Doctor Who (2015)

Your got it in one, and maybe that why Peter is leaving since he know moffat not.

There is still massive appetite for Dr Who, Capaldi was good for exploring the darker side of the timelord but essentially everyone loved the move quirky tennant/smith approach to the character.

I think series 11 will be a different series all together, it was good they rested it in 2016 and now they are coming back with a new series and the whole excitement of finding out who the new doctor will be. Personally they shouldn't announce it and try to keep it from the viewers.

But these days everything leaks so would be impossible

The change over could happen on xmas day.... That might just push the rating right up,

Moffat is leaving, the news was announced long ago.

That wonderful news

it would make sense for the change to be Christmas as the current series is in the can, so they would either have to re-shoot the last episode or would have already filmed the new doctor, which I doubt would have happened, so a Christmas special with a new series at Easter 2018 is most likely.

I think Peter Capaldi is a good Doctor and I enjoyed the Christmas episode, in fact it actually got a decent response on most of the forums. I also will miss Capaldi however it gives a chance for the New Doctor to begin in 2018 as well as Chris Chibnall taking over as Producer with both leaving at Christmas. For all the stick Moffat gets as well he has created some great stories for Doctor Who since 2005 with some great episodes under Russell T. Davies and the first series under Matt Smith probably being the best series since the show was revived.

Not necessarily.

Christopher Eccleston's last moments, and a couple of shots of Billie Piper "reacting" to the (as-yet uncast, and therefore not present) new Doctor were filmed at one point in time. David Tennant's little bit of that scene was filmed many weeks/months later without Billie on set, with him directing his dialogue and eyeline towards the pillar where she was supposedly standing. Then it all made sense in the editing.

As we now know that Eccleston was only ever signed up for one series, and the original intention had been to keep the regeneration a secret until broadcast, you can see why they did it the way that they did.

Something similar could be done again, should it be desired and/or necessary to do so.

A secret regeneration would be brilliant. I remember the media frenzy following the episode when David Tennant's doctor began to regenerate.

I know that it wouldn't run in the time line but could we ever see a previous doctor come back for a series about adventures that they could have had? For example a series with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper of adventures that they could have had?

That's what the Big Finish audio stories are. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, War and 10 have all done some, while the companions do 1 and 2 and 3 was straight up recast.

I agree. I have not watched since the 2014 Season Premiere when the BBC Continuity Announcer said "Excitement from start to finish" when in face there were some very boring sleepable parts in it.

It has lost it's appetite and the BBC as usual over sensationalism of something they think viewers will like when sadly it has gone stale.

There is an independent production company called Big Finish, which has for years produced numerous full-cast audio dramas set in the Whoniverse, featuring old Doctors/companions etc (all with official BBC blessing, hence being allowed to use the actual "Doctor Who" name/brand). All the surviving Doctors from Tom Baker to Paul McGann have participated in these for years. They are retailed on CD and/or download, and some have been broadcast on the likes of BBC Radio 4 Extra.

It's a matter of personal opinion whether one wants to count such spin-off media as being "canonical" or not, but the narratives aim to fit in with (rather than contradict) the established TV timeline. The stories are set to fit in-between the TV stories from back-in-the-day, and the more aged appearance of the actors isn't an issue because it's audio (as long as their voices don't sound obviously much older).

I firmly believe that anything other than the "current" part of the Doctor's timeline is best kept to the like of Big Finish, and has no place on an outlet such as primetime BBC One. You could easily fill at least one entire television channel's schedule with all the side-steps and spin-offs stuff, but that doesn't mean that you should - because (like it or not) it's a niche interest, not a mass mainstream audience interest.