I felt like it was put out of it's misery.

On one hand, if they Beeb wasn't so determined to kill it, then they could have put a new team and made it work. This wasn't going to happen for whatever reason though. Based on that, it was better that it was killed off. 'Shambles' and 'embarrassing, childish rubbish' is being kind.

As I said elsewhere, a lot of people I talked to weren't even aware that it had come back after the hiatus.

True enough. After a while, though, it felt obvious to me from the very lack of specific details about when a new series would be on and who would be in it what the BBC's real intentions were. I was a bit disappointed, I suppose, but after 1985 I knew the BBC could and would take it off the air if it didn't come up to scratch.

Jonathan Powell himself has admitted that he thought a new producer could have rescued it, but he didn't want to rescue it.

We didn't know. The BBC simply announced a longer-than-usual break and that they were trying to do a co-production deal with an independent company, as that would allow the show to have a bigger budget. On the surface that sounded like a good thing, but as the months and then years went past and the show didn't return, it was clear that this was just a cover story. I think a lot of people finally realised it wasn't coming back soon when the BBC closed down the WHO production office a year or so after the final episode was transmitted.

I disagree it was time: Seasons 23-24 were horrible, but 25 and 26 showed a real creative resurgence, some really good new writers and even some increasingly good performances from McCoy and Aldred. It felt like, creatively, the show was in very good form and getting better.

I do remember, once it was clear that the show wasn't coming back imminently, a lot of confusion and anger from the fans that it was just at this time that the BBC stepped up merchandising: models, toys, video releases, books and of course the New Adventures. It felt like they were very happy to milk us for every penny without making new episodes.

Tbh, I felt relieved. I honestly thought the show had seriously run out of steam by 1989 and I couldn't believe this was the same TV series that had brought us stories like Spearhead From Space, Terror of the Zygons, Brain of Morbius, to name a few - all of which were by this time out on VHS and inviting an inevitable comparison with late 80s Who. Granted McCoy's final series showed some promise, but it was too little and too late.

Besides, I always knew deep down that one day, yes, one day it would return...

I started watching in '05 as well, but having watched the episodes leading to its cancellation and having the knowledge of the next season, I agree it was taken off at the wrong time.

It seemed sad and inevitable, so I certainly wasn't shocked, but I was still quite disappointed, particularly because I really liked the Seventh Doctor and Ace combination, and also because although I had watched it for five years, I was now just at the right kind of age to be really getting into it, and following the storylines more closely.

I don't remember even considering whether it might come back. It seemed very final at the time as Ace and the Doctor strolled off into the distance....

From what I've heard of the plans for season 27 I'm really quite glad it didn't get made. For example, to quote Ben Aaronovich:


Taste is highly subjective of course, but to me that just sounds rubbish. And Ace somehow going off to become a Time Lord? Bleh.

Brother Werthead tells it like it is, skewering you all with his truth pistol.

I like the plans for season 27
I watched all of the Seventh and he was my Doctor as far as was concerned
I didn't really know it was over on tv until the NA's appeared
I felt sad it wasn't on tv but the books were awesome with Benny, Roz, Chris and Kadiatu
I loved both Mel and Ace