I'd rather see Paternoster Gang spin-off

And regardless as to whether the BBC wanted an entire season, or had the budget for an entire season.

RTD must have been one hell of an influential and well-heeled/benevolent showrunner!

The BBC senior staff were less than happy when they found out the Who production team weren't able to deliver a full season for 2012 and that season seven was being spread across two years (rather than Season 7/2012 and Season 8/2013).

You need to remember that Doctor Who is something of a cash cow for the BBC. Less is most definitely NOT more. I think keeping the production schedule tight is one of the main reasons Brian Minchin has been brought back.

2009 was the leanest year since Who returned. 3 episodes screened. Didn't help personally that I only thought one of the episodes was any good. Just saying. I like RTD and SM! Admittedly prefer Matt's era, though.

2013 was the leanest year with only two episodes produced, the anniversary special and the Christmas episode. The season 7 episodes were left over from 2012.

It's worth remembering that RTD's team banged out 14 episodes a year four years on the trot, all broadcast in the same regular pattern (13 episodes from Spring each year plus a Christmas special).

The new team only managed to do that once (in 2010) before all the mid-season breaks started.

Unless you know why the series was split into 2 you cannot use the 2013 schedule to compare production in RTDs era and Moffats era. This whole conversation is pointless.

We're not talking opinions, bp2 - we're talking episode production, which is factual. Only two episodes were produced for 2013 rather than a full season.

And I do know why production was scaled back so dramatically. I've stated it on these forums countless times. I've even provided links to news stories from June 2011 when it was first warned about.

But you are using this number (which I am not disputing) to make meaningless comparisons and make conclusions that may not be factual.

And what news stories were these? Apart from Private Eye.

As a possibly fictional homophobic taxi driver said dismissively to an arguing Stewart Lee; "Yeah, well, you can prove anything with FACTS."

Produced episodes rather than episodes screened, you are of course correct. Still my opinion is that 2009 was the least satisfying year to be a fan since the return, but that is about quality as well as quantity, which is obviously a completely different and highly subjective thing!

I want Stewart Lee to be the next Doctor!

I'm not entirely sure when comparing like-with-like became a meaningless comparison.

And the Private Eye story was bang-on accurate. The BBC denied they were scaling back the episodes . . . . but then later (quietly) confirmed it.

Huge fan of Stewart, but have you seen him 'act' ?

Sorry, going even further off topic here.

Maybe the next exec prod/lead writer then lol

ISTR they were looking at a split series in one of Russell T Davies' seasons during one crisis meeting or another. Might've been for series four? The schedule they were produced is entirely academic. It's like saying a band that spent three years writing a twelve-song album produced four songs every year. It's true, but it's hardly the point.

I do agree that we've lost a series somewhere along the line, and I think it's likely that something must have gone a bit wrong behind the scenes, but I don't think it's fair to start counting episodes in special ways to paint the worst possible picture.

Cos it's not like Steven Moffat's this huge liability and Russell T Davies was an absolute dream. RTD's schedule was gruelling, and last-minute, and he missed deadline after deadline - The Impossible Planet wasn't signed off until the Wednesday before broadcast, they were looking very seriously at bringing Love and Monsters up in the listings. That's not RTD being slipshod, either, it's just the nature of the job. RTD had a lot of near misses, and would have come up against similar problems to Steven Moffat, sooner or later - it just happened that RTD got off the boat before it became a problem. He also had a far more stable support network, Julie Gardner was a constant presence throughout RTD's run, whereas Steven Moffat's had more execs than series. (Beth Willis, Piers Wenger, Caro Skinner, Faith Penhale, Brian Minchin...) The schedule was only barely sustainable with even the slickest and best-oiled of machines. Steven Moffat didn't stand a chance!

It wouldn't be like with like if there was an issue with production that was outside the show runner's control. What you have provided is just numbers it doesn't tell us the context behind those numbers. Anyone can compare numbers.

And the Private Eye story was not bang on accurate they said only 4 episodes would be shown in 2012 and people not involved with production have no idea how accurate the rest of it.

Let's bring this thread back on topic, shall we??

I would love Torchwood to return! RTD has not had an easy time, with his partner being seriously ill, but he is slowly coming back to writing and producing and it could only be a matter of time before he has another series in the pipeline. Whether that be Torchwood or the US comedy drama he was working on, we will just have to wait and see.

Personally I hope Jack also gets at least one last appearance in DW. I miss him as a character!

I would love to see Jack alongside Peter Capaldi's Doctor.

And would love a return to Torchwood, set in the UK. I do think it was a shame the original team were killed off though, well most of them.

Would also like to see Jack back either in Doctor Who or Torchwood. Sure if they had the right story and time to film it it could happen.