billy Connolly on the couch.  In this clip, Matt gets a kiss from a member of the audience...

Video - Matt and Jenna talk to Digital Spy

Digital Spy managed to grab a few minutes with Matt and Jenna at the recent press screening of "The Snowmen" and you can watch their interview in the player below:

Video - "Songtaran Carols"

The BBC have uploaded a fun little video of Strax and the gang - including the Doctor and Clara - "reciting" carols in a typically Sontaran manner:



The Doctor rubbing Strax's head?  Brilliant.

Video - The Doctor Who Cast Go Christmas Shopping for Each Other

Vulture.com have uploaded a video of Matt and Jenna "shopping" for each other in New York.  They certainly get some "odd" little gifts:

Richard E Grant - Twitter QandA on Saturday 22 December 2012

Richard E Grant - who plays Dr Simeon in "The Snowmen" - will be answer questions via twitter on Saturday 22 December 2012.

Tweet your question - no matter how "wacky, weird or festive" as the great man says - to:

Richard E Grant on Twitter

Don't just stick to "Doctor Who" though - he's played so many great roles, for example, both Sherlock AND Mycroft Holmes (in different films, obviously!), Withnail, Jack (in the wonderful "Jack and Sarah"), the Doctor (who can forget the "Curse of the Fatal Death" and "Scream of the Shalka"?) and one of my favourites: Bob Cratchit in "A Christmas Carol" with Patrick Stewart as Scrooge.

So, submit your questions now!

BBC One Goes Social Networking...

One of the interesting things about a show you love becoming successful in other Countries is watching how they promote it.  We cast envious and, admittedly, sometimes irritated eyes across the pond at BBC America and their huge presence on Twitter and Tumblr.  Yes, we have the Official Doctor Who twitter account and, of course, BBC America is a subscription channel so they HAVE to be a sight more aggressive  as regards marketing but you can't help but feel that we Brits could learn a thing or two from BBC America - and it's beginning to look like we have.

BBC One have caught the social networking bug - and they've started really well.  Obviously, they're promoting the channel itself but there's a nice focus on "Doctor Who" because it's such a huge show for them.  They've gone all out and have Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr accounts.

BBC One on Twitter: - this is a delight.  Seriously.  Go and follow them.  Not only do they post show reminders and clips, they're also happy to reply back to questions and observations.  A case in point - I tweeted them this morning about the photo they're using in the picture above - I asked if they have a large version which we could use as desktop wallpaper.  They replied saying 'no' but they'll post a tweet if they manage to get hold of one.  They also tweeted me later in the morning about an animated "Doctor Who" gif they'd put on their tumblr account.  Now, THAT is the kind of chatty and friendly account you like to see.

BBC One on Facebook - again, photos and youtube clips but for the Christmas period you can send some fantastic "personalised" greetings to your facebook friends.  There's a selection of images from various BBC One shows but, obviously, the favourite has to be the Doctor.  Here's one I sent earlier:

They're terrific - simply select the friends you wish to send the card to, select the image and the text and it's done - and it's downloadable so you can keep it on your desktop.  I expect big things from their facebook account - and they're off to a cracking start.

BBC One on Tumblr - this is new.  Very new - so much so that there are only a few animated gifs there at the moment.  However, three are "Doctor Who" related - Mrs Brown going into the Tardis; Miranda falling as she chases the Doctor and a rather nice Tardis "Closed for Business" gif.

This new style for BBC One could be a huge success - they're approaching social networking in the right way: by being interactive, friendly, approachable and posting regularly.  It helps, of course, that they're promoting "Doctor Who" - and, as such, it's only fair that we get behind them and give them our full support in this enterprise.

"The Snowmen" - Spoiler Free QandA Transcript

Ian Wylie has now transcribed last night's QandA - and edited it for spoilers.  It follows his review of "The Snowmen" so simply go to the page and scroll down.  Here are a couple of "teasers" for you:

Q: In terms of the chemistry between you two (Matt and Jenna)…that chemistry, does that take a while to work on or is it just there?

Matt Smith: “I think always with this show and always with this relationship in this show, it will constantly evolve. And it should. And hopefully over the course of the next eight or nine episodes that we subsequently to this it will evolve even further. We’re excited about next year now and getting into that and actually going, ‘Well now we know what we know about each other and the way we work and who we are and all the rest of it…’ I kind of likened it, Steven, earlier, in an interview, to an arranged marriage. Not that I know what an arranged marriage is like. But it’s like, ‘You’re married, have chemistry.’ Do you know what I mean?”

Jenna-Louise Coleman: “I likened it to a blind date. I felt like I was on a blind date…”

Matt Smith: “I’ve never been on a blind date, so…”

Jenna-Louise Coleman: “It’s like putting two people together. Like, ‘Oh I know someone you’ll really get on with.’ And then go in to save the world.’”

Matt Smith: “And we’d met. So how was it a blind date? Like we’ve met twice.”

Jenna-Louise Coleman: “Not like…OK…”

Matt Smith: “The families would have met and all that…anyway.”

Thanks to Ian Wylie for the transcript.

"The Snowmen" - First UK Reviews and Q&A Snippets

Following last night's press screening, the first reviews of "The Snowmen" have hit the web in the UK.

The Telegraph say that "for all its new features, this is an episode filled with knowing nods to please Who fans, including a reference drawn from elsewhere in the Moffat catalogue, and the return of some of the Doctor’s old friends in the shape of Strax, Vastra and Jenny. Dr Simeon’s ominous warning that “winter is coming”, also suggests that Moffat may be a Game of Thrones fan."

The Guardian call it a "Christmas Day episode filled with presents for fans" and go on to quote the Moff about the 50th Anniversary plans including good news for us Matt fans:

"They are immense, they are considerable and they will be full of tremendous surprises," said writer Steven Moffat of his much-discussed anniversary plans. "We're not going to tell you [any details] but I promise we're going to take over television, trust me," he told an audience of fans at a special preview of the Christmas episode. 

Certainly Matt Smith will be around to play the titular Time Lord – he intends to go on playing it "for infinity number of years" he said.

And Ian Wylie has a fantastic review on his site - and will later be transcribing the Q&A (and taking out spoilers).   When Ian says it will "delight a family audience on Christmas Day" then you know it will do exactly that.  Ian also has the full quote from Matt about how long he's staying:

There was the usual question asking Matt how long he thought he’d play the Doctor for.

He replied: “For infinity number of years…I can’t at this point see…we head into next year, into the 50th anniversary. So I’m coming back. Which is exciting.”

I will post the link to Ian's Q&A transcript as soon as it's available.

"The Snowmen" - New Promo Images

Warning - includes the new console room!  As usual - right click and open in new window/tab for large versions:

Thanks to http://doctorwhoimages.co.uk

Photos - Matt and Jenna Photoshoot - Daily Mail

The Daily Mail have published a really nice set of photos from today's photoshoot with Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman.  You can read the full article here and some of the photos are below (right click and open in new tab/window for larger versions):

photos copyright Ian West/PA Wire

Video - "The Snowmen" Preview Clip - The Doctor and Strax

Courtesy of the superb Life, Doctor Who and Combom Site and TheDoctorWhoMedia, below is a new and full HD preview clip of "The Snowmen".  The guys at Combom were eagle-eyed enough to spot this on the BBC HD channel as a "filler" during the times they can't show the local news in HD.



Interesting.  Very interesting.

Once again, please credit Life, Doctor Who and Combom Site and TheDoctorWhoMedia if reposting elsewhere.

Video - Matt Smith on "This Morning"

Thanks to CrazyCaz1978 for uploading this - the full interview with Matt on "This Morning" today - and includes the really good clip compilation at the beginning.

Photos - Matt Arriving at Radio One

Zimbio.com have a nice selection of photos of Matt arriving at Radio One this morning - samples below.  Also, the Daily Mail have their usual badly researched article about "The Snowmen" - but it does contain a nice set of photos of Matt and Jenna at Radio One.

Zimbio.com photos: (right click and open in new tab for larger versions)

Copyright eroteme.co.uk - source: Toe/Bauer Griffin)

Daily Mail Photos: (right click and open in new tab/window for large versions)