Fans of the series, which stars Matt Smith as the eleventh incarnation of the heroic Time Lord, were concerned for the future of Doctor Who after satirical magazine Private Eye claimed that the BBC’s budget constraints might limit production to just four “specials” in 2012.
Doctor Who to Return in 2012
Private Eye claimed that BBC chiefs had effectively placed the show on “hiatus” in 2012, as it did in 2009 during the gap between David Tennant leaving the role and Matt Smith jumping aboard the Tardis as the latest regeneration of the Doctor. Internet rumors that Who star Matt Smith is decamping to Los Angeles to look for movie and television work lent credence to the Private Eye gossip.
The BBC today (June 8, 2011) scotched the “Private Eye” rumors and confirmed that it has commissioned a further 14 episodes of Doctor Who. It will screen most of these on its BBC One, BBC Three and BBC America television channels.
BBC Denies Private Eye's Doctor Who Rumors
A BBC spokesperson told The Guardian newspaper: “The new commission is a big commitment, not many other shows have such a commitment so far in advance. We do not know yet how many will air in 2012."
Doctor Who is one of the world’s longest-running science fiction shows. First broadcast in November 1963, the show ran in its original format until 1989 when the BBC axed the show because of its high cost and relatively low ratings. Doctor Who struggled against the bigger budgets of U.S. science fiction movies and TV shows.
“Doctor Who” was revived for a one-off TV movie in 1996, which starred Paul McGann as the eponymous hero. The BBC co-produced the show with an American television network, but low viewing figures and lack of interest Stateside nipped the project in the bud and no further episodes were made.
Russell T. Davies, a Who fan and BBC executive producer, revived Doctor Who in 2005 with Christopher Ecclestone as the Doctor and Billie Piper playing his assistant, Rose Tyler. Since then, the show has soared to success in the United Kingdom, United States and across the world. Davies re-launched the show in an episodic rather than serial format, but with intriguing story arcs and themes for each season.
Although the BBC is facing swingeing budget cuts due to the U.K. government’s program of austerity measures, it seems that “Doctor Who” is safe from the axe for now.
Adrian Grahams - Adrian currently writes for several online and offline publications and specializes in communications, technology, business, media, ...
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