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Returning: Doctor Who

Exclusive: TV Tonight can reveal the Airdate of the new season of Doctor Who.

Exclusive: TV Tonight can reveal the Airdate of the new season of Doctor Who.

“The Impossible Astronaut” will premiere at 7:30pm Saturday April 30 on ABC1 and continue on subsequent Saturdays.

It will also be available on iView.

The BBC has still not confirmed the time and date of the series for the UK other than to advise it will air at Easter. Many fans expect the series to air on Saturday April 23.

ABC1’s broadcast continues its recent strategy of bringing the series to screen in a prompt method. Proving it is not driven solely by ratings it will air a day prior to the return of ratings. With the Royal Wedding the day before and Logies / MasterChef the day after it is certainly shaping up as a big weekend of viewing.

An ABC spokesperson told TV Tonight, “ABC TV has scheduled the new series of Doctor Who to screen Saturdays at 7.30pm on ABC1, which we believe is the best slot to reach the family audience.

“ABC TV is not able to broadcast Doctor Who until after it screens in the UK. So, in anticipation that the BBC will launch the new series over Easter in the UK, we have scheduled the series to start the following weekend.”

Meanwhile, BBC America now has a different trailer to the one released by the BBC.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVAgyBOe84w[/youtube]

35 Responses

  1. Hey, I can handle a weeks wait but I don’t think the ‘hard core’ doctor who fans will…which means they’re still gonna d/load (I know of many who d/loaded the christmas special which was shown here a few hours after the uk just cos they couldn’t wait that long!!!!so anyone think they’re actually going to wait an entire week?) which will still no doubt have a negative impact on ratings even if it’s slight.
    The numbers were quite high here last year from memory (without f/tracking) so it’s probably not a major issue – the abc’s not ‘entirely’ being riven by ratings after all…Then again, I assume the reason abc are fastracking the show in the first place is to fight d/loading, so I guess ratings are an issue in some way…so it would probably make more sense to play it here much sooner…
    Guess it’s better not going up against sunday’s masterchef and it is best suited to a weekend timeslot.
    Either way, I’m happy. Matt Smith and Steven Moffat are, like, awesome!

  2. @ Andrew

    Not everyone has wonderful broadband iView as it is crapView for me: at least the last time I tried it. It was 30 seconds download then 30 seconds of play and it stops to rinse and repeat i.e download, play and stop to download for another 30 seconds. At best it would mean a 1 hour show would take 2 hours of interrupted viewing. It’s why I laugh at the Coalitions plan to screw people with rubbish broadband forever. And so much for equal access. It also means some of us has to wait until they can be bothered to show it. So I guess some of us get to be spoiled because there’s no way I’d give up 6-7 weeks of Doctor Who news. I’ll admit I’m glad they are trying to fast track it. I just liked Air Crash Investigations on Saturday. Although if SBS put Who Do You Think You Are? on Sunday then there won’t be a clash. I’d still watch Doctor Who.

  3. Very happy!
    Saturday nights are all right…….
    I can wait a week, easy.
    It’s waiting months or even years that I won’t/don’t accept.
    Dr Who and Spooks! Could it be any better?

  4. At least on Saturday night it stands a chance to rate very well, against Masterchef on Sundays it might have been slaughtered.

    I’ll just watch mine Sunday mornings, anywayz! 😉

  5. I agree with both MandyJ and JW, compared to most other so called “fast tracking” this is pretty good. It was on Saturdays before, I can remember Series 1, 2 and 3 were on Saturday nights and well Saturday night is the traditional home for Doctor Who.

  6. Seriously people, get a grip! I’m a rabid card-carrying fan too, but I think I can hang out for a week after suffering several years of hanging out for 3 months!! Remember that? For goodness’ sake.

    Thank you ABC, very excited

  7. Glad to see that the ABC’s not going to delay much with airing the new series. Being only one week behind the UK is quite reasonable and I can avoid spoilers for that time. A lot of other fast-tracked shows seem to be about a week behind their US counterparts anyway.

  8. I was hoping for the Sunday immediately after the sat in the UK. If the ABC who are usually smart about these thing placed the show straight away on iview and then one week later on ABC1 then everone would be happy.

  9. Saturday is a better night! Nothing much else on and I don’t see Hey Hey It’s Saturday on anytime soon so from April 30, Saturday nights will be more tv worthy. If it were on Sunday night, it could clash with Masterchef and 60 Minutes so it makes it harder to watch.

    Who cares if its not within 24-48 hours after the UK, it will be shown and I can wait. Its not like it will be 6 months or 2 years. Well done ABC! Just hope you can return Heartland and Wild at Heart soon and fast track New Tricks later in the year.

  10. David, this “exclusive” of yours – you didn’t by any chance just rip the story off from TT or ACA and blur out their watermark? Shame, shame.

  11. Honestly – it’s a TV show – not a meeting of the UN Security Council! So we are a week later, so there may be spoilers, isn’t the fun of Dr Who watching good actors, good direction, some cheesy villains and an imaginative plot? Do we really need to be fed instantly – on demand? Do we still have the cultural cringe that says “why can’t we be like everyone else – aren’t we good enough?” I love Dr Who, and have for several decades, and try to Never miss an episode, but let’s get it into perspective. I repeat it’s a TV show!

  12. Wow, cool trailer, this season looks like it’s ramping it up a notch.

    Shame about the delay though. Maybe the ABC should play catchup, by showing the 2 parter on the Sat/Sun after Easter. IF it was down to me, that’s what I’d do.

  13. This is compounded by the rumour that the first two episodes of the season (“The Impossible Astronaut/The Day of the Moon”) may be shown over two consecutive nights in the UK. If this is true, and the ABC does not do the same, after the 30th the ABC will be back to being two weeks behind as it was last year.

  14. Isnt it funny (think about it)
    At least it is coming back sooner then it has before
    Yes people will watch the day after to see it straight away but watch it on the night to make sure the ratings are up there otherwise it will be back to 6 months later

  15. If the ABC are going to make us wait a whole week then I tip a lot of people will be watching it by other means. It’s impossible to avoid spoilers otherwise. I certainly won’t be waiting.

  16. What a bummer. I was hoping for it to be on Sundays as usual eg. Sunday 24th April at 7.30pm. I’m glad they are kinda fast tracking however. I just prefer it on a Sunday. Thanks David.

  17. That’s really disappointing. So rest of the world including Canada and the US see it the week before we do which means by the time we get it, unless you stay away from the internet for seven weeks (and some of us have jobs that mean we can’t) there will be spoilers everywhere again. Thanks ABC.

  18. Why move the show from Sundays?

    This is a stupid move, while most fans are willing to wait the few hours from Sunday morning (our time) to see it Sunday night I think less are willing to wait a whole week to see the show, not happy ABC!

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