Seems like it'd be right up RA's alley, especially with next year being the 50th anniversary of the show.

I know there is a bunch of UK releases, specifically back in the 1990s and I know there is an ongoing CCG, but I don't think I've seen anything trading card wise since those relaunch of the show's SDCC promos of what was supposed to be a card set of the first season/series of the Modern Who.

Sure...

Inkworks had the license before they folded.

I believe Rittenhouse has said they've looked into it and found it not workable.

Apparently the BBC is difficult to work with, and more so if you're in another time zone entirely.

Ed

I work in Brtains biggest super market and can say Dr Who products have beem sold all over the store.DVD's,small toys,large toys,easter eggs.chocolate bars,candy eggs/sweets.comics/mags,trading card games.plastic knives,folks,spoons.cups/mugs glasses and plates.plus tons of other stuff comes and goes over the months!

Its clear BBC is allowing companies to use Dr Who for every other type of consumer products.why not trading cards??my best guess is that card companies have to have the actors onboard to sign cards??for some reason its a stumbling block??

I wish there was a British company who is big enough to make cards for Dr Who but i dont think we will ever have one.

Just to jump in on this: RH are right the BBC are very hard to work with, so much so that almost no one in cards wants to deal with them. The companies in the UK are more than large enough to put out a very good Who set, the problem is not on the side of the card companies. In fact the BBC pulled the license from Panini in the UK after one very nice retail set to bring in in house and more than doubled the pack price. They also cant differentiate between gaming and trading cards, meaning licensing a new card set would compete directly with whatever lousy overpriced card game is doing the rounds at the time and THAT is the real reason you will not see a UK set. They want instant finical returns and have zero interest in building strong products, and the approvals process is incredibly difficult.

The truth is however the US companies have more luck as they deal with the international departments like BBC Int. and BBCA who seem to have more realistic visions of licensing. Approvals however are still monumentally difficult.

I believe Cornerstone Communications was an American Company. Back in the 1990's (I think) they produced a few Doctor Who sets. They've been out of business for quite some time.

quote:

Inkworks had the license before they folded.

I spoke with Inkworks owner at the last SDCC they attended, just as reported above BBC was very diffucult to work with. As with most licenses all images used must be approved in advance and included actor approvals as well. BBC was very reluctant to allow acces to all actors.

You also have to realize that despite the many raves that Doctor Who fans post on Card Talk, that series does not have the same type of interest in America. All the DVDs are available and it plays on certain cable stations, but it is a UK product that has never gotten even the short term success of The Saint or The Avengers or Prime Suspect or PBS Mystery.

On the forum we may have American card collectors who have watched the shows, but go out and ask random people how many Doctors there have been or who played them and you won't find very many people who have any idea what you are talking about.

With so many current titles attracting interest I can't see why an American card manufacturer would risk putting resources into a new Doctor Who set. Now a UK manufacturer would certainly have the market, if not the cooperation of the BBC.

If the BBC would work with them I think a Doctor Who set would be very successful. At this point I think the current series has as strong a following as many other genre shows that have had successful card sets. The general public don't support most card sets being produced. You could ask the general public similar questions about Stargate, Farscape, Angel, Xena, Buffy or many other shows that have successful card sets and you would get the same response.
Unfortunately it probably won't happen thanks to the BBC.

quote:

Originally posted by Chrisahend:
The general public don't support most card sets being produced. You could ask the general public similar questions about Stargate, Farscape, Angel, Xena, Buffy or many other shows that have successful card sets and you would get the same response.

I think its more than just that, Doctor Who is a British show through and through. American producers are famous for taking British TV shows and adapting them to American audiences. Sometimes it works (All in the Family), sometimes it doesn't (Life on Mars, Prime Suspect), but adapt them they must because even though the language is the same, American and British audiences don't always share the same points of reference or the same attitudes.

Doctor Who is an iconic series in the UK. It doesn't have that kind of impact or audience over here. I think that's a fair enough statement to make.

For a show that hasn't got that strong a following in the US, it seems to be doing rather well...
Doctor Who on TV Guide cover

Au Res.,
Paul

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:

quote:

Originally posted by Chrisahend:
The general public don't support most card sets being produced. You could ask the general public similar questions about Stargate, Farscape, Angel, Xena, Buffy or many other shows that have successful card sets and you would get the same response.

I think its more than just that, Doctor Who is a British show through and through. American producers are famous for taking British TV shows and adapting them to American audiences. Sometimes it works (All in the Family), sometimes it doesn't (Life on Mars, Prime Suspect), but adapt them they must because even though the language is the same, American and British audiences don't always share the same points of reference or the same attitudes.

Doctor Who is an iconic series in the UK. It doesn't have that kind of impact or audience over here. I think that's a fair enough statement to make.

I agree that Doctor Who does not have the same impact in the U.S. as it does in the U.K. but based on ratings it is almost as popular as Dexter. Doctor Who ratings average 1.3-1.6 and Dexter averages 2.0-2.2 from what I could find. Comparing it to Farscape as an example it has the same ratings as they did. Conversely I wonder what sort of ratings Dexter has in the U.K. and compare that to Doctor Who ratings in the U.K. Doing a quick search I couldn't find any for Dexter but the last season of Doctor Who was in the 7.5-8.5 range.

I have always heard that the BBC was a real pain to deal with and I think that is the main reason.