Yes. But it is a special. So, he’s basically doing exactly what’s been done for years. A holiday special. I don’t know why “No Christmas special!!” is a thing.
No series 12 till 2020?
- Thread starter Starkers
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Yes. But it is a special. So, he’s basically doing exactly what’s been done for years. A holiday special. I don’t know why “No Christmas special!!” is a thing.
Christ was a Timelord. But he only had a SIDRAT.
I mean an Xmas special where the Dr and Jesus take St John to the future to see the end of *a* world, him leaving the TARDIS jibbering and grabbing a quill would be cool but...I could see complaints from it.
Because Christmas is Christmas. The shops are shut, the family tends to gather round the telly for events like this. It’s the big show for the year, and Who has been at that centre since it came back.
New Years is not remotely comparable...shops are open, it’s seen as a time for friends not family, people are more likely to be back at work even. The celebration itself is the night before, the day after is...meh. A bank holiday like any other. There is no sense of such an episode being particularly special in the way a Christmas episode is. Some shows will even just have their normal episodes on (proper New Years Specials are on New Years Eve for start.)
Whatever it’s viewing figures are, they would have been higher at Christmas. A Christmas special is an event. A New Years special is not. It’s a downgrading in Who’s status.
Red Dwarf did time travel Jesus a few years back. Time Travel Kennedy was even better and that was yonks ago.
And the most evil people in history etc etc I know.
Although, it would explain where the Lord Almighty title came from...
Do you think Chibnall is responsible for scheduling?
And, really, it's still a special, isn't what day really just quibbling?
And how do you know the ratings "would have been higher"? What if this special's ratings are higher than last years Christmas special? Will you just say, "Nah, they woulda been even HIGHER"?
Generally?
We know the producers are asked to produce one in time. So...it’s likely he would have been asked. So in this instance, he’s, he may well have been. We know how this worked because of Moffat relating the making of last years.
I have explained why, shall we say, some specials are more specials than others.
And yes, even if it’s ratings are higher than last years (which I doubt they will be...it’s not a regeneration story. The rumours of Daleks are its only hype.) I will say it’s ratings would have been higher on Christmas, because it’s a fact that Christmas ratings have the benefit of the captive audience that New Years does not. There is literally nowhere else to be but at home at Christmas, one way or another. No shopping. No pubs. No transport. Nada. Nothing. New Years Day is the opposite of this.
It’s a fact. Sorry. Xmas Special trumps New Years.
I'll be happy with A special, maybe moreso with it not being an x-mas special. They haven't all been christmasy, but this takes away any obligation they may feel to make it so. I just hope it's more exciting and adventurous than most of Series 11 has been.
An extra few months before Series 12 though, does feel like they're backsliding a bit. As I've never produced a TV show, I obviously don't know how hard it might be to do a show that actually premiers each season on the same date (give or take) every year, especially when the season consists of only 10-13 episodes.
I can't imagine those poor suckers pumping out 24 episodes a year would have time for anything else. It's likely all the location shooting makes Who harder to do than a studio based show, but 13 episodes per actual year shouldn't be that difficult.
An extra few months before Series 12 though, does feel like they're backsliding a bit. As I've never produced a TV show, I obviously don't know how hard it might be to do a show that actually premiers each season on the same date (give or take) every year, especially when the season consists of only 10-13 episodes.
I can't imagine those poor suckers pumping out 24 episodes a year would have time for anything else. It's likely all the location shooting makes Who harder to do than a studio based show, but 13 episodes per actual year shouldn't be that difficult.
Which is so damn refreshing in comparison to the early Davies days. Yes, I'm still complaining about that more than a decade later.
Bung a two parter bottle episode set in the Tardis in, and bang the episode count up. It’s not rocket science. Moffat had an episode with just Capaldi in and what....four sets? A spot of cgi and location filming. Set a whole episode in a forest with just the regulars and a glowing light somewhere in the trees.
JNT split location and studio filming to stretch the budget in the eighties.
There is no way worrying about money should be as much of a problem for Who as to lead to a lower episode count for budget reasons. Stick the Doctor in an Italian restaurant with the Master for an hours worth of dream sequence in the Matrix.
There’s a ton can be done without propping up dodgy governments with some filming money. *shrug*
Wales has been Gallifrey since 1983, and there’s gravel pits for everything else.
JNT split location and studio filming to stretch the budget in the eighties.
There is no way worrying about money should be as much of a problem for Who as to lead to a lower episode count for budget reasons. Stick the Doctor in an Italian restaurant with the Master for an hours worth of dream sequence in the Matrix.
There’s a ton can be done without propping up dodgy governments with some filming money. *shrug*
Wales has been Gallifrey since 1983, and there’s gravel pits for everything else.
"It should look like Blaenau Ffestiniog or it's not Who." is certainly a take.
Airing on New Year's Day never hurt Sherlock. Doctor Who seemed to do pretty good when Tennant's finale aired on New Year's. Not really seeing how airing on New Year's is some sort of albatross for the show.
Furthermore, Luther's long-awaited return is also on New Year's Day. And while it's not BBC, the third and final season of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events also comes out on New Year's Day for Netflix. Clearly networks expect lots of viewership on that day. That's nothing new.
Honestly, from an American perspective Christmas Day isn't terribly great - still over family - and New Year's Day is typically boring, so it makes sense.
Because it’s not. But people must read the tea leaves and come to some conclusion that fits their preconceived notions.
I just looked. Sherlock pulled 11.64 million viewers on New Year's Day special. And when it's debuted on New Year's as a "series" it's done on average 11 million viewers. Indeed, the past two times there was 1.5 million viewer drop off from Episode 1 to Episode 2! But yes... "no one will be home to watch! Shopping!"
Regeneration, and a multiparty story starting on....Christmas Day.
Sherlock isn’t a ‘family’ drama.
*shrug*
Look, if the Christmas Special isn’t a valuable slot, why does any show want it?
Regardless of opinions on the series, that Christmas slot is factually a status thing.
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