Why doesn't one of the Turner stations have classic Who?

[jwyblejr]

I've seen the DVDs for sale on TCM and wondered why can't one of the Turner stations carry this? Throw it on TNT or TBS or TCM.

[johnnystorm]

TCM shows only movies, and showing WHO on TBS would require them to cut Family Guy & The Office reruns back to ONLY 37 episodes each per day.

Same on TNT - do you WANT the Law & Order guys to go broke?

[phil]

The episodes would be hacked up to make time for more commericals. They would never
run the black and white episodes.
Does the BBC still offer the Classic series for sale to stations in the U.S.?

[jwyblejr]

All TBS has to do is dump According To Jim to make room. Does anybody even watch that show?

[Mikey]

My guess is it's not American so Turner wont touch it.

Even PBS stopped playing it years ago (by their own will)

The Classic Series (for some reason) is damaged goods for American TV.

Don't ask me why because I have no idea

[johnnystorm]

All TBS has to do is dump According To Jim to make room. Does anybody even watch that show?

I watch it...the wife is hot.

[Thor]

TBS programming is centered on mainly comedy shows and movies while TNT and TCM broadcast movies and drama series. As has been said none of the channels have a slot for science fiction in any form. TNT used to be a cool channel to watch back in the 90's.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Back in the day, a lot of stations (like PBS and TVO) picked up Doctor Who almost as filler; it was cheap and filled some time. By the early/mid 80's it had picked up a significant audience. With the comeback I'm betting the rights have been rigorously held, and the cost raised since it's seen as a viable show now. (Instead of filler.) I bet the BBC has tightened the reigns considerably, so's as to not lose disk sales and such. Here in Canada the classic eps are shown on BBC-K. (Same with the Sarah Jane Adventures.) Is BBC-K owned by the Beeb proper? If so, they might not want the competition.

Don C.

[palitoy]

Syndication and DVD rights are two different things, AE had Space:1999 and UFO but they never aired them.

Syndicated doctor who is expensive (space channel told me that personally) and bbc kids seems to only show certain davison and baker eps.

[Mikey]

Space 1999 and UFO aired on A&E at one time ?

I must have totally missed that.

All I remember was Carlton teaming up (or perhaps buying) A&E and suddenly the DVD's came out.

[ctc]

>bbc kids seems to only show certain davison and baker eps.

They’ve shown stuff from the third Doctor on up, but seem to do so in waves; and they’ve been big on the fifth guy for a while. There are a few episodes they haven’t shown, but they’re ones that were originally aired in 45 or 90 minute formats. I actually completed my collection of the BBC-K run.

>Even PBS stopped playing it years ago (by their own will)

Probably the expense.

>The Classic Series (for some reason) is damaged goods for American TV.

Hmmmm.... SOME of that could be ‘cos the old stuff is black and white; which most networks consider death since the 80's. Could be the effects; if it’s not a CGI/super FX extravaganza most FANS won’t touch it. Maybe the lack of recognizable names....?

>AE had Space:1999 and UFO but they never aired them.

Oh yeah! They had “Sapphire and Steel” too, but never aired it. (But they DID release DVDs of all of ‘em.) I wonder how long they had the rights. In the 90's it seemed like EVERYBODY was picking up the rights to EVERY old show, in anticipation of the next big thing being a revival.

Don C.

[jwyblejr]

Ah well. I just figured with Time Warner's deep pockets backing them up,they had a better shot at having them.

[spotter]

My guess is you need little to no access via BBC in order to justify the DVD price which helps pay for the ongoing restoration of older episodes

[jds1911a1]

I bet a big driver is to keep the public "hungry" for the next remastered dvd. Since they have done more "modern" classics (1979-1993) stories these are also the ones whick would be more "palatable" to non who fans. I can't imagine they would issue broadcast rights for the ones they have issued on dvd it would hurt sales

While issuing some not on dvd stories might help the sales of other stories that are I don't see them as that viable. There is a better chance for an ON demand rental option like A&E did with the original prisoner when the remake aired

[Mikey]

I've said this before but the BBC is really a pig for overcharging for the DVD's compared to any other "TV show"

As an example, lets take Doctor Who season-14.
Some stories in this season have not been released yet but it's a pretty safe bet to guess what they will cost when they are released ....

The Masque of Mandragora $20.00
The Hand of Fear $20.00
The Deadly Assassin $20.00
The Face of Evil $20.00
The Robots of Death $20.00
The Talons of Weng-Chiang $25.00

Total ... $125.00 per season ...

This season contains about 26 half hour episodes ...
That's 13 hours of show

Normally, 13 hours of TV show on DVD should cost no more than $50.00 --- and even that's on the high side.