Post by thechase on Oct 20, 2019 15:57:37 GMT -5
Over the last few days, discussion on Gallifrey Base has been alight with speculation after someone with connections to the BBC (who has provided accurate information before) posted several messages indicating that the Beeb are planning to reboot Doctor Who sometime after the 60th anniversary.
Due to some guidelines, you need to register with GB in order to see the thread so I'll just post the highlights
Due to some guidelines, you need to register with GB in order to see the thread so I'll just post the highlights
Can't say much more without someone getting me in trouble.
Look at the prime time schedules for the last couple of years, and next. Does any previous era of Doctor Who look like it belongs there? Has Doctor Who been retrofitted to sit within a narrow framework of what is considered important television drama? Are BBC Studios disappointed by their lack of revenue and licenses? Is the BBC budget being cut again? Is outsourcing becoming more common? Is Doctor Who a priority for the BBC right now? Are senior meetings couched in language that questions the political? Financial? Creative? Is their chaos at the top? Is there a time where there wasn't? Does it matter at all?
Infinite rice pudding, etc, etc...
Look at the prime time schedules for the last couple of years, and next. Does any previous era of Doctor Who look like it belongs there? Has Doctor Who been retrofitted to sit within a narrow framework of what is considered important television drama? Are BBC Studios disappointed by their lack of revenue and licenses? Is the BBC budget being cut again? Is outsourcing becoming more common? Is Doctor Who a priority for the BBC right now? Are senior meetings couched in language that questions the political? Financial? Creative? Is their chaos at the top? Is there a time where there wasn't? Does it matter at all?
Infinite rice pudding, etc, etc...
The show is still on air, and healthy with lots of big big plans for the future. Would you rather a sputtering, sad ending, or a triumphant one?
Sorry everyone. I've been positive in the past, I just try and let people know what's going on behind the curtain as best I can. Today is a weird day, a weird week, a weird month, or even a weird year...
Is there a public appetite for full blown expensive AAA Doctor Who on tv right now? Sadly, important people do not believe so. BBC one/studios/WW have been trying along with production, broadcast, distribution, merchandising, licensing to get it back there for going on over half a decade. At what point does it become a drain on resources and diminishing returns? Publicly funded and broadcast television will be over very soon. The BBC as a whole is struggling to maintain itself.
As before, the home media releases, tie-ins, and spin off are doing well with their core audience... Children don't play with toys anymore. Collectors collect. Always have, always will. It's a stable market. You'll never see anyone admit it, but BBC Studios undersold Series 11 of Doctor Who to a variety of international territories because nobody was interested.
The Christmas special in 2017 was a finale in the eyes of many industry people. It should have rested then, but now we're stuck in a scenario with an organisation trying to control the damage of extending a product beyond its current shelf live, while also changing the flavour. Not ideal.
So, expect more classic who material, expect the current era to be treated as an expensive drama series like His Dark Materials or War of the Worlds. Expect another hiatus, and a big finish in more ways than one.
Is there a public appetite for full blown expensive AAA Doctor Who on tv right now? Sadly, important people do not believe so. BBC one/studios/WW have been trying along with production, broadcast, distribution, merchandising, licensing to get it back there for going on over half a decade. At what point does it become a drain on resources and diminishing returns? Publicly funded and broadcast television will be over very soon. The BBC as a whole is struggling to maintain itself.
As before, the home media releases, tie-ins, and spin off are doing well with their core audience... Children don't play with toys anymore. Collectors collect. Always have, always will. It's a stable market. You'll never see anyone admit it, but BBC Studios undersold Series 11 of Doctor Who to a variety of international territories because nobody was interested.
The Christmas special in 2017 was a finale in the eyes of many industry people. It should have rested then, but now we're stuck in a scenario with an organisation trying to control the damage of extending a product beyond its current shelf live, while also changing the flavour. Not ideal.
So, expect more classic who material, expect the current era to be treated as an expensive drama series like His Dark Materials or War of the Worlds. Expect another hiatus, and a big finish in more ways than one.
If anyone can be bothered to go look, I have gone over this so many times and, broadly, things remain he same and have done for quite a few years.
BBC One want big prestige drama, event television.
BBC WW/Studios are specifically tasked with creating and maintaining revenue from BBC productions.
Senior BBC One executives don't really care whats going on behind the scenes, as long as the show is having broad appeal and impacting the public consciousness, so positive social media etc. Also good ratings, press etc
Senior BBC WW/Studio executives care about brand awareness, licensing, what product lines are selling, international distribution deals, co-productions, making money, basically.
Doctor Who no longer has broad public awareness, especially within its supposed family audience. Ratings good, sometimes great, but it's lost momentum and dropped stone dead outside of its core audience and fan base.
Senior people have been trying hard to get the ship sailing to a new destination. It's runaground and facing not just fatigue, but also significant damage to its public perception.
Theres so much available content and merchandise that would have come out when the show was off air in the 1990s, while the current era is wasting any potential it could have, by essentially treating it like any other high value drama.
Doctor Who is not like any other drama. It is one of the BBCs core mega brands.
Why waste money and damage your best IP without the returns you were expecting when the old rope is doing better than ever before? Better to sit on it again until someone can do something with it, or stable, enthusiastic and beneficial production partners can be found.
If you don't think these things are planned this far ahead, I don't know what to say.
Once a year I get accused of doom mongering, and each time what comes to pass comes to pass and everyone moves on. Check previous posts, I've really tried to make it clear Doctor Who isn't going away, just adaptin, evolving and looking after itself.
Should rename my account Michael Grade and be done with it.
BBC One want big prestige drama, event television.
BBC WW/Studios are specifically tasked with creating and maintaining revenue from BBC productions.
Senior BBC One executives don't really care whats going on behind the scenes, as long as the show is having broad appeal and impacting the public consciousness, so positive social media etc. Also good ratings, press etc
Senior BBC WW/Studio executives care about brand awareness, licensing, what product lines are selling, international distribution deals, co-productions, making money, basically.
Doctor Who no longer has broad public awareness, especially within its supposed family audience. Ratings good, sometimes great, but it's lost momentum and dropped stone dead outside of its core audience and fan base.
Senior people have been trying hard to get the ship sailing to a new destination. It's runaground and facing not just fatigue, but also significant damage to its public perception.
Theres so much available content and merchandise that would have come out when the show was off air in the 1990s, while the current era is wasting any potential it could have, by essentially treating it like any other high value drama.
Doctor Who is not like any other drama. It is one of the BBCs core mega brands.
Why waste money and damage your best IP without the returns you were expecting when the old rope is doing better than ever before? Better to sit on it again until someone can do something with it, or stable, enthusiastic and beneficial production partners can be found.
If you don't think these things are planned this far ahead, I don't know what to say.
Once a year I get accused of doom mongering, and each time what comes to pass comes to pass and everyone moves on. Check previous posts, I've really tried to make it clear Doctor Who isn't going away, just adaptin, evolving and looking after itself.
Should rename my account Michael Grade and be done with it.
