Broadcast time confirmed for The Vampires of Venice
The BBC Press Office’s finalized schedule has revealed that Episode 6, The Vampires of Venice, will be airing in Series 5’s earliest timeslot yet.
The episode, written by Toby Whithouse, sees the Doctor taking Amy and Rory for a romantic mini-break in Venice, but when the TARDIS lands in the city, they discover dessicated corpses and terror in the canal. It will be broadcast on BBC One and on the HD channel on Saturday 8th May at 6:00PM.
It’s accompanying instalment of Doctor Who Confidential, Death in Venice, will air on BBC3 at 7:00PM (8:10PM on BBC HD), and you can read the synopsis for it below:
The cast and crew get a trip abroad, but not to Venice, because as episode writer Toby Whithouse explains, modern day Venice doesn’t really look like 16th century Venice anymore. Instead, the episode is shot in Trogir, a small medieval town in Croatia that is the spitting image of 16th century Venice. However, Matt Smith and Toby Whithouse do go to Venice and meet up with Francesco Da Mosto, who gives them a unique tour on his boat.
Aghh! Knew this would happen, what is with the times getting so early?
Can’t the BBC see that scheduling DW before 7.00 is just not going to work as well at 7.00 or after! Why spend all that money on a quality product and not make the most of it. Who is the scheduling imbecile? 6.00 is just crazy time in decent weather and at this time of year. I know ‘classic’ Dr Who often started between 5.30 and 6.30 but it was mainly (I appreciate not always) shown between October and March – not April to July. Come on BBC, take the programme seriously. Perhaps the Grand Moff could put out a REALLY scary show to generate lots of complaints and force the Beeb into later scheduling.
It doesn’t matter how scary an episode is, it’ll still be broadcast before 7pm. Episodes Four and Five were said to be the scariest, and they’ve been broadcast early. Also, while Episodes Eight and Nine may look scary, they’ll no doubt be broadcast before 6.30pm (especially Episode Nine which may be another 6pm).
On another note: wasn’t Francesco the guy who gave David a tour of Pompeii back in DWC: The Italian Job?
I don’t understand why people are surprised by this. I have said all along, Doctor Who may be a ratings puller but the BBC have no real interest in it, if they prefer to listen to producers of reality shows over actual programs. This, I believe was borne out by the dog tag fiasco last Saturday.
Not surprisingly, BBC America showDoctor Who at 9pm on a Sat and is it’s most successful program currently.
The trouble is, the BBC want to make cheap shows, so they can invest licence fees on property development, expenses and fat cat presenters like Jonathan Ross.
The BBC trust has said it is an Empire Building corporation who charge to much for doing nothing. Figures out today show that the BBC have more repeats than any other channel dedicated to ‘new programming.’
I would not be surprised if we are facing another hiatus within the next couple of years.
OK Something has to be done about this.
ALOT of people are going to have to start writing complaints.
Forget Graham Norton! This could be permenant!
Honestly though!
47 years – Youl`d think it would have its own time slot by now!
Plain stupid, what is wrong with the BBC?? Put it at seven, leave it at seven. Do they really thing having it on so early, and at a different time every week, helps a show?!?! Stupid.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Not even a peak-time slot. The BBC say they’re not interested in ratings (as opposed to itv) but will they be saying that when Doctor Who slips to 5 million viewers only? Someone at the BBC doesn’t like Doctor Who. What’s the point of all the publicity if the show isn’t on at a decent time? Good weather and an early start = nail in the coffin for Doctor Who.
@TWWL
Hardly any programme broadcast during the Saturday primetime slot has a fixed time slot any more. The only way Doctor Who would get a consistent time slot would be if it were to move to Sundays, where it would probably be broadcast at 7pm again, and would stand a minute chance of getting back to its old ratings.
It almost seems like there is some sort of agenda.
“Let’s mess people who watch Dotor Who about – see how much they will take”
Not giving one of your most popular programmes a regular time slot really is utterly pathetic – especially as it’s only 13 weeks in a year.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the BBC is staffed by idiots.
@TE
I think you’re right. I don’t think they’ll change it. The thing is, Doctor Who came back at a time when Saturday night telly was a bit rubbish. Now it’s come back full power, Doctor Who isn’t the only starring show of a Saturday evening. So we’re never going to get our fixed timeslot of 7pm. Which is, nevertheless, a massive shame.
@TSG
But it surely should, it’s still the most watched show on a Saturday on the BBC. It seem mad that they’d agree to moving a higer rated and regarded show to accomodate a much less regarded reality thing that gets lower viewing figures. The BBC should treat Who with the respect it deserves, considering the massive success its been for them over the last five years. It does just feel like someone is treating the show with very little respect.
No doubt part of the Beebs defence would run along the lines of the fact that peoples viewing habits are changing, and many people don’t watch the show when it goes out, they catch up later. But phooey to that.
I used to worry about this sort of thing, but not any more. The BBC do respect Doctor Who now. It’s not like the old days. I agree 6.00 is too early but it could be worse. Better to go out at 6.00 than move to 7.00, and have ITV move Britain’s Got Talent to the same time to blow it out of the water.
@stay calm
oh yer…… i forgot about that…..