Prom 13: Doctor Who Prom was a concert showcasing incidental music from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, along with classical music, performed on 27 July 2008 in the Royal Albert Hall in London as part of the BBC's annual Proms series of concerts. The Doctor Who Prom was the thirteenth concert in the 2008 Proms season, and was intended to introduce young children to the Proms.
The Doctor Who Prom showcased the work of Murray Gold, who has composed the incidental music for Doctor Who since its return in 2005. Other classical pieces were also played. The concert was conducted by Ben Foster and Stephen Bell, and performed by the BBC Philharmonic. It was presented by actress Freema Agyeman, who played companion Martha Jones on Doctor Who. Other Doctor Who actors and performers dressed as Doctor Who monsters also made appearances on stage and in the audience. The concert included video montages of scenes from Doctor Who and a specially filmed "mini-episode" of Doctor Who called "Music of the Spheres", which was presented on a screen above the orchestra and included live interactive elements.
The Doctor Who Prom was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and recorded for subsequent television broadcast on BBC One on 1 January 2009. It was positively reviewed in several newspapers.
The success of the 2008 Prom led to more Doctor Who Proms for the 2010, 2013 and 2024 Proms seasons.
Development and purpose In 2006, the Doctor Who production team had presented a concert titled "Doctor Who: A Celebration" at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, as a fundraiser for Children in Need. The success of that concert encouraged Doctor Who producer Julie Gardner and David Jackson (then Head of Music at BBC Wales) to meet the Director of the BBC Proms, Roger Wright, and suggest a Doctor Who-themed Proms concert. The Doctor Who Prom replaced the Blue Peter Prom, which had been held from 1998 to 2007.
The Doctor Who Prom was part of an ongoing drive to make the Proms more accessible and inclusive. Some critics accused Wright of "dumbing down" the Proms, against which Wright defended the programme, pointing out that "we're hosting a concert for families that include pieces by Holst, Wagner and Prokofiev."
Gardner and Doctor Who producer Russell T Davies decided to create a "mini-episode" of Doctor Who to be shown during the concert, in part because actor David Tennant, who played the Doctor, was unable to participate in the live concert due to his commitments to the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Hamlet. Davies incorporated interactive elements into his script to ensure that the live performance was "an event":
The official price for pre-booked tickets was £10 for adults and £5 for children. These tickets sold out, and 3,000 people signed up for a waiting list in the event of any cancellations. Prior to the concert, tickets were touted on eBay for up to £250. As at all Proms concerts, 500 tickets were sold for £5 on the day of the event. The queue for £5 tickets for the Doctor Who Prom began at 5:00 in the morning. 6,000 people attended the sold-out concert. The audience included many families with children, as well as older Doctor Who fans. The Times described the concert as the "most over-subscribed concert" of the Proms season.
Programme In addition to the Doctor Who music by Murray Gold, several classical pieces were included in the concert, including one piece which had its United Kingdom début. Julie Gardner told Doctor Who Magazine that the concert's planners considered a theme of "time and space" to tie in with Doctor Who, but decided that this "would lead to using the big sci-fi tracks from the likes of 2001, which would make the concert feel too much like a 'film and TV soundtrack day'." Instead, the producers chose "the Doctor's love of humanity" as a theme, and selected pieces which they felt connected with that theme.
Act One {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left" width=100% ! width=15%|Composer ! width=25%|Title ! width=8%|Time ! width=52%|Description |- | Murray Gold | "Concert Prologue" | 1:30 | "Concert Prologue" is made up from Gold's "The Doctor's Theme" and features a soloist (Melanie Pappenheim) backed by orchestra. "The Doctor's Theme" was heard first in the Doctor Who episode "Rose" (2005) and has been used as a regular motif in Gold's scores for numerous episodes since. |- | Aaron Copland | "Fanfare for the Common Man" | 2:54 | Composed in 1942, "Fanfare for the Common Man" was premièred by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 1943. |- | Murray Gold | "All the Strange, Strange Creatures" | 4:00 | Parts of "All the Strange, Strange Creatures" were used in the trailers for Series 3 of Doctor Who (2007). Arrangements of it featured in the scores for the Doctor Who episodes such as "Gridlock" (2007), "The Sound of Drums" (2007) and "Journey's End" (2008). During the Prom performance, performers dressed as Cybermen, Judoon, Sontarans, and Ood appeared on stage and in the audience. |- | Sergey Prokofiev | Romeo and Juliet – "Montagues and Capulets" | 4:43 | "Montagues and Capulets" features in Act 1 of Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It was composed in the mid-1930s and since 2005 has become associated with television series The Apprentice; according to The Times''' reviewer, Caitlin Moran, the recognition of this piece as "the music from The Apprentice" went "round the room like a Mexican wave." |- | Murray Gold | "The Doctor Forever" | 4:30 | "The Doctor Forever" was first heard in Doctor Who episode "The Runaway Bride" (2006) and was used extensively throughout Series 3 (2007) and Series 4 (2008). It begins as a "celestial anthem for solo vocal and then choir, backed by strings...[and] becomes an out-and-out adventure theme." |- | Murray Gold | "Rose" | 1:30 | Written for the Ninth Doctor's companion Rose Tyler, "Rose" (also known as "Rose's Theme") was first heard in Doctor Who episode "The End of the World" (2005). Extracts from "Rose" have been used in numerous episodes since with the melody becoming "one of the series' strongest musical identities". |- | Murray Gold | "Martha vs The Master" | 4:30 | "Martha vs The Master" was composed for Doctor Who episode "Last of the Time Lords" (2007) which saw the Tenth Doctor's companion Martha Jones save the world from the Master. It includes the Master's theme, as well as sequences from the themes of other characters from the series, notably that of Martha Jones. |- !colspan=4| "Music of the Spheres" – specially filmed scene |- !colspan=4| Interval
Act Two ComposerTitleTimeDescription Richard Wagner Die Walküre – "The Ride of the Valkyries" 4:40 "The Ride of the Valkyries" was written about Nordic goddesses transporting fallen heroes to open Act 3 of Wagner's opera Die Walküre and was first performed in 1870. It is well known for its use in scores for films such as Apocalypse Now. Murray Gold "The Daleks and Davros" 8:12 "The Daleks and Davros" comprises music that has underscored the Daleks, the Dalek Emperor and Davros in various appearances since Series 1 of Doctor Who (2005). The suite features the choir and orchestra performing music from episodes "Bad Wolf" (2005) and "Doomsday" (2006) and a march from "The Stolen Earth" (2008) before continuing with music from "Daleks in Manhattan"/"Evolution of the Daleks" (2007) and "The Parting of the Ways" (2005), respectively. Prior to the Prom performance of this music, an introduction by Noel Clarke and Camille Coduri was interrupted by two Daleks (voiced by Nicholas Briggs) and Davros (played by Julian Bleach). Murray Gold "Donna" – "The Girl in the Fireplace" – "Astrid" 4:15 This suite combines "Donna's Theme" and music from Doctor Who episode "Journey's End" (2008) written for Tenth Doctor companion Donna Noble, Reinette's theme, "Madame de Pompadour" from "The Girl in the Fireplace" (2006) and Tenth Doctor companion Astrid Peth's theme from "Voyage of the Damned" (2007). Mark-Anthony Turnage "The Torino Scale" 4:15 Titled after the Torino Scale, a measuring system used when predicting the likelihood of asteroids hitting Earth, "The Torino Scale" is the first movement of Turnage's Three Asteroids. "The Torino Scale" was premièred in the United Kingdom at the Doctor Who Prom. Gustav Holst "The Planets – Jupiter" 7:45 "Jupiter" is the fourth movement of Holst's The Planets suite. It was first heard at the end of the First World War in 1918. During the Prom performance, three performers dressed as Ood entered the hall. Murray Gold "This is Gallifrey" 3:30 Also known as "This is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home", "This is Gallifrey" is Gold's anthem for the Doctor's home planet Gallifrey used throughout Series 3 of Doctor Who (2007). Murray Gold "Doomsday" 5:03 Accompanied in this concert by composer Murray Gold on keyboard and a full orchestra and choir, original vocalist Melanie Pappenheim provides the vocals for "Doomsday", which was featured in the Doctor Who episode "Doomsday" (2006) after Rose Tyler was trapped in a parallel universe. Following the performance, presenter Freema Agyeman commented, "Not a dry eye in the house, I should imagine". Murray Gold "The Doctor's Theme/Song of Freedom" 5:30 "The Doctor's Theme/Song of Freedom" combines "The Doctor's Theme", a recurring theme in Doctor Who, with the anthem "Song of Freedom" which featured in the Series 4 finale, "Journey's End" (2008) as both Doctors, the Doctor-Donna, Rose, Martha, Captain Jack Harkness, Sarah Jane Smith, Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler travelled in the TARDIS as it towed Earth back to its rightful place, with help from Torchwood, Luke Smith, Mr Smith and K-9 Mark IV. "Song of Freedom" is derived from "Ood Song" written for earlier Series 4 episode "Planet of the Ood" (2008) as "a moving and triumphant refrain for the newly freed slaves", the Ood. The Royal Albert Hall audience was encouraged to clap along. Murray Gold "Song for Ten" 4:10 "Song for Ten" was the first original song written by Gold for Doctor Who and it featured in the first Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Christmas Invasion" (2005). Original vocalist Tim Phillips provided the vocals accompanied by the orchestra and choir; the audience was encouraged to sing along. Ron Grainer "Doctor Who Theme" 1:30 "Doctor Who Theme" was composed by Ron Grainer and electronically realised by Delia Derbyshire and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in 1963. For the return of Doctor Who in 2005, Gold rearranged the theme tune, adding strings, brass and more sounds. In 2007, Gold rearranged the theme tune once more and it was introduced to the series in Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned" (2007), with this version featuring electric guitar and heavier drum sounds. Gold's later arrangement is the one featured in this concert.
Production
The concert was conducted by Ben Foster and Stephen Bell, featuring the BBC Philharmonic and the London Philharmonic Choir, with solo performances by Tim Phillips and Melanie Pappenheim. Foster also arranged Gold's compositions for the performance. Freema Agyeman, who played Martha Jones in the third and fourth series of Doctor Who, presented the programme with guests Noel Clarke and Camille Coduri, who respectively played Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler in the first, second and fourth series of the television programme. Catherine Tate, who played the Doctor's companion Donna Noble in the 2006 Doctor Who Christmas special and the fourth series of the programme, made a surprise guest appearance to introduce "Donna's Theme", not having been listed as being a presenter in the lineup. Sarah Walker presented BBC Radio 3's coverage of the concert.