Major DOCTOR WHO Season 7 Scheduling Change

A few months ago word started hitting forums that next years season of Doctor Who would get yet another scheduling shake up. For the first five seasons of New Doctor Who, 13 episodes have been shown week in/week out from an Easter debut (except during 2009 which saw a handful of hour long specials scattered throughout the year). This year we saw a slight shift in the routine, we saw 7 of the 13 episodes released in the spring which culminated in a mid season finale, the show had a summer rest and eventually returned in the autumn with the remaining 6 episodes. This helped leave a far smaller gap between the season finale and the years Christmas special. It now appears this was now only stage one of a larger plan from BBC and the makers of Doctor Who. Season 7 of Doctor Who will not premiere during the established easter time slot in 2012. Instead it has been decided to not air Season 7 until Autumn 2012. From there the season will air the first 7 episodes, a two month hiatus between October and December will occur and take us to that years christmas special (which will be used as a mid-season bridge). The remaining 6 episodes of the season will then see a release in the spring of 2013, leading everyone directly into the shows 50th anniversary year. Matt Smith has confirmed he is to stay with the show until at least 2013. Show runner Steven Moffat has gone on record before saying that as a child he has memories of Doctor Who showing throughout the autumn months every year and that the show suited the scenery of shorter and colder days much better. This change falls in line with the direction current show runner Moffat is taking the show and for the sake of an extra 6-8 months hiatus the show will be able to rest in it's new winter time slot for years to come.