Twelve's reveal.
I'm not dying to see the trailer. So long as I see it before November, I'll be happy.
On the other hand, I can't wait to find out who will be the Twelfth Doctor.
Though I'm old enough to have been around I don't remember how earlier changes were announced, was it much before the regenerations?
I do kind of think it steals Matt's thunder a bit for his remaining outings (can't even remember if this happened with the change from CE to DT - my memory is worsening with age).
DT was announced 10 or 11 weeks before we saw the Regeneration from CE.
Matt was announced a whole year before we saw DT turn into him.
In the Classic series I think (without checking) that we usually knew the new Doctor a few months before we saw them on screen.
Pretty sure Matt's at a year is the longest gap between announcement and regeneration while Tennants at 10 weeks may well be the shortest.
The Five months Doc 12 will have is probably similar to most Classic Doctors.
Though I'm old enough to have been around I don't remember how earlier changes were announced, was it much before the regenerations?
Going right back to 1966, Troughton's name was announced a few weeks before he took over, but it was all very low key. The whole regeneration thing was an unknown quantity and the production team were very unsure how the change would be perceived so the change of actor was sort of buried. There was no fanfare for the new lead actor, and Power Of The Daleks was promoted mainly as a new Dalek story, oh and there's a new guy playing the Doctor, but the Daleks Are Back, folks!!!
When Troughton left, the fate of the series was up in the air, hence there was no regeneration scene at all, as Pertwee hadn't yet been cast when War Games 10 was broadcast.
Pertwee's departure was announced during his last season and Baker's casting was announced a few weeks later, but I don't recall there being a big fuss about this anyway.
It was only with Tom's departure that the publicity machine really swung into action. Producer JNT saw the loss of Tom, after 7 years in the role, as a chance to really play the press game and actively encouraged speculation as a way of getting free publicity. It was Tom Baker who first, jokingly, mooted the idea of a female Doctor, an idea that JNT brought up for every subsequent regeneration that he was involved with, purely because it generated so many headlines. It was never a serious proposition.
There still wasn't much of a gap between Tom announcing that he was leaving and the news that Peter Davison had been cast and this all occured during the broadcast of Baker's last season. The same pattern pretty much followed for the casting of Colin Baker and Sylv McCoy - there was some speculation in the press, but the gap between announcement of departure and announcement of new lead actor was never terribly long. And from Tom Baker onwards the news that a Doctor was stepping down would usually make the BBC news but only as a minor story.
A far cry from today where we now seem to have a prime time BBC1 show devoted to the Big Reveal. I'd be happy with almost anyone in the role, as long as he takes it seriously (and it really should be a he, but that's an argument for anther thread).
To schedule such an announcement as part of a now very high profile live show is surely rather risky. I'm sure the audience wranglers and idiot board holders will ensure that everyone cheers but what if the audience don't like the new guy straight away? Or don't really know who he is? Surely that would deflate the atmosphere somewhat, and create an air of anticlimax?
Both would be nice, but if it's just one, then 12. At the end of the day 50th is just an episode, although a big one, the announcement of 12 will be the start of a new era.
There'll be an audience of millions for this on Sunday - so what better way of getting the 50th hyped up amongst the general population than to finish the show off with the trailer?
If there isn't one then they'll be missing a golden opportunity.
At the end of the day, Sunday has to be about 12 - they've a very limited time to get the news out themselves before the press does the job for them: with filming starting soon for S8, and all the pre-production, wardrobe, readthroughs etc. to come before that, the odds of them keeping it under wraps now the decision has been made get longer every day. 12 will be the absolute focus, because this is their one chance, whereas trailers for the 50th can really come any time between now and November - filming etc. is wrapped, so unless the trailers are more spoilery than we'd expect, or Moff decides to announce something else himself (both doubtful, given his known disdain for spoilers), we already know pretty much all that we're gonna know about the episode. They can afford to take their time without risk of the press swooping them.
That said, I'd be surprised if we don't get both - I would expect the DW50 trailer to hit after the credits on Sunday night - like The End Of Time showed the S5 trailer after the show itself: it makes sense to show it as the target audience will all be tuned in, but also it doesn't steal the thunder from what should be the focus of the show itself.
Unless, of course, the episode title is the sort of thing that will send the Internet ablaze with rumours and speculation. Then Moff will probably get his trollface on and just end with something like "The Doctor Will Return In... 'The Four Doctors'" or something...
I'm hoping they do a fake revelation and the REAL 12th Doctor will be revealed at the end of the Christmas episode. Would be nice to be surprised rather than everything having to be announced beforehand.
I'm hoping they do a fake revelation and the REAL 12th Doctor will be revealed at the end of the Christmas episode. Would be nice to be surprised rather than everything having to be announced beforehand.
You think they would waste a live TV special and get everyone talking about it and then just say 'wait until Christmas'? Seriously?
I live in hope for a lot of things that will never happen. Don't worry, I won't let it ruin my life or anything. I would just prefer not to know the next Dr until the episode of regeneration. I like mystery. So sue me
How can you have 'the reveal'? To reveal something is a verb, not a noun. Surely it should be 'the revelation'?
Strictly speaking "The Reveal" is the TV trope equivalent of anagnorisis. Given the whole resignation, replacement search and "revelation" of the new doc is probably a work of fiction from the BBC PR Dept - it seems most appropriate
Comments
Yes, it's on the BBC DW website.
Edit: And the BBC News website, as I've just seen.
I'm not dying to see the trailer. So long as I see it before November, I'll be happy.
On the other hand, I can't wait to find out who will be the Twelfth Doctor.
DT was announced 10 or 11 weeks before we saw the Regeneration from CE.
Matt was announced a whole year before we saw DT turn into him.
In the Classic series I think (without checking) that we usually knew the new Doctor a few months before we saw them on screen.
Pretty sure Matt's at a year is the longest gap between announcement and regeneration while Tennants at 10 weeks may well be the shortest.
The Five months Doc 12 will have is probably similar to most Classic Doctors.
A short video prequel on the other hand would do nicely!
Actually it was closer to 6 or 7 weeks.
It leaked the week between "Rose" and "The End Of The World" which is probably why you think it was 10 or 11 weeks.
The actual announcement was 2 weeks after Chris E's leaving was announced which was 30th March.
DT was announced on the 16th April and first appeared on screen on the 18th June so it was actually 9 weeks.
Amen to that.
Going right back to 1966, Troughton's name was announced a few weeks before he took over, but it was all very low key. The whole regeneration thing was an unknown quantity and the production team were very unsure how the change would be perceived so the change of actor was sort of buried. There was no fanfare for the new lead actor, and Power Of The Daleks was promoted mainly as a new Dalek story, oh and there's a new guy playing the Doctor, but the Daleks Are Back, folks!!!
When Troughton left, the fate of the series was up in the air, hence there was no regeneration scene at all, as Pertwee hadn't yet been cast when War Games 10 was broadcast.
Pertwee's departure was announced during his last season and Baker's casting was announced a few weeks later, but I don't recall there being a big fuss about this anyway.
It was only with Tom's departure that the publicity machine really swung into action. Producer JNT saw the loss of Tom, after 7 years in the role, as a chance to really play the press game and actively encouraged speculation as a way of getting free publicity. It was Tom Baker who first, jokingly, mooted the idea of a female Doctor, an idea that JNT brought up for every subsequent regeneration that he was involved with, purely because it generated so many headlines. It was never a serious proposition.
There still wasn't much of a gap between Tom announcing that he was leaving and the news that Peter Davison had been cast and this all occured during the broadcast of Baker's last season. The same pattern pretty much followed for the casting of Colin Baker and Sylv McCoy - there was some speculation in the press, but the gap between announcement of departure and announcement of new lead actor was never terribly long. And from Tom Baker onwards the news that a Doctor was stepping down would usually make the BBC news but only as a minor story.
A far cry from today where we now seem to have a prime time BBC1 show devoted to the Big Reveal. I'd be happy with almost anyone in the role, as long as he takes it seriously (and it really should be a he, but that's an argument for anther thread).
To schedule such an announcement as part of a now very high profile live show is surely rather risky. I'm sure the audience wranglers and idiot board holders will ensure that everyone cheers but what if the audience don't like the new guy straight away? Or don't really know who he is? Surely that would deflate the atmosphere somewhat, and create an air of anticlimax?
Stay tuned...
There'll be an audience of millions for this on Sunday - so what better way of getting the 50th hyped up amongst the general population than to finish the show off with the trailer?
If there isn't one then they'll be missing a golden opportunity.
That said, I'd be surprised if we don't get both - I would expect the DW50 trailer to hit after the credits on Sunday night - like The End Of Time showed the S5 trailer after the show itself: it makes sense to show it as the target audience will all be tuned in, but also it doesn't steal the thunder from what should be the focus of the show itself.
Unless, of course, the episode title is the sort of thing that will send the Internet ablaze with rumours and speculation. Then Moff will probably get his trollface on and just end with something like "The Doctor Will Return In... 'The Four Doctors'" or something...
How can you have 'the reveal'? To reveal something is a verb, not a noun. Surely it should be 'the revelation'?
You think they would waste a live TV special and get everyone talking about it and then just say 'wait until Christmas'? Seriously?
No, I don't THINK they will. I HOPE they will
(I did write that)
They'd be mad not to!
I live in hope for a lot of things that will never happen. Don't worry, I won't let it ruin my life or anything. I would just prefer not to know the next Dr until the episode of regeneration. I like mystery. So sue me
Strictly speaking "The Reveal" is the TV trope equivalent of anagnorisis. Given the whole resignation, replacement search and "revelation" of the new doc is probably a work of fiction from the BBC PR Dept - it seems most appropriate