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Doctor Who Series 5 on BBC America HD - Page 2

post #31 of 208
3/2/10 at 12:48pm
Didn't Being Human air in 1 hr 15 blocks when it was on BBCA last year? Not unedited, but it would nice if they would expand that policy to other shows.
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post #32 of 208
3/2/10 at 1:11pm
That's correct. While Being Human S1 premiered in the US 6 months after it began in the UK, BBCA aired each episode in an extended slot, so nothing was cut for time (although BBCA did censor nudity and strong language).

Survivors, which is currently airing in the Saturday primetime slot, is being hacked to bits by BBCA - the 60-minute BBC UK original has about 15 minutes cut out to fit into a 60-minute slot. Why they didn't just do what they did for Being Human and the Tennant Who specials, I'll never know.
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post #33 of 208
3/2/10 at 2:57pm
I just wish we could get BBC HD proper in the US, with the same programming that airs in the UK on that day. I would happily pay for this as a premium channel.
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post #34 of 208
3/2/10 at 3:28pm
We can all dream, Whitearrow!

I would gladly pay for a premium package that included timeshifted versions of the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 main and sub-channels and the HD versions!
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post #35 of 208
4/14/10 at 8:04am
Just a reminder - The new season of Dr Who starts Saturday night on BBC America. Set your DVRs. You'll want to record these since BBCA stuffs in way too many comercials.
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post #36 of 208
4/14/10 at 8:52am
The guide shows it as being on for 70 minutes. The original episode is 65 minutes. So, unless they are doing limited commercial interruptions, it looks like a significant portion of the episode will have to be cut.
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post #37 of 208
4/14/10 at 10:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bull3964 View Post

The guide shows it as being on for 70 minutes. The original episode is 65 minutes. So, unless they are doing limited commercial interruptions, it looks like a significant portion of the episode will have to be cut.

I watched it. It was 63 minutes. The actual story was 60 minutes with a rather long preview of the next FEW episodes. I think BBC is actually trying to super-size a few of the DW episodes -- just like when NBC was super-sizing "Friends" to compete with CBS.

Space TV in Canada will be airing Matt Smith's first episode in a 90-minute time slot Sat. April 17th. Letterboxed, but not in HD.
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post #38 of 208
4/14/10 at 10:23am
BBCA is airing episode 5-1 unedited in a 70-minute slot with limited commercial interruption. All other episodes from season 5 are currently listed as standard 45-minute episodes, and will run in a traditional one-hour slot (for example, episode 5-2, which aired last Saturday in the UK, runs just 42 minutes).

Note that while the BBCA premiere of episode 5-1 this Saturday is the full-length episode, the repeat of 5-1 on Saturday, 4/24 at 8pm will be a 45-minute version in a one-hour slot since episode 5-2 premieres at 9pm.
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post #39 of 208
4/14/10 at 2:22pm
Well, it's good to hear they aren't butchering it on the first showing at least.

Even the 42 minute episodes are going to end up cut though since I'm pretty sure BBC-A includes more than 18 minutes of commercials in an hour show. It will only be a minute or two of cuts, but they won't be 100% intact.
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post #40 of 208
4/14/10 at 2:42pm
The first episode is terrific.

The second episode is good.

I have my DVR set for the HD versions! I can't wait for the eventual Blu-Ray release.
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post #41 of 208
4/14/10 at 3:08pm
bull3964, while BBCA has a horrible track record with butchering many UK shows to fit into a one-hour slot (like Survivors, which is cut from 58-59 to about 44 minutes, or That Mitchell & Webb Look S3, which is cut from 29 to 22.5 minutes), I think they finally realize that they cannot do that with first-run episodes of Doctor Who since the show gives BBCA its highest ratings.

BBCA made a twitter post a month or so ago that said they would be airing the "UK version" of every Doctor Who episode this season, so I think even the regular Who episodes, like the 42-minute episode 5-2, will be aired in full.

It's very telling that BBCA actually needed to post on twitter that they would be airing the "UK version" of Doctor Who -- you'd think that would be a given on a channel with "BBC" in its name. I guess most people just assume everything they air will be edited in some way (or, as is the case with many great UK comedies and dramas, just assume -- correctly, in most cases -- that BBCA will never air the shows).
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post #42 of 208
4/14/10 at 3:21pm
I watched the HD preview clip on Amazon Video on Demand yesterday and it looks outstanding. I'm going to sign up for a season pass so I can watch it in HD instead of on BBCA SD.
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post #43 of 208
4/14/10 at 3:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pwrmetal View Post

The first episode is terrific.

The second episode is good.

Let me guess - they still haven't left Earth or it's atmosphere yet, right?
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post #44 of 208
4/14/10 at 5:27pm
Thread Starter 
Everybody beat me to it... I had seen the spots advertising limited-interruption and figured it meant we would see less breaks than usual so likely only the minimal cuts to the premiere airing Saturday night.

FYI, the episode is at 9pm EDT, but at 8pm EDT they are airing some kind of new Who documentary, which I'm assuming will be talking about the new series. That will probably be worth catching too.
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post #45 of 208
4/14/10 at 8:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by diditagain View Post

bull3964, while BBCA has a horrible track record with butchering many UK shows to fit into a one-hour slot (like Survivors, which is cut from 58-59 to about 44 minutes, or That Mitchell & Webb Look S3, which is cut from 29 to 22.5 minutes), I think they finally realize that they cannot do that with first-run episodes of Doctor Who since the show gives BBCA its highest ratings.

BBCA made a twitter post a month or so ago that said they would be airing the "UK version" of every Doctor Who episode this season, so I think even the regular Who episodes, like the 42-minute episode 5-2, will be aired in full.

It's very telling that BBCA actually needed to post on twitter that they would be airing the "UK version" of Doctor Who -- you'd think that would be a given on a channel with "BBC" in its name. I guess most people just assume everything they air will be edited in some way (or, as is the case with many great UK comedies and dramas, just assume -- correctly, in most cases -- that BBCA will never air the shows).

That's great to hear.

On another note though, their "Brit" movie the other night was Star Trek Generations and they are now showing Star Trek TNG. I guess because Patrick Stewart is a brit (even though playing a frenchman) they think it fits?

I love star trek, but that made me face palm. I don't watch BBC A so I can see an american show that's on a dozen other stations in syndication.

Why can't they give me Red Dwarf? The Hitchhiker's Guide TV series? Older Doctor Who Episodes? I mean hell, there's a TON of UK TV out there. Don't give me american TV shows.
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post #46 of 208
4/14/10 at 10:11pm
Thread Starter 
I had the same reaction when I saw Star Trek in the EPG on BBCA!

I too would love to see other UK shows, even ones I've never heard of... as that's how I find out about new shows I might like.

I also would love to see old Dr Who again in the US. I buy the DVDs as they come out, but still laziness gets the best of me and I'd watch if they put them on BBCA.
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post #47 of 208
4/15/10 at 1:15pm
I've learned to think of BBCA as a "one step forward, three steps back" network. A good move like finally securing the rights to air Doctor Who (and airing every episode uncut) is great, but adding Star Trek: TNG to their lineup starting April 26 is horrific.

There are so many great UK comedies and dramas that I'm forced to watch on Region 1/Region 2 DVD or "by other means" because BBCA won't air them, so seeing them adding an American show is extremely upsetting (they do realize they have "BBC" in their name, don't they?). Hopefully no one will watch the TNG reruns, and they'll be replaced with a quality UK comedy or drama.
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post #48 of 208
4/15/10 at 6:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rammitinski View Post

Let me guess - they still haven't left Earth or it's atmosphere yet, right?

Wrong. The first episode is on Earth. The second is not.
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post #49 of 208
4/15/10 at 10:46pm
Well, hallelulah. When did that start?

I stopped watching it a couple of seasons back, after I finally got sick of literally every episode being based on Earth.
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post #50 of 208
4/15/10 at 11:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by diditagain View Post

I've learned to think of BBCA as a "one step forward, three steps back" network. A good move like finally securing the rights to air Doctor Who (and airing every episode uncut) is great, but adding Star Trek: TNG to their lineup starting April 26 is horrific.

There are so many great UK comedies and dramas that I'm forced to watch on Region 1/Region 2 DVD or "by other means" because BBCA won't air them, so seeing them adding an American show is extremely upsetting (they do realize they have "BBC" in their name, don't they?). Hopefully no one will watch the TNG reruns, and they'll be replaced with a quality UK comedy or drama.

Yup. BBCA continues on it's ongoing mission to ruin the few good shows it acquires and ignore shows it should acquire.

QI, Buzzcocks, HIGNFY, Room 101 ... there are plenty of cheap long-running shows that I would rather see (even in BBCA Hack-O-Vision) than another channel showing Trek.
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post #51 of 208
4/16/10 at 5:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by diditagain View Post

There are so many great UK comedies and dramas that I'm forced to watch on Region 1/Region 2 DVD or "by other means" because BBCA won't air them, so seeing them adding an American show is extremely upsetting (they do realize they have "BBC" in their name, don't they?). Hopefully no one will watch the TNG reruns, and they'll be replaced with a quality UK comedy or drama.

+1. If this channel is going to show the same stuff that's been syndicated on American cable channels for literally decades, what good is it?
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post #52 of 208
4/16/10 at 4:57pm
This may be something people in the U.K. can explain to us on this side of the pond.....

Doctor Who is being broadcast on BBC Saturdays, but apparently with different start times for this week and the last two. I recall it was 6:15 for the premiere, then 6:30 last week, and 8:30 this week. Why is that? Wouldn't that drive viewers crazy? Is there some sort of programming conflicts or they're experimenting with time slots? Networks in the U.S. generally don't do that when a show is on a roll.
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post #53 of 208
4/16/10 at 7:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JCL View Post

This may be something people in the U.K. can explain to us on this side of the pond.....

Doctor Who is being broadcast on BBC Saturdays, but apparently with different start times for this week and the last two. I recall it was 6:15 for the premiere, then 6:30 last week, and 8:30 this week. Why is that? Wouldn't that drive viewers crazy? Is there some sort of programming conflicts or they're experimenting with time slots? Networks in the U.S. generally don't do that when a show is on a roll.

According to the Radio Times DW is on at the usual 6.30pm slot tomorrow night and 6.20 the following weeks.

It is the general election in the UK this month so I expect schedules to shift at some points and any live afternoon sporting event can push schedules around on Saturday night.
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post #54 of 208
4/16/10 at 7:57pm
People in the U.K. who watched last week's episode clearly heard a lady voiceover during the closing credits announcing an 8:25 start time for this week's episode. The website says otherwise. The BBC is confusing it's viewers.
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post #55 of 208
4/17/10 at 2:07am
So anyway, the Doctor's new companion is quite lovely.



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post #56 of 208
4/17/10 at 7:27am
The BBC is not confusing its viewers, since depending on where you watched Doctor Who last week, you would have heard two different start times.

On BBC1, Doctor Who is airing at 6:30pm. At the same time, BBC2 will be finishing its live coverage of Match of the Day.

On BBC-HD, which shows the "best" of all four BBC channels, the live Match of the Day coverage starts at 5:00pm and continues to 7:15pm. Since Doctor Who is pre-recorded, it can be shown later on the HD channel, which makes sense, since I can't imagine the BBC (or any network!) stopping coverage of a live sporting event to show a pre-recorded program that can be shown later.

After Match of the Day, BBC-HD are showing the latest episode of Over the Rainbow simultaneously with BBC1 (from 7:15-8:25pm). Doctor Who will be on BBC-HD after that.

So, if you watch Doctor Who on BBC1, it starts at 6:30pm. But if you're watching on BBC-HD, you'll have to wait until 8:25pm.
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post #57 of 208
4/17/10 at 7:51am
In other words, the SD and HD services of the BBC are not running programs concurrently.
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post #58 of 208
4/17/10 at 8:03am
Since the BBC has four channels in the UK (BBC1/2/3/4), BBC-HD has four channels from which to pull programming. BBC-HD usually shows the same primetime/high-profile early primetime programs as BBC1, but occasionally a live HD sporting event warrants an adjustment to the schedule.

This week, Doctor Who has been pushed back about two hours on BBC-HD because of live Match of the Day coverage. Two Fridays ago, live HD coverage of The Masters bumped the drama Ashes To Ashes from Friday 9pm to Monday night.

It doesn't happen often, but with four channels offering some content filmed in HD and only one HD channel, I can understand how BBC-HD would choose to air a sporting event live and delay a pre-recorded program.
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post #59 of 208
4/17/10 at 10:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by diditagain View Post

The BBC is not confusing its viewers, since depending on where you watched Doctor Who last week, you would have heard two different start times..

BBCHD isn't widespread and mostly carried on cable and sat. The vast majority of viewers watch television OTA so they will watch it on BBC1 just as they always have.

As long as DW continues to receive it's regular timeslot on BBC1 on Saturday night nobody will be confused by the time of a secondary broadcast on BBCHD.
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post #60 of 208
4/18/10 at 5:37am
^^
OK. Point well taken.

http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?id=2974
http://www.gizmophobe.co.uk/tag/hdtv-penetration/

7% HDTV penetration in the U.K. by 2012. Wow! (seems to be an old projection, but low nonetheless)
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