Sci-Fi Doctor Who (2005-2021) [NuWho]

Some sad news, Who fans... :cry:

Elisabeth Sladen, better known as Sarah Jane Smith, has passed away today at age 63. No details available yet.

photo_lrg.jpeg
 
I'm seeing cancer on the news sites here. She'd been suffering a while with it, not common knowledge.
 
'Doctor Who' Notables & Fans Remember Elisabeth Sladen, Season Premiere Memorial Plan

'Doctor Who' Notables & Fans Remember Elisabeth Sladen, Season Premiere Memorial Planned
(via Rick Marshall @ MTV Splash Page)
The Doctor Who community lost a treasured part of the long-running series' history yesterday with the death of actress Elisabeth Sladen.

Sladen portrayed Sarah-Jane Smith during the 1973-1976 seasons of the series, and later returned as the popular character during the modern series, eventually spinning off into her own series, The Sarah-Jane Adventures. There's been no shortage of fond memories of Sladen and Sarah-Jane Smith shared online over the last 24 hours including a touching farewell from her former "Doctor Who" co-star Tom Baker that accompanied this classic BBC photo.
[img2=left]News - Entertainment, Music, Movies, Celebrity
According to TVLine, a spokesperson for BBC America indicated that Sladen's passing will be acknowledged during this Saturday's "Doctor Who" premiere at 9 PM Eastern.

"She can't be dead. But she is: she died yesterday morning. Cancer. I had no idea she was ill; she was so private, never wanted any fuss, and now, gone," wrote Baker on his official website. "A terrible blow to her friends and a shattering blow for all those fans of the program whose lives were touched every Saturday evening by her lovely heroic character, Sarah-Jane Smith."

Also among those to celebrate Sladen's life was current "Doctor Who" lead Matt Smith, who said in an official statement: "What struck me about Lis was her grace. She welcomed me, educated me, and delighted me with her tales and adventures on Doctor Who. And she also seemed to have a quality of youth that not many people retain as they go through life. Her grace and kindness will stay with me because she had such qualities in abundance and shared them freely. I will miss her, as will the world of Doctor Who and all the Doctors that had the good pleasure to work with Lis Sladen and travel the universe with Sarah Jane."

Among those former Doctors who worked with Sladen was The Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant, who took a memorable turn with the actress in a 2006 episode that had The Doctor reuniting with Sarah-Jane and his robotic pal K-9. As someone who grew up with Baker and Sladen's "Doctor Who" adventures, Tennant said he felt honored to have been a part of her return to the "Doctor Who" universe.

"I just can't believe that Lis is gone," wrote Tennant in an official statement. "She seemed invincible. The same woman who enchanted my childhood, enchanted my time on Doctor Who and enchanted generations who have watched her and fallen in love with her just like I did. I feel very honored to have shared a TARDIS with Sarah Jane Smith, and I feel very lucky to have shared some time with Lis Sladen. She was extraordinary."

And these weren't the only people offering their praise for Sladen's iconic role in "Doctor Who" history. Earlier today, we rounded up some of the reactions on Twitter to Sladen's passing including a sad note from "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" director Edgar Wright. In memory of Sladen, author Neil Gaiman (who penned an upcoming episode of "Doctor Who") tweeted a link to Mitch Benn's "Be My Doctor Who Girl."

Around the blogosphere, there's also been quite a bit of eulogizing for the departed actress, including an analysis of why Sladen's turn as The Doctor's companion was so important to the series' growth over at Newsarama, and this poignant, illustrated goodbye by "Dork Tower" creator John Kovalic.

Finally, as someone who grew up living vicariously through Sarah-Jane Smith's adventures with The Doctor, Sladen's passing is especially sad. For me, her return to the "Doctor Who" universe in recent years served as a wonderful bridge between the modern series and the episodes I grew up watching. To see her received so warmly by today's audiences was icing on the cake made even sweeter by the affirmation of everything I enjoyed about her original adventures alongside former Doctors Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker.

Rest in peace, Sarah-Jane Smith, and thank you.

Have a fond "Doctor Who" memory of Elisabeth Sladen? Let us know in the comment section or on Twitter! You can also follow me, Splash Page editor Rick Marshall, on Twitter!

DorkTower942.gif


 
new-doctor-who-001.jpg


Private Eye Magazine | Official Site - the UK's number one best-selling news and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop

SO. Farewell then Doctor Who, which has now disappeared for the summer, with the remaining six episodes from this year’s series due to be screened in the autumn. Farewell too, to executive producer Piers Wenger, who is leaving the BBC for a job at Film4. Could the two things be related?

News of Wenger’s intended departure followed the curious announcement the previous month that he was stepping down as head of drama at BBC Wales to work as a “creative leader” instead.

Commercial disaster

The decision to split the current series in two, meanwhile, was taken last year when it became apparent that both budgets and schedules on Doctor Who were running so far out of control it would be impossible to complete a 13-part series in time for a spring transmission.



Now, however, there are fears that the second tranche of episodes may not even be completed in time for BBC Worldwide to release a DVD box set of the series in time for the Christmas market, which would be a commercial disaster.



Show insiders blame much of the chaos on the decision taken by Wenger and his fellow executive producer Beth Willis last year to dispense with the services of producers Tracie Simpson and Peter Bennett, both of whom had worked on the programme since 2005. The pair were subsequently invited to return but declined.



The first series of their new joint venture, Baker Boys, was broadcast in January, with a number of other former Who crew also listed in its credits. “They decided they’d far rather work for less money than endure any more of Piers and Beth,” whimpers the Eye’s man in the Tardis. “The show is in a hell of a mess.”



Any old Ood

Showrunner and lead writer Steven Moffat has become expert at papering over the cracks, re-ordering episodes and finding creative reasons for spectacular monsters and CGI creations to be given as little screen-time as possible to save cash. But there was general dismay when sci-fi legend Neil Gaiman – whose much-anticipated episode had already had to be held over from the 2010 series due to a lack of funds – had to be informed that a further £200,000 shortfall in the budget meant he would have to rewrite it to include not the alien he had intended but instead an Ood which had been knocking about in the props store since 2006.



This, however, was far from the end of the bad news.



Programme chiefs in London were horrified to learn recently that BBC Wales is proposing not to make a full series of Doctor Who in 2012, but instead to put the programme on hiatus and merely bash out four “specials” as it did in 2009. This will leave an enormous hole in the BBC1 Saturday night schedule and a bigger one in the profits of BBC Worldwide, and will mean the corporation will be paying lead actor Matt Smith to spend most of the rest of this year doing nothing.



Soon after the Eye was published on Tuesday, the BBC confirmed that there will NOT be a full series of Doctor Who broadcast during 2012 but only “a good chunk” of episodes.
 
Ok, this is weird. The BBC just put up a story that runs counter to the Private Eye one, citing writers time as the reason for less episodes next year.........

Sherlock success will hit Doctor Who, says BBC One boss

Sherlock's success means less Doctor Who in 2012

_53443842_lizo.jpg
Danny Cohen said there would not be a 13-part run of Doctor Who next year


Writer Steven Moffat's commitments to BBC One drama Sherlock will mean fewer Doctor Who episodes in 2012, the channel's controller has said.
Speaking at a media conference in Derbyshire, Danny Cohen explained the consequences of a new Sherlock series.

"He [Moffat] needs enough time to get that done and then start work on the next series of Doctor Who", the BBC One boss said.
So there will be [Doctor Who] episodes, but not as many."

Doctor Who is one of the BBC's flagship shows. The series typically runs for 13 episodes every year.

Last week the BBC announced that they were filming 14 new Doctor Who episodes, including a Christmas special, to be broadcast from next year.
But Mr Cohen said that not all of the commissioned stories would be transmitted in 2012.

"There will be some episodes, but there won't be a full series, so we won't have a 13-part run," he told the audience at The Church and Media Conference.

Mr Moffat is one of BBC One's key writers, who oversees all Doctor Who episodes.

He is also one of Sherlock's executive producers, and is currently writing one of the show's three new episodes.

"There's only so many hours a day he can be awake," Mr Cohen said, referring to Mr Moffat's workload.

"The man has to sleep and eat, and he's got a family."

Both programmes attract high viewing figures and between them received five nominations at May's TV Bafta's, with Sherlock winning two prizes.
"Steven Moffat is the creative driving force behind Doctor Who. He also, rather magically at the same time, created and got to air Sherlock. So we have to get that balance right," Mr Cohen said.

"There'll be more episodes again in 2013, for the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. So that's a big year."

The remaining six episodes of the current series will air on BBC One later this year.


No mention of the Ood issue in the recent 3 parter........
 
and the new copy of Private Eye is out and the ball bounces back over the net with some more intrigue!!! Looks like their first story wasn't that far off as it appears!

It's not online, so I'll have to think about scanning in or typing up the highlights later.
 
More from Private Eye. Note how the BBC is seemingly upset about the leak to Private Eye:

eye_tv.gif
EXEC-TERMINATION!


who.jpg

GROUNDED: Delays in filming the next series
of Doctor Who mean the Tardis is unlikely
to take flight much before February.

SO. Farewell then to another executive producer at Doctor Who, with Beth Willis following Piers Wenger out the door. A PR storm has already followed the Eye’s revelations of behind-the-scenes calamity under the leadership of the gruesome twosome and the reduced number of episodes that will air next year.

This time the corporation was taking no chances. As Willis prepared to return to her former employer, independent producer Kudos, BBC Drama controller Ben Stephenson and showrunner Steven Moffat lined up to offer fulsome praise (and there’s a phrase that’s often misused). Meanwhile more lowly staff at BBC Wales – uncowed by a threat of punishment “in the strongest possible way” should they be proved to have leaked any information to Private Eye – tell us that “we are planning a party for the day they leave Wales, and we will be buying a cake for your informant when we discover who it was.”
Tardis not cleared for take-off
Production on Doctor Who is meanwhile running several months behind the usual schedule. The Christmas special – hitherto filmed in June or July each year – will not see cameras roll until September. Filming on the next series customarily starts shortly afterwards: this time the Tardis is unlikely to take flight before February next year.
The corporation’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide has had a good look at the figures for 2009, the last year when a smaller number of episodes than usual aired, and has noted that sales of its flagship kids’ title Doctor Who Adventures dropped by nearly two-thirds. It has now reconsidered plans for a massive magazine partwork it was to release in the run-up to the programme’s 50th anniversary in 2013. It has, to use a technical publishing term, been “sh*tcanned”.
 
i can see why Russel T Davies left now.

i suppose this type of scifi [effects driven] with always have its budget problems. they should maybe go the way of Sherlock, Torchwood or Luther with one good shorter season a year
 
They're a victim of their own success really. They've gone from a cheap show with shaky sets and simplistic effects to blockbuster quality material. Alongside this they have pretty much become the Number One show in the UK, where it is financed and made.

If it collapses here because of financial decisions, what becomes of the fans? They might have to make some serious decisions and this could be to cut the effects and rely on storyline.
 
They're a victim of their own success really. They've gone from a cheap show with shaky sets and simplistic effects to blockbuster quality material. Alongside this they have pretty much become the Number One show in the UK, where it is financed and made.

If it collapses here because of financial decisions, what becomes of the fans? They might have to make some serious decisions and this could be to cut the effects and rely on storyline.

storyline? for a 7pm childrens/family tv show?
 
shush! Kevin will get mad:smiley:

I'm really not sure what their options are if they have to reduce the FX budget. Where could they save money and still have a No.1 show?

personaly i would like to see the show move to a after 9pm slot, then hopefully focus on dark storylines, maybe about about his loss of his companions or the battles in his mind regarding not changing the past for the better. i just feel some of the storys have so much weight to them they seem lost on younger viewers. catering to a more older viewer would mean less reliance on FX and more on story
 
Torchwood is the post watershed adult spinoff series though. They mingle the same characters and have those darker storylines. Don't forget the Sarah Jane Adventures spinoff that was aimed at children and won't come back obviously due to the death IRL of the main actress.

To move Doctor Who to a 2100hrs slot (post-watershed) would destroy its audience. If we accept that the show is aimed at a children/families audience, in that families can sit down and watch it together, just who is the high budget aimed at attracting and keeping?

So they obviously need to discuss just how important a big budget is to Doctor Who. And how much damage would it cause to the viewership by reducing the budget by going to cheaper, innovative SFX? If something isn't done, we could lose the show and that would be senseless. Innovative cheaper SFX could become a feature of a new format show.

A growing number of kids are not going to watch a "talkie" admittedly. Storylines can be as interesting as needs be with or without a massive SFX budget. I guess talking about improving the storylines here is keeping us away from the crucial component of the argument in keeping the show alive in a manner that is appropriate to viewers as the No.1 BBC show over here in the UK.
 
Consider how many of those attending are informed about the conditions/stereotypes involved with the premise of time travel, you'd expect that a larger majority of them, compared to a general population consensus, would (albeit grudgingly) agree with that and there shouldn't be a problem!

So, are there any more stories like this going round where people are reading online? Has this publication blown this up out of proportion and mistaken temporary audience reaction for an issue?

Doctor Who Episode Controversy - Is He Allowed To "Save" Hitler? There is even a poll here!!! With 18.45% of voters saying so far that the show shouldn't encroach on such a sensitive period of history for the sake of entertainment.
 

Similar threads

Doctor Who (2023- ) [Disney]
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Creator: Sydney Newman, Russell T Davies, Donald Wilson, C. E. Webber
Replies
4
Views
357
Doctor Who (1963-1989) [Classic]
Genre: Drama, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Creator: Sydney Newman, Verity Lambert, Donald Wilson, C. E. Webber
First aired: 1963-11-23
Replies
1
Views
185
Halo
Genre: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Creator: Kyle Killen, Steven Kane
First aired: 2022-03-24
Replies
3
Views
990
Back
Top