Still having problems with Doctor Who files

Plex Media Server
1

Server Version#: 1.40.0.7998

This paragraph doesn’t make sense:

If you are using the “Plex TV Series” agent, you can optionally include the TMDB or TVDB show ID in the folder name to improve matching. If you choose to do that, it must be inside curly braces: ShowName (2020) {tvdb-123456} or ShowName (2020) {tmdb-123456} where 123456 is the show ID. An example can be found at the end of the article.
Source: https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-tv-show-files/

Does it mean that each file must be in a separate folder with the tvdb code in the folder name? I spend hours putting the code in the file name, but that doesn’t work. There isn’t a show name, as shown in the example, for Doctor Who that I could find. There isn’t an example specifically for Doctor Who. This is as close as it gets, but it doesn’t seem to apply. I have the episodes in this format except for the part in the braces, but the shows end up all over the place–in a completely nonsensical pattern.

/ The Office (US) (2005) {tvdb-73244}
/Season 01
The Office (US) - s01e01 - Pilot.mkv

I guess I’ll have to create folders for every, single file. That’s going to take many hours of work.

2

No

Only the main show folder would need it if you decide to add it. It does not need it at all, but it helps the search. I never personally add it.

3

I haven’t been able to find a tvdb show code for Doctor Who. Even if there was one, how would that help? Plex knows it’s Doctor Who. It just can’t organize the files.

4

I’m not really sure what this means but if you can provide a real example of what you are seeing it we could probably figure it out.

Your example of The Office is fine so if you are using that for Dr who then the issue may not be naming but how things are organized in folders and which you added the library settings.

There are two Doctor Whos to not sure which you mean.

The ID will be on the main page for the show on TVDB

You also have to tell Plex you are using TVDB is that what you are basing file names in either the library or you can override individual shows. By default Plex users TMDB not TVDB

Doctor_Who__2005__-_TheTVDB_com
Doctor_Who__2005__-_TheTVDB_com763×655 88.8 KB

Doctor_Who_-_TheTVDB_com
Doctor_Who_-_TheTVDB_com838×596 86.3 KB

5

I don’t have the first series on this server, so I’m only talking about the 2005 series. I don’t think that’s the problem. I created a new folder “Doctor Who (2005) {tvdb-78804}” and then I’ll move folders and files into it.

Season 01, for example, is showing correctly in that it has the shows for that season, but it has an additional three specials that aren’t even in the same folder. They’re in the “Season 00” folder. The files are named like this:

Doctor Who (2005) {tvdb-10152809} The Church on Ruby Road

Plex can’t deal with that. That’s why I’m thinking each special has to be in a separate folder. Sadly, I just finished renaming all the special files. I posted here because I’m hoping I won’t have to do it all over again. Apparently, I will, unless someone has a better way to do it.

6

Here’s an example. The first show is correct. The other three don’t belong.

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image1272×255 83.5 KB

Here’s another oddity. When I look at file info, it shows three files when there’s only one.

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7

Well…

Putting the files in separate folders didn’t work. I’m ready to conclude that Plex just can’t handle Doctor Who. I also created a separate library for the specials. That cleaned up the seasons, but the specials are an even worse mess. I think I’ll just have to find different software or just learn to live with it. So far, however, I can’t even get it to show the titles.

Has anyone found a way to make Plex work with Doctor Who.

8

I would follow Plex’s instructions on how to name the episodes. There is a lot of stuff like WEB-DL in your file names that should not be there. If the directory “HDBits” is in the path that might also be a problem. Since you are having problems getting shows to match then follow the directions exactly.

https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-tv-show-files/

If you are renaming lots of files to add/remove things like the tvdb id, you can save yourself a lot of time if you get a utility like this one:

9

There are two things to consider:

  • Episode Ordering - Aired vs DVD
  • Naming and Organization

Episode Ordering

Plex uses episode ordering information from TMDB and TVDB. The default is TMDB. You can choose TMDB (Aired) or TVDB (Aired, DVD, or Absolute).

You can change the default ordering at the library level:
Edit the Library → Advanced → Episode Ordering

You can change ordering for a specific show as well:
Edit the show (pencil icon) → Advanced → Episode Ordering.

The Aired vs DVD ordering is different for many shows, including Doctor Who (2005).

Example: The Return of Doctor Mysterio: Doctor Who (2005) - The Return of Doctor Mysterio - TheTVDB.com
Using Aired Order, it is s00e149
Using DVD Order, it is s10e01

Pick the ordering you like best then name and organize your files accordingly.


Naming and Organization

With Plex, the TV Show folder must be directly below the folder added to the TV show library. Intermediate folders are not supported and will cause problems with media recognition.

Incorrect

F:\media\tv\  <-- folder added to TV show library
..\HDBits
....\Doctor Who (2005)

Correct

F:\media\tv\  <-- folder cannot be added to any Plex library
..\HDBits  <-- folder added to TV show library
....\Doctor Who (2005)

Correct

F:\media\tv\  <-- folder added to TV show library
....\Doctor Who (2005)

You must also name the folders and files per Plex requirements. Failure to do so may result in Plex not correctly recognizing the files.

Example: Using TVDB Aired Ordering

F:\media\tv <-- folder added to TV show library
..\Doctor Who (2005) {tvdb-78804} <-- ShowName (IntroYear); ID optional
....\Season 01 <-- "Season" in English
......\Doctor Who (2005) s01e01 Rose.mkv
....\Season 02
......\Doctor Who (2005) s02e01 New Earth.mkv

If you wish to keep the extra info such as resolution in the file name. Place it in square brackets at the end of the file name.

Example: Doctor Who (2005) s01e01 Rose [720p.yada.yada.yada].mkv

1 Like
10

Thanks. I’m very frustrated with this and am not sure I can do it. I’ve read that file many times and tried several of the specifications. This is also not the first time I’ve tried and failed. I’ll keep working on it, but I’m not optimistic.

Are you recommending a format like this?

/TV Shows/ShowName/Specials/ShowName – s00e13 – Optional_Info.ext

Plex should be disregarding the optional information. I also don’t understand why the show name needs to be include twice. Which show name should be used? Is that the episode title? Also, what should be done when a special has a season? There are some like this: S01E00. Plex apparently doesn’t know what to do with those.

11

You must include the show year.

TVDB lists 40+ TV Shows that start with “Doctor Who”: Search - TheTVDB.com

If you do not include the show year, Plex cannot tell which one you want to match. Without the show year, Plex will probably default to the 1963 show.

It is the name of the show, not the episode.

AFAIK, there are no such listings at TMDB or TVDB. Find the episode as listed at TMDB/TVDB and use the episode number from those sites.

12

Season 2 has an episode 0 (zero), for example.

I’m trying this format:

image

I’ve spent most of the day on this and am about to quit for the night. Thanks for the help. Maybe it will be better tomorrow.

13

Not at TVDB: Doctor Who (2005) - - Season 2 - TheTVDB.com

Not at TMDB: Doctor Who: Series 2 (2006) — The Movie Database (TMDB)

14

Follow FordGuy’s examples. That should do it.

However, the difference between aired and disc ordering can be a real pain for some shows. You may have files which do not conform fully to either standard in which case you need to manually fix them.

15

Thanks.

I can imagine there will be a lot of manual fixes. I started a new library directory tree and am trying to follow FordGuy’s examples. I’m too tired to do much more tonight. Maybe things will look better tomorrow.

16

Crap! Now I’m getting this.

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image727×469 40.4 KB

17

Why did this happen?

The computer is okay. I’m using Remote Desktop to work on it, so it’s working. It just completely crashed and is acting like it isn’t even installed.

Now what do I do?

18

I restarted the computer and Plex is working again. Maybe Plex benefited from a reset and several hours overnight.

I’ve renamed and moved files into a new library to start fresh. Plex is getting it right about half the time. I’m working with S00E159 Legend of the Sea Devils. Plex thinks it’s an interview with Christopher Eccleston. So, what I don’t know is whether the problem is with the naming or is there, perhaps, another S00E159 episode or something else entirely. I’ll look again at the name and see if I just need to fix the mismatches. There are a lot of them.

EDIT: I just Googled the episode and it seems Plex may not be the problem. People are complaining on Reddit about TVDB being the problem. I recall there was a “Fix Match” function, but I can’t find it now. Is it gone? If so, how do I fix it. Do I just edit the data? That’s what I’ll try.

19

I made progress. I moved all the files out of Plex space and renamed them according to advice provided here. I moved them one by one into the library folder. Thanks. It helped. I’m still having problems, though. It only worked for the early episodes, with the exception of E48.

From E157 on, every match is wrong. It seems to be matching with episodes that I can’t find in TVDB. They’re all behind the scenes type episodes, not specials. It looks to me like something changed somewhere, but I don’t know what. Any ideas?

While using the pencil icon to fix the bad matches, I noticed what might be a bug. The Plex scanner keeps replacing the summaries, but it doesn’t replace the other user-entered data. I’m wondering if there’s a way to keep the scanner from running. Or is there a fix pending?

20

Tell Plex to use the TVDB, not default TMDB, episode ordering.

Edit the show (pencil icon) → Advanced → Episode Ordering = TVDB (Aired)