[Pralix]

The BBC has announced that Dr. Who will be aired on the Sci-Fi channel starting in March. The bad news is the DVD release of the first new season has been pushed back to July.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/

 

[Pralix]

Great!!! I tried watching this on my local PBS channel when I was much younger and it was super late at night and came in over UHF.

It will only be the new seasons. I don't think they will be playing the old series on Sci-Fi any time soon.

 

[Pralix]

I wonder what this means to the old series'. BBC was trying to get sci-fi to purchase old rights as well, that's why most of the PBS stations no longer air the show.

PBS doesn't aire it because it is too expensive. The BBC knows what it has now. It knows which shows have a cult following and price them accordingly. When the new series was going to aire, they went looking for a channel in the US to play it, none stepped forward and picked it up. I think Sci-Fi was cautious and wanted to see how things played out with the new series. From what I heard, PBS was not given an option this time around. The BBC wanted it to aire on a "higher" end channel. It hasn't aired on BBC America because that channel is not usually in a standard cable or satellite tier.

 

[Pralix]

While there is a delay in the DVD release - I think that it's great that SciFi picked it up!

Maybe... just maybe... if the ratings are decent, they will pick up some of the older ones. Then again, this is the group that killed off Farscape... (yeah, still a little bitter about that one)

I doubt they will pick up the old series. People's taste in science fiction has changed. Everyone is used to flash special effects. The old series just doesn't have that. I think the Sci-Fi channel had the old series in it's infancy but it seems they have "grown" too much to show it now. They used to show all kinds of old TV shows, but now there might only be a handful.

 

[Pralix]

Will Sci-Fi even show ST:ToS?

They have. They even did a restoration when they showed it that was used for the DVD releases. Dr. Who isn't name brand american. Hence the reason it failed on Sci-Fi.

 

[Pralix]

I wonder if they will carry Torchwood too if this is successful here.

Torchwood would have to be successful over there before they bring it over here.

 

[Pralix]

Hehe... true, but I was going on the assumption it would be. I'm not cynical enough for the internet, I think.

Capt. Jack is a great character. I am wondering how much his "flexiblity" will have in a decision to bring the show over here especially on the Sci-Fi channel.

 

[Pralix]

...but not necessarily a friend of the people who make the show.

Bittorrent (and newsgroups) may not be the friend of the people who make the show but I don't think it has hurt the show. In fact I think it has helped the popularity has helped influence the Sci-Fi channel to bring it here. I don't think that when "Rose" was "accidently" released into the wilds of the internet that it was an accident. It helped build the popularity before the show aired officially.

 

[Pralix]

If you want cheesy aliens, wait for "Aliens Of London" and "World War 3"

 

[Pralix]

Has anyone heard how Doctor Who was doing rating wise on Sci-Fi?

 

[Pralix]

~1.5 million. 3/4 of the "Battlestar Galactica" or "Stargate" audience. Not earth-shattering, but not a bad figure, and despite the relatively high syndication costs, still well less than producing an original series. They might not be jumping for joy at SciFi, but it is a distinct possibility we will get Series 2, hopefully sooner than a year from now

I guess that means it is doing well for a show on Sci-Fi. I am not that worried about bieing able to view the show in the US as I have other means of watching it.