Feature: Will Doctor Who Become American?

Hello. On many Doctor Who websites, people have been debating whether or not Doctor Who is becoming too American. The debate has been going on since we first heard about filming in America last year and it has grown over the past few months. To clear things up, this article is to present to you why it is NOT becoming too American and in some cases, why it is.

To start off, a recent interview with Russell T Davies shows his side of the debate:

"No one at BBC Worldwide is looking at an American version of Doctor Who. I know everyone thinks we have secret plans. But we do have plans for new dramas, and non-science fiction. It's about time I got back to that material, 'cause I have a lot to say in that world. So our ambitions are endless - but not for that particular one!"

On the other hand, Torchwood was not expected to become an American TV show but look at it now. It's a co-production with the BBC and many of its stars are American. Also, the majority of the series will be set and filmed in America too. The difference is quite dramatic compared to the other series, but if you think about it, does it have to be a bad thing?
Doctor Who is a British show and in my opinion it always will be, even if it moves to the States, but what would happen if it did move over to the USA? Would it be a bad thing? If anything, the action scenes would be more exciting, the settings would be more effective and the special effects could be even greater than anything we have seen before. Think about the first episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day, The New World. It had a completely different feel to it but this did not take away the fact that the show is outstanding and a brilliant drama. If anything, it added to it.

The first two episodes of Doctor Who Series Six was, of course, The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon. If you remember, in the first ever Who Review, I commented on the amazing settings and the beautiful scenery. These features were one of the main factors of the episodes and made the episode what it was. Would it be bad if every episode was full of these landscape shots?

Also, the viewing figures for Series Six so far have been as good as any other (these final viewing figures are compared to the final viewing figures of Series Five):

THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT - 8.9 million viewers

DAY OF THE MOON - 7.3 million viewers
THE CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT - 7.85 million viewers
THE DOCTOR'S WIFE - 7.97 million viewers
THE REBEL FLESH - 7.35 million viewers
THE ALMOST PEOPLE - 6.72 million viewers
A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR - 7.57 million viewers

These figures are very similar to the viewing figures of previous series and this proves that Doctor Who is not in danger of having to move to America due to lack of views.
We know that, at least until the 50th Anniversary, Doctor Who will still be in th UK, with Matt Smith and Steven Moffat. The Ponds are not confirmed to appear in the seventh series, let alone the 50th Anniversary in 2013.
In conclusion, there is no certain proof that Doctor Who will become American in the near future, but it depends on your side of the debate.