User:DaveJB/History of Doctor Who 2005-Present

This is a history of the Science Fiction TV show Doctor Who since the year 2005. So far, it covers the eras of Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.

The new series
In September 2003, Lorraine Heggessey managed to persuade Worldwide that as several years had now passed and they were no nearer to producing a film, BBC television should be allowed to make a new series. The other proposals notwithstanding, Tranter and Heggessey elected to approach Davies once again, who had often told the BBC when approached for other projects that he would only return to them to take charge of a new series of Doctor Who. He quickly accepted, and on September 26 2003 it was officially announced that Doctor Who would be returning to BBC One, produced in-house at BBC Wales in 2004 for transmission in 2005.

(BBC Worldwide have said that their Doctor Who movie plan is still in development, as it has been for much of the last ten years. Details on the movie are very sketchy and it is not known if it will have any ties to the television series or even if a script exists.)

Davies was made the chief writer and Executive Producer of the new series (called Series One instead of continuing the numbering with Season 27), and other writers brought included Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Paul Cornell and Rob Shearman. The Producer was Phil Collinson and the other Executive Producers were Mal Young (although he subsequently left the BBC midway through production at the end of 2004), and BBC Wales Head of Drama Julie Gardner. A new arrangement of the theme tune was composed by Murray Gold.

The new series would comprise thirteen 45-minute long episodes, with the first story titled Rose after the Doctor's new companion Rose Tyler. Unlike past seasons which utilized serial-style storytelling, the new series would have mainly standalone or two-part episodes. Filming of the first season began in Cardiff on July 18, 2004. With the new series confirmed, when Shalka was webcast in November 2003, the further adventures of Grant's Ninth Doctor were in doubt. In February 2004, plans for sequels to Shalka were indefinitely shelved.

thumb|left|Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor After much speculation in the press about possible candidates, BBC announced that Christopher Eccleston would be the Ninth Doctor, accompanied by former pop singer Billie Piper as Rose. A writer of Davies' calibre taking up the series was regarded as a bit of a coup, and with an equally powerful actor as Eccleston on board, the buzz and excitement surrounding the new series mounted steadily. In the April 2004 issue of Doctor Who Magazine, Davies announced that Eccleston's Doctor would indeed be the Ninth Doctor, relegating Grant's Ninth Doctor to non-official status.

In April 2004, Michael Grade returned to the BBC, this time as the Chairman of the Board of Governors, although this position does not involve any commissioning or editorial responsibilities. Although he was quoted as being generally indifferent to the new series, he eventually wrote an e-mail to BBC Director-General Mark Thompson in June 2005, after the successful new first series, voicing approval for its popularity. He also declared, "I never dreamed I would ever write this. I must be going soft!"

However, not everyone was pleased with the new production. Some fans criticized the new logo and perceived changes to the TARDIS model. According to various news sources, members of the production team even received hate mail and death threats. The new logo and trailers were posted on the BBC website and were followed up by television spots in March, 2005 with a media blitz in the run up to the transmission of Rose on March 26. A leak of a rough cut of the premiere onto the internet by an employee of a third party company associated with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation also attracted much media attention and discussion amongst fans. Advance reviews in the British media were generally positive.

Rose finally saw transmission on schedule on March 26 at 7 PM on BBC One, the first regular episode of Doctor Who for over 15 years. To complement the series, BBC Wales also produced Doctor Who Confidential, a 13-part documentary series with each episode broadcast on BBC Three immediately after the end of the weekly episode on BBC One. Rose received average overnight ratings of 9.9 million viewers, peaking at 10.81 million. The final figure for the episode, including video recordings watched within a week of transmission, was 10.81 million, No. 3 for BBC One that week and No. 7 across all channels. The success of the launch saw the BBC's Head of Drama Jane Tranter confirming on March 30 that the series would return both for a Christmas Special in December 2005 and a full second series in 2006.

The series was well received by both critics and the public. The 2005 TV Choice/TV Quick Award went to Eccleston for Best Actor, and Doctor Who was nominated for Best Series. Eccleston, Piper, and Doctor Who were all winners in their categories at the UK's National Television Awards, annonced on October 25 2005. Although not as prestigious as the British Academy Television Awards, they are the highest-profile UK television awards voted on by members of the public.

As of December 2005, the BBC has yet to find a broadcaster for the new series in the United States. However, it has been announced that the BBC will release the first season direct to DVD in that country on February 14, 2006.

Departure and renewal
thumb|right|David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. Mere hours after the announcement of a second series, tabloid newspapers The Sun and the Daily Express announced "exclusive" news that Eccleston had quit the series. Eccleston then apparently released a statement through the BBC, saying that he would be leaving the role at Christmas for fear of being typecast.

Fan reaction to the news ranged from disappointment to irritation to outright anger. Some did point out, however, that the series is uniquely suited to deal with cast changes. The number of angry postings on the popular Outpost Gallifrey fan forum was enough for Shaun Lyon, the owner of the website, to close down the forum for two days to allow tempers to cool.

Speculation arose as to how long the production team had been aware of Eccleston's decision. Eventually, it transpired that the departure had been planned and the scripts written to accommodate Eccleston's departure, but it was not meant to have been announced until after the first series had concluded. The BBC admitted that they had falsely attributed Eccleston's "statement" and released it in violation of an earlier agreement not to reveal his departure publicly. The statement had been made after journalists made queries to the press office..

On April 16 2005 the BBC confirmed that David Tennant would be the Tenth Doctor.. The regeneration from Eccleston to Tennant took place in The Parting of the Ways, the season finale. Tennant's first full story as the Doctor will be in the 2005 Christmas special, The Christmas Invasion, and Piper will join him for the whole of Series 2.

At a BAFTA screening of The Parting of the Ways, the finale of the 2005 series, on June 15, Jane Tranter announced that a second Chrismas special and third series of Doctor Who had been commissioned.

The Doctor

 * Ninth Doctor - Christopher Eccleston
 * Tenth Doctor - David Tennant

Companions

 * Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
 * Adam Mitchell - Bruno Langley
 * Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman

Executive Producers

 * Russell T. Davies
 * Julie Gardner
 * Mal Young - 2005

Producer

 * Phil Collinson