tencrush | Because of the unique way the BBC is funded...

Yeah, I'm a tad concerned about this "television event." I hope Gareth is going on some auditions and getting his resume out there...

Let's pretend we're Gareth's agent again, I love that game!

*calls Gareth*
Hello, Gareth? BAIL, BAIL, BAIL! SRSLY, while you've still got the momentum, boy, run!

Such a fun and yet ultimately fruitless game it is. Perhaps by some miracle it will be the television event of the year and... yeah.

Yeah, that miracle where the BBC really sticks some effort in and promotes the show big time.

(And BTW, BBC, having Barrowman be loud, mildly annoying and flamingly gay on every chat and daytime show known to mankind DOES NOT constitute promoting your edgy sci-fi show. I've got nothing against the guy, but him being himself does not let you off doing your job trying to get people to watch.)

Fuck. This sucks. So hard.

It's not great news, no.

WHAA-T?

...that's totally ridiculous.

Dammit.

Being from the US, I've heard that BBCA is beyond fucking pissed. But I don't know much more than that.

It totally sucks for us, because I have that hesitation, that being American we may not get it because it is a 5 episode thing. Though I know BBCA has aired a lot of series that have 8 episodes, but that's usually over 8 weeks.

Yes I agree, everyone needs to be GDL's agent and yeah he needs to start doing some work, like soon (well maybe after this 5 episode thingy is shot), then he can run like the wind and never look back.

Nicole

Do we know yet whether S3 will be screened on BBC 1? The show already rates very well, and that would surely be a step up in the ratings.

It had best be the five most mindblowingly, toecurlingly orgasmic hours of television ever produced.

I mean it, Gardner.

I'd better come so hard after each hour that it takes the whole next day to recover. Do me so good --make me scream so loud-- that by the fifth hour I'm begging you to stop before I pop a vessel.

No pressure.

It'd be really funny if this really did happen. I mean, imagine of in fact they were all written by Moffat, and they were funny and dramatic and exciting and they made us laugh and cry and hide behind the sofa and then they won awards.

This show is so cancelled.

all written by Moffat, and they were funny and dramatic and exciting and they made us laugh and cry and hide behind the sofa and then they won awards.

You torment me. Why do you torment me?

They can't cancel anything until I've gotten enough of Ianto.

They can't cancel anything until I've gotten enough of Ianto.

For the last time woman, he's not getting his cock out. End of story. I know it upsets you, but you're just going to have to deal.

But it's relevent to the plot!

If he did get his cock out, we'd have a S4 right quick.

I bet you a hundred dollars.

I'm not taking that bet.

Maybe we should start a campaign for him to get his cock out? For the good of the show? Could we get away with dressing it up like that?

Any port in a storm, I say.

You have got to be kidding me D:

'God, I bet BBC America are SO FUCKING PISSED OFF right about now.'
I wonder if they'll even show it.

I guess the BBC has to do something considering their websites millions of dollars over budget.

That sucks unbelievably.

I know that there's issues like getting all the actors *cough*finding a space in JB's schedule*cough* but surely they could have made the effort.
I mean, 2009 we're only going to be getting a few DW specials instead of a full season, and now only 5 eps of Torchwood? That's just stupid.

God, I bet BBC America are SO FUCKING PISSED OFF right about now.

I would bet on it. If the contract they sign is anything like the SciFi one, they prepaid X dollars for first-run broadcast rights for a certain number of seasons(series) not episodes. So for series 3, they are paying 3 times the price per episode for basically tv movie.

if BBC Wales is so strapped for cash, why didn't they open up a call for co-production? i know one production house *cough* made an offer and was ignored.

i agree, they better plan to be back in production on S4 in like March 09 and have S4 ready for Jan 2010 if they want to keep anything going.

Casual fans are one problem, hardcore fans are a problem too - they can alienate the casual fans by not having enough episodes to keep them interested until 2010, and at the same time alienate some of the more hardcore fans who would otherwise have stuck with it and waited for S4, because quite a respectable fraction of the fandom seems to be of the opinion that the show is going to fuck up dealing with the lack of Tosh and Owen, and aren't expecting S3 to be great. And a five-episode mini-series may not be enough time for the producers to pull it out of the bag and convince people that hey, this is actually going to work out okay.

While I was taking a short break, fandom has gone BOOM!

This sounds like the beginning of the end. Now I understand why the latest photos of Gareth suggest that he has fallen in a vat of pie and can't get up.

Seriously, I'm very sad for two reasons. First, I'm very skeptical they can come back from this for a fourth series and second, I really doubt their ability to give me a satisfying storyline in a mini-series event. It's going to be all Jack/John/Gwen with poor Ianto getting to strike a pose here or there. I may need to pretend that the show ended with series 2. I've done a great job convincing myself that BtVS ended with season 5. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

Yeah, pie again?
*is sad*
Actually, to be honest with you, I haven't noticed his live, real time pie status getting any worse over the past few months.

Nor, sadly, any better, of course.

Actually a 5 episode series - as well as a desire to attract new viewers with the move to BBC1? - could force the writers to drop some of the Jack/Gwen/Ianto stuff and get back to writing sci-fi stories that rival the likes of the Moffet over at WHO.

And Kai Owen is still bigger than Gareth. And an amateur camera still adds ibs to someone's appearance. :) I think Gareth had a wake-up call when costume designer Ray Holman patted him on his stomach when the script for Adrift first appeared.

Oh man, though, TW is so not a Beeb1 show. I think that's a mistake.

Edited 2008-06-04 06:26 (UTC)

I agree with you on the weight issue. I believe he did have a wakeup call. His comments in the TW mag had an undertone of that realization (I’m sure if he actually watched the “Adrift” episode, he was horrified by just how bloated his face was throughout that entire episode). Also, one of the people that attended the Goose & Cukoo (sp?) event, reported that the muffin top (which she/he really loved) was virtually gone and that he's been working out with a trainer.

As for the pictures, IMO, his face didn't appear bloated, just healthy. When I compare the pictures to those from one of his earlier concerts (the one in which he wore the leather hat) and his appearance at the Rift, I honestly see an improvement. No, his cheekbones are not as prominent, but, as I've stated before, to me, he looks so much better (and healthier) with a fuller face. Regarding the camera adding weight, as was reported from the Rift recaps, the boy is as thin as a rail, but with the baggy clothes he wears, you can’t tell. I mean even the jacket from the G&C is baggy and stretched out of its original fitted shape (compare the pictures), and I won’t even get into the baggy jeans (no pun intended).

In regards to the 5 episodes, initially I was upset over the news, but now, I’ve decided to just go with the flow and hope for the best.

Well, that's what I mean. I think there won't be much in the way of shipping at all. There won't be time. It will almost have to be tightly story-focused and that story IMO will heavily feature Jack, John, and Gwen because Jack and Gwen are the lead actors and because John is the highly touted, ratings attracting guest star.

Since part of the appeal for me was the Jack/Ianto relationship, that makes me sad. I'm not really here for the scifi. YMMV.

God, I bet BBC America are SO FUCKING PISSED OFF right about now.

Um... you do understand that BBC America is actually owned by the BBC, don't you? It says so right here (http://www.press.bbcamerica.com/press/corporateoverview.jsp) on their corporate webpage. So while there might be departmental noses out of joint, as far as BBCA is concerned it's just a decision made by TPTB and we all know how that goes...

What I do think is interesting about all this though, is that what Julie Gardner has done in spilling the beans to TV Guide is just such an incredibly huge, unimaginable no-no. The BBC has not spoken until the Holy Press Release has been issued. Period. And they have so far been silent on the matter...

I have to wonder if there isn't some sort of power-play going on between the DW/TW producers and the Beeb. Aunty is currently sulking because she didn't get the increased funding she wanted, so therefore budgets are being cut left and right and this is the rumoured reason for the short DW series in 2009. What if Gardner has deliberately breached BBC protocol in leaking this information in the hopes of stirring up some sort of a reaction that might the BBC to reconsider how much money they are allotting to Torchwood for 2009? Maybe she wants a fan out cry? Bad press? Or even to give BBCA a chance to protest about lost advertising revenue before it's a done deal...? (For all that the BBC is a publicly funded broadcasting service, significant revenue is raised by BBC Worldwide's more commercial enterprises, like merchandising, DVDs, CDs, books and yes, overseas TV sales.)

I think this is all a quite fascinating situation and I'm quite looking forward for the BBC's press office to make their contribution.

Um... you do understand that BBC America is actually owned by the BBC, don't you?
As far as I'm aware, daughter company or not, BBC America pay the BBC for the rights to broadcast BBC shows just like any other cable company. In fact, as far as I'm aware, again, the Sci-Fi channel actually has first broadcasting pick for both Who and TW, but passed on Torchwood because it didn't like the target demographic, and that is the only reason that BBCA now has TW as a premiere, unlike Doctor Who, which premieres on Sci-Fi. I'd be willing to bet that, financially, the BBC is probably more closely tied to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the co-production partner for Who series one and two and TW series one, than it is to BBCA.

As far as I'm aware, daughter company or not, BBC America pay the BBC for the rights to broadcast BBC shows just like any other cable company.

I'm sure they do but it's still all internal accounting, most large companies do it so that their various parts all seem to be "paying their" even if their actual "customer" is internal, not external. It still remains that getting BBCA to pay more for TW would still only be robbing Peter to pay Paul.

In fact, as far as I'm aware, again, the Sci-Fi channel actually has first broadcasting pick for both Who and TW, but passed on Torchwood because it didn't like the target demographic, and that is the only reason that BBCA now has TW as a premiere, unlike Doctor Who, which premieres on Sci-Fi.

Well, yeah. Because getting Sci Fi to pay for something is way better than getting one of your own subsidiaries to pay to for it, 'cos they're only paying you with money that sort of belongs to you anyway. That way, Sci Fi introduces new money into the equation instead.

I'd be willing to bet that, financially, the BBC is probably more closely tied to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the co-production partner for Who series one and two and TW series one, than it is to BBCA.

I'm afraid you'd lose the bet. The CBC belongs to the Canadian people in the same way the BBC belongs to the British and the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) belongs to the Australian people. They are all publicly owned, government (under)funded, charter driven institutions which while they are free to become involved in productions with other broadcasters (the ABC was actually a production partner in series one of the new DW as well) all still belong to their respective nations. In fact, their sovereignty and independence is something that is taken very seriously by charters that position them very much as the voices of their respective peoples and require them to provide content that is not driven by ratings, political affiliations or commercial concerns. Whether or not these charters are always followed in the spirit of their intent is a whole other argument...

In any case, due to a couple of extremely grey areas in their charter, the BBC have managed to engage in some pretty commercial enterprises outside of the UK but at the end of the day, BBC Worldwide is 100% owned by the BBC... and a nice little earner it is too, for a supposedly non-profit organisation!

All of that of course still leaves us in our current predicament - the BBC giveth and the BBC taketh away and none of it has much to do with the ratings. Still, where there's government institutions, there's politics and I'm sincerely hoping that that's what Julie Gardner is playing at right now because while I'll gratefully accept how ever many episodes of Torchwood we're given, I'm greedy and 13 sounds like a whole lot better deal to me than 5, no matter how "big" they are.

Which is why I think they're going for a co-production thing with BBCA. As far as I know, I realise it's a subsidiary, but it functions pretty much as a separate financial entity. Like someone was saying on the OG, because of the BBC's charters, they've got very little leeway to invest in something that they think will make them a nice commercial profit later. They have a budget and they need to stick to it, they're not the sort of business that's allowed to spend money to make money, so they're not allowed to take any potential future earning power of TW into consideration. If they want to spend more money, they just have to raise the allocated budget somehow, and the only way I can see them doing that is by pushing BBCA to throw some of their budget toward BBC Wales for Torchwood, as a co-production. And I think Gardner is trying to pressure them into doing that.

Personally, I think Gardner is probably trying to engineer a BBCA/BBC co-production setup for Torchwood, as it's such a huge programme on BBCA, and I think she's probably trying to put the pressure on BBCA to put some money where their mouth is, especially given the fact that she talked to TV Guide of all people.

Depending on just how free BBCA are to allocate their own budget, it's a possibility but they'd doubtlessly have to take it away from some other area and can they afford/are they willing to do that, I wonder?

Because of the unique way the BBC is funded...

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