Doctor Who
Buenas Tardis, Doctor Who fans! The time-travelling British sci-fi series returns for its 10th season tonight on Space. This will be Peter Capaldi’s final run as the Doctor, as well as the final season led by writer and executive producer Steven Moffat.
“They asked me to stay on. And I love this show. But I began to get worried about my capacity to deliver my best work,” Capaldi told The New York Times this week.
“The schedule is very intense, and I began to wonder, how many different ways can I find to say, ‘The time vortex is going to open up and destroy the entire universe as we know it, unless we blow up that model spaceship over there?’
“It concerned me that if I did more, yes, I’d be able to do it, but I’d just be phoning it in. And I didn’t ever want to be in that situation.”
In the Season 10 premiere, titled The Pilot, the Doctor meets new companion Bill Potts, played by Pearl Mackie. Bill is a new character in the show’s lore and, unlike some previous companions, she doesn’t have much experience with the Doctor’s world. Also this season, Matt Lucas will return as Nardole.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Mackie described Bill as “quite chatty, a bit mouthy … She questions things that haven’t been questioned in a really long time, which is fun.” Bill will also be openly gay. Centred on a time lord who zips across the universe with various sidekicks, Doctor Who debuted on BBC One in 1963 and ran until 1989. It found new life in 2005, and in 2013, the show’s 50th anniversary special broke viewing records worldwide. Capaldi is the 12th actor to play the lead character; this is his second season in the role.
Space will air a Season 9 marathon today leading up to the Season 10 premiere. Fans can also stream the first nine seasons of the rebooted show on CraveTV.
SNL HOMECOMING
Jimmy Fallon returns to the Saturday Night Live stage to host a new episode of the sketch comedy, with musical guest Harry Styles. This will be the first time the show will air live from coast to coast; live national broadcasts will continue through its Season 42 finale on May 20. As always, they’ll air on Global and NBC.
Fallon was a Saturday Night Live cast member from 1998 to 2004, winning fans with his aw-shucks demeanour, compulsive hair-tousling and frequent giggling. He’s since returned twice to host the show.
On May 13, Sean Spicer impersonator Melissa McCarthy will host. Dwayne Johnson will front the following week’s season finale. Better call Biebs.
ROASTING BIEBER
Comedy re-airs The Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber tonight. The special originally aired in 2015, just as the singer was trying to change his bad-boy image.