Where Did Series 8 Go?

[StCoop]

"Speaking on BBC Breakfast right now, Matt Smith has just spelled out his outstanding commitment to Doctor Who: they start filming in February for 14 new episodes, comprising “a full series”, a Christmas special, and a 50th anniversary special."

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/11...-commitment-and-the-50th-anniversary-special/

So that's only 14 episodes (or maybe only 13) in 23 months. Looks like the people who suggested that the Split Season was a stealth way of leading into cutting the number of episodes a year in half weren't wrong.

 

[Starkers]

Afternoon, Cassandra...

 

[Silent_Bob]

"Speaking on BBC Breakfast right now, Matt Smith has just spelled out his outstanding commitment to Doctor Who: they start filming in February for 14 new episodes, comprising “a full series”, a Christmas special, and a 50th anniversary special."

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/11...-commitment-and-the-50th-anniversary-special/

So that's only 14 episodes (or maybe only 13) in 23 months. Looks like the people who suggested that the Split Season was a stealth way of leading into cutting the number of episodes a year in half weren't wrong.

Or there is going to be a series 8, but Matt Smith isn't going to be in it.

 

[StCoop]

Afternoon, Cassandra...

Of course, Cassandra was always right, just cursed to have no one believe her...

 

[Starkers]

Hmm, in hindsight Coporal Jones would have made more sense.

I'm not sure why this is news, I thought we already knew that S7 was going to be split over late 2012/early2013? It might just be that they won't film/air S8 (or the first half of it) until after the anniversary special?

 

[StCoop]

I'm not sure why this is news, I thought we already knew that S7 was going to be split over late 2012/early2013?

The assumption was there'd also be half of Series 8 before the Anniversary.

It might just be that they won't film/air S8 (or the first half of it) until after the anniversary special?

They might. I can certainly think of one reason why they'd want to shoot it at the end of Series 7 and then put it on a shelf and shoot Series 8...

 

[Starkers]

Yeah, and that would make it a heck of an anniversary special!

Or maybe they need to get the special out of the way before they film S8 because it'll be stand alone and they're tied to a strict schedule given the large number of specific actors they need to be in it

 

[23skidoo]

This isn't news. The split-season format is permanent - that was announced in DWM some months back. The move to fall broadcasts has been planned for a while because of diminishing returns during the spring which was always being hampered by weather and the BBC's desire to air the show as early as possible.

Season 7 will air half in 2012, then a Christmas special, then the other half in early 2013. That's been known for some time. Ergo it goes to follow that Season 8 will air half in 2013 and half in 2014. Or it may not start until the 50th anniversary special. Or the 50th anniversary special might be a 2-hour movie or a miniseries. (Who says Torchwood has the monopoly on miniseries?) In fact the entire 8th season could be one big 50th anniversary special. Moffat is on record as saying they're planning something huge. A 70-minute holiday special doesn't strike me as "huge". A 13-episode story, or even a 5-hour Children of Earth-style event is more like it.

We're also assuming the 50th anniversary special actually airs around November 2013. The 10th anniversary special The Three Doctors aired 11 months before that anniversary.

Or they could say nuts to it and cancel the show in the spring of 2012. Point being we're assuming facts that won't be in evidence for as much as a year. That includes whether Smith stays or goes, whether that Yates movie ends up taking precedence, and certainly whatever is being planned for something that won't be broadcast for at least 2 years.

Alex

 

[StCoop]

Funny I remember the reason for the Split Series being given as to ensure there'd never be more than a few months between new episodes. How'd that one work out?

 

[Allyn Gibson]

This isn't news. The split-season format is permanent - that was announced in DWM some months back.
[SNIP]
Season 7 will air half in 2012, then a Christmas special, then the other half in early 2013. That's been known for some time.

In actuality, Alex, we don't know that.

Moffat said at the Paris Comic-Con over the summer, after Danny Cohen's comments about Doctor Who's delay due to Moffat's workload (which, interestingly enough, Moffat himself confirms in the latest DWM "Production Notes" column), that there would be as much Doctor Who in 2012 as there was in 2011, which suggests 13 episodes and Christmas special in a September-November or October-December run. It's possible that he was misquoted. It's possible that that's what he believed to be true at the time. It's possible that no final decision had been made at the time and he was speculating. Basically, I'm just pointing out that there is evidence, from Moffat himself, that what fandom has decided must be true vis-a-vis the scheduling may not, in fact, be true.

The "split season promise" that we would never be more than three or four months from new Doctor Who was, frankly, a promise that Moffat was never in any position to make. Moffat's the creative producer, and the scheduling of the series is a decision made above his pay grade. I'm not grinding an axe on Moffat, I'm just pointing out that Moffat is not now and never was the ultimate decision maker on Doctor Who as a franchise that fandom believes him to be.

 

[StCoop]

The "split season promise" that we would never be more than three or four months from new Doctor Who was, frankly, a promise that Moffat was never in any position to make. Moffat's the creative producer, and the scheduling of the series is a decision made above his pay grade. I'm not grinding an axe on Moffat, I'm just pointing out that Moffat is not now and never was the ultimate decision maker on Doctor Who as a franchise that fandom believes him to be.

As demonstrated last week when he heard about David Yates at the same time as the rest of us did!

 

[Allyn Gibson]

As demonstrated last week when he heard about David Yates at the same time as the rest of us did!

I find it difficult to believe that Moffat didn't know about David Yates' film. He may not have known that Yates was attached specifically, but unless he was living under a rock he had to know that Tranter was developing a Doctor Who film. That was, after all, part of the reason why she went to Los Angeles in the first place.

 

[Samurai8472]

50th anniversary sounds like it could be a perfect time for The Master to return

Imagine Simms with a Silences eyepatch

 

[captcalhoun]

Hmm, in hindsight Coporal Jones would have made more sense.

Jones was old 'DON'T PANIC! DON'T PANIC!'

surely you mean Private 'We'rrre alllllll doooooooooomed' Frazer?

 

[StCoop]

Jones was old 'DON'T PANIC! DON'T PANIC!'

surely you mean Private 'We'rrre alllllll doooooooooomed' Frazer?

That's only work if I thought less Moffat Who was a bad thing, surely?

 

[Newspaper Taxi]

Series 8 is Time-locked, unfortunately. You have to be there to watch it. Don't worry, though; Series 9 and onwards are still avalible to trans-temporal video streaming websites.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

50th anniversary sounds like it could be a perfect time for The Master to return

Imagine Simms with a Silences eyepatch

And Davros, definitely Davros. He doesn't need an eyepatch cause he's got no eyes.

 

[Lonemagpie]

"Speaking on BBC Breakfast right now, Matt Smith has just spelled out his outstanding commitment to Doctor Who: they start filming in February for 14 new episodes, comprising “a full series”, a Christmas special, and a 50th anniversary special."

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/11...-commitment-and-the-50th-anniversary-special/

So that's only 14 episodes (or maybe only 13) in 23 months. Looks like the people who suggested that the Split Season was a stealth way of leading into cutting the number of episodes a year in half weren't wrong.

No, it means they won't start filming series 8 until February 2013 anyway (a year after series 7 starts shooting, obviously) - which makes the mention of a 50th special odd, unless he's going to leave in it, and the first half of series 8 will start on November 30th 2013, with the 12th Doctor...

 

[Allyn Gibson]

No, it means they won't start filming series 8 until February 2013 anyway (a year after series 7 starts shooting, obviously) - which makes the mention of a 50th special odd, unless he's going to leave in it, and the first half of series 8 will start on November 30th 2013, with the 12th Doctor...

Another possibility is that Smith leaves at the end of Season 7 (either autumn/winter 2012 per Moffat or spring 2013 per fan belief), but the 50th-anniversary special is filmed immediately following season 7 with Smith as the 11th Doctor and his successor as the 12th, then season 8 is filmed with the 12th for broadcast beginning September 2013, and midway through the 12th Doctor's first season (season 8) the 50th-anniversary special is broadcast.

 

[Starkers]

Hmm, in hindsight Coporal Jones would have made more sense.

Jones was old 'DON'T PANIC! DON'T PANIC!'

surely you mean Private 'We'rrre alllllll doooooooooomed' Frazer?

I was hoping nobody would notice!!

No, it means they won't start filming series 8 until February 2013 anyway (a year after series 7 starts shooting, obviously) - which makes the mention of a 50th special odd, unless he's going to leave in it, and the first half of series 8 will start on November 30th 2013, with the 12th Doctor...

Another possibility is that Smith leaves at the end of Season 7 (either autumn/winter 2012 per Moffat or spring 2013 per fan belief), but the 50th-anniversary special is filmed immediately following season 7 with Smith as the 11th Doctor and his successor as the 12th, then season 8 is filmed with the 12th for broadcast beginning September 2013, and midway through the 12th Doctor's first season (season 8) the 50th-anniversary special is broadcast.

Hmm, it makes a lot of sense but I find it a trifle worrying as well. It can be tricky enough as a new Doctor to distinguish yourself from the last guy, if you then have to almost imemdiately share screen time with that last guy (plus maybe the guy before him and who knows who else) it might see the new guy a bit swamped before he has a chance to make the role his own.

Of course maybe the plan is for 12 to appear right at the end of the anniversary special?