the future of Doctor Who?

[Anthony Williams]

according to a certain "larger than life" Doctor Who uberfan, who wishes not to be credited:

I've heard it from four sources all independent of each other now, so what the hell.....

The "plan" apparently, so I have been told by various insiders, is that David Tennant, Rusell, Julie, and Phil all leave together after series four. Jane Tranter is apparently, so I'm led to believe, adamant that no-one else can produce it and refuses to allow any other producer to do so, and is determined to end it, so I am told.
BBC films are interested in spending a "couple of years" to see if they can develop a movie instead (this is, in my opinion, the worst possible thing that could ever happen to us and a return to the early 1990s all over again)

What upsets me the most is Jane Tranter's apparent intransigence. She thinks that occasionally giving us a Christmas Special might mean no-one notices there's no series after the fourth one, any more.

If, when Letts, Dicks and Pertwee all left together in 1974, someone had then had the same bullheaded attitude, we would never have had Philip Hinchcliffe and Tom Baker.

Russell is a fan of Doctor Who.
I pray, oh I pray, oh I PRAY, that he uses the fact that Jane Tranter wants him to do other stuff for the BBC, to force her to change her mind. I'm sure he doesn't want to be the Producer who ended Doctor Who, like JNT was perceived in 1989.

PLUS, and a very major plus, what sort of corporation could even consider axing a show that gets eight million viewers early on a Saturday night in the middle of a 90 degree heatwave, beating both Coronation Street and Eastenders, sells half a million units each of series one and two, has more overseas sales than any other BBC show, has more mrechandise than any other BBC show, and earns more for the BBC than it costs to make. Plus is more popular with Britain's kids than Star Wars or Star Trek ever were. With a 67% share for kids watching TV.

Hopefully reason will still prevail, and Peter Fincham will force Jane Tranter to stop being so bloody closed minded.

I still feel I shouldn't be revealing some of this, but I've felt sick for two weeks now with it.

The fact than Jeremy Bentham found out much the same at Cardiff has finally and sickeningly pushed me over the edge enough to let the cat out of the bag.

Russell is our one hope to overturn this.

If anyone posts this on Outpost Gallifrey, please keep my name out of it. I didn't create this nasty piece of news and I don't particularly want crediting with it at all, for obvious reasons.

Ant x

[Matthew T]

I wouldn't trust anything Ian Levine says.

[Si Hunt]

Hmmm. I have lots of thoughts on this. Such as:

- I don't disbelieve it.
- Argh! Doctor Who will end!
- It'll still be 2009 before we don't get a new series. Is it worth worrying about?
- It's extremely arrogant to say that no-one but RTD can produce Doctor Who, even if he is brilliant at it.
- I can kind of see their point and that the series might dwindle away if everyone left.
- BBC Films remain the biggest threat to the series, lingering in the background just itching to drag the series into pre-movie hell so they can spend millions of pounds, and lots of years, producing one, sprawling, awful film based on it.

What happens if Jane Tranter moves on before 2008 though, eh? Or dies? Where's my firearm?

Si.

[Milky Tears]

This is old news from last week, but I still believe it. I only expected Doctor Who's return to last for about five years. The hardcore fans clearly hate it and there will be a massive media/fan backlash once they see how p*ss-poor Freema's acting is next series.

WE'RE NOW OFFICIALLY DOOMED!!!



Maybe they should just axe it now...






saves me having to buy a new TV every year to replace the ones I keep putting my foot through.



Edited to add: TRANTER MUST FRY!!

[Anthony Williams]

I agree with our "friend" that if they'd decided to call it a day at the end of Season 12, then we would have missed a lot of excellent Doctor Who, and if this is true, it is very short-sighted indeed on the part of Jane Tranter.

I would actually quite like to see how Doctor Who would manage without RTD and Julie Gardner. It would undoubtedly have a very different feel, but it could be done.

If this is true, then it's certainly a shame. I guess before Series 5 would have to be commissioned, there's plenty of time for minds to change

Ant x

[Rob McCow]

Attention seeking? There's nothing quite like asking to remain anonymous that generates attention!

It doesn't seem to tally with what RTD has said in his column for DWM that the show can run and run, someone else will pick it up in another 40 years etc.

However, perhaps this is why we've had these spin-off series commisioned. If they could get Torchwood running for 5-6 years and Sarah Jane-Smith Adventures running until Sladen hits 100 then there will still be new Who-related drama on TV.

Actually, I thought the point of the spin-offs was to groom up potential replacements, so that RTD could leave and the show would continue.

[SiHart]

I can't see the BBC stopping the series just because the creative people behind it are all going to leave simply because the show is very popular and is making them a lot of money at the moment.

I think, and hope, that this is a lot of scaremongering on Mr Levine's part.

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

I'd just like to say that I'd like to see The Sarah Jane Adventures continue beyond Sladen's death, providing Sadie Sladen stepped into the breach. Unfortunately she couldn't play Sarah's fictional daughter, since "School Reunion" confirmed she was barron, so I suggest some sort of bridging adventure where Sarah's DNA is manipulated to produce a near Clone, so that Sadie could step from a big vat at the end of the show's twentieth season and announce "Change my dear! And it seems not a moment too soon!"

Si.

[Milky Tears]

It's not just Levine. Other fans heard similar rumours at that Cardiff concert thingy last week. That'll probably be the four sources mentioned. I think a fifth source popped up on the OG thread as well.

[Si Hunt]

Bloody Murray Gold! Will that man ever learn to keep his mouth shut?

Si.

[Mark]

I don't like the sound of this.

But, ending a series after four or five seasons is fairly typical of the BBC in recent times: so it's not beyond the realms of possibility. I just hope that Tranter is over-ruled by someone higher up the CoC if it is indeed true.

I guess we should count ourselves fortunate that we'll have had 52 regular episodes plus 4 specials by the time it finishes instead of the 26 we might have expected when the news of the show's return first broke.

Oh sod it

[Anthony Williams]

though it must be said... with the construction of the special studio for DW, I doubt the BBC would allow it to end after only 2 series would have been filmed there? it wouldn't be cost effective!

Ant x

[Perry Vale]

This is old news from last week....

Indeed, the petition to save the series has been running for a while now....

http://www.petitiononline.com/SAVEWHO/

I guess we should count ourselves fortunate that we'll have had 52 regular episodes plus 4 specials by the time it finishes

Erm, three specials, if another one gets commisioned.....

[Mark]

I'd forgotten about the new studio thing. Even with Torchwood and TSJA making use of its facilities it does seem like a lot of trouble (and expense) to go to for a series that supposedly ending in two years with only one a year specials thereafter.

I just hope it's not true

[Perry Vale]

As for the permanent studio thing, I'd guess it's a lot quicker to take it down than it was to put it up.....

[Larry]

well I've all ways said that if the new series ended after 5 seasons then it will have done massively well RTD has done a fantastic job in reinventing Who and making it the success it is. But like any thing the time will come when he wants to move on and rightly so but if this rumour is true then Tranter's attitude is shocking. RTD as good as he is is not indispensable there are many hugely talanted and equaly gifted producer/writers around and I personaly find Tranter's attitude to be very insulting to them.

[Anthony Williams]

As for the permanent studio thing, I'd guess it's a lot quicker to take it down than it was to put it up.....

true, but the BBC would still have to consider the expense of the studio in the first place!

Ant x

[Paul Clement]

If it's true, I'm sure the Beeb could convert the studio for other uses. I'd like to see it continue, and certainly belive that if true, Jane Tranter is being very shortsighted by assuming nobody apart from RTD could produce Doctor Who efectively. There are people out there who could do the job as well as he could, some possibly even better.

[Andrew Curnow]

I don't really think it's true, frankly it would seem more likely to me that somebody has deliberately wafted this rumour in IL's direction to either check for leaks, or to make him look stupid.

For one, will Jane Tranter still be in the same job in 2/3 years? I can't imagine her avoiding promotion because she wants to stay put and ensure Doctor Who is stopped.

For another, I think the BBC will be driven at least in part by how well the show is doing as/when RTD and co decide to leave. If it's still dragging in such good AI and ratings in 2008, or 2009, or whenever, I can't see them arbitratily dropping it.

However...

...would I be the only one who would prefer it to go out on a high, rather than be a cash cow that the BBC milks? Arguably, it took so long for the show to come back before because it kind of had a poor reputation - it would be awful to be saddled with that again.

[Captain Tancredi]

Equally, it could work to the series' advantage- to have four good years, then a couple of years quiet while the movie gets made would create a demand for further series. What we want to avoid is a Star Trek-style scenario where the BBC can't afford not to make Who because of the prestige/overseas sales/merchandising revenue so it's done to death. Perhaps part of the problem is that no obvious successor to RTD has come through (and I think I remember him saying initially that he only wanted to do three years).

On the other hand, who's to say that BBC Films weren't persuaded to acquiesce about the new series being made by the prospect of the TV revival creating demand for a movie at some point in the future?

[Si Hunt]

Hasn't Jane Tranter just been promoted anyway? Or did I get that wrong? I thought Julie Gardener got her job?

[Raston]

There is the Moffat rumour as well, with him being lined up to talke over for season 5- Especially since he is doing a Jeckyl and Hyde thing and he has done coupling so he certainly has the executive producer experience.

Plus there is a new team being put in place with Gary Russell moving in as a script editor. The BBC obviously hold him in high regard after the 100odd audio dramas he has overseen on a BBC licensed range.

[Mark]

Gary Russell's taking over as script editor?

When was this announced?

[Paul Clement]

First I've heard of it too. I thought he was just doing a few bits and pieces at the moment with a view to him learning a bit more before doing something more meaty.

[Larry]

I say bring back Barry Letts & Uncle Terry for season 5..