Doctor Who Website

Since the early 1960s, Doctor Who has been a (periodic) stalwart of the BBC TV schedules. For those that haven't seen it, it's about an friendly alien "Time Lord" who calls himself "The Doctor", travelling through time and space and generally having adventures and, usually, saving the human race.

After several years' break, a new series has just finished in the UK, to widespread critical and popular acclaim.

It fits into a slot that tends to be thought of as "family drama", in that it is primarily aimed at kids but has themes and subjects (and jokes) that appeal to adults too - similar to something like Buffy the Vampire Slayer but aimed a little more directly at pre-teens than teens.

My questions:

Is the newest season of Doctor Who being shown on network or cable channels in the USA other than BBC America?
Have you seen it? What do you think?
Is it popular and/or commercially successful?

Nope. Apparently BBC license fees are too high. I thought that I had seen the show on the Sci Fi network, but apparently they haven't picked up the "new" Dr. Who series. PBS used to run it weekly... PBS (in Chicago anyway) used to be must-see british TV on Sunday nights. In the 80's, they would run Dave Allen at large, Benny Hill, Monty Python and Dr. Who. Good stuff.

Have you seen it? What do you think?
I enjoyed the Tom Baker version (Genesis of the Daleks) but didn't really watch many of the others. I tried to get back into whilst living in the UK, and it just never clicked. I think I'm past sci-fi...

Is it popular and/or commercially successful?
They have conventions like trekkies, but I don't think it has anywhere near the audience. With 280 million people, it's safe to say that there are tons of American fans for just about everything British. (Except Robbie Williams) For example, I saw Marillion last night in Chicago, who have a small hard-core of fans.

network channels, VERY unlikely, cable, none that I know of, but I wish they would.

I've watched all the Dr. Who I could get my hands on. The show was always sort of up and down with story lines and characters but I liked them all in one way or another. First ones I ever saw were the Jon Pertwee episodes with Jo Grant. I never did like Tom Baker. Hartnell & Troughton were great, the shows from those times don't look absurd because of the b&w, but when color came around some of the cheesy special effects just look plain goofy. My favorites were Pertwee (they say your first is always your favorite), McCoy, and Troughton. Katy Manning and Nicola Bryant - well geez...., Nicola Bryant!! But the best was Ace, worked very with McCoy. I think Dr.Who was the first show to get me interested in the british t.v. series. Probably my current favorite is Red Dwarf, just waiting for the movie. I've been wanting to get the DVD of TENKO, but the price is a bit much - (wanna hunt around for a used one in the shops for me?). Blake's 7 was also a favorite. I also got hooked on the Rock Follies, Black Adder, 'Allo 'Allo (waiting for the next DVD), Open all Hours, 2 Ronnies, THE YOUNG ONES, Absolutely Fabulous (that had a big popularity surge here when it first aired, not sure about now), French and Saunders, Mr. Bean (also big over here), I saw a compilation tape of Three of a Kind (Tracey is so under rated here), Chef, OH WAIT, I forgot about all the Benny Hill I watched when I was 10, that must have been the first, Dangerous Bros., The Hitchhiker's series, and edited version of Tripods, The Prisoner - GREAT!!, Fairly Secret Army, Two of a Kind (is that the one with American woman and her butler - DAMN I can't remember either of their names). I've tried some of the other ones but didn't get into them, Keeping Up Appearances, the one with Judi Densch and Geoffrey Palmer, - I'll think of some others later.

It might have been a while ago, back in the McCoy days when Dapol came out with the line of toys was probably the height of commercial succes, but in general it's been pretty underground.

I am a fan of the Dr. Who television shows. Last I checked, the new series is being shown in England, Canada, and Australia. The official word from the BBC website on the availability of this year's released shows in the United States is that it is still being negotiated.

The shows are being distributed unofficially via the internet between interested parties and that is the only way to see it in the United States.

I have been to a Dr. Who convention. There were a few hundred folks at it.

I expect Dr. Who would be immensely popular in the United States if given the chance for the audience to grow accustomed to its presentation. The long running series definitely was British in its production. Americans are more familiar with the pacing of American television and Dr. Who has a different cadence to it.

Getting Dr. Who episodes is a rather spotty venture. BBC has released some episodes via VHS and less via DVD. The price per episode is around $15 to $20 which is a bit steep. You can get copies of episodes via the vaults of the lingering Dr. Who fan clubs here and there across the country. They still exist, though Dr. Who has not been on television here for nearly 20 years.

There was the one Canadian movie production which was the pilot for becoming a series on American television. The story I got from forum chat was that Sliders and Dr. Who were the last two shows being considered to take the last hour time slot on the Friday night schedule. Sliders won.

My son is at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois studying engineering. One of his professors made a reference to a Dr. Who. My son was the only one in the class who had any idea as to what the professor was talking about. My son also knew which episode he was referring to. My poor kids. Exposed to Dr. Who by their cruel Dad at an early age has doomed them, I suppose. (It was the one with the large snake for any of you who recall it. That certainly made an impression on those in the early grades, I tell you. )

For some reason, people who I have met who watched Dr. Who when it was on public television tend to be from the more academic world.

.........

I would add Space Cops to your list, ChargedDust. It was not a very lengthly series but I liked it. It also had a unique theme song which I rather like.

PBS in CT used to run it in the afternoons--I loved it. Right up there with Star Trek for me. Tom Bakers was my favorite. Even with the cheesy sets it was still great entertainment.
I'd love to see the new Doctor make his way over here.
Doctor Who never did catch on big here though. Running plotlines seemed to be too much trouble for some people.

Not enough good Sci Fi out there. Babylon 5 was great and Enterprise should have been given more time--or at least get rid of Berman who has a horrible sense of entertainment. The Sci Fi channel is finally making an impact and I am impressed with the remake of Battlestar Gallactica--Very well done and since I just got cable back I get to start with season 2- we need a smiley that drools.
4400 is one I need to check out and the series LOST is just freakin excellent beyond belief.

Ah, Dr. Who! Loved it, but I grew up in Britain. As a child, I was terrified by the daleks and other monsters. Almost nobody knows this show in the US. We don't get Coronation Street either.

Two years back, I rented some vids of the show and was amused at the low-tech effects. Seems that the special-effects budget was limited to anything found in the kitchen. Toilet roll tubes and egg-carton monsters. There was one enemy, I believe, that was a magnified hairbrush uoside-down . Strange how the latest movies with top effects do not scare or thrill so much. I agree that it was a family event. All seven of us used to gather in front of the telly (only 2 or 3 channels then) on a Saturday evening with broken biscuits and hot cups of tea.

It was always tongue-in-cheek, but had scary moments. Most of all I think that it interested me in science with the ideas that it put forth.

So, Julian, the people who have seen it here are PBS viewers. The British comparison is probably 'BBC radio-4' listeners. Small in number, but large in intellect.

Hmm. I hope that the new series does get sold to US TV soon.

Firstly, because I think the BBC have done a fantastic job with it, with no foreign partners, and the people involved deserve to be in with a shout for the big awards (Emmies?). Like many of you here, I remember the old series with fondess.

Being British, and old enough, I remember Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker as my own favourites from first broadcast on TV (usually just after Grandstand and just before Jim'll Fix It!). And I occasionally watch those older shows on cable, when they are shown. Nostalgia aside, I genuinely think that this last season (with Chris Eccleston as the Doctor) is by far the best so far - I think a good case could be made that it is the best family drama series in any genre ever made in the UK. Possible anywhere.

And secondly, because it's expensive by BBC drama standards, and despite the domestic success (for which they get no extra money), I fear that if they don't sell it abroad they won't be able to keep making it to the current high standards for more than a few seasons.

I kinda liked the new series - it was good fun.

Still cheesy, daft and bad acting, but thats what's good about it!

Sadly I think the US is now so far ahead in the types of sci-fi and fantasy (anyone seen Lost?) that stuff like Doctor Who is always going to be viewed as interesting, but a little weird and old fashioned...

I have BBC America and I haven't seen any advertising or anything for the new Dr. Who.

Yet I was in the UK during the run up to it's release and it did look good although I had thought it seemed a bit Blue Peter- ish-y. "It fits into a slot that tends to be thought of as "family drama", in that it is primarily aimed at kids but has themes and subjects (and jokes) that appeal to adults too - similar to something like Buffy the Vampire Slayer but aimed a little more directly at pre-teens than teens. " and that explains why.

I'm devious, so I can't be bothered waiting for BBC prime to air the current Dr Who to the rest of Europe.

I cheated and a friend has been recording them on VHS and sending me the tapes

I suppose there is a law against this, but hey... I'm not downloading them straight from the net as some people I know...

In return I've been recording 'Lost' and sending it to my friend

I am not all that keen on the new Doctor and I think the format is a bit dated, but frankly, whats the alternative? I'm sick and tired of the reality crap that gets billed as 'entertainment' these days. All these programmes about model wannabe's, super nanny's and the brats from hell...

As a consequence I don't watch too much TV though so I guess thats good.

There's a low budget PBS station in Orange County KOCE that carries a lot of British programming here in the L.A. area and I do remember them running Dr. Who for a series or two years back. Now their mainstays are EastEnders, Keeping up Appearances, Are you being served? etc. Its surprising they don't carry more since L.A. has one of the largest British ex-pat populations (me included) outside of the U.K. I guess we just don't cough up enough at pledge time.

FYI, BBC America is run as an independant company from Auntie Beeb and has to buy all of its programming and is totally funded by advertising. In fact, some of its more popular shows are not from the BBC at all, the various Gordon Ramsey shows for example are all from Channel 4, a BBC competitor.