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Wow did not see that coming, not his biggest fan though his era I still watch and his series arc's for the most part were good. T Davies character writing and dynamics early on were good before it became cringe in season 4.
If anything he will steady the ship and hopefully undo some of the terrible writing we have been subjected to or just completely ignore it.
And of course, I'm overjoyed by the return of RTD. After slightly jumping over the shark, like it did with Colin Baker, the series could very well start growing the beard again, like it did with McCoy.
I actually feel like a Doctor Who fan again.
My only concern is casting, as I know recently Davies stated he'd want to see his It's A Sin star Olly Alexander play the next Doctor, and I really don't see it personally.
I agree with the bolded part, but the RTD era was probably the peak of popularity for the modern show, so it's hardly surprising*. I imagine it must have been like the Connery/DAF situation, where they must have offered RTD whatever he wanted, just please come back.
*I don't know if I am more surprised that RTD is back, or the fact that anyone would want the job now, thanks to the monumental mess left by Chibnall.
Oh, I agree it's a smart move on the part of the BBC, RTD has the populist touch and is sure to make the show more popular. I just find his brand of Who particularly annoying.
I think it was more that someone asked him in an interview if he'd like to see Alexander do it and he kind of had to say yes, but he didn't really mean it. Like you, I don't see Alexander in that role, and I don't see him leaving music for a full-time acting career either.
I thought of the Connery situation too! It does whiff slightly of the last incumbant leaving a Lazenby whiff, doesn't it? :) But he is possibly the only showrunner who, on hearing his name alone, could get audiences interested again- much like Connery being a big draw.
I think part of it is that Doctor Who is becoming a joint production with Bad Wolf Studios though, which may suggest a slightly smoother production, plus it's run by his old production partner from the Who days: Julie Gardner.
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a37787609/billie-piper-doctor-who-return-circumstances/
https://bleedingcool.com/tv/doctor-who-mark-gatiss-finds-lost-script-big-finish-wants-retweets/
That's fun, I didn't see that. Can't hurt to make it!
Teaser trailers are beginning to appear for the next series.
https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/10/doctor_who_the_collection_season_17.html
https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-series-13-flux-trailer-newsupdate/
It wants to totally reinvent the way we think about the Dr's past and Gallifrey but it just turns out to be a backstory retcon that doesn't end up changing the actual format of the show.
It wants to integrate moving themes about social justice but then only gestures at them via irritating story-halting 2-minute speeches, instead of integrating them into the story as themes and ideas, like good writing actually does.
It wants to let every episode be standalone with no long story arcs that require knowledge of every episode, except suddenly, surprise, looks like there was a story arc all the time but since it only gets 4 episodes of buildup, its the worst of both worlds.
My main takeaway from it all has been Chibnall understands what gets so many other ambitious tv shows praise from broadcasters and critics, but he doesn't understand how or why.
People gave his first series the benefit of the doubt, but when it was clear that wasn't going to cut it, he halfheartedly brought back fanservice stuff from RTD's run instead of either radically changing the way he writes, or sticking to his guns like someone with actual artistic integrity.
RTD will hopefully ignore everything from the this atrocious current era, RTD could do a soft reboot similar to what he originally did with Eccleston's season, in fact I would not do a regeneration scene so there is no link to Whittaker's doctor.
Can’t argue with any of that. What a relief to know RTD is coming, even if he only does a series or so (I don’t know that, it’s just a guess).
It's amazing how that news has basically rendered this new "season" (extended episode?, miniseries? idk??) essentially pointless.
It's not as if they're hiring RTD to just continue the plotline, we all know that in 1-2 years time, there will be a much better version of the program coming out with barely any ties to the last four years of episodes.
His reveal genuinely made me feel like a fan again, where I thought I'd moved on from it.
The teaser trailer for the next little series was... embarrassing. The Doctor reading out a list of monsters while the companions do some of the worst background acting I've seen.
I'll say this, RTD coming back got as much (if not more) hype than the new season's promotional cycle.
Oh, God. I just remembered that there's going to be three new specials in 2022 before Chibnall leaves, so that means this run won't even wrap up Whitaker's tenure. It won't even have that.
It'll just be the weird half season/story that aired before the episodes that actually wrapped up the era. What a waste.
I do feel a little bit of sympathy for Chibnall as this news has basically kneecapped everything he does now for the next two years.
Can't be too fun to have your last nine stories (three of which haven't even been written yet) to be overshadowed by the BBC releasing a press release early, trying to assure the public that the next guy won't be so bad.
Most positive thing I can say about the Chibnall era from a non-casting/technical perspective is that it got people to turn around on Moffat's era much faster than they likely otherwise would've.
Ah, that could be it. I did remember reading that they were filming 9 episodes for this season, so the six episode run did throw me off guard.
In other words, they essentially made a full series with 4 stories, one of which is just 6 parts long.
I do hope RTD's new run carries over the Chibnall era's policy of writers rooms and hiring of more visually inclined directors. I did genuinely think those were two aspects Chibnall did well.
Though he's probably not going to be the showrunner for long. Too busy making incredibly successful British and American programs now to be doing this for more than a couple of years.
RTD is likely just a safe pair of hands to steer the series back on course until they find a new showrunner.
Throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.
I hope its a multiverse story and the show we are watching was not Earth One, and by the end of the mini series we reset back to Earth One where none of the Timeless Children bs from the Jodie era happened,
DW is salvageable with a multiverse story arc.
Yeah, I only got a few episodes into series 12 before giving up, and I’ll probably skip the new episodes too, but I’ll give it a watch when Russell T Davies comes back. Preferred the Steven Moffat ones on the whole, but he is a brilliant writer, and I think he’s gotten better and better since he left. I did like his Doctor Who, his name and Eccleston’s were why I started watching it. And I liked Queer as Folk and Second Coming too. But Years and Years and It’s a Sin are his best bits of work imo, he’s been on a real hot streak lately.
Do feel a bit sorry for the cast of this series though, in particular Jodie Whittaker. Personally, I don’t think she’s very good in the role. But from what I’ve seen of her on chat shows, she seems like a nice person who’s really happy to be on the show. It’s a shame that her sendoff has been so massively overshadowed (and that it’ll probably be as dire as the rest of this run has been).
It’s mental how badly they managed to screw up the first female Doctor really. There was so much buzz around the show again, but now it seems like less people care than ever. I’m guessing it’ll be another woman next (looks like they’re admitting defeat otherwise) so hopefully they get it right. I still think a female Doctor can work, just like a female Master did. They just need to make the show, you know, good.