America Stands Back to Back?

So no real Torchwood news today, but for any fans waiting with baited breath for the new Doctor Who series on Sci-Fi later this month, some interesting news has begun to surface...

Our sources at gateworld have uncovered an interesting story: Apparently the new, third season of Battlestar Gallatica won't air until October 2006 at the earliest, a full 14 weeks or so after it was intended to air over the summer. What's that I hear you cry? Doctor Who season two is 14 episodes long? Wow, coincidence or what? I think in this case, not. It makes commercal sense for sci-fi to show Doctor Who back to back. Not only does The Christmas Invasion bridge the gap between seasons expertly, but it means the channel won't have to show year old episodes this time next year. No doubt the channel has already lost a hell of a lot of it's Who audience because of the Canadian DVD release, as well as downloads and such. Their showing series two so soon after the British airdates makes this far less likely to happen for the next season.

Also, the show will be doubled up with the mighty Stargate franchise over the summer, and as the two are very 'sci-fi-friendly' it makes sense that they are paired together. The audiences of one are more likely to watch the other too.

Finally there's the case of ratings. The series was a huge ratings success in Britain, but that's not neccesarily the case for America too. By showing the two series back to back, if ratings do begin to drop, sci-fi can advert (spoiler coming!!!) Eccleston's demise/Tennant's rise in The Parting Of The Ways. Think of it as Doctor Who's own sweeps period. But with an army of Daleks on top of that.

Of course, this is all just speculation for now. The 14 week break could be used for another show, or a series of special sci-fi films, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. If it is the case however, it means America can expect to see Torchwood a lot earlier than expected too...