Of course, these discussions will continue until Disney makes a decision on future seasons of Doctor Who (showrunner Russell T Davies says this will come after the next season), but as a long-time fan of the show, I’m not too concerned. .
Doctor Who’s secret weapon is and remains the ability to reinvent itself. It was the reason Doctor Who was able to continue after William Hartnell’s departure as First Doctor, the reason it was able to be brought back in 1996 and then 2005, and it’s the reason millions of viewers tune in every time the Doctor recovers.
Even if people fall out of love with the show, the way it reinvents itself has brought them back.
The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) in The Devil’s Chord. BBC
Right now, Doctor Who is at a crucial moment of reinvention. A season into Ncuti Gatwa’s tenure as Time Lord, and in showrunner Russell T Davies’ soft reboot, the show has once again found its voice.
There is at least one spin-off on the way The war between land and sea and RTD has hinted that more are on the way.
Davies has also promised more diverse writing talent for next season after writing the majority of season 14’s episodes himself (with one episode written by a fellow former showrunner Steven Moffat and one written by Kate Herron and Briony Redman), with fresh voices being an important way in which Doctor Who can continue to reinvent itself.
He previously said: “I wanted women to write, and I’m aware that we don’t have enough women writing or writers of color, which we’re fixing in the next series.
Russell T Davies. BBC
“Kate and I connected through Loki, and she then introduced me to Briony, who might not be well known unless you’re in comedy circles – where she’s a legend in improv and stand-up – and they just bring their own style.”
But what if, after all that and against all odds, Disney doesn’t commission a third season of Doctor Who? It is certainly possible. But if that happens, the show would simply reinvent itself. Of course, there are plenty of things that Disney is bringing to Doctor Who (allegedly a big old budget!) but Doctor Who survived before the Disney deal – sometimes even on a shoestring budget – and I’m sure it would continue to do so afterward.
You can make the very valid point that Doctor Who hasn’t always survived. Ironically, it was the Seventh Doctor series To survive who saw the doctor (then played by Sylvester McCoy) walk off into the sunset, only to return in 1996 (then played by Paul McGann)… and then take another nine years off from their travels in the TARDIS before returning in 2005, played by Christopher Eccleston.
But Doctor Who has learned many lessons since then and has never remained static when it comes to story, production value and even time slots in the BBC schedule. Not all the risks paid off (I can’t pretend I didn’t almost revolt when the Christmas episodes shifted to New Year’s for a while there), but a lot of them did.
Carole Ann Fordwho played first companionSusan Foreman, previously told RadioTimes.com That William Hartnell believed that Doctor Who could “go on forever”.
She said: ‘Bill said at the very beginning it could go on forever. Because there’s no reason not to, because the doctors can regenerate over and over again, and they can go anywhere and do anything, so it wouldn’t happen. don’t grow old.
“They can meet different people, go to different planets, under different circumstances. There’s no reason at all why it shouldn’t stay new… there’s no reason at all to end it, it can just be forever and ever.” continue.”
It was incredible foresight from the man who created the role of the Doctor, and I think it’s completely true. Like the Doctor, Doctor Who has had many lives and will surely continue to do so for decades to come.
Some will be more successful than others. Some will be seen as the good old days, and some will be remembered as low points. Some will constantly offer us jelly babies (this metaphor has gotten away from me). But like it or not, Doctor Who was built for survival.
Doctor Who returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas. Previous seasons are available to stream BBC iPlayer.
See more of our Science Fiction coverage or visit our TV guide And Streaming guide to see what’s on tonight. For more on TV’s biggest stars, listen to The Radio Times podcast.
Leave a Reply