Submitted by: Kyle Nin (SoSF Staff Reporter)
How Can You Tell You Have a Success? You’re Asked to Cut Back Spending
“Doctor Who” head writer, Russell T. Davies, told the BBC News that future episodes of the longest running scifi show in Earth’s history will be spending more time on the planet that gave it birth. The reason? Budget constraints! Which means that the new series of Doctor Who will remain mostly earthbound for its next two seasons.
Unlike the first season which began with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, most of Season Three and Four will not be making many time-jumps to other worlds and dimensions, but the Tardis will spend much of its time-shifting around different periods in Earth history and future.
In the most recent seasons of Doctor Who, only two programes were set on other worlds.
“People will say, ‘Why doesn’t he visit alien planets more often?'” he said. “But that’s because they are expensive. They’re hugely expensive,” Davies also told Doctor Who magazine. Davies also revealed that these off-world episodes gained the lowest viewing figures of the series.
A Third Season of the Davies’ run Doctor Who is due to air in the Spring of 2007, following a Christmas special this year, and a Fourth has just been agreed to by all parties.
Les perkins says
perfect nonsense , i think that russell t. davises
has said he perfures the doctor to stay on earth
he lies about the buget the off world stories
are very dark compared to the regular stories and most
fans were maybe not happy because russell does not
have lots of great sci -fi vision as john nathan turner
did maybe he made those off world stories to convince
the bbc that that direction is not good for the show
with the torchwood buget and sales over seas and other
special intrest investors theres profit to be made
russell and the bbc want to milk doctor who for all its
worth. they have already took the sci-fi life force
out of it with clever writing the fans will stop
or slow down buying and purchasing doctor who products
with filterd water down version of doctor who.
the doctors 9 and 10 are good or great actors and should
not be wasted on the earth grounded doctor who
the real doctor who the fans want is todays buget for
the old john nathan turner era where doctor who and pbs
tv helped build the cult tv show to the stars.
Ian Ellery (UK listener) says
It doesn’t matter where the Doctors’ adventures are set – it’s the quality of the stories that count. If you try to make off world shows with small budgets you just don’t get the quality of sets to make them believable. Have a couple of off world shows per season and do them right.
Oh, and Les, buy a dickshunary (sic)
Kyle Nin says
I don’t get it. The old Doctor Who series had a low budget too, but most of the time they were visiting other worlds or space stations or space ships. They rarely had Earth-based episodes, except for the 3rd Doctor. But there was a reason for that.
Michael in Nashville says
The series has the entire tapestry of time and space to play across and yet we only go backward and forward in time.
Come on Russell….we want a true alien world!
Kaloo says
As some folks on Gailfrey Said “All that he needs is a good Canyon, you can do anythng with Canyons.” IAt least that’s how I’m paraphrasing it today.
scott ray says
why not find an actor who strongly resembles
William Hartnell and have an episode with Doc 1
and Doc 8, and Doc 10 and the Darleks. Still
having earthbound adventure.
sr
scott ray says
how about an alernate reality earth episode where the Doctor runs into Doc 9, but an evil one.
sr