10 Fixes For Doctor Who's Future

Hello everybody, Ellie here for WhoCulture, and no, this is not another video moaning about the Disney era

Now, we recently did do a video about some of the missteps of that era and where it went wrong

so do make sure to give that a watch if you haven't already. For this video, though, we're looking ahead with optimism and hope

How can Doctor Who improve? What changes should be made to give it the best chance of success going forward

The way the last few years panned out was disappointing, absolutely, but on the plus side, there's an opportunity here to go again and get it right this time

And I do genuinely think that some of these fixes would set Doctor Who on the right path

for the next few years. So let's begin. Number 10. Adopt a more serious tone

While there's always been light and dark within Doctor Who, the show has perhaps veered a bit too silly in recent years

For every grounded story like 73 Yards and Lucky Day, there are about three things that are much more daft. From talking babies, singing goblins

and the twist at the end, to Kate Lethbridge-Stewart telling the Doctor that we're all his children

Now this doesn't mean that the show needs to deal with more adult themes in every single episode

rather that it needs to take itself seriously if it wants to be taken seriously by viewers

Something that goes hand in hand with this is making Doctor Who scary, again. Recent episodes

haven't been without their scary moments, but it feels like sending kids behind the sofa is no

longer the biggest priority. Kids love watching stuff that feels too old for them, so making the

show scarier and more grown-up would almost certainly broaden its appeal. I mean, when you

think back to the most iconic and beloved episodes in the modern series, they all fit this mould

whether it's Blink, The Waters of Mars, Heaven Sent, or even something like Amy's Choice

so doesn't that tell you something? Nobody's favourite episode is New Earth, or Aliens of

London, or The Lodger. Nobody's. These dark and complex tales should be the backbone of Doctor Who

going forward, which hasn't been the case in recent times. Number 9. Unify the Back Catalogue

Doctor Who's 60th anniversary month began with the announcement that the show's back catalogue

would finally be available to watch all in one place. This was a huge development, making the

Who Archive more accessible than ever before. And while Doctor Who fans will never stop buying

physical media, having everything there at the click of a button is super convenient

The only problem was that despite the fuss made about the show's international presence on Disney

Plus, the Archive was only made available on BBC iPlayer for fans in the UK. And what's more

new content such as the classic colourisations and Tales of the TARDIS ended up being exclusive

to iPlayer as well, completely undermining the idea that international fans were finally getting

equal treatment. There are probably a million and one legal reasons why it wasn't possible to put

everything onto Disney+, but there are also a million and one reasons why it should be done for

the next streamer going forward. For starters, it just makes sense, but more importantly, having all

the old stuff to watch during the off-season can make people more excited about the new stuff

And then there's the fact that if you insist on having your reboot involve characters and villains

from 20 or more years ago, then you surely have to let people watch the relevant episodes on the

same streaming service. In hindsight, the whole RTD2 Hooniverse thing just feels a bit half-hearted

Number eight, ditch the early streaming drops. Once upon a time, the most controversial thing

you could say about Doctor Who's airtime was, is 8pm a bit too late? But the Disney era took

things to a whole other level, with episodes dropping on streaming at midnight or 8am ahead

of the main BBC One broadcast. Though they never came out and said it it pretty clear that this messing around was all down to Disney perhaps to prioritise American viewers or to make streaming the main product

We can get nostalgic now about watching Sue Tech's return in the early hours or following

Belinda's journey while eating our Cheerios, but at the time, the gap between the streaming drop

and the television broadcast was a total headache, requiring you to dodge spoilers for potentially

18 hours or more if those rather inconvenient midnight and 8am drops didn't work for you

Not to mention fragmenting the audience like this made each episode feel less of an event

So for the love of God, just have the streaming drop coincide with the UK broadcast going forward

I mean, that's how it was for the 60th anniversary and you didn't hear anyone complaining

So why fix what isn't broken? It also feels like a return to the autumn slash winter months would

be beneficial for Doctor Who, especially when you look at the rating success of the war between the

Land and the Sea, which launched with overnight viewing figures higher than almost any episode of

Doctor Who from the last few years. It does also feel like dark, cold nights are perfect for Doctor

Who, doesn't it? Number 7. Stop shortchanging the companions. Doctor Who lives or dies on the

strength of its companions, and companions only feel real if their world does too. Belinda really

suffered in this regard. Part of this was unavoidable due to the reality war reshoots

but even in the episodes that weren't reworked, her arc pretty much disappears after the well

We barely get to meet or know her family and friends, and her dad doesn't appear at all

Ruby was better in this regard, getting a strong family unit from the off

and whole episodes to herself. But it's a shame that Carla and Cherry didn't really get to do

much more beyond the church on Ruby Road, and Ruby herself had little development as a character

after that first episode as well. Contrast this with the series one finale, where Jackie and

Mickey have a vital role to play despite the story being set in the far future. Or the scenes between

Jackie and Pete in Doomsday. Or the Nobles and how vital they were to that fourth series. Even

Martha's family felt important and were a constant presence throughout her series. When was the last

time a Companions world felt so real and relatable? When Modern Who began, this was the beating heart

of the show, but in recent times has felt less and less prioritised. The Companions and their

families ground the show and give you that human element all the best dramas have. Taking what

worked about Amy Pond, Rose Tyler, Martha Jones and others is crucial for Doctor Who's next phase

Throw all the special effects and monsters you want at it but without a heartbeat it's all just noise

Number six, switch to a writer's room. For the entirety of the revival Doctor Who has operated

under a showrunner model whereby one writer has ultimate control. Now this has helped give each

series a consistent tone and voice. But there have been times during the Disney era where it's felt a

bit too much like it's just one guy in charge, with the execs merely serving as yes-men, and

questionable choices being made as a result. In a show like Doctor Who that requires so much mental

bandwidth, it can't help but feel like a collaborative approach would be more beneficial

namely switching to a US-style writer's room where writers work across the whole series rather than on

individual episodes. We've had glimpses of this already, with Chris Chibnall running a writer's

room of sorts for series 11, though this was essentially just a series of workshops where

writers came together to brainstorm before going away to write their episodes

Providing you had the right team of writers, going the full hog would potentially produce

the strongest series of Doctor Who ever. It would also free up the showrunner to focus on other

things, like, you know, actually running the show. During RTD2, it's felt like the big picture stuff

like the series, ARCs hadn't been given the required attention. So this would hopefully

also address that problem as well. 5 Increase episode length or make more Like all long television shows Doctor Who season and episode lengths have evolved dramatically over the years In its early days Doctor Who was basically on all year round

By the start of New Who, it was a quarter of the year. Gradually, this has reduced to 12 weeks

then 10, then 8, leaving recent seasons feeling like they're over before they've begun

Especially when you've got Doctor Light episodes every other week and companions who only stick around for one year

When Doctor Who returned in 2005, it made complete sense for stories

to be confined to 45 minutes. But it's kind of baffling that we're still sticking to this format

20 years later rather than letting episodes run to an hour. Eight 45-minute episodes just did not

work because there was too much to cram in. A new cast and story every week, series arcs

companion development is just too much and you could tell the show was buckling. Ten 45-minute

episodes feels much better or even eight that run for an hour which is what we all thought we'd be

getting when eight episode seasons were announced in the first place. Now, alternatively, a more

serialised format could be the right approach. Being able to reuse sets and costumes across the

season would certainly be more cost effective and could pave the way for longer seasons. Now

we've had glimpses of this already with Flux, and aside from the finale, that series worked quite

well, with the weekly cliffhangers providing a great hook from one episode to the next. Now

it's obviously quite easy to just say, just give us more Doctor Who, but it really is an important

consideration in the modern age. There's so much competition for audience attention that being in

the news cycles for 10 weeks versus 8 weeks can make a big difference. Not to mention the aforementioned

story benefits of having more screen time to work with. Scaling down the spectacle and beefing up

the drama definitely feels like the right way to go moving forward. Number four, actually utilise

popular villains. If there's anything more unbelievable than the fact that Shuti Gatwa is

no longer the Doctor, is the fact that he never got to face the Daleks. The Disney era ultimately

featured none of the big hitters, instead opting to bring back more obscure villains like the Rani

the Midnight Entity, and even the Villain Guard Corporation. Now, after years of Dalek, Cyberman

and Master finales, and coming straight after a story featuring all three, it was a somewhat

welcome change. Initially. For an era that was bringing Doctor Who to a more global audience

than ever before, not utilising the Daleks at the very least was a massive own goal

They're one of the show's most recognisable pieces of iconography, arguably more so than the TARDIS

And you wouldn't get rid of the TARDIS for too long, would you? Sometimes it really is that simple

The Daleks, and the Cybermen to a lesser extent, get more eyeballs on the show

and they make Doctor Who feel like Doctor Who. You'd certainly say that it's healthy to have one Dalek story every two years, if not annually

It's now four years since the Daleks last appeared in the show, putting us in the longest Dalek hiatus since the Classic era

But on the plus side, when they do eventually return, it's going to be huge

Number three, make it annual again. Since the end of RTD's first era, Doctor Who's release schedule has been on and off

with some years getting a spring series, some years getting an autumn series

and some years getting no series at all. The Disney era tried to resolve this, promising a return to annual Doctor Who content

And in fairness, we did have it pretty good, with five specials, two seasons, and a spin-off broadcast between 2023 and 2025

But due to the abrupt end of the Disney deal, there was no Christmas special last year

and we're now in yet another gap year. Since 2022, this is our third calendar year without a proper series

which is a crazy drop-off for such a big show. Now, to an extent, this is par for the course these days

due to the increased cost of television production. I mean, just look at Stranger Things

which managed a grand total of five seasons over ten years. But it also speaks to the wider issue of everything having to be as polished as possible If Doctor Who is in its current form too expensive to produce annually could it not be reworked into something more achievable We used to get 14 episodes a year so how is just 9 episodes these days borderline impossible to sustain

Now, it might mean toning down the special effects or switching up the show's format, as previously mentioned

but if it meant the show could air annually again and thus stand a chance of staying relevant all year round, these options need to be looked at

Number 2. Fresh blood across the board. Now, it's one thing to reinvent old villains

but the Disney era also brought back a load of people who'd worked on Doctor Who before

Most egregiously, Shooty Gatwa's Doctor was bookended by two established Who actors

who were the lead cast of a series from 20 years ago. Add to that the fact that the whole thing

was overseen by Russell T. Davis, plus basically all of the execs from his original era

with episodes written by Stephen Moffat and music by Murray Gold, and you can't argue when people say

the show is too focused on the past. If you want a really interesting slash bleak statistic, consider the fact that 2024's Rogue

was the first episode since The Haunting of Villa Diodati in 2020, not written or co-written by a

current or former showrunner. Now, Russell T. Davis deserves all the respect in the world for

bringing Doctor Who back so brilliantly in 2005. And without him, this list wouldn't exist

But it's time to let someone else have a go. Doctor Who has always benefited from bringing

in fresh talent. I mean, just look at the more unknown doctors and companions like Matt Smith

and Karen Gillan, or the wide range of writers and directors that have contributed to the modern

era. I mean, even in 2005, Russell T. Davis was a fresh, somewhat left-field choice, coming off

the back of acclaimed dramas like Queer as Folk and The Second Coming. The BBC didn't just go back

and get the same writers and producers from 80s Doctor Who, did they? Now, this isn't to say that

new talent would automatically make the show great, but we can't just keep passing the batom

between the same group of people either. Number one, go back to basics. The Disney era claimed to

be a jumping on point for Doctor Who. In reality, it was anything but. Lest we forget that this era

began by bringing back a Doctor and companion from 15 years ago. As a one-off for the show's

60th anniversary, there was some logic to this. But the callbacks continued throughout the 15th

Doctor's era, which relied heavily on obscure characters and villains from Doctor Who's past

Take the returns of Sutek and Omega, whose significance was lost on new viewers

and whose controversial redesigns alienated existing fans. And let's we forget the endless flashbacks from the Doctor and Ruby literally re-watching Pyramids of Mars

to the constant Doctor clip shows in Season 2. We've already spoken about how too much reliance on the past can be damaging

but there are still lessons to be learned from looking backwards. In this case, the simple, back-to-basic approach adopted in Series 1 in 2005

2005 is something future series should look to emulate. A brand new Doctor and Companion

new stories and villains with a focus on character development and drama. No huge

lore dumps or plot points hinging on niche references. Clever use of returning villains

like the Autons and the Daleks that don't require your audience to do any homework

At this point, we need a clean break where Doctor Who's lore is brought in bit by bit

in a way that new viewers can easily understand. You can still do big backstory stuff like the

time war but it needs to be able to stand on its own two feet and a story from 50 years ago should

never ever feel like required viewing. Now like previous points this approach wouldn't automatically

make the show great but it would undoubtedly be the healthiest way forward given how much Doctor

Who has started to eat its own tail in recent years. And that concludes our list. Now like I

mentioned at the beginning we do have a video covering some of the missteps of the Disney era

so do check that out if you haven't already. In the meantime, I've been Ellie for Who Culture

and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties