He did, but series 5 and 6 + sherlock meant 18 months + of non-stop work, which he admits left him exhausted and needing a break. The script for Doctor Widow & the Wardrobe was late because of this, and shooting began in September, with series 7 filming in january. Usually they would film in July/ August and film the next series in September. Plus with Matt leaving, they decided to even the filming schedule out by splitting series 7 so that they could keep matt for the 50th

I've got no problem with an autumn schedule, yes it's going to mean a longer wait but believe me the time will fly by. That's always the case with these things, they feel like an eternity away one minute and the next they've arrived before we know it.

The only real difference (from traditional) is going to be that the Christmas Special will come around much sooner. So it will probably give the illusion of a longer gap between series. But it does lend itself to a five month period of build-up and airing.

could agree more. everything in this post sums up my thoughts exactly and it's nice to see there's some like minded thinkers out there. the people who moan about the moaning of waiting don't understand that many casual viewers really will have forgotten about the new face by then, whereas if they did an easter special (however unlikely it now seems) there would still be a risidual buzz about him and the regeneration from christmas

Very few TV shows in the UK stay in the same slot through their lifetime. Doctor Who from the 60s through to the 80s (and now the new version) is just one example. Death in Paradise is about to start its third series, but the first series was shown at the tail end of the year rather than the beginning. Absolutely Fabulous, Dad's Army, Are You Being Served (yes, I know they're comedies) are a few other examples that immediately spring to mind.

The point is that it doesn't really matter when in the year it's shown (just preferably in one block) so long as it get's good ratings.

The parts of Seasons 6 and 7 that were shown in the autumn didn't really show any huge difference in the ratings. In fact the first part of season 7 showed an increase - which would indicate that a shift to autumn might be beneficial to the ratings.

it may not be integral when in the year it is shown, but I think it does matter how long a gap there is when your trying to get the audience to warm to a new character you've just introduced, or in this case a new version of the same character.it's like if someone introduced you to a new person in real life, but only let you shake their hand and say hello, then took them away and told you, you couldn't have a proper conversation with them for 9 month's. Do you think you would wait patiently, wondering what the person's personality is like, or do you think you would have completely forgotten about them? I think realistically it would be the latter

Yes I think you're right, Capaldi should be made to film all next season in just 2 or 3 months that way we get to see him in a rushed performance at the time fans are used to seeing Doctor Who

Maybe it is just as simple as schedules and availability of staff/actors etc, I don't think we should be upset about it.

it's not difficult to do a bit of foreplanning, and yes they could have at least completed one episode in 2-3 month's and made it the easter special. that way capaldi would have had a proper introduction while still new and people would already be endeared to him when the full series finally came around. honestly, since rusell left it's like they just wing it all at the last minute and hope for the best. series 1-4 ran like clockwork, scheduling wise and there wasn't a single time there was anything like a 9 month gap between episodes, even in the year without a full series.

RTD banged out a season of Who four years on the trot plus SJA and Torchwood. And there were no mid-season breaks in those days!

I've heard stories along the same lines as you've written here. I've others as well which focus more on staffing issues and personality clashes when Moffat took over. I guess we'll never know for sure!

in year's to come, those who tell horror stories of the 80's 18 month hiatus, to youngsters will also be joined by those who tell of the extreme gap between the two part's of supposedly one series, which was then followed by a 9 month hiatus

"Months between series. Months? Luxury.16 years. 16 flippin years. But try telling the youngsters of today, with their new fangled Christmas Specials and DVD boxsets and Minisodes and docudramas and repeats and that interweb thing...eeeh by by gum, they don't know their born, I tell thee...." *



* with apologies to the writers of the 'Four Yorkshiremen' sketch

I doubt there's going to be an Easter special. Are we expecting him to re-enact the resurrection of Jesus?

I mentioned this a little while back, but I quite like the idea of utilizing the fourteen episodes a year a bit more cleverly, with an Easter special, followed by a series six style split season (but with 12 episodes for an even six-week run either side) followed by the x-mas special.
I'd go the whole hog as well & market the split seasons as separate series altogether.

(I'm sure that was the initial plan for series 6, wasn't Moffat initially wanting us to refer to series 6 part-two as a separate series altogether?)

You only have to read The Writer's Tale to see how bad an effect this schedule had on him. I was barely surprised that his endings contained rushed conclusions and deus ex machinas (especially series 4 finale) when I realised the tight deadlines he was under. He was killing himself.

I think originally he said the split in series 6 was to gradually move Doctor Who into the autumn, instead of moving the entire series back.

Having the second half in the autumn meant we could have the Christmas special and then wait until the following autumn for series 7.

The only problem then was that they split the series again and moved it into spring so the original purpose of splitting series 6 was lost.

but it showed that he was completely and utterly dedicated to the show, and personally I think that shone through in the quality of the four series he produced. with sherlock to deal with and not willing to put in the effort that russell did, I think moffat, as a fan as well as part of it, should hand over the reign's to someone who has got more time on their hands. I believe both doctor who and sherlock would benefit from it. Definitely not gatiss though, because apart from anything else, he is also a major part of sherlock

The BBC should be scouting this thread for future Executive Producers.

The solution to this is to either reduce the number of episodes a year from fourteen, forty-five minute episodes, to seven, hour long episodes.



Or... (this ones less likely) pump a shed load of cash into DW & use it to increase the amount of filming crew to an American level, allowing them to hit filming deadlines easier.

Also I'd use this extra dosh to create a show-running trifecta of creative minds who can spread the load a bit more evenly, getting rid of the situation where a sole show runner ends up nearly killing himself through stress in the process of trying to maintain the current output, or ends up simply not being able to do it, and we get what happened from 2011 onwards.

I think Torchwood Miracle Day is a warning from history that to dilute the show runners vision and spread a story out over too many episodes and writers should be avoided.

It seems some people on this thread seem more worried about quantity and not quality. I don't want wall to wall Doctor Who when the budget will be stretched. Why rush produce an Easter special because some fans demand it? And those fans can make grand pronouncements on forums about how it should be possible but I would doubt they have any personal experience of producing a Television show as big as Doctor Who. Its the same as those demanding an Eighth Doctor mini series to be made for the red button. Ludicrous.

Excuse me?!

Moffat agonises over the show every day he works on it, and has worked tirelessly to promote the show at hone and abroad, growing it into the biggest show on bbc america with a huge cult following! Moffat put so much effort into being showrunner he took huge unthinkable gambles that no sane person would dare to, gambles that ultimately took their toll on matts final episode as moff strove to conclude his arcs in one episode rather than across series 8 as he supposedly hoped to. I can only hope moffats venture with the eleventh doctor has taught him about how to manage such arcs in future, but to suggest moffat doesnt bother with the show or isnt bothered is absurd.

I don't think there's any evidence that he can't be bothered with one of the shows. However, divided loyalties are rarely a good thing. I don't know how much input he has into Sherlock as compared with Gatiss, but if he let Gatiss take the reigns and he took a back seat more, he could focus on Doctor Who, whilst still retaining his other show

its just people making assumptions and accusations based on nothing except it fits their anti-Moffat view point. Empty statements.

The 8-10 months between series in the revivial is nonsense! There should be no more than three weeks between runs, I say!

They should record it like they did in the Sixties. Never mind all this "post production" nonsense and CGI window dressing. Product. That's what we need. Whatever happened to 40 plus episodes a year? Lightweights, this lot. Lazy b!!?$¥# the lot of them.

Seriously, think 'Planet of the Dead' was a bit rushed as an Easter special and, IMHO, it showed. Not getting one this year, I'm sure. If Doctor Who has a regular Autumn run Plus Christmas Special every year I'll be perfectly happy.

Forget that. Its clear everyone involved in the show is just lazy. And if they wont make the effort then what can we do? Its not as if this is a massive, multi million pound show with complex budgets and deadlines and set design and costumes and soundtracks and a thousand other vital details. They just need to get this stuff on screen. We want Doctor Who. I think its time they stopped indulging all this craft and expertise. Instead they should just use a one camera set up to film Moffats notepad with his story ideas and leave that on screen for 45 minutes every Saturday night for thirty weeks a year. Much easier.