50th Anniversary Simulcast

The Sun is claiming that the 50th Anniversary Special is going to be simulcast to 200 countries around the world on November 23rd.

Global broadcasters yesterday agreed to the “simulcast” to avoid plot leakage.

The 3D episode goes out here on November 23 and is expected to air at 8pm on BBC1, so fans in LA will watch at noon while it airs in Sydney at 7am the next day.

It has been sold to 200 countries and is expected to reach more than 100 million viewers, making it the biggest-ever global drama simulcast.

The BBC have also issued a statement, saying that

It’s always been our ambition to work with our broadcast partners so that international Doctor Who fans can enjoy the 50th-anniversary special at the same time as the UK. We’ll have more details soon about our very exciting global plans for November.

A few potential problems have already been pointed out. First of all, Doctor Who is currently only broadcast to about 48 different countries, so they'd be sending it to countries that have never seen it before. The only events to have been broadcast on such a scale before are the Olympics and World Cup. Second, the BBC would have to get it to these countries a month beforehand in order to get the episode dubbed. This would provide plenty of opportunity for leakage. Third, it's the Sun.

Series 8 in August 2014?

Prior to the official release of Matt Smith's departure last Saturday, there were all sorts of rumors about what the BBC was going to be announcing. Apart from Matt's departure, the main one was that Series 8 was going to be in August 2014.

Since then, I have not seen anything denying this is actually true. According to the Sun and the Radio Times, it is true and the new series will be twelve episodes long.

I suspect the reason it's slightly shorter at 12 episodes is that the 2013 & 2014 Christmas specials will make it the usual thirteen episodes plus a Christmas special. Either that, or Moffat's screwing us over again. At least it appears we'll be having the entire series in 2014, so we won't be as starved as this year.

Matt Smith Confirmed for Series 8

In a recent interview for The Sun's TV Magazine, Matt Smith has confirmed he will be staying on until at least Series 8.

I’m on a break for a couple of months while I’m in Detroit making How To Catch A Monster. We come back and shoot the Christmas special over the summer, then we go on to the next series, which will either start filming at the end of this year or at the start of 2014.

Assuming a December filming schedule for Series 8, it looks like the show won't resume until June. Last year, filming began in February and the series aired in August. A November or December filming schedule would push it earlier in the summer. January would make almost no difference and we would get a wait similar to Series 6-7.

So it looks like we get the finale tomorrow, the 50th Anniversary in November, then a Christmas Special, then at least six months until Series 8, all with Matt Smith.