Great TV dramas just what the Doctor ordered
- Publication: Regina Leader-Post
- Date: 2012-09-01
- Author: Alex Strachan
- Page: D5
- Language: English
Doctor Who is the very definition of a cult hit — which means, as one veteran industry insider wryly told a group of TV critics recently, that hardly anyone watches.
Under normal circumstances, that is.
Nothing about Doctor Who is normal. And when the re-imagined, reinvented reboot returns tonight for its seventh season with Matt Smith once again at the helm of the TARDIS, a potentially vast worldwide audience will be waiting with bated breath, in both the U.K. and across North America. In an unusual move — and a sign of just how big this supposed "cult hit" has become — parent company BBC Worldwide has decided to show the first episode on the same day, virtually at the same time, on two separate continents.
How time flies. The decision was hastened in part by the explosion in social media and the hard truth that spoilers are now a fact of 21st-century existence. If Doctor Who were to air even a day earlier in either the U.K. or North America, its secrets would be out and the story would be ruined for a legion of fans.
And there are plenty of secrets in the coming season, showrunner and Doctor Who guru Steven Moffat teased at last weekend's Edinburgh International Television Festival. The coming season will mark the end of the Amy Pond era, the Doctor's most recent companion as played by Inverness ingenue Karen Gillan. Gillan is poised to take on a feature-film career — forgive the pun — across the pond, and Who devotees are already teary-eyed over the prospect of her inevitable goodbye — said to be a "blockbuster chase" through the streets of Manhattan at the season's end.
Doctor Who is one of those cable dramas that produces only a handful of new episodes per season. Last season was split in two, with seven episodes at the beginning, six episodes at the end and a two-month break in between. The pattern is likely to repeat itself this season. That means each episode counts for a lot with Who devotees, and Moffat has said his ambition this season is to make every episode a standout, stand-alone blockbuster
Doctor Who's original baddies, the Daleks, return in tonight's season opener, and Moffat promises a meaner, nastier Dalek than Doctor Who devotees have become used to.
Tonight's season opener finds the Doctor (Smith) kidnapped by an old foe and compelled to venture inside "the asylum," an interplanetary prison that harbours only the insane and the universe's most desperate. To say more would spoil the surprise.
As for how long Doctor Who might last — the original Who dates back to 1963, after all — Moffat told his audience, "I truly believe it could be a show that outlives everybody in this room."
Then again, chances are you weren't in the room when he said that. Enjoy the show while you can, in other words. And remember, this time next year, Amy Pond will be just another Who memory. Get out those handkerchiefs. (Tonight, Space).
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Strachan, Alex (2012-09-01). Great TV dramas just what the Doctor ordered. Regina Leader-Post p. D5.
- MLA 7th ed.: Strachan, Alex. "Great TV dramas just what the Doctor ordered." Regina Leader-Post [add city] 2012-09-01, D5. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Strachan, Alex. "Great TV dramas just what the Doctor ordered." Regina Leader-Post, edition, sec., 2012-09-01
- Turabian: Strachan, Alex. "Great TV dramas just what the Doctor ordered." Regina Leader-Post, 2012-09-01, section, D5 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Great TV dramas just what the Doctor ordered | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Great_TV_dramas_just_what_the_Doctor_ordered | work=Regina Leader-Post | pages=D5 | date=2012-09-01 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=3 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Great TV dramas just what the Doctor ordered | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Great_TV_dramas_just_what_the_Doctor_ordered | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=3 April 2025}}</ref>
