Thursday/Friday Series News

A wrap-up of the most important articles from the past two days (sorry for the delay; the editor's been under the weather with a cold). There's more, and that'll come tomorrow; in the meanwhile, this is the most critical...

Under-Eight Controversy

Following Wednesday's press coverage of the "too scary for kids" statement from the BBC's complaints website, nowBBC News is reporting that the "not for the under-eights" advice has been withdrawn: "The BBC has withdrawn advice about Doctor Who being too frightening for under-eights to watch. A statement on the BBC's complaints website on Wednesday saying the show was not for children under eight had been 'a mistake', said a spokesman. Monsters in the early evening show 'may be scary' but content was 'carefully considered' for all of the pre-watershed audience, he added. 'We leave it to parents' discretion to ultimately decide.' The original statement said the series 'had never been intended for the youngest of children'. 'We would suggest that only children aged eight and above should watch with their parents,' it went on. ... The advice followed 91 complaints from viewers about the third episode in the new series... The corporation had not meant to advise against younger children watching the series, the BBC spokesman added. 'The programme sets out to balance the right amount of humour, drama and suspense in each episode,' he went on. Comedy and bravery had been incorporated to create 'the right context' for the ghost story, he said, adding that the BBC would be vigilant about the balance in each week's episode." The retraction has been picked up by the Times, which notes that there is now a BBC investigation into future episodes to see how scary they are, and also notes an Ofcom investigation as well.

Other sources covering this: BigNewsNetwork, ICWales, This Is South Wales, Evening Standard, Radio One,CBBC News.

Mark Gatiss, writer of "The Unquiet Dead," appeared on both BBC Radio Five Live and BBC Radio Four to address the comments about the scariness factor of his episode. Gatiss was questioned about "confusion at the BBC about whether Doctor Who is suitable for children under 8". Was he surprised by the reaction? "Quietly thrilled," says Mark, observing that Doctor Who is about healthy scares--"a ghost-train thrill" that the programme has always done. He describes the show as being about "the living dead inhabited by gas creatures", and that it wasn't as scary as the show had been in the 1970s (referencing elements of the two original Auton stories). The Radio 4 announcer also read some supportive e-mails, which delighted Gatiss. "Children can be too cosseted these days" says Mark, observing that Harry Potter is also successful but contains the scary fact that "people do die". He mentions his niece Olivia is "desperate to see the series", even though she hasn't apparently slept for three nights! Asked whether he'd been asked to tone the story down, Mark clarifies: early drafts of the story had been "too grim rather than too scary", and that he'd therefore not toned down the monsters but instead had toned down the undertaker elements which had been "not very Saturday nights". Gatiss' comments are addressed briefly in another BBC News report.

The day before, various UK newspapers ran versions of the report on the BBC's findings on complaints about "The Unquiet Dead." The Daily Express claims that the BBC has been "forced to slap an age warning on Doctor Who". According to The Sun, "The BBC has warned that Doctor Who should not be watched by children under eight." The Daily Star says that "Doctor Who is to get an age warning after ghoulish scenes terrified young viewers." TheGuardian has a piece online drawn directly from the BBC's report and from interviews with Mark Gatiss and Russell T Davies, which also notes the high overnight ratings for the episode. Also covering it: This Is London,MegaStar, MSN, Contact Music,Daily Record, CBBC News,Morons.org, ic Huddersfield. Yorkshire Coast Radio claimed in their 7pm bulletin on April 14 that 91 complaints had been received by the BBC.

Manchester Online addressed this "too scary" factor (also noted in theScotsman) with quotes from Tim Collins, Tory education spokesman and "Doctor Who" fan, denying that the show is too scary. "Shadow education secretary Tim Collins said the revived series, starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, was perfectly suitable for children as young as six and defended the "right" of children to be scared by Dr Who after the BBC suggested the programme was not suitable for youngsters under eight. Dr Who is about the battle between good and evil, Mr Collins said, adding: 'I was watching it and thoroughly enjoying being scared out of my wits when I was six or seven.' ... Mr Collins said he would not let 'very young children' watch Dr Who but it was 'perfectly appropriate' for six-year-olds. He said: 'I think the programme has always been intended to provide a legitimate scare to children, an enjoyable scare. 'It's about the battle between good and evil. Good always triumphs in the end. There are monsters in it but they are always vanquished,' he said."

Broadcasting Updates, Press Releases

The BBC Press Office today has previews up in a press release (note: Adobe Acrobat PDF file!) for "Dalek," the sixth episode of the season, written by Rob Shearman, and that night's corresponding "Doctor Who Confidential" episode. We've put them in spoiler tags so click on the spoiler link at the very bottom of today's news summary, below.

Radio Times and other online listings report a schedule change on BBC Three for Saturday 23 April. Late Saturday 23 April on BBC Three, there will be a repeat of the episode "World War Three" at 12:05am BST and a repeat of the BBC4 documentary "Doctor Who Confidential". It is too soon to tell if this will be a new weekly broadcast of the series, or a one time special. BBC Three's schedules have proven particularly erratic and subject to change.

Doctor Who will have a new adversary beginning on April 23... no, not the Master or the Daleks, but "Celebrity Wrestling." The current run of "Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway," the ITV show run opposite Doctor Who, ends tomorrow, April 16, and "Celebrity Wrestling" starts the following weekend. But the time that the program will start on ITV is up in the air; "Doctor Who" has beaten "Ant and Dec" every weekend for the past three weeks, and according to April 13's Daily Star, the success of our show has ITV concerned. "It is very difficult to pin down the time when Celebrity Wrestling will be screened," the Daily Star quotes an ITV spokesperson. "The date has been confirmed now but there is still a bit of last-minute indecision over the time slot. This has come about because of the massive success of Doctor Who, which has even been beating Ant and Dec in the ratings. The action in the ring is also quite feisty, so some people working on the show think it would be better later at night." BBC News published an article about the wrestling show: "The latest celebrity reality show pits stars against one another as they literally wrestle for the attention of Saturday night viewers... In doing so it brings the hot air and razzmatazz of US wrestling to ITV's prime time schedule, reviving the flamboyance of hit 1990s game show Gladiators and challenging Doctor Who's dominance in the process." Presenter Kate Thornton is quoted as saying: "There's a massive appetite for shows like this. The viewing figures will tell you that. Television is all about spectacle and drama. If audiences continue to grow for shows like Celebrity Wrestling then more will be made."

Additional News and Reviews

SFX has a spoiler-free review of "Dalek," the sixth episode, which it meets with glowing praise: "Hold on to something sturdy; youÆre just about to be rocked by hyperbole measuring 10 on the Richter scale. 'Dalek' is the best episode of Doctor Who ever," says the review. "This is hard-as-nails Who. This is the Who the fans were clamouring for. This is the Who that will silence the critics of the 'silliness' of the episodes thus far. This is the episode that will have kids kicking their parents out from behind the sofa. ... ItÆs hard to conceive that Doctor Who can get much better than thisà" Check out SFX's website for the full review.

The Law Society Gazette, the trade paper for solicitors, featured an article on April 14 with an accompanying photo of the Moxx of Balhoon. "The post-Clementi [the recent review of all legal practice in England and Wales] world may be an alien and ugly one for some, but surely not as alien and ugly as the revived Doctor Who speculated the other week. In an episode where the Doctor and Rose travelled five billion years into the future to witness the end of the world as the sun expanded to consume it (don't worry - there's nobody living on Earth by then and it's being looked after by the National Trust), a variety of interesting and rich aliens were enjoying corporate hospitality to watch the 'artistic event' that was the spectacular explosion from the safety of a protected observation station in space. Among them was the Moxx of Balhoon, announced as being from the solicitors Jolko and Jolko. He had an unpleasant squeaky voice and his present to fellow passengers (each was required to provide something) was 'the gift of bodily salivas', whereupon he spat in Rose's eye. Talk about inadequate professional service. The Doctor, of course, saved the day when at literally the last second he managed to reverse the sabotage which dropped the station's defences and would have seen it destroyed too. But the extravagantly monikered Moxx was sadly a casualty of the crisis, and didn't even have the chance to put in a bill for his time either."

This week's edition of the BBC internal newsletter Ariel has a small Doctor Who article called "Be careful not to scare the voters" along with a photo of a Slitheen from this weekend's episode, "Aliens of London." "Those who have long-suspected that there are aliens at the heart of the British government will have suspicions confirmed by this Saturday's Doctor Who," says the article. "In a recent interview Russell T Davies admitted tha programme makers had to check with editorial policy before screening the episode Aliens of London because it clashed with the general election. The episode also features a spaceship crash-landing in the Thames as well as several reptilian-like aliens, the Slitheen (pictured), roaming the corridors of power. Perhaps David Icke was right after all..."

"Another hit from Doctor Who" raves the Evening Standard as it discusses the new series' effects. "Dramatic moments in Doctor Who were traditionally accompanied by wobbling scenery and cut-price props," says the article. "But when viewers tune in to the latest incarnation of the BBC1 series this Saturday they will see special effects convincing enough to send adults as well as children scurrying behind the sofa. The episode sees an alien spacecraft crash-landing in the Thames, taking a chunk out of Big Ben as it does so. The scene where the wing of the spaceship strikes the 318ft-tall St Stephen's Tower was created not by computer, but by hand. Model-makers used a 1/ 14thscale silicone model of the clock tower to create plaster castings, then filled them with bells and rubble to make the impact look real. These days every other Hollywood blockbuster features sophisticated computer-generated imagery, but Mike Tucker, an expert in models and miniatures, believes some effects should be kept real. 'It was actually easier for me to swing a model of a spaceship wing into a breakable Big Ben and put it all on camera,' he said."

'Media View' by Maggie Brown, an article on the website of The Stage, has a brief, positive mention of the new series. The article discusses the recent performance of ITV ratings-wise, and Brown suggests that "...if ITV had the ability, with hindsight, to cherry-pick dream acquisitions to graft onto its triumphant soaps, I'd say it would be Jamie's School Dinners and Doctor Who, which are both examples of bravery being rewarded and going against received wisdom - revivals rarely work or can be sustained. A pointer to the future?"

This week's Variety covered the show and, more specifically, the series as part of a larger shift away from London. "Every generation of Brits, it seems, gets a Doctor Who to embody the spirit of its age. So it's apt that the eighth and latest incarnation of the immortal time lord from planet Gallifrey is not a Southerner like most of his predecessors, but the unmistakably blue collar Lancastrian Christopher Eccleston. ... Although set everywhere from London to Salt Lake City and outer space, the 13 episodes were shot almost entirely in South Wales, and produced by the BBC's Welsh drama department. The new "Doctor Who" proves that there is life, and entertainment, outside London. It also reflects a wider psychological and constitutional shift that started when Prime Minister Tony Blair took office eight years ago, with a promise to give a greater voice to the nations and regions that make up the United Kingdom." The article goes on to discuss the rise of regional programming.

Variety also has a special report from some celebrities called 'Why I live outside London' and speaks to Russell T Davies about it. "I moved to Manchester because it was the heart of television drama and in those days Granada still trained people. Granada sits at the heart of the city and remains a very powerful influence in Manchester. For 40 years it has made 'Coronation Street,' the No. 1 show in the U.K. I like the fact that you can bump into members of the 'Street's' cast in the supermarkets. Red is another very important company locally because it only uses northern writers and northern crews. I have a second home in Cardiff because of 'Doctor Who.' Cardiff is where I started my TV career as a producer of children's shows." Variety then reviews the current series: "The fiercely loyal fans of British sci-fi character Doctor Who have had a long wait to see their hero back on the small screen. While there are bound to be dissenting voices, the BBC looks like it has got the elements in place to re-establish this cult classic. The Beeb's hefty marketing campaign hyped the return of the Time Lord, pitching the Easter Saturday bow of the 13-episode series as a must-see television event. While the opener --- titled "Rose" --- didn't quite meet expectations, it did grab a 44% share and almost 10 million viewers. It also hints at great things to come and breathes welcome life into a great character. As far as prospects abroad, it is a series that can easily travel and makes for easy fantasy viewing for all ages... This latest incarnation of "Doctor Who" is a wry fantasy hero who should appeal to all generations --- from those who grew up watching the early series to a younger generation with higher expectations in terms of special f/x and more sophisticated storylines."

Channel 4's Teletext service runs a weekly "celebrity horoscopes" column by Henri Llewelyn Davies called star'scope, and is currently featuring the "astrological chart" of Christopher Eccleston! "A week before the BBC revealed Chris Eccleston would only do one series of Dr Who, Teletext asked me how long he would last as the new Time Lord. I replied (check with Teletext if you must): 'I don't think he will last long.' Born Feb 16 1964 he has four planets in Aquarius, making him exceedingly independent. Such a heavy Aquarian presence ensures he will never allow himself to be typecast in anyway. Aquarian Dr Who star Eccleston has Mercury in Venus which makes him a persuasive speaker, a sweet talker. Dreamy planet Neptune is strong in his chart at the moment, making him more confused but enabling him to play a phantasmagorical role like Dr Who. With his Sun conjunct Saturn, Chris Eccleston must make up his own mind about matters and can rarely be swayed by other people. With his chart, he hates any kind of restriction - so his alleged fear of being typecast by Dr Who makes sense astrologically. He hopes people will get out of his way and he always wanted to be as free as possible. 'I intend to keep the variety going,' he has said of his work. Eccleston is notoriously secretive - a result of having his Saturn in Aquarius. He seems very upfront but has developed a secret internal life. This conjunction also makes him self-disciplined, highly professional, honest and rebellious. We know little of Eccleston's emotional life, but with his Venus in Aries he is likely to be impulsive in love. This placement also makes him quite outspoken. Only last year he said of The Frank Skinner show: 'It doesn't seem to be about anybody who's on it. It just seems to be about Skinner and his small-minded approach. He used to be funny but not any more.' Nor does Parkinson impress him - finding some of Parky's views 'disturbing.' Aquarian Eccleston is a truth-seeker, self-contained and likes to surround himself with numerous people. Perverse ideas appeal to him, such as playing Dr Who when he didn't see the point in reviving a 'knackered' old sci-fi series. Expect the unexpected."

Some other tangential articles over the past two days: "Dr Who made my 3-year-old scared of shopping" says an article in The Times; the Guardianmentions mistakes in the calculation of Earth's rotation, citing the Doctor Who novel "The Suns of Caresh"; Brand Republic reports on the phone boxes decor for the DVD releases; and icCroydon discusses how Billie Piper "regenerated" the show.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Chuck Foster, John Bowman, Simon Pedley, Peter Hart, Paul Hayes, John Leacy, Jamie Austin, John Tait, Alan Morton, Darren Ross, Benjamin Elliott, David J Howe, Rowan Bridge and Peter Anghelides)