BBC Addresses Fan Complaints About Subpar 50th Anniversary Plans

By David Wharton | Published 11 years ago

If you’re a devoted Whovian, you no doubt know that 2013 is the 50th anniversary of a little show called Doctor Who. Obviously, that’s a major accomplishment given that most programs don’t survive a decade, much less five of them. And while there’s been lots of talk from the Who camp about how capital-A Amazing the celebratory events will be, so far the actual confirmed details about just what those events will be has been, well, lowercase-d disappointing. There’s a TV movie about the behind-the-scenes story of the show’s creation, and that’s great. There’s also a 60-minute special about the show, as well as some audio dramas and short stories, etc. But as far as actual, televised events…so far, all they’ve announced is the TV movie and the special. And that’s got some fans irked.

Obviously, it’s entirely possible that there are other amazing things in the works that they don’t want to announce just yet, but the BBC has actually stepped forward to address with some negative buzz building amongst the fan base, many of whom seem to be worried that the Doctor’s big anniversary isn’t being given its proper due. Here’s the official announcement, courtesy of Patrick McManus of BBC Complaints:

Thanks for your contact regarding ‘Doctor Who’ broadcast on BBC One.

I understand that you are feel there are insufficient programmes planned to mark the 50th anniversary of the series. I also note that you are unhappy with the way in which series 7 has been split into two parts.

Whilst I appreciate your concerns, we haven’t announced what we have planned to mark the 50th anniversary of ‘Doctor Who’ yet, but we would like to assure you that fans won’t be disappointed.

Additionally, please note that the decision to schedule series 7 in two parts was a creative one and we’re sorry you are unhappy about this.

Nevertheless, please be assured that I’ve registered your comments regarding this issue to our audience log. This is a daily report of audience feedback made available throughout the BBC, including to the producers of ‘Doctor Who’, as well as members of senior management.

The audience logs help to shape future decisions regarding BBC programming and output.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us.

I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess this isn’t going to quieten the more vocal complainers. Maybe if it had been addressed by showrunner Steven Moffat or somebody more directly involved with the show than some BBC bureaucrat, charming and friendly though I’m sure he is. Also, the statement doesn’t actually give any real answers, just more of the same “you’ll like it, we promise” that they’ve been throwing out for months. Here’s hoping the final events will live up to the hooplah.

The statement also addresses the way season seven has been split in half, something that’s irritated many longtime fans. McManus’ statement doesn’t do much more than passing the buck to Moffat and company, but we can hardly blame the guy for that. And while the season seven hiatus is definitely annoying, I’m a lot more concerned about the fact that nobody seems to want to talk about when we’ll see season eight…