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The Doctor will see you now. Again.
The Time Lord and Clara are back in the TARDIS and taking on the universe as the ninth season of Doctor Who premieres on Saturday, September 19. The show will premiere at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.
So, where are we traveling this season?
The premiere episode, titled “The Magican’s Apprentice,” pits the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) up against an ancient enemy. That’s right. The Daleks are back. In the very first episode of the season. According to Capaldi, the Doctor’s oldest enemies will make an appearance in the episode, which was penned by showrunner Steven Moffat, but with a twist. “For those who are nostalgic [about] the Daleks of the Sixties, there are some special surprises in store…,” he told The Telegraph UK.
This year, the show’s producers have embraced bigger, longer stories and “The Magician’s Apprentice” is actually the first of four two-parters this year. That also means more villains.
In addition to Daleks, the Doctor will see the return of the Zygons, as well as Vikings (Odin is reportedly set to make an appearance!), robots, and a wave of subaquatic ghosts. In other words, we’ve got a little bit of everything this year.
Also, making a return? Missy. The latest incarnation of The Master (Michelle Gomez) is back and she’s just as fun, and insane, as ever. “The Master’s always been the Doctor by other means,” Moffat told Doctor Who magazine. “The one tiny difference is… she’s insane!” But while Missy’s relationship with the Doctor was the focus of her appearances last season, this time around it’s her dynamic with Clara that takes center stage. Gomez said the relationship “takes on a whole new shape” and may even lead to some “unnerving viewing.”
Jemma Redgrave will also be back as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, head of secret government agency UNIT. As will Rigsy, the graffiti artist from Flatline, and Clare Higgins reprises her role as part of the Sisterhood of Karn. Of course, the Sisterhood appeared briefly in the short “The Night of the Doctor,” which was released ahead of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary. Check it out:
Later on this season, fans can also expect to see a handful of famous faces and cameos, including Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams who was featured briefly in the season nine trailer and whose role has been widely speculated on since it was first announced she had been cast.
The internet has also been rampant with rumors since spoilers leaked surrounding the storyline of “The Girl Who Died,” an episode slated for later in the season. According to reports, “the Doctor remembers where he’s seen his own face before,” and it’s been suggested that the look he adopts with each regeneration is a replica of people he’s met. Of course, Capaldi appeared on Doctor Who before he took up the sonic screwdriver, playing a father in Pompeii during the David Tennant era. Will this theory explain that or even open the door for a return by Tennant or Matt Smith? Hey, anything is possible when time is so wibly-wobly, right?