Series 7 FINALLY Starts Shooting

[Allyn Gibson]

It's August 25th in the UK.

Remember when Moffat claimed one of the reasons for not starting at Easter as normal was so the show would air when it's dark out "like it's supposed to"?

I bet he's hoping we don't.

That ship sailed a year ago.

I think the thing he's now hoping we forget is his statement that 2013 will see more Doctor Who than ever before.

 

[The Wormhole]

Space hasn't announced anything yet either...although they've started airing "Doctor Who" marathons on Sunday. I believe they're getting ready for next month.

Yeah, I wondered if these Sunday DW marathons would be leading up to the premiere of the new season, and it seems that would make sense if one considers series 1, 2 (this past weekend), 3, 4, 4b (specials season), 5, 6, and then the following weekend being Saturday the 25th when we suspect 7 will start.

I noticed that too, and that's the theory I'm subscribing to.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

BBCA plays so much Who in general I had never picked up on a pattern.

 

[MacLeod]

It's August 25th in the UK.

Remember when Moffat claimed one of the reasons for not starting at Easter as normal was so the show would air when it's dark out "like it's supposed to"?

I bet he's hoping we don't.

Well given the UK weather of late, staying in might not be an issue.

(and yes I've seen the Jet Stream news)

 

[Chaos Descending]

It's August 25th in the UK.

Remember when Moffat claimed one of the reasons for not starting at Easter as normal was so the show would air when it's dark out "like it's supposed to"?

I bet he's hoping we don't.

That ship sailed a year ago.

I think the thing he's now hoping we forget is his statement that 2013 will see more Doctor Who than ever before.

Unless you're a prophetess, I can't see how you could possibly know that said statement is false.

 

[Sindatur]

Remember when Moffat claimed one of the reasons for not starting at Easter as normal was so the show would air when it's dark out "like it's supposed to"?

I bet he's hoping we don't.

That ship sailed a year ago.

I think the thing he's now hoping we forget is his statement that 2013 will see more Doctor Who than ever before.

Unless you're a prophetess, I can't see how you could possibly know that said statement is false.

Yea, I don't think it's possible it can be more in 2013 than ever for Doctor Who (Considering how many episodes Classic Who used to have per year), but, it's certainly reasonable that it could be the most NuWho ever. We know we're getting 7 or 8 episodes of S7 in 2013, and it's likely we'll have a 2013 Christmas Special, and at least part of S8 in 2013, and maybe even at least one more special.

NuWho most so far in a year, is a 13 episode Series and a Christmas Special, right? So, anything more than 13 hour long (with Commercials) episodes and Christmas Special is more than ever before

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Remember when Moffat claimed one of the reasons for not starting at Easter as normal was so the show would air when it's dark out "like it's supposed to"?

I bet he's hoping we don't.

That ship sailed a year ago.

I think the thing he's now hoping we forget is his statement that 2013 will see more Doctor Who than ever before.

Unless you're a prophetess, I can't see how you could possibly know that said statement is false.

Unless Moffat isn't producing season eight -- or Moffat is producing season eight but not writing for it -- then Moffat's statement is false. Otherwise, Doctor Who season eight won't go into production until May, once Moffat's done with Sherlock season three. He's not a fast writer (he may not even be done writing the Christmas special yet, and that script was due months ago), and he won't produce two series simultaneously.

The absolute best case scenario is the back eight episodes of season seven in the spring, the Anniversary special in November, followed by a run of episodes to Christmas, for a total of about fifteen episodes. Which would, yes, be "more than ever."

The likely scenario, though, is the back eight in the spring, one or two anniversary specials in November, and a Christmas special, with a full thirteen episode season eight (possibly split in halves, possibly not) in 2014.

 

[StCoop]

NuWho most so far in a year, is a 13 episode Series and a Christmas Special, right? So, anything more than 13 hour long (with Commercials) episodes and Christmas Special is more than ever before

Just don't think about the fact that it follows on from only six episodes this year...

With Sherlock Series 3 taking up Moffat's time from January to April and his ever decreasing script-writing speed, the most you can expect next year are the the remaining Series 7 episodes, the Anniversary Special and Xmas Special and maybe, just maybe, four episodes of Series 8 inbetween those two.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Unless Moffat isn't producing season eight -- or Moffat is producing season eight but not writing for it -- then Moffat's statement is false. Otherwise, Doctor Who season eight won't go into production until May, once Moffat's done with Sherlock season three. He's not a fast writer (he may not even be done writing the Christmas special yet, and that script was due months ago), and he won't produce two series simultaneously.

The absolute best case scenario is the back eight episodes of season seven in the spring, the Anniversary special in November, followed by a run of episodes to Christmas, for a total of about fifteen episodes. Which would, yes, be "more than ever."

The likely scenario, though, is the back eight in the spring, one or two anniversary specials in November, and a Christmas special, with a full thirteen episode season eight (possibly split in halves, possibly not) in 2014.

So basically, as I suspected, this is all based on your own assumptions based on your own personal biases, and not at all on known facts.

My previous criticism of your prognostication stands.

 

[StCoop]

So basically, as I suspected, this is all based on your own assumptions based on your own personal biases, and not at all on known facts.

Fact: Moffat is getting increasingly slower at handing in scripts to the point where production has now had to shut down for a month.

Fact: Sherlock Series 3 shoots from January to April and DW will not be in production at the same time. (Post-production on already shot episodes, yes.)

Fact: Moffat still has one DW script for Series 7 to write plus a ninety-minute episode of Sherlock in addition to all of the other work he has to do for both shows.

Seriously, people can delude themselves into thinking that there are going to be the originally promised bumper crop of episodes next year but the reality of the amount of time there is available to get them made, makes it physically impossible.

 

[Cutter John]

I'm fine with Moffet slowing his output. I'll gladly take quality over quantity.

 

[Guy Gardener]

You say that.

but would you rather have all the star trek made between 1996 - 2001 to obsess over, or all the star trek made between 2006 - 2011?

People who say that they don't appreciate quantity, really haven't had to deal with a vacant recess desert void of absolute nothing for an extended ongoing exhaustive duration.

Imagine trying to explain to the fanatics obsessing over Days of Our Lives that 3 movies a decade is better than 5 shows a week?

There's a lot to be said for quantity.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Fact: Moffat still has one DW script for Series 7 to write plus a ninety-minute episode of Sherlock in addition to all of the other work he has to do for both shows.

Only one Doctor Who script? I thought he still had three -- the first episode of the back half, the finale of season seven, and the Anniversary Special (since it's part of the season 7 production block).

 

[StCoop]

I thought he still had three -- the first episode of the back half, the finale of season seven, and the Anniversary Special (since it's part of the season 7 production block).

I think the chances of the Anniversary Episode shooting this year as originally planned are now practically zero, espcially with the month long shutdown factored in. Whether the Xmas Special is counted as the first episode of the second half of the series I'm not sure. If it's not that's another couple of months to factor in to the equation.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

You say that.

but would you rather have all the star trek made between 1996 - 2001 to obsess over, or all the star trek made between 2006 - 2011?

People who say that they don't appreciate quantity, really haven't had to deal with a vacant recess desert void of absolute nothing for an extended ongoing exhaustive duration.

Imagine trying to explain to the fanatics obsessing over Days of Our Lives that 3 movies a decade is better than 5 shows a week?

There's a lot to be said for quantity.

I'd trade TOS and the first two films for all the rest if forced to make the choice.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I thought he still had three -- the first episode of the back half, the finale of season seven, and the Anniversary Special (since it's part of the season 7 production block).

I think the chances of the Anniversary Episode shooting this year as originally planned are now practically zero, especially with the month long shutdown factored in.

I don't know that it will shoot in 2012, but doesn't it have to shoot in this production cycle since the BBC has already budgeted it? (I'm not sure how the BBC's fiscal years work and whether it would be possible to move the episode.) I can imagine a worst case scenario where there's an overlap of the final Doctor Who production block (the Anniversary special) with Sherlock series 3 filming (since those dates are likely already locked in due to Cumberbatch and Freeman's other work commitments) by two or three weeks. (And I call that a "worst case scenario" because Moffat historically does not want to work that way.)

Whether the Xmas Special is counted as the first episode of the second half of the series I'm not sure. If it's not that's another couple of months to factor in to the equation.

I had it in my mind that Moffat was writing episodes 1 ("Asylum of the Daleks"), 5 ("Goodbye Ponds"), 6 (Christmas special), 7 (first episode of 2013), 14 (season finale), and 15 (Anniversary Special). I'm assuming that 6 is finally in (three months after it was due), and that he was working on one of the last three at San Diego (since he tweeted that while everyone was playing at SDCC he was locked in his hotel room writing).

 

[StCoop]

I'm assuming that 6 is finally in (three months after it was due), and that he was working on one of the last three at San Diego (since he tweeted that while everyone was playing at SDCC he was locked in his hotel room writing).

He still found time to go bowling with the Nerdist folks. Perhaps it would have been better for him not to go at all?

 

[The Wormhole]

I'm fine with Moffet slowing his output. I'll gladly take quality over quantity.

Quality over quantity is one thing, but I would still like some Doctor Who. We are currently in an eight month period of no new Who. Eight months. That's the longest length of time between new episodes since Doctor Who returned. That's longer than we waited during the supposed "gap year" in 2009. Which is pretty ironic since Moffat's reason for splitting the seasons was to cut down on time between episodes.

 

[Skywalker]

So what? We're not going to have to wait as long between seasons after this. I'll take that deal any time. Sure, the long break sucks, but it's not like Doctor Who is the only source of quality entertainment out there.

 

[Brendan Moody]

So what? We're not going to have to wait as long between seasons after this.

At this point, I don't feel terribly confident about that. The older the new series gets, and the more trouble given production teams have delivering according to the established model, the more likely further gap years and intermittent specials become.