Watching NuWho

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Two million isn't abysmal by today's standards and Doctor Who was the second highest rated show on the BBC last Saturday. Doctor Who is also first screened on iPlayer so the consolidated figures will be a more accurate measure of the audience.

What kind of audience would you consider to be good for the show?

I said, specifically, "...I know the ratings are measured differently ..."
However, the overnight ratings are lower than those of any episode of Disney Doctor Who season 1.
I haven't seen consolidated ratings yet, although it is difficult to believe that they would be improvements over
any of the season 1 episodes.

The "good" number would be whatever ones that Disney and the BBC consider to be successful enough to continue the show.
Since there are no plans for a third season, no plans for a Christmas special and Gatwa is rumored to be leaving,
it would seem logical the Disney or the BBC, or both, do not consider the ratings to be "good",
and ultimately, Disney and the BBC are making the determination about what constitutes "good" ratings.

Since there are no apparant plans to continue the show, it would seem likely that the ratings are not considered "good"

MSN

 

[Willie Oleson]

I really really want to see these series...oh, they're seasons now....but I got the others in R1 complete boxsets so I'll wait until that's sorted for the fourteenth Doctor.

and that's OK. It's been a brilliant twenty year run and if this really is the end, then they're definitely going out in style

There's no shame in a TV series ending, and after so many years I think "cancelled" doesn't apply anymore.

 

[James from London]

Jo Grant liked it too:

https://x.com/ManningOfficial/status/1913673213357572272

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

The ratings continue to dwindle, as the show approaches its cancellation

Only 1.58 million overnight. lowest in the history of the series
That is approximatley 21% lower than last week, which is believed to be previously the lowest overnight rating in series history
Episode 1, had consolidated ratings of 3.571 million with approximatlely 2 million for the overnight ratings.
That leaves leaving approximatelt 1.571 million for BBC iplayer,
only slightly less than the 1.58 million overnight for episode 2
It is possible that consolidated ratings may not reach 3 million for episode 2

Clearly, Disney and the BBC are not impressed, since there are no plans
for a season 3 or Christmas special. Gatwa is rumored to be leaving, not that it matters if there is no season 3

Ironicallly, there are some good reviews for episode 2, but it is too little, too late

It is a continuation of the downward spiral ever since Moffat and Capaldi departed

The show is a farce, a travesty, not even a shadow of its former self
It may be called "Doctor Who" but it is so far removed from the show's essence that it should be called something else

A huge dissappointment that RTD's return has not helped the show
He did so well when the series returned 2005-2010, but the Disney partnership has
not been successful
The classic series may not have been as well-budgeted, but it is
the REAL Doctor Who, and William Hartnell is the 1st Doctor

The fans have voted, by not watching - in the millions
The fans kept the show's memory intact during the wilderness years 1990-2005
There would not have been a Doctor Who return in 2005
if it wasn't for those fans, and
now those fans are being totally direspected and disregarded.
To be a fan is not to accept any slop that is put out there,
it is about speaking up about the show when it loses its way
so that those in charge can make improvements
Sadly, those in charge no longer listen to the fans concerns

Bad writing, writers and directors with no sci-fi background, horrid casting
(though I thought Gatwa was an inspired choice, he doesn't have good material to help him)
a false origin story that contradicts the entire series, dismissal of longtime fans,
an episode where Sutek, possibly the Doctor's most formidable adversary of all time
is defeated by a dog collar, an absolute low
...I could say much more

It may be a long, long time before Doctor Who returns, the people in charge
have made such a mess

MSN

Doctor Who 7-day ratings confirmed for season 15 opener The Robot Revolution

The episode introduced fans to Varada Sethu's new companion Belinda Chandra.

www.radiotimes.com

 

[James from London]

Yesterday's episode was completely different again: a proper nail-biter: dark, tense, paranoid. A classic base-under-siege-in-outer-space story with a properly scary villain (echoes of 'Blink', The Silence and Alien3 ) and an absolutely gorgeous, stand-out performance from Rose Ayling-Ellis, the deaf actress who played Mick Carter's long-lost daughter on Enders a few years back. Her lack of hearing is used cleverly and creatively: without defining her as a character, it turns out to be crucial to the plot while providing extra layers of tension along the way. Loved it!

 

[Willie Oleson]

Yesterday's episode was completely different again

From minimalistic to everything but the kitchen sink glorious, I found it impossible to be prepared for the next episode.
In retrospect, I might have underrated some episodes because of these unexpected changes.

 

[James from London]

Oh wow, today's story was such a ride. Just when you think you've got a handle on what kind of episode it is, it veers off in another direction, and then again, and again. I don't think I should say anything else about it. It goes without saying -- or at least it should do -- that the less one knows going into a Who story, the more you'll get out of it, but I'd say that applies to this one even more than most. #spoilersspoil

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

"Lucky Day" not so lucky

Overnight ratings 1.5 million, believed to be an overnight low
Curiously, the Appreciation Index is no longer made public. I wonder why?

The show's future is uncertain, to say the least.

Doctor Who overnight ratings confirmed for Lucky Day

The episode centred on Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday.

www.radiotimes.com

 

[James from London]

The Two Queen Victorias:

 

[James from London]

This morning's episode, about a barbershop in space, was completely mental. I'm not sure I understood much of what was happening (but then there are very few Doctor Who adventures where I fully understand everything that's going on.) I'd say it's probably my least favourite ep of the season thus far -- which isn't really an insult considering all the others have been so brilliant-- but I enjoyed how bonkers it was and I suspect I'll get more out of it on a second viewing (when I'll hopefully be a bit less hungover).

Intriguingly, throughout this season, there have been several hints that Doctor Who itself is a piece of fiction. As we're nearing the very end of the series, this seems quite fitting, almost as if it were planned that way ...

 

[Willie Oleson]

Intriguingly, throughout this season, there have been several hints that Doctor Who itself is a piece of fiction. As we're nearing the very end of the series, this seems quite fitting, almost as if it were planned that way ...

The Truman Show meets The Sixth Sense?

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

The show will air its final episode this weekend
It will likely be on hiatus, with neither a Christmas special nor a series 3 in development, and Gatwa rumored to be leaving
and that is understandable.
And the future of the show is uncertain at best.
And I don't care about the Land and Sea spinoff. It is likely to be just as poor as the series, maybe worse,
based on the poor ratings of the Disney era series.

I can't call it Doctor Who, because it has no resemblance to the show that so many of us
once held in such high regard
Record Low audience, substandard scripts, horrible acting, story content that is
so ridiculous that it not worth any serious analysis.
It is a farce, a travesty, a parody of its former self

The classic series had a limited budget, but even its worst stories far exceed this caricature
The Disney partnership may have provided a bigger budget, but it is worthless without
a good production approach

I thought series 24 was the show's nadir, a season of bad scripts, worse acting and no apparent cohesion.
It is gold compared to anything that has aired since Moffat and Capaldi departed

To be fair, Gatwa is far better than JW, not that that is a high bar.
His Doctor is impaired by poor scripts and a production approach that is a baffling departure from the show's core,
The show was once simply fun, escapist entertainment in a sci-fi genre, encompassing elements of
action-adventure, mystery, horror and iconic characters.
The name of the show is "Doctor WHO", and his identity is supposed to be a mystery
Chibnall's origin story contradicts all continuity since 1963, and is blatantly false.
Willian Hartnell is the first Doctor, and that has been stated numerous times.

The Chibnall/RTD production teams have disrespected longtime fans, those
who supported the show through the wilderness years 1990-2005.
There would be no new series without those fans,
and it is disgusting to see how they have been told, in effect, that the show is not for them.
And the result is that millions have stopped watching this atrocious production

Chibnall and Whitaker obliterated the show almost beyond repair with
poor scripts, bad acting, writers and directors with little to no sci-fi background,
complete disrespect for not only for the show's legacy and continuity,
but also for long-time fans. Even worse than casting JW, the false origin story
completely contradicted all continuity since 1963
It was Doctor Who in name only
RTD could have restored the show's essence and quality but has surprisingly failed
despite having the opportunity to win back the fans

I could go on about the shocking decline of this show.
It may be a moot point since the hiatus could be of indeterminate length
I would rather see no new material than to see a continuation of this mess
Maybe a new showrunner, if one is appointed anytime soon, will retcon the post Moffat-Capaldi years
and restore the show's proper continuity.
Otherwise, the show has no chance of ever recovering its audience

Perhaps Peter Capaldi's final words were prophetic "Doctor, I let you go"
since nothing that has aired since has any relation to the show that
millions once loved.

 

[Willie Oleson]

complete disrespect for not only for the show's legacy and continuity,

What I have learned from the New Doctors is that there's no such thing as continuity, only wibbly wobbly timey wimey events.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

What I have learned from the New Doctors is that there's no such thing as continuity, only wibbly wobbly timey wimey events.

And the result is that millions of people are no longer fans, and the show has an uncertain, if any, future.

 

[Willie Oleson]

And the result is that millions of people are no longer fans, and the show has an uncertain, if any, future.

To be honest, I'm surprised it went on for as long as it did. There's only so many (great) stories to tell, only so many times you can resurrect the Daleks (although the resurrection part never bothered me, I just wanted them to be there).
Wouldn't it be nice to say "I've seen ALL of Doctor Who", or would you rather be outlived by the Doctor?

I've only seen revival series 1 to 10 and I've completely lost track of the history of the Doctor's planet. The wars, the other Time Lords, the Master(s), I don't think I would recognise another story about that planet as a retcon.
I've never tried to make sense of it, to me it always looks like "okay, this is what we're doing this week". If anything, Doctor Who might be the only show that can get away with it (maybe Star Trek too? I've never seen it).
The way I see it, there are only two rules for watching Doctor Who.
#1: always believe the Doctor.
#2: be aware of the fact that the Doctor always lies about something.

However, if you watch the series in time travel chronology then I guess it's easier to spot any inconsistencies.

 

[James from London]

I've completely lost track of the history of the Doctor's planet. The wars, the other Time Lords, the Master(s),

Oh yes, me too. I've watched pretty much the whole thing, a lot of it more than once, and I couldn't say for sure whether Gallifrey (Doctor Who's planet) currently still exists or has been blown up again, or whether he's still the last of Time Lords or not. All I know is I've had a lovely time over the past couple of months watching the very last season, and I can't really ask for more than that.

 

[James from London]

I've never tried to make sense of it, to me it always looks like "okay, this is what we're doing this week".

Me too. I like to watch it as if it were a documentary and accept everything they put in front of me. "This week you're telling me the moon's an egg? Okay, this week the moon's an egg."

 

[alexpaige]

The show will air its final episode this weekend
It will likely be on hiatus, with neither a Christmas special nor a series 3 in development, and Gatwa rumored to be leaving
and that is understandable.
And the future of the show is uncertain at best.
And I don't care about the Land and Sea spinoff. It is likely to be just as poor as the series, maybe worse,
based on the poor ratings of the Disney era series.

I can't call it Doctor Who, because it has no resemblance to the show that so many of us
once held in such high regard
Record Low audience, substandard scripts, horrible acting, story content that is
so ridiculous that it not worth any serious analysis.
It is a farce, a travesty, a parody of its former self

The classic series had a limited budget, but even its worst stories far exceed this caricature
The Disney partnership may have provided a bigger budget, but it is worthless without
a good production approach

I thought series 24 was the show's nadir, a season of bad scripts, worse acting and no apparent cohesion.
It is gold compared to anything that has aired since Moffat and Capaldi departed

To be fair, Gatwa is far better than JW, not that that is a high bar.
His Doctor is impaired by poor scripts and a production approach that is a baffling departure from the show's core,
The show was once simply fun, escapist entertainment in a sci-fi genre, encompassing elements of
action-adventure, mystery, horror and iconic characters.
The name of the show is "Doctor WHO", and his identity is supposed to be a mystery
Chibnall's origin story contradicts all continuity since 1963, and is blatantly false.
Willian Hartnell is the first Doctor, and that has been stated numerous times.

The Chibnall/RTD production teams have disrespected longtime fans, those
who supported the show through the wilderness years 1990-2005.
There would be no new series without those fans,
and it is disgusting to see how they have been told, in effect, that the show is not for them.
And the result is that millions have stopped watching this atrocious production

Chibnall and Whitaker obliterated the show almost beyond repair with
poor scripts, bad acting, writers and directors with little to no sci-fi background,
complete disrespect for not only for the show's legacy and continuity,
but also for long-time fans. Even worse than casting JW, the false origin story
completely contradicted all continuity since 1963
It was Doctor Who in name only
RTD could have restored the show's essence and quality but has surprisingly failed
despite having the opportunity to win back the fans

I could go on about the shocking decline of this show.
It may be a moot point since the hiatus could be of indeterminate length
I would rather see no new material than to see a continuation of this mess
Maybe a new showrunner, if one is appointed anytime soon, will retcon the post Moffat-Capaldi years
and restore the show's proper continuity.
Otherwise, the show has no chance of ever recovering its audience

Perhaps Peter Capaldi's final words were prophetic "Doctor, I let you go"
since nothing that has aired since has any relation to the show that
millions once loved.

I am also a longtime fan, having watched Doctor Who since 1975, when Planet of the Spiders first aired in Australia, been a founding member of the Australasian Doctor Who Fan Club, a former writer and reviewer for Doctor Who fanzines, etc etc.

I could not disagree with you more.

I think the current season is a vast improvement over any of the stuff served up by Moffat, which I absolutely loathed. If anything was disrespectful of the show's continuity and history it was the godawful moment when Moffat had Capaldi appear in shades playing a f*** electric guitar. That is the utter nadir of the program. (I could also mention the Silurian woman walking around Victorian London with no one batting an eyelid, the absolute nonsense of the Doctor's name, the Doctor-River Song romance that wasn't, etc. But I won't labor the point).

Davies has performed a remarkable rescue job on it after the nonsense of Capaldi and Moffat (Whitaker and Chibnall was an improvement but this is vastly better).

And unsubstantiated rumours are just that - they are not indicative of anything other than people trying to shit stir.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I am also a longtime fan, having watched Doctor Who since 1975, when Planet of the Spiders first aired in Australia, been a founding member of the Australasian Doctor Who Fan Club, a former writer and reviewer for Doctor Who fanzines, etc etc.

I could not disagree with you more.

I think the current season is a vast improvement over any of the stuff served up by Moffat, which I absolutely loathed. If anything was disrespectful of the show's continuity and history it was the godawful moment when Moffat had Capaldi appear in shades playing a f*** electric guitar. That is the utter nadir of the program. (I could also mention the Silurian woman walking around Victorian London with no one batting an eyelid, the absolute nonsense of the Doctor's name, the Doctor-River Song romance that wasn't, etc. But I won't labor the point).

Davies has performed a remarkable rescue job on it after the nonsense of Capaldi and Moffat (Whitaker and Chibnall was an improvement but this is vastly better).

And unsubstantiated rumours are just that - they are not indicative of anything other than people trying to shit stir.

Seriously?

Patrick Troughton played the recorder but Capaldi can't play the electric guitar?
Peter Davison could play a string instrument but Capaldi can't play guitar
The Doctor has vast knowledge but can't play a musical instrument?
That was the nadir? Not the Chibnall false origin story or the Doctor crying every episode, seemingly,
or a Dalek being defeated by sticks and stones?
Or Sutekh, arguably the Doctor's most formidable adversary defeated by a Dog Collar?
These are things that would constitute poor fan fiction at best.
River Song was a great character who was much more popular than any post Capaldi companion
Do you really need a list of how many nadir moments there were across 60 plus years?
The nadir would be almost every episode post Moffat and almost each new D+ episode seems to have lower ratings than the last one.
Moffatt's era explored time travel in large part and gave us many classic episodes
Playing the guitar? Wow.
or the many, many, many, many bad scripts by writers (and the directors) with little to no sci-fi experience post Moffat?
The open hostility toward long-time fans post Moffat-Capaldi?
The Silurian Woman - wasn't there some type of perceptual filter at work?

Not to mention that, objectively, the ratings have fallen to all-time lows
And Doctor Who merchandise has disappeared from the shelves

Wow.

Moffatt delivered strong ratings, unlike Chibnall and RTD 2
In fact Disney season 2 has experienced a large decrease in ratings from season 1,
which was also a decrease from the previous season.
The brief return of Tennant did increase ratings, temporarily, but then they spiraled downward shortly afterward
Since Disney plus had started airing the shows, that decline is measurable within the D+ era
Ratings continually dropped episode to episode,
except for one that was between a sporting event and Eurovision.
It is NOT a vast improvement over anything, it has record low ratings.

The Appreciation Index isn't even being released by BBC. I think we all know why.

Capaldi is an excellent actor, and his Doctor projected Authority, Strength, Wisdom, etc.
The show was still respected. The two part finale with Two Masters and the Cybermen was the last time that
Doctor Who was excellent (Parts of Twice Upon A Time were fun)
Ratings fell somewhat due to a change of time slot, but they fell far more after Chibnall's first season,
when there was a curiosity factor boosting them temporarily.

Literally every Doctor Who fan that I know is now a former fan, due to the horrendous post Moffat era.

They are not unsubstantiated rumors.
Disney has not agreed to a third season, there is no third season scheduled for production
and there is no Christmas special scheduled for production, let alone transmission.

Gatwa's departure may not be official, but multiple outlets
are reporting that he has departed. Denials are not exactly too strong
(See link)
There is reportedly an open-ended regeneration scene

You may be a longtime fan, but your opinion is in the extreme minority,
and I am baffled that any longtime fan can defend this mess
This show is a farce, a travesty, a parody of itself and it has no resemblance
to the show that was once loved by millions, the same millions
who no longer watch it

Opinions about the show's content can be subjective
but objective reality is that ratings have declined sharply,
Millions of people who once watched it are no longer watching,
and there is no new series planned for production

Reality is that the show has an uncertain future with no clear return date and record low ratings.

Doctor Who Canceled? Rumors of Ncuti Gatwa’s Exit Swirl As Ratings “Nosedive”

There are a host of rumors swirling around Doctor Who at the moment, and coupled with lower ratings during the latest season (via Deadline), some are fearing the worst. One of the biggest question marks revolves around lead star Ncuti Gatwa, which started from a report from The Sun that stated...

comicbook.com

 

[Angela Channing]

The ratings of the current series of Doctor Who have in fact been quite strong. It regularly is one of the most watched programmes on BBC 1 on the day it is broadcast and the consolidated figures, including viewers on iplayer, consistently exceed 3 million. At a time when most TV shows struggle to get more than a million viewers, Doctor Who continues to be successful.