Watching NuWho

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Two episodes of "The Dalek Masterplan" (1966) have been recovered

Two ‘lost’ Doctor Who episodes found in donated tape collection

Recovered episodes are from third season of hit sci-fi series

www.the-independent.com

No news on the Christmas special, or any plans to resume production afterward

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

The BBC is going to cut up to 2,000 jobs.
This will directly effect "Doctor Who", inasmuch as a streaming partner will be necessary for the series to continue.
After the failure of the Disney era, it may be difficult to find one, unless that streaming partner has access to the back catalogue,
and a new production team is put in place, one that has no connection to the failed Chibnall/JW/RTD2/Gatwa fiascos

The entire show may be rebooted from the beginning, which I would not like to see, but a new streaming partner may prefer that route

BBC will cut up to 2,000 jobs to reduce costs by about 10%

The BBC plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs to save 10% of its annual budget. The national broadcaster announced the layoffs on Wednesday.

apnews.com

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

No news is news, in the sense that it seems to be getting late if the BBC is planning a Christmas special,
and no news on a streaming partner.

Even assuming a Christmas special takes place, it could be a long time before a new season is in production

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

There were rumors of a major announcement, but nothing has happened

Only new development is a multi-platform project with Jo Martin, something no one cares about. (or at least
no one who is a real fan)

Now to be clear, I have nothing against Jo Martin. She was a better performer than JW (not a high bar),
and probably better than NG. But the Fugitive Doctor makes no sense.

In theory her "Doctor" could have been a bigeneration from Patrick Troughton post "War Games" or
Paul McGann post "Night of the Doctor" (A regeneration on an all female planet with a life sustaining liquid developed on that planet)
But she could not have predated William Hartnell, since it has been clearly
established that WH departed Gallifrey in a Type 40 Tardis with Susan. JM's Doctor contradicts that established fact - no Susan.
She could not have encountered any number of the Doctor's best known adversaries,
since he was meeting them for the first time in the classic series (Except possibly for the Cybermen and the Toymaker could have been known to the Hartnell Doctor, but that is another speculative matter)
"The Five Doctors" The First Doctor clearly states that there are 5
Tom Baker' 4th Doctor returns to Gallifrey and the Master is in his final body, the 12th regeneration
This clearly indicates that Tom Baker is the 4th Doctor, and it supercedes events in the previous season's "The Brain of Morbius"
The faces are not past Doctors (although they could be future Doctors), or incarnations of Morbius
Reinforced that Clara saw all the Doctor's past selves, including the Doctor's initial flight from Gallifrey, with Susan

It also makes no sense that the Doctor returned to Gallifrey numerous times, was on trial at least 4 times, and yet a Fugitive Doctor
is out there for 14 incarnations? Longer than the combined lifespan of all Doctors. That is Chibnall. False origin story, identity politics, complete disregard for the show's cannon.

At this point, still no news for the Christmas special casting. BBC probably needs a streaming partner, but after the fiasco with Disney,
I don't know how enthused other entities are. It is likely that they would want creative control and/or the back catalogue, at least in part.
Not exactly a strong bargaining position

 

[James from London]

Only new development is a multi-platform project with Jo Martin, something no one cares about. (or at least
no one who is a real fan)

Being a real fan doesn't seem very enjoyable. I think I'll carry on being a fake fan, i.e., just someone who really likes watching the programme and its various spin-offs, listens to a few Who-related podcasts*, flicks through the occasional issue of Doctor Who Magazine and avoids spoilers like the plague, but otherwise doesn't worry too much about it.

* On the Time Lash, Dr Who: Too Hot for TV and I Hate Doctor Who are the most fun ones.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Being a real fan doesn't seem very enjoyable. I think I'll carry on being a fake fan, i.e., just someone who really likes watching the programme and its various spin-offs, listens to a few Who-related podcasts*, flicks through the occasional issue of Doctor Who Magazine and avoids spoilers like the plague, but otherwise doesn't worry too much about it.

* On the Time Lash, Dr Who: Too Hot for TV and I Hate Doctor Who are the most fun ones.

And that is your choice. Doctor Who fans will always be happy to celebrate the classic series and the Eccleston, Tennant, MSmith and Capaldi era when the show was enjoyable. Post Capaldi/Moffatt, the show has been garbage, a farcical production that is Doctor Who in name only. I will choose not to accept any slop that is pieced together in the pathetic attempts to put out a (bad) product under the Doctor Who name.
You won't need to be concerned about spoilers since their are no plans to resume production of a new series

 

[James from London]

Doctor Who fans will always be happy to celebrate the classic series and the Eccleston, Tennant, MSmith and Capaldi era when the show was enjoyable.

Impressive that real Doctor Who fans are all agreement about when the show was enjoyable -- or is it that being agreement about when the show was enjoyable is what qualifies one as a real Doctor Who fan?

You won't need to be concerned about spoilers since their are no plans to resume production of a new series

Phew!

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Impressive that real Doctor Who fans are all agreement about when the show was enjoyable -- or is it that being agreement about when the show was enjoyable is what qualifies one as a real Doctor Who fan?

Let us think about this.

The Classic series and Eccleston/Tennant/MSmith/Capaldi had higher ratings and higher Appreciation Index scores for the overwhelming majority of episodes than the garbage that was post Capaldi/Moffat. That includes higher ratings for Anniversary Specials and Christmas Specials (Of Course Chibnall replaced Christmas specials with Holiday Specials -Ugh). (That also includes ratings for BBC America, until ratings declined during the Chibnall/JW era). Disney apparently didn't think the ratings were good enough for the RTD 2 era, since they decided not to renew.

Sales for Videos, Books, Magazines, Action Figures, etc were also much higher during the the Classic series and Eccleston/Tennant/MSmith/Capaldi years
than post Capaldi/Moffet

During the wilderness years (1990-2004) it was the fans who kept the show's future alive by attending conventions, purchasing books, videos and audio adventures featuring all 7 Doctors from the classic series and the 8th Doctor. They also purchased action figures, magazines, other merchandise and many created fan films.
It is logical to assert that they are true fans, and they certainly were fans of the classic series.

When Doctor Who returned in 2005, their was great celebration, and people were overwhelmingly supportive of the new series for the Eccleston/Tennant/MSmith/Capaldi years. Then Chibnall became showrunner, decided on a false origin story, had no respect for canon, inserted identity politics and hired incompetent production personnel who had no/or limited sci-fi experience. Sadly, RTD 2 continued the downward spiral.

Now, there is no new series planned for production, merchandise sales are plummeting (what little there is features Tom Baker, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Daleks), no new streaming partner has emerged (the Disney fiasco is quite probably the reason), a planned Christmas special that has no starting date for production,
and any continuity is in complete disarray.

So yes, fans of the classic series who supported the show during the wilderness years are the reason that there was an audience for the show's return,
and those fans also supported the show through the Eccleston/Tennant/MSmith/Capaldi years. They have clearly rejected the farce that is Doctor Who in name only post Capaldi/Moffett

 

[Seaviewer]

It also makes no sense that the Doctor returned to Gallifrey numerous times, was on trial at least 4 times, and yet a Fugitive Doctor
is out there for 14 incarnations? Longer than the combined lifespan of all Doctors. That is Chibnall. False origin story, identity politics, complete disregard for the show's cannon.

It ought to be possible for a good writer to make a fascinating story of all this. Alternate timelines, alternate dimensions - Jo Martin's Doctor could be a fugitive from any or all of these.