Yes, we all know Syfy has lost the rights to air new Doctor Who, but last I looked I think they still have the rights to the first 4 seasons. And I believe NBC is part of the same company.
Everyone is going (rightfully) gaga over Carey Mulligan right now with no less than the Wall Street Journal even comparing her to Audrey Hepburn - see I'm not alone! - and Mulligan getting major coverage such as this CNN.com feature calling her Hollywood's new Julia Roberts:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/28/it.girl.mulligan/index.html
Carey just won one of The Hollywood Awards for best newcomer or something like that and the momentum appears unstoppable for her to get at least an Oscar nomination. Meanwhile, she's not stopping to rest, currently filming Wall Street 2 for Oliver Stone and other projects. There is potential here for her to become one of the most successful former Doctor Who guest stars ever.
Now aside from all this being good news for fans of her work in Blink (though if she DOES become the next Julia Roberts, that likely eliminates any chance of a Sally Sparrow return appearance), if I were a programmer at NBC I'd look at airing Blink now, as a special to capitalize on this.
While I wouldn't see this leading to Doctor Who the series airing in prime time, as a one-off special I think it would work, given the episode's unique standalone nature and the fact you don't need to know Doctor Who to enjoy it.
There's been precedent for this sort of thing before. NBC aired the nuBSG pilot miniseries (edited down to a TV movie). And once upon a time it was commonplace for networks to air pilots and other odds and ends as filler or for a quick ratings score.
Plus, NBC has proven itself friendly to airing UK productions - Merlin. AND we all know NBC is in trouble so they're trying to go on the cheap as much as possible these days (coughJayLenocough) so what's cheaper than airing a 2 1/2 year old episode for a quick ratings spike?
Who knows? Maybe it might activate some weird clause in Emmy rules that would allow Carey to get nominated for one of those, too?
It's just a wild idea, but not everything a US network airs has to be an ongoing series, and this might be a quick and cheap way for NBC to score some extra viewers, while giving Carey Mulligan and, in turn, Doctor Who, a bit of extra exposure.
Alex
Everyone is going (rightfully) gaga over Carey Mulligan right now with no less than the Wall Street Journal even comparing her to Audrey Hepburn - see I'm not alone! - and Mulligan getting major coverage such as this CNN.com feature calling her Hollywood's new Julia Roberts:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/28/it.girl.mulligan/index.html
Carey just won one of The Hollywood Awards for best newcomer or something like that and the momentum appears unstoppable for her to get at least an Oscar nomination. Meanwhile, she's not stopping to rest, currently filming Wall Street 2 for Oliver Stone and other projects. There is potential here for her to become one of the most successful former Doctor Who guest stars ever.
Now aside from all this being good news for fans of her work in Blink (though if she DOES become the next Julia Roberts, that likely eliminates any chance of a Sally Sparrow return appearance), if I were a programmer at NBC I'd look at airing Blink now, as a special to capitalize on this.
While I wouldn't see this leading to Doctor Who the series airing in prime time, as a one-off special I think it would work, given the episode's unique standalone nature and the fact you don't need to know Doctor Who to enjoy it.
There's been precedent for this sort of thing before. NBC aired the nuBSG pilot miniseries (edited down to a TV movie). And once upon a time it was commonplace for networks to air pilots and other odds and ends as filler or for a quick ratings score.
Plus, NBC has proven itself friendly to airing UK productions - Merlin. AND we all know NBC is in trouble so they're trying to go on the cheap as much as possible these days (coughJayLenocough) so what's cheaper than airing a 2 1/2 year old episode for a quick ratings spike?
Who knows? Maybe it might activate some weird clause in Emmy rules that would allow Carey to get nominated for one of those, too?
It's just a wild idea, but not everything a US network airs has to be an ongoing series, and this might be a quick and cheap way for NBC to score some extra viewers, while giving Carey Mulligan and, in turn, Doctor Who, a bit of extra exposure.
Alex
