15 June 2011

Doctor Who back for a 7th season/series; just when will they air?


After initially picking up Doctor Who for a seventh (or series) season, the BBC has let it know that the show will either take a break in 2012, with limited number of episodes (possibly mirroring 2009's set-up), or not return at all until 2013, which will be the long-running franchises 50th Anniversary year.

Michael Hinman, who runs Airlock Alpha, wrote that "The economy has wreaked havoc on television, especially those that depend on government-style assessments like the BBC. Because of that, there was a lot of speculation that the BBC would take a year off, like it did in 2009, airing 'Doctor Who' specials instead of a full season."

Right now, the BBC has been tight-lipped on what exactly will happen with the 14 episodes they've ordered. Could they skip what has now become an annual Christmas Special? While story line dictated this years episode split, could the BBC air 6 or 7 episodes in 2012 (or less), and broadcast the rest in 2013? Or, because 2013 is the shows Golden Anniversary, could they be planning an expanded season?

All of this, or course, is speculation. Until the BBC says something, we'll all have to except the fact that beyond this current season, 14 more episodes will be made with Matt Smith at the helm as the Doctor.



1 comment:

Dale Who. said...

It's quite simple, really. The split Season 6 will finish not far before Christmas, and there'll be a Christmas Special. However during this winter, the Who crew have to move to new studios, and get the show back to a winter timeslot where it always had better ratings; hence the split season this year to start that process. They'll start production next spring and run the season over the winter of 2012 into 2013 (hence not a full season in 2012), which also ensures that on the show's 50th anniversary in Novermber 2013 the show will be on air at that point for it's 2013/2014 season.