Sure I read somewhere that Moffat said he has 2 new writers for 2016. But i think that's it. That's all I heard.

It seems that filming will take place in 2016 but it's unlikely that we'll see any new episodes until the Christmas special. I don't think they'll bother splitting it (and to be honest I'd rather they didn't, unless the second half is reminiscent of Ten's specials and serves to round of Twelve's time and introduce a new Doctor) so I think it's much more likely that we'll see a full new series debut in 2017.

I'm willing to bet there will be a major Cyberman story next year. It will be their 50th Anniversary as they appeared in The Tenth Planet in 1966. And also the first regeneration in the same story. So a double anniversary.

There has got to be a Cyber story surely...

What better time to give Capaldi his cloth-faced Cyber wish?

'The Zarbi Invasion of Mondas', written and directed by Peter Capaldi. Starring Peter Capaldi as The Doctor, the Cybermen and The Zarbi. Featuring Peter Capaldi as Alan the Axon and Martin the Menoptera. Theme tune arranged by P. Capaldi. Guitar, Penny whistle and bongos; Capaldi, P. Guest Executive Producer: Peret Capalid.

This is rumoured to be the companion-lite episode....He's seen the critical reviews of Heaven Sent and is *out of control*!

Give up, everyone else. The best post of 2016 is right here.

Would like it if they did a August bank holiday special on Saturday the 27th to introduce the new companion then something in October or November. Scary cyberman story would be good to mark their 50th.

Plus the 2016 Christmas special has to called Silent or 12th Night.
Guess we just have to wait and see.

This won't go down well for some but I think a year without new episodes could be good for any show - including Doctor Who. One of the problems with a lot of the big US shows is 24 new episodes, year in year out can give viewers show fatigue regardless of the quality of the show.

One show I like, Inspector Montalbano, has prospered maybe because of the paucity of episodes and Sherlock hasn't suffered because of it.

I would agree with regard to the first break in 2009. Four years was a good run before a break with just a couple of specials in-between the Christmas episodes.

However, since Moffat took over, the second half of Series 6 was pushed back, resulting in Series 7 starting approximately six months later than usual. Then Series 7 was split over two years, resulting in Series 8 being pushed back approximately eighteen months. So we've already lost about two years under Moffat so far, with another year almost certain to be dropped. The longest consistent run he has ever managed has been Capaldi's two series.

Moffat's commitment to Sherlock is the big problem here. The BBC has allowed him to repeatedly defer production on a family fantasy show in order to prioritise an adult crime drama.

I do think if you're going to have a break, it needs to come back suitably refreshed and re-energised, not in basically the same format. Wasn't that part of the problem in the 80s?

Perhaps predictably, DW didn't get so much as a split-second appearance in BBC1's 2016 showcase.



Thankfully The X Files and Black Sails are back later this month, so I'll be quite content for a while

Has there been discussion of the Vanity Fair interview?


Suggesting this is may be the last Dr Who episode that Moffat writes.

Well, Moffat says that in the past tense as what he thought at the time he wrote the episode. He has confirmed that he will be back for Series 10.

I think he meant he thought of doing a River story for christmas before he subsequently signed up for series 10.

I cannot wait for this though was shocked that Channel 5 are the ones broadcasting it! I don't know how much behind the US broadcast they'll be, but the idea of X Files running with adverts too is a bit of a depressing one - the show depends on tension you just can't get when you're interrupted to be told about Nicole Kidman dating a meerkat, and Cillit Bang every fifteen minutes!

Yes, I'll be certain to... urhm... avoid that

Yeah me too! I saw a 20 minute programme about the new series on You Tube and the show looks fantastic! And being made in Vancouver as the first 5 series were made. Incidentally there is a Doctor Who connection to The X Files as the hospital in the Paul McGann movie was used for an X File episode. Plus Deep Roy (Mr Sin - The Talons of Weng-Chiang) - appeared as a murderous mystic.

The Radio Times reported that filming starts in May (which means an air date for the end of the year at the earliest).

Well, tightly wrapped surgical gauze at the very least, damp from the weeping raw flesh underneath.
http://www.petermckinstry.com/USERIMAGES/who2%2010.jpg

I don't totally buy the idea that a show needs breaks to remain wanted/interested/enjoyed by the audience regardless of quality, though it can be a factor....

Look at the original run, the 3rd and 4th Doc (early 4th doc era) were very successful, had loads of classic episodes and is widely considered to be DW at it best (classic era) and they were series 7 to 14, indeed series 13 is considered to be the best series full of DW gems and that was in the shows 13th year, and this is with no breaks.. and yet when you watch it the show doesn't feel tired... rather the opposite the 3rd doc's era and the first 3 years of the 4th doc's era feel fresh and vibrant, despite following two previous Doc' who had been on the air for six years prior.

So the notion that the show needs breaks after set periods of 3-4-5 or whatever years isn't necessarily true, it certainly wasn't the case with classic who that went 14 years delivering a vibrant and creatively successful programme that kept people watching.

The key thing was that those 14 years had the guts to really change and evolve, not just surface and actors but really change the tone vibe etc of the show, while still keeping the core essence of DW, all the while producing many well told enjoyable stories with fantastic leads.

I think the problem with DW now is that its changed it surface in these last 10 years of its revival but hasn't changed the guts underneath it all that much, just the natural change of Moffat taking over from RTD, there's only been two versions in 10 years that ultimately share many similar beats.

Then you have the quality of stories that I think has suffered under Moffats time, the show feels tired because rather then being a fun dangerous show where anything could happen it has become instead a insular self indulgent who-lore-fest where there's no consequence to anything that happens (death is cheap, earth survives things it shouldn't) and the same beats are hit again and again hence reducing a sense of wonderment and excitement about what could happen, oh the Doctor is going to die again, people are ganging up on the Doc again, time's gone wobbly again, living for a very long time again blah blah blah.

I think the fact that people think that DW needs a break shows its not working as good as it could be, the programme has many in-built mechanisms to keep it self renewed, but they have failed to diversify and put the programme on different tracks, instead they've played it safe and kept to the same track that proved to work but there is only so long you can stay on one track before people jump off.

Classic DW worked really well for it first 14 years because it was doing enjoyable interesting stories with great characters and had the guts and will to change and evolve and switch to different tracks, therefor keeping people entertained with its different flavours. After series 14 it started to produce episodes that weren't so well done, stories that won't so interesting, it became ever more creatively safer, familiar, insular and self indulgent (much like series 9).. it stayed on it's well ridden track offering the same flavour of DWness and hence fizzled out and got cancelled.... Irony being that its last series actually did start to do what the programme needed and was evolving changing track and refreshing itself, but it was all to late.

So yes eventually DW like anything can/will suffer from audience fatigue but the show has proved in its past that it can go a long time before that happens, and indeed that fatigue only happened because its makers in the late 70's and 80's failed to do what their many predecessors did so well in the first 14 years, the fact DW is feeling tired now is a direct failure of its makers rather than the concept of the show and people wanting to watch good DW.

The show doesn't need a break. As be more pacific has pointed out, there have been plenty of breaks since 2010. None of them have refreshed the show or turned around the drop in viewing figures.

I felt season 9 was the worst since Moffat took over - dreary, depressing, funless and self-indulgent. I am hoping the new companion brightens the show again and brings some joy and comedy back. Capaldi can certainly do comedy and I like his Doctor much more when he's surrounded by people having fun and he's struggling to understand.

I don't know who the two new writers are, but I believe they are industry 'names' so probably are just guesting. Perhaps Steven Fry will finally deliver his script!

Given comparative viewing figures I suspect it is a case of "much gets more".

"That" was very good imo. Moffat can really produce some good stuff when he tries - I see why the last series of DW was so awful now; Moff was putting all his best efforts into Sherlock.

And I didn't like Clara much*, but think Mary is just fine.

*(Do people really "hate" fictional characters? How odd).

Lets be truthful the DW' broadcasting is in a mess. Why can't it have a proper timeslot like it used to.