Athenæum

Doctor Who Now Available On North American TV
from CBC

The new series of Doctor Who has yet to sign a distribution deal in the United States, but is currently being shown on the CBC, Canada's public television station. For those Americans who live close to the border, Doctor Who is on Tuesdays at 8 PM. The CBC has a website devoted to Doctor Who which shows how the show is being presented to North American audiences. Don't forget to check out the English perspective on the New Series News Page on Outpost Gallifrey, the Doctor Who fan site of record.

The return of Doctor Who was hotly anticipated by the people of England, and its premiere on March 26 drew an audience 9.94 million, beating the poular Ant and Dec show by nearly 3 million viewers. In the days after the premiere, it was announced that Christopher Eccleston was not going to play the Doctor in the recently announced second season or Christmas special.

This all seems to be part of a brilliant viral marketing plan. If you are going to sell a remake of this beloved old TV show to the rest of the world in this day and age, you need to tell the story of Doctor Who in one season, complete with:
A famous British actor as the Doctor
A sexy assistant
The Daleks
Guest Stars like Simon Pegg (Shaun from Shaun of the Dead)
The Doctor dying in the last episode in order to save the Earth.

The full DVD box set of Doctor Who will be released in November.

Many of the fans are in an uproar, but it all makes sense from a marketing standpoint. Doctor Who is all over the news right now, and this can only serve to make Americans and other casual viewers interested.

posted by santo26 | 04:50 PM

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04/07/2005: Stuff That Doesn't Suck

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