What is SciFi's plan for the Who specials?

[AviTrek]

If this were a normal season I would know what to expect. The season/series will air on BBC Jan-March/April and then SciFi would start airing the episodes sometime in the June-Sept range. But what are they going to do with the specials? Will they sit on all of them and attach them to the start of the next season? Sit on them and air them as a mini-season between when they finish and the new season starts? Or will they air them one by one on some random delay after the BBC air date?

Has SciFi made any announcements? Any informed speculation? I have no clue how SciFi will handle this and would love to know when I can expect to see the episodes on TV.

 

[The]

SciFi will probably handle the Doctor Who Specials like they do all of their science fiction property/shows: poorly...

 

[davejames]

I've been wondering that too. Normally I just wait until Scifi decides to air them, but if they hold off until 2010 I'm going to have to search them out elsewhere.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I suppose they could pad all the specials out with commercials and air them as "Sci-Fi Original Movies."

 

[Bacl]

Their plan is to air them in about two years after their original airing, if history is any indicator.

 

[Hennessy Badger]

My guess is that they will wait until all of the specials have aired on the BBC. After awhile they'll find a hole in their schedule and then promote the four specials as the 'new season'. A month long season, but whatever.

What I'm really interested in is how BBCAmerica will handle the Torchwood miniseries. Even though it's supposed to air over the period of a week on the BBC, you know BBCAmerica will stretch those 5 episodes out over the period of two months. Trust me, they have no shame.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Their plan is to air them in about two years after their original airing, if history is any indicator.

Not really true; season four aired in the US within weeks of the UK broadcast.

The large gap between the broadcast of season one in the UK and the US was due to the BBC's belief that they could get a million dollars an episode from a US network; they simply priced the series out of the American market.

My guess is that they will wait until all of the specials have aired on the BBC. After awhile they'll find a hole in their schedule and then promote the four specials as the 'new season'. A month long season, but whatever.

I know I said "Sci-Fi Original Movies" as a joke earlier, but thinking about it, I wonder if they might consider that; take the Christmas 2008 and Easter specials, pad both to fill a 2-hour slot, and broadcast them two weekends in a row in, say, May. Then the Christmas 2009 and New Years Specials can be appended onto the beginning of the fifth season, assuming Sci-Fi picks that up for a spring/summer 2010 season.

What I'm really interested in is how BBCAmerica will handle the Torchwood miniseries. Even though it's supposed to air over the period of a week on the BBC, you know BBCAmerica will stretch those 5 episodes out over the period of two months. Trust me, they have no shame.

They'll probably run it five successive Saturdays, and they'll have Torchwood marathons. The five straight nights thing simply wouldn't work for them; it's not how their audience watches television.

 

[Bacl]

Their plan is to air them in about two years after their original airing, if history is any indicator.

Not really true; season four aired in the US within weeks of the UK broadcast.

The large gap between the broadcast of season one in the UK and the US was due to the BBC's belief that they could get a million dollars an episode from a US network; they simply priced the series out of the American market.

Okay, fair enough. Can you tell I still have a bit of frustration over only hearing about Doctor Who when it first returned but being unable to get a hold of it thanks to that nonsense?

I guess if S4 is an indicator then we may be treated to a mini-season of the specials all at once begining summer of next year. Who knows?

 

[Mr Light]

I'm praying they'll air them one at a time as a movie... I'd hate to have to wait a year!

The other important question: when will Sci-Fi air Sarah Jane S2? Didn't the season just finish in the UK?

 

[jamestyler]

Odd question, but being an outsider I'm curious - how does the SF channel treat/adveise Doctor Who?

Sadly all I know is from the Doctor Who section on their website.

 

[CommodoreKong]

I've always watched Doctor Who on Sci-Fi, though I've decided I'll acquire these episodes through "alternate means".

It all works out, I will be buying them on DVD when they come out and have never been a Nielson family.

 

[Brendan Moody]

I'd imagine that Sci-Fi would want to get at least a mini-season out of the five specials. Assuming the rumors about the scheduling of the last two specials are true, I could see them waiting until Christmas 2009 to air "The Next Doctor," then the Easter 2009 special a week or so after that, then the three remaining specials over the weeks following- in other words, pretty close to UK transmission for the last three, as with series four.

 

[Garth Rockett]

The other important question: when will Sci-Fi air Sarah Jane S2? Didn't the season just finish in the UK?

They haven't announced as far as I know, but I wouldn't be surprised if they air it in the spring, the same time they aired S1 last year. I'm hoping they'll package the new Sarah Jane episodes with The Next Doctor and the Easter special so we won't have to wait so long on those.

I can see them holding the Christmas 2009 / New Year's 2010 specials over to air with S5 in the spring of 2010. I've no idea what they'll do with the August 2009 special, unless they hold all the specials for a late 2009 / early 2010 mini-season. I hope that won't be the case.

 

[Brendan Moody]

I've no idea what they'll do with the August 2009 special

Since there won't be an August 2009 special, I doubt there'll be much of a problem.

 

[AviTrek]

Just to be clear, what are the dates of the specials? The only dates I have seen are:

Christmas 2008
Easter 2009
Christmas 2009

There are two more specials, do we know when they will air?

 

[Brendan Moody]

The last two specials are a two-part story, which based on RTD's recent comments will probably air around New Years' 2009/10.

 

[bigdaddy]

My guess is that they will wait until all of the specials have aired on the BBC. After awhile they'll find a hole in their schedule and then promote the four specials as the 'new season'. A month long season, but whatever.

Yeah, that's what I think they will be doing.

 

[Garth Rockett]

I've no idea what they'll do with the August 2009 special

Since there won't be an August 2009 special, I doubt there'll be much of a problem.

Well, whenever the other special airs. August seems to be the most popular guess.

Just to be clear, what are the dates of the specials? The only dates I have seen are:

Christmas 2008
Easter 2009
Christmas 2009

There are two more specials, do we know when they will air?

As far as I know, those are the only confirmed dates. This article states that the four specials air in 2009 and early 2010, which is why many people think the two parter will be airing Christmas Day 2009 and New Year's Day 2010.

 

[Brendan Moody]

Well, whenever the other special airs. August seems to be the most popular guess.

There probably isn't an "other special."

This article states that the four specials air in 2009 and early 2010, which is why many people think the two parter will be airing Christmas Day 2009 and New Year's Day 2010.

Actually, what many people think, based on rumors that have been out there for months, is a standalone special at Christmas and a two parter aired during the eight or nine days after that.

There's nothing strictly to rule out Christmas being the first half of the two-parter, but it's odd that they would be able to confirm scheduling of a first half but not a second, and RTD seems to prefer relatively light, continuity-free stories at Christmas, rather than the heavier, backstory-driven sort of thing he's no doubt dreamed up for Tennant's departure. And if they were doing a special between Easter and Christmas I'd imagine they'd be able to give some sort of scheduling information about it by now.

 

[Garth Rockett]

There probably isn't an "other special."

There definitely is. They've confirmed four to be filmed starting next month. One is at Easter and one is at Christmas, the other two airdates haven't been announced. Whether one airs between the two or they both air afterwards is all guesswork, as best I can determine. Most of what I've read so far has suggested that one will air in between, but I can easily imagine both being in early 2010 as you describe. However, it seems to me that the Beeb would be better served having them staggered throughout the year instead of bunching them up a few months before they launch a whole new series.