Doctor Who Abroad
Yesterday it was confirmed that the next series of Doctor Who would open with a two-part story set in 1960s America and that filming would take place in the country – along with Wales of course! So we take a look back at other times Doctor Who, both the original and new series, have filmed abroad.
Yesterday it was confirmed that the next series of Doctor Who would open with a two-part story set in 1960s America and that filming would take place in the country – along with Wales of course! Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will fly to Utah to film scenes in the Desert there. The two-part story will also see the return of Alex Kingston as River Song once more. The American filming won’t be the first time Doctor Who has filmed abroad with both the original and new series featuring stories not only set abroad but also filmed abroad too – not just filmed in Television Centre or Wales! So we have put together this little feature to showcase previous Doctor Who stories which have been filmed abroad.
The very first story to be filmed abroad was the 1979 Tom Baker story; The City of Death. The highly regarded story was set in Paris with scenes filmed across the French capital. Although filming was hampered because the crew were there over the May Day holiday meaning many locations they had planned to use were closed. However, iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower were featured within the story. Tom Baker, Lalla Ward and guest actor Tom Chadbon filmed numerous sequences of running down Parisian streets as they dashed across Paris to stop the villain of the piece; Count Scarlioni (Julian Glover).
The 1983 story Arc of Infinity was set in Amsterdam with extensive filming taking place in the Dutch capital. All the show’s main stars; Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton took part in the location shoot which once again, in the final part, feature the Doctor and his companions running through the streets of the capital – though this time they were perusing the villain of the piece, Omega. In the story Amsterdam was used by Omega because it was below sea level and on the edge of the arc of infinity; a portal between this world and the anti-matter world. (So why didn’t he just use the gateway in The Three Doctors?).
The 1984 story Planet of Fire filmed in the Spanish island of Lanzarote which featured as itself in the story and also doubled for the firey and rocky world of Sarn – an alien planet. It was the first time that a location abroad had been used for an alien landscape but wouldn’t be the last. The story once again featured Peter Davison as the Doctor with actor Mark Strickson making his final appearance as Turlough. Planet of Fire was actress Nicola Bryant’s debut story as new companion Peri and saw her don a bikini for a sequence where she swan in the Ocean. Turlough was also seen to be wearing y-fronts in some sequences but let’s no go there.
The Two Doctors was the final time the original series filmed abroad. The 1985 story featured Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant with Patrick Troughton reprising his role of the 2nd Doctor and Frazer Hines as companion Jamie. The Two Doctors was actually originally meant to be filmed in New Orleans, America but this was scrapped when funding fell through. Instead filming was moved to Seville, Spain, meaning writer Robert Holmes had to re-write a lot of the script. There were to be numerous jokes about the differences in culture between the UK and America but these disappeared with the new location. All four main actors were on location in Spain for the story along with guest actors such as Jacqueline Pearce.
The planned 23rd season of Doctor Who was to feature a story set in Singapore with location also likely to take place there. The story would have featured The Master (Anthony Ainley) and The Rani (Kate O’Mara) along with the return of the Autons and was titled Yellow Fever and How to Cure It. However, when the BBC cancelled Doctor Who in 1985 the story was canned and although the series was later saved by the BBC and re-commissioned all the planned stories for season 23 were scrapped in favour of a new story; Trial of a Time Lord.
In 1996 the BBC and Fox television movie starring Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor, with Sylvester McCoy briefly reprising his role as the 7th Doctor, was set in San Francisco. The story was set in 1999 just as the world was about to enter the new millennium but the newly regenerated Doctor had to contend with The Master (Eric Roberts) who was determined to destroy the planet. While the story was set in San Francisco it was actually filmed in Canada, for budget reasons, where American productions such as Stargate and Caprica are also filmed.
In 2007 the two-part story Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks was set in 1930s New York; during the Great Depression. However, while some ‘pick-up’ shots of New York were filmed in the 
American city the story was actually filmed in Wales. The few shots actually filmed in New York were mostly of the buildings of the city for background scenes and did not involve actors David Tennant or Freema Agyeman. However, Doctor Who did see production shift abroad fully for the season four story Fires of Pompeii. The story was set in the ancient roman city of Pompeii as the Volcano explodes and while filming did take place in Wales for the story it also took place in Italy itself. Doctor Who took advantage of the sets for the HBO/BBC drama Rome which were standing in the Cinecitta studios outside the Italian capital. Filming at the studios lasted a few short time due to budget restrictions but David Tennant and Catherine Tate were present for filming which included the destruction of Pompeii by the Volcano.
The 2009 Easter Special Planet of the Dead was partially filmed in the deserts of Dubai which stood in for a dead alien world. David Tennant and guest-companion Michelle Ryan were in Dubai for the filming along with guest cast such as Victoria Alcock and Ellen Thomas. The scenes also featured a red London Bus which had to be transported to Dubai for the desert scenes. In 2010 the most recent series of Doctor Who had two episodes set abroad; Vampires of Venice and Vincent and the Doctor. In both cases the Croatian town of Trogir doubled for 16th Century Venice and 19th century France. However, behind-the-scenes series Doctor Who Confidential did visit the Italian city with actor Matt Smith prompting some tabloid ‘anger’ that tax-payers were paying for such a trip.
Finally not strictly Doctor Who but spin-off series Torchwood will also see filming take place in America and other locations around the world for its fourth season. Torchwood: The New World will film in Los Angeles along with other unspecified locations for a ten-part adventure which will see Eve Myles and John Barrowman reprise their respective roles.
