WB kills quality arm “HBO” and doubles down on transphobe's tired story

Just to be clear, Disney does not OWN Dr. Who, they are only licensing it… anything that’s being developed as spin-offs doesn’t have much to do with Disney’s intervention, but it’s all down to RTD and whatever creative team he’s gotten and would have happened regardless of who (haha) was broadcasting/streaming the show in the states.

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Can’t they just play the movies at quarter speed and be done with it? I imagine JK wants to do it so she can have new actors playing her characters who haven’t disavowed her for her transphobia.

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I never said they owned Doctor Who. They just have worldwide rights (outside of the UK) to stream it.

For the record, the BBC still owns Doctor Who, it’s being produced by RTD’s studio, Bad Wolf. RTD has already stated he wants spinoffs and there’s rumors of a UNIT spinoff with Jemma Stewart.

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The only good feelings I have left for that franchise are down to the cast and artists involved with the original set of films. Unless it somehow surpasses the quality of the films and gets spectacularly great reviews, I don’t need to revisit it in TV form especially if JK has more direct input on it. The only thing that has me somewhat curious is whether the design/art direction of the series will align with the films.

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I’m just saying that Disney has nothing to do with the spin-offs… your comment made it seem like they were involved in spin-offs:

:woman_shrugging:

Right? So it seemed like you were saying Disney was playing a role?

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Wacko and Yakko seem like the only two nice ones.

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That’s why the others lock them in the tower, I guess.

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I suspect that they’ve determined that Rowling being a shitty person is driving away younger people who didn’t grow up with the books, so the time to strike is now, while there’s a fanbase with a substantial portion of people who will let their nostalgia overwhelm their desire to not support a racist transphobe (along with the ones who consider that a bonus, of course).

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I used Star Wars and MCU as examples of what RTD (who is in charge of the series) would like to do in terms of expanding the Doctor Who universe. Perhaps, you misread or filled in some blanks because I never said Disney was in charge (some rumor of editorial control but that’s only rumor). Their only role is streaming worldwide.

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Okay. I found “they’re” confusing as to who you were referring to… :woman_shrugging: Makes things clearer now.

I would say that there is already a history of DW spin-offs, prior to (ill fated K-9 and Company), but especially under RTD, so I’m not so sure that’s the influence, as opposed to RTD just doing what RTD has always done with DW… :woman_shrugging:

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This is just New Coke waiting to happen. ‘Max’ will limp along for a year or so, utterly failing to grow the subscriber base as more of the HBO content is sidelined and reality programming is pushed front and center. Later, there will be a new HBO app, and a big ‘HBO is Back!’ campaign. The Harry Potter TV show with Steven Tyler as Dumbledore will fail to stem the bleeding, and their attempt to revive interest by casting Caitlyn Jenner as Delores Umbridge will be too little, too late.

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Leaving aside the transphobic Rowling for a second (I’d prefer to leave her to the side forever, but the world doesn’t seem ready to do that), doesn’t this just seem like a really bad marketing strategy? HBO’s original programming has had a reputation for being really, really good for a long time. This seems to me like if Neiman Marcus decided they were going to start being more like Walmart. It really feels like a decision that’s likely to end up in college marketing classes some day as an example of how to completely destroy brand equity.

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how nice of WB to give me guilt-free permission to pirate any of the shows on that service, since I have a personal policy of “don’t give money to JK Rowling”

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I assumed @anon52120741 was referring to the books as well as the films.

Although I enjoyed reading the books what, 20+ years ago?, and the movies were pretty good at the time, It’s not just Rowling’s awful stance that counts me out, it’s the “been there, done that” part. I’ve personally seen enough to last me a lifetime, so no thanks.

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… but not that one thing you’re looking for :disappointed:

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Yeah, I was on the bus to Dungeons and Dragons with my daughter yesterday (great fun!) and she was complaining about the endless sequels and reboots. This and Marvel/DC were particular targets. To be fair she has never liked any of them.

Though she would be suspicious of any girl her age who is big into the wizard thing though. At this stage the fandom is a radicalising /recruiting/grooming pool for bigots on the path to straight fascism through the gateway drug of transphobia.

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I wholeheartedly agree @danimagoo. Removing HBO from the name makes it just another streaming service. No expectation of quality programming without it.

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WTAF?? Aw hell no.

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I thought the plausibly deniable trans character in HP was the tabloid journalist whose name I don’t remember or care enough to find out, who hadn’t registered her ability to transform into an animal with the government.

:face_vomiting:

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