Some other show overshadow Doctor Who? You jest! Don't forget that there was a gap of, what, 15+ years between the McCoy series and the Eccleston series. Didn't do it a bit of harm. If anything, an extra year of no Who should amp up the anticipation.

I'm more interested in what this means for Torchwood -- will RTD be able to spend more time on that series now? I hope so -- I think the first series showed signs of him not having enough time spare from Who.

If I was an ITV executive I'd have cracked open the bolly at this news and finalised plans to reimagine 'Sapphire & Steel' for starters. The staggering ineptitude of the BBC has once again taken a toll on its prize asset.

As far as i can see, it`s more a question of money..

Auntie beeb put a lot of resources in DrWho. CGI(!You wouldn`t believe what a couple of minutes of CGI Lazarus cost!!), Stories ,Actors etc. It`s all abit above average for the BBC, and bloody expensive to boot.
It wasn`t a given that DrWho would be a hit in Canada ,the states, new Zealand etc. etc.

Showing a couple of specials in 2009, means they have to make èm in 2008, with production plannig&financing this year. Same goes for season 5.

From "people in the know" I`ve heard that DrWho was a huge gamble for BBC, they never expected to run for more than 2 seasons, so, logically, all planning, financing and such was quite haphazard and is only recently coming up to speed..

Said loss of momentum, Yes, but I`d rather have a couple of well worked through Specials, then "run of the mill"episodes to fill a season. Those run of the mill episodes are mostly more damaging to a franchise then a hiatus and 2 or 3 good specials.

just my 2cents..

I'm a bit irritated about the gap year but there are the other series to learn off-by-heart and torchwood and stuff, besides this means that they have longer to make the new series!

may your screwdrivers stay sonic

Kaiya (bet you can't pronounce it)

Im not happy theyre only doing 3 specials plus a christmas one=4 special.
but its better than no dr who in 2009. And there will be torchwood and sarah jane and k-9 to entertain us.
not sure if ill like the series k9 though, ill give it a go, but i hear its just a comedy cartoon.

It sounds like the BBC could learn something from US TV. Granted I live in Canada and would love Dr. Who to flood our airwaves, but the CBC here is just as bad, sometimes. US TV knows when to milk a franchise for all its worth (Star Trek, Stargate, Friends, etc). Is the BBC so humble that they do not realize the Global scale of the viewership? Hell, here in Canada, we are anxiously awaiting the BBC to get their heads on straight and release a pile of DVD sets where each release is by Doctor. So, my friends, there IS a global viewership of Doctor Who - BBC, Wake Up! Plan ahead, as we are starving for more, and now! There is nothing 'iffy' about it!