Next Time...

[Rob McCow]

One of the most interesting new series innovations has been the 'Next Time...' teasers at the end of each episode. Of course, they weren't invented by Doctor Who, but they do seem to have become a lot more prevalent since the show started using them. It's been totally adopted into the telefantasy format for shows such as Merlin and Primeval.

We're all used to it now, but it came as a bit of a shock at the end of Rose when got a sneak, Space:1999-style glimpse of next week's episode. There were all these creatures being wheeled out! It made The End of The World look amazing and wild.

Yet some of the Next Time trailers have had excessive spoilers in them. The worst example was at the end of Boom Town, when we got to see the Daleks coming back, blatantly at the end of the episode. Then there were the two-parters, where seeing a cliffhanger then immediately seeing that everyone was still alive seemed a little... *sniff* dumb. How would Doctor Who, drowning, get embedded in the minds of the little ones for a whole week?

So what do you think of the Next Time trailers?

Were they a good idea?
Have you ever avoided watching them?
Have they ever spoiled a story for you?
Do they ever give you a completely misleading impression of a forthcoming episode?
Do they ever put you off watching next week?

Next Time... some people answer these questions! (hopefully)

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

I don't like them. To me they break up the flow from the cliff-hanger into the end titles. The thing I liked about the old series was the sometimes suddenness and pace of the end of the show - the NT trailer is almost like someone saying let's pause for a moment and look ahead to what's coming next.
I know they are common place these days - but I still feel that if you make the cliff-hanger good enough, you don't need to 'big up' next week to get the viewers back. Besides if it's that much of a worry you can run trailers during the week!

[Andrew Curnow]

I like them, in general. I think they in a sense filled the void I thought might be left by not having cliffhangers at the end of an episode - ie, because the story was complete in an episode. At the end of Rose it was a real delight to have instead of an 'How will they escape that?' situation to mull over for a week, an 'Next week they'll be doing a bit of this...' teaser instead.

They don't always work, it's true, and aren't needed IMHO halfway through a two-parter. Also, just occasionally they've felt out of place - at the end of Father's Day, for example, the mood was really shattered by immediately slapping in some clips from the Doctor & Rose in the Blitz.

So I like them, but a bit of thought, and not a slavish sense of having to always have one every week would be nice.

[Dino]

Were they a good idea?

I thought they were an interesting novelty and was suprised when it first happened. Now I can't possibly imagine the series without them?

Have you ever avoided watching them?

I keep meaning to, but by the time the first part finishes, I'm still stunned enough to forget I promised to avoid watching them. Maybe this year...

Have they ever spoiled a story for you?

Aliens Of London was a bit spoiled. But luckily the Next Time trailers have got much better. Still not as good as Outcasts though. Their Next Time trailers were so vague they actually made it look like a brilliant show! The Stolen Planet had the best one. Just slow motion shots of the cast with a deep THUM... THUM... THUM THUM THUMTHUMTHUM crescendo. Outcasts pretty much used that formula. I'm glad on Doctor Who now they've decided to put the Next Time trailers right at the end of the episode after the credits for the two part stories. But I still watch them and remember "Hang on... didn't I say I was going to avoid them this week? AAARGH!"

Do they ever give you a completely misleading impression of a forthcoming episode?

I can't remember which story but there was one trailer that made me think "Well that'll be a tense and exciting episode!" only to find when I watched it, the Next Time trailer had pretty much the best parts of the episode in them!

Do they ever put you off watching next week?

No. You can switch off any time you like but you can NEVER LEAVE!
*Guitar solo that cuts out the minute I remember where I am.

EDIT: And Utopia had the best Next Time trailer. (Even though it showed the Doctor and co back on Earth...)

[Zbigniev Hamson]

I don't particularly like them, but then I don't particularly like having the credits squeezed down to a postage stamp while someone shouts over them either. These are just par for the course for television these days though so what can you do.

The only ones I've ever avoided watching were in the middle of a two-parter. I don't mind seeing a glimpse of an upcoming story, but I don't like having the tension of the one I'm in the middle of ruined.

The only one that springs to mind that "spoiled" anything was the one for the Doctor's Daughter, that showed Little Miss Who backflipping through a load of Laser beams. Which sort of ruined the intended "ooh, how is she going to get through all those laser beams" tension in the actual episode. Next Time trailers so often seem to totally act against the intentions of the actual episodes in that sort of way, that it's hard to believe the same production team can possibly be involved in making them.

Plus, they've inspired the God-awful trend of people making youtube versions for stories from 1973, which is akin to RAPING MY CHILDHOOD.

Yes, so not a massive fan in summary, but not as bad as the TARDISodes.

[Dino]

Plus, they've inspired the God-awful trend of people making youtube versions for stories from 1973, which is akin to RAPING MY CHILDHOOD.

Oh yes, forgot about those... They can't keep anything nice can they?

[Larry]

even back in 2005, it was pretty common for most BBC, series like Spooks , Waking the Dead and Silent Witness to have a brief next time at the end of each episode so Doctor Who was just following the normal practice. Personaly It's never bothered me at all regardless of whether it's a singal or two parter and TBH, I like having those little sneak pre-views.

[Perry Vale]

Were they a good idea?

Not really. They only serve to show (imo) that the makers have very little faith in their work, plus they 'take you out' of the work and spoil every ending just at the point you'd like to be digesting what you've just seen.

Have you ever avoided watching them?

I tend to these days if I can, as they serve no purpose for me.

Have they ever spoiled a story for you?

To some degree, yes, in a few cases.

Do they ever give you a completely misleading impression of a forthcoming episode?

They did make most of series 2-4 look more exciting than they turned out to be.

Do they ever put you off watching next week?

Not really, for reasons mentioned above. I choose what tv I watch for different reasons, and always have.


I far prefer what they did with (the new) Battlestar Galactica, where they show very brief snippets at the start of the episode...

[Si Hunt]

I like them, and there was nothing like the high at the end of "Bad Wolf" being somehow heightened by those exciting clips of the TARDIS being fired at by missiles in space and the booming voice of the Emporer. At their best, they say to you "Don't breath out just yet, this is all still to come!".

But it's an art, and I agree that occasionally mood has been ruined. They shouldn't follow a sad ending, for example.

There's a lovely moment at the end of every season finale when you think "oh well that's it for this year" then suddenly wonder if we're about to get a new episode title or glimpse of what's to come at Christmas time.

Si.

[Perry Vale]

Oh just to add, I suffer them (now) of course, but no way in hell should there be one inbetween two-parters. The episode you've just watched should be advert enough to make you tune in the following week, if not they shouldn't be making television at all...