Series 7 Confirmed for 2012

pixelburp

The title kinda gives away the jist of it, but Moffat revealed via his Twitter account that there's definitely going to be a season 7, and that it'll feature Matt Smith. Huzzah!

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/49938

14 eps + Matt DEFINITELY. I've got a plan and I'm NOT TELLING YOU WHAT IT IS. Now hush or River shoots you with her Spoiler Gun.#formaqueue

http://twitter.com/#!/steven_moffat/status/78139808827981824

The Mad Hatter

This is awesome, even if I'm now slightly disappointed to know for certain that Matt Smith's doctor somehow makes it through this series.

(I know, it's my fault for reading a fan forum. Hard to resist, though )

pixelburp

The Mad Hatter wrote: »

This is awesome, even if I'm now slightly disappointed to know for certain that Matt Smith's doctor somehow makes it through this series.

(I know, it's my fault for reading a fan forum. Hard to resist, though )

In fairness, does anyone really believe otherwise? Don't think Moffat would be allowed kill off one of the BBC's flagship characters.

The Mad Hatter

pixelburp wrote: »

In fairness, does anyone really believe otherwise? Don't think Moffat would be allowed kill off one of the BBC's flagship characters.

Nah, but I like to avoid news so I can be surprised I didn't think the Doctor would be permanently dead, but didn't know for certain about Matt Smith.

Sleepy

Was just thinking that the other night, how nice it would have been not to know that the regenerations were going to happen, to have been caught off guard by them.

ixoy

Sleepy wrote: »

Was just thinking that the other night, how nice it would have been not to know that the regenerations were going to happen, to have been caught off guard by them.

It would but there's no chance. It's a world where nowadays cinema trailers feel compelled to show us scenes from the whole movie, including the end. People seem to want to be told.

off.the.walls

I notice how it doesn't say anything about amy or rory coming back?

pixelburp

Sleepy wrote: »

Was just thinking that the other night, how nice it would have been not to know that the regenerations were going to happen, to have been caught off guard by them.

That only happened the one time though surely? The first first regeneration when nobody quite knew what was happening. I'm fairly sure that since then every regeneration has been telegraphed by the announcement actor X was leaving the show

Penn

pixelburp wrote: »

That only happened the one time though surely? The first first regeneration when nobody quite knew what was happening. I'm fairly sure that since then every regeneration has been telegraphed by the announcement actor X was leaving the show

Yeah, we knew about Tennant leaving at least a year before he left.

pixelburp

Barrington wrote: »

Yeah, we knew about Tennant leaving at least a year before he left.

Aye, but I'm talking about the original run of the series - I'm fairly sure the public knew when a Doctor was leaving the show ...

Now big plot reveals, that's another matter entirely of course. Time was surprises really were a surprise...

Sleepy

Time was, an actor leaving the show could be kept secret until it happened.

I know it's completely unrealistic in the modern age of mobile phones with cameras and instant communications channels but it would be very cool to have a regeneration just happen when you'd no expectation of it.

Mr E

Bad news... no full season until 2013 (confirmed by the Beeb).
Instead, we'll have a handful of specials in 2012 to tide us over.

http://io9.com/5811945/confirmed-no-full-season-of-doctor-who-in-2012

Booo.

pixelburp

Hmmm, well we had the "Specials" season already - 2009 wasn't it? - and I suspect that Moffat's won't be as teeth-clenchingly bad as RTD's were.

Some may read it as bad news, but I'm actually excited that they have something planned for the 50th anniversary. Start your rumour engines gentleman - will we finally get that multi-Doctors story we've been hoping for?

McLoughlin

pixelburp wrote: »

Hmmm, well we had the "Specials" season already - 2009 wasn't it? - and I suspect that Moffat's won't be as teeth-clenchingly bad as RTD's were.

Some may read it as bad news, but I'm actually excited that they have something planned for the 50th anniversary. Start your rumour engines gentleman - will we finally get that multi-Doctors story we've been hoping for?

Well 10 shouldn't come back its too soon 9 doubt it 8 and 7 yes please 6 no thanks 5 perhaps.

Raphael

...FFS!

Stark

+1 Grrrr.

ríomhaire

That's pretty gay. I wasn't expecting something like that to happen until a new actor/head writer came along. Maybe I should take up another show to regularly watch (Doctor Who and Game of Thrones are the only TV shows I follow now). Sherlock and Life on Mars perhaps.

pixelburp

ríomhaire wrote: »

That's pretty gay. I wasn't expecting something like that to happen until a new actor/head writer came along. Maybe I should take up another show to regularly watch (Doctor Who and Game of Thrones are the only TV shows I follow now). Sherlock and Life on Mars perhaps.

Well the rumour-mill is that Moffat's using this partial year-off to focus on Sherlock. So at least that'll keep us entertained (even if episode 2 & 3 of the last run were a bit rubbish).

Or just do what I do in times of TV drought; whip out my boxsets of Arrested Development and laugh myself hoarse.

bren2001

pixelburp wrote: »

Well the rumour-mill is that Moffat's using this partial year-off to focus on Sherlock. So at least that'll keep us entertained (even if episode 2 & 3 of the last run were a bit rubbish).

Or just do what I do in times of TV drought; whip out my boxsets of Arrested Development and laugh myself hoarse.

I only started rewatching Arrested Development a few weeks back. Almost finished the final series. Hope the movie eventually happens.

Rumor mill.......I have a reliable source (me) that its a movie they are making for 2012.

Killer_banana

Very disappointed. I hated having to wait months between th specials in 2009. That said Moffat does make a good special and I'm very excited for whatever is planned for the 50th anniversary.

Edit:

McLoughlin wrote: »

Well 10 shouldn't come back its too soon 9 doubt it 8 and 7 yes please 6 no thanks 5 perhaps.

Eccleston's confirmed he won't reprise the roll if asked. I'm not surprised really. I do think it's too soon for Ten but I would love to see him on screen with Eleven so I wouldn't complain if it happened. I havne't watched enough classic Who to say whatever Doctors I'd like back. There was rumours of a Children in Need special a few years back featuring all past Doctors (using pre-recorded footage of any who had passed away) which would make a pretty cool full length special but I somehow can't see it happening.

ríomhaire

Unless he is doing it and was told to deny it in order to surprise everyone
*tinfoil hat*

Doctor DooM

I hate Ecclestones dismissiveness of Dr Who. It reminds me of Tom Bakers, who has in recent years said he's regretted not returning for one offs.

That's the thing though- even if you prefer Ecclestone the actor to Tennant, Tennant did so much work doing extras, charity stuff, the proms, animated series, and podcasts, it's clear he cares about the legacy he's leaving. I'd have zero doubt Tennant would return AND enjoy it for what it is, instead of dismissing it.

I remember reading of Hartnell and Troughton actually pretending to be the Doctor when small children would ask them what they were doing in the shops, and telling them they were hunting a Dalek or something. There's nothing wrong in enjoying a little magic of the thing.


/rant

popebenny16

this shouldnt come as a major shock to anyone, in fact we talked about it here when the mid season break was first talked about for this year.

It seems to me that the Who production office really want to get away from the Easter Saturday to July run that has been going on since the show returned. This provides it, and also means that there will be a run going on in the winter (more viewers) and during the time of the 50th which will be November 2013. Moffatt has said already that he intends being the showrunner still at that time.

of course, last week was full of rumours, including this from private eye:

SO. Farewell then Doctor Who, which has now disappeared for the summer, with the remaining six episodes from this year’s series due to be screened in the autumn. Farewell too, to executive producer Piers Wenger, who is leaving the BBC for a job at Film4. Could the two things be related?

News of Wenger’s intended departure followed the curious announcement the previous month that he was stepping down as head of drama at BBC Wales to work as a “creative leader” instead.

Commercial disaster
The decision to split the current series in two, meanwhile, was taken last year when it became apparent that both budgets and schedules on Doctor Who were running so far out of control it would be impossible to complete a 13-part series in time for a spring transmission.
Now, however, there are fears that the second tranche of episodes may not even be completed in time for BBC Worldwide to release a DVD box set of the series in time for the Christmas market, which would be a commercial disaster.
Show insiders blame much of the chaos on the decision taken by Wenger and his fellow executive producer Beth Willis last year to dispense with the services of producers Tracie Simpson and Peter Bennett, both of whom had worked on the programme since 2005. The pair were subsequently invited to return but declined.
The first series of their new joint venture, Baker Boys, was broadcast in January, with a number of other former Who crew also listed in its credits. “They decided they’d far rather work for less money than endure any more of Piers and Beth,” whimpers the Eye’s man in the Tardis. “The show is in a hell of a mess.”
Any old Ood
Showrunner and lead writer Steven Moffat has become expert at papering over the cracks, re-ordering episodes and finding creative reasons for spectacular monsters and CGI creations to be given as little screen-time as possible to save cash. But there was general dismay when sci-fi legend Neil Gaiman – whose much-anticipated episode had already had to be held over from the 2010 series due to a lack of funds – had to be informed that a further £200,000 shortfall in the budget meant he would have to rewrite it to include not the alien he had intended but instead an Ood which had been knocking about in the props store since 2006.
This, however, was far from the end of the bad news.
Programme chiefs in London were horrified to learn recently that BBC Wales is proposing not to make a full series of Doctor Who in 2012, but instead to put the programme on hiatus and merely bash out four “specials” as it did in 2009. This will leave an enormous hole in the BBC1 Saturday night schedule and a bigger one in the profits of BBC Worldwide, and will mean the corporation will be paying lead actor Matt Smith to spend most of the rest of this year doing nothing. Soon after the Eye was published on Tuesday, the BBC confirmed that there will NOT be a full series of Doctor Who broadcast during 2012 but only “a good chunk” of episodes.

so is it budget, politics or strategy? your guess is as good as mine, frankly.

popebenny16

actually, just to add that SM has said that the Daleks will be back next year, and that he wanted them to be in an interesting and exciting story.

If Rory and Amy are leaving, I'd be daring and have the Daleks kill them and the end of the current run, leaving River as a baby with the Doctor. That'sll remake them as the ultimate baddies.

Now, River would blame the doctor as she grows up and kills him sometime leter as in the impossbile astroturf. Obvs has some daddy issues with him too so she madly loves him at the same time. There, sorted.

I think for the good of the show, it'd be good for Moffat to take a break. Not that he's not doing a sterling job, but to keep up that passion and quality, you sometimes need a break. Look at the recent series of South Park and especially the last episode as an example.

I would be over the moon happy with 4 feature length specials, but I can't see that happening

ríomhaire

Kind of glad they fell short for The Doctor's Wife then, I love the Ood! Also they should reuse old monsters a bit. Strax was a very good example of how a costume can be reused well.

Also more one-set and cheap-set episodes like Midnight and Blink. Those were great and other than the CGI for Midnight (which could have been cut without hurting the episode much) they booth looked pretty damn cheap to make.

Cyndaquil

It says "a special run" - but does that necessarily have to mean a series of specials (like 2009) or just an ordinary (mini-)series with a special theme?

I'm not sure I'd like an 11 doctors reunion type thing, it kind of messes up continuity even with all the wibby-wobbly explanations. I'd live the see McGann's doctor's storyline tied up but it doesn't really have mainstream audience appeal.

Whatever the case I hope Smith gets another season or so after that. He must be due a fresh companion or two by that point as well.

McLoughlin

If the were to have all surving previous doctors return which I doubt I would like a degeneration approach with the 11th doc turning back into a previous version but still getting older and older with each degeneration (this plot device would explain why previous doctors look older) but its not going to happen. I think Big Finish is our best bet with a multi doctor story for the 50th anniversary with Doctors 4 to 7 a new Five Doctors storyline.

Sleepy

How is Doctor Who not a serious money-maker for the Beeb?

Furthermore, as others have pointed out, it's not a show that needs the big CGI spend every week, it can be made cheaply with some good writing and a raid on the BBC props and wardrobe warehouses which have to be stuffed with period costumes from their drama output.

ríomhaire

Sleepy wrote: »

How is Doctor Who not a serious money-maker for the Beeb?

They make cash on merchandise and licencing but remember that the BCC don't advertise. If they were a normal channel they could charge big bucks for the advertising space in their major shows but the BBC don't make any direct money from their shows that way.

Sleepy

ríomhaire, I get that but I'd have thought that the merchandising, DVD sales, Book Sales, all the other spin-offs and licensing would *more* than cover the costs of the series.