Yes, because no-one must ever dare to argue with your opinions, must they? All bow down to the great god RTD!

Ahhh - Is the SM Honeymoon period over before it began??

Battlelines are being drawn - There will be blood - mark my words - when the next series begins.......

has it ever been confirmed that, what is frequently said, that the BBC in their contract with the estate of Terry Nation are obliged to bring Daleks back every year? or is this is this just speculation/rumour?

other thing, is there anything on that website indicating the reference to ryan relates to something current or is it just listing off past/recent roles?

There's never been any confirmation or source for it that I've seen and the very idea seems daft. A contract would be far more likely to say the BBC must pay this many pounds per year, regardless of whether or not they use them, and so much per episode. It wouldn't make much sense for the 3 appearances in series 1, and the 2 in series 2-4 to not cost more than a Dalek hovering outside Adelaide Brooke's window for a few seconds.

If it contract were as rumoured, what recourse could the TN estate have if the BBC didn't use them? How would one even define a "year""? The upcoming series will be transmitted in 2010, was mainly shot in 2009, and Moffat started writing it in 2008.

Do what they did in the 1990's - ban their use completely. That would mean no repeating any Dalek Episodes from the Classic Series, probably withdrawing from sale all existing Dalek DVD's for stories made after The Chase (The BBC have a different right to these), and obviously no further new use within Dr Who.

The TN estate were never logical in their protection of the Dalek product - except for the fact they were following TN's wishes. As I understand it he had a falling out with Aunty Beeb and this was not resolved during his lifetime.

To have Dr Who without the Daleks at all will be a bit like Fish without Chips - okay on it's own but better as a complete dish.

I can never understand this anti Dalek feeling. They are an iconic enemy, since their return they have been used very well. I like them - preferably without Davros but even his return worked well.

I myself have nothing personal against the daleks. Being scared s#!%less by them as a child is, ironically, a very fond memory.

But I do believe RTD has given them a good run and now we need a break. And I believe I am not in a minority with this opinion.

It puzzles me then why Moffat would bring them back in his first season, especially when he emphasizes in interviews the need for the show to be fresh.

To me it implies some sort of external pressure to put them in there. You're right, the contract theory seems a bit implausible.

Is it just the merchandising? Not living in the UK, are the daleks as popular for the kiddies over there now as they were for us when we were young?

I suspect you aren't far wrong, here. I also still believe Moffat cast a younger actor as the Doctor due to pressure from above. Worrying, in my opinion. They seem to want to keep the show close to the RTD formula.
Well, they have been pretty much everywhere since they resurfaced in 2005 and the remote controlled Daleks seem to have been among the most popular toys in recent years, so I'd say so. Their constant reappearances are probably something to do with their merchandising potential.

That's pretty much a standard thing in TV drama. Certainly in Doctor Who for over 40 years, so I can't see it changing.

To bring this thread back on topic (sorry), Kasterborous.com suggests a new cast member:

http://www.kasterborous.com/2010/02/...ting-update-2/



The article also quotes some un-named loon, stating that the new series has been criticised for being short of big names! What abject ballcocks. Those unnamed sources!

Off top of head, I can think of several big names:



There's far less sneaking out about this series than about past series, so that might make it seem there's fewer big names.

____

As for T Nation's Estate: they had/have exactly the same policy with Blake's 7 and Survivors as they do with the Daleks. Keep the intellectual property under close wraps, as it's worth big money. Probably a very sensible approach for them to take, but it can be frustrating for the fans/viewers/audience.

Something tells me Steven Moffat wouldn't have taken the job of running the show unless he was given sufficient creative control, since creative control is his job.

If he wanted an older actor, and a good enough older actor auditioned, he would have got an older actor.

But what he got was a list of younger actors. Bit of a downer, I'm sure, as it was against his vision of what he wanted.

But Matt Smith apparently wowed him in the audition, and (apparently) on set reports seem to indicate that he is that good.

Here is a quote which might help, from Steven Moffat, in the Guardian regarding whether he thinks the BBC are too restrictive on writers:


As for wanting to keep it to the RTD formula...well, the show ran for 4 series under his guidance and frequently got high ratings, ranging from 6 to 13 million.

Why the hell would they want to deviate too much from that formula?

It amazes me how some people can slate and criticise SM before a single episode has even been aired!!

Who's criticising him? I'm just worried the BBC might not let him take the show in his own direction.

Never stopped people when it came to Davies. Was there ever a single piece of news, or even just a rumour in the past five years that wasn't attacted in advance?

As far as the returning enemy thing is concerned, I think the Beeb likes to play it safe with a new Doctor's first series - throw in a few bankable baddies.
Tom Baker's first series had Sontarans, Daleks and Cybermen. And it paid off massively.
Having a new Doctor is always a gamble and putting in a few familiar faces helps the transition along.
If, as has been suggested, the Beeb has leaned on SM in this matter, it certainly won't stop him putting his own angle on a story.
But if you ask me, it won't be until Series 6 that he can really be let off the leash...

That's my feeling, too. From Troughton onwards, the only past Doctors whose inaugural seasons didn't heavily feature returning mosters or villains were McCoy's and Pertwee's. And even Pertwee was going into the UNIT setup, which had been introduced in Troughton's last season. It just makes sense to give the audience something familiar to latch onto.

The difference with Tom's first series was that the stories featuring Daleks and Cybermen had already been written. In coming producer Philip Hinchcliffe has said he felt saddled with two old dinosaurs when all he wanted to do was things his way. If the scripts hadn't been in place, the chances are Hinchcliffe would not have used old favourites in Tom's first series.

Ironically though, it featured Genesis, one of the best Dalek stories, which was probably better because of Hinchcliffe's influence.

Apologies, I meant to post this as a response to berncol's post previous to yours.

Even if there weren't any big names, who cares? They bring in some of their own fans, but regular viewers would watch if instead of Timothy Dalton it was Tom Drayton or Ted Davis.


There are some people who would prefer the formula that led to declining ratings and cancellation.

I think he will change certain things not alot he wont get rid of the TARDIS or anything but little things.

The first 5 stories of Peter Davison's first season had no returning monsters or villiains and he was following on from the most popular Doctor ever at the time......

...aside from The Master in 'Castrovalva'.

Its well documented the Master trilogy and 2 new companions were brought in to ease the transition from Tom to Peter.

*ahem*


...thank you. And of course, the Master resurfaced in the last story of the season, right after the Cybermen. Three out of seven stories in Davison's first season had returning villains or monsters, and four out of six in Colin Baker's first full season (which also brought back an old Doctor/companion team). It's a tried and tested formula.

I dont care if they bring back loads of old enemies or characters as long as the episodes are brilliant i will be happy.

But only one of the first five, which if the reason is to make the transition to a new Dr easier for viewers doesn't make any sense really.....