Dr Who – A Celebration?
by wolfweed
This year we are celebrating 50 years of Doctor Who.
‘Hmph! You could’ve fooled me!’, I hear you cry!
The story goes that the BBC are the Doctor’s scariest enemy. The men in suits are conspiring to kill the show (again). They’re happy to bleed fans dry of cash but not to provide free episodes (‘Underwater Menace’ episode 2, anyone?).
If you’ve followed the show since 2011’s series 6, you’ll know that we’re undeniably worse off now than we were then. It seems an age ago since we lost a full series (14 ep’s) per year and waved goodbye to the sister show (which was arguably Doctor Who’s equal) ‘Doctor Who Confidential’.
Now that we’re becoming increasingly aware of the BBC’s recent cash squandering, we feel that we are even more entitled to our opinions on these decisions.
This year will give us 10 episodes which is at least an improvement on last year’s feeble 6.
Objectively though, we’re down 4 episodes and 14 Confidentials. There haven’t been any online games this year either. And this is a SPECIAL year.
Now let’s try to compare the Anniversary ‘Extras’. Let’s use Coronation Street’s 50th in 2010.
It was the BBC who commissioned a one-off drama called ‘The Road to Coronation Street’, about how the series first came into being. It was broadcast on BBC Four.
We will of course get ‘An Adventure in Space and Time‘, a 90 minute drama about Doctor Who’s creation which will be broadcast on BBC 2 in November.
ITV of course had a few special programs marking Coronation Street’s 50th anniversary!
The live episode, of course. Followed by ‘Coronation Street Uncovered: Live’, on ITV 2. There was a countdown on the greatest Corrie moments, ‘Coronation Street: 50 Years, 50 Moments’. Paul O’Grady hosted a quiz show, ‘Coronation Street: The Big 50’ . Also, ‘Come Dine with Me’ and ‘Celebrity Juice’ aired Coronation Street specials in the anniversary week.
On the Home front, this year we’ve already been treated to a special Doctor Who edition of the quiz ‘Pointless‘.
You may want to erase the memory of the fact we had that Comic Relief sketch too.
November (again) will provide us with a Culture Show Documentary on Who by Matthew Sweet (Yes – Mr Sweet!) which will air on BBC 2.
On this very Saturday we’ll get to hear the Doctor Who Prom. (I’m sure we’ll see it too, soon!) We’ll be treated to a new song to celebrate the year.
So the Anniversary ‘Extras’ are generally in proportion with other shows of equal stature.
We can compare this year’s output with other Doctor Who Anniversaries too of course, but I won’t fixate on that here. Stories from those years are analysed here:
http://io9.com/5962840/the-complete-guide-to-every-single-doctor-who-anniversary-special-ever
Part of the problem we have might also be the hype and subsequent expectation levels. BBC Drama boss Ben Stephenson compared Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary to last year’s London Olympics and Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. Stephenson said that he hoped the sci-fi show’s birthday would be a “Landmark event” for 2013.
“Last year we have the wonderful Jubilee and wonderful Olympics. This year we have the opportunity to make drama the landmark event for the BBC,” he said.
“Everyone has a connection to Doctor Who and we can do something really spectacular with it.”
Granted, hype about the Olympics lasted 3 years, whilst the actual games lasted a couple of months. Thankfully, despite the ‘hype-to-event ratio’, it didn’t disappoint.
Other events this year include the BFI screenings of each Doctor. The Comic Con appearances. And of course the instantly sold out ‘Celebration’ Convention (the modern ‘Longleat’) will host 15,000 attendees over 3 days.
The Anniversary Special Episode will of course be longer than an hour, in ‘real’ 3-D and also shown in cinemas.
I’m sure you can expect a Blue Peter Special and a Radio Times Cover (and hopefully a Radio Times Special.) come November too.
As for the merchandise thing (And how the Beeb handle it)- That’s deserving of a blogpost brawl in itself (Anyone care to start it?). The Royal Mail stamps were a great coup and although it’s an obvious idea, it was by no means a certainty. We should be a little bit thankful for those, even if it is just more £££££££££££$$$$$$$$$$$$ kerching!
It’s certainly undeniable that this year is saturated with Doctor Who merchandise, for good or for bad.
One last issue of note – Will we be shown any repeats (on BBC 3 perhaps)? Is it possible that the Beeb are afraid (embarrassed even?) to air old shows? If we’re granted anything – how long will it last – and what will we be given (One show per Doctor? Not the Twin Dilemma, surely?)?
Perhaps if by January 1st 2014 we judge the effort to have been a ‘thumbs down’, we should proceed to write our complaints to Charlotte Moore, who is currently overseeing the Doctor Who 50th celebrations…..
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@wolfweed – that was masterfully detailed. And many thanks to you for answering @PhaseShift‘s call [and so swiftly!] for a single venue in which to vent our spleens.
I have a complaint: that you should have provided an email or other link to Charlotte Moore. (Perhaps she is known to you, and you were loath to point our combined vitriol to descend her way?! 🙂 ) We don’t need to wait until January 2014 to express our displeasure; if she has tricks up her sleeve not yet announced for the time until November, perhaps our gentle reminders could force her hand to announce what’s coming up, heretofore unannounced, to satiate our desire for more Who in this anniversary year?
“Part of the problem we have might also be the hype and subsequent expectation levels”
In my view, that ain’t part of the problem, that is the problem. That’s a wonderful amount of research you did on the comparison to Coronation Street. But was the ‘hype’ of that show’s anniversary comparable to the hype of Doctor Who’s anniversary? That’s an important comparison measurement. I’m afraid that all the DW merchandising opportunities we’ve been presented with so far do not, in my opinion, mean that the expectations raised by the hype have been satisfied. Seriously, an honourary stamp just doesn’t do it for me.
You bring up a hope that there will be repeats … but this is still a hope. Our Antipodean and American friends have been lavished with repeats of BG Who episodes. We here in the UK have had bupkiss.
That was indeed a very quick response and interesting to compare it with something like Coronation St on a similar anniversary, well done on the research too. A place to rant – thank you thank you thank you!
Now while I am aware there may be a degree of ARSE* creeping in here, even with the reasonable (lower case) fans, I think you are right when you say expectations have been raised due to the various statements, some of which you quote, by people who should be in a position to know.
Resentment sets in when –
1 Those statements aren’t followed through in reality; the perception by a lot of fans is that there is LESS DW on TV screens this year than in previous years. Showings at BFI and cinema screenings don’t count in terms of the BBC – they are not on TV and they are not freely available. The inclusion of DW related themes at the proms is already a regular occurance
2 The amount of DVD releases and merchandising opportunities seem to take over everything else, including screeing those old episodes. Wolfweed suggests the BBC may be embarrassed about the quality of some of those said episodes (which also links in with their whole (perceived) snobbish and condescending attitude to the fact that one of their longest running, most popular drama programmes is a “kids’ scifi” serial (re previous posts in various places by @Bluesqueakpip and @Nick in particular).
If they are so embarrassed by the old series (either the programmes themselves or they think eg the b/w ones aren’t close enough to current broadcast standards technically) – why are they so frantically packagaing and repackaging those very same old episodes and rushing them out on DVD, sometimes with very token/tacky add-ons? eg the link Wolfweed posted yesterday to a limited edition, anniversary special repackaging of Terror of the Zygons (retailing at £62). Which as a “vanilla edition” (no special features) leaves scope for them to bring out a second version with extra material/interviews etc (a non-anniversary special) later in the year.
If they are good enough to sell on DVD they are good enough to broadcast. And that’s the nub. The BBC could screen old episodes for example, but it’s choosing not to, not even late night on BBC3 or BBC4. Instead it chooses to capitalise on the fact that there is a very limited amount of Dr Who on screen in a year when it is supposed to be “so special”, by pushing DVDs (in various new, exciting combinations, folks!).
They know the appetite is there – they know how rapacious Who fans are from long experience, and they’re encouraging it through their marketing. They probably also know that even if they did screen the old shows (for example) that fans would still buy the products. People who like to have DVDs will buy DVDs no matter how often it’s shown on screen.
So the signs are there that even in this anniversary year the BBC’s attitude to Dr Who hasn’t changed over the decades – they are still the same corporation that could wipe over old recordings, undermine it terminally in the 80s, and try again (if RTD’s reports are to be believed) with the reboot in 2005. But they will milk the merchandising potential for all they’re worth.
*ARSE – A Raging Sense of Entitlement (see @JimtheFish‘s Media Mongers blogs)
@Shazzbot -There’s an email address for Charlotte Moore here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/whos-who/tv/knowledge/documentaries-1/charlotte-moore.shtml
(Amusingly, the page & Job Title are not up to date) Perhaps someone can find an up-to-date official link?
I’m sure that just writing to the ‘Dear BBC‘ in goat’s blood would reach the right ears too… (Joke!)
@ScaryB – There was no Doctor Who Prom in the UK last year (Much missed it was too!)
Sorry for rant above! But just one more thing…
A lot of the supporting extra-TV events seem to be good. I’m unlikely to be able to get to any of the BFI screenings, but it’s good that they are doing it, and including panel discussions. The BBC may be funding some of these outside events but it also gets benefits from them in generating programme content and profile. The book commissions are a nice touch too, but again they are revenue generating.
BUT the in-house (ie on-screen) celebration is woeful. The BBC is primarily a public broadcaster. That is its raison d’etre. It gets public funding to perform that function. That’s why I expect more Dr Who programmes to be shown on BBC. It’s why I expect the BBC to show the results of their apparently massive rennovations of the old recordings on publicly available terrestrial TV. Maybe that just makes me an ARSE in which case I hold my hands up!
Everyone and their auntie who can use a keyboard seems to be getting in on the act, not because they really care who the next Dr will be, or because they genuinely love the show, but in search of those all important clicks they know DW articles inspire (while laughing up their sleeves at how Dr Who fans take it all too seriously). @DanMartinUK‘s affectionate blogs are all too rare outwith the fanbases.
Bottom line is the BBC is the only body which can authorise broadcasts of Dr Who. It owns the copyright of the show and the characters. River Song does not belong to Stephen Moffat, she belongs to the BBC. Dr Who might be the child of Newman/Lambert/Hussein (and all the creative others who have been its aunties, uncles and step-parents over the years) but it is bonded to the BBC at least until the copyright runs out.
It seems to me that what screened events there are, are mostly coming through the efforts of the production team in Cardiff, where the affection for the show is obvious. But they are doubly seen as outsiders – they produce (and are self declared fans of) a kids scifi show and they are not based in London. Both of these things make them vulnerable should the BBC decide they no longer want to fund a mainstream Dr Who. Which may be why they are so keen to establish DW on BBC Worldwide, just in case. But that’s a rant for another blog, haha.
Maybe the announcement of the winter schedules will prove me wrong. I’d be delighted.
@Wolfweed No Doctor Who Prom last year, but they do have them fairly regularly (And apologies for venting all over your blog! See what you started?!)
@ScaryB – This is Doctor Who! Of course there’s an escape through a vent!
@wolfweed
Many thanks for this – just what is needed and the comparisons are great (with more than a little knowing humour) 😉 I shall be back later with some thoughts.
@ScaryB
This will only be the third Prom, believe it or not. The first was 2008, the second 2010.
That’s what it’s here for. Better than people having periodic vents on every thread on the forum.
@wolfweed – “we should proceed to write our complaints to Charlotte Moore, who is currently overseeing the Doctor Who 50th celebrations”
Well, because my embarrassment threshold appears to have dropped to dangerously low levels over the years, I did indeed send an email to the [presumably fragrant] Ms Moore. I got an automated out-of-office reply saying she’s incommunicado until Monday 22 July, but with a suggested alternative of Dan McGolpin and which also mentioned her assistant Joanna Morgan.
So, yes, I forwarded my original message to Dan, cc’d to Joanna, and now await any kind of response. ( ! )
If you want to see my cringeworthily appeasing … erm, ’eminently respectful’ message requesting more information on DW UK TV plans for 2013, let me know and I’ll [cringe!] repost it here. But I’d rather wait to post any kind of response I might get. Wouldn’t that be interesting. 🙂
I rather hoped that with the BBC’s apparent viewpoint that the only Doctor Who fans are wee ickle bairns and sad lonely single men sitting in their jim-jams in their mothers’ basements (ha ha! *), an articulate message from an adult female might throw them a googly and actually prompt a response.
* Little do they know I’m a single woman sitting in my jim-jams** at my kitchen table, but that’s another story entirely. 😀
** no, I’m fully dressed. Behave!
@Shazzbot
Charlotte Moore has had a whole fortnight since she was appointed, to organise our deepest desires.
I really hope you didn’t tell her that the goat’s blood was my idea….!
Did you write something like, ‘Where the Hell is my Who?!’
I think whatever disappointment I feel over the celebrations for the 50th is tempered by the memory of where we were for the 30th anniversary. Dimensions in Time and a documentary on BBC. Or for the 40th anniversary, which had old episodes and documentaries, if you could afford access to UK Gold (major shareholder – BBC Worldwide).
I do think a trick has been missed in not showing old episodes, but they’ve not been shown on TV since UK Gold stopped showing them in 2005, when the BBC bought the show back. The exception was a showing of Hand of Fearon BBC4 in tribute to Liz Sladen. Reasonable, but not great results with 1.1% of the audience. After the nostalgia fest of Name of the Doctor, and with a few intros as we’ve seen BBC America do, perhaps that would be different? BG Who is always going to be more niche interest though.
I think those documentaries and episodes shown in the US and Australia/New Zealand are a sore point for many. If the BBC can do it over there, why not here? BBC Worlwide/BBC America are completely separate entities from the BBC though – a quite deliberate arrangement to stop licence fee money flowing out of the country, while allowing revenue to flow in, as the BBC is the shareholder of Worldwide, which wholly owns BBC America. That they make content with their own money is a fact, and that our licence fee does not guarantee access to that content is another fact. The commercial arm has always been more prepared to sell and promote BBC content better than the BBC does. They don’t care if it’s low or high art – just that it sells/gets the audience.
Ultimately, if we get eight episodes, two specials, a docudrama and a few documentaries, I’ll take what I can get.
It could be a lot worse.
I am having a “year of who” though, and this site is giving it to me with others thoughts and memories. Many thanks to all who contribute. This year is what we want to make of it.
@wolfweed – yes, goat’s blood, your name and address and phone number and work contact details plus bank accounts and close family contact details … ALL were included in my email.
And there were more exclamation points and bolding than a Daily Mail article.
😀
No, like I said, I was cringing and appeasing – erm, entirely respectful, simply enquiring when we here in the UK might possibly, perhaps, have the kind of DW TV experience in this hallowed 50th anniversary year that our friends in the States and Australia have had on their TV schedules; to wit, some ‘classic’ episodes and specials.
@PhaseShift – fair point, sort of , about the Hand of Fear ratings. But the sudden and sad death of Elisabeth Sladen can’t in any way be compared to the hype / build-up / promises / whatever that we’ve been sold for so long that the ’50 Anniversary Celebratory Year!!!!!’ would be.
I did not know all that about the corporate ownership of the various BBC arms. Quite interesting.
You’re getting a lot out of this site?! You’re contributing so much to it!
@shazzbot
I posted those figures as indicative of interest though, and they do stand up. The showings were well publicised on CBBC, NewsRound, the various blogs set up in condolance at her death, Most of the Papers including the Guardian, etc. They attracted less than a quarter of the audience for SJA, which does suggest a resistance to watching older product.
@PhaseShift – “They attracted less than a quarter of the audience for SJA, which does suggest a resistance to watching older product.”
Or, a lack of promotion of the product?
@Shazzbot – If you do use the goat’s blood, always write in bold! Also, you must draw lots of pictures!
@PhaseShift – There was also the 35th (evening on BBC2). I’m not sure but I think I missed that one.
Ahhh, @wolfweed, I think I must have blinked and missed that one as well. 🙂
@Phaseshift
Oh, I completely agree, and I am delighted that we have any currently-being-screened (good quality) new Dr Who to talk about at all! Not to mention the group watching of BG episodes and the Moffatt run, which was a great idea.
That’s interesting on the audience figs for Hand of Fear, thanks for posting. The problem with BG episodes is that they have such a bad reputation with the mainstream public – the cliche about all those shaky sets, forgetting lines etc. But a run on eg BBC3 or BBC4 might cause some people to reassess. particularly the ones that have been cleaned up for DVD release.
And agree completely with that too, including space for the odd rant. I think it was the £62 special edition Zygons that set me off! It’s all part of the texture (or do I mean padding, haha) of this great space.
ROFL-ing at @Wolfweed @Shazzbot
Not to mention write in capitals 🙂
btw I wasn’t having a go at the Proms, or @Wolfweed for mentioning it, just saying that it wasn’t a unique thing for this year; there is a good bit of 50th related stuff out there… but it’s not half as much fun as celebrating in here. 🙂
Not, at all, defending the BBC, but I understand that there is a new Radio story coming that features each of the incarnations and some old companions, as well as scheduled repeats of what the BBC consider key stories.
I was told at one point that the Gatiss special would be followed by Unearthly Child and that the list was Time Meddler, Tenth Planet, Ice Warriors, Mind Robber, Terror of the Autons, Three Doctors, Time Warrior, Planet of the Spiders, Terror of the Zygons, Robots of Death, City of Death, Logopolis, Castrovalva, Kinda, Five Doctors, Caves of Androzani, Twin Dilemma, Two Doctors, Revelation of the Daleks, Time and the Rani, Dragonfire, Curse of Fenric, Survival, the Movie, then all of series 1 -6 of AG.
I was told that BBC would be the Doctor Who channel in November 2013, with repeats of past documentaries and specials as well.
But the two people who told me that have left the BBC now and no one there is confirming or denying anything.
Then there is the recovered episodes rumour, which adds to the repeat mix: Marco Polo, Celestial Toymaker, Power of the Daleks and Web of Fear.
And, supposedly, a night where single episodes of lost stories would be played out, linked by old companions.
And a new documentary which puts together a lot of footage of each Doctor in their own time talking about the role and what it meant…
And, be still your hearts, a Strictly special with ex Doctors and Companions…
Story was that BBC would not confirm details because they did not want ITV to schedule hard against the anniversary stuff – so no schedule announcements til very late in the day.
My own view is that if anything like that was going to happen, leaks would have occurred by now.
So I suspect it is all pie in the sky…
Still…..nice to dream.
@HTPBEDT
Cue the lovely Bonnie Langford making a comeback, nooooooo!!!
Knowing our luck the above is all we’ll get.
@HTPBDET
Now just stop it! That’s cruel 😉 (tho you’d certainly get my vote to be next DG of BBC)
I could see staff changes being part of the problem. (I acutally defend the BBC strongly on occasions, just not on DW!)
Oh, be still my beating heart <need to lie down now>
@Chickenelly
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo <bleurgh!>
I wouldn’t have expected much fanfare about the 50th direct from the BBC until Autumn at the earliest.
We’ve already had some fantastic episodes this year and we know about the specials. As much as I would like to see some classic episodes (even one per Doctor) on the TV I don’t think they would get much of an audience over the summer months. I believe it was low ratings over summer that was part of the reason they split Doctor Who up in recent years.
The only reason I feel slightly disappointed is because I think it was Moff himself that said the whole year was going to be full of Who
By the way, I remember BBC4 showing the original” The Daleks” episodes with the first Doctor a few years back but I only discovered them by accident. The BBC doesn’t seem to promote BBC4 stuff
Great post, @wolfweed, and great follow-up comments from @everyone.
As possibly one of the most vocal in my dissatisfaction with the anniversary celebrations, it’s probably time I pulled my neck back in a bit. As @wolfweed points out, we’re not doing that badly compared to the celebrations of other anniversaries. (And as @PhaseShift says, it could be a whole lot worse.)
But a number of things still irk. Namely:
1. Moffatt’s assertion that Who ‘would be everywhere’ this year. It clearly hasn’t been, so I definitely echo @thommck‘s criticisms on this one.
2. The overt commercialism of what publicity there has been. To me, it’s giving the whole anniversary a cynical and rather exploitative sheen.
But at the same time, I don’t think I was really expecting an all-singing, all-dancing year of constant Who. Which ultimately would have been tiring and possibly would have led to a backlash by the time it was actually time to air the anniversary specials.
However, I think I would have liked to have seen some new documentaries — such as a serious one on the fans, for example; or one looking at the show’s cultural impact etc. And while it’s definitely true that Old Who episodes really don’t do that well when broadcast now, I think the Beeb could have taken the ratings hit for the sake of the anniversary and done something like 1980’s Five Faces retrospective. An episode (or even a double-bill, if more convenient in terms of scheduling) could easily have been accommodated on BBC 3 or 4 at the start or the end of scheduling. And failing a full Doctors retrospective, then just showing The Three Doctor and the Five Doctors (I think I could live well without the Two Doctors) shouldn’t be too much to fit in somewhere.
But if Old Who is considered too lo-def to be shown these days, then a mini-retrospective of Nu Who could surely be accommodated. There’s seven years of episodes there that could be re-run, say in the Friday evening BBC 3 spot where the first run episodes would be repeated.
I don’t think a single (if only token) scheduling slot would have been too much to ask in this of all years.
The main issue though is probably one that’s been inherited from previous series. If it’s indeed true that the series 7 split was down to Moffatt’s overspend (on series five? six?) and that it was split in order that there was at least some new Who on the anniversary year, then we are indeed doing quite well.
But it still just seems that compared to ‘normal’ years of Who of late, there is just comparatively not as much going on in terms of new stories. If we’d been looking at series 7.2 at the start of the year then say series 8.1 at the end of it, encompassing an anniversary story as part of it then I’d have been more than happy.
I think @bluesqueakpip made an interesting point about how Who is seen in the BBC on the News thread with “The Proms are ‘cultural’. They involve ‘proper’ art.”
You can see this attitude in the Proms itself. @Craig posted a link to an interview with Murray Gold On the Sofa. In the Proms guide, the interviewer (Mark Lawson) noted, in amongst all the profiles of composers new & old whose work will be profiled, his name is completely absent. Gold laughs it off, saying these are the last vestiges of the high art/low art arguments.
I’m sure he knows that, with the exception of the First and Last Night events, his will be the most oversubscribed Proms in the season. In doing that, he perfectly fills the remit of the Proms which is to introduce people (and in this case a lot of young people) to the power of orchestral and choral music. It must make the Prom organisers grind their teeth though. It’s not “proper” music is it, if it comes from films or TV?
That’s the attitude of some elements of the BBC hierarchy. It’s not proper drama. Worlwide on the other hand, knows the audience is there for genre, and can’t really get enough of it. So when ITV cancelled their “Primeval” TV series on a cliffhanger, BBC America (wholly owned BBC Worldwide) and UKTV’s (Major shareholder BBC Worldwide) Watch channel were two organisations who helped bankroll the final series, to be shown on ITV in this country. It does highlight the really odd relationships that form with the current set-up.
@JimTheFish
There is so much rumour around this one. Private Eye (not excactly big SM fans) reported that the final RTD “specials” season ran hugely over budget due to issues with overseas shooting, problems with the last two parter and the general “stop-start” approach to production that year rather than filming in distinct blocks. They reported that SM inherited that overspend as well as a BBC demand to reduce spending per episode (that void was filled by money BBC America, organised through Worldwide hence a co-production credit for them). They suggested this was the reason more expensive episodes such as “The Doctors Wife” were pushed back into the sixth season.
How much of this to believe I don’t know. It’s certainly true an accident with the bus when transporting led to them having to scrap two buses and write off the cost.
@Phaseshift — yes, there’s so much rumour flying around as to when, where and whose fault the overspend is. Or even, I suppose, if it ever happened in the first place. Although I suspect that the existence of the ‘half series’s we’ve just had are the proof that it did…
@Chickenelly
Ha! You love a bit of Bonnie!
Her neice, who looks like her a little, but with black hair is the temptress in Merrily We Roll Along on the West End at the moment, while the Diva herself alternates between Spamalot on the West End and Nine to Five on tour.
@ScaryB
I am just telling you what I was told.
But it was ages ago…before Entwhistle was forced to leave. I think that the power base in the BBC has changed significantly in the last year and so SM may have been promised “Doctor Who will be everywhere” but it has not panned out that way.
@Wolfweed
I guess we should give credit for the two separate sets of 50th anniversary book series this year. Do you think?
@JimtheFish
Nail and head re your
Took me 2 rants and about a dozen paragraphs to say what you neatly summed up in 1.5 lines 🙂
Didn’t expect year long saturation coverage but even a few of @HTPBDET‘s suggestions would be nice in November. As I said, if the restored episodes are good enough for DVD sales, they’re good enoough for broadcast.
Anyway, spose we have to wait till the schedule announcements (in Sept?). If someone doesn’t leak it before then 🙂
@Phaseshift Poor Murray Gold – he can’t win; you’re right – it highlights attitudes very sharply
@HTPBDET I agree, I think the changes at the top at BBC will be reverberating round for a while yet, together with all the recent flack they’ve been taking. They’ll want to re-establish their reputation as a serious, reliable, heavyweight braodcaster, who’s great value for the licence fee. I can understand how they might see that celebrating Dr Who’s 50th might not fit in as a priority. (Doesn’t mean I forgive them though!)
I don’t have much to add, but what could have been done for the anniversary, is what we’re doing here.
But with scale (as they say).
[and by “they” I mean me]
Basically a multi screen/ interface experience of the show in realtime as well as shifted, keeping memories, interpretations and pondering about what-will-happen as narrative threads, that all interweave.
yep – all high-concept agency bullshit (which i used to do and may do in the future), but that is actually being delivered by an organic ‘community’ ‘forum’.
@Craig – I mentioned “desire lines” once almost jokingly, but….
I’m from that digital agency land and this 50th anniversary year would’ve been the pitch to die for. Zero budget, multi channel, multi region… all the more interesting.
ok fair enough, all these high falutin’ pitches get delivered as massively less than what is promised but mainly because pitches ignore actual execution….
in terms of execution, this space delivers a higher end-value-to-cost, above anything I’ve ever been involved in, because it relies on fan’s free input rather than paid for editorial/ moderation.
my hunch is that ‘brand’ and copyright’ get in the way of ‘enjoyment’ ‘fondness’ and even ‘love’. Or long term payback.
and Craig – we’re all still willing to pay the low cost here, because splitting ‘low’ by many is inconsequential to most of us.
Yet the value is so high.
@HTPBDET – The Beeb does deserve credit for the two book series. There are a lot of other great publications coming out this year. Lots of other great merchandising too. Unfortunately a lot of these products are increasingly not making it into mainstream shops. That’s probably down to a lot of factors but it’s slightly worrying, as all available forms of Who help to feed the frenzy.
The fact that there’s a lot more going on at the Dr Who Merchandise site on a daily basis than there is in the Official Who site is liable to cause some consternation…
I for one am as obsessed by all the ‘product’ that’s churned out, as I am with the show that spawned it. It doesn’t mean that I purchase it all, although I probably would if I was a Billionaire!
@Whisht – well said!
thanks @HTPBDET – on re-reading my minirant, I hope people don’t think I’m advocating making money off “free” fan content! (nothing’s free anyway).
I’m definitely not, but (taking just one part of this site as an example), the BBC could easily be supporting and encouraging this kind of sharing, through, oh, I don’t know, maybe airing some bloody classics and providing troll-free forums, or if fan-moderation works better, remunerating them with limited edition boxsets etc.
[sigh]
@HTPBDET @Whisht
Well said indeed. And glad to see this thread moving from extreme grumpiness (esp from me and @JimtheFish) to something a lot more positive. Which is one of the unique features of this site 😀 Thanks to @Craig (and everyone who contributes).
@Whisht – “Yet the value is so high.” More than that – this site is INvaluable! It’s exactly what we want. And what we need. Custom built.
Lots of love from a (not nearly so!) grumpy old Who-fan
@JimTheFish and @PhaseShift It’s a great story for Private Eye, but personally, I’d blame the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee more than Moffat’s overspend. The BBC was having to pony up one heck of a lot of up-front money for sports coverage and Royal events at precisely the point when the licence fee freeze was starting to bite; I have an idea that moving the second half of S7 to a 2013 broadcast meant it was accounted for as 2013 costs.
Rather than contributing to the astronomical 2012 costs.
Regarding the celebrations: it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if the BBC has decided to take a break over the summer. Who is a family show; families don’t generally sit indoors and watch TV over the summer. So their logic would go: S7 part 2 until May, Prom celebrating 50th in June, break for school holidays, restart events in autumn.
I’ve been wondering about this for a while, and really the only thing i’ve really been missing is a series of classic repeats on BBC4 (which I think is more of a natural home for old repeats than BBC3). Some of the documentaries @JimTheFish has suggested would be great, but they’re not something I expected. Whereas I’ve been wondering “where are my classic repeats?” for some time now.
Its not as if the BBC shies away from classic repeats on BBC4. They’ve been showing Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? there recently, and very welcome it is, too, but why not Doctor Who? The only reason I can think is that they’d be embarrassed to do so. Some shows the BBC just seem to want to disown. Bob and Terry are actually a good example of this. A regular BBC4 viewer unfamiliar with TV history could well be unaware that the black and white photos in the title sequence are from an earlier black and white series: the original Likely Lads. Why wasn’t that repeated*? Did the BBC want us to forget that the earlier, stagier show ever existed? Would they rather Bob and Terry only ever existed in colour?
*By which I mean the remaining episodes. The BBCs archivists had the same respect for The Likely Lads as they did for sixties Who.
So, some the BBC simply despises some of its own classics. For a while I’d actually started to hope that maybe Doctor Who was no longer one of them.