Dr Who News (5)

[janetteB @janetteb]

sounds as though Murdoch media might have it wrong. just stumbled on a mention on this upcoming series. Seems like it is definitely happening though one can never be entirely certain these days. (I hope it isn’t too much like Torchwood)

cheers

Janette

[nerys @nerys]

@janetteb This looks like the cast I saw in the third installment of the 60th anniversary specials.

@whohar @dentarthurdent I agree that knowing who the Sun’s owner is is key to understanding the article’s slant. I do hope the end is not near. After all, I just got back on board with the specials. But, we live in uncertain times.

[WhoHar @whohar]

@nerys @janetteb @dentarthurdent

The War Between the Land and the Sea is part of the current BBC-Disney deal. IIRC they signed up for (something like) an initial 25 episodes total. Which would mean an 8-episode season 2. I would have preferred a longer run, but I’ll take what I can get at this point.

Still no release date for TWBtLatS that I can find.

While I expect the “axed” story to be over-sensationalised guff and (mainly) untrue, the fact it is there at all is perhaps significant; there may be something going on behind the scenes that we won’t become aware of until much later.

All that said, I think a shake-up would do the show some good, starting with splitting the script editing out from the Showrunner role.

[WhoHar @whohar]

Saturday 12th April confirmed as Season 2 / Series 15 / Season 41 release date.

A whole bunch of guest stars also announced – but I won’t post the list here because of spoilers.

I’m expecting an 8-episode run but I haven’t seen that confirmed yet.

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

Season Trailer

 

[WhoHar @whohar]

@blenkinsopthebrave

I saw this earlier. Looks promising. Fingers crossed.

[janetteB @janetteb]

@blenkinsopthebrave thank you for sharing the trailer. Wow the cgi budget is obvious. As long as there is still that cosiness that is an essential element of Dr Who. It does look promising though. Looking forward to April.

Cheers

Janette.

[nerys @nerys]

OK, that looks good! Still waiting for my library to get Ncuti Gatwa’s first season, but I don’t think it spoils anything to see this trailer for his second.

[ps1l0v3y0u @ps1l0v3y0u]

So…

The Doctor thinks it odd that Munday from Boom has rocked up…

People being ejected into space from something that is apparently NOT the Tardis: a classroom? a village hall? A diner???

No obviously familiar villains…

Gatwa deploying his rather arch ‘rock through time’ intonation. That could get a bit annoying.

Rylan Clark!

Otherwise… flashy.

[winston @winston]

@blenkinsopthebrave   Thanks for this.  It does look exciting and even a little scary and I can’t wait. I agree with @janetteb that the cgi looks great and the episodes look action packed but I also like some coziness. As @ps1l0v3y0u says it does look flashy. Bring on the flash.

I am so lucky because this will be one of the first times I will be able to watch with everyone else and I am looking forward to that. We got Disney for a year (thank you daughter) so April 12th is marked on the calendar with a big red question mark.

stay calm

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

Intriguing announcement of forthcoming episode titles

[ps1l0v3y0u @ps1l0v3y0u]

@blenkinsopthebrave
The Robot Revolution, Wish World and The Reality War all seem to resonate to my mind.

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

New trailer

 

[janetteB @janetteb]

@blenkinsopthebrave Now that looks good. Less “flashy” than the previous trailer. thanks for sharing it. April 12, not long to wait..

Cheers

Janette

[winston @winston]

@blenkinsopthebrave   Thanks for that. Bow ties are still cool,especially pink ones.

April 12th is coming soon!

stay strong

[WhoHar @whohar]

@blenkinsopthebrave  @janetteb @winston

That’s a good trailer, smaller but bigger at the same time. (How is a trailer like a TARDIS?)

The bit where they end up animated looks like a lot of fun.

[Devilishrobby @devilishrobby]

I think this is probably the best place to discuss the rumour that the Tardis set has been or is in the process of being dismantled  this is only rumour at the moment as far as I’m aware. If the Tardis set has been dismantled it may not indicate the supposed hiatus that has been put forward by many commentators but may actually indicate Ncuti has indeed left the show as has also been rumored. My reasoning that this is a possibility is that generally the Tardis set has been replaced with each regeneration. To be honest I’m hoping both these rumours are false and incorrect.

 

[ps1l0v3y0u @ps1l0v3y0u]

RTD2 has been a curates egg. 50/50 so far, maybe 60/40 in favour.

Falling ratings… this is the significant measure. Also not. Lots of ‘big’ shows get cancelled. Flash Forward was a while ago. Was it that badly received? Severance won’t be cancelled but then it’s on a ‘grown up’ platform. And yes the ratings are great and the show is good: it’s the triple threat. Star Trek ToS was lucky to get a third season. TNG too.

So, is it a question of who you sign up with? I ain’t convinced Disney will ever ‘get’ WHO anymore than JD would ‘get’ The Handmaid’s Tale. Michael Grade had the gall to hammer WHO for not being Star Wars, which aside from the cgi, is EXTRAORDINARILY inferior and derivative sci fi saddled with idiotic dialogue. Really, IT IS.

Oh and MG wanted the budget for a soap opera.

The problem is always internal to the show: sci fi or fantasy; kids show or horror/satire? It’s a peculiar mix. Really quite idiosyncratic. Maybe the problem is Brits literally can’t afford to be distinctly British anymore. Anymore than they can make steel. Or NOT resent success. When we try, we get ‘household budgets’ and productivity quoted back at us by beancounters. Well, anyone can be cheap, but are they any good?

Preceding history: neither C. Baker nor Whittaker are bad actors. Conversely, Tennant rocked up on the back of Casanova, and his Hamlet rocked, whereas Tom was genuinely left field. But both had a creative and sympathetic showrunning team, NOT JNT and Chib.

Showrunner hubris? Surely JNT was out of depth and no one else fancied the gig? There is a case that because JNT didn’t give in, he prolonged the show. Good news if you like Vengance on Varos, or Ace. I do. The rest of post 1984? Not so much.

RTD may have given himself an impossible task this time. He does like to do everything all at once. Is this why the script edding now seems so dodgy? I’m sure it’s not for want of trying but you can’t polish a small brown Richard the third.

[WhoHar @whohar]

@devilishrobby @ps1l0v3y0u

It’s all hearsay atm, and there may be more innocent explanations. As you point out, the Tardis is often rebooted when there is a new Doctor. If this is the case, then the next casting is going to be very interesting.

I’m pretty neutral on another regen, as I am not sold on Gatwa as the Doc. Dunno why, just some actors don’t have enough Doctoriness about them (or the writing doesn’t allow it).

It’s not about just the lead. As above, C Baker and Jodie Whittaker were / are decent actors. The point about both of them is that their seasons were not well received. There’s a kind of alchemy about most shows and Who is no exception (and, due to the nature of the show, might even need that undefinable magic more than most).

Plus, the TV world has changed. Quality is generally up, so poorer shows tend to stand out, and the audience has lots of other options. It’s also far more commercial, so quality alone may not be enough (thankfully the BBC is a bit of an outlier, but the streaming channels are not). Did anyone see Kaos? A solid, well written and acted show that was canned by Netflix because the viewing figures (which were reasonable) didn’t support the large budget. That’s after one season. No chance to bed the show in. Gone. It’s brutal.

My hope is that the BBC take Who back in house and find a way to reboot with a smaller budget, more intimate stories and a fresh creative team. RTD has done an absolutely outstanding job and we wouldn’t even be talking here without him. But he’s been writing Who for 20 years on and off, so no surprise it’s getting a little stale.

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