Part III, Chapter IX: "That New Car Smell"
“I really enjoyed my time on the show. It was a lot of fun getting to know everyone and having this role in a big show. I liked the mystery around the character of Lucie as well. Paul [McGann] was a lot of help during that first season, he really took away a lot of the feeling of being in over my head with this, and Alex [Rice] agrees with me.”
- Nicole de Boer on her role as Lucie Miller in Season 30 of
Doctor Who.
With Season 30 came a new era for
Doctor Who. With Gaiman at the helm, one thing was clear: this season would be distinct from any that had come before it. With a new main cast of Paul McGann, Nicole de Boer, and Alex Rice, there was a good opportunity for new fans to start watching the show, and much of the advertisement was designed to advertise the new season as a good “jumping on point” for fans.
The chemistry between the new trio was clear, with many comparing it to that between Hugh Laurie, Denise Crosby, and Tom Hanks from the start of the NBC run. The season was also the first time that
Doctor Who would make use of the internet in a major way, with advertisements being hosted on many popular websites.
Season 30 of
Doctor Who began airing on Sunday, May 19th 1996, it was the ninth of the revival series.
List of Episodes of Season 30 of Doctor Who:
Confederacy (Part 1)
Confederacy (Part 2)
Confederacy (Part 3)
Blood of the Daleks (Part 1)
Blood of the Daleks (Part 2)
Memories of Days to Come (Part 1)
Memories of Days to Come (Part 2)
Death to the Sontarans (Part 1)
Death to the Sontarans (Part 2)
Fragments (Part 1)
Fragments (Part 2)
A Thousand Ships (Part 1)
A Thousand Ships (Part 2)
The Demons of Hampton Court (Part 1)
The Demons of Hampton Court (Part 2)
Monumental (Part 1)
Monumental (Part 2)
They Shoot Time Lords, Don’t They? (Part 1)
They Shoot Time Lords, Don’t They? (Part 2)
They Shoot Time Lords, Don’t They? (Part 3)
Underneath
The Sword of Orion (Part 1)
The Sword of Orion (Part 2)
Storm-Blind (Part 1)
Storm-Blind (Part 2)
Storm-Blind (Part 3)
Bold denotes a story by @The Chimera Virus, italics denote a story by @Drorac.
Cast of Season 30 of Doctor Who:
The Tenth Doctor – Paul McGann
Lucie Miller – Nicole de Boer
Kahn-Tineta – Alex Rice
The Master – Sir Derek Jacobi
The Monk – Eric Idle
Reviews for Season 30 of
Doctor Who were highly positive, with many noting the change in tone from previous seasons. One commented: “With this new season, Neil Gaiman has finally brought
Doctor Who into the modern era, and by God does it work.” Particular praise was given to the performances of McGann and de Boer, the former of whom was nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
Without a doubt,
Doctor Who had hit a high. Only time would tell if this was a one-off huge success or a sign of things to come.