BBC Only Showing Half as Much Doctor Who Next Year

Logan Westbrook

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Feb 21, 2008
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BBC Only Showing Half as Much Doctor Who Next Year

2012 will suffer a Who drought, but the BBC says that 2013 is going to be something special.

The BBC has revealed that new Doctor Who will be in short supply in 2012, as it only plans to show six or seven episodes. While this is a normal run for a lot of shows produced by the BBC, it's significantly less Who than audiences are used to.

This news comes via Danny Cohen, the controller of the BBC's flagship channel, BBC One. The new season will have the same split scheduling as the current season, but instead of starting in the spring, it will start in the fall. There will also be a Christmas special between the two halves, rather than its usual position at the end of the season. All the episodes will feature Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor, whose return was confirmed on Twitter [http://twitter.com/#!/steven_moffat/status/78139808827981824 ] by show runner Steven Moffat.

Cohen also said that 2013 would see a "special run" of the show to celebrate its 50th anniversary. It's not clear however, whether he's referring to the second half of the 2012-2013 season, or something else entirely. Given the time-travelling nature of the show, it's not impossible that we might see some faces from previous seasons, and perhaps even some previous Doctors, as happened in the 1983 episode "The Five Doctors."

As for why the BBC is moving the show around in the schedule, well, that's difficult to say. It's not quite the same sitation as David Tennant's last season as the Doctor, where the BBC made just four special episodes to accommodate Tennant's commitments to an RSC production of Hamlet; The BBC isn't making fewer episodes, it's just showing them later. It might have something to do with Doctor Who's growing international audience, but that's just speculation.

Source: Bleeding Cool [http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/06/14/no-full-series-of-doctor-who-in-2012-auntie-cops-to-it-but-promises-special-2013]



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Knoxy

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Aug 12, 2009
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The four specials in 2009 had nothing to do with DT's commitments in Hamlet. Both he and Russel T. Davies the former show runner had already decided to move on before the specials were filmed. They were produced in that way to provide a Coda to the tenth doctor's story and allow the new production team time to ease into the job.
 
Feb 13, 2008
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I know it's harping on, but it's the fall in America. It's Autumn in British Television.

As for the Beeb, they've probably got something very special with Graham Norton and Simon Cowell to squeeze in somewhere to keep the couch potatoes happy.
 

Baradiel

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As long as theres ANY Doctor Who, I'm happy.

Although this thing with River Song is a disappointment (won't elaborate. Not sure what the situation is in the US. Not sure how much they've seen yet.)
 

Disaster Button

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Feb 18, 2009
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I thought the idea of the season split was so we'd have more Who and suffer less of a drought between seasons. I'm not to fussed about it but gah, I need a sci fi fix from somewhere.
 

Hybridwolf

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All I can say really is...meh? I didn't like the episodes they have shown recently, and although Matt Smith is a little bit more bearable...I don't know. I don't like the doctor, the only good companion is Rory, who got turned into a butt monkey recently, and the storyline was terrible. It was blatently obvious who the other timelord was, and the final episode ended on such a crap note. Judging from the name of the next episode, Let's kill Hitler, they are lucky they've only got one doctor who character to make according to the fluff.
 

Gizmo1990

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Oct 19, 2010
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Finding it hard to care anymore. Love Doctor who and I have love most of the episodes since Steven Moffat took over but I just cannot enjoy it anymore. I just do not like Matt Smith as the Doctor. He just does not work for me.
 

Naturality

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Feb 23, 2010
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Meh, I can't say I particularly miss it between seasons, but I do watch it when it's on. For the most part I'll probably just forget about it until it comes back.

Hybridwolf said:
. I don't like the doctor, the only good companion is Rory, who got turned into a butt monkey recently, and the storyline was terrible.
My prediction for the 2013 spectacular: Rory dies then comes back to life.
 

Detective Prince

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Feb 6, 2011
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Ugh. Will people stop messing around with the Dr Who schedule? XD
I love Matt Smith as the Doctor, I don't care what people say. =3 He's great and the storyline this half of the season was awesome except the River Song thing had me groaning. XD
 

Chubbs99

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Dec 29, 2009
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Baradiel said:
As long as theres ANY Doctor Who, I'm happy.

Although this thing with River Song is a disappointment (won't elaborate. Not sure what the situation is in the US. Not sure how much they've seen yet.)
I too found it a bit disappointing, but a great mind fuck if you think about everything River has been through so far. As for the news on less Who... This is also disappointing. Bad enough they are breaking up the season into mini seasons.
 
Feb 13, 2008
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Detective Prince said:
Ugh. Will people stop messing around with the Dr Who schedule? XD
It's the Beeb. They can't not screw schedules up. And you know which five rings will be replacing all the Who next year....



[sub]it's gonna be a bit shit[/sub]
 

Harveypot

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Feb 20, 2011
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I don't care as long as there is a program. I wonder who they'll get for the 50th anniversary.
 

Detective Prince

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The_root_of_all_evil said:
Detective Prince said:
Ugh. Will people stop messing around with the Dr Who schedule? XD
It's the Beeb. They can't not screw schedules up. And you know which five rings will be replacing all the Who next year....



[sub]it's gonna be a bit shit[/sub]
Unfortunately I live near the Olympic Stadium. Every morning when I walk my brother to school I know EXACTLY what's going on next year........-.- I'm not looking forward to it at all.
 

Trogdor1138

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May 28, 2010
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This is a bad idea. People will be less keen to watch it when it stays off the air that long. It shouldn't stay of the air for THAT long. It's ridiculous.

They keep mucking up the schedules for Who now, why can't they just stick with shit that works?
 

Baradiel

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InterAirplay said:
Baradiel said:
As long as theres ANY Doctor Who, I'm happy.

Although this thing with River Song is a disappointment
Whyever so? note that I'm just after a bit of talk about the episode here, not trying to shove my opinion in faces.
I found her to be quite an interesting character. I know alot of people despised her, but I liked her. She seemed like a normal person who could keep up, or outdo, the Doctor. That was refreshing.

My disappointment arises when the big "thing" is finally revealed (badly, imo) and I'd already predicted it. It wasn't just the fact I'd predicted the twist (an annoying habit I have for basically everything.), but it seemed like a pathetic humbling of a once strong character.

I liked it at the time, but thinking about it with hindsight makes it stand out as... awful. I can't pin down why, I just don't like it.

IMO.
 
Feb 13, 2008
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Detective Prince said:
Unfortunately I live near the Olympic Stadium. Every morning when I walk my brother to school I know EXACTLY what's going on next year........-.- I'm not looking forward to it at all.
oh man...you have my greatest condolences. Do you think you could move to somewhere safer? Like Glasgow?