Tuesday 23 March 2010

SMALLER ON THE INSIDE?

[10.50 - French Time] Soon after an ecstatic press launch in Cardiff and an impressive new trailer comes again the big question about Doctor Who series five: how will the BBC budget cuts affect the Beeb's most profitable franchise?

And profitable it is: according to BBC Worldwide (the Corporation's commercial arm), Doctor Who has sold to over 50 territories worldwide and was a top five selling programme in 2009. There have been 3.3 million DVD sales to date, and more than 7 million action figures have been sold.

« Budget cuts are tough: I don't like them, but they force you to be creative. You've seen that trailer. Does it look like we've had a budget cut? » said new showrunner Steven Moffat to BBC News. But it would be difficult to draw conclusions about the new series's production values from a single trailer, as lavish as that trailer can be.

Doctor Who returns on April 3 in the UK (on BBC One), preceded for British viewers by the first episode of Ashes to Ashes third and final series on Good Friday. What a pleasant Easter weekend it will be...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8580299.stm

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