Has the Gap Year been a good idea?

[SiHart]

Inspired by a thread elsewhere, do you think the so-called Gap Year has been good, bad or indifferent for Doctor Who?

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

It was needed for the production team to take a break. In terms of output, I'm beginning to think it wasn't such a good idea. The problem is, they've bunched all the Specials together which will be great come Christmas, but at the moment we've had one episode in the last nine months and we're still two months away from any more. It really has been a "Who-less" year, Easter aside, and it feels like ages since we had a series. I really miss it.

I don't think it'll affect the show's popularity when it returns, so it probably wasn't a "mistake" as such, but maybe if they'd paced the Specials out a bit more evenly we wouldn't even have noticed. But, selfishly, it feels like a long break to me. So in my selfish opinion it's been a mistake. I want more Doctor Who!

Si.

[Andrew Curnow]

Whether they planned it or not, the original 'sell' that we'd have a series of specials throughout the year hasn't happened, as Si says. Waters of Mars sounds like it's coming out in November, so really it's a big Christmas bundle, and only Planet of the Dead for the 'year'.

But... I don't think I've really missed it that much (probably because we KNOW it's coming back next year). And to be honest, we've 'got through' the worst bit now - usually at this time of year, we're waiting for 1 hour at Christmas, then a new series next Spring; this time, we've got three episodes to look forward to, plus the new series.

[Simon R]

I think it's been good because it's given us time to catch our breath and it's given us a break from merchandise and constant Radio Times covers. It'll make it even more exciting when it comes back next year.

[Rob McCow]

They should have pulled Doctor Who Adventures for ten months as well!

[Si Hunt]

What on Earth have they found to write about these days? Surely they've analysted those new series stories through and through by now! They must be scraping the depths!

Si.

[SiHart]

Lists! The scariest moments! The best moents with robots in them! Classic moments from the classic series- this week THE GIANT ROBOT!!

etc

Si xx

[WhiteCrowNZ]

I thought this thread was about students going around the world and getting drunk ...

In terms of Doctor Who it's been annoying - I'm hooked and missing it this year. Can you imagine Lost or Heroes taking a year off?

[Draculasaurus]

Are they bringing Heroes back!?

[Alex]

I think it's been a real shame, partially for selfish reasons as I've missed it a lot, but also because the beginning of the Moffat / Smith era is something I'm a little concerned about - and having to wait an extra year to see how it all turns out has been frustrating.

I'm not buying this whole thing about the production team needing a break either (especially as a lot have moved on with RTD leaving anyway), people in real life generally don't get that option, and as Mike points out, none of the US shows take gaps, and they tend to produce 22 to 24 episodes a year. And even then many of the actors spend their summer break making a quick movie.

Still, ultimately it is a minor thing, and come next spring it will be all forgotten about.

Edit: Yeah, Heroes is coming back, though the general consensus is that unless the next series is a real return to the form of the first year (and with viewing figures to match), it'll be the last one. The last episodes of S.3 was so appalling that I won't be watching it though.

[Simon R]

Hasn't the break been to do with budget as much as anything else? There just wasn't enough money to knock out a series for this year without doing it on the cheap. i assume

[WhiteCrowNZ]

I think actually looking at things like Lost, 24 and Heroes, you watch the first series and it's wowed. By season 3 it's "why isn't this cancelled already". You can fall out of love with such things.

Well at least I can as I'm very fickle in love!

[Rob McCow]

I don't think budget has much to do with it. Simply because the BBC wouldn't give them extra money to not produce anything over the course of a year. Although we did get the specials, all of which promise to be more expensive.

Then there was the 'Ian Levine Theory' - some insider or other told him that Russell, Julie and David were all going to quit at the end of the fourth year and end the show altogether. Perhaps they intended to finish and Moffatt wasn't available to produce a 2009 series?

[Si Hunt]

I don't think budget has much to do with it. Simply because the BBC wouldn't give them extra money to not produce anything over the course of a year.

They didn't, did they? I'm not quite sure what you're getting at. Surely money WAS a factor. We're in a recession, they're axeing expensive sci-fi shows all over the place. The sudden resting of Doctor Who for a year in this climate surely can't be unrelated? I can't think of any other reason why they'd take it off - Russell recalled once that they were so desperate for it that he thought they were going to whip him off it and get any old production team in to make it.

Si.

[Rob McCow]

Why should they get a larger budget in 2010 just because they haven't made a full series in 2009?

I can't believe the three extra specials (over the two Christmas ones) have got the same budget as a whole series.

[Si Hunt]

Eh? They shouldn't. And they haven't. That's how they've saved cash by not doing a series this year.

Si.

[MacNimon]

I think that it (the gap year) has been an excellent idea. While I wasn't too impressed with the idea to begin with, the fact that I had been getting just a little bit bored with the new series - not that I wasn't enjoying it, more that with each successive new season my enthusiasm wore off slightly and I wasn't looking forward to it as much as I once did - means that with very little new Who this year, the forthcoming specials actually feel special...an event to look forward to.

I'm really looking forward to the specials now, and next years new series, much more than I otherwise would have. I, for one, am glad they took this decision.

[Stuart Wallis]

Would this be due to the new showrunner and a possibility of a new direction, or just a need for a rest?

I can't believe the three extra specials (over the two Christmas ones) have got the same budget as a whole series.

I should imagine that it's much the same budget that they'd have had for any other episodes of similar length, the BBC being the BBC, nevermind anything else?

[Si Hunt]

Probably a bit more, especially for the one where they went abroad. They'd argue the cost in terms of screen time, and the specials have those extra minutes.

Si.

[Perry Vale]

Well, a theory in other parts, and the one I tend to find the most believable, is that it was done to save on production teams (as such). They couldn't afford to do a full series of DW, Torchwood and SJA in the same year, and breaking it down in to a few specials and a shorter TW S3, would allow one team to start work on one when the other was finished. Now obviously it's not exactly the same teams working on all three, but I expect in Cardiff there's a lot of overlap.

[Stuart Wallis]

Makes as much sense as any, especially considering, as I understand it, they were dithering over whether costs would stop there being any SJA this year.

[FlyingBeastie]

I don't think it's been good because in hindsight it has been "Who-less" and we've only had 2 specials thus far.

Not only that, but I figured if there was a break between specials there would be a better output in the episodes- I'm sorry, but "The New Doctor" and "Planet of the Dead" were EXTREMELY weak episodes when you pit them up against Torchwood's "Children of Earth". I wanted another "Satan's Pit" or "Human Nature", but instead we got more of a "Tooth and Claw" and "Fires of Pompei"- not bad episodes, just sort of... meh.

I'm really looking forward to "Waters of Mars" though, I'm really hoping that won't disappoint!

But, I definitely felt the break up of episodes this year was a bad idea because the gaps have been too irregular and I feel like I'm being shortchanged as far as Tennant's last run is concerned. I think they should've done a "Children of Earth" type run (or would it be too "Trial of a Timelord"? I liked TOAT, I thought it was effective and that they could've done the same for Tennant)

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Agreed - I thought the specials were going to be roughtly 3 months apart the way they hyped them. Now there's going to be a glut of them over Christmas.

I don't know why I'm moaning though - I have no idea when NZ TV is going to catch up. And I'm none too keen on the idea of my mum recording DVDs of UK TV to send to us.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

PS I did not use the "gap year" as an excuse to move to New Zealand. Just in case anyone thinks I went "There's no Doctor Who on this year. Fancy moving to the other side of the world?".

[FlyingBeastie]

I don't know why I'm moaning though - I have no idea when NZ TV is going to catch up. And I'm none too keen on the idea of my mum recording DVDs of UK TV to send to us.

Hey, I'm from the US so I understand your plight.