[inspector drake]

I miss having a full 13 episode series of Doctor Who in the spring/early summer. I know many people want the 'nostalgia' of watching it in the winter but to be honest, as someone who grew up with new series, my 'nostalgia' is watching it in the April-July period. Even then, I don't really care about 'nostalgia' and prefer the old format because it is far easier to keep up with, not to mention it is far easier for 'casual viewers' to loose interest if they keep splitting/reshedueling.

[bbll22]

Originally Posted by inspector drake

I miss having a full 13 episode series of Doctor Who in the spring/early summer. I know many people want the 'nostalgia' of watching it in the winter but to be honest, as someone who grew up with new series, my 'nostalgia' is watching it in the April-July period. Even then, I don't really care about 'nostalgia' and prefer the old format because it is far easier to keep up with, not to mention it is far easier for 'casual viewers' to loose interest if they keep splitting/reshedueling.

Like you, I became accustomed to the S1-4 schedule of April-July but looking back and remembering at the time of S4 I was getting annoyed with that scheduling as episodes such as SitL/FotD and Midnight being on when it was bright and sunny out (sun glaring on my TV at that time) just never felt right and only on rewatches did they feel 'right' as I watche them much later when it was darker.....Autumnal Who will do that with much more ease

This new way for me is for the best interests of the show as it won't get stale moving into a new slot. Casual viewers will still watch anyway as they'll see the trailers regardless....I doubt being the general viewer that they're thinking 'hmmm....April-July has been and gone, where's Doctor Who?'....they'll just watch it when its on.

Anyway, I don't miss the S1-4 style of scheduling......the new way is for the best!

[Ibdolent]

I miss it.

[TheSilentFez]

Yes!!
Please can we have 13 episodes at the same time of year again!?
I think showing it in the autumn or winter would definitely be better than the spring or summer, but there is no need for series splits!

Moffat insists that it will keep people engaged and wanting more, but amongst the people I associate with, it's the opposite. They are beginning to lose interest completely.

[nebogipfel]

I'd rather it was just doing the usual 2005-2010 thing of a straight run starting circa easter. Audiences are fickle and lost interest. The schedule is as it is for reasons that are out of Moffat's hands (I think) and (I think) he is making the best of it with his comments about keeping people waiting etc. But I doubt it's actually going to be of benefit to the popularity of the series. Sherlock is very different to Doctor Who.

I'd like Doctor Who to be on in the winter (child of the seventies!) purely so that the sky is dark when it starts. It appears that the first five episodes are going to be broadcast during daylight, so the delay isn't helping that. Maybe the final part of the series will be shown during dark winter evenings. Hope so. But on the whole - series 6 and 7 scheduling have been victims of circumstance (I think) and I think a simple straight run would be better.

[bbll22]

Originally Posted by TheSilentFez

Moffat insists that it will keep people engaged and wanting more, but amongst the people I associate with, it's the opposite. They are beginning to lose interest completely.

Well the bit I've bolded appears to be the general concensus on here and from many places I've read on preveing series 7 since the beginning of the year.

Working the media, it's common sense to have your audience waiting eagerly....I accept that's not the case for the people you associate with, but they're probably not the norm...

Sherlock uses this waiting principle to great success so I don't get why people can't accept that for Who...

[Face Of Jack]

'Doctor Who' really needs to be placed in the autumn/winter slot as it was for MANY years! The BBC can surely place 'Merlin' (another winner!) and 'Strictly Come Dancing' around this! It's not rocket-science! What are these knob-head directors of the BBC payed for?? (FORGET the opposition!! BBC don't rely on ratings!!! - BBC would win anyway with those three lined up!)

[nebogipfel]

Originally Posted by bbll22

Well the bit I've bolded appears to be the general concensus on here and from many places I've read on preveing series 7 since the beginning of the year.

Working the media, it's common sense to have your audience waiting eagerly....I accept that's not the case for the people you associate with, but they're probably not the norm...

Sherlock uses this waiting principle to great success so I don't get why people can't accept that for Who...

Sherlock is very different. It was an unexpected hit out of nowhere that started with a three episode format. It is not family oriented. Sherlock has only had two series. We don't know whether the second series was more succesful than it would otherwise have been due to the wait. It may have been just as succesful had it been shown without the delay. We don't know. Neither do the BBC. The delay did induce a social media "buzz", of course, but perhaps that was due to a novelty factor applicable to Sherlock but not Who.

Originally Posted by Face Of Jack

'Doctor Who' really needs to be placed in the autumn/winter slot as it was for MANY years! The BBC can surely place 'Merlin' (another winner!) and 'Strictly Come Dancing' around this! It's not rocket-science! What are these knob-head directors of the BBC payed for?? (FORGET the opposition!! BBC don't rely on ratings!!! - BBC would win anyway with those three lined up!)

I don't think the broadcast schedule of Doctor Who series 7 is due to the careful consideration of the people you're blaming. I think they had to delay the production schedule for various reasons and will now broadcast it to the best effect they can. I suspect that had they been able to film the series to a 2005-2008/2010 schedule they'd have broadcast it accordingly.

[Lady of Traken]

Originally Posted by bbll22

Well the bit I've bolded appears to be the general concensus on here and from many places I've read on preveing series 7 since the beginning of the year.

Working the media, it's common sense to have your audience waiting eagerly....I accept that's not the case for the people you associate with, but they're probably not the norm...

Sherlock uses this waiting principle to great success so I don't get why people can't accept that for Who...

I do miss a straight run.

Doctor Who is not Sherlock. Doctor Who by its premise is more innovative as original drama and personally I think it is a fallacy that splitting the series somehow keeps the audience wanting more.
Why would the audience invest their interest in the show when it comes on for five or six weeks and then disappears for again almost three months until Christmas.

Sherlock is diffferent as it is a modern rewriting of well known classic stories so there is a certain amount of pre-knowledge and audience recognition of the watson and holmes characters.I'm not disputing the great success of Sherlock as 'event' TV but its just the twist of well-loved literary characters put in the moden day.

[steven1977]

Originally Posted by inspector drake

I miss having a full 13 episode series of Doctor Who in the spring/early summer. I know many people want the 'nostalgia' of watching it in the winter but to be honest, as someone who grew up with new series, my 'nostalgia' is watching it in the April-July period. Even then, I don't really care about 'nostalgia' and prefer the old format because it is far easier to keep up with, not to mention it is far easier for 'casual viewers' to loose interest if they keep splitting/reshedueling.

I hate these autumn starts just because they want to continue it just so we get a episode on Nov 23rd 2013.

[nebogipfel]

Originally Posted by steven1977

I hate these autumn starts just because they want to continue it just so we get a episode on Nov 23rd 2013.

That's not why they're doing it. If they want the 50th anniversary episode to be on the magic date then that's when they'll show it (and, of course, that really must be what they do, fingers crossed).

They don't need series 7 to be shown on any particular dates to make that happen.

[Fire Host]

I genuinely don't mind when in the year Doctor Who is broadcast, but I would prefer it if it was in one big 13 episode chunk again.

[DavetheScot]

Originally Posted by Fire Host

I genuinely don't mind when in the year Doctor Who is broadcast, but I would prefer it if it was in one big 13 episode chunk again.

I do think the show would be more suited to a winter run, but I agree that the series splitting is not a good idea.

[RonSwanson92]

I prefer 13 episodes in a row, I don't care what time of year it's at. I think it's bull that they keep chopping and changing it, it can work for a while but people will eventually get sick and tired of it. And I don't get the other reason that people would get bored of a longer run, why would an audience get bored of a tv show they enjoy, the only reason they would get bored is if some episodes are dull and if the writers are doing their job properly then that shouldn't happen, so that's just laziness.

[Scorpio2]

Originally Posted by bbll22

Like you, I became accustomed to the S1-4 schedule of April-July but looking back and remembering at the time of S4 I was getting annoyed with that scheduling as episodes such as SitL/FotD and Midnight being on when it was bright and sunny out (sun glaring on my TV at that time) just never felt right and only on rewatches did they feel 'right' as I watche them much later when it was darker.....Autumnal Who will do that with much more ease

This new way for me is for the best interests of the show as it won't get stale moving into a new slot. Casual viewers will still watch anyway as they'll see the trailers regardless....I doubt being the general viewer that they're thinking 'hmmm....April-July has been and gone, where's Doctor Who?'....they'll just watch it when its on.

Anyway, I don't miss the S1-4 style of scheduling......the new way is for the best!

Very true but sunny episodes like The Eleventh hour, The Lodger and The Poison Sky wouldn't suit the dark nights and The End Of Time which was a sunny episode proves that.

[jimthepig]

The schedule is a mess and if they don't get it in a routine again people will lose interest. DW isn't Sherlock and Moffat should realise that.

[sovietusername]

The old schedule wasnt the series 1-4 schedule, it was the series 1-5 schedule, jeez, series 5 was placed at just the same time, this seems to be a bit of an anti-Moff thread rather than an anti-scheduling thread!

[Sirocco758]

I'd love to have the old 13 episodes back-to-back again, and keep it to one part of the year and LEAVE it alone, 2012 is going to be a crap year for DW fans I mean waiting 8 months for just 5eps then another 3 months for 1ep and then who knows when S7 P2 will be aired.

[Scorpio2]

Originally Posted by Sirocco758

I'd love to have the old 13 episodes back-to-back again, and keep it to one part of the year and LEAVE it alone, 2012 is going to be a crap year for DW fans I mean waiting 8 months for just 5eps then another 3 months for 1ep and then who knows when S7 P2 will be aired.

You know I have this fear that it could air at Easter but I hope I'm wrong.

[nebogipfel]

Originally Posted by jimthepig

The schedule is a mess and if they don't get it in a routine again people will lose interest. DW isn't Sherlock and Moffat should realise that.

Moffat probably does realise it. He's having to put his best gloss on the hand he's been dealt. And fair play to him.

[November_Rain]

Originally Posted by Fire Host

I genuinely don't mind when in the year Doctor Who is broadcast, but I would prefer it if it was in one big 13 episode chunk again.

Agreed. On one hand it does mean Doctor Who is more evenly spread out across the year but I hate the wait in-between the series split.

[Abomination]

I don't think Moffat or anyone specific is to blame for the scheduling. Fans and execs both wanted it moved towards the Autumn, and in the best interest in the longevity of the show I think they are doing their best to move it over to that time of year - with the 50th anniversary to accommodate and a frankly demanding fanbase who would have hated a larger gap between episodes than we got, I think it's a bumpy ride but one that is getting there. Remembering that Doctor Who isn't the only show on the BBC and they have to make fair space for the likes of Merlin and Strictly, it's more than fair that we might have to wait a little while now and again for scheduling. They can hardly air all three at the same time, and what else would they air across the year if they were all on in the same evenings?

As for my personal opinion, I am hoping that we'll eventually manage to revert to a full 13 episode stretch come Series 8. I enjoy the build up and anticipation of it, and it is far tidier as well. People seemed to talk more generically about the show when it was aired in that format, as it was easier to follow. Not that it's his fault, but when Moffat throws in timey-wimey elements to his plots that require a little more attention and then there are massive gaps between stories and series, a lot of people lose a bit of interest.

[steven1977]

Originally Posted by nebogipfel

That's not why they're doing it. If they want the 50th anniversary episode to be on the magic date then that's when they'll show it (and, of course, that really must be what they do, fingers crossed).

They don't need series 7 to be shown on any particular dates to make that happen.

Yes it is. They wanted to test the audience to see if it would work. It was Moff who mentioned this in a interview ages ago.

[johnnysaucepn]

I'm happy with the series being in a group, and I'm happy with it being split.

I have a really hard time thinking of reasons why it makes any kind of difference.

[Granny McSmith]

It's seemed a long time to wait this year, when we've not had any new DW episodes since Christmas in Narnia (**shudders at the memory**) but if in future years it's split it will mean we won't have so long to wait between series, or half-series, which will be good.

On the other hand, I do like a nice long run. of Saturdays watching DW. And I pesonally would prefer that in the Autumn. But then you get the same long wait between Christmas and Autumn.

So It's swings and roundabouts, really. But I think they should find a format and stick with it.

Re Sherlock - wasn't it the fact that the main participants were all committed elsewhere that meant such a long time between episodes? I suspect Moffat is putting the best spin on it when he says he likes to keep the momentum going by making 'em wait. (As nebo said).