| Doctor Who | |
|---|---|
| Series 5 | |
 DVD box set cover art | |
| Showrunner | Steven Moffat |
| Starring | |
| No. of stories | 10 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One BBC HD |
| Original release | 3 April – 26 June 2010 |
| Series chronology | |
The fifth series of the British science-fiction television programme Doctor Who was originally broadcast on BBC One in 2010. The series began on 3 April 2010 with "The Eleventh Hour", and ended with "The Big Bang" on 26 June 2010. The series is the first to be led by Steven Moffat, who took over as head writer and executive producer when Russell T Davies ended his involvement in the show after "The End of Time". The series has 13 episodes, six of which were written by Moffat. Piers Wenger and Beth Willis were co-executive producers, and Tracie Simpson and Peter Bennett were producers. Although it is the fifth series since the show's revival in 2005 (and the thirty-first since it began in 1963), the series' production code numbers were reset.
It was the first series to feature Matt Smith as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in his TARDIS (a spacecraft whose exterior resembles a British police box). Karen Gillan is introduced as the Doctor's new companion, Amy Pond. Her fiancé, Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), appears in seven episodes, travels with the Doctor and Amy, and is a regular character in the next series. Alex Kingston returns as River Song, a mysterious woman from the Doctor's future who summons him twice in this series. The main story arc, covering several episodes, concerns a pattern of cracks in the universe which are sometimes unnoticed by the characters. It is discovered that the cracks can erase things from existence; this happens to Rory, and Amy forgets him. It is revealed in the series finale that the cracks were caused by the TARDIS exploding, and the Doctor is forced to reboot the universe to its state before the cracks appeared.
In addition to the six episodes written by Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Toby Whithouse, Simon Nye, Richard Curtis, and Gareth Roberts wrote one episode each; Chris Chibnall wrote a two-episode story. The series was meant to be fantastical to stand out from other science-fiction and fantasy shows, and the production team strove for a fairy-tale quality because Moffat believed that media aimed at children were some of the most popular among adults. The episodes were directed by directors who were new to Doctor Who. Filming began in late July 2009, lasting about nine months. The series was filmed primarily in Wales, except for "The Vampires of Venice" and "Vincent and the Doctor" (which had scenes filmed in Trogir, Croatia). Design changes from the previous series included a new logo, title sequence, variant of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, interior and exterior of the TARDIS, and a change in the theme music.
The series premiere was watched by 10.085 million viewers (the most-watched premiere since "Rose" of the first series), and set records on BBC America in the United States and the BBC's online iPlayer. Although overnight ratings declined compared to other series, one writer calculated that viewership had not changed significantly when time-shifted ratings were taken into account. The series received positive reviews, with praise for Moffat's story arc and the performances of Smith, Gillan, and Darvill. However, reviewers noted Amy's lack of character development and the series' diminished emotional appeal. It received a number of awards and nominations; "Vincent and the Doctor" and the two-part finale were nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form), with the award going to the finale. Smith was the first actor playing the Doctor to be nominated for a BAFTA award. The series was accompanied by a soundtrack and tie-in books and video games; four of the latter were released on the BBC website and advertised as additional episodes of the series.