That was an excellent episode, and one of those rare occasions that shows that sometimes, just sometimes, Chibbers can actually write a decent episode of Doctor Who. Pity most of the episodes he's written since taking over as Executive Producer* have been, somewhat underwhelming to say the least. A few good eps like Spyfall parts 1+2 and some real stinkers like that one with the Pting creature!
* I won't say "showrunner" it's too much of an Americanism!
I am pleased at the mention of "2021" in that trailer.
The pandemic obviously prevented them filming a series in time to be broadcast in Jan-March 2021.
I believe that tonight's episode would've been recorded in something like autumn 2019, together with the previous series. The festive specials are therefore always in the can for many months before they get shown.
Either they've been able to at least start filming a new series fairly recently, or have plans to do so quite soon (e.g. spring) with a view to airing it later this year (e.g. Oct-Dec, or whatever).
I'm so glad that we won't have to wait until January 2022 for more DW, as I had feared when news first broke of the next series being delayed. Tonight's single episode having to sustain us for a whole calendar year was not a pleasing prospect.
I think though from the perspective of the BBC schedules it is a complete waste to air Doctor Who in the autumn, even if it has been a long wait. They have virtually nothing in Q1 now to prop up the weekend schedule, so makes little sense to cram it all in the autumn.
That was an excellent episode, and one of those rare occasions that shows that sometimes, just sometimes, Chibbers can actually write a decent episode of Doctor Who. Pity most of the episodes he's written since taking over as Executive Producer* have been, somewhat underwhelming to say the least. A few good eps like Spyfall parts 1+2 and some real stinkers like that one with the Pting creature!
Agree, the problem with Chibnall is you never know what you're going to get. Spyfall was great last year and this was defiantly another of his better efforts.
Great to see Captain Jack back and I hope they use his character more in the next series.
I love Doctor Who but, although I enjoyed the show tonight, the Daleks and the Cybermen are in so many stories that their appearance doesn't excite me as much as it used to.
I'm still not sure about the retconning at the end of the last series. I loved the actual episodes but I hope they unretcon it somehow in the future.
As someone who hasn’t been following the show that closely since Chibnall took over, I watched tonight and found it very strange. Obviously part of that was because there were call backs to previous episodes etc that I didn’t get, but more generally I think it was because the show seems to have a completely different premise to what it had back in 2005.
To me, it feels like the show has unilaterally decided it is now a high-budget and gritty drama, in the style of Broadchurch, Line of Duty etc. However, I don’t really think that’s what the audience generally expects or wants from the show?
Certainly in the Russell T Davies and (to a lesser extent) Moffat eras of the show, whilst they did dark and heavy bits like that seen in tonight’s episode, it was underpinned by humour and the sense that the show didn’t take itself too seriously.
Tonight’s episode had very little of that, and whilst competently made as a result I found very little to enjoy. I think those tuning in to see John Barrowman will have also been very confused by what they’ve returned to!
How does the show rate these days? If it’s still pulling in a decent audience then I guess I’m just out of touch, but IMO the show has an established format/approach and what I watched tonight was at odds with that. Instead, it felt like something more appropriate for Class (DW’s short-lived BBC Three spin-off), which I, in contrast to many, enjoyed as it was a new show and they therefore had the opportunity to decide what type of show it was going to be.
I think though from the perspective of the BBC schedules it is a complete waste to air Doctor Who in the autumn, even if it has been a long wait. They have virtually nothing in Q1 now to prop up the weekend schedule, so makes little sense to cram it all in the autumn.
Well... unless they've got enough of the next series in the can already (possibly even most/all of it?) to air it in Q2, then the "2021" confirmation in that trailer would have to mean Q4. It wouldn't be broadcast during the annual "ratings nosedive" season that is Q3.
It having become a Sunday night programme for the Whittaker/Chibnall era means that it won't have the problem of having to be shown either stupidly early (teatime) or late (e.g. 8pm/8:30pm*) on autumn Saturdays to fit around Strictly and a Michael McIntyre vehicle (Big Show/The Wheel).
*I'm sure there was at least one Peter Capaldi series which this happened to. May it never occur again.