SPLIT!
The BBC have announced today that they’re splitting the next season of Doctor Who into two parts- half in the spring of 2011 and half in the autumn of 2011.
This isn’t that unusual a practice. Other series like Battlestar Galactica and The Sopranos have done the split season, and there were rumours going around it was going to happen for Series Five. With other series it’s a bit of a blessing and curse—it gives the six or seven episodes some good momentum, but it also means there are fewer episodes to watch. At the same time it also means there’s less of a wait between new episodes.
What’s interesting is that Steven Moffat says its a story driven request. According to the press release:
The split transmission is the result of a request from Steven Moffat to write a new Doctor Who story arc which involves a big plot twist in the middle of the series. By splitting the series Moffat plans to give viewers one of the most exciting Doctor Who cliffhangers and plot twists ever, leaving them waiting, on the edge of their seats, until the autumn to find out what happens.
I’m sure that might be part of it, but I’m also sure the split Series Six will give the Beeb better scheduling opportunities and will enable them to give Who more of a year round presence, which given all their difficulties of late, must be good news for them.
What do all of you think?
Posted by Graeme on Sunday, August 29 at 10:00 am
11 Comments...
As long as we still have the promise of New Who, its all good. As long as its only a gap from Summer to Fall its not so bad.
It seems like ages since we saw the airing of Caprica’s (Battlestar Galactica’s spinoff) first 1/2 of a season, when on earth is the other 1/2 coming .. that type of airing is no good .. you lose viewers, and they forget what happenned in the first 1/2.
I think Moffat knew that it was critically important he make a big change to the series at this point, to spice it up, make it different, new , fresh - Doctor Who the series has survived so long and well due to its ability to completely change itself either in style and /or content .. this will be just another change. It will be interesting to see how this next season will play out, with the “big twist in the middle”.
Posted by Ian on 08/29 at 12:15 PM
Well first reaction was “oh no!”, but on the other hand, DW is a bit of an anomaly already among British drama series (most ‘seasons’ are only 6 or 8 episodes long anyway), and this way it will keep the excitement and anticipation going longer throughout the year.
I suppose it will be good for SPACE here too, they’ll be able to hype DW as a major part of their fall schedule next year, that being such a big deal on this side of the pond.
Posted by Julie on 08/29 at 03:49 PM
Disappointed that we’re only getting 7 episodes in the spring, but really excited that we’re getting new Who in the autumn! If this trend continues then this sets things up a bit better for a 50th anniversary episode at the end of Series I’ve-lost-count on Nov.23, 2013 (which is a Saturday).
Posted by Luca on 08/30 at 01:39 AM
Mixed feelings. With the exception of last year (and CBC’s dismal treatment of the 2006 series), we have been treated to four years of three months straight worth of Who. It almost feels like a cop out to have a split season. However, I realise that there’s a new team running the show, and that they want to make some changes to make THEIR mark on the show.
I was just checking out some of the original airdates of the early Who stories, and it seems that back in the mid-60s, there was an episode every week! In fact, in 1966, there was about 8 weeks in the summer when there were no episode. One could argue that back then the audience was getting the best deal, but remember that at this time, episodes were only about 25 minutes in length and a story was generally told in about 4 episodes.
By mentioning this, I want to point out that although it feels that we’re going to get ‘less’ Who, at the same time we’re not going to be inundated with the show. Perhaps the plot twist in the spring involves ‘time’ and it will be better played out after a gap in transmission. It would be like showing the events of the first three episodes of series one in 2005, and then it seemed as though the rest of the present-day episodes took place in 2006, so the remaining nine episodes don’t air until that year. Or there being a year-long break during the 2007 episodes when Martha travelled the world to spread the Doctor’s name.
I suppose though I could be totally wrong about the time plot twist, but at the moment, it seems to be the only logical explanation. Can we start speculating now?
Posted by Rachel on 08/30 at 02:29 AM
I’m prepared to give them the chance to prove themselves with this decision. The show runners at the Stargate franchise have used the mid-season cliffhanger very effectively. I’m pretty sure the Doctor Who staff could do just as good a job.
Posted by Paul on 08/30 at 05:54 AM
I haven’t heard any details but if it’s simply going to be a 13 episode season split into 7 eps starting at Easter then go until the start of June, shut down for 4 months and restart late Sept or early Oct for 6 ending in mid-Nov with a Christmas special I really am not impressed.
You have to think it’s more of a ratings based move than just a story one which is odd because the ratings were excellent. I doubt this is going to be a one-off thing for next year.
On the story level I’m tired of the “big events and finales” which are so standardized now that they all blend into one another. The variety and scope of the show’s storytelling is so restricted now, it’s Earth based and modern day attitude filtered on everything no matter where you go so many things are the same. So now with 2 premieres and 2 finales are we just going to get even more of the same?
What is going to be so gobstoppingly amazing about the cliffhanger that we’ll be salivating over it for 4 months? Doctor Who isn’t LOST and it needed at least 14 or more episode seasons to build to a huge finale and that was with one ongoing storyline.
Is the next season then going to even more than last year be a complete story with a 7 part first story and a 6 part second story?
The question I would ask Moffat is “Wait a minute Steve if you want the show to be on for more weeks of the year with less downtime then why not go to 25 minutes episodes once a week? If people can wait 4 months for a cliffhanger resolution then a week is no problem. Do two 13x25 minute episodes seasons in Spring and Fall and then you are on the air 6 months a year.”
Posted by Ryan on 08/30 at 03:11 PM
Quality, not quantity is the key. I’m not the only one who thinks, for example, that Galactica would have had a much stronger final season had they ended it before the split. And Children of Earth proved you can do a lot with 5 episodes. And frankly, I expect to see more series moving away from the force-feeding of 22-24 episodes to shorter, tighter, stronger seasons.
What makes me feed good about this in terms of Doctor Who is that Moffat made the decision. It wasn’t a cost-cutting edict from the BBC, or a “let’s split it while we show more important stuff” like how the CBC split Season 2 in the middle of the Impossible Planet two-parter.
The only concern I have is with regards to how the show will now play in Canada. Will Space agree to show the 7 in the spring and bring it back in the fall for 6, or might they decide to wait and show it all at once (maybe by showing the 7 episodes mid-summer, leading into the 6). Also, does this mean a potential double-dip from BBC Video with the DVD and Blu-Ray releases? Moffat is already quoted as saying the fall episodes may in fact be considered Season 7. If so, that means we could end up having to buy two overpriced (albeit high-quality) sets, just as BSG fans had to pony up twice for on a couple of occasions, too.
I’m annoyed at some of the reaction from fans. I saw one guy post that this may make him stop watching the show! (Not here, on another forum). I say wait and see. If the “game changing cliffhanger” lives up to its billing, then it’s all good.
BTW anyone catch Moffat letting slip that there’ll probably be a Christmas special in 2011 too? Not much of a slip, granted, but still nice to hear. Then again with the BBC announcing again this past week that Doctor Who will be moving into the new Cardiff studios in 2012, and other reports that Matt Smith is likely to be signed through the 50th anniversary season, that should put to rest any “will it be cancelled” rumors for a while.
Posted by Alex on 08/30 at 07:03 PM
Honestly, Doctor Who has been format busting since Mission to the Unknown (heck, earlier than that if it’s possible to format bust on your third serial). Bring it on; it’s tradition. Who knows, we might even get two good two-parters in each section for a change.
Posted by Connie on 08/31 at 04:32 AM
I am a little bummed about it. How about a bit of a compromise and give us a few more episodes a year then. From 13 to 16 perhaps? then we can have 8 weeks in spring and 8 weeks in fall. I can’t help but wonder if this season will be released on DVD in 2 parts as well and in such a way that it costs us more money. Now for my prediction on story lines. I think the mid season cliff-hanger will revolve around the River Song saga.
Posted by Doug Grandy on 08/31 at 05:29 PM
Sounds like a very good strategy to beat the late spring/summer drop in viewers, which was seen this year in the UK and which likely reflects the general population’s desire to enjoy good weather.
On zero evidence, I’m hopeful that Space (and BBC America) will continue to air the episodes within a week or two of the UK air-date, if only to minimize downloading. Ideally, they should broadcast the show within 48hrs!
Posted by Andrew B on 09/03 at 01:24 AM
Check out my amazing profile in ROBLOX, a free casual universe
Posted by keogh10 on 09/05 at 12:23 PM
Post a comment