Look. I’m kind of getting old. I turn 50 in a few weeks. So I’m fine with any modern iteration of franchises I loved in my childhood not being made for me anymore. It’s cool. Doctor Who is a kids’ show. Make it for the kids.
Also, I’ve always been a bit tepid on Russell T Davies. Yeah, he deserves a lot of credit for bringing the show back 20 years ago (to the day, almost!). But he’s terrible at finales. He’s always been terrible at finales. All of his season arcs have been stupid. I accept that season arcs are a necessity of TV these days. I don’t have to like it. Give me a monster of the week any day. Like I said, I’m getting old.
Russell can definitely craft a good episode, tho. And he made some crucially good decisions when he brought the show back. I hated the idea of the Time War and killing off the Time Lords at the time, but, in retrospect, it was genius. It gave the show a mythos that 2000s audience can obssess about that wasn’t mired in nonsense from the 70s and 80s.
And I love the nonsense from the 70s and 80s.
But these days? Russell? I appreciate the urge to bring back Sutekh or Susan or the Rani or Omega, but if we’re going to, can it maybe actually mean something? Other than a pointless cameo or an easily dispatched CG blob? Or a “dance” partner who’d never previously expressed an interest?
I love Big Finish. I’m not going to claim that they’re the gold standard in nostalgic fanwank, but I think they rank at least a silver. When they had Susan meet up with the Eighth Doctor again, there was a reason for it. And it laid seeds for future adventures. And it wasn’t just there to answer some question nobody really needed the answer to. It made for good character moments. A bit of closure without a closing off.
Carole Ann Ford is eighty-five years old, bless her, so maybe she’d like a bit of closing off.
When Big Finish brought back Sutekh, it was for a four-part box set starring Bernice Summerfield. An archeologist who’s really into Mars. Where Sutekh is. It made sense. It’s great. And not just because I’m a big Bernice Summerfield fan.
I don’t know what’s next for the show. I suspect few people do. I’ll watch whatever comes next. I certainly didn’t hate Ncuti Gatwa’s tenure as the Doctor, even if my eyes were frequently rolling, especially at finale time.
I was really hoping RTD2 would be an opportunity for the show to bring up new showrunners. It’s clear that running a show like Doctor Who is not something very many people can do. But I don’t see anybody in the wings willing or able to take over. Which is a bit sad.
