BBC Doctor Who Movie (Again!)

[Milky Tears]

Some interesting stuff in today's Media Guardian:

http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcas...182137,00.html

BBC considers Doctor Who movie
Ben Dowell
Wednesday October 3, 2007
MediaGuardian.co.uk


The BBC controller of fiction, Jane Tranter, has left the way open for a movie version of Doctor Who - despite film adaptations of existing BBC dramas not being part of her new strategy for BBC Films.

Ms Tranter told MediaGuardian.co.uk that the move of the BBC films department from central London to a new base inside BBC Television Centre was designed to "cross-fertilise" film production with the expertise from the comedy, natural history and news and current affairs departments.

"This move is not about making feature films about things that are on the television - those ideas are staring us in the face already and may seem too obvious," Ms Tranter said.

However Tranter pointedly refused to rule out the possibility of a film version of Doctor Who, the department's most successful drama series of recent years.

"I would not rule out a film version of Doctor Who, no," she said.

This could see a follow-up to the two previous Doctor Who movies: Dr Who and the Daleks, and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150AD. Both of these films starred Peter Cushing as the doctor - a part he never filled for television.

Ms Tranter also hinted that actor David Tennant, who plays the current doctor, was likely to return to the role for a fifth series, even though he has agreed to play Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company next year.

His decision means that the fifth series will not be shown until 2010, two years after the fourth series airs next year, effectively creating a "gap year" filled by three Doctor Who specials starring Tennant and overseen by head writer and executive producer Russell T Davies.

Ms Tranter also refused to be drawn on speculation that Steven Moffat was being lined up as a replacement for Davies - who is believed to be on the verge of leaving the show - or that actor James Nesbitt was being lined up take over from Tennant.

"All we can say is that David is a fantastic doctor and that he is doing Hamlet," she said.

Doctor Who's last series ended in July with 8 million viewers, a 39% share of the audience.

[Dirk Gently]

May be that's why we're not getting a full season but three specials?

[Pip Madeley]

A Doctor Who movie would be cool and awesome. But I'm sceptical. We'll see.

[Larry]

interesting article especialy the bit about Tennent may be doing a 5th series.

[Andrew Curnow]

Oh god no, not the movie story again!!!!

[Larry]

Oh god no, not the movie story again!!!!

well at least it can't be as bad as the last one.

[Andrew Curnow]

Actually, I quite like the McGann film, although I'd count that as a TV Movie rather than a cinema film - but I just get so fed up hearing this "Doctor Who Movie to be made" story every few years. Tom Baker tried for 5 years, JN-T announced one in 1987, the possibility of one appears to have kept the show off TV for much of the period between 1996 and 2005... I think we should accept the inevitable, that Doctor Who just ISN'T really movie material.

[Rob McCow]

The movie was what kept the show from coming back for over a decade!

Sigh.

[Stuart Wallis]

Doctor Who movie - believe it when I see it, the story's as true as I'm riding this dodo, etc.

[Dino]

Movies these days are for morons! English actors playing camp clerks, English actors playing villians, English actors playing mad arabs etc etc, oh and Rowan Atkinson. Clean cut American heroes. No thanks. I'll stick with the TV, cheers. Although I might watch the new Indiana Jones film, out of brand loyalty and nothing else. Wasn't Red Dwarf meant to be turned into a film? Doctor Who deserves better.

[Dirk Gently]

Wasn't Red Dwarf meant to be turned into a film?

Rob Grant & Doug Naylor wanted to make it a film but they couldn't get the backing. They spent nearly 10 years trying to get it off the ground but it never got further than story boards. This has had the knock on effect of killing the TV series.

[Pip Madeley]

Rob Grant & Doug Naylor wanted to make it a film but they couldn't get the backing.

Actually it was pretty much just Doug, Rob effectively left Red Dwarf in 1993.

[P-Bal]

I demand Camille AND Tracy-Ann for the big screen.