BBC America Announces US Launch Date for Season Five of "Doctor Who," Two Weeks Behind UK Broadcast

BBC America today announced the launch date for Season Five of British sci-fi series Doctor Who.

Those hoping that BBC America would air Doctor Who within a few days of the BBC One broadcast may be slightly disappointed. The cabler has announced a launch date of Saturday, April 17th for Season Five of Doctor Who, a full two weeks behind the UK broadcast, which launches on Easter Saturday, April 3rd.

The new season of Doctor Who features a new head writer--Steven Moffat--who takes over showrunning duties from former executive producer Russell T. Davies, as well as a new cast as Matt Smith takes over the mantle of the Doctor from former star David Tennant. He'll be joined in the TARDIS by Karen Gillan, who plays new companion Amy Pond. (Guest stars this season include FlashForward's Alex Kingston, Hotel Rwanda's Sophie Okonedo, and 24's Tony Curran.)

"Britain has a tradition of reinventing its iconic characters, like James Bond and Sherlock Holmes - and Doctor Who," said Richard De Croce, Senior Vice President Programming, BBC America, in a statement. "In introducing the Eleventh Doctor, writer Steven Moffat is opening the show to a whole new audience, while serving fans with an exciting mix of inter galactic, time travelling adventures. We can't wait to meet his new Doctor!"

BBC America describes Season Five of Doctor Who as thus: "Travelling both through time and space, the new series has the mysterious Doctor and Amy Pond together exploring sixteenth century Venice, France during the 1890s and the United Kingdom in the far future, now an entire nation floating in space. The first three episodes of the 13-episode series have been confirmed as 'The Eleventh Hour,' written by Steven Moffat, 'The Beast Below,' also by Moffat and 'Victory of the Daleks' by Mark Gatiss."

The full press release from BBC America can be found below.

THE NEW DOCTOR WHO ARRIVES ON BBC AMERICA IN APRIL
Starring Matt Smith with lead writer Steven Moffat

New York - February 25, 2010 - BBC AMERICA announced today that the new era of the BBC’s iconic BAFTA-winning drama, Doctor Who, will make its U.S. premiere on Saturday, April 17, 2010, soon after the UK broadcast.

Doctor Who, BBC AMERICA’s highest rated series ever, continues its tradition of rebooting with new lead actors and creative team. Matt Smith debuts as the new, Eleventh incarnation of the famous Time Lord alongside a new travelling companion, the enigmatic Amy Pond (Karen Gillan).

“Britain has a tradition of reinventing its iconic characters, like James Bond and Sherlock Holmes - and Doctor Who. In introducing the Eleventh Doctor, writer Steven Moffat is opening the show to a whole new audience, while serving fans with an exciting mix of inter galactic, time travelling adventures. We can't wait to meet his new Doctor!" comments Richard De Croce, Senior Vice President Programming, BBC AMERICA.

BAFTA-winning writer Steven Moffat, creator of some of the most frightening and award-winning Doctor Who episodes to date, takes over as lead writer and executive producer. Writers for the new series include Richard Curtis (The Boat that Rocked, Love Actually), Chris Chibnall (Law & Order UK, Torchwood), Toby Whithouse (Being Human, Torchwood), Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen, Sherlock) and Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly, Hardware).

Guest stars include SAG Award winner Alex Kingston (ER, Flash Forward), Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo (The Secret Life of Bees, Hotel Rwanda) and Tony Curran (24).

Travelling both through time and space, the new series has the mysterious Doctor and Amy Pond together exploring sixteenth century Venice, France during the 1890s and the United Kingdom in the far future, now an entire nation floating in space. The first three episodes of the 13-episode series have been confirmed as The Eleventh Hour, written by Steven Moffat, The Beast Below, also by Moffat and Victory of the Daleks by Mark Gatiss.

Moffat’s work includes the hit comedy Coupling, the critically-acclaimed thriller Jekyll, the new BBC series Sherlock and along with Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, the screenplay for The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn - which is being directed by Steven Spielberg.

Piers Wenger (Ashes to Ashes) and Beth Willis (Ashes to Ashes) are the executive producers. It is a BBC Wales production for BBC ONE and distributed by BBC Worldwide.

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