Yeah, it doesn't have quite the same ring to it that one.

I never realised that the title "The Big Bang" was a Moffat joke either until he chortled about it in an interview.

And I don't think that I twigged that the episode "42" was a parody of 24 until Granny said so earlier.

Basically, I can see that I just need to pay more attention to episode titles in future

Fear not. The Big Bang double meaning passed me by as well.

Doctor Who has ALWAYS been a 45-minute programme! (apart from the specials). (well in the new series anyway)

American shows (Stargate/Star Trek/ Buffy/ etc etc ) are ALL 45 minute episodes......with 15 minutes of adverts to fill the gap to make it an hour-long show!
That's why series like 'The Waltons' and 'Star Trek' only went on the BBC from 8.15 until 9pm! back in the 70's! It's still happening now......apart from they are shorter programmes and MORE ads!!!

You said it Granny

This thread is hilarious. Surely the OP is a wind up merchant?

Sometimes they are even less! The total running time for Vampire Diaries episodes seems to be 40 minutes or just under.

I know. 57 replies to an OP based on an entirely false premise.

This might as well be a thread about how Doctor Who has "dumbed-down" since the days when every episode was shot entirely on location on a cruise ship. Larry Lamb was a much more cerebral Doctor and the Rani got her norks out. Those were the days.

Rose was 44 minutes and 17 seconds.

They started how they meant to continue.

How did I not realise that?!

In case you think I'm very clever, I must confess I didn't work it out by myself! I never notice things like that. It must have been mentioned on "Confidential" or something, or maybe on here.

1) Love it how you rant at what you consider a belief, somehow taking a thought as gospel.

2) It's not "our" show - it's the BBC's show

3) Five minutes begin shaved off is a good thing - less padding

4) I doubt that the 50 minute episodes were really 50 minutes - more like 44-46 minutes, put into a 50 minute slot for the trailers either side of it.

You clearly have no idea how awkward it would be to schedule 50 minute Who in a 1 hour slot with 15 minutes of commercials - just not mathematically possible. And 1hr 5 is such an awkward slot as people tend to find it easier to schedule their evenings on the quarter hour.

Only the problem here is you are wanting the BBC to behave in a way that's totally impractical in the real world of the media. If you are to make satisfactory returns on a show, then you have to accede to the demands of your audience. One party says yes, cut to 45, the other says no, leave at 50.


I'm sure the BBC are quaking in their boots, that's their average ratings slashed from 6 million to 5,999,999.

Life is unfair.

erm, can i just ask what five minutes you are referring to exactly?

as has been said over and over the average length of an episode has not changed since 2005 - it has always been around the 45 minute mark.

The Christmas Invasion was a special of course, so can't really be compared with the regular series episodes.
If the others were actually only 45 minutes then my apologies, were they scheduled in 50 minute slots perhaps?

no they were scheduled in 45 minute slots....

OK, so I'm going completely bonkers then!
The standard BBC drama slot always used to be 50 minutes, but I guess by the time that Doctor Who was restarted the time each hour for commercials had gone up, so you could only make something 45 minutes to allow for commercials to be added to make up a 60 minute slot.
Shame!

Challenged, perhaps. Insulted, no.

No matter how mistaken someone might be, that's no justification for being rude about it.

The show was designed to be, generally, 45 minutes in order to be suitable for international syndication. Unfortunately, it appears that the current US standard length of programme to fit a one-hour slot with ads is 43 minutes, so it usually gets cut anyway.

Thought I'd read about cutting somewhere and made a half arsed attempt to find on t'web but couldn't so glad you've confirmed it and I've not gone puddled!

1) the person i quoted fails to even acknowledged that the OP has even posted factually inaccurate information, instead effectively being critical of people pointing out this "error".

2) it's perfectly clear from the front page that having had his error pointed out to him the OP simply ignores this and continues to post made up nonsense, so I question whether they have made a "mistake" at all rather started a deliberately antagonistic thread.

The OP was mistaken, or perhaps misinformed, with regards to the running times. But raised a valid point about episode length. The way some people jumped on him though was disgusting. Very sad times indeed when we can't extend kindness and the benefit of the doubt to each other.

The BBC doesn't show commercials. The programme is made for the UK market first and foremost, and it is made with tax payers money (The TVL is to all intents and purposes a tax) So, really it could be made another 10 minutes longer (and the BBC can pad the last 5 minutes of the hour with dancing hippos)


NO it hasn't, for the first 26 years of broadcast it was made to fill a 30 minute timeslot


Why? Sky manage to fit Game of Thrones into a 1hr 15min timeslot


As above, if US shows can be one hour in length and have adverts added into that time, then a UK show, made for a channel without adverts could still be an hour long and international broadcaster can work out how to fit it into their schedules the way UK broadcasters are expected to do with their imports

It's is worse than that!

Each story used to be 4x23 minute episodes - that's a whopping 92 minutes per story! Now they are half has long! It's a scandal. If the PM can comment on a football player biting another football player, then he must raise at cabinet level the dwindling size of Dr Who stories!