Doctor Who Has Left the Building!

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  • #40411
    bonnee
    Participant

    BBC probe “Dr Who” Internet leak
    Tue Mar 8, 2005 11:40 AM GMT

    LONDON (Reuters) – The BBC says it has launched an inquiry into how a new episode of cult TV sci-fi series “Doctor Who” has been leaked on the Internet.

    The classic programme, which has been off air since 1989, makes a much-anticipated return to the small screen later this month with Christopher Eccleston starring as the time-travelling hero and former pop star Billie Piper as his sidekick.

    However, the BBC — which was due to trumpet the show’s regeneration at a celebration launch on Tuesday — said one of the 13 new 45-minute episodes had been posted on the Internet.

    “This is a significant breach of copyright which is currently under investigation,” a BBC spokeswoman said.

    “The source of it appears to be connected to our co-production partner,” she added, referring to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

    According to the Daily Mirror newspaper, the leaked clips show Piper’s character working in a London department store when it comes under attack by evil aliens, the Autons.

    Enter the Doctor, who routs the invaders despite their sneaky trick of taking the form of plastic household objects.

    “We would urge viewers not to spoil their enjoyment and to wait for the finished version which airs at the end of the month,” the BBC spokeswoman added.

    “Doctor Who” first appeared in 1963 and became a huge hit, despite its unconvincing monsters and wobbly sets.

    The new series features Eccleston as the ninth reincarnation of the Timelord and will also see the return of the Doctor’s arch enemies, the Daleks.

    Net pirates steal preview of Doctor Who comeback

    Owen Gibson, media correspondent
    Tuesday March 8, 2005
    The Guardian

    Thousands of net-savvy Doctor Who fans have managed to circumvent the first rule of time travel by seeing the first episode of the BBC’s new multimillion pound revival of the series before it has even been broadcast.

    Down the years the Doctor has dealt with Cybermen, Daleks and Silurians with good humour but the BBC’s latest incarnation of Doctor Who, starring Christopher Eccleston as the eponymous Doctor and Billie Piper as his assistant, is facing a more troublesome enemy in the shape of internet pirates.

    The first new episode of the series for 15 years, written by Russell T Davies, has been leaked on to the internet despite being jealously guarded by the BBC ahead of the pro gramme’s launch later this month. It is believed to originate from a DVD of the episode sent to a Canadian broadcaster.

    Tens of thousands of fans have already seen the episode, having downloaded it using a computer program called Bit Torrent. As a result of the leaks, reviews of the first episode are already starting to appear on the internet. Ain’t it Cool News, a US site which delights in reviewing TV shows and movies before they are released, is not impressed. “From the cheap opening credit sequence to the hammy and frequently inaudible dialogue, it feels like a fan-produced parody of the original series,” it said.

    Elsewhere in cyberspace, other fans have successfully campaigned for the episode to be removed from download services. UKNova, which provides downloads of popular shows, said that it had taken the episode down because “it is not in the overall interests of this site to distribute a copy of such a long-awaited and high-profile show before it is aired”.

    #74281
    bonnee
    Participant
    #74288
    bonnee
    Participant

    Good Lord – its terrible. ๐Ÿ˜ฅ

    #74290
    theFrey
    Participant

    Really? How exactly? The original while interesting was kinda cheesy and campy so you would think they could get away with a lot.

    #74291
    Anonymous
    Inactive
    ”Reuters wrote:

    …”This is a significant breach of copyright which is currently under investigation,” a BBC spokeswoman said.

    “The source of it appears to be connected to our co-production partner,” she added, referring to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

    According to the Daily Mirror newspaper, the leaked clips show Piper’s character working in a London department store when it comes under attack by evil aliens, the Autons.

    Enter the Doctor, who routs the invaders despite their sneaky trick of taking the form of plastic household objects.

    “We would urge viewers not to spoil their enjoyment and to wait for the finished version which airs at the end of the month,” the BBC spokeswoman added….

    That’s right, blame Canada! ๐Ÿ˜†

    Anyway, what you saw Bonnee may not be the final cut, and a show is made (or broken) in the editing.

    theFrey wrote:

    The original while interesting was kinda cheesy and campy so you would think they could get away with a lot.

    Do you mean the original as in the William Hartnell (’63-66) incarnation of the Doctor? It was kinda cheesy all along, but that was a big part of the fun. Incidentally, I like Pertwee (70-74) the most, followed by Colin Baker.

    I’m actually really looking forward the the new Doctor Who even though I pretty much lost interest in the show back in the early ’80s. Guess enough years have passed that I’m excited.

    CBC will start showing it on April 5th.

    Here’s[/url] the BBC Doctor Who site.

    #74293
    bonnee
    Participant
    theFrey wrote:

    Really? How exactly? The original while interesting was kinda cheesy and campy so you would think they could get away with a lot.

    Well, unless they can edit out the main performance, the introductory story, the production design, and our memory of it – its doomed to fail. I much preferred the relatively recent (and failed) telemovie – at least that got somethings right.

    Slight Spoiler Alert

    Chris E – normally a terrific actor – played the Doctor as if he were an escaped mental patient playing to the gallery in his head. It really looked like he was still workshoping his performance on camera. The single story episode pacing was off and at odds with the serial aspect beneficial to the overall feel of the show – the 45 minutes somehow managed to overstay its welcome *and* feel rushed. I hope each episode is not going to be a single story rushing to some lame climax and off to the start of another ‘exciting’ episode. It seemed more intent on action and adventure (as opposed to building atmosphere or exploring ideas).

    The sight of seeing mannequins chasing characters and trying to take over the world was ridiculous – it looked like a bad joke come to life. i was inadvertently laughing at the stupidity of it and looked over my shoulder to make sure no one could see me watching such crap. Initially, the ‘look’ of the mannequins was appropriately creepy and in keeping with the show’s ‘cheesiness’ – initially it seemed to make good use of the show’s ‘limitations’, but the z grade story betrayed the show’s reliance on it.

    The inside of the tardis was…groteseque. It looked like a toilet bowl had thrown up its production design. I’m not being disrespectful when I seriously wonder if it was modelled on the innards of a bowel or the entrails of a bowel movement.

    The ‘adult’ attempts at humour were at odds with the pantomime feel of it. The story was obviously written in crayon on a napkin, and was based on a premise that belongs to a preschooler’s concept of sci fi ( It has something to do with ediibilty). The only signs of intelligent life were one or two one liners – the queer as folk writer brought little to the show other than an awareness that Dr Who is ‘camp’ for hetrosexuals. The first episode *only* worked as a (bare) introduction to the new characters and actors, and was hardly the best way to reintroduce the show that carries them along.

    The only thing I liked about it was the interracial relationship (and the black boyfriend ‘possessed’), the size 10-12 girl taking on the role of attractive female companion, her feisty character and obvious intelligence. Some of the effects were ok, and only underline the importance of having the other elements picking up the slack.

    In my view, the ‘pilot’ was a complete disaster that does not bode well for the future of the series.

    #74299
    Shiroekitsune
    Participant

    Ya I too saw it.

    I will hold my judgement till I see more in order to see how they are trying to pace and set the stage.

    Not the best but not the worst I’ve seen to date, time will tell.

    #74321
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    A most entertaining review, Bonnee. ๐Ÿ™‚ I realise you’re probably a little more discerning than most, but I’ve mostly heard positive things about it.

    As long as it’s fun, and doesn’t take itself too seriously, there’s a good chance I’ll be watching the series.

    Here’s a spoilery review from timesonline.co.uk (click)

    I’ll just quote the first paragraph of the article…

    Nigel wrote:

    It’s a funny feeling. When the dum-de-dum, dum-de-dum starts, and the new-look title sequence begins, the hairs on your arms stand up, and a smile fixes itself, rictus-like, to your face. This warm feeling alone is enough to transport you blithely through the first five minutes of the new Doctor Who before any critical faculties kick in. And when they do, you realise that you’re enjoying yourself….

    One thing I’ve heard was really bad is the overuse of dramatic/action music throughout — even drowns out some of the dialogue. Music can make or break a show for me (most often I prefer a certain subtlety). However, it may be that they’ll clean it up a bit before it airs.

    #74325
    bonnee
    Participant
    Logan wrote:

    A most entertaining review, Bonnee. ๐Ÿ™‚ I realise you’re probably a little more discerning than most, but I’ve mostly heard positive things about it.

    .

    I witheld the principle of charity for altruistic reasons ๐Ÿ˜€ My goal was to lower expectations to such an extent that audience response can only be pleasantly surprised by the (bad) trip down memory lane…. into the show’s creative cul de sac.

    My bad review was written with the best of intentions ๐Ÿ˜† – may the pile of crap live long and prosper.

    #74326
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Welp, any hope of my expectations being lowered were dashed when I saw the most recent trailer a few minutes ago on BBC1. It looked bloody good! (special effects did anyway) and the Who babe looks pretty decent too.

    Unfortunately I can’t find the most recent trailer on the Beebs website.

    #74328
    bonnee
    Participant

    I didn’t know you still hung around these parts Sadgeezer. ๐Ÿ˜›

    ps

    http://www.wired.com/news/
    The pilot episode of the BBC’s highly anticipated new Doctor Who series may have been intentionally leaked onto file-sharing networks to generate buzz, a source who instructed the network on viral advertising told Wired News.

    Earlier this month, the 45-minute premiere episode, entitled “Rose,” showed up on BitTorrent. The appearance of the episode generated a flood of discussion in online forums, blogs and the mainstream media. As a result, interest in the show, which debuts March 26 on BBC One, has skyrocketed.

    The new series stars Christopher Eccleston as the time-traveling doctor. The long-running sci-fi series began in 1963 but has been absent from TV screens since 1989, except for a one-off TV movie, which was widely panned.

    To one advertising consultant, the leak is clear evidence the BBC is taking advantage of some recently learned lessons on the power of viral advertising it got from a collection of hired guns known as the Broadcast Assassins.

    The Broadcast Assassins were a group of entertainment and technology veterans brought in last year by the BBC’s entertainment group to “discuss the impact of new technologies on viewing/listening behavior,” said Asa Bailey, a veteran advertising expert and member of the group. “We told them all about the how-tos, and how to do viral advertising,” said Bailey, who is also founder of the Viral Advertising Association.

    Bailey said the BBC asked the group how to use viral advertising to inform the public of its programming.

    “I told them they should release things before their time, like what they’ve done with Doctor Who,” he said. “Give out the first episode online, because it’s going to be valuable. You’ve got that cool factor, and it’s the whole, ‘I’ve seen it before you have’ kind of thing.”

    Bailey said the leak “is great, and it’s the first time we’ve ever seen them do it, and so we’re really impressed with them.”

    Bailey said although he didn’t have definite knowledge the leak was official, the quality of the episode is highly suspicious. If it were an unofficial leak, it would likely be of poor quality, he said.

    The BBC denied any part in the distribution of the episode.

    “The leak of the first episode on the internet was not a publicity stunt,” BBC spokeswoman Annie Frederick told Wired News in an e-mail. “It was a significant breach of copyright which is currently under investigation. The source of it appears to be connected to our co-production partner. We would urge viewers not to spoil their enjoyment and to wait for the finished version.”

    Frederick didn’t say whether the leaked pilot is the final version. Although the episode is high quality, it may be a rough or incomplete cut.

    The co-production partner, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, also denied involvement, and said it is conducting its own investigation.

    “We believe it was one of our suppliers,” said CBC spokeswoman Ruth-Ellen Soles, who wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of the supplier. “And at the moment, the investigation isn’t complete.”

    But to Broadcast Assassin Bailey, denials of leaking the “Rose” episode are disingenuous. “It’s a classic,” Bailey said. “The best viral advert they could have done for that program would be to release the first (episode). You couldn’t have come up with a better viral advert than that.”

    According to a study by Envisional, which monitors internet traffic, the United Kingdom is the No. 1 country in the world when it comes to downloading TV content from the internet. The study suggested that U.K. residents account for 20 percent of all TV shows downloaded from the net.

    Meanwhile, although the BBC denies any role in the leak, the broadcaster has for months said it plans to implement digital downloading through the internet as a significant part of its broadcast offerings. The network said it will soon release a media player that would allow viewers to watch TV content online.

    In any case, buzz about the Doctor Who episode has certainly paid off, whether the BBC takes credit for it or not. Word about it has reached countless sites. And excepting noted film and television critic ‘bonnee’ at sadgeezer.com, the pile of crap has been generally well-received.

    “It’s nice to have it back, and I’m looking forward to watching it with my daughter when it airs on the BBC in a few weeks,” said writer Warren Ellis on his blog.

    #74330
    Shiroekitsune
    Participant

    This does fit with the recent news I heard about the BBC investigating taxing computers like the tv.

    #74369
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    From http://www.gallifreyone.com/newstv.php

    Outpost Gallifrey received the following statement from Vicky Thomas, Head of Press, Consumer Publishing at BBC Worldwide: “After a thorough investigation by BBC Worldwide’s Canadian broadcast partner, the source of the leak of episode one of the new Doctor Who series has been traced to a third party company in Canada which had an early preview copy for legitimate purposes. The individual responsible for the leak has had their employment terminated by that company as a result. BBC Worldwide is considering further legal remedies and takes extremely seriously any unlawful copying or misuse of its copyright material.”

    #74372
    bonnee
    Participant

    The individual responsible for the leak has had their employment terminated by that company as a result.

    EXterminate! EXterminate! EXterminate!

    #74381
    Jhevz
    Participant

    Hi Fellow Whovians,
    Let’s give it a chance, before tearing it down; besides, the new generation probably has never seen past `Dr Who’ shows, so this will be their Dr. Of what I’ve seen at Gally, it looks like it’ll be pretty good, with new monsters, a companion who doesn’t scream all the time & a Dr who will look like us; I’m willing to give it a chance if you are. & I’ve already met 2 of the writers & they have high hopes for the show; & who knows, it might be as successful as previous shows. I can’t wait to see it, when it comes here to the states.

    Whovians Unite,
    Jhevz ๐Ÿ˜‰

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