New Doctor

[Timothy]

We are still no nearer identifying that trig point though.

[Steve Green]

Talk of the drop in merchandising revenue etc got me thinking.

DW seems to be the survivor amongst the others that popped up in reaction to its reboot on UK TV.

Genre shows aimed at families like Primeval, Merlin, Atlantis, Robin Hood, Eleventh Hour, Jekyll and Hyde (apologies if forgotten any others) all either ran their course or didn't last.

I guess the rise in genre TV elsewhere combined with a tightening of budgets might have been a cause?

[Timothy]

The 3 Musketeers has sort of lasted. The Capaldi-effect?

[Daveycandlish]

"Change my dear and not a moment too soon"
I'm more interested in the change of show runner as this will have a big bearing on the standard of the show.
Matt Smith was a great Doctor but some of his stories were underwhelming. Likewise, Capaldi.

Had it been leaked how long a contract she has signed? Will she be a one season wonder like the ninth? Or companion Bill?

[Greg M.]

Do you think the world is too PC?  Did the casting of a female doctor upset you?  Good.

Because obviously if someone has reservations about this casting choice, then they must be a rabid general-purpose bigot - there's simply no other possibility.

You know what, I expect some are. But it gets pretty tiresome (more on Facebook than here, I should note) seeing people who'd consider themselves liberal stooping to the same kind of demonizing that they'd otherwise abhor in Daily Mail Land.

[Tjm86]

The problem in the 1980s was that the director general of the BBC hated sci-fi, and so put Doctor Who up against Coronation Street, moved it around the schedule and essentially did everything possible to give themselves a reason to cancel it.

At last, an explanation for Bonnie Langford.

[Modern Panther]

There were two questions there.  Have concerns about casting all you like - that's par for the course for Who fans.  For all the people who have concerns about casting because they think its a choice made out of political correctness, or who immediately dismiss the casting of any woman, I'm glad that the choice has shaken them up a little. 

[Greg M.]

What bothered me was the implication that if someone's not keen on this, they probably have issues with diversity in general. I don't think that necessarily follows. That said, my annoyance is more with the heavily-polarised Facebook world than your post specifically, so I probably should have commented there rather than here. I've found the debate here far, far more nuanced and reasonable.

[TordelBack]

Greg, no-one could read your posts on this thread and think you have anything other than a well-considered point of view on the matter.

[Greg M.]

Thank you, TB, I very much appreciate you saying that.

[Modern Panther]

As has been said on another thread just recently, compared to vast areas of the internet this forum is the pinnacle of decorum and intelligent debate.  You people are just freaking charming.

[Goaty]

One little thing I did thought was bit unfair that Jodie was from Chris Chibnall other show Broadchurch, and not let other people a try.

[Hawkmumbler]

I think its perfectly OK to think JW isn't right for the role, my main issue is folk saying The Doctor CAN'T be a woman and JW will fail in the role BECAUSE she's a woman, only one person here has crossed that line, Greg and others in disagreement i'm perfectly happy with, again you guys are just the finest forum folk online.

/Soppy Bollocks terminated/

[Greg M.]

One little thing I did thought was bit unfair that Jodie was from Chris Chibnall other show Broadchurch, and not let other people a try.

Par for the course, though, to cast people you've worked with - Christopher Eccleston had been in RTD's The Second Coming and David Tennant in RTD's Casanova prior to Who-dom.

[Theblazeuk]

I know we've all been doing it, but comparing Ghostbusters to Doctor Who isn't quite appropriate. One is a long running series where the main character and the entire cast changes regularly, and that change is part of the narrative. The NuWho launch was a decade ago and it still jumped directly into the narrative/timeline of the old one.

The other is a reboot of a beloved movie (and its lesser sequel) which relied upon its distinct cast members and had no real mythology beyond 'there are ghosts and we catch them'. It's got more in common with the new Baywatch movie than Doctor Who. The female cast is not the only factor in whether a movie is any good and a beloved IP is not a guarantee that people will come to watch it. The 'Core Audience' for Ghostbusters were all old enough to just watch the original ghostbusters movie if they had a mind. On VHS.