When does Series/Season 8 start filming?

MarkBluemelMarkBluemel Posts: 1,776
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Surely they'll have to reveal the new Doctor by then, and it can't be long can it ?
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  • davrosdodebirddavrosdodebird Posts: 8,692
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    Series 8 starts filming this autumn, apparently. Either that, or early in the new year. The series will air from August 2014 for a 12 week run, so this autumn is more likely :)
  • TheSilentFezTheSilentFez Posts: 11,103
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    After they start filming the Christmas special...
    I wouldn't be surprised if 2014 was another gap year. :(
  • davrosdodebirddavrosdodebird Posts: 8,692
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    As I said Fez, it is pretty much confirmed that next year we will get 12 episodes back to back with a christmas special to follow. It was mentioned in the email which leaked news of Matt Smith leaving.

    "...a 12 part series running for 12 weeks starting at the end of August. This will give viewers a chance to grow with the new Doctor..."

    :)
  • mikey1980mikey1980 Posts: 3,647
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    As I said Fez, it is pretty much confirmed that next year we will get 12 episodes back to back with a christmas special to follow. It was mentioned in the email which leaked news of Matt Smith leaving.

    "...a 12 part series running for 12 weeks starting at the end of August. This will give viewers a chance to grow with the new Doctor..."

    :)

    It won't start in August though, particularly if the 2014 Christmas Special is included as part of the series. Probably early October..
  • davrosdodebirddavrosdodebird Posts: 8,692
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    The email cites August, so episode 12 would broadcast late november... perhaps the idea will be to leave the series on a big cliffhanger to be resolved 3-4 weeks later, at christmas?

    Exciting if so :
  • MulettMulett Posts: 9,055
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    If the 12-week run is official, is no one bothered that the BBC has axed an entire episode?
  • davrosdodebirddavrosdodebird Posts: 8,692
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    Not really, seeing as how there'll be no mid series break I'd say it was a miracle and we should all be happy that we are getting an uninterrupted run nearer what we used to get :)
  • DiscoPDiscoP Posts: 5,920
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    Mulett wrote: »
    If the 12-week run is official, is no one bothered that the BBC has axed an entire episode?

    Ian Levine if VERY bothered about it :)

    I'm not though. 14 was always a stretch, with Doctor and or companion lite episodes being used to make ends meet. I'm happy with 13 if it means that they can stick to that each year!
  • AirboraeAirborae Posts: 2,644
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    I'm just happy with a full 12 week run and a Christmas special. No problem and there might even be a couple of two-parters. Hopefully at the end of the run. It worked for five years - why did Steven Moffat abandon that for two years?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,152
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    There's always a dodgy episode in each series, so hopefully one less episode will make it less likely. And I guess they're trying to say money, in which case I definitely prefer an uninterrupted run of 12 episodes instead of another long gap.
  • TheSilentFezTheSilentFez Posts: 11,103
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    As I said Fez, it is pretty much confirmed that next year we will get 12 episodes back to back with a christmas special to follow. It was mentioned in the email which leaked news of Matt Smith leaving.

    "...a 12 part series running for 12 weeks starting at the end of August. This will give viewers a chance to grow with the new Doctor..."

    :)

    Well we were promised more Doctor Who this year than ever before so forgive me if I'm a little sceptical.
    Mulett wrote: »
    If the 12-week run is official, is no one bothered that the BBC has axed an entire episode?

    If this were 2007 or 2008, I'd be slightly annoyed (only slightly), but solid run of 12 episodes is a massive improvement over the pathetic 6 we got in 2012 and the below average 10 we'll be getting this year.
    Regardless, I still wouldn't be surprised if the 12 episode idea came to nothing and we end up with another measly 5 or 6 episodes in 2014 which would be a very bad way to introduce the new Doctor.
  • DiscoPDiscoP Posts: 5,920
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    Well we were promised more Doctor Who this year than ever before so forgive me if I'm a little sceptical.

    So far I've spent more on Doctor Who than ever before, does that count? :)
  • MulettMulett Posts: 9,055
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    If this were 2007 or 2008, I'd be slightly annoyed (only slightly), but solid run of 12 episodes is a massive improvement over the pathetic 6 we got in 2012 and the below average 10 we'll be getting this year.

    I think the BBC has started using an old Government trick:
    • The Government wants to make £100m in NHS cuts.
    • Its says its going to make £300m in NHS cuts.
    • An outrage public campaigns against it.
    • The Government is seen to 'back down' and reduce the cuts to £100m
    • The public is relieved and accepts the £100m NHS cuts
    • The Government laughs at how idiotic the public is.
  • Michael_EveMichael_Eve Posts: 14,425
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    I suspect filming will start late 2013/early 2014 and that Series 8 will start late August bank holiday. Would obviously prefer 14 episode a year, but if an Autumn series of 12 plus Christmas special per calendar year becomes the norm, I can certainly live with that.

    I remember the stunt they pulled between Seasons 22 and 23 where the running time per season dropped by something approaching a half. (well, not far off. I'm rubbish at Maths!) Really can't see anything so drastic happening the shape the programme's in at present. :)
  • DICKENS99DICKENS99 Posts: 2,619
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    Mulett wrote: »
    I think the BBC has started using an old Government trick:
    • The Government wants to make £100m in NHS cuts.
    • Its says its going to make £300m in NHS cuts.
    • An outrage public campaigns against it.
    • The Government is seen to 'back down' and reduce the cuts to £100m
    • The public is relieved and accepts the £100m NHS cuts
    • The Government laughs at how idiotic the public is.

    To properly emulate Who that should probably go
    • The Government is seen to 'back down' and reduce the cuts to £100m
    • The public tell themselves how lucky they are to be getting any health care at all not like in Grandad's time with all that scurvy and rickets and in fact they'd be perfectly happy if all the hospitals were closed and each community just had a first aid box with an out of date bottle of aspirin and a used elastoplast so "Huzzah!!" for the Government.
    • The Government laughs at how idiotic the public is.
  • Chris_WaltonChris_Walton Posts: 235
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    I suspect filming will start late 2013/early 2014 and that Series 8 will start late August bank holiday. Would obviously prefer 14 episode a year, but if an Autumn series of 12 plus Christmas special per calendar year becomes the norm, I can certainly live with that.

    I remember the stunt they pulled between Seasons 22 and 23 where the running time per season dropped by something approaching a half. (well, not far off. I'm rubbish at Maths!) Really can't see anything so drastic happening the shape the programme's in at present. :)

    A 12 part series and Christmas episode is definitely bearable. And I would haved hated to have been living through S22-23. Going from 13x45mins to 14x25mins with an 18 month gap in between that....? Would not have coped
  • AbominationAbomination Posts: 6,483
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    I'm fine with a 12-part Series 8 if it can all be delivered as one package...lose the series gap and restore the two-parters, at least for the series finale. A shame we lose the thirteenth episode, but if they can keep 12 episodes a year going for Series 9 and possibly a Series 10 as well then we can hope to see some consistency again once more.

    One slight concern. It means that between late May 2013 and late August 2014 we only get two episodes of Doctor Who. That's a colossal period of a year and three months, also including the 50th Anniversary period. The only comparable one is the gap between Series 6 and Series 7 which was 11 months with one episode (TDTWatW) in that period of time. This is essentially the same gap again, and it straddles the anniversary too. Whilst not a commentary on the production pace, someone has seriously messed up with the scheduling.
  • AirboraeAirborae Posts: 2,644
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    If they do start filming in the next couple of months, we could still have a series start in April next year, instead of August/September. The split in 2011 prolonged a very hit and miss series with a not very good ending. The christmas special that year was also not very spectacular either.

    Season 7's split was incomprehensible as well. Having to wait for so long between episodes was really asking a lot for the general audience to stick with it.
  • Richard_WatsonRichard_Watson Posts: 426
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    Airborae wrote: »
    If they do start filming in the next couple of months, we could still have a series start in April next year, instead of August/September.

    Sadly the email that Victor Kennedy leaked that forced the BBC to announce Matt Smith's departure early also confirmed an Autumn 2014 start.
  • MulettMulett Posts: 9,055
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    DICKENS99 wrote: »
    To properly emulate Who that should probably go
    • The Government is seen to 'back down' and reduce the cuts to £100m
    • The public tell themselves how lucky they are to be getting any health care at all not like in Grandad's time with all that scurvy and rickets and in fact they'd be perfectly happy if all the hospitals were closed and each community just had a first aid box with an out of date bottle of aspirin and a used elastoplast so "Huzzah!!" for the Government.
    • The Government laughs at how idiotic the public is.

    Haha! Brilliant.
  • saladfingers81saladfingers81 Posts: 11,301
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    Quality not quantity for me so a slight cut in episodes wouldn't bother me at all. Some people seem to think Doctor Who should be a factory churning out maximum product whatever the cost or quality. No thanks. This isn't a soap opera.

    In fact drop Season 8 to 10 episodes. All blockbuster quality and not only that...make it the most arc heavy season yet. One entire story told throughout the episodes 'Children of Earth' style albeit with a bit more variation. Its exactly the daring sort of move the show needs to make next to escape the trappings of its own formula.
  • mossy2103mossy2103 Posts: 84,307
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    Mulett wrote: »
    If the 12-week run is official, is no one bothered that the BBC has axed an entire episode?

    People would only be bothered if 13 episodes were announced and then changed to 12.

    Which is not the case.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,152
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    Quality not quantity for me so a slight cut in episodes wouldn't bother me at all. Some people seem to think Doctor Who should be a factory churning out maximum product whatever the cost or quality. No thanks. This isn't a soap opera.

    In fact drop Season 8 to 10 episodes. All blockbuster quality and not only that...make it the most arc heavy season yet. One entire story told throughout the episodes 'Children of Earth' style albeit with a bit more variation. Its exactly the daring sort of move the show needs to make next to escape the trappings of its own formula.

    I'm not sure an arc over 10 episodes would be the best idea, for both the audience and narrative. I think what viewers want most at the moment is a consistent series, unlike the last two, and not to be alienated by the show if they miss an episode. I also think an arc that long would diminish any sense of urgency or tension, and it wouldn't be very tight and smaller details would become lost (especially with the often erratic and timey-wimey storytelling in Doctor Who). Maybe it could work if it was in the style of Trial of a Timelord, which allowed isolated stories within a larger arc, but I think Miracle Day is the perfect example of the trouble with the format; it was overly long and padded, without much advancement. Children of Earth was great partly because it was only 5 parts, which meant it was tightly told and satisfying. I think the same format of only 5 episodes could work for Doctor Who, but then people would complain that it wouldn't be enough. Maybe if there were two 5 episode arcs in a series?

    But overall I think it would be for the best if the show returned to a more solid structure before trying to shake it up again (but we definitely need two-parters back!).
  • AbominationAbomination Posts: 6,483
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    In regards to the above suggestion, Torchwood: Miracle Day is the only ten-episode serial we've had from the Whoniverse since the revival, and it's length was one of the biggest reasons (next to the Americanisation issues) it was criticised.

    I do think we need a bit more of an overarching element than what Series 7 offered, and I feel we also need a proper conclusion to the series as well. If we can only have one two-parter, please let it be the finale. The Wedding of River Song and The Name of the Doctor could have been so much more... particularly the former.
  • saladfingers81saladfingers81 Posts: 11,301
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    I see your points Shooty and Abomination. I probably ought to clarify. I would have it more varied than the TW examples with different stories and locations but a definite and strong through line that connects the episodes...a proper arc that makes it more of a serial making it essential viewing to tune in week after week. Rather than the vague arc/mystery of Clara have something like the Doctor pursuing something or something pursuing the doctor...a chase through time and space that allows for different locations and characters but all linked together with an overarching threat of some kind. I just think something needs to happen to liven up the formula and while there have been some classic stand alones even last season I think they make the show more missable for casual viewers.

    I also think that it wasn't the length that ruined Miracle Day. It was bad writing and appalling pacing. The idea was simply too thin. It barely merited a two parter. I think if they could come up with a central idea strong enough a return to a long serial format could work for DW.

    The changes made by Moffat to the RTD season structure have for the most part been bad ones.
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