Doctor Who: The Big Bang finale figures

[rabid1st]

Never have I felt so bad about being right about something. SIGH!

"Journey's End" was watched by 10.57 million viewers when broadcast on BBC1, giving it a 45.9% share of the total television audience. The episode was the most-viewed program of the week. The final numbers for The Big Bang, the ninth most watched show of the week, are 6.12 million. The Pandorica Opens drew 7.57 in the finale numbers. This means that after people watched Part 1, they simply gave up on Part 2. Over 1.4 million people opted out of watching the story conclusion. This is unprecedented in New Who history and goes a long way to explaining the BBC News report admitting to the ratings slide just after The Big Bang. I don't think this bodes well for Christmas.

On the other hand, that will be a captive audience and Moff is good at doing one off episodes. I wonder if it was the big set pieces that put people off The Big Bang? Did it reach too high? Did the audience simply feel there was no hope for a satisfying resolution? For me, I think the main problem continues to be the hollowness of it all. The lack of true dramatic tension that is born out of "The Doctor is beyond suffering. Always amazing. Always cool. Always triumphant." I really didn't feel anything close to what I was obviously expected to feel during The Pandorica Opens, because I felt nothing for the players who seemed to feel nothing for one another.

SPOILERS: Amy died. Meh! I figured she would be back next episode, because that's how the wibbly-wobbly works. The Doctor is locked up in slow motion...whatever. He was in no real danger in my mind. It wasn't like Doomsday or Journey's End where he is crushed emotionally, at least. Despite the overly dramatic slo-mo this is only a slight blow to his ego. Anyone paying attention during the earlier episodes knows that he's flitting through time somehow. River is in trouble. I want her to die but I know she won't because she's timey-wimey, too...and inside the TARDIS. It was all just this exercise in extravagant futility, sound and fury signifying nothing. A good puzzle in the end, yes, and I, personally, got enough loopholes to save Ten and Rose. But beyond that...well...there's just the CGI. That was some pretty good CGI.

BTW, several fansites have claimed that the BBC America numbers are GREAT. I can find no evidence of this. I only find that the season opened to the best audience ever on BBC America. And I still believe that was because we had a real ad push on the episode, coupled with David's finale few episodes going up and up and finally...of course...the media blitz about regime change. But did the audience stay once the hoopla died away? I can find no evidence that it did and would be interested in any articles or info about the BBC America numbers.

Rae

Comments

[wickedgillie.livejournal.com]

I tried at first to be supportive of New Who being released so early on BBCA. I really did. All of the RTD era episodes, even the ones I didn't much care for, I dutifully watched both places. Same with Torchwood. But I couldn't do it with NEW New Who. I couldn't. The early episodes were just so bad. I don't care about these people. The appeared on my dvr, and I deleted them to make room for Team Umizoomi and Tom & Jerry for my kids.

(and yet, I cannot delete TIP/TSP, AoG/Doomsday from said dvr despite the fact I've had them on dvd for years. Go figure!)

[binah1013.livejournal.com]

I like River better than before this season, but I'm still not a fan. The best I can say is that she's doesn't actively annoy me every moment she's onscreen. Mostly, it's the Doctor's distance from her that makes her bearable. Her constant "sweetie" goes unanswered and unappreciated, which is clearly calculated as the Doctor wants Amy before he's to die in The Big Bang.

Matt Smith and Moffat make an occasionally interesting Doctor. The Doctor was probably his most interesting in "The Lodger". But overall, the Doctor is too detached for me to become attached. None of his *emotional* moments feel terribly authentic. It takes more to create a persona than the catchphrase, "Bow ties are cool."

I started out liking Amy, but that faded as the series went on. When she "died", I was "meh". I knew she would come back anyway, but it wouldn't have bothered me if she really died. At this point, I like Rory more. His emotions seem more poignant. Rory seems to be the only character with emotional authenticity.

I'll watch next series because my husband will want to. Unlike you, I wasn't that wowed about the finale. This Doctor Who seems to have no genuine heart. As you say, it's hollow.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

What I liked about the finale was it gave me a loophole to save Rose and Ten...to allow for a reunion that hadn't existed to that point in the narrative. I also felt that Moff was competent in his execution of the finale. And I felt that it deserved some viewership. But, beyond that, it really didn't WOW me. It lacked heart and lots of things that other reviewers found endearing...such as the shooting of the fez or making the Dalek beg for mercy...struck me as self-indulgent and silly attempts by the writers to force the audience to enjoy characters that were...hollow.

I can't say if I will watch or not at this point. I do think I am not going to watch, simply because I doubt there is much left in the series that will surprise me. I am going to do a "How to save New New Who" post in a day or so...give my mind over to what needs to happen. I don't think it really will be possible to save it though...because this is an erosion of audience faith that happens over time. Viewers are only won back by the promise of something they haven't seen before...not by the same old thing. So, firing Matt Smith will not help much. Firing Moffat might help, but I don't know that we would find someone better than him.

Trying to add emotional authenticity to firmly established shallow characters is probably not going to work. There is talk of having David guest star at Christmas. But David also cannot save the show...except by giving him and Rose a proper reunion and calling it a day. They need to call it and pull the life support plugs.

Rae

[asahifirsa.livejournal.com]

I'm actually starting to feel a bit sorry for River. She spends so much time obviously caring a lot for the Doctor when he doesn't really know her. Still, I don't want her to be his wife. I'm hoping for something a bit more out of the ordinary.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I have felt sorry for River since the moment she arrived. Which was odd given that she was doing her level best to be as bright and cheery and sure of herself and her position as she could possibly be. But to me, the Doctor so obviously loved Rose that I felt his blank stare very acutely. And I do believe that was an acting choice from David, though Alex K. recently seemed to indicate it was just a lack of chemistry between them.

Either way, the outcome of her story is so very sad. I mean, I think we can assume that perhaps Moff will have Eleven go and rescue River from the computer in the library...since we have the Auton download option for her at this point...and it is a very clever way to change the look of the actress. But still, once you have a relationship that is preordained from the outset to follow a particular path of romance...well...there is no real romance there. There can certainly be some affection, I suppose. But the Doctor is tolerating River because he was presented with her sacrificial death as the end of their story...and told by her, repeatedly, that their story is very important to her. He really is only going along with all of this...and so are we, the audience. Or, in my case, not so much going along as suffering through it.

Rae

[jedi_of_urth]

Since I haven't watched any of s5 yet I can't really comment on how much it deserves the ratings slide, but it is pretty much what I predicted, though not the exact way I guess. Such as the numbers going down between 5x12 and 5x13, I never would have called that. Flies in the face of what I assume happens with two parters, but I'm not sure what the expected numbers are on those things in reality.

The lack of true dramatic tension that is born out of "The Doctor is beyond suffering.

This just amuses me, since RTD's Who was practically made of suffering. I can understand the need to pull back from that, because it was getting pretty heavy and not all that fun anymore, but at the same time...that would be like trying to shift into reverse when driving on the freeway.

And really, it's something I expected. RTD had been ramping up the angst-o-meter so high that we really didn't want that much of it any more, but to keep from crashing when Moffat took over they'd have to deal with how high the angst had been sat, and I figured Moff wouldn't want to deal with that (partly Moff wanting to get right on with his Who without addressing the recent past and partly RTD having closed off most escape routes from it). That without regard for where we had been Moffat would set whatever course he wanted, hence why I haven't been watching.

I could try to twist that metaphor and logic train up some more, but I think it's already jumbled enough.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

RTD had been ramping up the angst-o-meter so high that we really didn't want that much of it any more, but to keep from crashing when Moffat took over they'd have to deal with how high the angst had been sat, and I figured Moff wouldn't want to deal with that (partly Moff wanting to get right on with his Who without addressing the recent past and partly RTD having closed off most escape routes from it).

I'm like a scratched and skippy CD on this point, but it does bear much repeating. The failure here is that RTD failed to close out his angst-fest of despair. Many people hated Rose and would have derided RTD giving Rose and Ten a happy ending. BUT...that ending would have ended the expectation of suffering that was set in place BY RTD. Prior to his run...and now POST his run...there is no angst in being the Doctor. He's a lighthearted, fun guy...master of his domain and not troubled by anything approaching deeper feeling.

RTD started something. He created a previously nonexistent desire in the Doctor to belong somewhere...to be with Rose Tyler. This had never happened, it was unprecedented. And while giving the Doctor Rose Tyler wasn't the ONLY way to tell the story...it was pretty much the only way once we had that reunion where he runs to her arms. Once you have had the lovers parted for two long seasons and then reunited them to great joy...you don't just go...okay, then they decide that they want to be apart again. That's just...really unfortunately bad writing. It would have been better to kill one of them than to do what RTD did and call it resolution. It screams out for...well...REAL resolution.

But then on top of that...you give the Doctor a weepy final moment after he goes back to see his beloved one last time...but somehow...he'd like to go on suffering...he doesn't want to go...yet...oh, now he's all better. WHAT? It's just too much for the audience to swallow in a great gulp like that. But Moff is also to blame because he just was so very convinced that "everyone" wanted Old School Doctor Who.

In fact, very few people wanted that. I mean, I was a HUGE fan of the original show...but it was pre-Star Wars...pre-Avatar...it was schlocky and charming and the stories were cool. The Doctor is a cool character, but he never would have succeeded if Moff had brought him back to us like this. RTD made the Doctor something more than he'd ever been...for that he deserves a great deal of praise. But, then he let the character and his audience down. And Moff is doing about as well as can be expected, given his talents and temperament.

[asahifirsa.livejournal.com]

I'm still explaining it by the various versions of "THE FIX" where it's actually Ten2 that regenerates into Matt. It makes the most sense to me really.

[mrs_roy.livejournal.com]

Given these numbers, and the fact that most people I know have had some issue or rather with some part of S5 .. How the heck are we still getting all this Tennant hate! It's truly beyong me.

I still have to believe that it's really Ten who stood on that beach with Rose and not his buddy.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I really have no idea where the Tennant hate is coming from, but I have suspected that it is a bit of overplaying the hand for Matt Smith. In other words, everyone was aware of the fact that these numbers were likely to happen. So, critics and I suspect the power players at the BBC decided that they would present it as if Matt Smith makes you forget Tennant. Then there is simply the fact that a vocal number of fans didn't like Tennant or RTD or Rose or any of the romantic stuff. They wanted the Doctor to go back to being "your fun Uncle." Smith does take the Doctor back to his roots.

Someone said here that we had it good while we had David and Billie and RTD and now the people who didn't like that are getting their chance to rave about a Doctor and companion. People who wanted the show they watched as children to return...are happy now. RTD really was breaking the rules of Doctor Who and the real shame is that he didn't carry through and shatter them completely. He lacked the conviction of his talents. These number show that he was in the right...to have emo Ten and Rose.

The reason 10.57 million people turned in to JE was to see the conclusion of the story they voted the best romance in British TV. They wanted to see Rose/Ten together and happy. They stuck with the specials for that forlorn hope and the love they felt for the broken Ten. But once that hope was lost. Once all they had was Doctor Who...well...Doctor Who isn't a show that draws 10.57 million people. It draws a core group of nerds and Whovians. They still like the show and they want to tell those 4 million people that made their show an international phenomenon that THEY are wrong about Doctor Who...it is not a show about sappy romance and quality acting...it is a show about a fun space Uncle. And Matt Smith is a fun space Uncle.

Rae

[asahifirsa.livejournal.com]

I think the hollowness is partially because we know the characters aren't in danger. Even when Rory died (and he was the one I liked better) I didn't care. I was sure they'd bring him back somehow. Amy? Of course they'll bring her back? The Doctor? Actually I thought they'd have him sit there for 2000 years before releasing him, would have been interesting to see, but nooo he gets saved right away. Then he dies, but no he wasn't really dead after all...

Sure Jack also gets killed and returned. No companion really dies in New Who, but before you somehow felt that something could happen. It also felt like there was something at stake. In the end Rose lost the Doctor and Donna lost herself. And the Doctor lost them both. There was emotional involvement.

Not anymore. Now it's just a witty kid's show.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

It always was just a witty kids show. The reason I continue to be upset at RTD for all of this...is because he wimped out on his own vision for the Doctor. He introduced us to a man damaged and alone and seeking some human comfort. He embodied that comfort in Rose Tyler. He wanted to show us the Doctor alone, isolated and falling in love. And he showed us all of that. He showed us a side of the Doctor that we had never seen before and will probably never see again. But then, he failed to follow through and give us the logical solution to the Doctor's problem. He broke the Doctor and left him broken.

Matt and Moff have returned the Doctor to his roots. What nobody calling for that in the fandom realized...is that Doctor Who at its root is a kid show about your amazing Uncle from Space. It was never a show with much substance. And that was fine...before we saw it have substance. Matt is a Doctor that fits in seamlessly with all of the Old School Doctors. But he has no goals, no passions...no pain. And we have become used to the Doctor suffering. But pointless suffering won't work either. We needed resolution to the suffering and we don't have that in canon. Beyond which even people calling for a return to the fun Doctor of old...are finding that maybe the wanted him to be a little more serious...and have a little more depth.

Rae

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I'm curious - what did you see in the finale that allows for a reunion for the Doctor and Rose?

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

The rewind of the entire season...up to the point where the TARDIS explodes. The explosion, you will remember, happens as the Doctor regenerates. We also learn that the Pandorica heals...so technically it could heal what happened to the Doctor--the metacrisis split that altered his personality. That's the type of loophole that allows a writer to create alternative storylines and doesn't require any further canon explanations. This was what I was pulling for with the Rose/Ten happy ending all those months. You don't really need a huge reunion of Rose and Ten to have a loophole in the canon that allows the possibility of such a reunion. Just as you don't need to show them living out a life together to have it assumed that they did.

If, for example, they had used that cameo Billie did in The End of Time more intelligently...they could easily have had the Doctor materialize at that exact moment on the beach with Rose and Ten2 looking at one another...from JE. He steps out of the TARDIS...and Rose runs to his arms. We leave them on a kiss...and cut to an empty star field...100 years later appears on the screen...the TARDIS appears...exploding...as it does...and Matt Smith is born just as he was. Nothing changes...in the narrative or guest appearances...but the entire story changes in the minds of the viewers. It is a happy ending...or it is a ending fraught with hope of amazing adventure...instead of a melodramatic angst-fest.

Rae

[astitchintime-9.livejournal.com]

used that cameo Billie did in The End of Time more intelligently


Actually, I have been thinking about the post I read (was it here?) about how when Ten went back to see a pre-Nine Rose, she thought he was drunk, and that therefore it would have been the perfect moment for Ten to have told her that he loves her. I've actually been obsessing over it, because it occurred to me that all that "Oh, she knows" and such would become so much more resonant if the Doctor had already said the words to her before they met, only she didn't really know how important and sincere it was until Ten himself came on the scene.

(Am I making sense, or too convoluted and wibbly-wobbly with my tenses?)

Of course, that assuming I permit myself to accept any aspect of the s4+ "specials" ... which I do not, other than your "Quantum Leap"-inspired Switch-Doctors-and-blow-up-the-Tardis fix-it fic.

[nightbeast.livejournal.com]

I'm having this strange urge to ship Amy/Jack. The have both been dead in a box for 2000 years. Sex and flirting is just a way of life for them.

And I say this on the anniversary that Ianto became the first Torchwood character not to die from a gun.

Lisa
Any musings are good musings for me at the moment

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Actually, I can see Amy/Jack working. You might remember that I said that River was like Jack. Well, Amy is like Jack, too. Moff seems to write "sexy" in a certain way. It is not without its appeal, either. He creates these "devil-may-care" characters who come on to people in a way that is completely non-threatening because it carries no emotional baggage. This is the way that Amy keeps hitting on the Doctor. It is rather distasteful to someone who has experienced deeper connection, however. Not that there is anything wrong with a little recreational sex...but it gets a bit tiresome if you have to be around a pointlessly randy person for long.

Actually, that is what Jack, River and Amy all remind me of...that guy who is in his late 30's - 60's that keeps up a stream of sexual innuendo at work, at parties or in the home until you just want to tell him that he's become too pathetic to ever get laid. :grin: I suppose, having studied people and characters for most of my life, I find I am always drawn to the deeper waters, the more complete character package, rather than the one note wonders. Martha put me off for the same reason. She was like one of those tragic people who keep trying to please someone who barely is noticing her. It was sad to me that she didn't become aware of her behavior and make changes to it.

Or, that her writers didn't become aware...though just as I think Amy and River have their emotional GPS programmed by Moff, I also think Martha was programmed by RTD to be a one-note character. I am so very happy he didn't do that with Rose and Donna and that he did add some more dimensions to Jack.

Rae