Doctor Who [7]

Ive avoided the Sun- their record on accurately spoiling stuff is not good- they tend to get some of it right and make up the rest, and they always tend to ruin things by doing so.

I havent read the article so I cant say how plausible it sounds, but a friend who has read it did send me this quote from that piece Malick-- "The Sun’s “source,” who very possibly doesn’t exist,"

Says it all really  

Bluebottle wrote:Was talking of this on the other thread so.

David Tennant on QI:

A shorter clip for those who doesn't have the time or aren't up for watching the whole thing. Though it's a great episode!

Im getting deja vu Blue! (and thats not good when youre always drunk) I keep thinking 'Ive seen this before' then I go to another thread and there it is again and Im thinking, 'Ive seen this before'- my poor buckied brain!!!  

Ah, well. Though there certainly is an overlap, in yourself among others, I thought there might be a few people who dindn't share a great interest in both Who and Scottish independence. So I put it up both places for those few peoples benefit.

So don't worry. You're not seeing double as of yet.  

You're not seeing double as of yet- Blue

Give me time  

Doctor Who came out top of the most watched programme in the UK for its week-

"The final confirmed rating of 12.8 million viewers puts the programme firmly at the top of the chart"

And those figures dont include the UK Cinema numbers or the iplayer viewing figures, where it has remained in the top 5 most viewed for the entire week.  

after I watched it for the second time I liked it a bit better,

Spoiler:

At least you liked it a bit more I suppose!

Regards the effects- do bear in mind it was in cinemas as a bonus, it was still a tv show budget- the BBC gave them more to spend, but nothing like what a normal film of this length would have got.
I thought the effects people did exceptionally well- and handled the colouring particularly well when you think of a lot of Hollywood films shooting 3D which have had problems in that area or with everything being too dark.

"I was expecting Darth Vadar not some cuddly kind granddad"- Figg

You cant really judge it on the basis it did not do what you expected it to do. Moffat has yet to do what I expect him to do, thats one of the reasons I enjoy his stuff, it always surprises me.

Its not the quality of the effects, its the banality of the war they portrayed. Not that all war isnt banal because it probably is, but this war was supposed to be eerie and nightmarish bad.

so why all the heavy handed forshadowing? it was just an anticlimax rather than a surprise.

the banality of the war they portrayed- Mrs Figg

I am not sure what you expected to see, for me some of the things RTD set up are best left offscreen and to the imagination- I mean how do you portray the Neverwas King and his army of Meanwhiles without turning it into something mundane?

All they showed of the war was the fall of one single city on Gallifrey- Arcadia- on the Last Day of the War and even then only one brief period in that fight.

"why all the heavy handed forshadowing?"

I dont think it doesn't fit or was really foreshadowing anything- he was the Doctors secret- the version of himself he had chosen to deny even to himself for what he done to end the Time War- that's why he is presented as he is, at the point where 11 encounters him inside his own time stream he still thinks that version destroyed everything. So it is dark for the Doctor to have to confront him.

But I dont think he was set up to be evil in Name of the Doctor, there is nothing in the set up says that version was in some way evil, "I did what I had to do in the name of peace and sanity" are hardly the words of an evil man.

Those are certainly very respectable numbers.   Particularily from a show that has been struggling a bit for viewwers over the last couple of series. They are getting close to Tom Baker territory with those kinds of numbers.

More than anything I think it shows that they really succeded in making the 50th into an event. Which is great for both the show as a whole and it's future I suppose.

Particularily from a show that has been struggling a bit for viewwers over the last couple of series- Blue

This is a common misconception promoted by UK tabloids to sell newspapers.
The figures for NuWho across all the seasons since its launch are remarkably consistent.
What has changed is how people are watching it.
When it came back on TV it got an average of between 8-10 million overnights.
Now it gets an average of between 6-8 on overnights.

So the newspapers crow its losing viewers.

The difference of course is when it started there was no iplayer on the BBC and no timeshifting- now the BBC go on the weekly numbers because of this and WHo's viewing figures still average between 8-10 million- same as it always has.

The press choose to ignore the full figure because it means a) they dont have a story - 'Who figures remain steadily good' doesnt seem to sell, and b) they'd have to wait a week instead of going to press on the Monday with the overnights.

he should have been far more Gothic, not evil, thats banal too, but Gothic. and I dont mean Gothic as in Goths, I mean the real deal

I am not sure what you mean by Gothic when applied to a person- I just get images of emo types and goths  

They have been sinking a bit though. For all the criticism one can give RTD he did manage to make Who esential viewing through making the show event television. Moffat stepped away from that for good reasons in my opninion, but it has led to certain segments of the viwership losing their fervent interest for the show.

On the iPlayer figures I'm a bit yes and no. There will be big fans who'll see episodes over several times and who'll have already seen the episode live. So those numbers will be a bit inflated to me.

Also there had been certain rumblings in central circles at the BBC, saying Moffat perhaps where better off spending more of his time on Sherlock.

But the success of the 50th have answeared a lot of that potential criticism well.

The iplayer only records first viewing and you have to watch for a certain amount of time for it to count at all- this stops double counting and fan boys watching 20 times counting as more than 1.

The trend of more and more people watching as they choose is undeniable- when iplayer started Who shifted 0.5 million viewers, now it 2.5

Subsequently overnight viewing figures are down across the board on tv as people watch by other means, except for live events- like xfactor where you phone in, or sporting events like the olympics. (And Day was on opposite xfactor in the UK making its figures even more astonishing)

For drama people no longer see the need to have to watch as broadcast- and thats reflected in the figures.
But the overall viewing figures for Who remain broadly the same as they were when it started- the much touted drop in viewing figures doesnt actually exist.

And if you account for overseas growth the show has never had as big a reach as from series 5 onwards when Moffat took the helm. Its bigger now than it ever has been in its history.

by Gothic I mean like John Malcovitch Gothic, Valmont without the bonking. ambiguous, dangerous, cold. That would make his change of heart more surprising. John Hurt can do Gothic very well, think of his HP work as Ollivander.

I am not an HP fan so not seen that one.

I am not sure how cold you could make him- he has to still be the same person, just under duress- which I thought the introduction to him, where he asks for the gun, blasts 'no more' onto the wall and flies the TARDIS throw it and a bunch of Daleks did do that.
No NuWho Doctors would have done that.

And he hadnt used the Moment yet too remember, so he wasnt that burdened man yet either.

And Who should be about hope, not cynicism, and the Doctor should have hope in him too, especially on his birthday.  

A lot of people will still watch it twice, I guess.  

I do agree with some of your points. But it has lost viewers, how many is obviously discussable, and the 50th will have invigorated it.

I agree on the overseas markets.   It's saleability overseas would have ensured that it would never have been in danger of cancelation this time around.

It will be interesting to see which direction the show takes when Moffat decides to moves on. The strenght in the classic series was it's ability to get new competent people involved with the show and that way have a constant infusal of new ideas. Well, until John Nathan Turner took over that was. So hopefully we can get someone a bit out of left field who can bring something completely new to the show.

Maybe Peter Jackson?  Sorry, only joking.

it has lost viewers- Blue

I would like to know what you base that on?
There is a ratings thread over on Gallifrey Base where the business of ratings gathering has been discussed in painstaking minutiae since NuWHo started it feels, and the record keeping for viewing figures there is very good indeed- Id recommend a visit (but be warned its arguments make this place look like a nice day out on a picnic) and the data would strongly seem to say the level of viewing has remained steady throughout with only minor dips and variations in all seasons.

I would like to see someone like Gaiman take over, he writes well for women characters.

I dont know enough of Gaimans work to judge on that- the Doctors Wife seemed good on the female front, I liked Idris, but on the other hand Clara was a bit off in Nightmare in Silver I thought.

I dont think he would become the showrunner however as he has too many of his own projects on the go, he has already said that despite wanting to he doent have the time to write an episode for the next series, but hopes to do one for the series after that. So I doubt he has the time to man one of the BBC's biggest global products.

pity

Oh, I don't have the numbers in my head and I certainly didn't mean to make that hte crux of my argument in any way. I do know it has struggled quite badly over the second part of series 7. But it was more a general point seen together with the newspapers reports, that you mentioned, and the murmurs at the BBC.

I was mostly trying to make a positive point on that base that the show would be reinvigorated by the 50th and a lot of potential criticism, like the newspapers, might no longer be all that valid.

Interesting suggestion, Figg.  Though as Petty says he might have time issues.

I do know it has struggled quite badly over the second part of series 7.- Blue

In what way? The viewing figure totals for the second half of series 7 are roughly the same a for series 6 and 5.

Latest figures list for series average since NuWho return that I could find-

7.95 million - Series 1 average
7.71 million - Series 2 average
7.55 million - Series 3 average
8.05 million - Series 4 average
7.73 million - Series 5 average
7.52 million - Series 6 average
7.71 million - Series 7 average after 10 episodes.

If anything the closest thing to a tricky bit for Moffat was the arc heavy series 6- but on the otherhand from series 5 onwards the global growth has been massive.

Over a 7 season run those are consistent figures any channel would die for in a lead show.

The 3 episodes missing from series 7 were Gattiss' Crimson Horror, Gaimans much anticipated second episode Nightmare in Silver, and the series finale Name of the Doctor- I doubt any of them brought the figures down any.