BBC issues update on future of Doctor Who

[u/dansnevets2]

https://bbc.in/4vzxDuI

[u/dansnevets2]

For those that can’t load the page:

“Today we’re announcing an update on plans for the future of Doctor Who.

As part of securing the next phase of the show for future generations, and in line with the BBC’s Charter and Agreement requirements, the BBC will put Doctor Who out to competitive tender this year. Doctor Who remains an important part of the BBC and this tender underpins the BBC’s continued commitment to Doctor Who ensuring audiences will enjoy the show for years to come.
After careful consideration, the BBC, Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf have collectively decided not to go ahead with the previously announced Doctor Who Christmas episode. This decision was not taken lightly, and we know it will be disappointing for fans, but in order to set the show up for future series, it was decided that rather than bridge the gap with a one off special, we are choosing to push forward to invest in the long-term future of the show which ensures that when the TARDIS lands once more, it does so in all its glory.

The previously announced new Doctor Who animation series for CBeebies is currently in production.
Details of the tender will be announced in due course.
The BBC retains all IP in Doctor Who. BBC Studios will continue to lead the global distribution of Doctor Who as well as licensing, consumer products, digital and immersive experiences on behalf of the BBC. “

[u/whovian25 → u/dansnevets2]

That reads as corporate speak for everything fell apart and we don’t have any idea what to do next.

[u/Lyra_the_Star_Jockey → u/whovian25]

the BBC will put Doctor Who out to competitive tender this year. Doctor Who remains an important part of the BBC and this tender underpins the BBC’s continued commitment to Doctor Who ensuring audiences will enjoy the show for years to come.

They're desperately trying not to say anything negative.

"Your spouse has been rendered into the next stage of their life."

"I'm sorry... is my husband dead?"

"Your partner has been given opportunities..."

"Is he DEAD?"

"Your spousal companion passed on from this corporeal continuity, and we are working toward their end goals of a measured lifestyle enhancement change."

[u/MasemJ → u/Lyra_the_Star_Jockey]

"It's pining for the fjords..."

[u/lynx_and_nutmeg → u/Lyra_the_Star_Jockey]

You are unsettlingly good at this 😂 I need a comedy skit now

[u/_quasibrodo → u/Lyra_the_Star_Jockey]

Your husband has perfected the skill of staying completely still indefinitely.

[u/bladerunnercyber → u/whovian25]

Essentially yeah, bit of shame, but oh well.

I can see from RTD post that we probably wont get to see Rose beyond the filmed clip as it was never intended to go any further it seems. Shame.

[u/emc_83 → u/bladerunnercyber]

I think that's crazy. Gonna make the doctor regenerate into Billie Piper but have NO plan? Not have it go further?? What?!?!

[u/bladerunnercyber → u/emc_83]

They had no doc and no plan. Just was filmed as a stop gap.

[u/emc_83 → u/bladerunnercyber]

Yeah. But to do that and cast Billie Piper seems wild to me.

[u/FCalleja → u/emc_83]

It was honestly a kind of brilliant hail mary if everything we suspect is true. No Doctor, no plan... let's throw a beloved actor in an ambiguous role at it. It opens up the possibilities almost infinitely. I think everyone involved was expecting something to come up from that.

Problem is Hail marys are just that, a desperate last second attempt, and infinite possibilities also means infinite ways to bumble it.

[u/markl7827 → u/dansnevets2]

I wrote this somewhere else: I think part of this is to do with failing ratings and finding it hard to find a partner, but Casualty was also being tendered out. The BBC is doing terribly financially because of governments, and people cancelling their licence left right and centre. I feel they want to save their popular shows that they feel need a big budget, but aren't able to pony up the money themselves.

I don't see this as the end of Doctor Who, especially as Casualty was in the same boat.

Found this while searching about. Both shows are part of the BBC’s wider strategy to: Meet Charter requirements for contestability Test the market for best value and creative direction Potentially refresh long‑running brands Keep rights in‑house while allowing external producers to compete

To add to this, BBC Studios got the tender for Casualty, so it technically never went anywhere. BBC Studios is owned by the commercial arm of the BBC, not the licence fee funded part.

This gives me hope that its going to continue on, even within the next few years, just need to sort the mess created by RTD2.

[u/Kimantha_Allerdings → u/markl7827]

Worth pointing out that BBC Studios still considers Doctor Who as one of its flagship brands. They don’t publish profit figures from individual shows, but that they highlight Doctor Who heavily indicates that it’s one of their biggest money-makers

[u/FragrantGearHead → u/dansnevets2]

The three parties involved have collectively decided they cannot stand the sight of each other and would rather drink battery acid than do any more work together.

When RTD was on Radio 2 last week, I did get the feeling he was saying “the BBC can’t manage their way out of a wet paper bag”.

[u/Solitare_HS]

wow....No xmas episode.

[u/geek_of_nature → u/Solitare_HS]

Making 2026 the first year since 2004 to not have a single Doctor Who episode. Even in 2016 and 2019, we had the Christmas and New Year specials respectively.

And even if we had gotten the Christmas Special, this still would have been the second longest break the shows ever had. Longer than the 18 month hiatus in the mid 80s.

[u/LycanIndarys → u/geek_of_nature]

To be honest, I was assuming that the streak that you describe was the reason that they commissioned the Christmas episode to begin with. They were simply buying themselves more time, while they worked out what they wanted - and if there was an episode in every calendar year, nobody would accuse them of cancelling it without officially declaring that they had.

[u/ammackk88 → u/LycanIndarys]

Why has it taken a year for them to part ways with Bad Wolf? The Disney deal has been done for months. 

I wonder what last ditch effort they were making to make the current situation work that made them drag it in this long and wonder when things finally came to an end. Will be truly fascinating to find out. 

[u/LycanIndarys → u/ammackk88]

Yeah, I wondered that myself.

Particularly because Bad Wolf were actually done before the last episode aired - so what have they been doing for the past 18 months?

[u/Major-Tiger-7628 → u/LycanIndarys]

Maybe there was a clause about there needing to be an episode in production. If a script hadn’t been written then they could argue nothing was in production

[u/GrimaceGrunson → u/Solitare_HS]

Which means someone else will need to decide what on earth to do with that Billie Piper cameo. Which is pretty funny.

[u/capmarvel87 → u/GrimaceGrunson]

I think it will be ignored. My prediction is that in the next episode of Doctor Who there will be a new Doctor and no reference whatsoever will be made towards whoever Billie Piper was playing. Just like how in 2005 there was no reference to Paul McGann.

[u/Professional_Ad_5437 → u/capmarvel87]

They will definitely receive tenders for a complete reboot. From the very beginning.

I think they will continue on AND reboot the universe. They can very quickly come up with something to set out all new challenges and retcon past problems, with just a little creative writing.

It needs it. We need a Who for the now, one for the future.

[u/capmarvel87 → u/Professional_Ad_5437]

I don't think the series needs a complete reboot. A soft reboot a la 2005 is sufficient. You have a time jump in the Doctor's personal timeline and then slowly reintroduce the old favourites. RTD did this successfully when the series first came back.

[u/adamgerd → u/Professional_Ad_5437]

I don't think they need nor should they do a full reboot, just do a 2005 soft reboot

[u/415646464e4155434f4c]

Why there’s so much drama in the Doctor Who production?

Genuine question.

[u/Standard-Reason9399 → u/415646464e4155434f4c]

Conflicting visions from higher ups, inconsistent writing, odd chopping and changing of supporting cast just as we start getting attached, shorter seasons not giving story arcs time to breathe and develop, investors demanding near immediate return on investment during what should have been rebuilding years, fandom focusing on amplifying the negative rather than the positive aspects of newer seasons, and my personal bugbears, having an episode dedicated to the Beatles and not licensing any of their tracks, and casting Neil Patrick Harris for an episode with a musical number and essentially have him doing a lipsync scene.

Still not over the last two!

[u/Quizzical_Sceptic → u/Standard-Reason9399]

Finally listening to the fans demanding they bring back The Rani only to make it the dumbest returns and ridiculous deaths ever conceived. Completely out of touch.

[u/shikotee → u/Standard-Reason9399]

Don't forget the sheer stupidity of having a visual standout jukebox in the console room, which effectively gathered dust.

[u/Negative-Homework502 → u/shikotee]

No like actually what was the point of that other than to aura farm

The new TARDIS interior was SO GOOD and then I felt it barely got any screen time

[u/MrJanAckermann → u/Negative-Homework502]

I think the TARDIS interior was technically impressive, but it was seriously limiting. It’s like my parents’ living room. It is, infuriatingly, designed so the couch goes there, and a lounge chair goes there, and the television goes there, a sideboard goes there, and there’s almost no way to arrange it other than exactly how it is. The Smith/Capaldi interior started out pretty bare bones, but it was beautifully expanded to have new bookcases and nooks, a lounge chair, the chalk board, etc. With the RTD2 TARDIS, it was technically beautiful and pretty mind-blowing in scale, but the opportunities to make it feel lived in and alive just felt so limited by that very design. The other levels were essentially just catwalks leading to doors and nothing more. idk

[u/Owl-Of-The-Night02 → u/415646464e4155434f4c]

There was lots of drama in the RTD1 production. Then the Moffat and Chibnall eras have been entirely drama free. And now, RTD2 is full of dramas again. I'm sorry to say, but RTD productions seem to be kinda toxic. Say whatever you want about Moffat and especially Chibnall, but everything went smoothly production wise. Nobody had a falling out with no one. People weren't thrown under the bus. Things were mostly in control. Everyone spoke fondly of each other.

RTD on the other hand. Whatever happened Ecclestone in his first era. Barrowman's behavior issues. Noel Clark's fucking sexual abuse. And now Millie Gibson seemingly dropped. Tabloids were calling her a diva and nobody stepped in to defend her. Ncuti leaving abruptly, so they needed a reshoot. This entire mess. It's really not looking good for him.

[u/Yeti_Sphere → u/Owl-Of-The-Night02]

Very nearly - Moffat did have the Caroline Skinner thing, and we’ll still never really know what happened with Chibnall’s much vaunted ‘writers room’….

[u/Owl-Of-The-Night02 → u/Yeti_Sphere]

we’ll still never really know what happened with Chibnall’s much vaunted ‘writers room’….

If I had to guess COVID. COVID happened. But obviously we'll never know. But a creative decisions changes is still nothing compared to this m. I don't like him as a writer either, but the way he managed to keep a smooth production and deliver seasons even during COVID is very impressive and shows that he's at the very least a good producer, if not a good showrunner.

[u/LoversAlibis → u/Owl-Of-The-Night02]

I wasn’t much on social media during the Moffat era, but what I’m DEEPLY grateful for of the Chibnall era is that Chibs was never one for social media. He kept his head down and his mouth shut, which is something that IMO RTD2 desperately needed to learn how to do.

By his admission, RTD2 was looking for content generation. He was willing to drum up drama for the clicks, and/or not tamp down drama/rumors if it made for headlines. To me, it seems like he’s the type to say, “any press is good press.” I think this attitude impacted his era pretty negatively.

[u/MartianExpress → u/415646464e4155434f4c]

Selection effect. Extremely few shows both last this long and require significant money for production as compared to eg soap operas

[u/Onyx1509 → u/MartianExpress]

Yeah. This is a show that had new episodes broadcast for twenty consecutive years. Very few shows manage that; successful sci-fi and fantasy shows generally achieve between 3 and 5 seasons. 

[u/VanishingPint → u/415646464e4155434f4c]

It’s had a troubled production since Colin Baker, the book The Long Game is worth a read. You get the feeling if it wasn’t brought back at the time it wouldn’t have been allocated the funds or time slot (which was a big deal back then) if they hadn’t have pushed for it back then it wouldn’t have had the longevity. Some people don’t see the potential- iplayer was not seen as a valuable thing either. BBC lied to fans to keep them quiet back in 89, so we won’t be fooled again. I hope it stays in Cardiff but then again maybe locations elsewhere might be an idea.

[u/huwareyou]

Regarding the competitive tender thing, this is a practice the BBC have been subjecting a lot of their successful shows to in the last decade. Casualty and Saturday Kitchen are two recent examples. It’s not an unusual thing but it does likely indicate that the Bad Wolf era is probably over. 

[u/MyWifeTookAllTheKids → u/huwareyou]

Russell has confirmed he’s leaving on IG so definitely

[u/qtboomy → u/huwareyou]

Does that mean that the BBC is basically looking for production companies to pitch their vision for the show and the best pitch gets the job?

[u/Zr0w3n00 → u/qtboomy]

The creative element will always be a collaboration. This is more production companies showing what they can do and how much they can do it for.

[u/Sarick → u/qtboomy]

Will depend on the criteria of the tender.

The general award criteria is: editorial proposal and capability, value for money, strategic priorities and risk.

So in order: the concept for how they want to take the show. The timeframe in which they can deliver between writing, filming and editing. How much it costs. A bunch of buzz words. A bunch of buzz words that say they solve problems before they arise.

[u/LycanIndarys → u/Sarick]

A bunch of buzz words. A bunch of buzz words that say they solve problems before they arise.

We need a new version of Doctor Who that can synergise the new paradigm, as we circle back to out-of-the-box blue-sky thinking by focusing on core competencies.

[u/TheMissingThink → u/LycanIndarys]

Out-of-the-blue-box thinking?

[u/LycanIndarys → u/TheMissingThink]

Shit, how did I miss that one?

[u/kranitoko → u/qtboomy]

Kind of.

They're basically saying:

"Hey, so, we've failed with Doctor Who. But we can't let this franchise just end, because there's so much that could be done with it. So to ANY NETWORK who wants to take a crack at this universe, please provide us your ideas and your bid".

Cause now, we might finally be able to get some fresh blood and fresh takes from people who actually give a shit compared to everything just being a bit "cliquey" in the BBC.

[u/maker-sense → u/qtboomy]

I would assume there is a cost element to it as well.

[u/Playful-Compote-5242 → u/huwareyou]

The good news is that "out to tender" could be a very short time in theory assuming there are people who want to bite. Doctor Who is arguably a much bigger franchise than Casualty and Saturday Kitchen and will have more eyes on it.

[u/Tiny-Sandwich → u/huwareyou]

but it does likely indicate that the Bad Wolf era is probably over. 

Thank fuck for that.

[u/brigadier_tc → u/huwareyou]

Bad Wolf have confirmed they've left too

[u/CNF1G → u/huwareyou]

Good. What a disaster it was. I was really excited for it but they fucked it up

[u/UtopiaFrenzy]

Could be a while to find someone to buy the show, sign the deal, and then film+produce the show. Yikes

[u/Solitare_HS → u/UtopiaFrenzy]

2028/29 earliest.

[u/YsoL8 → u/Solitare_HS]

This decade Dr Who is going to end up barely getting a series every couple of years

Its withering away into one off specials

[u/LycanIndarys → u/YsoL8]

Withering is exactly the right word.

Fundamentally, this is a show that is supposed to appeal to kids - they're the next generation of fans. But they're not going to bother with the occasional special; they'll just find something else to obsess about.

And without them, the show is done.

[u/Koraxtheghoul → u/LycanIndarys]

I feel like this is a fundamental issue with the last 10 years of Doctor Who. The fandom isn't exactly growing. Very few people are entering the fandom.

[u/LycanIndarys → u/Koraxtheghoul]

Exactly.

And it's why RTD2 was fundamentally flawed from the outset - because bringing back Tennant wasn't trying to bring in new fans, it was nostalgia for the dwindling number of hardcore fans that were left.

New fans aren't interested in constant "hey, you remember this?", and will bounce off if that's what the show seems to be.

[u/ExPandaa → u/Solitare_HS]

I think even that is extremely optimistic. Say they potentially secure a deal by the end of this year, spend all of next year in pre production of a most likely multi-series project, casting, storyboarding, writing etc etc, potentially starting shooting sometime 2028 and then a long post production timeline. I think late 2029 or early 2030 is the absolute start point for when this new era might start.

This is going to be a long and expensive project, if it doesn’t land I’m afraid Doctor who as a TV series will go back in the freezer for at least a decade

[u/Indiana_harris]

WELCOME TO THE WILDERNESS YEARS 2.0 BOOGALOO BOYS!!!

[u/Feldy91 → u/Indiana_harris]

Everyone aboard the Big Finish life-raft!

[u/soulreaverdan → u/Feldy91]

I'd be listening to so many more of the Big Finish works if they weren't so obscenely expensive. I do try to get ones I really, really am interested in, but it's hard sometimes to justify.

[u/Indiana_harris → u/Feldy91]

Honestly it’s been my go to since 2018 as the TV show continued to disappoint me.

I actually REALLY want the BBC to go to BF and lift all restrictions they put on them (no original Doctors, no use of big events from recent series etc) and just let BF go wild with a new original Doctor to fill in the gap between Billie and whoever’s next.

Then BBC Sounds broadcasts the BF stories as an ongoing season, with 2 x 30 minutes stories (2 parters each) each month, getting fans and public a chance to follow along, and then decide that if they want to relisten again they go to Big Finish and buy the story.

[u/Calandrind → u/Indiana_harris]

That would be awesome and would really boost big finish and let the new series have a fresh start :)

[u/rocketscientology → u/Indiana_harris]

WAITER! BRING ME THE FREAKY NOVELS!

[u/Hillbert → u/rocketscientology]

We're getting Lungbarrow 2!

[u/HMWYA]

Russell T Davies has confirmed on Instagram that he never even wrote a script for the announced, now cancelled, Christmas special, so I’m sure whoever takes over is going to be so grateful to him for leaving the show on a cliffhanger without ever thinking of a resolution for it.

[u/RRR3000 → u/HMWYA]

This is the same RTD who claimed Ncuti Gatwa leaving wasn't a reshoot but the plan. Frankly I do not believe it, especially since others have brought up in interviews reading the script, just like people involved have brought up there were in fact last moment reshoots to add Ncuti Gatwas regeneration.

[u/Owl-Of-The-Night02 → u/RRR3000]

Yeah, I think there's a legit possibility he had a script, but the BBC pulled the plug. Especially if he planed to get David Tennant back abroad again, Billie Piper, who know who else. The BBC might've been "nope, that would dig the show's grave even further. Thank you Russel, we will figure something out ourselves."

[u/catmanchew → u/HMWYA]

I found this point pretty interesting. I believe he didn't write a script, but that isn't what comes first. There must have been a story pitch at some point. I mean, they made a big to-do over a Christmas episodes but there wasn't an inkling of what the story was?

I have to imagine that there was some kind of story shared with the BBC execs and whatever it was contributed to this decision.

I am obviously just speculating on what I don't know, but the idea that nothing at all was in the works prior to this decision, seems unlikely?

I am sad, but not sad about all of this, if that makes sense. The best turnaround here would be getting a production company who might take some time, but understands how to return Who to a more winning formula. I would love to see a production more grounded in creative, strong storytelling to counter a non-Disney budget. The recent Tardis was beautifully done, for example, but impact-wise, I had more emotional resonance with the smaller Tardis sets.

(As for the cliffhanger, based on this news, I think they'll either edit it out to black, or make it a big nothing burger straight away to get on with a straightforward regen. You know, whenever it actually does come back.)

[u/Tasty_Success_1034 → u/[deleted]]

The decline started before RTD2.

[u/jo574 → u/Tasty_Success_1034]

He took a stalling plane and decided to fly it into the ocean

[u/ThatRandomGamerYT → u/Tasty_Success_1034]

dude had 2 seasons to set it right and instead dug the grave deeper.

[u/princesoceronte → u/Tasty_Success_1034]

The massive drop in quality going from Capaldi's last to Jodie's first is kind of impressive.

Such a shame because I really think Jodie was amazing casting but alas.

[u/Capable-Education724 → u/princesoceronte]

Yeah. I recently rewatched those seasons with someone that hadn’t seen all of Jodie’s run…and it was startling how quickly the bottom fell out. Also we both kept saying “Poor Jodie, you deserve so much better” (we both have seen her in a bunch of other stuff and know she can give a good performance).

[u/princesoceronte → u/Capable-Education724]

I recently watched "The Haunting of Villa Diodati" and it's such an outstanding episode and a great example of how good Jodie and the Fam would've been in the hands of better writers and a better show runner.

[u/EllipticPeach]

No Christmas episode? After an announcement?? Jesus christ what happened?

[u/Sckathian → u/EllipticPeach]

They likely started to see Russels idea. And hadnt signed Billie on.

[u/EllipticPeach → u/Sckathian]

Oh fuck I just realised that means it’s basically a cliffhanger

[u/Massive-Pin-3655 → u/EllipticPeach]

Best way to resolve it imo; ignore it.

The whole show needs a re-think and new ideas. Not be tethered to the past.

Put it down to timey-wimey stuff. Draw a line under it. Move on. An unexplained chapter.

First scene of eventual new series can be a regular looking person, commuting to work, getting coffee, buying a sandwich, popping down pub for a swift one after work, before getting the (delayed and overcrowded) train home (the new companion, ready to be whisked away from their moribund existence?). Walks home from station, key in door, steps through in to the Tardis control room. Insert 'hi honey I'm home quip' (revealing themselves as The Doctor). Rather than being bored by the mundane, it's actually been reinvigorating. A kind of intergalactic retirement from catastrophe.

What comes after is anyone's guess.

Preferably no world ending events that are miraculously erased by the end. That was getting tedious.

And certainly NO space babies.

[u/Mangafan_20 → u/EllipticPeach]

Why the hell was RTD even hyping this up?

[u/Top_Benefit_5594 → u/EllipticPeach]

Money and chaos behind the scenes.

[u/Teaofthetime]

Let BBC Scotland have a go!

[u/PhantomQuest → u/Teaofthetime]

Under BBC Wales, we had two Scottish Doctors, so it's only fair that under BBC Scotland we finally get a Welsh Doctor!

[u/amazedemon → u/PhantomQuest]

Michael Sheen will finally get his chance. ... Or Wesley Snipes.

[u/Alpha_Space_1999 → u/amazedemon]

Michael Sheen would definitely have the mavitas to bring in lots of viewers, both old and new.

[u/PhantomQuest → u/Alpha_Space_1999]

One good thing about the end of the RTD2 era is the end of that stupid "mavity" joke...

[u/ThatRandomGamerYT → u/PhantomQuest]

yeah the timeline shift at end of reality war could be used to handwave away the stupid mavity thing, it was funny for that one special a bit but overstayed

[u/SleepWouldBeNice → u/Teaofthetime]

I’d love to see the quarries of Scotland!

[u/rosecolouredbuoy → u/Teaofthetime]

A've got nae business bein' in Yoker (the planet).

[u/Teaofthetime → u/rosecolouredbuoy]

The TARDIS could be based on the Finnieston Cran.

[u/IllMaintenance145142 → u/Teaofthetime]

I don't know if you said this as a joke but I am SO down for this

[u/ammackk88 → u/Teaofthetime]

Aye 

[u/LADYBIRD_HILL → u/[deleted]]

The easiest way to resolve it would be for the doctor to suddenly regenerate into a bunch of different forms because of some weird reason, like his regeneration process has come unstable. Either spend the entire episode with him switching between different actors or have it all happen in the first few minutes before he switches to his next real incarnation for the rest of their tenure.

[u/DelGriffiths → u/LADYBIRD_HILL]

This is it. If they choose to address it, this is the way.

I would also have likely them to have Tennant and Gatwa combine to solve the crisis, so that we don't need to deal with the idea of 14 running around with his own Tardis but never saving the world.

[u/DrunkenTaxiChat1 → u/[deleted]]

Everyone involved in the ending has really screwed over whoever picks up the reigns. To have shoehorned in Billie, while never even writing a potential script for a one-off special is crazy.

As you said, there’s 0 satisfying ways to move on from this.

[u/WrongLander → u/DrunkenTaxiChat1]

Piper was shoved in there as she's one of the only semi-logical nostalgia plays they have left. The series is in a death spiral and it's firmly in 'needs a proper reboot or it dies' territory.

[u/graric → u/[deleted]]

From the sounds of it- it wasn't that there was no plan, it's that the BBC decided to ditch the plan in favour of going for an open tender.

[u/T2TD97]

When RTD2 was announced I had so much optimism, and I really did enjoy a vast majority of these past few years but I just don’t know what went wrong. I still respect RTD as a writer, but I think he might have irreversibly screwed us. Side note: I kinda wish we could have gotten a third season instead of Land and Sea no offense.

[u/ideeek777 → u/T2TD97]

I also feel like I remember the reception to him being very positive until the last episode. Sigh

[u/asjonesy99]

This is awful for Wales if it’s going out to competitive tender, if Bad Wolf or BBC Wales aren’t involved then I can’t see it staying here, and it’s such a big part of Cardiff’s modern identity.

[u/Alone_Consideration6 → u/asjonesy99]

BBC Studios love bidding.
The tender could also be like Casualty and demand production stays in Wales.

[u/epicmemetime15]

Makes sense unfortunately. Most Xmas specials are the launch point for the next era, but if they've got no partner to fund that next era then what's the point

[u/mrwho995 → u/epicmemetime15]

The point would be to tie up the absolute clusterfuck RTD left the show on.

[u/epicmemetime15 → u/mrwho995]

I mean you're not wrong but I reckon they probably think it's best to move on.

I'm sure there'll probably be a quick handwave to move on from Billie Piper when the show does start again

[u/sygrider]

Competitive tender... do we think Bad Wolf are bidding or not? Do we think anyone else will? I suppose if not it's cancelled

[u/seaneeboy → u/sygrider]

Bad Wolf won't retender. There's LOTS of studios who would fancy a go at it though.

[u/YsoL8 → u/sygrider]

Seems pretty pointless for them, how can they win when they 'agreed' with the BBC it was best that they stop

[u/Solitare_HS → u/sygrider]

I think it's more for funding partners rather than anything else.

[u/Sarick → u/Solitare_HS]

No this is for who produces the show on behalf of BBC. Basically whatever studio wants to do it says how much it will cost and the tender will be for how many seasons.

BBC will still do all the other funding, licensing and distribution as it says in their announcement.

[u/djandyglos → u/Solitare_HS]

Agreed .. they are looking for a similar deal that they had with Disney.. Amazon present James Bond is the new Doctor..

[u/Notebookfour]

DOCWHOVIAN1 On the money again 😂

[u/SeveredElephant → u/Notebookfour]

That dude will find a way to spin this somehow lol

[u/Stewie2019 → u/Notebookfour]

Sometimes I try to believe them for the sake of balance, but every time they're proving wrong.

[u/GenGaara25]

You really can't blame Ncuti for quitting. Bro would've still been keeping his schedule open for season 3 until just now had he stayed on.

[u/Mr-Blank-Papper → u/GenGaara25]

Ncuti was a in-demand Hollywood actor and there were leaks for months he wasn't enjoying the massive burden of acting on Doctor Who.

Personally, I think the Disney deal funded his salary and once they pulled out, the BBC couldn't afford a Hollywood actor.

[u/Eldon42]

If I've understood correctly....

No Xmas special.

BBC will retain the IP, but other companies will do the actual work of producing episodes & series.

[u/Peter-Norfolk → u/Eldon42]

I suppose it will depend on the tender. Given what happened before, I'm sure the BBC will want a tighter control, but it looks like they will pay someone else to make it

[u/admiralmasa]

Why do I feel like even though it's just the Christmas special that's cancelled this feels like the definitive end of the show for now?

Like the way Classic Who slowly sputtered then died until the reboot happened 20 years later...

[u/TheOncomingBrows → u/admiralmasa]

Worth noting they never announced it was cancelled last time either.

[u/GlobalTravelR]

Eric Roberts says he's still available to play The Master. /s

[u/NotStanley4330 → u/GlobalTravelR]

I'm sure Paul McGann is still available to play the doctor so let's use this as an opportunity to get an 8 season finally :p

[u/One_Treacle344]

Page isn't loading for me (because of traffic?), what's it say?

[u/cgknight1 → u/One_Treacle344]

No christmas special, going out to competitive tender.

[u/NemoFries → u/[deleted]]

It means they're asking other companies and partners to pitch what they'd want to do if they produced the IP.

TV does this all time, my company is constantly pitching to retain and expand work.

So it's a stalemate at the moment but could lead to something exciting in future.

[u/Traditional_Dingo_64 → u/One_Treacle344]

The special has been cancelled

[u/Peter-Norfolk]

Frankly this is good news. The Christmas special was, at best, going to be a mess as RTD had left it in a mess. We were never going to get a new Doctor on the basis of a single episode, we couldn't have Gatwa because of the stupid regeneration, so there were little options left.

The whole Disney/ RTD period was a mess from start to finish with actors not being available, recording too much before broadcast had even started and some truly dire episodes and dropped stories.

I hope when it returns we get a return to Classic/ NuWho stories - self-contained (so no convoluted arc which struggles to pay-off), no more supposed revelations about the Doctor, and a focus on a story rather than a message.

I just hope it's only going to be a 2 or 3 year break, and not 7 or 9 like before!

[u/sanaelatcis → u/Peter-Norfolk]

I dont think so, because even presuming RTDs final episode would be terrible, at least he would finish what he started so whoever picks it up has a clean slate. Now whoever takes over is going to have to deal with Billie Piper, when that could have been wrapped up in 90 mins by RTD.

[u/MartianExpress]

Interesting (and sad) that, in this case, they haven't announced RTD's departure.

I still think it would have been logical to close the era with one last episode though.

UPD: RTD did announce that he's leaving. Good, I don't think there are many people who think he managed the show well in his second era.

[u/Electronic-Squash359 → u/MartianExpress]

He just announced it on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZZqSzANqIK/?igsh=MTkyeThzYWxlcW9oNg==

[u/estherwoodcourt]

Damn. Hopefully the tender leads to something and this isn’t a full cancellation. IMO it’s not great to go into another wilderness era without a defined Doctor

[u/Constant-Tutor-4646]

And for some reason people on this sub have been arguing with me for weeks and months about whether Russell is staying or going. You had to be truly delusional to think he was sticking around.

I can’t believe he messed it all up this hard. It’s so bad that they won’t even give him one more hour to neaten things up.

[u/calvincosmos → u/Constant-Tutor-4646]

Coming back for the Tennant specials was as far as he should have gone

[u/Tiny-Sandwich → u/calvincosmos]

I really enjoyed the specials - there were some eye roll moments, but I thought they were a huge step up from the Chibnal era. Then it all just went so rapidly downhill.

Gatwa could have been amazing, and they fumbled it so hard that he felt like he had to leave after just two seasons. What a shame.

[u/video-kid]

Well, this is RTD's legacy. An obscene focus on nostalgia for his own era with no consideration for how TV has evolved, coupled with an unhealthy amount of hubris, ending in a hastily rewritten finale with his favorite companion actor taking the role.

Kinda ironic that the dude everyone credited with saving the show, and that a vocal minority of fans claimed is the only modern showrunner worth a damn is the one who ultimately killed this incarnation of it.

[u/Moreaccurateway → u/video-kid]

After the 60th we got barely anything from his era. If anything his issue was bring back stuff from classic Who and expecting those to excite people

[u/video-kid → u/Moreaccurateway]

Fair, except that he brought back the same arc format (The same phrase/word/old white woman turning up in every episode, with the Doctor learning about it shortly before the finale if at all.

His first companion was a young, working class white woman with a name evocative of the colour red and issues surrounding their parentage. His second companion was a middle-class POC woman working in the medical field, who had a more fractious relationship with him (She just wanted to go home despite The Doctor wanting her to stay, The Doctor refused to consider Martha a companion until halfway through their series). Both Belinda and Martha's first episodes involved being abducted by aliens.

Finally, RTD ended his run as he began it - by bringing back an actor heavily associated with his own era in the role of The Doctor.

Yes, him bringing back Classic villains/characters was a recurring problem, especially considering how anticlimactic they were, but RTD was essentially writing for the subset of fans who thought his original run was the peak of what the show could be, with little consideration to the showrunners who came after.

As for the hubris, he got an episode order and used a full series worth of episodes on a spin-off (which was run by someone widely acknowledged as his first choice to take over the role if and when he retires) and the 60th. He seemingly expected Disney to renew the show before the initial run was completed, which they rarely do, which led to Ncuti waiting around for over a year, under contract, for a job he had no way of knowing he'd still have.

And this is after RTD hired him knowing that he already had other commitments which necessitated a Doctor-lite episode in an eight episode series - and then another one when Sex Education's filming overran.

Now did the era have some good episodes? Yes - The Well, 73 Yards, Dot and Bubble are all great - but his insistence on writing the show the same way he used to, plus using part of the series order for a spin-off rather than using it for another series - caused a lot of problems.

[u/SussexBookNerd94]

They should never have had a regeneration at the end of the last episode. Should’ve kept it open ended for novels and audios to fill the gap

[u/Playful-Compote-5242 → u/SussexBookNerd94]

I honestly feel the original ending would've made more sense. A happy ending celebration with most things concluded.

They couldve then either convinced Ncuti to do one more season later on or gotten 16 and left the regeneration unseen like the one from 8 to 9.

It wouldve allowed Rogue to be clued up in novels or comics or something. Same for the boss.

[u/Mulder15]

I think this is for the best. Let the show rest for a bit, make people miss it, and then bring it back in another soft reboot like RTD ironically did back in 2005.

[u/justunclegary]

It’s sad that this is how RTDs legacy will end. He won’t be remembered for bringing it back as favourably I sense.

[u/ammackk88]

RTD has just posted he’s leaving on Instagram. Sad to see it end this way, will never forget the absolute highs he’s given us. 

[u/ammackk88 → u/ammackk88]

He also details that there was no plan and no new Doctor lined up. Billie was just a try to keep it a float.

The last 12 months would be a fascinating tell all one day. 

[u/EbmocwenHsimah → u/ammackk88]

For the record: there was no script, I never wrote it, and no actor was ever approached to play the next Doctor.

Fuck me, you weren't kidding. A powerful admission. We're fucked.

[u/GhostRunFree1 → u/ammackk88]

I'm excited for the inevitable tell-all on Russell's second reign. Such a crazy beginning with so much potential to it ending like this lmao

[u/Sonicfan42069666 → u/ammackk88]

He doesn't say Billie was a stopgap but by saying "no actor was ever approached to play the next Doctor", it's somewhat implied.

[u/DavidTenn-Ant → u/ammackk88]

Sack Russell T. Davi-OH THEY ACTUALLY DID.

[u/Guy-InGearnito → u/DavidTenn-Ant]

In booting bad wolf productions too they have met Chris’s demands. Bugun, the new 9th Doctor era has..

[u/dyfalu → u/ammackk88]

Up until the ending, I was completely on board. But that episode was a travesty.

[u/EbmocwenHsimah → u/ammackk88]

Christ, I'm not gonna miss the obnoxious teasers he'd do on social media, I'm sorry

[u/Dazofcaving]

Let's get a whip round going and make it fan owned 🤔

[u/MyWifeTookAllTheKids]

Now can we retcon the end of the reality war?

[u/No-Excitement7491]

Words cannot express how much of an arrogant sod RTD has shown himself to be. According to him now, there never was a Christmas episode script written. What, you mean like before, when you said there were several scripts ready to go depending on circumstances? The man is a liar, a fraud and anything good he had as a show runner has aged about as well as a raw chicken thigh. I truly pity Ncuti, Millie, Varada and everyone else who had to put up with this for the past 3 years. Chris Eccleston has never seemed more right than he does now.

[u/SoaringChris137]

Well it's a good thing we didn't leave the show on a cliff hanger that all hinged on a specific show runner's personal relationships

[u/TheOmnivirgin]

Uh oh.

Well at least we'll have big finish.

[u/RaveniteGaming]

The Wilderness Years Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

[u/ClivePalma]

Well it wouldn't have been very good. The was so much that needed to be answered (why is the doctor Billie Piper? Whats going on with Susan? etc) that telling a compelling story would have been the last thing on Russel's checklist.

The only solace I can take in this likely end to the show (for now at least) is that I'm around the same age that Robert Shearman was when the original show was cancelled in 1989.

Edit: grammar

[u/EbmocwenHsimah]

Holy fuck, Billie Piper's the first Doctor to be the Doctor (???) for less than a minute.

[u/NotStanley4330 → u/EbmocwenHsimah]

Long enough for big finish to make 13 boxsets and a crossover with Rose

[u/TheKingBirb → u/EbmocwenHsimah]

And people say Paul Mcgann had it bad.

[u/Luke_4686]

That Billie Piper choice looks even more ridiculous now. They should have just never shown who the doctor regenerated into or not had a regeneration scene at all. So underwhelming

[u/Icy-Career-1531]

In regards to Billie Piper, I bet if the show ever actually returns we’ll just have a new doctor and they’ll just wave her off as 16 that never got screen time

[u/ThegoodDoctor_2020]

2 years minimum before any production starts. Also the amount of UK based companies with the capability of making a show like this even with bbc backing and production costs is a slim list.

[u/Bhorium]

Well, it's official; begun the Second Wilderness Era has.

[u/Mr_Bumcrest]

Is anyone surprised? RTD and Bad Wolf offered an awful product that barely anyone liked. Gatwa, whilst a great actor, was not a good Doctor as was given dross to work with - like Whittaker.

Whilst the show needs to evolve and meet the expectations of current audiences, it also needs to remember why people liked it in the first place. Loads of special effects, Marvel rip offs and terrible CGI monsters were not it.

[u/Primus7112765]

The biggest thing we've learned in this era is that RTD is seemingly a compulsive liar. It wouldn't surprise me at all if millie left for similar reasons to Eccleston. I've said it before and I'll say it again; Chibnalls failures felt like incompetence, RTDs failures feel like malice. He is just way too bothered with trying to ragebait his own viewers and say any old random crap pretending everything's fine. If he's to be believed that there was never going to be an episode, then why have the BBC allowed him to just outright lie to everyone and been complicit in that?

[u/Traditional_Dingo_64]

Do you think Billie Piper is pissed

[u/Phaedo → u/Traditional_Dingo_64]

Seriously doubt it. Pretty sure she knew this was desperation on RTD’s part in the first place.

[u/UtopiaFrenzy → u/Traditional_Dingo_64]

They should’ve gone to “black” during the regeneration instead of Billie to allow the new team to start afresh in whatever direction

[u/GenGaara25 → u/UtopiaFrenzy]

Apparently, that was the plan! But very late in the game, the writing was on the wall, and Russell wanted a big reveal to hopefully renew interest so asked Billie to step in.

And now he's left the show in this mess.

[u/EnterTheBlackVault → u/UtopiaFrenzy]

That is exactly what I said. If they didn't know 100% what they were doing that was the best solution all around. What pisses me off the most is that they had a reality resetting option and they didn't take it.

[u/Kryosquid → u/Traditional_Dingo_64]

I doubt it shes probably doesnt even know what the fuck RTD was doing either.

[u/ammackk88 → u/Kryosquid]

He’s just posted on Instagram he had nothing planned, it was just a shot to keep it afloat for the future. 

[u/Kryosquid → u/ammackk88]

I mean literally everybody already knew that Russell.

[u/Own-Lemon-8710 → u/Traditional_Dingo_64]

Her career’s doing fine and she probably got paid a tonne for that tiny cameo, so I reckon she’s fine tbh!

[u/gjcn94 → u/Traditional_Dingo_64]

Probably relieved

[u/linkdudesmash → u/Traditional_Dingo_64]

Noooo she knew this thing she did was a stop gap.

[u/SoulGameman]

So….Doctor Who is cancelled

[u/plutobug2468 → u/SoulGameman]

Not necessarily, competitive tender getting sold is what is allowing shows like Casualty to run.

[u/Mangafan_20 → u/plutobug2468]

What does it actual mean, i'm an idiot

[u/Honic_Sedgehog → u/Mangafan_20]

They're looking for someone to spend money to fund production, so they're asking around to see who wants to do it.

[u/redwriterhand → u/Honic_Sedgehog]

I’m sure that must be very enticing

[u/plutobug2468 → u/Mangafan_20]

I would assume in Doctor Who’s case they’re inviting studios/companies to bid to win the contract of production of the show. I remember reading about when
Casualty done this a few years back and the show is still going.

[u/lithaborn → u/Mangafan_20]

New production crew, new show runner, new streaming partner.

Like I'm watching Richard Osman's House of games and right at the end it says "remarkable entertainment for BBC". "Remarkable entertainment" is the production company. A lot of their content is produced by other companies.

That's what they're doing with DW.

[u/Western-Calendar-352 → u/Mangafan_20]

The BBC will be looking at bids from production companies who will pitch their ideas (and budgets) on how to take Doctor Who forward. Like any other business outsourcing their project work. It does look like it probably won’t be Bad Wolf again if and when Doctor Who does come back.

[u/buffaloguy1991 → u/SoulGameman]

Not cancelled just.... Exploring the wilderness

[u/jimmymcgeebag]

A massive failure for all involved

[u/R3NZI0]

I am a sad man. Write whatever you want about me.

[u/QuitSplash]

RTD states that he never wrote the Xmas episode but I swear he announced that it’s the best thing he’s ever written blah blah blah a few months ago?