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I want the original format back!
Firegazer
Posts: 5,888
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- 13 episodes shown weekly from April-July.
- Three two-part stories including a two-part finale.
- Not so many story arcs and complications or rushed endings.
- More interesting monsters rather than just ghosts that aren't ghosts, creatures that turn out to be the 'nice guys', or episodes with no monsters at all (shoutout to Bells of Saint John...)
- More future stories, this is Doctor Who not a history lesson
- Bigger cast! I feel like the crew have been lazy this year having the past three episodes with a five-person cast maximum.
- Camille Coduri.
I just feel that Doctor Who is losing it's touch and I hope the series doesn't continue to go downhill Series 8 - I just want a S1-S4 type season and something more family orientated.
I'm still a massive Doctor Who fan all the same! I just prefered how the first few series' were formatted over the last couple!
- Three two-part stories including a two-part finale.
- Not so many story arcs and complications or rushed endings.
- More interesting monsters rather than just ghosts that aren't ghosts, creatures that turn out to be the 'nice guys', or episodes with no monsters at all (shoutout to Bells of Saint John...)
- More future stories, this is Doctor Who not a history lesson
- Bigger cast! I feel like the crew have been lazy this year having the past three episodes with a five-person cast maximum.
- Camille Coduri.
I just feel that Doctor Who is losing it's touch and I hope the series doesn't continue to go downhill Series 8 - I just want a S1-S4 type season and something more family orientated.
I'm still a massive Doctor Who fan all the same! I just prefered how the first few series' were formatted over the last couple!
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I agree with most things you mention. I really miss the 13 episode run, the two part stories and the story arc which isn't interrupted by a stupid mid-series break.
I really hope series 8 goes back to this format, but I don't really think it will. The production team will probably try to do something new again to "shake things up" or whatever their excuse is.
I don't think Doctor Who is any worse than it used to be, I just feel that the large breaks and lack of multi-part stories isn't beneficial to the feel of the series as a whole.
100% agree with everything you said
Definitely agree on the future stories, I made a thread about it. I can't remember the last time Doctor Who had a story set on future Earth, but I can easily name loads of recent stories set in the past/present.
"If it ain't broke - don't fix it" I believe is the term!
It's a mess now - and doesn't know where it's going!
I would love it to last in a big unbroken run too. I could cope with a short break of a few weeks ( maybe over the summer hols or over the Christmas/ New Year period to build some tension? But the last split was way way too long. Add that to the huge wait after series 6 ended and it it certainly certainly feels like we've missed out on a lot.
I loved series 6- best one yet I thought. There's a bit less of an arc at the moment, but there's still something going on. Series 7 has been of a very high standard I think, and if it continues like that then I'd be happy. If it goes back to series 6 style ( with no split or a bit less) then I'd be ecstatic.
I'd like to see some more future Earth stories. I'd like to see more episodes in general too though, but yeah future Earth=good. I'd also like some more proper historical episodes too though. With some real famous events going on in the background etc.
Haven't seen anything wrong with the 'monsters' really myself.
The split, the S6 one in particular, benefitted the show to me as it spread it across the year well and to be honest, I thought the 13-week continuous ran had become stale in itself really. Five years of that just meant it was there becoming appointment viewing if you like. Splitting it made it feel new again for me.
I'm not quite sure how to word it, but I also felt my excitement got lost somewhere in the middle episodes - S5 being the exception - and that would harm the following finale episodes because of that.
Splitting in the S6 way made sure my excitement was there all the time as you knew it was only there for a short burst before taking a break, made it feel more worthwhile oddly. Again wording how I feel there isn't easy, but overall a split series in the style of S6 again and I'll be chuffed to pieces!
YANA.
But isn't the proposal actually more like Season 22 than New Who — the poster wanted exclusively two-part stories, for example.
In regards to the two-parters, I can see the advantages of having pure standalone adventures and of having two-parters. I used to dislike the two-parters back in the day, but nowadays I find myself missing them. Having all episodes stand on their own makes things feel somewhat disconnected, and it definitely harms the finales that would strongly benefit from having more time to spread things out and explore the story with. 'The Wedding of River Song' was one of these episodes.
In regards to the run of the series, I definitely miss the unbroken nature of the earlier times. That being said, I think they had the right idea with the short break in the middle of series six. It wasn't too long, but it wasn't too short either, and it managed to balance the tension quite well, as well as spreading the series out nicely across the year. But the wait between the end of series six and the start of seven was ridiculous.
Above all, I just wish Doctor Who had a consistent timeslot in a consistent period. For this series, the timeslot is constantly changing, and we had series five running in Spring, series six started later in April and then resumed towards September, and series seven started a whole year later and then finished before returning in Spring this year. There's no consistency, and it makes things difficult to keep up with. At least in series 1-4, you always knew roughly when it would air.
I agree with some of what you say, but i totally disagree about a April-July broadcast.
It needs to be shown in January-February. No clashes with other top ITV shows, plus being shown when it's dark outside.
Watching 'scary' episodes don't work for me when it's bright and sunny and 25c outside!
I thought eveyone was aware that this year is the 50th anniversary of the start of Doctor Who, and yet the there are some who are still referring to the format established at the 2005 re-launch as the original format, which is quite irritating for us Classic fans. Oh well, never mind.
In the true original format 50 years ago, it was four, six and sometimes even seven 25 minute episodes per story with an elderly Doctor. It's ironic that you say that Doctor Who is not a history lesson, because 50 years ago that's exactly what it was (well, some of the time anyway) with stories alternating between a science fiction story and a pure historical story (with no science fiction content), and very good those pure historical stories were too.
As far as the format established at the re-launch in 2005 is concerned, all I can agree with in your post are the first two points (a non-split series and some two-parters). Apart from that I like everything else about the show in its current form, especially the absence of that bloody awful woman played by Camile Coduri!
Coduri has been spotted wearing a fluffy pink dressing gown on the set of the 50th anniversary. ( the Twelth Doctor's signature outfit?)
The Hartnell / Troughton format?
Agreed, I certainly want to see a return to having some 2 parters
Actually, thats exactly what Dr Who was originally intended as
On the other hand it can also deliver disappoitment, when the build up is great in the first part and the second one lets you down.