RTD back for Doctor Who

[GoblinAhFuckScary]

wait what. is this something worth worrying over?

[Gurke and Hare]

Higher budgets maybe?

Doubt it. The amount that they're being paid to make it will presumably be agreed already, so they won't want to go over that suddenly.

wait what. is this something worth worrying over?

I don't think so, I'd assume the BBC will have a veto over stuff like casting the Doctor.

[Replies From View]

It begs the question:  might RTD showrunning a fresh era of Doctor Who have been one of the conditions for the contract with Sony?

[mothman]

I don't think so, I'd assume the BBC will have a veto over stuff like casting the Doctor.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

It begs the question:  might RTD showrunning a fresh era of Doctor Who have been one of the conditions for the contract with Sony?

It's certainly possible. Sony don't give a shit about quality control, it's all about the investment; they'd happily carry on with Chinballs if his iteration of Doctor Who had been successful. But they'll have looked at the numbers, seen that it was far more popular under RTD (and Moffat, who 'broke' the show in America), and stipulated that one of those guys should be in charge again.

Which is pure conjecture, I know, but it doesn't sound all that unlikely.

[Ambient Sheep]

Sony about to take over Bad Wolf, apparently.

Saw something saying HBO were taking over as well.

wait what. is this something worth worrying over?

Yeah, first I've heard of this.  Any chance of some links?

[Uncle TechTip]

Why would Sony have any say over which company produces Dr Who? Perhaps it was more like Sony promised investment if RTD could convince the BBC to give him the show (or rather Bad Wolf which I assume he has an interest in). Maybe the BBC knew when they decided. They'd still have to fund it unless they are prepared to give up international rights or something.

[Alberon]

Bad Wolf does more than just the new new Doctor Who so the deal might not have anything directly to do with it. Just Sony buying a successful production company.

[Ron Maels Moustache]

The whole series since 2005 has been up on HBO Max for a year or so, I guess we take it as read a deal has been on the cards for some time. Article from a month ago seems to support the idea: https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-disney-plus-new-direction-bbc-coproductions/

Also I'm sure I remember reading a quote from an interview where RTD was predicting that the future of Dr Who would be on streaming platforms, maybe he's known for longer than we thought that he'd be coming back to it.

Oh wait, here's the quote, it was only from back in January. So feasibly he could already been approached at that point

https://twitter.com/prkirkley/status/1352578909259390976

[Replies From View]

Yeah, first I've heard of this.  Any chance of some links?

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-producer-bad-wolf-sony-newsupdate/

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Why would Sony have any say over which company produces Dr Who? Perhaps it was more like Sony promised investment if RTD could convince the BBC to give him the show (or rather Bad Wolf which I assume he has an interest in). Maybe the BBC knew when they decided. They'd still have to fund it unless they are prepared to give up international rights or something.

Yeah. Despite what I said earlier (I'm just typing out loud), this arrangement probably has nothing to do with Doctor Who as such. Bad Wolf already have ties with American television, they have a proven track record (e.g. the TV adaptation of His Dark Materials), so it's presumably just another case of Sony investing in a company that could make them some money. And if it doesn't work out, well they won't lose any sleep over it.

I really can't imagine RTD and Gardner agreeing to this if it meant losing creative control of their projects. RTD doesn't have a financial stake in Bad Wolf, but he's not going to risk his reputation on reviving Doctor Who (again) if a soulless corporation is calling the shots. Gardner doesn't have to put up with that hassle either, she's an excellent producer.

RTD doesn't really need to do this, he's one of UK television's most successful and respected dramatists, so I think it's fair to assume that he's doing it because he wants to Make Doctor Who Great Again (MDWGA baseball caps will soon be on sale from BBC Worldwide; pre-order now!).

Anyway, here's some more info about Bad Wolf: https://bad-wolf.com/about/

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Bad Wolf does more than just the new new Doctor Who so the deal might not have anything directly to do with it. Just Sony buying a successful production company.

Alberon, there, nailing my point in a far less prolix way.

[daf]

Relax everyone - it's going to be both mint and skill!

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Those Shakin' Doctor Who days will soon be behind us.

[Mister Six]

The RT story also says that HBO will retain its minority share in Bad Wolf, since people were asking upthread.

Also, Bad Wolf is (AFAIK) just being brought on to co-produce Who, presumably as a condition of RTD coming onboard (although maybe things will continue if all works well) and rights to the show will remain with the BBC. I don't see how the Sony deal would upend that, especially as the contracts will already have been signed.

[Ambient Sheep]

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-producer-bad-wolf-sony-newsupdate/

Ah, thanks for that, all is clear now!

My confusion wasn't helped by the fact that my brain had forgotten about Bad Wolf being the name of the production company who were going to be doing RTD-2-Who, so seeing the words "Sony about to take over Bad Wolf, apparently." made me think it was a whimsical way of saying that Sony were taking over Who entirely.

Sorry, been a long and busy day.  I get it now.

[Mister Six]

In case you didn't see it in the banana thread, RTD slammed the anti-trans LGB Alliance while picking up an Attitude Inspiration Award for Its a Sin.

Wonder if he'll address this in some form in his upcoming Who series?

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I bloody love that man. RTD's DW tenure wasn't perfect, of course it wasn't, but it was driven by a talented person who's passionate, witty, angry, decent and intelligent. An imaginative writer with a solid moral compass. The polar opposite of Chibnall.

Anyway, everything RTD said there is far more important than having another pop at Chibnall on an internet forum. But really, thank fuck he's in charge of Doctor Who again.

[Replies From View]

Well, imagine if he had said all those things, and then also added, with a whisper and his index finger to his lips, "Psst!  Chris Chibnall is shite!!" and then skipped off on elfish tip-toes like he had stolen Santa Claus in a bag.


Win-win

[olliebean]

In case you didn't see it in the banana thread, RTD slammed the anti-trans LGB Alliance while picking up an Attitude Inspiration Award for Its a Sin.

Wonder if he'll address this in some form in his upcoming Who series?

Almost missed this, but at the end of that video he announces who the next Doctor will be.

[Blofelds Cat]

When did these 2 become MILFy cougars?

Hywel Wood...

[Blinder Data]

RTD has got better with age. Banana, A Very English Scandal, Years and Years[nb]well, some of it[/nb] and It's a Sin - what a run of hits for someone after leaving one of the biggest showrunning gigs in British TV.

I think he was appointed to save the show from neglect and because no one else is as qualified. Handing it over to some bright new thing would be exceedingly risky. There's no safe pair of hands among the current writers, and Chibbers has proven the limitations of going "safe".

He has grown in confidence since his time as showrunner too. I think, like last time, he will introduce some barmy ideas and piss off old-fashioned fans all the time. Crucially though, it will not be deathly dull and irrelevant as it is now.

He can make us look forward to a new series of Doctor Who again! Yesssssssss

[Alberon]

I still think this run won't be as long as his first. He'll be in the showrunner slot for a couple of series, just to stop the ship from sinking and then move back to a more hands-off overview of the series as a new producer takes over.

[JamesTC]

Wouldn't be surprised if he co-showruns a series with whoever takes over to ease them in.

[Replies From View]

I still think this run won't be as long as his first. He'll be in the showrunner slot for a couple of series, just to stop the ship from sinking and then move back to a more hands-off overview of the series as a new producer takes over.

I'm expecting that RTD may take quite a permanent hands-off overseeing position from this point onwards, after getting it back on track with a couple of his own series.  His position within Bad Wolf production company may cement him as the custodian of Doctor Who somehow, to ensure it can never go too far off the rails.  He may be routinely called upon to rescue it hereafter.

[GoblinAhFuckScary]

When did these 2 become MILFy cougars?

phwooaaar thread is in the bin. get in the bin

[Mister Six]

Wouldn't be surprised if he co-showruns a series with whoever takes over to ease them in.

Or possibly, per Replies, stays on in some kind of Sidney Newman role, overseeing larger production issues while others come in as rotating head writers with their own takes on the material. That would be a more sustainable model, I think (assuming RTD rotated out whenever he got knackered), than having a one-man-band showrunner who has to do absolutely everything.

Davies would need to be comfortable stepping back and letting someone else follow their vision and aesthetic for the show, though, and I don't know if his workaholic nature will allow for that. Maybe if he can distract himself with other projects - perhaps that "Marvel Universe, but for Doctor Who" thing he was talking about, or just his own stuff a la It's a Sin.

[Replies From View]

Was just thinking it would be good if the costume for the 14th Doctor was a stolen mechanic's outfit and a white William Shatner mask

[Mister Six]

Wholoween.

[Mister Six]

"BBC Has Lost Creative Control Of Doctor Who For Season 14 & Beyond"

The BBC has lost control of creative control of Doctor Who from season 14 onwards. Radical changes are in store for the BBC's flagship science-fiction TV series; current showrunner, Chris Chibnall, is departing after season 13 and next year's specials, along with Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker. Chibnall will be replaced by returning showrunner Russell T. Davies, the man who relaunched Doctor Who so successfully back in 2005.

Chibnall has consistently argued the most important changes will happen behind-the-scenes. In his view, Doctor Who needs to reinvent itself in the age of Disney+, competing with the likes of Marvel and Lucasfilm. The only possible solution lay in a co-production deal, with a partner co-financing in return for certain benefits, such as some distribution rights or some element of creative say. A good example was The Night Manager, which reportedly cost £3 million per episode at a time when UK broadcaster budgets for primetime dramas rarely exceed £700-800,000 an hour. In the case of Doctor Who, the BBC has partnered with Bad Wolf, a production firm based in Wales run by two former producers who worked with Davies on the 2005 relaunch. There have been reports Bad Wolf is soon to be acquired by Sony, following a £60 million deal.

According to The Times, Bad Wolf is responsible for the creative direction and production, while the BBC retains international sales, merchandise and other ancillary matters. Essentially this means that, from Doctor Who season 14 onwards, the BBC will no longer have creative control of Doctor Who. The Times reports this could mean the BBC will miss out on up to £40 million in commercial revenue for every ten episodes; "It's extraordinary that BBC Studios has just rolled over," one source commented.

The Times' report seems overly critical, however. The BBC's finances are under significant strain, with the Conservative government continually placing pressure on their main source of income, the TV license fee. There is no way the BBC can produce Doctor Who to the quality level they hope for without signing some sort of co-production deal. What's more, international distribution and merchandise sales are vitally important in many science-fiction franchises, so losing these would have been a critical blow to another BBC revenue stream. And all the figures involved with Bad Wolf are experienced producers who have worked on Doctor Who before, with the original Davies era aging surprisingly well.

Even The Times' estimate of the cost is probably an overestimate, because it fails to factor in the benefits of bringing back Russell T. Davies. The BBC would only agree to something like this if execs were confident Davies and Bad Wolf could dramatically increase Doctor Who's profile, with significant increases in viewership and/or franchising. Indeed, it's significant that - back before he signed up to return as showrunner, and before Bad Wolf was brought in - Davies reminisced about being ahead of the likes of Marvel in trying to build an entire universe around the show, with spin-offs such as Torchwood and The Sarah-Jane Adventures. Davies' vision for Doctor Who seems to involve it expanding into a bigger franchise than ever before; in which case, the BBC's taking a step back and giving Davies the room to maneuver could pay off for them in a big way with Doctor Who.

If BBC creative control = Chibnall and no BBC creative control = RTD, then I can live with that.

Could be a return to 14 episodes a year, at the very least. Not sure a Marvel-type universe is desirable or justifiable. Back in the day, SJA as a proper kids' show, Who as the main family experience and (a hypothetically not shit) Torchwood as the adult series seemed like a decent balance.

What else would you want to add to that? Is there really an appetite for those three PLUS The Paternoster Gang, Clara in Time and Space, Bill the Psychic Ship Fuel, Nardole: Cyberman Killer etc etc?

Marvel's in a different position to Who because it has almost 100 years of accumulated stories and characters, all with their own fanbases. Who is in the Star Wars position of having a broadly admired core story that's heavily focused on a particular character/group of characters, and while there's a robust spin-off market for the hardcore fans in cheap-to-produce novels/comics/audios, parlaying that into expensive telly shows or even films is a bigger ask. And Who's core fandom/recognition is nowhere near what pre-movie-spinoff-fuckery Star Wars was. And look how that turned out. Where's Solo 2, eh?