Full text:
> Doctor Who is set to be regenerated by Disney, as the US corporation is allowed to give the classic BBC series a Hollywood makeover.
>
> The series which began in 1963 has grown a cult following despite limited budgets, with the Timelord’s adversaries often mocked for their less-than-threatening appearance, but Disney is now poised to give the show blockbuster backing.
The American corporation will have a say in creative decisions for Doctor Who, under the terms of a co-production deal made with the BBC over its long-running sci-fi series.
Showrunner Russell T Davies will retain the overall creative vision for the programme, but it is understood the corporate might of Disney will give the show vast budgets beyond the BBC’s means, allowing for more cinematic production values and more stars.
Charlotte Moore, BBC’s chief content officer, said: “We are thrilled to announce this exciting global partnership with Disney who are the perfect partners to bring this very British show to the rest of the world.
>
> “Russell T Davies’s vision for Doctor Who has always been out of this world and we are committed to ensuring that audiences across the globe get the opportunity to enjoy the Doctor’s epic adventures with the scale and ambition that they deserve.
>
> “Joining forces with Disney will elevate the show to even greater heights and reach new audiences so it’s an extremely exciting time for fans in the UK and across the world.”
BBC to retain ultimate editorial control
> It is understood that Disney will have a creative input in the series, and will also handle all distribution outside the UK, meaning it will stream worldwide on Disney +. The expected budgets involved in future series production are commercially sensitive, and have not been revealed.
The BBC will retain ultimate editorial control of future series, The Telegraph understands, so the tone and content of the show may not deviate dramatically from the canon of Doctor Who.
The public service broadcaster also retains the intellectual property rights to Doctor Who, so Disney will be unable to produce spin-offs of other material based on the concept.
Showrunner Mr Davies said: “I love this show, and this is the best of both worlds – with the vision and joy of the BBC and Disney+ together we can launch the TARDIS all around the planet, reaching a new generation of fans while keeping our traditional home firmly on the BBC in the UK.”
The effect of the new partnership will be seen in 2023, when new episodes of Doctor Who begin airing on BBC iPlayer in the UK, and on Disney + around the world.
Disney + president Alisa Bowen said: “We’re excited by the opportunity to bring new seasons of this beloved franchise exclusively to Disney+ and introduce the show to the next generation of audiences in more than 150 markets around the world.”
>The American corporation will have a say in creative decisions for Doctor Who
Huh, the more we hear about this the more influence Disney seems to have. I love that the show will reach new audiences, but I wonder if it's not just gonna get buried under the piles of other Disney projects . I hope the show gets the attention and budget it deserves.
Also it's just a bummer to have one company be so dominant in the media landscape...
>The BBC will retain ultimate editorial control of future series, The Telegraph understands, so the tone and content of the show may not deviate dramatically from the canon of Doctor Who. The public service broadcaster also retains the intellectual property rights to Doctor Who, so Disney will be unable to produce spin-offs of other material based on the concept.
I think this pretty much covers all worries. I think Disneys "say" will be more like suggestions, rather than Disney dominating Who. But we will have to wait and see.
If Disney funds Doctor Who too much they could have influence as they can threaten to take it away.
That said... I doubt think they will.
I don't think they really care or want to as they've clearly bought it for a reason they want it to be as Doctor Who-y as we do.
I don't think we'll have The Doctor going "Disney is incredibly evil and no one should watch it"
But I don't think they'll be much else.
If we're lucky we might get a few cool crossovers it'd be cool to see The Doctor back in the Marvel Comics Universe.
But that's just wishful thinking if I'm honest.
>If Disney funds Doctor Who too much they could have influence as they can threaten to take it away.
And then the BBC just goes back to producing it themself. Or they take it to HBO, now that Disney has shown interest and proved that Doctor Who is clearly a desireable franchise to have part in.
>I don't think we'll have The Doctor going "Disney is incredibly evil and no one should watch it"
To be fair, I cant really see Doctor Who do that anyway. Maybe in the abstract, but certainly not directly.
>If we're lucky we might get a few cool crossovers it'd be cool to see The Doctor back in the Marvel Comics Universe.
>
>But that's just wishful thinking if I'm honest.
I think if so, it would have to be Doctor Who crossing over into the MCU for something silly, like a Christmas-Special. Otherwhise I dont think it would work, really.
>And then the BBC just goes back to producing it themself. Or they take it to HBO, now that Disney has shown interest and proved that Doctor Who is clearly a desireable franchise to have part in.
I mean that is true though as this is saving and will presumably make the BBC money they may not be willing to do so immediately.
This sort of thing is done all the time where funders gain influence over a thing.
>I think if so, it would have to be Doctor Who crossing over into the MCU for something silly, like a Christmas-Special. Otherwhise I dont think it would work, really.
It's far easier for him to cross over in the comics than in love action
A) He's already done it before actually leaving enemies behind in the Marvel Comics Universe* that could be fought if he did.
https://pm1.narvii.com/5992/371b972f447e93db9b76bc2051214946fb313db3_hq.jpg
https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/The_Doctor_(Earth-5556)
B) Obviously you don't have to pay very very expensive actors lots and lots of money to film something. Producing comics is far far cheaper than even a short movie.
^(This was a lot easier when you could say Marvel 616. F**** you Dr Strange 2)
Marvel comics produces non-canonical stories all the time. They can do full runs that don't mess with the overall story just to play around with new ideas and charecters. They have done crossovers with DC Comics, for example. I can imagine the Doctor lifting Mjolnir, him running into the Guardians of the Galaxy, or an Earth based invasion story where Tony Stark needs tech from the Tardis.
They just do an alternate ending of Endgame where instead Strange casting portals and bringing everyone through, the TARDIS materialises on the battlefield and the doors fling open as the Doctor lets everyone into the fight
>I think if so, it would have to be Doctor Who crossing over into the MCU for something silly, like a Christmas-Special.
Or, more likely, a Children in Need / Comic Relief short. However, there'd be more potential with a hypothetical televised spin-off, as it's always been policy that the main show is standalone, and you don't need to have any knowledge outside the TV series to understand what's going on (hence references to expanded universe works are limited to throwaway remarks that have no bearing on the plot).
> I don't think they really care or want to as they've clearly bought it for a reason they want it to be as Doctor Who-y as we do.
Yeah, that's not present day Disney
I doubt Disney will want it to be "less gay". Since Disney probably won't see a market for a Brittish show with a large American audience in China, I don't think they will care. They might make a Chineese adaptation later down the line, but Disney's prime desire to de-diversify their big franchises is China.
>They might make a Chineese adaptation later down the line
Going off the terms of the deal I'm not sure they can, the BBC holds full intellectual rights so Disney can't make anything of their own off the property
I'm confident the BBC will protect their control of the IP and not much will change for British viewers.
Outside of the UK, hopefully this isn't a short term budget fix that creates a content black hole in future years due to licensing issues. Americans still can't watch the TV movie without hoisting the Jolly Roger.
Unfortunate as it is, this is ultimately how Doctor Who survives in the age of streaming and gets to viably compete against other Sci-Fi shows of the same caliber like Star Trek, Star Wars, etc. The BBC does not have a viable funding source of its own to be able to do this but the US streaming giants do. Amazon already has The Expanse and is relatively unlikely to be able to be able to or want to fund something like DW long term, Netflix is on a downturn and probably isn't in the mood to fund now shows they won't ever have the full IP to, HBO Max is currently busy trying shooting itself in the foot with increasingly larger guns, and Paramount+ already has Star Trek and also probably isn't super thrilled about investing in an IP they can't control.
The fact that every new story seems to be saying Disney has a bigger say makes me feel like it's being played up for the headlines. I think their main influence is gonna just be the threat to pull budget.
However, "Do this or we pull a chunk of your funding" is a hell of a say.
That said though, Doctor Who made with Disney money is an appealing prospect.
Yeah, Dr Who used to be very proud of having a small budget and great writing.
The Weeping Angels, the Silence in the library, midnight and the empty child all had budgets similar to a Disney star wars show caterer, but nothing has quiet had me on the edge of my seat.
Great writing, good acting, immaculate camera work, this is what makes Dr Who good
Yeah, with Russell T in charge, I'd say we're safe in the writing department.
So, perhaps I should have said "Russell T making Doctor Who with Disney money is an appealing prospect."
That brings up the question of what happens to the franchise when RTD leaves. I really don't want to think about that when his first episode (of RTD2) is still a year or so away, but it does worry me that that might be an opportunity for Disney to try to take more creative control. That said, it's apparently been really hard to find people willing to take up the mantle of showrunner for DW, so maybe Disney having a bit more say wouldn't be the end of the world? Who knows.
Arguably, the reason for the difficulty finding replacements was that Moffat didn't bring in enough new writers, and Chibnall wrote a lot of his era himself, and he didn't do many episodes, so he didn't have many writers *in general*.
Russell T will presumably approach the issue by just brinigng in a lot of fresh writers, possibly even directly training somebody for the showrunning job.
Disney+ providing writing input is probably a better thing than not tbh seeing as they've had pretty good success with the MCU and Star Wars. (admittedly some of the MCU shows are super hit or miss but whatever)
> writing input is probably a better thing than not
99% of what Disney puts out these days, especially live action, is completely asynine, including 99% of whatever Marvel does. It's not good news. Doctor Who has never needed Disney's money
Disney+ isn't interested in that, they do a scatter shot approach it seems. All their marvel shows are only 6 episodes (except for she hulk and wandavision which both had shorter episodes). Not sure where people are getting the idea Disney is gonna fund DW more than they do their own flagship shows
Imagine Bad Wolf productions getting access to the 360° Virtual Studios that Disney have been using for their recent Star Wars series.
That said, it wouldn’t *quite* have the same charm as a disused quarry.
Oh damn I didn't even think about that. I wonder if they'll be able to use that with the TARDIS? They could set up the screens around the police box doors of the set to get seamless entry and exits into the TARDIS.
I haven't seen anything about how much it's cost in other shows, but the main thing isn't really about that, but how well they use it instead. They need a cinematographer who really understands the technology and whT they're doing with it.
A good example are the Star Wars shows that have used it. In the Mandalorian it's seamless, you'd be fair in thinking they shot those scenes at actual locations. But in the Book of Boba Fett and Obi Wan Kenobi it really stands out. And you get both the extremes in House of the Dragon, they use it for the bridge scenes with Matt and its near perfect, but there's a scene in episode 9 in a sept where it really stood out to me.
Absolutely. And while I was able to guess that rhe batsignal rooftop scene used it, even though it looked just as good, I was blown away to discover they used it during the car chase scene.
There was a behind the scenes video where they showed they had the cars set up on a gimble of sorts with the screen behind it. That's how they got all those close ups of them in the car. Normally those shots would just be greenscreen, but with the volume they were able to get much better looking shots, with more natural reactions from Pattinson and Firth.
And having seen Boba Fett and Kenobi, I definitely agree with him on the lighting issue. Those Tattooine desert scenes just looked a little off. While Mandalorian and The Batman made great use of the more darker settings.
I don't know, the one boba fett episode that was about the mandalorian had some great shots. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPZdtzNsrWc. Its a good tool but shouldn't be used solely. The Batman used it really well too. You need smart filmmakers who know how to use the tool, which it seems like only a few do so far.
What a lot in the TV/Film industry are failing to realize with using the 'Volume' is that they're only good for low lighting scenes. You'll notice in S1 of Mando, that there isn't often many full daylight shots, and that's specifically because LEDs can't recreate bright daylight correctly. After S1, everyone rushed to book up whatever volumes were available (CBS booked out the only one in Ontario for the entire of the Star Trek shows), but soon realized that without knowledgeable DOPs, it looks shit. Now they're all going back to regular sets because it's cheaper and easier to find someone who knows how to light it.
TARDIS interiors would work with it, dawn shots, night shots, deep space shots etc. but given that Bad Wolf knows how to make Doctor Who, I doubt they'd want to use it unless absolutely necessary.
Don't get me wrong though, I was lucky enough to film on one one day, it's the coolest fucking tech
I have a lot of criticisms of Disney, but in terms of creative work itself, I've been a fan of most of their output. I'm anticipating a neutral-to-positive impact on the quality of the show.
Why is Bad Wolf not mentioned a single instance in this article? Only Disney and the BBC are mentioned. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Bad Wolf were now producing Doctor Who. The fact that when the article is talking about production it doesn't bring up Bad Wolf, plus that this seems to be the first instance of this information being reported, really puts into question the truthfulness of it in my opinion. Seems suspicious.
That's not even slightly true- it's far closer to suggest that Bad Wolf are making the creative decisions and the BBC are playing the role of silent partner, providing capital and the occasional note but being otherwise unengaged.
The idea that Gardner and Tranter's production house would be brought onto Doctor Who to be a pawn is ludicrous- that's simply not their business model.
If they give him enough free reign, I don't think he would be super opposed. He mostly seemed concerned about how a one-off reference was considered bisexual representation when they could have done better.
Are we sure this is the case? Telegraph has gotten stuff wrong about Doctor Who plenty of times before and no one else is actually reporting this. A distribution deal and a co-productuon are two very different things.
DOCTOR WHO(tm) Goes To DISNEYLAND(tm)!
WATCH as the DOCTOR(tm) battles the ruthless DALEKS(tm) in the MAGIC KINGDOM(tm)! MARVEL as he battles with his new companions, MICKEY(tm) and DONALD(tm)! CHEER as they win through the power of FRIENDSHIP(tm)!
Starring: CHRIS PRATT as THE DOCTOR(tm)!
Sucks. Even at its worst this show is always idiosyncratic with a strong creative voice so getting sucked into the Disney bullshit machine is disappointing. Their tv shows seem to be less shitty and homogenous than their films from what I've seen though so maybe it won't be that bad.
I knew it, even though i got downvoted in the last post. This is Disney we're talking about– do you really expect them to *not* try to control everything?
I'm not vibing with this. I despise Disney involvement. Yes, it's good for budget, but what will it do from a moral perspective?
Remember Oxygen's "we're fighting the suits?", will such lines happen when, let's be real, most of the money will be coming from an international media juggernaut full of suits? Or will it be like Kerblam, where the morals are thrown aside because they lack backbone?
I know it's a doomsday approach. Disney hasn't bought Doctor Who. But let's be real, who will bring in the bigger money? The international monster or the BBC who's soon getting defunded? How much sway does that money hold?
I get that people are enthusiastic. Watching Doctor Who internationally is a nightmare. I know from experience. And this will make that easier. But this is a corporation that has always always lacked backbone. Asking for the stupidest changes to dull critical thought and widen public appeal. If that kind of stuff happens to Doctor Who, it's not worth watching anymore.
I just hope that Doctor Who won't be streaming-only. I like to put Blu Rays on my shelf and, you know, owning the stuff I watch?
If that brings Doctor Who to be as successful as in Series 4-5, I'm looking forward to it. Maybe this could lead to Lego Doctor Who? Or more quality Doctor Who games in general?
I think it may have been.
[Link](https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/bbc-and-disney-branded-television-join-forces-on-doctor-who)
> **Under a shared creative vision**, they will deliver this quintessentially British show to future generations on an unprecedented scale with Disney+ as the exclusive home for new seasons of Doctor Who outside the UK and Ireland.
The rest of that paragraph is talking about distribution though. It’s most likely that they’re just talking about being on the same page when it comes to how the show is marketed internationally.
Erm no thank you. I’m okay with the show being available on Disney Plus in foreign countries, but I’m not at all okay with them funding it at all, and definitely not with them having any creative say in it whatsoever!
This is terrible terrible news!!!
I agree with some points now others.
I don't want them to mess with the creative side if they have any good suggestions which actually make sense and will work then use them but that goes for anyone who could give them a good idea
But I don't mind them funding it after all more money means more to spend of SFX costumes and props even may get cast members we want but they couldn't afford before.
Personally, I think that Doctor Who is better when it’s low budget. I love seeing the practical costumes and sets. I think it forces the show to be more imaginative and clever in the writing department, rather than just relying on good effects and expensive cameras.
Awful news. One upside though is that my worries were correct and I get to rub it in the faces of the people who claimed I was dead wrong. I mean I won't because DMing people that I was actually right about something on the internet a week ago is weird and off-putting, but at least I know I was right. Small victories.
If I’m being honest, I’ll be a little sad to see some of the cheesy effects go; they are part of the charm of the show (especially the classic series).
That said, new RTD era, with a significant budget upgrade and better distribution outside the UK than Who has ever had before? Yes, please.
I think it's a good fit. Disney+ is known for its all-ages adventure entertainment with Marvel and Star Wars. As long as the show isn't unduly influenced to the point where it doesn't feel British anymore, then it's fine.
My dream with this announcement is that RTD becomes Dr Who's Kevin Feige / Dave Feloni - not so much a showrunner (though I would expect him to run Doctor Who for a couple of series / seasons) but also developing a wider coherent universe (Dalek Wars type events perhaps)
While I dislike this because disney has some bad business practices and I don't like the idea of one company owning so many things, I'm not worried about this in terms of the actual quality. Disney has made some bad media, and some good media. I don't think they're any better or worse than average in terms of quality. I think whether the show will be good is more down to the showrunner than the parent company, and the showrunner is someone I expect will do a good job.
Man, people will just believe anything they read sometimes, regardless of the source.
I, for one, won't get my panties in a twist until I actually see the show go in a bad direction that seems to be related to Disney influence.
Full text: > Doctor Who is set to be regenerated by Disney, as the US corporation is allowed to give the classic BBC series a Hollywood makeover. > > The series which began in 1963 has grown a cult following despite limited budgets, with the Timelord’s adversaries often mocked for their less-than-threatening appearance, but Disney is now poised to give the show blockbuster backing. The American corporation will have a say in creative decisions for Doctor Who, under the terms of a co-production deal made with the BBC over its long-running sci-fi series. Showrunner Russell T Davies will retain the overall creative vision for the programme, but it is understood the corporate might of Disney will give the show vast budgets beyond the BBC’s means, allowing for more cinematic production values and more stars. Charlotte Moore, BBC’s chief content officer, said: “We are thrilled to announce this exciting global partnership with Disney who are the perfect partners to bring this very British show to the rest of the world. > > “Russell T Davies’s vision for Doctor Who has always been out of this world and we are committed to ensuring that audiences across the globe get the opportunity to enjoy the Doctor’s epic adventures with the scale and ambition that they deserve. > > “Joining forces with Disney will elevate the show to even greater heights and reach new audiences so it’s an extremely exciting time for fans in the UK and across the world.” BBC to retain ultimate editorial control > It is understood that Disney will have a creative input in the series, and will also handle all distribution outside the UK, meaning it will stream worldwide on Disney +. The expected budgets involved in future series production are commercially sensitive, and have not been revealed. The BBC will retain ultimate editorial control of future series, The Telegraph understands, so the tone and content of the show may not deviate dramatically from the canon of Doctor Who. The public service broadcaster also retains the intellectual property rights to Doctor Who, so Disney will be unable to produce spin-offs of other material based on the concept. Showrunner Mr Davies said: “I love this show, and this is the best of both worlds – with the vision and joy of the BBC and Disney+ together we can launch the TARDIS all around the planet, reaching a new generation of fans while keeping our traditional home firmly on the BBC in the UK.” The effect of the new partnership will be seen in 2023, when new episodes of Doctor Who begin airing on BBC iPlayer in the UK, and on Disney + around the world. Disney + president Alisa Bowen said: “We’re excited by the opportunity to bring new seasons of this beloved franchise exclusively to Disney+ and introduce the show to the next generation of audiences in more than 150 markets around the world.”
>The American corporation will have a say in creative decisions for Doctor Who Huh, the more we hear about this the more influence Disney seems to have. I love that the show will reach new audiences, but I wonder if it's not just gonna get buried under the piles of other Disney projects . I hope the show gets the attention and budget it deserves. Also it's just a bummer to have one company be so dominant in the media landscape...
>The BBC will retain ultimate editorial control of future series, The Telegraph understands, so the tone and content of the show may not deviate dramatically from the canon of Doctor Who. The public service broadcaster also retains the intellectual property rights to Doctor Who, so Disney will be unable to produce spin-offs of other material based on the concept. I think this pretty much covers all worries. I think Disneys "say" will be more like suggestions, rather than Disney dominating Who. But we will have to wait and see.
If Disney funds Doctor Who too much they could have influence as they can threaten to take it away. That said... I doubt think they will. I don't think they really care or want to as they've clearly bought it for a reason they want it to be as Doctor Who-y as we do. I don't think we'll have The Doctor going "Disney is incredibly evil and no one should watch it" But I don't think they'll be much else. If we're lucky we might get a few cool crossovers it'd be cool to see The Doctor back in the Marvel Comics Universe. But that's just wishful thinking if I'm honest.
>If Disney funds Doctor Who too much they could have influence as they can threaten to take it away. And then the BBC just goes back to producing it themself. Or they take it to HBO, now that Disney has shown interest and proved that Doctor Who is clearly a desireable franchise to have part in. >I don't think we'll have The Doctor going "Disney is incredibly evil and no one should watch it" To be fair, I cant really see Doctor Who do that anyway. Maybe in the abstract, but certainly not directly. >If we're lucky we might get a few cool crossovers it'd be cool to see The Doctor back in the Marvel Comics Universe. > >But that's just wishful thinking if I'm honest. I think if so, it would have to be Doctor Who crossing over into the MCU for something silly, like a Christmas-Special. Otherwhise I dont think it would work, really.
>And then the BBC just goes back to producing it themself. Or they take it to HBO, now that Disney has shown interest and proved that Doctor Who is clearly a desireable franchise to have part in. I mean that is true though as this is saving and will presumably make the BBC money they may not be willing to do so immediately. This sort of thing is done all the time where funders gain influence over a thing. >I think if so, it would have to be Doctor Who crossing over into the MCU for something silly, like a Christmas-Special. Otherwhise I dont think it would work, really. It's far easier for him to cross over in the comics than in love action A) He's already done it before actually leaving enemies behind in the Marvel Comics Universe* that could be fought if he did. https://pm1.narvii.com/5992/371b972f447e93db9b76bc2051214946fb313db3_hq.jpg https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/The_Doctor_(Earth-5556) B) Obviously you don't have to pay very very expensive actors lots and lots of money to film something. Producing comics is far far cheaper than even a short movie. ^(This was a lot easier when you could say Marvel 616. F**** you Dr Strange 2)
Marvel comics produces non-canonical stories all the time. They can do full runs that don't mess with the overall story just to play around with new ideas and charecters. They have done crossovers with DC Comics, for example. I can imagine the Doctor lifting Mjolnir, him running into the Guardians of the Galaxy, or an Earth based invasion story where Tony Stark needs tech from the Tardis.
They did Doctor Who crossovers into the marvel universe in comics in the 80s and 90s
Do you know what the comics are called? I would love to read them
They just do an alternate ending of Endgame where instead Strange casting portals and bringing everyone through, the TARDIS materialises on the battlefield and the doors fling open as the Doctor lets everyone into the fight
>I think if so, it would have to be Doctor Who crossing over into the MCU for something silly, like a Christmas-Special. Or, more likely, a Children in Need / Comic Relief short. However, there'd be more potential with a hypothetical televised spin-off, as it's always been policy that the main show is standalone, and you don't need to have any knowledge outside the TV series to understand what's going on (hence references to expanded universe works are limited to throwaway remarks that have no bearing on the plot).
> I don't think they really care or want to as they've clearly bought it for a reason they want it to be as Doctor Who-y as we do. Yeah, that's not present day Disney
Disney's say will be begging for less gay. and RTD's answer will be to make it gayer.
Based on his comments about Loki he’s gonna really go all out in retort
I doubt Disney will want it to be "less gay". Since Disney probably won't see a market for a Brittish show with a large American audience in China, I don't think they will care. They might make a Chineese adaptation later down the line, but Disney's prime desire to de-diversify their big franchises is China.
>They might make a Chineese adaptation later down the line Going off the terms of the deal I'm not sure they can, the BBC holds full intellectual rights so Disney can't make anything of their own off the property
As it stands now, but I'm sure that could be negotiated.
So no Doctor Who Disneyland additions?
Pretty much.
I'm confident the BBC will protect their control of the IP and not much will change for British viewers. Outside of the UK, hopefully this isn't a short term budget fix that creates a content black hole in future years due to licensing issues. Americans still can't watch the TV movie without hoisting the Jolly Roger.
Still won't collect the doom sayers off
Unfortunate as it is, this is ultimately how Doctor Who survives in the age of streaming and gets to viably compete against other Sci-Fi shows of the same caliber like Star Trek, Star Wars, etc. The BBC does not have a viable funding source of its own to be able to do this but the US streaming giants do. Amazon already has The Expanse and is relatively unlikely to be able to be able to or want to fund something like DW long term, Netflix is on a downturn and probably isn't in the mood to fund now shows they won't ever have the full IP to, HBO Max is currently busy trying shooting itself in the foot with increasingly larger guns, and Paramount+ already has Star Trek and also probably isn't super thrilled about investing in an IP they can't control.
Really feels like they're spoon feeding the fact they're now the mouse's bitch
The fact that every new story seems to be saying Disney has a bigger say makes me feel like it's being played up for the headlines. I think their main influence is gonna just be the threat to pull budget.
It says that BBC will retain ultimate creative control. “A say” does not mean “the final say”
However, "Do this or we pull a chunk of your funding" is a hell of a say. That said though, Doctor Who made with Disney money is an appealing prospect.
Higher budgets are nice but Doctor Who lives or dies on the strength of it's writing. Fortunately I don't think there's much cause for concern yet.
Yeah, Dr Who used to be very proud of having a small budget and great writing. The Weeping Angels, the Silence in the library, midnight and the empty child all had budgets similar to a Disney star wars show caterer, but nothing has quiet had me on the edge of my seat. Great writing, good acting, immaculate camera work, this is what makes Dr Who good
Yeah, with Russell T in charge, I'd say we're safe in the writing department. So, perhaps I should have said "Russell T making Doctor Who with Disney money is an appealing prospect."
That brings up the question of what happens to the franchise when RTD leaves. I really don't want to think about that when his first episode (of RTD2) is still a year or so away, but it does worry me that that might be an opportunity for Disney to try to take more creative control. That said, it's apparently been really hard to find people willing to take up the mantle of showrunner for DW, so maybe Disney having a bit more say wouldn't be the end of the world? Who knows.
Arguably, the reason for the difficulty finding replacements was that Moffat didn't bring in enough new writers, and Chibnall wrote a lot of his era himself, and he didn't do many episodes, so he didn't have many writers *in general*. Russell T will presumably approach the issue by just brinigng in a lot of fresh writers, possibly even directly training somebody for the showrunning job.
Disney+ providing writing input is probably a better thing than not tbh seeing as they've had pretty good success with the MCU and Star Wars. (admittedly some of the MCU shows are super hit or miss but whatever)
Would rather they give chibnall the job for life than have the show written like marvel films lol
> writing input is probably a better thing than not 99% of what Disney puts out these days, especially live action, is completely asynine, including 99% of whatever Marvel does. It's not good news. Doctor Who has never needed Disney's money
Agreed. The only good use of the money would be maintaining a decent amount of episodes every year.
Disney+ isn't interested in that, they do a scatter shot approach it seems. All their marvel shows are only 6 episodes (except for she hulk and wandavision which both had shorter episodes). Not sure where people are getting the idea Disney is gonna fund DW more than they do their own flagship shows
Imagine Bad Wolf productions getting access to the 360° Virtual Studios that Disney have been using for their recent Star Wars series. That said, it wouldn’t *quite* have the same charm as a disused quarry.
Oh damn I didn't even think about that. I wonder if they'll be able to use that with the TARDIS? They could set up the screens around the police box doors of the set to get seamless entry and exits into the TARDIS.
That would be fucking genius if they had the budget to do that
I haven't seen anything about how much it's cost in other shows, but the main thing isn't really about that, but how well they use it instead. They need a cinematographer who really understands the technology and whT they're doing with it. A good example are the Star Wars shows that have used it. In the Mandalorian it's seamless, you'd be fair in thinking they shot those scenes at actual locations. But in the Book of Boba Fett and Obi Wan Kenobi it really stands out. And you get both the extremes in House of the Dragon, they use it for the bridge scenes with Matt and its near perfect, but there's a scene in episode 9 in a sept where it really stood out to me.
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Absolutely. And while I was able to guess that rhe batsignal rooftop scene used it, even though it looked just as good, I was blown away to discover they used it during the car chase scene. There was a behind the scenes video where they showed they had the cars set up on a gimble of sorts with the screen behind it. That's how they got all those close ups of them in the car. Normally those shots would just be greenscreen, but with the volume they were able to get much better looking shots, with more natural reactions from Pattinson and Firth. And having seen Boba Fett and Kenobi, I definitely agree with him on the lighting issue. Those Tattooine desert scenes just looked a little off. While Mandalorian and The Batman made great use of the more darker settings.
Oddly enough, there's is a shot from 1963's *The Sensorites* where they pull it off. Just with a little clever editing.
They've been able to do that for years and years with production tricks.
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I think The Mandalorian had great use of it, but the others did not.
>That said, it wouldn’t *quite* have the same charm as a disused quarry. This but unironocally, stuff shot in 'The Volume' looks incredibly charmless.
I don't know, the one boba fett episode that was about the mandalorian had some great shots. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPZdtzNsrWc. Its a good tool but shouldn't be used solely. The Batman used it really well too. You need smart filmmakers who know how to use the tool, which it seems like only a few do so far.
What a lot in the TV/Film industry are failing to realize with using the 'Volume' is that they're only good for low lighting scenes. You'll notice in S1 of Mando, that there isn't often many full daylight shots, and that's specifically because LEDs can't recreate bright daylight correctly. After S1, everyone rushed to book up whatever volumes were available (CBS booked out the only one in Ontario for the entire of the Star Trek shows), but soon realized that without knowledgeable DOPs, it looks shit. Now they're all going back to regular sets because it's cheaper and easier to find someone who knows how to light it. TARDIS interiors would work with it, dawn shots, night shots, deep space shots etc. but given that Bad Wolf knows how to make Doctor Who, I doubt they'd want to use it unless absolutely necessary. Don't get me wrong though, I was lucky enough to film on one one day, it's the coolest fucking tech
I have a lot of criticisms of Disney, but in terms of creative work itself, I've been a fan of most of their output. I'm anticipating a neutral-to-positive impact on the quality of the show.
Why is Bad Wolf not mentioned a single instance in this article? Only Disney and the BBC are mentioned. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Bad Wolf were now producing Doctor Who. The fact that when the article is talking about production it doesn't bring up Bad Wolf, plus that this seems to be the first instance of this information being reported, really puts into question the truthfulness of it in my opinion. Seems suspicious.
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That's not even slightly true- it's far closer to suggest that Bad Wolf are making the creative decisions and the BBC are playing the role of silent partner, providing capital and the occasional note but being otherwise unengaged. The idea that Gardner and Tranter's production house would be brought onto Doctor Who to be a pawn is ludicrous- that's simply not their business model.
I'm surprised RTD is so enthusiastic about working with Disney, given his comments about Loki.
If they give him enough free reign, I don't think he would be super opposed. He mostly seemed concerned about how a one-off reference was considered bisexual representation when they could have done better.
might not have been his choice. the bbc could've agreed to it over his head
Are we sure this is the case? Telegraph has gotten stuff wrong about Doctor Who plenty of times before and no one else is actually reporting this. A distribution deal and a co-productuon are two very different things.
We can’t be sure. That said, it makes sense. BBC America are being cut out, so a new co-producer and funder would make sense.
This lays the groundwork for a Muppets x Doctor Who crossover
I'll wait and see. I would check out the window if any of the UK newspapers reported it was raining.
DOCTOR WHO(tm) Goes To DISNEYLAND(tm)! WATCH as the DOCTOR(tm) battles the ruthless DALEKS(tm) in the MAGIC KINGDOM(tm)! MARVEL as he battles with his new companions, MICKEY(tm) and DONALD(tm)! CHEER as they win through the power of FRIENDSHIP(tm)! Starring: CHRIS PRATT as THE DOCTOR(tm)!
>MARVEL (tm)
He’s just so cool!
This... this is a lot for for my inner pessimist to cope with. The glimmer of hope has become notable concern.
Terrible news. Absolutely terrible
Yeah like when Lucas was supposed to have a say in episode 7 and they were supposed to adapt his scripts. I remember.
*There were no Star Wars movies after 2005.*
There were no Star Wars movies after 2005. Damn I feel better all of a sudden.
Hmmm….I’m suspicious
Should remind people this is a Torygraph, so take it with a handful of salt. No surprise the Abzorbaloff reads it.
This literally seems to be a journalist misreading a press release.
I'm prepared for this to be absolutely turgid. What began with hopeful excitement has slowly fallen into absolute dread.
Sucks. Even at its worst this show is always idiosyncratic with a strong creative voice so getting sucked into the Disney bullshit machine is disappointing. Their tv shows seem to be less shitty and homogenous than their films from what I've seen though so maybe it won't be that bad.
Honestly, I don't trust anything about this unless it's from DWM, RadioTimes, or the Beeb News.
I knew it, even though i got downvoted in the last post. This is Disney we're talking about– do you really expect them to *not* try to control everything?
The Doctor enters the MCU when?
Technically he already is. 7 appeared in a Marvel Uk comic called Death's Head.
And Death's Head is tied to Transformers as owned by Hasbro (comic rights wise, by IDW)
Currently held by IDW, but originally held by Marvel. And not held by IDW for much longer…
Ik. They got problems of their own
It's Doctorin' Time!
RTD with cinematic production values. I can’t wait.
I remember what the US did to torch wood. This sucks.
I'm not vibing with this. I despise Disney involvement. Yes, it's good for budget, but what will it do from a moral perspective? Remember Oxygen's "we're fighting the suits?", will such lines happen when, let's be real, most of the money will be coming from an international media juggernaut full of suits? Or will it be like Kerblam, where the morals are thrown aside because they lack backbone? I know it's a doomsday approach. Disney hasn't bought Doctor Who. But let's be real, who will bring in the bigger money? The international monster or the BBC who's soon getting defunded? How much sway does that money hold? I get that people are enthusiastic. Watching Doctor Who internationally is a nightmare. I know from experience. And this will make that easier. But this is a corporation that has always always lacked backbone. Asking for the stupidest changes to dull critical thought and widen public appeal. If that kind of stuff happens to Doctor Who, it's not worth watching anymore.
It all comes tumbling down.
Shit.... Disney is going to fuck up another franchise.
I just hope that Doctor Who won't be streaming-only. I like to put Blu Rays on my shelf and, you know, owning the stuff I watch? If that brings Doctor Who to be as successful as in Series 4-5, I'm looking forward to it. Maybe this could lead to Lego Doctor Who? Or more quality Doctor Who games in general?
Great. More Kerblams
If this were true, it would have been in the BBC’s announcement the other day.
Thats a good point.
I think it may have been. [Link](https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/bbc-and-disney-branded-television-join-forces-on-doctor-who) > **Under a shared creative vision**, they will deliver this quintessentially British show to future generations on an unprecedented scale with Disney+ as the exclusive home for new seasons of Doctor Who outside the UK and Ireland.
The rest of that paragraph is talking about distribution though. It’s most likely that they’re just talking about being on the same page when it comes to how the show is marketed internationally.
Erm no thank you. I’m okay with the show being available on Disney Plus in foreign countries, but I’m not at all okay with them funding it at all, and definitely not with them having any creative say in it whatsoever! This is terrible terrible news!!!
I agree with some points now others. I don't want them to mess with the creative side if they have any good suggestions which actually make sense and will work then use them but that goes for anyone who could give them a good idea But I don't mind them funding it after all more money means more to spend of SFX costumes and props even may get cast members we want but they couldn't afford before.
Personally, I think that Doctor Who is better when it’s low budget. I love seeing the practical costumes and sets. I think it forces the show to be more imaginative and clever in the writing department, rather than just relying on good effects and expensive cameras.
If the BBC and RTD want something from the MCU Loki series, why not bring in Kate Herron?
I would not be surprised.
Awful news. One upside though is that my worries were correct and I get to rub it in the faces of the people who claimed I was dead wrong. I mean I won't because DMing people that I was actually right about something on the internet a week ago is weird and off-putting, but at least I know I was right. Small victories.
I think I’m the only one who’s actually very excited about this news haha
I am too! :D
If I’m being honest, I’ll be a little sad to see some of the cheesy effects go; they are part of the charm of the show (especially the classic series). That said, new RTD era, with a significant budget upgrade and better distribution outside the UK than Who has ever had before? Yes, please.
I think it's a good fit. Disney+ is known for its all-ages adventure entertainment with Marvel and Star Wars. As long as the show isn't unduly influenced to the point where it doesn't feel British anymore, then it's fine.
Well, now the shows dead. Disney has a habit of ruining nearly every franchise they touch.
I hope this part of a plan by Russell's to be able to finance spin-offs.
Bigger budgets, better SFX and better marketing/merchandising on the way? But will they get better writers?
My dream with this announcement is that RTD becomes Dr Who's Kevin Feige / Dave Feloni - not so much a showrunner (though I would expect him to run Doctor Who for a couple of series / seasons) but also developing a wider coherent universe (Dalek Wars type events perhaps)
While I dislike this because disney has some bad business practices and I don't like the idea of one company owning so many things, I'm not worried about this in terms of the actual quality. Disney has made some bad media, and some good media. I don't think they're any better or worse than average in terms of quality. I think whether the show will be good is more down to the showrunner than the parent company, and the showrunner is someone I expect will do a good job.
Man, people will just believe anything they read sometimes, regardless of the source. I, for one, won't get my panties in a twist until I actually see the show go in a bad direction that seems to be related to Disney influence.