No one's expecting him to give specific details but he used to be an expert at hyping things up without really saying anything.
You put “Introducing [THE MOST FAMOUS ACTOR OF ALL TIME] as THE DOCTOR” in the biggest letters that will fit on the screen.How does one "hype" an episode that won't air for seven months and hasn't even started filming yet? (And may not until the fall?)
How does one "hype" an episode that won't air for seven months and hasn't even started filming yet? (And may not until the fall?)
You put “Introducing [THE MOST FAMOUS ACTOR OF ALL TIME] as THE DOCTOR” in the biggest letters that will fit on the screen.
Hi Tom, some of the previous actors have found the running and the physical stuff a bit demanding, do you think you’ll be okay with it?Tom Cruise IS the Doctor (well he'd be good at the running parts)

Tom Cruise IS the Doctor (well he'd be good at the running parts)
"Millions of you watched me on Sex Education. About twelve of you watched me on Doctor Who."

…Because they were filmed EIGHTEEN MONTHS in advance, so he had something to talk about. I know having no news is a bummer by comparison.True, true. It's not like he hyped up the 60th Anniversary episodes EIGHTEEN MONTHS in advance or anything.
It’s cute, and maybe vaguely defensible if you’re considering global audience. But because Netflix shows are included in UK ratings data, we know that the highest-rated episode of Sex Education’s fourth and final series from 2023 had about as many UK viewers in its first week of release as the lowest-rated episode across the two Fifteenth Doctor series from 2024 and 2025. Mind you, almost no one is watching SNL UK itself, and Gatwa’s episode was the least-watched to date, so “millions of you” itself is rather wishful."Millions of you watched me on Sex Education. About twelve of you watched me on Doctor Who."
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"Millions of you watched me on Sex Education. About twelve of you watched me on Doctor Who."
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He sent me a message a few months ago, since I originated the thread. (I was at the mechanic getting my car inspected the day the news about RTD dropped way back then, and posted from the waiting room...) I kinda left it on read, unfortunately; I didn't have the mental space to deal.Someone (I think @AntonyF) recommended a thread title edit a while back, since Davies is no longer new. Just peeked in here and updated it.
It's helpful to think of the Christmas Special as being in "Development Hell." There have been meetings, there was an announcement, people want to make this, people with the money want to do this, people aren't under contract, there's absolutely nothing to talk about. David Yates' Doctor Who film was in exactly this state; he would get asked about it and say absolutely nothing because there was nothing to say. At some point, more likely than not, this will emerge from Development Hell, it will be in production, there will be people under contract in front of and behind the camera, and Rusty will have lots of things to say.…Because they were filmed EIGHTEEN MONTHS in advance, so he had something to talk about. I know having no news is a bummer by comparison.
9 was supposed to be a soft reboot, but over just a couple of years they started pulling in all sorts of stuff from the classics.I really think that the BBC either needs to go big or go home. And by "go big," I mean this: if the BBC intends to carry on with a series in 2027, then pull an Eccleston, launch the 27th Doctor, a thousand years after "The Reality War" in the Doctor's timeline, in the Christmas special, and carry on with that Doctor in the 2027 series. Make a break with the recent-ish past, relaunch the series with a soft reboot.
I would vastly prefer that to some of the fanwank spectacular ideas with Piper and/or Tennant that have been suggested. A fanwanky episode as the first Doctor Who story in twenty months doesn't seem healthy and raises difficult questions about who this show is even for.
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