The Snowmen: publicity roundup
Saturday, 22 December 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
A roundup of coverage for The Snowmen that has taken place in the past week or so - please note that what follows below includes some plot details that might be considered spoilers.
Interviews:
Steven Moffat was a guest on the Simon Mayo Drivetime show on BBC Radio Two on Monday. Talking about Doctor Who's appeal on Christmas Day, he felt the show's accessibility as a "shared live viewing experience" was a great benefit:
Ahead of the press screening on Tuesday evening, Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman popped into the BBC Radio One Breakfast Show hosted by Nick Grimshaw. The duo chatted about their recent trip to New York and Jenna's arrival in the show (1:36:45), and later answered listeners' questions (1:52:55, and a clip is available to watch via the
YouTube
).
Matt later appeared on ITV1's This Morning (after the first ad break), hosted by Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby - the first time he'd appeared on the show. He chatted about his inspirations for the character of the Doctor, the enthusiasm of fans, things he kept from the old TARDIS, and of course not really saying what to expect on Christmas Day! Enthusing about guest star Richard E Grant, he said:
The end of the week was rounded off by an appearance by Matt on The Graham Norton Show, but although this was to promote the Christmas Special, as Matt pointed out:
Norton mentioned that fellow guests Billy Connolly and Jennifer Saunders had once been suggested as potential Doctors, though the former said it wasn't true and the latter said she started the rumours herself!
Matt was also 'required' to kiss a member of the audience by other guest Dustin Hoffman, which the actor only reluctantly agreed to as his mum was watching! A clip of this exchange is available on
YouTube
and
spoke to the two stars
about their first jobs, what they do in their free time, their favourite current and childhood television shows, awkward moments, and what stands out for them in the Christmas Special.
Entertainment Weekly discuss Doctor Who and The Snowmen in their latest InsideTV podcast. Other US-based coverage included: Miami Herald; Tulsa World; San-Antonio Express; and Winston-Salem Journal; Seattle Times.
Interviews:
Steven Moffat was a guest on the Simon Mayo Drivetime show on BBC Radio Two on Monday. Talking about Doctor Who's appeal on Christmas Day, he felt the show's accessibility as a "shared live viewing experience" was a great benefit:... much more so with the Christmas one than with the others, yes, there's a big live audience for it - because, yeah, you watch it as a family. Sometimes people actually watch it later, because their family aren't there - people tend to watch it in groups, that's very true of Doctor Who.
I think Doctor Who is always a bit Christmassy, it's that kind of show, it always feels substantially madder than every other show, and we're always striving to make it an event - so you have to make Doctor Who even more so when it's Christmas Day. One thing I'd say I think it needs to be more accessible to new viewers, because more people are dragged in to watch Doctor Who on that day than on any other occasion it's on.
Talking about an initially melancholy Doctor in the episode, he explained:I think Doctor Who is always a bit Christmassy, it's that kind of show, it always feels substantially madder than every other show, and we're always striving to make it an event - so you have to make Doctor Who even more so when it's Christmas Day. One thing I'd say I think it needs to be more accessible to new viewers, because more people are dragged in to watch Doctor Who on that day than on any other occasion it's on.
What you need to remember is that the last time we saw the Doctor he had lost the Ponds - he lost Amy and Rory - he lost them to the Weeping Angels, and when you begin this story he's in a terrible place, he's in a right old grump, he's retired from saving the universe, he's having nothing to do with anyone, and although there's a building threat to humanity he's having none of it, he's just storming away being a sort of Scrooge.
The full interview is currently available to listen to via a BBC podcast (from 12:50) until Monday.Ahead of the press screening on Tuesday evening, Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman popped into the BBC Radio One Breakfast Show hosted by Nick Grimshaw. The duo chatted about their recent trip to New York and Jenna's arrival in the show (1:36:45), and later answered listeners' questions (1:52:55, and a clip is available to watch via the
YouTube
).
Matt later appeared on ITV1's This Morning (after the first ad break), hosted by Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby - the first time he'd appeared on the show. He chatted about his inspirations for the character of the Doctor, the enthusiasm of fans, things he kept from the old TARDIS, and of course not really saying what to expect on Christmas Day! Enthusing about guest star Richard E Grant, he said:
He was born to be a Who villain, he pitches it on that perfect level and tone.
The end of the week was rounded off by an appearance by Matt on The Graham Norton Show, but although this was to promote the Christmas Special, as Matt pointed out:
As always, I can't tell you anything, this is the tragedy of the show I'm in is that you come on and you can't actually promote it!
Recorded last month, the show was still able to treat viewers to a brand new clip featuring the Doctor, Clara and Strax.Norton mentioned that fellow guests Billy Connolly and Jennifer Saunders had once been suggested as potential Doctors, though the former said it wasn't true and the latter said she started the rumours herself!
Matt was also 'required' to kiss a member of the audience by other guest Dustin Hoffman, which the actor only reluctantly agreed to as his mum was watching! A clip of this exchange is available on
YouTube
and
spoke to the two stars
about their first jobs, what they do in their free time, their favourite current and childhood television shows, awkward moments, and what stands out for them in the Christmas Special.
Entertainment Weekly discuss Doctor Who and The Snowmen in their latest InsideTV podcast. Other US-based coverage included: Miami Herald; Tulsa World; San-Antonio Express; and Winston-Salem Journal; Seattle Times.