[xtrawidth]

We didn't watch Dr Who on Space, we downloaded the whole thing and watched it at the same pace (wrapping it up this weekend) - mainly because we wanted it in HD.

My gf and I both mentioned how seemingly sad it is that the (major) two franchises of DW seem to get a poor showing here now the CBC seems disinterested. I never flip to Space, partially because it's not in HD, but mainly I imagine because of lack of promotion. It's just not on my radar, and in the case of Torchwood, neither is HDNet.

I understand the CBC had some involvement in the earlier seasons of the DW reboot and also the first season of Torchwood - and it seemed to get some pride of place in their schedule (ok friday night isn't exactly a prime slot, but still).

I guess my question is around what it takes for the CBC to get involved in a multi national production, and why they're happy to abandon a show's audience once their input is done. DW hasn't gone away (and in my opinion the Moffat / Smith combo is better than RTD / Tennant) and its interest is surely just as strong. The last season of Torchwood in the UK, the five part Children of Earth got the best audiences I think the show ever received.

I didn't realise the CBC was involved in The Tudors as I've never watched it, but it makes sense why it figures so highly in their fall programming promos (along with such awfulness as 18 to Life). So yeah, what does it take for this kind of effort? For me personally it usually represents the shining hours of the CBC's programming. I'd like to see more.

 

[NB Josh]

The reason that CBC got out of co-producing and airing Doctor Who and Torchwood is that they wanted to focus more on Canadian programming, or at least programming that is filmed in Canada and/or employs Canadian actors, which both of those didn't.

As for how they get involved, not really sure how to answer that question, I guess they just show their interest to the originating network/production company. There are many co-productions between Canadian and American companies going on right now, for example The Tudors (CBC/Showtime), Flashpoint (CTV/CBS), The Bridge (CTV/CBS) and Rookie Blue (Global/ABC). CTV and Showtime also have The Borgias coming up in the winter, which is basically Showtime's sequel to The Tudors, and this also shows that CBC isn't interested in co-producing productions that don't take place in Canada.

 

[stampeder]

There was an ongoing strike at the CBC causing management to look to the UK for a quick programming solution. Thus, the CBC carried the new Dr. Who and Torchwood for a brief time. When the strike ended, so did those contracts. That's it in a nutshell.

 

[reidw]

stampeder, CBC carried Doctor Who for four years! That's hardly a short time. For the first three years they received a credit at the end of every programme. When that ended I suspected it was only a matter of time before CBC dropped the show (many here dismissed my concerns by the way). The final year they barely acknowledged that it was even on but theirs was hardly a short-term committment.

 

[sleemo]

Maybe the ratings just didn't cut it.

 

[stampeder]

Those program contracts were signed in order to fill gaping holes in the strike-ridden network's programming. It doesn't matter that the contracts were for 1, 2, or 100 years. I stand by what I said, and you can see from what happened after the strike that the shows were treated like unwanted orphans.

 

[reidw]

stampeder, your explanation may be right but I have trouble with calling it a brief period as you did in your original posting. That's what I was questioning.

 

[NB Josh]

CBC had been airing Doctor Who since before the CBC strike. As I remember it season 1 of Doctor Who was aired during the spring of 2005, because there were no NHL playoffs. Torchwood and The Tudors came after the CBC strike.

 

[stampeder]

Actually Wikipedia corrects me about the labour strife - it was the NHL players lockout that caused the CBC to bring in Dr. Who and other series:

The series one episodes aired in Canada a couple of weeks after their UK broadcast, a situation made possible by the 2004–05 NHL lockout which left vast gaps in CBC's schedule.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who