We are delighted to be able to bring you our interview with Doctor Who director Saul Metzstein!

Saul joined the crew in Series 7 and already has memorable and acclaimed episodes to his name. He helmed Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and A Town Called Mercy, as well as the show’s accompanying Pond Life adventure, plus the most recent episode The Snowmen. With two more episodes yet to air this year, Saul has very kindly taken time out to chat to WhovianNet exclusively about life on the Doctor Who set.

He discusses his own encounters with dinosaurs, Gunslingers and killer Snowmen below.

Q. Firstly how did your involvement with Doctor Who come about and were you a fan of the show before you joined the crew?
A. I’d worked for BBC Wales before so they knew me already. I directed an episode of the first series of the reboot of Upstairs Downstairs. I think it was that, plus the fact I’d directed 2nd Unit on the new version of Dredd – with a lot of VFX shooting – that made the producers interested in hiring me.

I have to admit I wasn’t familiar with modern Doctor Who. I watched Doctor Who as a child, the Tom Baker years, but hadn’t really seen it since then. Of course I made a point of watching lots of episodes before meeting the producers. I watched the whole of Series 6, so I became a big admirer of Matt Smith’s acting and Steven Moffat’s writing. But I think somehow the format felt very familiar to me anyway.

Q. Have you always had a passion for directing? Were there any particular directors that inspired you as you were growing up?
A. I think I was about sixteen when it occurred to me that directing might be a fun thing to do. I always liked films – I’m of the generation that really noticed filmmaking when we saw the opening shot of Star Wars with the little rebel craft being chased by the Imperial Star Destroyer.

There have been lots of directors that have inspired me, although I don’t think it is very discernible in my directing style who they are. Fellini, Tarkovsky and Bertolucci were early favourites. Kubrick too. Ernst Lubitsch later on.

Q. Your first Doctor Who episode was Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. What was it like to work on such an ambitious story which relied so heavily on CGI?
A. Well, I think one of the reasons that I was hired to do that episode was that I was relatively experienced with complex CGI, but technically it was a fairly tricky episode to make. Having said that, the producer, Marcus Wilson, and The Mill – the company who did the VFX – had already discussed Dinosaurs on a Spaceship as being a sort of showcase for the next level of Doctor Who episodes well before I was hired.

The dinosaur sequences were storyboarded by me and Andrew Wildman, storyboard artist, so the actual filming is logically structured. Having said that, I was amazed that we got so much out of the riding on Tricey scene – it was a lot of shooting in a short space of time, and was a mix of a CGI dinosaur and a big half-dinosaur rig/puppet.

Q. As Doctor Who enters its 50th year, what would you say are the factors that have contributed to its ongoing success?
A. It is a genius format because it is fantastically flexible – it can be set anywhere in the universe at any time in history. Plus, with regeneration, there are different ways of casting and playing the Doctor. It is never going to run out of story permutations, and anything can happen.

What I personally particularly like is the way Doctor Who can make dramatic, sudden shifts in tone, and that the stories are all laced with humour.

Q. One of the distinguishing features of Doctor Who is its variety of genres and styles, so was this something that particularly appealed to you about working on the series?
A. It positively encourages crazy, baroque filmmaking – most TV is stylistically very safe compared to Doctor Who. I would never want to direct a standard police drama or a hospital drama where the style of the programme had been set years earlier.

Q. Speaking of its ever changing genres, you also worked on the Western adventure A Town Called Mercy. What was it like taking Doctor Who out on location in Spain for the filming of this episode?
A. All directors deep down want to make a Western, so yes, it was great. One of the fun things about shooting in Spain was that, because there were these sets already there and because the weather was consistent, it was like shooting in an enormous outdoor studio. It’s quite different from shooting Victorian England in Cardiff, where there are all these modern things that you have to avoid looking at. It was also great to be able to work on an enormous scale.

I think the crew loved shooting in that heat – there was a lot of sunburn. Having said that, we returned to a particularly wet summer in Wales, which wasn’t much fun.

Q. You also helmed the most recently aired episode, The Snowmen, which introduced Jenna-Louise Coleman as the new companion. Did you approach this episode differently knowing her arrival was marking the start of a new era for the series? Did you watch it on Christmas Day?
A. We shot The Snowmen just after shooting an episode from the 2013 series, so the tricky thing was remembering that The Snowmen was (sort of) her introduction to the series. But Jenna had already shot other episodes, so she wasn’t really new to it.

The trickier introduction was the new TARDIS set. A big, complex set requires quite a bit of getting used to, both for the crew and for the actors. Also, I was determined to make a really special shot for the first time you see the new interior. I convinced the producers to let me do this Stedicam shot in which the camera comes off a crane and follows the Doctor and Clara into the set, through the doors of the blue box. It is the shot that finally shows that it really is bigger on the inside! They were fairly resistant to me trying to do it because it was costly and slow to do, but in the end they were really in to it. The Mill pulled out all the stops to make it beautiful and seamless.

Did I watch it on Christmas Day? Absolutely!

Q. Doctor Who is becoming progressively more ambitious and movie-like – what techniques are used to achieve this stylish filmic look?
A. Doctor Who like most programmes and films nowadays is shot on Alexa cameras, which give a lovely cinematic look, almost as good as 35mm film, and that helps.

I was lucky enough on all but one of my episodes to work with the most experienced Doctor Who cameraman, Stephan Pehrsson, who has a great eye and understanding of the programme. Stephan shot Toby Haynes’ episodes in Series 6, which are really stylish, and, for my money, some of the best Doctor Who episodes ever.

I like to keep the camera moving as much as possible to make the whole programme feel fluid. Every day we have Stedicam and a crane and two complete camera crews, and that helps too. A lot of the credit has to go to the shooting crew, in particular Joe Russell the camera operator and Gary Norman the grip.

Q. We’re often hearing stories from the cast and crew about the generally great atmosphere behind the scenes…
A. Oh no, it’s all terribly hard work and completely joyless (he lied).

Q. What advice would you give to any aspiring directors out there?
A. Firstly, just go and direct – even at a very small scale or without any budget. Even if the projects don’t turn out very good you will have learnt an enormous amount.

Secondly, watch lots and lots of films – and don’t just watch films like the ones you think you want to make. Be adventurous, you won’t regret it.

Thirdly, develop scripts. It’s all in the writing.

Q. Finally, what projects have you got in the pipeline, Doctor Who related or otherwise?
A. I have two episodes of Doctor Who that haven’t been aired yet – neither is quite finished, but both should be quite soon.

We would like to say a huge thank you to Saul for answering our questions!

The latest Christmas Special, The Snowmen, delivered yet another ratings success for BBC America.

As Entertainment Weekly reports the festive episode was seen by 1.4 million on Christmas Day, once again a brilliant figure for the network. Back in September, the US debut of Asylum of the Daleks set a new record for the channel.

“It feels exactly right to be ending the year on a ratings high with Doctor Who,” said BBC general manager Perry Simon.

He added: “The show has delivered for us this year on every level – cinematic scale plus superb acting and a growing band of dedicated fans. We can’t wait to see more in 2013.”

In the UK, the episode achieved an official, consolidated viewing figure of 9.87 million.

The final viewing figure for the 2012 Christmas Special, The Snowmen, has been revealed today.

The festive episode has been viewed by an official audience of 9.87 million, made up of the 7.58 million that watched it on Christmas Day combined with the 2 million+ people that opted to record it and catch up in the week.

Doctor Who was the 4th most watched show this Christmas, after EastEnders, Call the Midwife and The Royle Family.

In addition the episode had 1,467,000 requests on iPlayer in the last week of December.

2013 will kick off in style with the first Doctor Who Magazine of the new year exploring the new look TARDIS!

Issue 456, published on Thursday 10th January, features an exclusive tour of the Doctor’s iconic spaceship following its regeneration in The Snowmen. The festive adventure is also reviewed inside, as the magazine explores the mystery of new companion Clara Oswald, and Steven Moffat answers questions from the fans. Plus, director Saul Metzstein takes us behind the scenes with dinosaurs and snowmen.

See the latest Series 7 headlines to discuss all the developments as and when…

See the latest Doctor Who products on sale now via our merchandise section!

The Snowmen might have melted, but they’re not going to go away that easily, as the world dissects and discusses another Doctor Who Christmas adventure.

The festive episode, which marked the debut of Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara Oswald, achieved great overnight ratings, bringing in an audience of 7.58 million (34%) to BBC One. The post-episode reviews have been generally well received, with the Guardian labelling the “poetic romp” as “the finest Christmas special” since the tradition began.

Meanwhile, the yuletide helping of TARDIS action was “shiver-inducing” according to the Independent, as the folks at Radio Times take their “hats off to Steven Moffat”. SFX and CraveOnline also enjoyed the “impressively filmic”, “rousing” seasonal escapade…

That’s what the critics think but what do you have to say? Head over to our discussion!

It is Christmas Eve 1892 and there is a chilling menace threatening Earth. An unorthodox young governess, Clara, calls on the Doctor for help but the Doctor is in mourning. Will he abandon humankind, or save Christmas?

A brand new companion, a brand new TARDIS and brand new titles. It’s brand new Who!

Yep, it is that time of year again – the halls are decked with boughs of holly, Santa has been to deliver the goods, the crackers have been pulled and, of course, the Doctor is in. This year there was more than the usual chill in the air as we returned to the TARDIS (albeit a somewhat different one) to meet the Doctor on his latest seasonal escapade…

We rejoined our favourite Time Lord in Victorian England where he was still struggling to deal with the heartbreaking events of The Angels Take Manhattan. The Doctor might have been taking time out from battling aliens, but unfortunately the aliens had different ideas, as aliens often do, as mankind relied on a Christmas miracle to change his ways.

That Christmas miracle came in the form of Clara Oswald, the Doctor’s new plucky and “mysterious” companion who accompanied him on a festive mission to bring down the terrifying Doctor Simeon and his army of killer snowmen, with a little help from Vastra & Co of course! But was Clara’s debut (well, we say ‘debut’!) adventure worth the waiting?

There was no time like the present (Get it? ‘Present’!) for the Doctor as he hopped from the clouds to save Christmas, finding himself entwined in a brand new mystery along the way. How do you rate The Snowmen? Were you sat in awe as the new TARDIS interior was revealed on screen for the first time? And what about the new titles, too? Is Clara shaping up to be a top notch companion? There’s lots to discuss, and one place to do it…

The Telegraph has an exclusive feature interview with new companion Jenna-Louise Coleman in which she explains how joining Doctor Who has impacted on her life.

“I’ve been filming non stop since it was revealed,” she said. “So my life has been taken over by Doctor Who and nothing else.” The actress also admitted how the intensity of the role initially made her reevaluate signing up. She explains: “That sounds mad now, doesn’t it? But I was aware I would be in the same role for quite a time, and I like change.”

She continued: “Let’s face it, it’s a wonderful job – one you have to pinch yourself over.”

About her character Clara she teased that there is an interesting partnership to come as the Doctor views her as “a challenge”. “He really wants to find out about her,” she hints. “She’s obviously very clever, possibly more clever than him. I liked that about the role.”

The Snowmen premieres on BBC One on Christmas Day at 5:15pm. Watch the trailer!

You’ll be able to catch the prequel to The Snowmen on the BBC Red Button at various points in the run up to the debut of the episode on BBC One next week.

Entitled Vastra Investigates the short scene was revealed online earlier this week. It stars Vastra and her companions as they investigate a murder. But just where is the Doctor?

The mini-episode has been written by Steven Moffat – check out when to tune in to the Red Button below.

Vastra Investigates – Available on Freesat/Sky/Virgin Media/Freeview:

Thursday 20th December: 7.30pm-8.55pm, 10.30pm-6am
Friday 21st December: 9pm-6am
Saturday 22nd December: 6pm-6.30pm, 7.55pm-8.50pm, 10.05pm-1.25am

The Snowmen premieres on BBC One on Christmas Day at 5:15pm. Watch the trailer!

The Snowmen were unleashed on critics at a glitzy press screening earlier this week – and it’s safe to say the episode has gone down as a unanimous festive treat!

According to the Guardian, this year’s seasonal adventure is “filled with surprises”, and the Telegraph has predicted it “will give the post-dinner snoozers a much-needed boost”. As Digital Spy describes the Doctor’s eighth yuletide outing as “part chilly thriller, part fun caper”, Radio Times focuses on the story’s “nods to the future”.

Of course, we haven’t got long until we can enjoy it all for ourselves. 5 days to be exact!

The Snowmen premieres on BBC One on Christmas Day at 5:15pm. Watch the trailer!

Jenna-Louise Coleman has revealed how her new character Clara “holds her own” in the TARDIS against the Doctor.

The actress told CNN it is an interesting dynamic between the Time Lord and his latest companion because they make “a nice double act”. “The Doctor’s this amazing man and she is like, “You know, cool. I think you’re amazing – but so am I”,” she explained. “But I like that it is not plain sailing, and Steven Moffat has been clever in creating a mystery. There is a natural bounce between them, but there’s this friction.”

She continued: “They’re like magnets, drawn to each other but she can’t figure him out.”

She also revealed where she will be watching her debut episode, The Snowmen, as it goes out on Christmas Day. “There are 13 of my family going to a cottage, so we will be there watching,” she said. “It’s one of my grandmum’s favorite shows so it’s big for her.”

Want more? Then check out the episode’s teaser, prequel, trailer and iconic poster!