Uploaded by CultOfJaffa

Many thanks Jo!

PLUS
“Vogue” by Madonna
and “Never gonna give you up” by Rick Astley

Thousands of Doctor Who fans have contacted the BBC to complain that the ending of Saturday night’s episode was ruined by a trailer for the next show.

The on-screen caption featured an animated cartoon of presenter Graham Norton, host of Over the Rainbow.

It appeared as The Doctor, played by Matt Smith, was making an emotional speech during the story’s cliffhanger ending for The Time of Angels.

The trailer was seen by millions of viewers watching on BBC One in England.

Fans have also been complaining on social networking site Twitter. One wrote: “Why is the BBC treating its audience like idiots?”

Another said: “Don’t blink or Graham Norton will catch you.”

The BBC often promotes programmes in this way but the corporation has acknowledged that in this case the scheduling was inappropriate.

A BBC spokesman said: “We apologise for the timing of Saturday night’s trail.”

When I sent in my complaint regarding this matter, I did ask for the BBC to contact me regarding this matter, but I still haven’t received even an acknowledgement from them. This is the first time I have seen an IPP on the BBC – I know I don’t watch a lot of TV now, but I’m sure I would have seen them before now if they “often promote[d] programmes in this way”…

For the first time in my life, I have just sent a letter of complaint to the BBC. Why? Well, during the climax of the episode of Doctor Who they had an on screen advert in bright yellow (the scene was set in a dark cave).

If you saw this and want to complain, you can do so via https://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/forms/. My complaint is at the bottom

Other complaints which have been sent include ones from:

• @denofgeek (text of complaint)
• @katybairstow (text of complaint)
• @ODSeanT “Animated Graham Norton ruined what was otherwise an excellent episode of #DoctorWho” (Source)
• @mightyhorse82 “BBC your inscreen ad for OverTheRainbow at the end of #DoctorWho just makes me even less likely to watch that f…. bilge” (Source)
• @capricorn_one “WHAT THE F… WAS THAT??? I’m refering to that on screen banner for the next show at the end of Dr Who #DoctorWho” (Source)
• @richardpmilner “#bbc, don’t put a Graham Norton avatar/banner over the top of #doctorwho at the dramatically climactic moment. Away with your rainbow vomit.” (Source)
• @stewart_Paske “#BBC1 shouldn’t compromise the dramatic integrity of #DoctorWho by splashing Graham Norton over the pivotal scene. #GetGrahamOutOfMyTardis” (Source)
• @kaleidoscope27 “What the hell was that cartoon Graham Norton doing tainting my #DoctorWho?” (Source)
• @pressfuturist “Am currently using the BBC complaint form to do my whyohwhyohwhy about GrahamNorton on #doctorwho http://bit.ly/78qXs (via @FullMetalAnnie )” (Source)
• @nissemus “The way the Beeb ruined the end of #DoctorWho is proof that British TV is now being run by marketing morons rather than broadcasters.” (Source)
• @simquayle “I am gratified that I was joined by most of Britain in a chorus of “What the… Get off my telly!” at the #Dorothy trail in #DoctorWho” (Source)
• @fechtbuch “Tweet #bbcfail if you hated the yellow onscreen banner during the “one thing you don’t put in a trap…” speech. #doctorwho” (Source)
• @drandreq “Why the f… is there a tiny Graham Norton dancing at the bottom of the screen? #doctorwho” (Source)
• Daryl Millar: “The In-Programme Pointer for ‘Over The Rainbow’ during an incredibly tense ‘Doctor Who’ cliffhanger was completely unacceptable. If you hate them too, I urge you to submit a complaint to the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/forms/. If the BBC believe they can get away with it, I am certain that these banners will pop up during the episode every single week.” (Source)
• “G G”: “The In-Programme Pointer for ‘Over The Rainbow’ during an incredibly tense ‘Doctor Who’ cliffhanger was completely unacceptable. All week we’ve had a preview scene of the Doctor doing a dramatic ‘you don’t want to trap me’ speech, a very tense moment in the show, which is going to end on a cliffhanger, at that very moment a reminder of the show coming on straight after Dr Who appeared on the screen. What was that all about? The tension had built up nicely in the show, one of the better episodes of late too, then this daft cartoon appears advertising Graham Norton’s show. We know what is on next, and would have found out in a few seconds anyway. Why do you treat us like idiots?” (Source)
• Owen Blacker: “Dear Aunty, Using on-screen graphics to trail the next programme detracts from the programme one is watching, particularly when it a suspenseful scene in something like Doctor Who and when the DOG is animated. Please avoid using on-screen trailer graphics during primetime shows, especially when that show is likely to be generating a mood of suspense or anticipation that is destroyed by a moving graphic advertising another programme 15 seconds before the end of the closing scene of a two-part drama. The credits are a perfect opportunity to trail programmes about to start on the BBC channels, where graphics (animated or otherwise) will not detract from viewers’ enjoyment of the show they actually tuned in to watch. Yours, very disappointed” (Source: Facebook)
• Facebook group

If you’ve complained, please let me know in the comments (if you’ve got a copy of the complaint then even better) so we can keep track of a rough number of them.

(From what I’ve heard from others, this advertisement was on only the standard BBC One Channel (not HD) and only on the non-Scottish regions)

Here’s the text of the letter I sent:

I wish to complain about the advert the BBC put near the end of the Doctor Who episode “Time of Angels”. This advert was around 1/6th of screen at the bottom for the following show “Over the Rainbow”. My reasons for complaint are:

* Didn’t fit with the scene. The episode was setting up the cliff hanger for the next episode of one of your flagship programs and hence had tension building and was set in the dark. Therefore a bright yellow banner advertisement was extremely off putting.

* Distracting. Bright yellow animated advertisement – why?

* Different viewership. I doubt there is a high level of overlap between your high viewership (8million views as started in the Doctor Who introduction) “sci-fi” show and yet another reality show (maximum peak viewership of 7million) which has already been branded as blatant commercial advertising for Andrew Lloyd-Webbers musicals.

* High levels of promotion. Not only did you interrupt Doctor Who for this advertisement for a show you advertised before Doctor Who started (which started 5 minutes after its advertised start time!), but then during the end credits you advertised/promoted the show again!

* Un-prime channel advertising. I have only seen this sort of advertising on non-prime channels (such as BBC Three) – I had yet to see this on any of the “mainstream/prime channels” (BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV, C4, Five – even Sky One): so to first see if on the BBC on one of their highest rated shows is shocking.

* Deterioration of programme quality. The “iPod Coloured Daleks” from the Doctor Who “Victory Of The Daleks” was quite off putting as they appear to have just been multi-coloured for merchandising, but then to have the next episode of Doctor Who interrupted in the cliffhanger for another promotion was even worse. Can we expect next episode to have a 30 second commercial break asking us to buy the Daleks from our nearest shop and whilst there buy tickets for Lloyd-Webber’s latest musical?

Please please please do not repeat this sort of advertising/promotion. Our household watches less than 6 hours of television a week (consisting of Doctor Who, Doctor Who Confidential, Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters, and a couple of smaller shows) and I do really like the BBC. If the advertising is repeated, I will have to reconsider not only paying for my Sky TV Subscription (which provides me with BBC 3) but also my TV licence fee.

I do like the BBC and think it should be supported, but if you become over commercialised and focus on viewership and “cross-promotion” instead of high quality programming (some of us can still remember your “You help make the BBC what it is due to the unique way we are funded” adverts), then I fail to see why I should continue funding it.

Yours,

Today, we went to watch the filming of the first episode of the new series of Have I Got News For You (filmed at the ITV London Studios). The free tickets from Hattrick (HIGNFY’s production company) said that the doors open at 6.45pm : we were there for 4.30pm and were around 30/40th in the queue. By the time 6.30pm came round (and we had been standing in the cold wind and rain outside), the queue stretched out the “Audience Queue” area, past the side of the building, round the corner on the pavement and further still(!). Spoilers may be ahead…

Anyway, we got in, got warm and sat down on the left hand side of seats (Ian Hislop’s side around four rows from the front). Warm up act was pretty good, then Ian Hislop was announced, Paul Merton, a northern comedian (can’t remember his name – but he had a Commodore 64 when he was younger!), a Nigel somebody from UKIP and Lee Mack was hosting (and he couldn’t get the UKIP MEP’s name correct). It was extremely funny and lots of it will get cut – let’s see how much of the following stay in: Lee’s “44 inches” (should have been finches), multiple references to Ian being “Dorothy” (look out for the “drunk sign”), references to the Arsenal game going on at the point (everybody but my fiancee and Ian seemed to constantly know the score!), the Northern Comedian’s reference to Dan Dare (which I responded to), Paul Merton asking the heating to be increased, the MPs being caught out by Dispatches and the cut down of the expenses, the Chancellors TV “meeting”, Paxman grilling dupty leaders, the Queen and Canadian steps, Hislop encouraging the audience to vote LibDem and then UKIP (in jest the latter), the forthcoming election (and Cameron being Titchmarshed) and advertising (Saatchi got one mention or was it two? “80,000 criminals released – vote me”) and the Google Street View sheet in the “And finally” section (when it had to be redone for some reason, somebody in the audience baar’d (I wonder which version they’ll use). And when they did the trailer for HIGNFY “My name’s Lee Mack and Have I Got News For You will be broadcast on Thursday at 9pm. The reason it’s being broadcast on Thursday instead of Friday is so Ian can go out clubbing. So remember, Have I Got News For You tonight at 9.30pm on BBC 1″ – Ian said “seal clubbing” and Hislop responded “I bet that’s the first time Seal Clubbing has got applause”.

All in all – very good fun. We queued for about 2-2.5 hours, watched them film until 10pm (so 2.5 hours) and then got home just before midnight due to problems at Finchley Road (so another 2 hours).

[I’ve deleted items not shown in either final broadcast and italicised stuff which was only included in the “Have I Got Extra News For You” broadcast[

Hmm, two reasonably, but slightly unbelievable ideas both with characters who are “unbring-backable”.

Doctor Who Production Team: “Hey, why not combine BOTH ideas!”.

Yep, it seems the Doctor Who production company have thought that and for the 5th season finale (and David Tennant’s last episode), they are bringing back Billie “Rose Tyle” Piper, Catherine “Donna Noble” Tate, Freema “Martha Jones” Agyeman and The Master (who was shot dead, refused to regenerate and buried last time we saw him: although his ring was picked up by a female hand – but if he didn’t want to regenerate, why “hide his soul/being” in a ring?)

Hello, original ideas calling the Doctor Who production team! (who will still be headed by Russell T. Davis at that point, he leaves at the same time as Tennant).

Back To Earth – Part One
Nine years later the Red Dwarf crew are older but still none the wiser. Lister’s busy day of annoying Rimmer is interrupted by the discovery of a dimension-hopping leviathan in the ship’s mile-deep water tank.

Back To Earth – Part Two
Rimmer’s replacement, Katerina (Sophie Winkleman), is determined to guide Lister back to his home planet. But Earth in 2009 is not everything the boys had expected, and Rimmer has no intention of being replaced.

Back To Earth – Part Three
Knowing they are destined to die, the Dwarfers – in best Blade Runner traditions – track down those responsible for their creation to plead for more life.

I’ve heard Watchmen are good, have a strong history, but when trailers offer no explanation for the scenario, give very little detail of whats going on (I guess I’m saying, it relies on you being familar with the original source: i.e. the comic books) and is generally do motivation, then I guess the studio (Paramount in this case) are intentionally sabatoaging it. Please tell me this isn’t really the case…

I’ve just watched the Film Montage whilst typing, and still

Update:
There’s a video available (of the “official announcement”: not a “making of”! – oooh, you are awful!)