Series 7 Postponed?

18 months is too long to wait
bring back the doctor don't hesitate

Especially for you barnaby, 'cos it is your all-time favourite........

i still have the 7" somewhere

I fear that I still have the 12" somewhere.....

There's something amusing about the words "best version" being included in that video title.

This was apparently posted earlier at GB but then got removed. Much of what is said ties in with what I've heard (eg Moffat doinf other stuff besides Who & Sherlock) and has now been corroborated by other folk.

Disturbing times and news, I'm afraid. Private Eye got it right, absolutely spot on. In 2012 there will only be four episodes - not specials, just ordinary episodes. Followed by just ten episodes in the anniversary year - two of which will be the 50th anniversary special in November, and a Xmas special.

And that's it, that's all they're making. Moffat is too busy to write more - with a sitcom coming up that he's making with his wife, Sue Vertue, plus Sherlock 2 and probably Tintin 2, which he appears to be involved in storylining. He simply doesn't want to do any more Who than he has to. He has become 'unmanageable' and because Wenger and Willis are too wet and useless, Moffat is simply being allowed to do what he likes.

The top brass at the BBC have known about the hiatus for over a year now. And drama commissioner Ben Stephenson signed off the 14 eps over two years scenario over a YEAR ago - this has been brewing for a long time. And the BBC is carefully trying to manage the publicity by drip feeding out the bad news.

Worldwide are furious - BBC top brass are livid - what was once a powerhouse of regional production is being reduced to a joke. Wenger, Willis and Moffat may be endangering the future existence of the show. A cheer went up in BBC Wales when Wenger's resignation was announced - and people can't wait until September when he takes up his position at Channel 4.

The top brass of the BBC are now concerned that the show is only being made to appeal to fans, and is rapidly losing audiences. They want it to return to its Russell style appeal. Moffat's contract expires in 2013 and talk is currently not to renew,
Wales is in a shocking mess, and NO ONE is taking charge. I'll keep you posted if I hear anything else.

So, you've reason to believe there is more than a grain of truth in the above, C=O? Shame if there is - shameful too. Funnily enough, I was thinking today that if next year has too few episodes and things get strung out then Doctor Who could just fizzle out again. I hope things aren't as bad as they sound. Things do get exaggerated.

Aye, I can't imagine Moffat's contract is as vague as being for as many episodes as he wants to do.

Still, what do I know? It's Friday night and I'm watching Mawdryn Undead.

I'm watching Pulp from Galsto '95 on BBC Four.

And I have to say Cat, there's simply been far far too much smoke from numerous different sources these past couple of weeks for there not to be fires. It's been been bad behind the scenes for a long time. Maybe reaching meltdown will actually lead to a proper solution.

But, Tony, I think the question is do you genuinely believe that the BBC hierarchy would allow one man the power to create Wholessness? Surely they would specify that x amount of Who episodes have to be created?

(I've been genuinely enjoying Mawdryn Undead. I fear for my sanity)

That post is a load of bull, it even contradicts itself.

I don't know where all of this 'failing ratings' crap is coming from, we had lower ones under RTD.

We know that we're getting the odd gap year here and there, its been said many times and we've even had one. People are making a mountain out of a molehill.

And Mawdryn Undead is brilliant, one of, if not, Davisons best.

Have to say that certain parts of that e-mail are definitely wrong (Moffat being involved with Tintin 2, for instance, when it's being written by Adrian Horowitz and the script for Sherlock 2 being responsible when it's being made ready for filming for August would be the most obvious examples), making me doubt the rest of it.

It also contradicts what Mr F/72lf has posted both here and at Gallifreybase-- probably the only person I'd trust with rumours at the moment.

As said before, there are a lot of reasons for delaying the next season of Dr Who. Mismanagement is quite low on the list, if you ask me, especially considering the man most blame for this will not even be at BBC Wales soon. And if the upper-management really were this shocked at events, then they could have over-ruled the decision (as almost happened in 2009 with the year of specials).

All we really know at the moment is there are going to be 20 more episodes of Doctor Who that will be transmitted over the next two years, with 6 this autumn and another at Christmas. After that it's all rumours. And posts like the one reprinted above really don't help matters.

I'm willing to believe that. It's what I assumed anyway. I think that this series so far has proved that late spring/early summer scheduling doesn't do much good for ratings, especially with the likes of Britain's Got Problems Talent gobbling all of the ratings.

The Browncoat Cat wrote:

I found this particular post on GallifreyBase very illuminating. Now baring in mind that Steve Manfred was one of the very first people to start posting about the return of Doctor Who back on 26th September 2003, I would say that this is pretty much on the money.

I'd say the veracity is even more assured considring that Manfred was Gaiman's "Doctor Who Continuity Advisor" on The Doctor's Wife-- meaning we know one of his contacts, and making his post far more trustyworthy than "anonymous."

Having said that, the post does seem to say that Dr Who is going to loose an episode next year: "Exact lengths of each set aren't set in stone yet, but between them and the Christmas 2012 show (and Christmas 2011), it'll all add up to the 14 commissioned episodes. " Which seems to indicate Christmas 2011, six episodes in autumn 2012, Christmas 2012 and six episodes in spring 2013.

I can live with one episode less a year.

Anyone fancy reposting that GB post for me, as I don't go there!

For Rich:

The information I'm going to impart below comes from three different sources. All three are what I consider excellent. This is unfortunately as much as I can say about any of them. You'll just have to each look at my own history here and in the OG forum before it and decide from all that whether to trust my intentions and my judgement.

- The delay in the start of production on the next series is happening simply to move the transmissions to darker times of year. That is the only reason for it. All the other reasons that have been floated, some of which do have some added benefit, are subordinate to this one.
- Sherlock and it's schedule does indeed have nothing to do with it.
- I've listened to the Danny Cohen audio and agree that it doesn't sound like he's joking. And yet, he WAS joking. He has a very, very dry sense of humor and deadpan delivery, and unless you can see him say it as well (preferably in close-up), you can't tell.
- The production pattern and transmission pattern used for this year's episodes will be repeated for the next set of episodes, it's just it's all being shunted 5 months down the calendar. Where shooting on series 6 itself started in September, shooting on series 7 will start in February. Broadcast dates of the two mini-seasons will probably also shift by about the same number of months, but as always, they want to keep the opposition guessing and so won't announce that officially until the dates loom. Best guess is September/October 2012 for the first set and March (give or take a month) 2013 for the second set. Exact lengths of each set aren't set in stone yet, but between them and the Christmas 2012 show (and Christmas 2011), it'll all add up to the 14 commissioned episodes.
- Further episodes beyond this are not officially commissioned yet. It's too early to do so. But as for what all concerned want to have happen, they want the series to continue on just like it's going to, shooting 13 normal episodes plus a Christmas special every calendar year, and showing them in the dark months either side of Christmas.
For at least _another_two_years_ beyond what's been officially commissioned. (that would take us all the way to series 9)

So... it all adds up to a one-time 5-month gap in "Doctor Who." Normal service resumes after that. And in 2013, maybe a little more than normal given that the 50th anniversary happens then... great things are afoot...

Steve Manfred

Cheers Lee!

Well, a move to the darker months of the year will probably be popular. Certainly, I would prefer it. Having said that, personally I'd prefer a full 13 episode series in either autumn or winter/spring as i don't much care for this split series business. I can't quite imagine what it will mean for the Christmas special though. I mean, in terms of whether it is more standalone, like The Runaway Bride and Voyage of the Damned, or is fully part of the series it is in the middle of, like The Christmas Invasion (OK, that wasn't in the middle of a series but you know what I mean).

The Browncoat Cat wrote:

I found this particular post on GallifreyBase very illuminating. Now baring in mind that Steve Manfred was one of the very first people to start posting about the return of Doctor Who back on 26th September 2003, I would say that this is pretty much on the money.

That's the sort of positivity I like to read! Sounds pretty plausible to me.