Runaway Bride now to air June 18 at midnight

The truth is, we’re just as confused as the rest of you.

First, The Runaway Bride was going to air on Monday June 11 only if there was no game 7 of the playoffs…then with that being the case it was truly going to air on June 11th. CBC Audience Relations confirmed this as did DWIN’s CBC contacts…

And now comes the announcement it’s airing at midnight on June 18. That’s right, after the series 3 premiere at 8pm.

As best as we can piece together (and DWIN is working to get some confirmation), this is what happened:

From what we can gather from its Audience Relations department, as far as the CBC is concerned, The Runaway Bride is not a part the package of episodes that comprise Series 3. It’s a special, and a Christmas special at that. (That’s probably how the BBC designated it as well.)

Obviously, Doctor Who fans differ with this view. We are guessing the feedback they got about putting on the Christmas Special on in an unscheduled timeslot with little promotion led them to rethink the June 11 timeslot. With the summer schedule booked into fall (and the Christmas special effectively taking up a 90 minute timeslot to air all 60 minutes of it with commericals, thus making the rescheduling of it even more difficult), we suspect the only available time was at midnight the night the series premiere aired

Is it ideal? No. But we’re now seeing The Runaway Bride and it’s going to get some actual promotion.

Let’s answer the big question for any CBC viewers: will they have missed anything by watching Smith and Jones before The Runaway Bride. It’s not ideal, but…no. Other than the resolution of the cliffhanger of Doomsday (which is a cliffhanger based on a lingering mystery, not any direct jeopardy), you won’t miss anything by watching Smith and Jones first. In fact, you can pretty much watch Smith and Jones without ever having seen The Runaway Bride—it’s completely self-contained, unlike, say, The Christmas Invasion.

This story is obviously developing and we’ll have more information as it comes in.

Recent Stories

Issue 169

The Snowmen Cometh (Christmas Special Reviewed!) : The 2012 Christmas special gets a look-over! Plus…

  • Can good Doctor Who be bad television, and vice versa?
  • Robots with human souls
  • News and reviews

Issue 168

Archaeology Tomorrow (Season Reviews and Benny’s 20th!) : The 2012 season review issue, and the importance of being Bernice Surprise Summerfield! Plus…

  • Why Doctor Who is Steampunk
  • Where are the new series’ truly iconic villains?
  • News and reviews

Issue 167

Christmas In July: The 2012 Christmas special reviewed! Plus…

  • The importance of faith
  • The how and the why of Who is the Doctor
  • News and reviews, with extended DVD review section

Issue 166

The story goes on… (Special spin-off issue!): Torchwood! The Sarah Jane Adventures! K9: The Series! Plus:

  • Doctor Who‘s really quite good, isn’t it?
  • The Twin Dilemma revisited
  • News and reviews of Doctor Who books, DVDs, and audios

Issue 165

Tick, Tock (2011 season reviews conclude!): The final reviews of the 2011 season; or, the reviews of the final 2011 season. Plus:

  • Introducing a new series fan to classic episodes
  • The power of The Power of Kroll
  • News and reviews of Doctor Who books, DVDs, and audios

Is something broken?

©Doctor Who Information Network (DWIN) 2009