10 Simple Fixes For Doctor Who's Future

On a similar note, the decision to release new episodes at midnight in the UK clearly did Season 1 no favours.

Doctor Who's most passionate and loyal audience has always been in the UK, so to drop the show at a time that was deeply inconvenient for that audience was a very strange move indeed.

Post-episode chatter and hype took a hit because your biggest fans were half-asleep, or fully asleep! It's that initial groundswell from the hardcore fans that gets positive word-of-mouth flowing, which casual viewers then hear about, prompting them to check out the latest episode. But when those hardcore fans are talking into the Twitter void at 2am on a Saturday morning, it's more difficult for the show to catch on.

While Season 1 did still air in that typical Doctor Who Saturday teatime slot, there is something to be said for launching it there too. Make it an appointment – an event not to be missed! Saturday evening is the optimal time for that vital UK audience, and for US viewers, it would be Saturday afternoon, so still convenient for them too.

This way, you get everybody buzzing about the show at once. We don't need staggered release times again – that just staggers the hype and therefore, diminishes potential interest.

Ultimately, dropping new episodes on the iPlayer and Disney+ at the exact same time they aired on BBC1 worked very well for the 60th anniversary and The Church on Ruby Road. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.