For my money its the same, but hey.
Spoilers Russell T. Davies' Second Turn as Doctor Who Showrunner
It seems like only yesterday there was that buzz about 'Rose'. There were back-to-back documentaries (including one I recall narrated by David Tenant) and because the Autons were the big bad I watched 'Spearhead from Space' that same evening. Hard to believe its just over 21 years ago.
Wow did I miss the announcement where the BBC said Who was done?
I'm such an idiot, I misread it as them putting the show out to tender again so it can continue in a couple of years.
And I wish people wouldn't keep harping on about declining viewing figures like Who was the only show this was happening to. Viewing figures are down across the board. As @Skywalker said it's a far more fractured media landscape.
www.bbc.co.uk
I think fandom need to get their head around the fact that two things can be true at the same time.
1. Dr Who will probably never be as popular again as it was when Tennant/Smith were the Doctor.
2. Dr Who can still attract millions of viewers who still enjoy watching it.
Obviously the BBC will have a metric for the show being popular enough compared to how much it'll cost to make, but I think those numbers will be lower than people imagine.
3 million people watching a Who show that isn't prohibitively expensive to make is probably fine in the Beeb's eyes, especially given the show today has to go up against a ridiculous number of competing shows across multiple streamers, competition that, quite frankly, certainly neither Eccleston or Tennant had to compete with, and even Smith likely didn't.
I'm such an idiot, I misread it as them putting the show out to tender again so it can continue in a couple of years.
And I wish people wouldn't keep harping on about declining viewing figures like Who was the only show this was happening to. Viewing figures are down across the board. As @Skywalker said it's a far more fractured media landscape.
UK traditional TV viewing sees record decline, Ofcom report says
The watchdog's annual report also says older audiences are switching off at the fastest rate ever.
www.bbc.co.uk
I think fandom need to get their head around the fact that two things can be true at the same time.
1. Dr Who will probably never be as popular again as it was when Tennant/Smith were the Doctor.
2. Dr Who can still attract millions of viewers who still enjoy watching it.
Obviously the BBC will have a metric for the show being popular enough compared to how much it'll cost to make, but I think those numbers will be lower than people imagine.
3 million people watching a Who show that isn't prohibitively expensive to make is probably fine in the Beeb's eyes, especially given the show today has to go up against a ridiculous number of competing shows across multiple streamers, competition that, quite frankly, certainly neither Eccleston or Tennant had to compete with, and even Smith likely didn't.
Exacly.
Back in the late '80s the BBC made the Who-icidal decision to schedule Doctor Who against Coronation Street, which was hugely popular and is still going strong. Back then, Corrie had around 15 million viewers. Now it has around 5 million viewers. The idea that Doctor Who could somehow go back to the number of viewers it had at its peak under Tennant and Smith is just not aligned with reality.
Back in the late '80s the BBC made the Who-icidal decision to schedule Doctor Who against Coronation Street, which was hugely popular and is still going strong. Back then, Corrie had around 15 million viewers. Now it has around 5 million viewers. The idea that Doctor Who could somehow go back to the number of viewers it had at its peak under Tennant and Smith is just not aligned with reality.
Not just because there's more content but also how and when people watch. Long gone are days of event viewing because people have the ability to watch shows whenever they want, whenever they're able. In the case of full-season releases, everyone watches at very different paces.
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Most of what I've read was that it will be at least 5 years before it comes back. I know it's not completely cancelled, but it's still basically done for the near future, and when it does come back it will probably be very different. So whether it's done done, or just done for now, the run of Doctor Who that's been going more or less continuously since 2005 is done.
Sure, but the show still reached a low enough point that they have decided to take a break for a while. Clearly there is a low viewership threshold where the should wasn't sustainable in it's current form, and it seems pretty clear that in the last few years the show's ratings have dropped below that threshold.And I wish people wouldn't keep harping on about declining viewing figures like Who was the only show this was happening to. Viewing figures are down across the board. As @Skywalker said it's a far more fractured media landscape.
UK traditional TV viewing sees record decline, Ofcom report says
The watchdog's annual report also says older audiences are switching off at the fastest rate ever.
I think fandom need to get their head around the fact that two things can be true at the same time.
1. Dr Who will probably never be as popular again as it was when Tennant/Smith were the Doctor.
2. Dr Who can still attract millions of viewers who still enjoy watching it.
Obviously the BBC will have a metric for the show being popular enough compared to how much it'll cost to make, but I think those numbers will be lower than people imagine.
3 million people watching a Who show that isn't prohibitively expensive to make is probably fine in the Beeb's eyes, especially given the show today has to go up against a ridiculous number of competing shows across multiple streamers, competition that, quite frankly, certainly neither Eccleston or Tennant had to compete with, and even Smith likely didn't.
Eh. If it’s back in anything less than 5 years, and isn’t noticeably a complete break (which I doubt it will be and likely shouldn’t be — anniversaries are a thing in Who, and you don’t celebrate your original wedding anniversary with your second or third spouse) then it’s just a slightly longer time off than we’ve been having recently anyway.
And frankly, if they really do want it back and can afford it (and haven’t fucked the rights *again*) then it will be back by end of next year probably.
Whether thats a good thing might be another question, but at the moment they need their money spinners on screen more than ever. It’s not a coincidence that CHM era Top Gear was being repeated in its old time slot recently.
And frankly, if they really do want it back and can afford it (and haven’t fucked the rights *again*) then it will be back by end of next year probably.
Whether thats a good thing might be another question, but at the moment they need their money spinners on screen more than ever. It’s not a coincidence that CHM era Top Gear was being repeated in its old time slot recently.
It can take forever.
Or it can be sensibly done and take a bit, but not a lot of time.
Or they can be in a bit of a hurry, already know who they want to win the contract, and like a plan that gets the thing back on air fast. (and run the risk of cutting corners)
Sensible and lucky, probably two years to get something on screen maybe.
Three years to a series.
Theres a lot of stuff that doesn’t need doing — you already know the series concept, you already have the Tardis. Theres even a prop still being used for filming bits around the Beeb.
Theres a lot of stuff that does need doing, not least of which is pointing your cameras at your actors and then hoping the cheap effects house you’ve gone with doesn’t look too cheap.
Theres plenty of staff available though, if the moneys there to employ them. BBC Studios even still own the remaining TV studios at TV Centre. (Where it also at certainly won’t be shot, because more than ever London is not where interesting things are made anymore.)
The money is the biggest question.
Though… let’s not feck it up like Casualty, or Grange Hill, where you do away with the entire setting because it’s cheaper or more political to shoot everything in Wales or Liverpool…
Or bloody Manchester.
At it’s heart, Doctor Who is shockingly cheap in some ways compared to other dramas. You need *one* standing set, *one* prop, *one* male lead, *one* female lead.
It’s all the other stuff that gets expensive, but that starts on the page.
According to RadioTimes:
Likewise, Casualty went out to tender in May 2025, and the win (also BBC Studios) was announced in December for spring 2026. Judging from these two cases, it’s a fair guess that the tender process could take about six months.
Let’s say the tender goes live at the beginning of August. That gives them about a month from now to get their ducks in a row. Six months would take us through to February 2027 before the outcome is announced.
As it’ll take time to find a new Doctor and get a creative team in place, it’s fair to assume we’re getting a series in early to mid 2028 at the earliest.
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Assuming they move at lightning speed and already have spec scripts/treatments ready, they still need several months to build out sets, hire the main cast, hire the secondary and background actors, design and fabricate costumes, get filming permits and all, and then you have to actually shoot, edit and score the damn thing, I think expecting a new show to broadcast before January 2029 is extremely optimistic and unlikely.
I was asking for proof that the viewing figures had dipped to unacceptable levels.
The article says ‘early to mid 2028’ at best. And thats for a series. I reckon if they pushed and were lucky you may see something for Chikdren In Need or a Christmas Special in 28. Not least as 65 years isn’t a fun anniversary but isn’t nothing either.
I am not saying I think it will happen, but that it is reasonably possible. (Especially if Studios get the gig. They still have the bits of the prop cupboard that haven’t been sold off, and already have more than a hand in the existing wider media for the show. Something a bit more advanced than poor old JNT doing his best at Worldwide in the nineties.)
Just look at them. Even allowing for a dip in viewing figures across the television landscape, theres been an obvious direction, and the show hasn’t been this much in ridicule bin since the late eighties.
The good news is that there have been Third Doctor era reruns on the telly, so we’ve already hit 92/93 in the Wilderness Years reboot. Thats about three years in the space of one (or six months if you count that godawful War Between) so we’re on track…
Disney+ walked away. What more proof do you need? If they had good numbers, the show would still be on Disney+ and a third season would be filming or ready to go. And the War Between would have aired by now.
the only places where the doctor who legacy will still keeping on going and in a way never gets cancelled is in the audio books paperback books and hardcover books
in other words doctor who on tv maybe off the air but there are other places where doctor who is still alive
in other words doctor who on tv maybe off the air but there are other places where doctor who is still alive
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