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Comic-Con 2015: Doctor Who Panel Recap – Premiere Date, Trailer, and More!

By Barry Rice

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After much anticipation and fanfare, the Official BBC America Doctor Who panel at San Diego Comic-Con finally arrived this evening.

Other than an absolutely amazing new Series 9 trailer and a September 19 premiere date, there wasn’t a lot in the way of hard news. There were, however, a number of great quotes from Steven Moffat and cast members Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, and Michelle Gomez, and a few teases regarding Series 9.

The panel was hosted by The Nerdist‘s omnipresent Chris Hardwick, who took the stage first and wowed the crowd with his new Dalek shoes. Before bringing out the guests, Hardwick then presented a highlight reel from last year’s Series 8.

Peter Capaldi started things off by describing the experience: “It’s cosmic…I’ve never been in front of 7,000 people in my life.” To which the 7,000 fans present cheered uproariously.

(By the way, Capaldi is apparently obsessed with the word “cosmic”; he used the same word earlier today to describe Maisie Williams and related out loud how much he loves that word.)

Hardwick asked Moffat what it’s like writing for Capaldi:

"“The difference in how you write the Doctor isn’t that great. It’s what the actor’s bring to it and you start writing toward it. On paper, each of the Doctors are surprisingly similar.”"

Generally, a true statement. Although, having recently read two Twelfth Doctor books and discovering that one of them perfectly captured Capaldi’s performance and the other mostly failed to do so, I would say it’s a little more nuanced than Moffat lets on.

Capaldi was then asked if Doctor Who was like any other show he had worked on:

"“It’s the only show that’s in my bones very deeply. It’s the only one that I’ve followed since I was six years old. I thought the episode I did with David would be the only Doctor Who I’d get to do. I asked him to show me the TARDIS and I got quite teary.”"

I love that. It’s so wonderful having the Doctor portrayed by someone who isn’t just a fan, but is borderline-obsessed with Doctor Who.

Hardwick then asked Jenna Coleman about the relationship between Clara and the Doctor, saying she’d “sort of Dom’d” the Doctor last season:

"“A lot of last series was about them feeling each other out and now we’ve sort of found our groove. It’s like getting to know your best friend all over again.”"

Next up, the cast and crew talked about the character of Missy, with Michelle Gomez herself speaking first:

"“It’s one of the easiest jobs I’ve ever had, because it’s a thrill to turn up and be given the opportunity to be the Master.“She’s the best friend you love to hate. She has an attitude that the rules don’t apply to her.“She gets to say all the stuff that we think but we’re not allowed to say. Luckily, I never know what I’m saying and why I’m saying it. It’s still sort of a pinch-me moment for me.”"

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Capaldi compelled the audience to show some love for Gomez:

"“I think people should really applaud Michelle for coming into this role and fulfilling it so completely.”"

The gang then went on to try to explain the nature of the Doctor’s relationship with Missy, with Moffat saying, “It’s a friendship between a vegetarian and a hunter.” Gomez continued the thought: “We both do the same thing; we both kill a lot of people. He feels bad about it, I don’t.” And Capaldi had the last laugh: “She distresses him greatly.”

Next, Capaldi described his take on the Doctor:

"“He’s a constantly growing character. He’s not a soldier; he’s a good guy. He’d rather there be no violence, he’d rather sit in a car park and look at the stars. He doesn’t like blowing up Daleks. I like blowing up Daleks.”"

Who doesn’t like blowing up Daleks? Coleman talked a bit then about Clara’s mistrust of the Twelfth Doctor, both after first meeting him and his perceived betrayal in ‘Kill the Moon’:

"“Suddenly your best friend changed his face and who knows who to trust anymore!“She got scared and didn’t feel safe. They’re very much a team now. They’ve found the groove. They’re eating up all of time and space with reckless abandon.”"

I think this is for the best. I’m not a big fan of Clara, but at least with them working together, perhaps it will take some of the focus off of her.

Next up, the crowd was shown the world premiere of the Doctor Who Series 9 trailer, which is amazing. (We’ll have a full trailer breakdown tomorrow). In case you somehow missed it, here it is:

Capaldi then discussed what filming Series 9 has been like:

"“The writers know me now and want to write for me. Clara and the Doctor are enjoying being the luckiest people in the universe. They throw themselves recklessly in the pursuit of adventures. We also have men in rubber suits pretending to be monsters. I think the first time I felt like Doctor Who was when they threw a rubber spider in my face and said ‘fight it.'”"

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As much as I love classic Doctor Who, I have to hope that rubber spider is replaced by CGI in post-production. Otherwise, man — those BBC budget cuts are really taking a toll!

Hardwick asked Coleman if she felt like Clara was running from something:

"“I think it’s a change of perspective. I want to eat up all of time and space and hang out with my best mate in the TARDIS. She’s a multitasker. Once you’ve seen all of time and space, how do you go back? I think it becomes addictive.”"

The crew then talked about Missy’s reappearance in the Series 9 opener, ‘The Magician’s Apprentice,’ with Moffat saying, “The way Missy comes back into the Doctor’s life is something you probably wouldn’t expect.” Gomez added, “There’s something slightly different to her this time. What she’s been doing between last series and now is yet to be seen. She has to come at it from a different angle, which is surprising and exciting.”

From there, the panel began to take questions from the audience and, I’m sad to report, most of it’s not worth recapping. There were a few gems, though.

When asked the inevitable question of whether there will ever be a female Doctor, Moffat dug his own grave: “Well, there’s no vacancy. I think I’ve made my feelings pretty clear in the context of the show.” He then gestured toward Gomez, who replied, “And I’m not going to reveal myself as a man today!” Then Capaldi chimed in, “Well, maybe I should do a drag episode just to try it out.” Hardwick loved that idea; as the crowed roared, he added, “You totally have to have a ‘Doctor Doubtfire’ episode!”

When asked which former companion the Doctor would like to travel with again, Capaldi had a very intriguing response: “I think he’d like to see his granddaughter.”

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    • Someone asked a question about Matt Smith being the oldest-faced Doctor and whether Capaldi would beat him (which seems like a very insensitive question), but Moffat replied, “I showed my love for Matt by trapping him to 1,000 years in a village. That’s not a way to show affection. There’s an answer coming up in the show!” Well now,

    that’s

    interesting.

    Finally, there was an awkwardly-worded question about Capaldi taking influence from prior Doctors, to which he responded, “Do I feel the other Doctors…inside me? Yeah, sometimes you do something and think ‘that’s very Tom or David or Jon,’ but I don’t consciously emulate them.”

    The panel concluded with an encore showing of the totally bonkers Doctor Who LEGO Dimensions trailer, which was released last night:

    Stay with us for the very latest Comic-Con news! We’ll have a full breakdown of the Doctor Who Series 9 trailer tomorrow, as well as any additional breaking news. Then Saturday brings us the Matt Smith/Screen Gems panel, John Barrowman, and Titan’s Doctor Who comic book panel!

    What do you think? Any thoughts or opinions on the answers and hints given by the Doctor Who cast and crew? Sound off in the comments below!

    Next: Comic-Con 2015: Top 5 Doctor Who Comic-Con Exclusive Collectibles

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