Doctor Who Social Club
A community for discussing all things Doctor Who.
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Upcoming Episodes
| Date | Episode | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 12-07 | TWB 1x01 | "Homo Aqua" |
| 12-07 | TWB 1x02 | "Plastic Apocalypse" |
| 12-14 | TWB 1x03 | "The Deep" |
| 12-14 | TWB 1x04 | "The Witch of the Waterfall" |
| 12-21 | TWB 1x05 | "The End of the War" |
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There are two important points in this article, which I feel often get overlooked in the rush of fan theorising and hot takes:
and
From an armchair analyst's point of view, you just can't make 1:1 comparisons between traditional, "appointment TV" broadcast viewing stats and on-demand, "long tail" streaming audiences. They're not even apples and oranges.
But of course, that's what doomers tend to pull out of their bag: "Look how poorly new episodes have done on date of broadcast in 2026, compared to that time there literally was nothing else on, and you didn't know when you could watch it again". Fortunately, you can just tune out those people.
It's more worrying that the BBC still, 20+ years into the streaming era, don't seem to have understood that "linear TV", as well as the ritual of communal watching, are pretty much in the past. And they appear to decide the future of shows like Doctor Who on that outdated basis.
They possibly understand the landscape better than you think. BBC Three, Auntie’s channel targeted at 16-34s, closed its linear channel in 2016 as conventional wisdom was that youth audiences were shifting online-only. BBC Three became an exclusive commissioning strand on iPlayer.
Viewership however plummeted, and showcase linear broadcasts appeared late-night on BBC One from 2019, which increased viewership. In 2022 BBC Three returned as a linear channel.
Very interesting, and I'm happy to be corrected. I'm wondering what other factors there could be to that segment opting out of an iPlayer offering?
Why vinyl? Part of it is technological contrarianism, part of it is the convenience of sticking a channel on and not having to decide what to watch.
Fair. I can definitely sympathise with the vinyl comparison.
Great points.
My family watches as a group all the time, and Doctor Who features prominently.
But my DVD purchases probably aren't being accounted for in their stats.
Also, Disney almost certainly lied to the BBC about streaming popularity, to save on license fees or something.
Well, if you're buying your DVDs new, the BBC home media branch surely appreciate your patronage. Part of that money will probably find its way back to the broadcasting and production companies?
But of course, DVDs don't count toward those vaunted viewer ratings, and that's another thing that skews those numbers.
Yup. The tv landscape has changed in ways that no one can really understand.
I say it a lot, but from my perspective, RTD came back and made pretty much the same show he did the first time around, and got a vastly different outcome.
I wonder how much of that is wishful thinking on their part, and how much of it is structural, leaving them no choice. Any time I see a story about the state of the Beeb, it sounds pretty dire.
And even more, the TV landscape is still changing. Streaming is not a Klondike for companies or viewers anymore. I have no idea what's going to materialise further down the road, but the stage is definitely being set for a change. That's why it's so bad for BBC shows like Who that the broadcaster is stuck in a '90s understanding of viewerships.
As for RTD... I'm sure he was hired to work the same magic as he did in 2005, and I think he tried. But he's twenty years older now, and at a completely different place in his life and career. It was almost inevitable that this return would have a "How are you doing, fellow kids" feeling both on screen and in his press/social updates. And AFAICT his understanding of modern viewing habits is as poor as the BBC leadership's.
I would have much preferred if he'd stuck to the 60th anniversary specials and then taken a step back to coach his replacement from an executive or advisory position. But that's just wistful thinking, and rear view mirror rationalisation.
Honestly, I don't think he cares much. And to the extent that he does care, I think it's pretty solidly on the side of "Doctor Who is for kids," and so he's unafraid to get very silly with it.
Yeah...I had extremely mixed feelings about him coming back, and the outcome was really worse than I imagined. But he still managed to produce a few top-tier episodes in all that mess.
Onward and upward. I hope.
Yep. The show is a bloody mess right now, but my hope is somebody will turn out a fresh take within the next couple of years. There has to be somebody who can build from here and focus on making fun/scary/weird time travel stories without being bogged down by the history of it all.