Die-hard fans of Doctor Who appear to have deserted the BBC series in droves following the departure of David Tennant. The latest series which saw Matt Smith make his debut at the helm of the Tardis has lost 1.2 million viewers. - Honestly, I don't think it means that much... does it? I think the reason why the series has drawn less viewers is that it is a bit different than the previous ones. At times, I felt like I was watching a different show, but I see the 'new' show as a whole, now. A more cohesive whole, anyway.
Smith, 27, and his new assistant Karen Gillan, 22, appear to have failed to attract the same sort of audiences which Tennant pulled in during his five years as the Doctor. - Oh, co'mon, they didn't fail. They were great. Personally, I don't think Matt is a better Doctor than David, but that's just my opinion and I'm sure a lot of people think the same way; on the other hand, many people argue that Matt is a better Doctor - when it comes to taste, I prefer not to judge. I don't think it is right and it goes against my principles. Tennant's last full series, in 2008, drew an average audience of 7.2 million. According to latest TV ratings the newest series, which ended at the weekend, managed an average of only six million viewers.
Smith's first series started well, with the opening episode in March drawing around eight million viewers. By contrast Saturday's finale pulled in just 5.1 million. Media observers say they are at a loss to explain the drop, although the show did start slightly earlier than normal to accommodate the BBC's World Cup coverage of USA v Ghana. Hot temperatures over the weekend may also have played a part.
Meanwhile the BBC is insisting that viewing figures have remained consistent across the series. Many Doctor Who fans record the show or watch it online. "A large number of viewers are choosing to watch on demand throughout the week," a BBC spokesman said. "Consolidated figures show both series have so far averaged an extremely strong 7.8 million."
Even if viewing figures are down, Smith and Gillan can take some comfort in the fact that their portrayals of the Doctor and his assistant have been well-received by the critics. The Daily Telegraph's Benji Wilson awarded Smith an "A+" for his efforts while the Daily Mail's Sinclair McKay predicted that "Smith might turn out to be one of the best Time Lords of the lot".
My point is, it doesn't matter how many viewers it draws... I mean, you guys know I'm a Tennant addict, you know I love him and his portrayal of the Doctor to bits, but I don't think you can judge Matt and Karen's work based on some figures... If David was the Doctor now and Matt the previous one, I wouldn't have judged 11 because of how many people had seen the series, I would have judged him based on his performance. And Matt was great as the Doctor - he took us all by surprise and delivered a Troughtonesque Doctor. And he was bloody good at it, but Ten is my Doctor and my favourite Doctor... They're just different, I guess.
4 comments:
it might help if they could just settle on a more stable time slot for next season.
We often had to record it to watch later due to the time changing almost every week, and I'm sure we're not alone in that
The fact that the time slot kept changing didn't help... Why is it that it is always about figures?
figures keep the guys with control of the purse strings happy I guess.
that's pretty much all they tend to look at unfortunately, numbers means cash, more people watching means it's worth carrying on making it.
It's all about the profit margin, unfortunately
LISTEN TO THE BBC! they are right. The doctor who viewing figures haven't gone down, maybe slightly, but their just D.tennant freaks! The new series has HAD MASSIVE CRITICAL ACCLAIM, AND HAS ACTUALLY AVARAGED AROUND 7.2 MILLION EACH WEEK!! So the stupid people who keep saying doctor who has lost alot of viewers should keep their traps shut and listen to the bbc, after all, they wouldn't lie about it! I think this series has been amazing and anyway matt is signed on for another 3 years yet so I don't care about those little david tennant addicts who won't watch the show because he's gone. series 5 has been more popular than ever and has grown in popularity over in the US, and i'm sure in other countries to. And of course still remain's one of the best and most watched/loved British programmes ever!
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