It's a beacon of hope...

The following was posted on Outpost Gallifrey tonight in regards to the start date for Torchwood:

Episode 1 to be broadcast simultaneously on BBC1 and BBC3 at 9PM on October 21st.
Episode 2 then immediately follows on BBC3.
On all following weeks, the episode on BBC1 at 9PM will be followed by the next episode on BBC3 so that BBC3 is 1 week ahead of BBC1 for the whole run.

Full text here.  The 21st is a Saturday night -- if this is true then that would mean the schedule will look something like ...

6(ish) -- Strictly Come Dancing
7:00 -- Robin Hood
7:45 -- Lottery
8:10 -- Casualty
9:00 -- Torchwood
9:45 -- Strictly Come Dancing Update
10:15  -- News
10:40 -- Match of the Day

I'm assuming Casualty will have restarted by then.  Still doesn't look right to me with three dramas stuffed in like that... plus it means that the BBC have real faith in the show already to premiere it on BBC One straight away rather than hide it on BBC Three for the muted trial period.

Comments

[Stewart]

Oh FFS, I'm getting married on the 21st. And then a second party on the 28th. I was kind of hoping they would wait until november. Sorry to TimC who will also be there.

[TimC]

You could always schedule a TV break in the day's entertainments... Or I suspect Beeb3 might have a repeat or two during the week.

[Dave Sanders]

Video it for fuck's sakes, everyone's going to anyway. Jesus, it's not hard!

Hope the wedding goes to plan.

[Mark]

Since they've commissioned a second series already before it's even gone on air I'd say they do have faith in it; and yet they haven't yet confirmed a series 4 for Doctor Who. Go figure.

[James Coleman]

Where did you find that a second series has been commissioned? Was this info on the forum, because the news site hasn't been updated in ages.

[James Coleman]

Also, do we know it's a 45 minute program? I'd have thought that it'd be an hour each, a la Life On Mars and Hustle etc, and other top dramas.

[Stewart]

Of course it will be recorded, assuming the TVDrive isn't titsup that day. I'd just like to see it when it goes out, I think I missed quite a few first showings of the last series of Who, including the last couple of minutes of School Reunion which I finally saw the other week.

[Neil]

Assuming this is true I'll move Stripped Down 4 back a week...

[Paul Hayes]

Well, if you will get married...

[Mark]

James: I thought the source was the beeb website, but checking back to where I heard it (which was the Doctor Who Yahoo Group) unusually for them a source has not been listed, so it could be hogwash. Sorry I remembered the report as being more reliable than it was (I might have read it when very tired)

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/Doctor_Who/message/56639

[Sean]

Bugger, bang goes my social life for another thirteen weeks.

(Just remembered - don't have a social life. Bugger).

BTW, this means that Torchwood Season 1 will finish - assuming no breaks over the festive period - on 13th January. About 10 weeks before Season 3 of you-know-what's debut.

So the question is, considering the current trend towards TV saturation a la the likes of Casualty & Holby City, how long until Who-related products twelve months of the year..?

[Joey Reynolds]

This is a great statement by the Beeb in running the show on One!

[Adam Stone]

I read this on og:

"In the south wales morning paper the Western Mail in a feature on the new Sarah Jane series it says that Torchwood begins on BBC 3 on Sunday October the 22nd. Don't know if this is official but thought it worth mentioning."

[J Salem Gourley]

Unless they're not bothering to update it...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/sites/torchwood/

Don't think it'll be on BBC1.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/10_october/17/torch.shtml

Do think it'll be 13 episodes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2005/10/17/25634.shtml

Do think it'll be 45 minutes.

[James Coleman]

These press releases were almost a year ago, so it's easily subject to change.