Doctor Who: Season 2 (Series 15)

[oddbox83]

The final Jodie Whitaker special was also finished in 4K.

I don't mind upscales though when, like Twice Upon a Time, it clearly had more range to work with for the HDR pass.

[Grazey1]

My take on this season is that it’s been pretty enjoyable on the most part. Most consistently watchable in quite a few years. First 5 episodes were quite enjoyable. Despite having questionable scripting and political choices I thought interstellar song contest was entertaining. Wish world had interesting ideas and but it will all be for naught if the finale falls flat like empire of death did. I’m not saying I wasn’t entertained by it but it’s a set up episode with not very much other substance to it. Casual and audiences that don’t really pay close attention to scripts will be lost. Name dropping a villain (omega) that hasn’t really been seen or mentioned since the 80s will mean squat to them. This final episode has a laundry list of things to pay off. Can’t help but feel it may end up becoming a stuffed mess even if there is 66 minutes to play with.

[bondfooll]

I feel so bad for Ncuti, Varada, Millie, and Carole Ann. They all deserved so much better. Oh, how I wish they had split the role of showrunner into an executive producer and a head writer (preferably Jamie Mathieson, Sarah Dollard, or Toby Whithouse) after Moffat left.

[CouncilSpectre]

What times we're living in....

I remember when it was celebrated that we all had distinct and differing views and opinions on things. Now, whether it's political discourse, religious debate, societal views, even art/entertainment...it's like we've regressed to medieval times where only absolutes are allowed and you're either "with us" or "against us". FFS. Tribalism and blinkered thinking are alive and well in the 21st century and thriving through social media and "influencers" and their respective agendas.

And this is true of all sides, the extreme wings of "liberalism" and "conservatism" are just as bad as each other.

[GreatUncleBaal]

Originally Posted by CouncilSpectre

And this is true of all sides, the extreme wings of "liberalism" and "conservatism" are just as bad as each other.

paraphrasing Trump is always a good sign

[CouncilSpectre]

Originally Posted by GreatUncleBaal

paraphrasing Trump is always a good sign

Even a broken clock is right twice a day…

[oddbox83]

Anyway, the music at the end of The Reality War is probably the best piece of Music Murray Gold has done for the show in years. Beautiful.

[bondfooll]

I was extremely disappointed by 66-75% of the 15th Doctor era. That said, there is literally no "objective truth" about the quality of any work of art. That's the beauty of it.

[darrellmaclaine]

So anyway, when I said earlier in this thread that it was axed late last year after Disney pulled out almost instantly in summer 2024, and that its cancellation was widely known about in the industry, and that the "we will make a decision and an announcement after series 2 airs" parroted line was always just obsfucation and spin, and that I had been told this reliably by people close to the production, I was actually telling the truth. Because I have and have never had anything to gain by lying or anything to lose by telling the truth. I don't like innocent people being made fools of, and that's all my agenda ever was.

I think the cowardly way Davies has hit-and-run his way out of responsibility and accountability - to the show, to his crew, to the fanbase (many of whom are vulnerable and have been left completely confused by the mess left on the floor) - will one day come back to haunt him. He can play the innocent all he likes but he's seriously sledgehammered his industry reputation at a time of serious contraction - when certain previous projects of his (Mine All Mine, Cucumber, Miracle Day) have flopped he has always been granted the benefit of the doubt, but he's now lost that very long leash he used to be allowed. There's a reason he raced this new Channel 4 show through commission/production when he did - it was self-preservation.

[pottyaboutpotter1]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

So anyway, when I said earlier in this thread that it was axed late last year after Disney pulled out almost instantly in summer 2024, and that its cancellation was widely known about in the industry, and that the "we will make a decision and an announcement after series 2 airs" parroted line was always just obsfucation and spin, and that I had been told this reliably by people close to the production, I was actually telling the truth. Because I have and have never had anything to gain by lying or anything to lose by telling the truth. I don't like innocent people being made fools of, and that's all my agenda ever was.

I think the cowardly way Davies has hit-and-run his way out of responsibility and accountability - to the show, to his crew, to the fanbase (many of whom are vulnerable and have been left completely confused by the mess left on the floor) - will one day come back to haunt him. He can play the innocent all he likes but he's seriously sledgehammered his industry reputation at a time of serious contraction - when certain previous projects of his (Mine All Mine, Cucumber, Miracle Day) have flopped he has always been granted the benefit of the doubt, but he's now lost that very long leash he used to be allowed. There's a reason he raced this new Channel 4 show through commission/production when he did - it was self-preservation.

Dude, stop. Honestly.

You've been making things up this entire thread. And you just fail to respond to anything when people accurately point out the holes in what you claim.

Let's take the claim of the TARDIS set being torn down as an example. They invited the Welsh Council to Wolf Studios a few weeks before the launch of Season 2. Photos were taken on the TARDIS set. The week the Season 2 finale aired, Bad Wolf invited several Doctor Who fan influencers for a tour of Wolf Studios; including a tour of the TARDIS set. Just check social media and you'll find the photos of several influencers on the set (Set_DW and Christel Dee being among the most prominent). As has been confirmed by this and by several members of the crew, the TARDIS set is still standing and just waiting for a green light for Season 3.

Doctor Who is not cancelled. In fact, it has been widely reported by reliable industry insiders and trades that the show will continue and there is interest from other streamers if Disney pulls out. A reliable reporter for The Mirror (who is always right on Doctor Who leaks and rumours) has reported the word from inside BBC is that the show will continue with or without Disney. Disney have not made their decision yet. The deal is not officially over until the spin-off The War Between the Land and the Sea airs later this year.

If anything, it's an encouraging sign that the fade to black regeneration was scrapped in favour of having Billie Piper appear; BBC would not have signed off on ending the season on a cliffhanger and the mystery of who, how, and why of Billie Piper if they had no plans on continuing the series. Also they have just announced a new spin-off in the form of an animated series for young children to be aired on Cbeebies. Doesn't sound like they plan on cancelling anytime soon.

When every other insider and leaker says the opposite to you, and your claims are disproven by simple facts (the TARDIS set still standing), is it a surprise people don't believe you? If you're going to make stuff up, at least make it consistent with the facts everyone knows to be true. How can the TARDIS set have been torn down if its still standing right now?

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by pottyaboutpotter1

If anything, it's an encouraging sign that the fade to black regeneration was scrapped in favour of having Billie Piper appear; BBC would not have signed off on ending the season on a cliffhanger and the mystery of who, how, and why of Billie Piper if they had no plans on continuing the series. Also they have just announced a new spin-off in the form of an animated series for young children to be aired on Cbeebies. Doesn't sound like they plan on cancelling anytime soon.

As I said about denial...no streaming service is rushing yet to announce the show returning. We're looking at least five years before it returns and that's being optimistic. RTD himself has even said he's not even sure if Billie Piper is the next Doctor. He just put it in there as a form of TV clickbait.

Originally Posted by pottyaboutpotter1

The show generates a huge amount of money for the Welsh government and is consistently praised as one of BBC's top performing brands and is one of the most highly streamed shows on iPlayer (over 50 million hours of Doctor Who was streamed across 2024).

It's done so well that the ratings are terrible and Disney are cancelling their contract???

Originally Posted by pottyaboutpotter1

Basically, BBC did not keep Chibnall in the loop as to what was going on. To the best of his knowledge, no new episodes had been commissioned, hence why he ended on a fade to black (that RTD then changed). The RTD returning announcement surprised him just as much as the fans.

Bear in mind the BBC also told everyone Gatwa dropped out of hosting his Eurovision part the week before when he himself says he had made the decision a year before. The BBC aren't a reliable source for announcing things.

[darrellmaclaine]

FWIW I was confused about the Tardis mystery too so I asked - the set that was struck in November is not the same set they threw up in February for the reshoots - it's a smaller double of it with two sides, the console and the ramp. They aren't going to leave it up indefinitely- I would assume it got struck just after those photo ops were done.

As for the rest of your post - let it go, you're trying to decode clues that lead nowhere. The show is OVER. They messed it up and lost the audience. Disney are out. The BBC are over it. Bad Wolf is out. Davies has gone. Billie Piper's appearance is nothing but a cameo favour that is supposed to put a button on the entire new era, that's all. Nobody is 'waiting' for anything. The completion and broadcast of Land And The Sea is nothing but a contractual obligation. Everyone has moved on. Move on yourself.

[pottyaboutpotter1]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

FWIW I was confused about the Tardis mystery too so I asked - the set that was struck in November is not the same set they threw up in February for the reshoots - it's a smaller double of it with two sides, the console and the ramp. They aren't going to leave it up indefinitely- I would assume it got struck just after those photo ops were done.

As for the rest of your post - let it go, you're trying to decode clues that lead nowhere. The show is OVER. They messed it up and lost the audience. Disney are out. The BBC are over it. Bad Wolf is out. Davies has gone. Billie Piper's appearance is nothing but a cameo favour that is supposed to put a button on the entire new era, that's all. Nobody is 'waiting' for anything. The completion and broadcast of Land And The Sea is nothing but a contractual obligation. Everyone has moved on. Move on yourself.

The set is still up dude.

And it’s not over until the Dalek Emperor sings. It’s already clear that BBC 100% intends to continue. It’s their most valuable IP. They won’t let it rest without at least one more reboot. If they were ‘over’ it they wouldn’t have commissioned another spin-off. The only one who needs to move on is you.

[darrellmaclaine]

Originally Posted by pottyaboutpotter1

It’s already clear that BBC 100% intends to continue. It’s their most valuable IP. They won’t let it rest without at least one more reboot.

There is zero evidence that any of that is the case. We just had the 'one final reboot' - the BBC were originally going to axe it in 2021. The BBC's most valuable IPs currently that it owns outright are Strictly, CBeebies and BBC Earth/Attenborough. The BBC already have burnt fingers from trying the 'keep rebooting, must revive the brand at all costs' approach with Top Gear, another core IP flagship show they 'couldn't live without' until it repeatedly damaged them reputationally and financially and they managed fine after that was put to sleep. Doctor Who's licencing yield has sharply declined year on year for around a decade now, it's just juiced out, and when the magazine and home video programme finally end (both fairly soon) there's nothing left. It's 62 years old, it deserves to rest in peace. No TV show is built to run for 41 series.

Originally Posted by pottyaboutpotter1

If they were ‘over’ it they wouldn’t have commissioned another spin-off.

Important to note that they haven't actually commissioned *anything* yet or spent a single penny on it. They have put out an invitation for proposals with a six month open window. In BBC terms this is far from a commitment - they are just sounding out options to try and remonetise the IP. But they put tenders out all the time for things they never even end up making, and six months is a decade in BBC time, it only takes a bit of staff turnover in commissioning and a yes turns into a no very quickly. On top of this, it's not a *great* prospect for production companies - generally if you are someone like Karrot or Brown Bag or Blue Zoo the primary reason to pitch CBeebies shows is so you can own IP and potentially make lots of money from merchandising - books, toys, licencing. This is a fairly thankless opportunity in that regard because the BBC already have it all sewn up, and on top of the CBeebies micromanagement and the standard BBC micromanagement there's a whole extra layer of franchise/brand micromanagement to contend with. Honestly it's a poisoned chalice to whoever they pick if they do indeed go ahead with it.

Originally Posted by pottyaboutpotter1

The only one who needs to move on is you.

I get that you want it to continue. I don't scorn or resent that at all. But it's little more than a staring competition now. Stuff ends, it's normal for stuff to end.

[pottyaboutpotter1]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

There is zero evidence that any of that is the case. We just had the 'one final reboot' - the BBC were originally going to axe it in 2021. The BBC's most valuable IPs currently that it owns outright are Strictly, CBeebies and BBC Earth/Attenborough. The BBC already have burnt fingers from trying the 'keep rebooting, must revive the brand at all costs' approach with Top Gear, another core IP flagship show they 'couldn't live without' until it repeatedly damaged them reputationally and financially and they managed fine after that was put to sleep. Doctor Who's licencing yield has sharply declined year on year for around a decade now, it's just juiced out, and when the magazine and home video programme finally end (both fairly soon) there's nothing left. It's 62 years old, it deserves to rest in peace. No TV show is built to run for 41 series.



Important to note that they haven't actually commissioned *anything* yet or spent a single penny on it. They have put out an invitation for proposals with a six month open window. In BBC terms this is far from a commitment - they are just sounding out options to try and remonetise the IP. But they put tenders out all the time for things they never even end up making, and six months is a decade in BBC time, it only takes a bit of staff turnover in commissioning and a yes turns into a no very quickly. On top of this, it's not a *great* prospect for production companies - generally if you are someone like Karrot or Brown Bag or Blue Zoo the primary reason to pitch CBeebies shows is so you can own IP and potentially make lots of money from merchandising - books, toys, licencing. This is a fairly thankless opportunity in that regard because the BBC already have it all sewn up, and on top of the CBeebies micromanagement and the standard BBC micromanagement there's a whole extra layer of franchise/brand micromanagement to contend with. Honestly it's a poisoned chalice to whoever they pick if they do indeed go ahead with it.



I get that you want it to continue. I don't scorn or resent that at all. But it's little more than a staring competition now. Stuff ends, it's normal for stuff to end.

Doctor Who is one of BBC's most valuable IPs. They routinely praise it as such in their annual reports. It's a show that BBC have no interest in cancelling whatsoever because of the huge amount of money they make from it. Cinema showings, sold out Proms performances etc. The show generates a huge amount of money for the Welsh government and is consistently praised as one of BBC's top performing brands and is one of the most highly streamed shows on iPlayer (over 50 million hours of Doctor Who was streamed across 2024).

It's always been made clear that the plan is to carry on with or without Disney. BBC are even meeting with other potential streaming partners; several industry insiders have said as much, with HBO Max and Netflix being the top two contenders.

The more you shout that cancellation is nigh, the more desperate you sound. Especially as you get the facts wrong every time.

The show was not going to be axed in 2021. Chibnall's team ended The Power of the Doctor on a fade to black regeneration as they had not been made privy to any upcoming plans. As far as they were aware, no new episodes had been commissioned. BBC was making a deal with Bad Wolf to continue the series at this time, part of a wider trend within the BBC to outsource production of its shows to external production companies. We already know the deal with Disney was in its earliest stages here, as the potential big deal with a streamer was what drew RTD back to the show. Basically, BBC did not keep Chibnall in the loop as to what was going on. To the best of his knowledge, no new episodes had been commissioned, hence why he ended on a fade to black (that RTD then changed). The RTD returning announcement surprised him just as much as the fans.

Also, I have to laugh at your claim Doctor Who Magazine is ending. There's no confirmation or rumours of anything of the sort. This either means you're making things up again or have completely misinterpreted the news that RTD's production notes column is ending (which is because the show is not in production). The Magazine still kept going for 15 years without the show on air. DWM will still be going long after all of us are gone, when its beamed directly into our brains. Likewise, the home video line will never end. The Collection range has a good few years left in it and that's presuming they don't move onto doing the 2005-2022 seasons (which they likely will), there's multiple animations in production (we know The Smugglers is coming), steelbooks, reissues, and still plenty of content yet to get any kind of home video release (Tales of the TARDIS, Dimensions in Time, The Curse of Fatal Death etc). This is alongside the potential full HD remaster of The Movie using the original film elements if BBC can source them from Fox/Universal, and Blu-Ray releases of The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 1-3. Never mind the wealth of material to be mined from unreleased deleted scenes, interviews, documentaries etc.

As for licensing, Big Finish are still going strong. There's still plenty of demand for Doctor Who Merchandise (the recently released 14th Doctor and the Meep action figures have very nearly sold out incredibly quickly). Soundtracks and vinyls still sell incredibly well. It's almost like Doctor Who is one of BBC's healthiest and most profitable brands, and not the dying disaster you claim. So move on, troll.

[oddbox83]

[russgup]

As Evil Willow from Buffy once said....

Bored now

[darrellmaclaine]

Ultimately, the idea that it can't be axed because "it brings in too much money" is not compatible with the reality that it needs financial backing from a third party because its return is lower than its production cost. Those two things can't both be true.

Particularly as the source for how much money it makes is Steven Moffat talking about the era when DVD sales, then-healthy merch (which kids were still buying), live tours/exhibitions and it breaking America (including BBC America co-financing) actually were bringing in a return higher than the production cost. None of these things are true anymore! Even Big Finish and DWM have hit turbulence.

I get the feeling more people now have finally clicked that it really has been axed, it really has gone disastrously wrong, and that they really have been tricked by Davies' abject refusal to own his shit. Did you see Gatwa being interviewed at the weekend? He looked like a traumatised war veteran.

[russgup]

As this thread is about season 2 physical media release and not the future of the show are we looking forward to the release of the show next month?

[oddbox83]

Not really when I can get better image quality on streaming!