Peter Capaldi, the current Doctor and protagonist of the BBC's science fiction series "Doctor Who" is disappointed with how the channel is treating the show and has blamed it for the declining popularity of the long-running series.
In an interview with Newsweek, Capaldi said that the way the BBC is constantly rescheduling "Doctor Who" in the UK has significantly impacted the show's ever-declining ratings as he believes that due to odd-time scheduling of the show, families and children are not able to enjoy it.
"It does frustrate me. If you are going to have a family show, I think you have to build up a little ritual around it, and that ritual usually starts with having it on at the same time every week. Even I didn't know what time it was on because it got later and later and later," Capaldi said.
"The BBC is an incredible organisation, but sometimes people there think, that it's looking after itself. And 'Doctor Who' is not being looked after. I think maybe their eye was taken off the ball, or the show was seen as a thing they could just push around. It's not. It's a special thing."
io9 has explained that why this scheduling is a problem in the UK. "Doctor Who" is still considered as a family show in Britain, hence, a late night airing means that children are not awake to watch it.
Between 9:00 p.m. and 5:30 a.m., adult contents are broadcast on UK television. Hence, if the show is aired after 9:00 p.m., it means that the children are prone to encounter such contents that are not supposed to be watched by them.
Even though the show can be recorded and watched later, majority of viewers still prefer watching the episodes live on television. Hence, as stated by Capaldi, if BBC doesn't reconsider shifting "Doctor Who" to a much appropriate slot, the ratings will decrease further.
"Doctor Who" Season 10 will air in 2017. The exact release date has not yet revealed by the BBC or the creators.
