New WHO season to be split by summer break

[johnmiic]

According to DWM #426 the new DW season/series for 2011 will be split. The first half season starts in spring. It leads up to a summer cliffhanger. They stop showing episodes for summer and return again with the rest of the season for the fall. They are not increasing the number of episodes produced-just splitting them up more.

While this doesn't sound too bad I think the extra cliffhanger might be much ado about nothing. Also when a show's timeslot/format gets tinkered with it's a sign that someone behind the scenes feels it's not preforming as well as it could. I'm not crying gloom and doom but when Colin was Doctor #6 his format was played with and then all sorts of troubles followed.

[Mikey]

My thoughts on this ...

I see some good and some bad ...

The bad ...
The New Series has been really cliffhanger pigs.
They do it for the end of every season --- now it's going to be mid season too.
It's just too much.
Kind of like having 20 cupcakes for supper instead of a balanced meal.
After a while it gets sickening.
The Classic Series existed for 26+ years without overblown season finales.
-----
The seasons are too short as it is (13 episodes)
Splitting up the season will hurt the show bigtime.
While the show is out of sight, it's also out of mind.
The David Tennant specials proved this.

The good ...
The show hasn't been cancelled.
I consider every year the show pushes on a blessing (one season at a time)

Now my thoughts on what I would do with it ..........
Put the show in an American style timeslot --- aka fall to spring.
I could never understand the logic of airing new TV shows in spring when kids would rather be outside playing.

Dr Who could go on for many more years to come if it's handled correctly.

[Gorn Captain]

Bad decision, IMO.
Splitting a 13 episode season?
They did the same thing with Lost over here.
They showed double episodes (6 of them), then waited months for the rest.
The show lost all momentum, and after a while, you just don't give a toss anymore.

When you start tampering with a formula, there's usually something wrong, not a good sign. And personally, I don't think that the latest "cliffhangers" have been all that great.
Well, let's wait and see, I guess...

[wolfie]

The idea is that there will less lengths of time during the year when there is no Dr Who at all. There should be an even gap between the series episodes and the specials so it is never too long before the next Who.

[Godzilla]

I wonder if it's a contractual thing with Matt Smith. Isn't he locked for "3" seasons? If you spilt next year into 2 "seasons" then isn't he done?

[palitoy]

It's a pretty common thing these days.

[jwyblejr]

To me,it's more about money. They can make more of it by splitting the seasons in two and putting out two DVD sets instead of one.

[samurainoir]

There are rumours that they might be filming some of the new series in the US. Not sure if it has anything to do with the US Torchwood.

[Mikey]

I can't imagine them filming anything in the US.

At a very stretch I might believe Canada, but not the US.

[LonnieFisher]

How about just having one show a month. With a holiday special at X-mas. There are the thirteen episodes for a season.

[wolfie]

The first episodes of the new series will be a two parter filmed in the Utah desert and will involve a call to the white house in the 60's.

[johnmiic]

What I would like is for the BBC to restore DW to a full season again like it was before the "dark time" took ahold of it. A 14 episode season is kind'a short to me. I think we are getting less screen time than audiences did in the past.

Season 21, 1984 - Peter Davison's last season = 24 episodes/7 stories. It should actually be 26 because Ressurection of the Daleks was the length of a 4 episode story but was broadcast originally as a 2-parter.

Season 22, 1984/1985 - Colin Baker's first season = 13 episodes, ( really 26) /6 stories. However these are the new format, each story is 2x's the length of the previous season's episodes. Stories which were formerly 4 parts are now 2 parts.

Then the dark days began where every season was in doubt.

Season 23, The Trial of a Time Lord - 14 episodes/3 + stories. Unknown at the time these would be Colin Bakers last stories.

Season 24, Sylvester McCoy debut's. Episodes = 14/4 stories, length is 3 parts to some stories, episode length reverted to 20-25 minutes each.

Season 25, Episodes = 14/4 stories

Season 26, Episodes = 14/4 stories

2005 Season, (Season 27). New format: 13 Episodes, approx. 1 hour each, 3 stories are 2-parters, 10 stories.

Compare this with the earliest seasons of DW:

Hartnell, Season 1: 45 episodes/8 stories,(episodes individually titled)

Hartnell, Season 2: 39 Episodes/9 stories,(episodes individually titled)

Info per IMDB. 2005 X-Mas special is listed as part of Season 2. Perhaps because it's David Tennants first full episode.

[Mikey]

My biggest wish is they stop the full season story arcs.

[Mikey]

Also, i'd like to see them get rid of the new titles.

I just don't like them

[jds1911a1]

What I would like is for the BBC to restore DW to a full season again like it was before the "dark time" took ahold of it. A 14 episode season is kind'a short to me. I think we are getting less screen time than audiences did in the past.

Season 21, 1984 - Peter Davison's last season = 24 episodes/7 stories. It should actually be 26 because Ressurection of the Daleks was the length of a 4 episode story but was broadcast originally as a 2-parter.

Season 22, 1984/1985 - Colin Baker's first season = 13 episodes, ( really 26) /6 stories. However these are the new format, each story is 2x's the length of the previous season's episodes. Stories which were formerly 4 parts are now 2 parts.

Then the dark days began where every season was in doubt.

Season 23, The Trial of a Time Lord - 14 episodes/3 + stories. Unknown at the time these would be Colin Bakers last stories.

Season 24, Sylvester McCoy debut's. Episodes = 14/4 stories, length is 3 parts to some stories, episode length reverted to 20-25 minutes each.

Season 25, Episodes = 14/4 stories

Season 26, Episodes = 14/4 stories

2005 Season, (Season 27). New format: 13 Episodes, approx. 1 hour each, 3 stories are 2-parters, 10 stories.

Compare this with the earliest seasons of DW:

Hartnell, Season 1: 45 episodes/8 stories,(episodes individually titled)

Hartnell, Season 2: 39 Episodes/9 stories,(episodes individually titled)

Info per IMDB. 2005 X-Mas special is listed as part of Season 2. Perhaps because it's David Tennants first full episode.

IN defense of the new show the classic who had alot of dead time in each 25 minute episide to build up to the cliffhanger then replay it next time. often the middle episodes of a 6 parter were filler (exception was inferno's side trip to the alternate universe) and most Davison part 3 stories drag along since everyone knows it's a fill between the end of part 2 and the start of part 4. and there is 5-6 minutes of theme per episode. If you look at the movie edit for most episodes it's a much better pace
I suspect in actual story time and script pages it's about equal