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Series 7b is really Series 8... anyone else feel like we're being conned?
macman11
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I know this has been mentioned before but in light of all the news about the 50th anniversary, I can't help but feel cheated by the BBC...
The 2nd part of "Series 7" is different to the first part and has no real connection to Part 1 (Amy, Rory not mentioned, brand new story arc etc). Indeed, with the introduction of Clara, the first episode of 7b actually played like the first episode of a new series which, let's be honest, it really is.
If Series 7 had been shown in the one calendar year, we should now be watching Series 8 (i.e. 13 new episodes). What we are actually getting is the remaining episodes we should have had last year and one special. In effect, the only real new episode this year will be the 50th Anniversary hour episode. When you think about it, this is really poor.
In 2011, Series 6 was filmed continuously and the BBC chose to split it. In 2012, Series 7b was not completed at the time Series 7a aired.
In effect, the BBC have planned for 2 series: one with 6 episodes and one with have 7.
By naming the series "7 - Part 1" and "7- Part 2", they are playing with us.
The 2nd part of "Series 7" is different to the first part and has no real connection to Part 1 (Amy, Rory not mentioned, brand new story arc etc). Indeed, with the introduction of Clara, the first episode of 7b actually played like the first episode of a new series which, let's be honest, it really is.
If Series 7 had been shown in the one calendar year, we should now be watching Series 8 (i.e. 13 new episodes). What we are actually getting is the remaining episodes we should have had last year and one special. In effect, the only real new episode this year will be the 50th Anniversary hour episode. When you think about it, this is really poor.
In 2011, Series 6 was filmed continuously and the BBC chose to split it. In 2012, Series 7b was not completed at the time Series 7a aired.
In effect, the BBC have planned for 2 series: one with 6 episodes and one with have 7.
By naming the series "7 - Part 1" and "7- Part 2", they are playing with us.
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That's exactly my point - the BBC treated it as 2 series instead of one.
pretty much a straight run, apart from the july break.
You have to ask what defines a series, and anything that takes a production break for several months (Pre-Production on The Bells of St John seemed to follow immediately after The Snowmen...but six months after The Angels Take Manhattan) and airs in a completely different year.
I wouldn't be irritated were it not for the fact that we were told we were getting a short run in 2012 to make way for a huge amount of Doctor Who in its 50th Anniversary...and we're actually getting less than we did in 2005-2008.
One wonders what we'll get in 2014...
Seems people are never happy, does it honestly matter if its season 7 or 8 or whatever?? We would moan equally if it was cancelled
Yeah, I seem to actually recall that in late 2011, they only announced at first that Series 7 would be delayed until Autumn with Moffat giving some quote about "how Doctor Who only feels right on Winter nights when it is dark outside" - a quote that of course no-one bought.
I think it was only in 2012 that they announced that only 6 new episodes (excluding the usual Christmas Special) would actually be shown that year with the "second part of the series" to follow in 2013.
This is the quote here:
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a353007/doctor-who-moving-to-autumn-confirms-steven-moffat.html
For now, I'm willing to accept that it is the 50th anniversary that has gotten in the way a bit. It understandably has taken a lot of effort to put it together, whilst trying to broadcast a full series at the same time. Yes, there have been less episodes than there might have been if it had all stuck to its usual set-up, but I don't feel conned in any way, and this all does feel like Series 7 to me... no matter how big the gap was. True, they could probably have aired the whole of Series 7 in 2012 and then spent all of this year focusing on the Anniversary, but then people would have moaned about the lack of content through January-October of this year. It was a likely decision to spread Series 7 out a bit more.
If Series 8 is subjected to massive delays and overly long divides, I'll perhaps reconsider that there may be larger problems behind-the-scenes, but for now it's a difficult schedule to work with and one I feel that people other than Moffat are managing a lot better than they could be. It's better than having the whole of Series 7 last year, and then a lack of episodes in the actual anniversary year because they're pulling together the special instead.
Series 8 has not been filmed yet.
Exactly.
And really, does it matter anyway?
You've missed the point of this thread.
7 and 8 over two years would be 26 episodes and 2 christmas specials over 2012/2013 but we're getting 13 regular episodes, 2 christmas specials and an anniversary special.
So 16 episodes compared to the usual 28.
Personally, I don't particularly care about the less episodes as long as I enjoy them, but there is definitely a huge cutback in the amount.
Whether that's BBC budget cuts or Steven Moffat struggling with the workload I don't know.
You can call it what you like. But the production states it's series 7, and the DVD collection states its aeries 7. And in much the same way that you feel these episodes bear little resemblance to 7a, all the episodes are stand-alone, so bear almost the same to each other in their part of series 7 as they do to those in the other part of series 7.
There is no real difference between the relationship that episode 1 has with episode 2, than episode 1 has with episode 8. There are only slight differences as to the make-up of the TARDIS crew and the very faint arc running through each part of series 7.
That is true. It's one whole series when it comes together.
But I think the point of the OP is essentially that we're only getting one series in two years instead of two.
So, series 7 is split up with the second half replacing what *should* have been another series altogether.
Thanks - this is exactly my point. We've effectively had 2 half-sized series over 2 years instead of 2 full series.
Yes it is irritating. I dont care about the numbering of the series but we are being short changed with the number of episodes.
Although the BBC is calling this 'Season 7a' and 'Season 7b' what we've essentially had (by the back door) is another 'Trial of a Timelord' situation, where the BBC has halved the number of episodes per season - although at least in 1986 the BBC was honest enough to admit it!
Otherwise, season 8 would be airing in the autumn as previously announced by Moffat.
So, sadly, I have to agree with macman11. The BBC can play about with titles as much as it likes, the facts remains that we've had half as many episodes as we should have had. It would have been much more honest if the BBC had just admitted to this and called the episodes showing this year Season 8.
Irrelevant.
US TV shows tend to be shown either side of the Christmas break unless they have less episodes and run as a half season.
They may run from 2012-2013 but then their next season will presumable run 2013-2014.
Doctor Who won't return until some point in 2014 (no doubt later in the year) so the number of episodes over the two years is proportionally different.
And no, I don't feel conned.
And even if it were Series 8, I would still not feel conned.
We would still get the same number of episodes in a 12-month period as we have had with 7a/7b.
After all, it's only a number. why get hung up on a number?
And there has never been any commitment to produce a set number of episodes in any 12-month period.
Exactly!
I agree. Last year felt a bit like 2009 again to me, given the minimal Doctor Who output.
I didn't mind the divide in series 6 but this one just feels wrong. I hope to see a full run of 14 episodes next year, with or without a break in the middle.
Yes, the divide in Series 6 actually worked for me as it spaced the series over the year, like they do with US TV shows. The divide in this one is a back-door method to cut back on episodes.
I think we've been cheated personally, 1 series over 2 years instead of 1 series over 1 year excluding specials is pretty clearly less Who than we are used to, and you can argue that the quality of the stories has actually diminished. It also wasn't handled very well. Back when Tennant had his specials we knew it was a blip, we were told in advance and everyone was happy. This time it seems a battle has raged between the BBC and Moffat and the fans have been the ones to lose out.