Doctor Who (series 2)
The second series of British science fiction programme Doctor Who began on 25 December 2005 with the Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes was broadcast, starting with "New Earth" on 15 April 2006. In addition, two short special episodes were produced; and an interactive episode, as well as 13 TARDISODEs.
This is the first series to feature David Tennant as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box on the outside. He continues to travel with his companion Rose Tyler, with whom he has grown increasingly attached. They also briefly travel with Rose's boyfriend Mickey Smith, and Camille Coduri reprises her role as Rose's mother Jackie. The series is connected by a loose story arc consisting of the recurring word "Torchwood". This is also the first series to be preceded by a Christmas special, which was commissioned to see how well the show could do at Christmas. The success of "The Christmas Invasion" led to the Christmas special becoming an annual tradition.
Episodes
Supplemental episodes
Two mini-episodes were also recorded: "Doctor Who: Children in Need" was produced for the 2005 Children in Need appeal, and interactive episode "Attack of the Graske" was recorded for digital television following the broadcast of "The Christmas Invasion". 13 TARDISODEs were also produced to serve as prequels to each episode. All episodes were filmed as part of the second series' production cycle.Casting
Main characters
Series two was David Tennant's first in the role of the Doctor after he was cast on 28 April 2005. Following his brief appearance in the closing moments of "The Parting of the Ways" he was next seen in the, broadcast on 18 November 2005. "The Christmas Invasion", broadcast one month later, marked his first full episode.Billie Piper continued her role as companion Rose Tyler, for her second and final series, Noel Clarke's character Mickey Smith, a recurring guest character during the first series, featured in several episodes.
Guest stars
continued to guest in the series as recurring character Jackie Tyler. Shaun Dingwall returned for several episodes as Pete Tyler and Penelope Wilton reprised her role as Harriet Jones for the Christmas special.Elisabeth Sladen featured in the episode "School Reunion", returning to the character of Sarah Jane Smith, companion of the Third and Fourth Doctors. John Leeson also featured in this episode as the voice of K9.
Other guest stars included Adam Garcia, Daniel Evans, Zoë Wanamaker, Sean Gallagher, Anna Hope, Adjoa Andoh, Pauline Collins, Anthony Head, Sophia Myles, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Andrew Hayden-Smith, Helen Griffin, Don Warrington, Maureen Lipman, Jamie Foreman, Rory Jennings, Margaret John, Danny Webb, Shaun Parkes, Claire Rushbrook, Will Thorp, Marc Warren, Peter Kay, Shirley Henderson, Simon Greenall, Moya Brady, Kathryn Drysdale, Nina Sosanya, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Raji James, Barbara Windsor, Derek Acorah, Alistair Appleton, Trisha Goddard and Freema Agyeman, who returned to co-star as Martha Jones the next year.
Production
Development
Following the success of the opening episode of the first series, the BBC announced that Doctor Who had been recommissioned for both a second series and a Christmas special on 30 March 2005. Recording for the Christmas special began on 23 July 2005, with production on the series itself beginning on 1 August 2005 and concluding on 31 March 2006.Writing
New writers for the show included Toby Whithouse, creator of the Channel 4 drama No Angels, Tom MacRae, creator of Sky One's Mile High, Matt Jones, also a prolific script editor and producer, and Matthew Graham, co-creator of the BBC science fiction series Life on Mars. Previous writers Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat and Russell T Davies all contributed to the series, with Davies continuing to act as head writer and executive producer. Stephen Fry was due to write episode 11 but was forced to withdraw as he could not complete the script in time so Russell T. Davies hired Matthew Graham to write Fear Her. Phil Collinson produced all episodes, with Julie Gardner as executive producer. The series was directed by James Hawes, Euros Lyn, James Strong, Dan Zeff and Graeme Harper, who had directed episodes of the programme's original run. The series is primarily set on Earth due to the cost involved in creating another planet, according to Davies. Only two stories are set on another planet.The second series encompassed a loose story arc based around the word "Torchwood", which first appeared in the 2005 episode "Bad Wolf". The mythology of Torchwood is built across the series; in "The Christmas Invasion" it is revealed to be a secret organisation which possesses alien technology, and its establishment is shown in "Tooth and Claw". Contemporary Torchwood is finally visited by the Doctor and Rose in "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday", at which point it is situated within London's Canary Wharf and accidentally allows the invasion of the Cybermen and, subsequently, the Daleks. The Doctor and Rose are forcibly separated by these events, which lead to Rose's entrapment within a parallel universe.
The Doctor and Rose are indirectly responsible for their separation; their enjoyment of the events of "Tooth and Claw" horrifies Queen Victoria and leads to the establishment of Torchwood. Over a century later, the institute's foolish actions are resolved at the expense of the Doctor and Rose's companionship. "It's deliberate when that happens ", said head writer Russell T Davies, "and they do pay the price. In "Tooth and Claw", they set up the very thing — Torchwood — that separates them in the end. It's sort of their own fault."
Filming
Production blocks were arranged as follows:| Block | Episode | Director | Writer | Code |
| 1 | "The Christmas Invasion" | James Hawes | Russell T Davies | 2X |
| 1 | "School Reunion" | James Hawes | Toby Whithouse | 2.3 |
| 1 | "New Earth" | James Hawes | Russell T Davies | 2.1 |
| 2 | "Tooth and Claw" | Euros Lyn | Russell T Davies | 2.2 |
| 2 | "The Girl in the Fireplace" | Euros Lyn | Steven Moffat | 2.4 |
| 3 | "Rise of the Cybermen" | Graeme Harper | Tom MacRae | 2.5 |
| 3 | "The Age of Steel" | Graeme Harper | Tom MacRae | 2.6 |
| 3 | "Army of Ghosts" | Graeme Harper | Russell T Davies | 2.12 |
| 3 | "Doomsday" | Graeme Harper | Russell T Davies | 2.13 |
| 3 | "" | Euros Lyn | Russell T Davies | CIN |
| 3 | "Attack of the Graske" | Ashley Way | Gareth Roberts | – |
| 4 | "The Idiot's Lantern" | Euros Lyn | Mark Gatiss | 2.7 |
| 4 | "Fear Her" | Euros Lyn | Matthew Graham | 2.11 |
| 5 | "Love & Monsters" | Dan Zeff | Russell T Davies | 2.10 |
| 6 | "The Impossible Planet" | James Strong | Matt Jones | 2.8 |
| 6 | "The Satan Pit" | James Strong | Matt Jones | 2.9 |
Release
Broadcast
The second series premiered on 15 April 2006 with "New Earth", and concluded after 13 episodes on 8 July 2006 with "Doomsday". Doctor Who Confidential also aired alongside each episode of the series, continuing on from the previous series.A and an interactive episode, entitled "Attack of the Graske", were both produced alongside the series. A series of 13 TARDISODEs were also produced. These mini-episodes served as prequels to each forthcoming episode, and were available for download to mobile phones and viewable at the official Doctor Who website. The TARDISODEs were recorded intermittently from 31 January to 8 April 2006.
Home media
In print
Reception
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | |
| 2006 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Actor | David Tennant for "Doomsday" | ||
| 2006 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Screenplay | Russell T. Davies for "Doomsday" | ||
| 2006 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Actress | Billie Piper for "Doomsday" | ||
| 2006 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Costume | Louise Page | ||
| 2006 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Make-up | Neill Gorton and Sheelagh Wells for "The Girl in the Fireplace" | ||
| 2006 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Editor | Cripspin Green for "Tooth and Claw" | ||
| 2006 | Nebula Awards | Nebula Award for Best Script | Steven Moffat for "The Girl in the Fireplace" | ||
| 2006 | RTS Television Awards | Best Drama Series | Doctor Who | ||
| 2006 | RTS Television Awards | Best Production Design | Edward Thomas | ||
| 2006 | RTS Television Awards | Best Costume Design – Drama | Louise Page | ||
| 2006 | RTS Television Awards | Best Make Up Design – Drama | Sheelagh Wells and Neill Gorton | ||
| 2006 | RTS Television Awards | Best Visual Effects – Digital Effects | Doctor Who | ||
| 2006 | Scream Award | Best TV Show | Doctor Who | ||
| 2006 | TV Quick | Best Loved Drama | Doctor Who | ||
| 2006 | TV Quick | Best Actor | David Tennant | ||
| 2006 | TV Quick | Best Actress | Billie Piper | ||
| 2007 | BAFTA TV Awards | Best Editing Fiction/Entertainment | Crispin Green | ||
| 2007 | BAFTA TV Awards | Best Visual Effects | The Mill | ||
| 2007 | Constellation Awards | Best Science Fiction Television Series | Doctor Who | ||
| 2007 | Constellation Awards | Best Male Performance in a 2006 Science Fiction Television Episode | David Tennant for "The Girl in the Fireplace" | ||
| 2007 | Constellation Awards | Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2006 | Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | ||
| 2007 | Hugo Awards | Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation | "The Girl in the Fireplace" | ||
| 2007 | Hugo Awards | Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation | "School Reunion" | ||
| 2007 | Hugo Awards | Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation | "Army of Ghosts" / "Doomsday | ||
| 2007 | National Television Awards | Most Popular Drama | Doctor Who | ||
| 2007 | National Television Awards | Most Popular Actor | David Tennant | ||
| 2007 | National Television Awards | Most Popular Actress | Billie Piper | ||
| 2007 | Saturn Awards | Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series | Doctor Who | ||
| 2007 | Saturn Awards | Best Television DVD Release | Doctor Who | ||
| 2007 | SFX Awards | Best TV Show | Doctor Who | ||
| 2007 | SFX Awards | Best TV Episode | Euros Lyn and Steven Moffat for "The Girl in the Fireplace" | ||
| 2007 | SFX Awards | Best TV Episode | James Strong and Matt Jones for "The Impossible Planet" / "The Satan Pit" | ||
| 2007 | SFX Awards | Best TV Episode | Graeme Harper and Russell T Davies for "Army of Ghosts" / "Doomsday" | ||
| 2007 | SFX Awards | Best TV Actor | David Tennant | ||
| 2007 | SFX Awards | Best TV Actress | Billie Piper | ||
| 2007 | VES Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program, Commercial, or Music Video | Nicholas Hernandez, Jean-Claude Deguara, Neil Roche and Jean-Yves Audouard for "Tooth and Claw" |
Soundtrack
Selected pieces of score from this series, as composed by Murray Gold, were released on 4 December 2006 by Silva Screen Records.On 19 August 2013 the soundtrack was released on 12" Vinyl as a limited edition with only 500 copies.