Season 7
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC which depicts the adventures of a mysterious time-traveller known as "the Doctor" who travels in his time ship, the TARDIS, which appears from the exterior to be a blue police phone box.
With his companions, he explores time and space, solving problems and righting wrongs.
The programme originally ran from 1963-1989. A television film was made in 1996 as a backdoor pilot for a new series (which never entered production), and the programme was successfully relaunched in 2005, produced in-house by BBC Wales.
Doctor Who premiered in South Africa on BBC Prime (which became BBC Entertainment in September 2008) on Saturday 1 September 2007, at 19h00. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 7 premiered on BBC Entertainment on Saturday 9 February 2013, at 19h35. The season went on hiatus after five episodes (and the Christmas Special "The Snowmen") had aired.
Season 7 resumed on BBC Entertainment on Sunday 31 March 2013, in the new timeslot of 19h00. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are 13 episodes in the seventh season.
Season 7
The new season sees the Doctor (Matt Smith), his companions - Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) - and numerous friends on their latest escapades through space and time where they puzzle an unexpected invasion of Earth, save a spaceship full of dinosaurs, don Stetsons in a Wild Wild West adventure and in the season premiere were kidnapped by the Doctor's oldest foe - The Daleks.
This season features the return of the Daleks and the Weeping Angels - both of them poll-topping Doctor Who adversaries - in cracking new stories.
There are also Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (it's what you've always wanted), a glorious western with a Cyborg Gunslinger, the most unusual invasion Earth story ever and location shooting in New York for the Pond finale.
In the season opener, Asylum of the Daleks, the Doctor is forced on an impossible mission after being kidnapped by his oldest foe - to a place even the Daleks are too terrified to enter.... the Asylum.
A planetary prison confining the most terrifying and insane of their kind, the Doctor and the Ponds must find an escape route.
But with Amy and Rory's relationship in meltdown, and an army of mad Daleks closing in, it is up to the Doctor to save their lives, as well as the Pond's marriage.
The explosive season concludes with Amy and Rory's heart-breaking farewell - a race against time through the streets of Manhattan.
Will the Doctor really lose the Ponds forever? There's only one way to find out...
Seasons
Series exclusive to BBC Entertainment
Season 1 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 1 September 2007 | Finale: 24 November, 2007 | Saturdays, 19h00
Special: The Christmas Invasion
Aired: Sunday 7 September 2008, at 18h30 | Length: 1 hour
Season 2 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 14 September 2008 | Finale: 7 December 2008 | Sundays, 18h40
Season 3 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 18 January 2009 | Finale: 12 April 2009 | Sundays, 19h00
Special: Voyage of the Damned
Aired: Sunday 4 April 2010, at 18h10 | Length: 2 hours
Season 4 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 11 April 2010 | Finale: 4 July 2010 | Sundays, 18h25
Special: The Next Doctor
Aired: 11 October 2010, at 20h30 | Length: 1 hour
Special: Planet of the Dead
Aired: Monday 18 October 2010, at 20h30 | Length: 1 hour
Special: The Waters of Mars
Aired: Monday 25 October 2010, at 20h30 | Length: 1 hour
Special: The End of Time
Aired: 1 and 8 November 2010, at 20h30 | Length: 2 hours
Season 5 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 15 November 2010 | Finale: 7 February 2011 | Mondays, 20h30
Special: A Christmas Carol
Aired: 25 December 2011, at 16h05 | Length: 1 hour
Season 6 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 26 December 2011 | Finale: 7 January 2012 | Daily, 16h10
Special: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
Aired: 8 January 2012, at 16h05 | Length: 1 hour
Season 7 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 9 February 2013 | Finale: 19 May 2013 | Sat, 19h35/Sun, 19h00
Special: The Snowmen
Aired: 16 March 2013, at 19h35 | Length: 1 hour