RTD back for Doctor Who

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

RTD picked up a gong for It's a Sin at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards bash last night. This is how he closed his acceptance speech...

"This was made by Channel 4, a public service broadcaster dedicated to making this sort of programme. We know the government have said they're going to sell that now. And I know the government is wounded at the moment, but a wounded dog bites everyone. The rabies will spread, we're still in danger.

They have said they're selling Channel 4, and they have said they're stopping the licence fee by 2027. We have to realise that the things they say they will do, they do. They're very good at that. We're full of doubt, they are not. They will do this, and it's wrong.

I know I'm speaking to the converted, but there is money in this room, and if there is money in this room that means there are Tory voters in here. You are here, and you are certainly watching at home. So please know you are voting for murderers, bastards, abusers and liars. Thank you."

I bloody love that man so much.

[Kelvin]

Holy shit, that's amazing.

[Mister Six]

Superb.

[Deanjam]

A video, if you'd like to hear Russell's words for youreself.

https://twitter.com/mike_mccahill/status/1547339344003928065

[BritishHobo]

God I love him.

[H-O-W-L]

Did they ever do anything interesting with the Cybermen in the end? I listened to the new theme out of the blue and it actually sounds really good and horrific.

[Mister Six]

Looks like Doctor Who Confidential is getting a revival and rebranding.

EXCLUSIVE: Doctor Who getting spin-off series in conjunction with 60th anniversary special

A new behind-the-scenes Doctor Who spin-off show will accompany the sci-fi series from 2023.

Returning showrunner Russell T. Davies has commissioned the series believed to be called Doctor Who: Unleashed which will begin in 2023 in conjunction with the 60th anniversary special which sees David Tennant reprise his role as the Tenth Doctor alongside Catherine Tate as his companion Donna Noble.

The programme will be fronted by BBC radio presenter and gaming reporter Steffan Powell.

The show will be in a similar format to Doctor Who Confidential - which launched in conjunction with the series when it was brought back in 2005 by Russell and which ran until 2012 – giving fans interviews with the cast and writer, as well as sneak peaks of filming and special effects wizardry.

The sister show is part of Russell's grand plan to boost Doctor Who's flagging ratings and get fans back on side following the disappointment of departing showrunner Chris Chibnall's time in charge and a lukewarm response to Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to ever play the Time Lord.

A source said: "Doctor Who Confidential was hugely popular amongst fans when Christopher Eccleston brought the show back as the Ninth Doctor and that continued during David's tenure in the TARDIS as the Tenth Doctor.

"Russell is aware that Doctor Who fans can never get enough content when it comes to the show and how it is made, with David and Catherine making a sensational return to the show, he thought the time was right to bring back a behind-the-scenes show which will document their comebacks and show how the special was made."

[BritishHobo]

It's exciting, it feels like he's really trying go get it back to how it was during his tenure. It's amazing to think just how ubiquitous it seemed to be. When you think about series 2, and Confidential, and Torchwood, and then Sarah Jane Adventures, there was so much life to everything. Even putting aside our feelings on Chibnall's writing, I think the life of the franchise outside of the episodes themselves just hasn't been there for a long time.

[BritishHobo]

A new rumour today, by the way, apparently from the same source who leaked all the confirmed stuff so far, is that

Spoiler alert

Moffat will be writing episodes for Ncuti's first season. Pinch of salt, obviously, but I suppose I can't see why it would be unrealistic in the same way a Chris Eccleston return would be.

[close]

Disney are also in negotiations to air the new episodes worldwide on Disney+, which feels pretty fucking big. That will be big money for the show. America was good for Moffat's Who I think, so could be very promising. I adore the BBC and it is key to Doctor Who, but it might be very useful to RTD's plans if the BBC are no longer the sole thing they're relying on in order to get the show made. The increased control given to his production company is already significant, but this could enhance that freedom a lot.

[JamesTC]

I understand that the BBC are largely pulling out of Britbox. It would make sense if they make their back catalogue open to the highest bidder from the streaming services. Even just new Doctor Who could be a big pull but also they could easily add a further 26 seasons on top of that. Hopefully an avenue for lost story animations to resume.

I don't think it can happen straight away though. At least not in America. HBO have the rights to Series 14 and 15.



As for the spoiler

Spoiler alert

That's exciting.

[close]

[Mister Six]

Disney are also in negotiations to air the new episodes worldwide on Disney+, which feels pretty fucking big. That will be big money for the show. America was good for Moffat's Who I think, so could be very promising. I adore the BBC and it is key to Doctor Who, but it might be very useful to RTD's plans if the BBC are no longer the sole thing they're relying on in order to get the show made. The increased control given to his production company is already significant, but this could enhance that freedom a lot.

Bit concerned about that, partly because I fucking hate Disney and their hold on popular culture, but mostly because I wouldn't want the episodes to be affected at all by Disney's, er, quirky attitude to moral acceptability, which saw a really bad digital hair extension used to cover Daryl Hannah's arse.

Not that Ncuti's likely to bare his buttocks in the show, but RTD likes a bit of risqué humour and more than a bit of horrible violence, and it's easy to see Disney getting squeamish about both. Then again, they're adding Logan and the Deadpool films to Disney+ over here (previously Disney's more adult fare was shunted onto Hulu), so maybe they're wising up a bit.

[BritishHobo]

True. The ideal situation would be no actual input from Disney, just many wheelbarrows full of money.

[JamesTC]

You would imagine that the BBC would ultimately retain an element of creative control. It also sounds like Bad Wolf have an element of freedom.

I doubt Disney would come in and be able to take away the creative control. Or if they were, they would likely install somebody already involved in the show to oversee everything along the lines of Kevin Feige. And it sounds like RTD is taking a kind of Kevin Feige style roll going forward with Doctor Who anyway.

[Psybro]

It's exciting, it feels like he's really trying go get it back to how it was during his tenure. It's amazing to think just how ubiquitous it seemed to be. When you think about series 2, and Confidential, and Torchwood, and then Sarah Jane Adventures, there was so much life to everything. Even putting aside our feelings on Chibnall's writing, I think the life of the franchise outside of the episodes themselves just hasn't been there for a long time.

I always remember driving to get my tires changed on 30 December 2009, in between the two parts of The End of Time, and Radio 5 treating an interview with Tennant being A Big Fucking Deal.  And I hadn't even tuned in deliberately.

[Replies From View]

Well I personally think it's fantastically good when Disney smothers arses in strands of fresh golden hay.  How else are they to advertise Weetabix when their budget is so limited?  I was going to say their budget is 'tight' but that would only put you in mind of arses again, which is anathema to the entire Disney brand.

[Replies From View]

I understand that the BBC are largely pulling out of Britbox.

What's the story here?  If the BBC are pulling out and taking the archive television with them then Britbox will collapse.  Are the BBC planning on putting their archive elsewhere, or abandoning projects like this more generally?

[JamesTC]

I always remember driving to get my tires changed on 30 December 2009, in between the two parts of The End of Time, and Radio 5 treating an interview with Tennant being A Big Fucking Deal.  And I hadn't even tuned in deliberately.

A few months before would have been "The Eleventh Doctor" Confidential, which announced Matt Smith. A really great little documentary in and of itself, and a wonderful way to introduce the new Doctor. The peak of Confidential. I'd put it up there with Whose Doctor Who and More Than 30 Years in the TARDIS as being the best TV documentaries the show has had.

[JamesTC]

What's the story here?  If the BBC are pulling out and taking the archive television with them then Britbox will collapse.  Are the BBC planning on putting their archive elsewhere, or abandoning projects like this more generally?

ITV bought out the BBC's share. Although it doesn't sound like the BBC had a massive share in the first place. ITV will seemingly be rebranding the UK version of Britbox to represent an arm of ITV (I've seen ITVX suggested but that is a shit name).

[Replies From View]

A few months before would have been "The Eleventh Doctor" Confidential, which announced Matt Smith. A really great little documentary in and of itself, and a wonderful way to introduce the new Doctor. The peak of Confidential. I'd put it up there with Whose Doctor Who and More Than 30 Years in the TARDIS as being the best TV documentaries the show has had.

And sadly not included on any of the DVD releases.

[Replies From View]

ITV bought out the BBC's share. Although it doesn't sound like the BBC had a massive share in the first place. ITV will seemingly be rebranding the UK version of Britbox to represent an arm of ITV (I've seen ITVX suggested but that is a shit name).

To be fair, Britbox is a terrible name that I'm embarrassed by - it sounds like the kind of service a Brexit supporter would champion.  But if the BBC pulls out and all their content leaves the service then I'll be stopping my subscription.

[Midas]

The BBC is finished if they add pre-Hartnell arses into the programme.

[mjwilson]

ITV bought out the BBC's share. Although it doesn't sound like the BBC had a massive share in the first place. ITV will seemingly be rebranding the UK version of Britbox to represent an arm of ITV (I've seen ITVX suggested but that is a shit name).

It is a shit name but it has been officially announced.

[Mister Six]

You would imagine that the BBC would ultimately retain an element of creative control. It also sounds like Bad Wolf have an element of freedom.

I doubt Disney would come in and be able to take away the creative control. Or if they were, they would likely install somebody already involved in the show to oversee everything along the lines of Kevin Feige. And it sounds like RTD is taking a kind of Kevin Feige style roll going forward with Doctor Who anyway.

No, I don't mean Disney will take creative control, but there could be a chilling effect. If certain things are known to be against Disney's sense of propriety, there's an incentive not to push it in case they make cuts for Disney+. Or TO push it, I suppose, but everyone involved is a canny enough businessperson that seems unlikely.

[Bad Ambassador]

My understanding is that ITVX will have at least two tiers, an ad-supported catch-up service and a subscription streaming service that will include the above without ads as well as what was left from BritBox.

[Replies From View]

My understanding is that ITVX will have at least two tiers, an ad-supported catch-up service and a subscription streaming service that will include the above without ads as well as what was left from BritBox.

But if it's just ITV stuff left it's somewhat hollowed out.

[Psybro]

A few months before would have been "The Eleventh Doctor" Confidential, which announced Matt Smith. A really great little documentary in and of itself, and a wonderful way to introduce the new Doctor. The peak of Confidential. I'd put it up there with Whose Doctor Who and More Than 30 Years in the TARDIS as being the best TV documentaries the show has had.

Also memorable, the first reactions on Something Awful to Smith's reveal being a combination of "He looks like an emo" and "What the fuck is that supposed to mean??"

[Malcy]

Seems odd that ITV would do that. The Beeb have such a small share in BritBox anyway and to be honest the majority of the good content is BBC.

Plus ITV are launching their own streaming service soon.

[Mister Six]

Perhaps it's more about buying the pre-existing infrastructure than anything else?

[Ambient Sheep]

If one actually bothers to read the linked article beyond the first paragraphheadline, it not only confirms the ITVX name (for the UK version), but also states that all the BBC's content will remain on both ITVX (née Britbox UK) and Britbox International, in which the BBC is retaining its 50% stake.

Try it!

So yeah, scary headline but the end result is little different in the UK and nothing at all outside it.

Fuck it, here's the key passage:

When asked for further clarification of what the buy-out means for Britbox, an ITV spokesperson told Variety: "To give ITV greater control over BritBox U.K. and enable its integration into ITVX, the BBC has ceased to be a shareholder in BritBox UK. They will continue to be a strong partner for BritBox U.K. and BritBox International, and we have agreed a new long-term content supply deal with the BBC. All PSB partners are committed to BritBox U.K. which offers consumers a large library of the majority of PSB British content in one place from the past and recent past."
::
::
In the press briefing, the trio explained that ITVX would offer two tiers: a free, ad-driven (AVOD) model and a paid, SVOD subscription model that would also encompass BritBox U.K. McCall described it as an "AVOD-led service with a compelling SVOD service within it."

The only difference between the two tiers is that the free tier will have ads and the paid-for tier will be ad-free and include BritBox and potentially other "content partners that we develop SVOD partnerships with," McCall clarified.

[JamesTC]

If one actually bothers to read the linked article beyond the first paragraphheadline, it not only confirms the ITVX name (for the UK version), but also states that all the BBC's content will remain on both ITVX (née Britbox UK) and Britbox International, in which the BBC is retaining its 50% stake.

Try it!

So yeah, scary headline but the end result is little different in the UK and nothing at all outside it.

Fuck it, here's the key passage:

This would be for international markets, I imagine. But it does seem that ITVX aren't as close as they would have been before, so whilst they have renewed the content agreement now, it might be split and go to the highest bidders next time around. I think New Who is already sold to several big markets for the next couple of series anyway. Seem to remember reading the HBO Max have the rights to the first two Gatwa series in America.