Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Twice Weekly?

News from GallifreyBase contributer ANobleToaster, who writes that the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine reveals the transmission dates/times for the approaching third series of The Sarah Jane Adventures.

According to ANT (a nickname kindly bestowed upon the user on the forum) here's the all important schedule:

Prisoner of the Judoon Part 1 - Thursday October 15th
Prisoner of the Judoon Part 2 - Friday October 16th

The Mad Woman in the Attic Part 1 - Thursday October 22nd
The Mad Woman in the Attic Part 2 - Friday October 23rd

The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith Part 1 - Thursday October 29th
The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith Part 2 - Friday October 30th

The Eternity Trap Part 1 - Thursday November 5th
The Eternity Trap Part 2 - Friday November 6th

Mona Lisa's Revenge Part 1 - Thursday November 12th
Mona Lisa's Revenge Part 2 - Friday November 13th

The Gift Part 1 - Thursday November 19th
The Gift Part 2 - Friday November 20th

It means that from October, the SJA runs twice weekly! The advantage of this is we get double the amount of Sarah Jane goodness every week... but looking at it from another (more negative) angle it means the show is on our screens only half as long as normal - 6 weeks, instead of 12.

Back in the 1980's the BBC ran Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor adventures on a twice weekly basis. Ratings actually improved, initially, through doing this.

So... are the BBC right to double the series up? Tell us in the comments section below!

15 comments:

Brandon said...

Oh...... I'm not sure i like that, i sort of liked having the whole week to look forward to the next ep....

Plus like you said it'll be over quicker.

What channel BTW?? BBC or CBBC? or both?

Anthony Garnon said...

I don't know, sorry. Will update after I've picked the magazine up for myself tomorrow.

Nabu San said...

I used to be a fan of another show that aired a season faster than its other seasons. And it turned out to be the last one of the series! Hope the same isn't true of SJA...

I think the fact that we only get new SJA for half as long may be a bigger factor to consider than the positive of having an SJA overload. What will having the show on twice a week mean for the ratings? And as Brandon mentioned, the BBC1/CBBC relationship? Having the show on Fridays is a nice start to the weekend, though!

Anthony Garnon said...

What was the *other* show you're talking abou, Nabu?

Mike said...

I think this sounds like a great idea actually. Though I totally see the negative side -- having it on for a lesser window -- I think it makes sense because of the cliffhanger quality and the format of the show in general. Each episode is so short that getting two bites over two days seems more right than having to wait a whole week for each short episode (if that makes any sense)

From a purely business standpoint, I think this smart because a shorter season means money spent on promotions is money better spent because it only needs to be focused on 6 rather than 12 weeks. And from a purely logistical standpoint, with it starting so late, having this schedule means the episodes at the end of the season won't run through the holidays -- which could have been really detrimental to the ratings.

(Also this guarantees that we see Tennant on screen as the Doctor on SJA before we do on Who again, which I think is really neat.)

Anonymous said...

I think its a privillage they've been asked to do it on a Fri/Thur -people tend to get into the weekend spirit by putting on some TV. It SHOULD boost ratings. Altho ... It Did Brightin up ma Mondays !

Nabu San said...

Ah yes, those glorious Mondays of yonder when I came home from uni and flicked on the CBBC Channel for my latest SJA fix!

I wish I'd sat in on the meeting when the idea of having the show on twice a week was pitched to the producers - and what on earth the Beeb were thinking when they made the decision? I don't know enough about the industry and what constitutes prime time slottage to make an accurate assessment of the pros and cons of having SJA on every Thursday and Friday. All we can do is savour every episode as it comes and hope the ratings are bloody good.

As for the other show, Ant - don't ask, it's super-dorky. :P

darren said...

I think this is a terrible idea. Finding opportunity to watch programmes in the pre-6 o'clock slot once a week was difficult. Twice a week for those of us over 21 looks even harder. It's poor planning.

Darren

Artemis Fowl said...

Seeing as I wont be seeing it on tv, I'm kind of excited that I'll get to see the episodes sooner. As a USA fan I kinda got all of season one then two in a few sessions of watching.

On the other hand... its kinda like what they did with Torchwood. Before I could blink season 3 was over. It was great getting a new episode daily at the time,but now what do TW fans have? I think I may have accepted the end of Torchwood more if I had more time to process it all.

At the end of the day my mind is really just kinda like YAY!! NEW SJA no matter when/how they run it.

David said...

I think it's a great idea, we'll still get the same amount of SJA just faster.

Plus, the BBC probably don't take into account the fact that some adults struggle to find time to watch, this is on CBBC after all.

Anonymous said...

Darren, It is, after all a Kid's show. Not aimed at the over 12s let alone the over 21s - You'll just have to use iPlayer like the rest of us!

Unknown said...

I'm of two minds. I like it because it means less wait for the second half of a story. But six weeks..eh. Not so sure. I just hope it does help SJA rather then hurt it. This show and DW are two I really enjoy with my daughter.

Anonymous said...

What the BBC should do is make SJA all the time, so we can watch it consistently throughout the year. That would make everyone happy! :D

Darren said...

Hey,

No, it's a show that is watched by all ages and I want to watch it :-)

Darren

Clay said...

Well no, it's a CBBC show, so it's shown in the CBBC lineup - when kids get home from school. It's what it was commissioned for, after all.

(Of course, that doesn't stop it being incredibly cool and loved by people of all ages!)

It's a bit of a shame it will be over so quickly (though it's only three weeks shorter than the first season, if you caught the CBBC channel airings), but I'm terrible at remembering TV schedules anyway and the sort of person that likes to settle down with a box set and watch things in one go, so a reduced run doesn't bother me that much. And at least there's the same number of actual episodes, which is the main thing!