Russell T. Davies Returns to Doctor Who as New Showrunner

[The Nth Doctor]

You could do something interesting with a concurrent Past Doctor/Current Doctor set of series, which is having the current Doctor have a "sequel" ep to something that only just happened to Past!Doc and show how 400+ years of change might affect decisions.

Or have Current!Doc have an adventure and then Past!Doc encounter the consequences, like Seven running into the problems "Merlin" created in Battlefield, only we get to see the Merlin side of the story.

Big Finish has done that idea more than a few times so we know that can work on a thematic level.

I agree that we could've/should've gotten some Eighth Doctor love during gap years but I also agree that I don't see the BBC ever running two Doctors at the same time.

 

[Saul]

Realistically, that's what most fans would want. I know I would have.

And what's maddening, is that it might've been feasible through some creative thinking by the BBC. Like, in the gap years of recent years, insert two or thee Paul McGann specials to fill the time. Wouldn't that had been nice?

Yes

Clearly people want it.

 

[Tomalak]

From reports at the time in 2013 they had talked to Moffat about it. Not a series maybe but doing something, a special, a one off. I don't know about now though. It's the Doctor but the character is different, the adventures are different. They made it work with Star Trek in the 90s. I think they could make the shows different enough. I don't think they would do a full series. My very optimistic view would be a mini series. They could do an arc that is distinguishable from the 14th Doctor. A specific story, different people working on it and writing it, visually and tonally different. Not a straight forward Doctor Who series.

Yeah, I could maybe see some one-off specials, or a modern take on The Two Doctors but done better - though I guess Twice Upon a Time was sort of that.

It's one of those things fans have been demanding for years - back in the day when they were making a Doctor-lite episode each year (Love & Monsters, Blink) fans were lobbying for a flashback McGann episode.

I suspect any potential spin-offs would be Doctorless, otherwise it would be like having two different Star Trek series with Bill Shatner and Chris Pine each playing Kirk.

But I guess we might see past Doctors make cameo/guest appearances in different shows, like Tennant and Smith appearing on SJA. They were the incumbent Doctors at the time, but I think Tennant's SJA episodes were actually filmed after The End of Time.

Anyway, we should probably let RTD get his feet under the table and a series on air before talking about past Doctors or spin-offs!

 

[Orac Zen]

But then if we can have Rose come back why not have Donna return and the Doctor can find some technobabble way to restore her memories.

That would be just as ridiculous as Rose's constant reappearances, but I could live with it because Donna is actually an interesting character (who never once simpered like an especially puerile adolescent over the Doctor...but I digress). Donna's character destruction still sticks in my craw and it's one of the prime reasons I was very glad to see the back of Davies. His return does not inspire confidence.

I doubt very much Rose would return for anything beyond a cameo (maybe for the 60th?) and as a one off why not?

I'll put that very much into the "each to their own" category.

She wouldn't remotely be my first choice but frankly she's a good enough actress that I think she could play the Doctor. Not saying I'd necessarily want her to, and I doubt RTD would go there, but she could pull it off.

We'll agree to disagree here, too. I find Piper mediocre at best, but that's neither here nor there.

Whatever happens, the writing will need to improve significantly to regain my interest. I thought Whittaker was excellent as the Doctor and I like(d) the companions, but some of the writing was awful. Wait and see, I suppose.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

What they did to Donna I felt really bad and unforgiveable.

 

[Starkers]

Yeah I really wasn't happy with what happened to Donna.

I'm also not hugely thrilled about how RTD gave companions faux happy endings.

Lost your dad as a kid? That's ok have your dad from another universe even though he's a completely different person.

Can't be with the man you love? How about a copy of the man you loved?

Lost all the knowledge and experience you gained that changed you from a shallow person into someone truly wonderful? Have a lottery win.

As for two Doctors running at the same time, never going to happen.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Yeah I really wasn't happy with what happened to Donna.

I'm also not hugely thrilled about how RTD gave companions faux happy endings.

Lost your dad as a kid? That's ok have your dad from another universe even though he's a completely different person.

Can't be with the man you love? How about a copy of the man you loved?

Lost all the knowledge and experience you gained that changed you from a shallow person into someone truly wonderful? Have a lottery win.

As for two Doctors running at the same time, never going to happen.

Stealing this

 

[Redfern]

I'm also not hugely thrilled about how RTD gave companions faux happy endings.

Lost your dad as a kid? That's ok have your dad from another universe even though he's a completely different person.

Can't be with the man you love? How about a copy of the man you loved?

Oh, ho, ho! You've struck a personal "sore spot" for me, one that first slapped me in the face in 1980.

"What DW serial was that, Bill?"

Not Doctor Who, but rather a totally unrelated movie, though it too was "high concept". Anybody remember a film starring Olivia Newton-John, featuring her music as well as that of ELO, a flick called "Xanadu"? If anybody has seen it, you'll know the "plot twist" that really sticks in my craw. That was the first time I really took notice of a "bait and switch" type stunt and what Starkers pointed out is so very similar.

(Okay, so Xanadu is not that great a film anyway, but I had something of a teen crush on Ms. John; I loved her music as well as that of ELO (which kinda' brings this back to DW). So what they did in the final minute of the film was a real kick in the teeth. Then again, it's the kind of crap the Greek Gods pulled upon mortals anyway, so in that aspect, it was on theme.

 

[The Doctor]

Anyone who claims that two Doctor series at once couldn't happen, ask yourself: did anyone think that RTD would return and that the BBC would hand the keys to Doctor Who to an external production company?

Literally ANYTHING could happen.

I liked all the Chibnell stuff just fine, but it all seemed just a little bit 'flat' to me, like he was missing some sort of alchemical ingredient that makes Doctor Who what it is. I have no idea what RTD will do and I'm fairly certain it won't just be a nostalgia trip but I do know this: RTD has that 'thing.' I was never a big Who fan prior to 2005: I'd watched some Tom Baker and Pertwee serials on PBS as a kid, but never really got into them. But when 'Rose' hit the screen and Christopher Eccleston said the words 'Anti-Plastic' with a manic glee... I was home.

I really think that just might happen again. It's just a shame that Whittaker won't be on the show when it happens, because I really think that, with better material, she could have been one of the greats.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Anyway changing the subject completely; Given how much Trek is on at the moment do people think RTD might resurrect his Who/Trek cross-over proposal?

Why not? It could only be better than Assimilation2.

And what's maddening, is that it might've been feasible through some creative thinking by the BBC. Like, in the gap years of recent years, insert two or three Paul McGann specials to fill the time. Wouldn't that had been nice?

The point when I think McGann specials would have been most feasible -- 2014, after the reaction to "Night of the Doctor" -- you also had Moffat saying there's only one Doctor at a time, because what do you do if the "past" Doctor becomes more popular with audiences than the "present" Doctor? Moffat clearly never watched Maverick back in the day, because it's a good problem to have, not a bad one.

 

[Mr Awe]

Yeah I really wasn't happy with what happened to Donna.

I'm also not hugely thrilled about how RTD gave companions faux happy endings.

Lost your dad as a kid? That's ok have your dad from another universe even though he's a completely different person.

Can't be with the man you love? How about a copy of the man you loved?

Lost all the knowledge and experience you gained that changed you from a shallow person into someone truly wonderful? Have a lottery win.

As for two Doctors running at the same time, never going to happen.

Largely agree with all the above. I'll add the overemphasis on families and modern London too.

I do think that if RTD and Bad Wolf will be running a DW "empire," there's the chance for various spinoff series he's previously wanted to do, looking at you Rose Tyler.

But, also miniseries and special events. So, while we'll probably not have two Doctors running at the same time, it's possible that we'll get special events or miniseries involving a past Doctor in between regular Doctor seasons. If Tennant agreed to a miniseries, would RTD not do it?! Or a two hour special? It could be a nice thing to have between regular Doctor seasons.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Oh, ho, ho! You've struck a personal "sore spot" for me, one that first slapped me in the face in 1980.

"What DW serial was that, Bill?"

Not Doctor Who, but rather a totally unrelated movie, though it too was "high concept". Anybody remember a film starring Olivia Newton-John, featuring her music as well as that of ELO, a flick called "Xanadu"? If anybody has seen it, you'll know the "plot twist" that really sticks in my craw. That was the first time I really took notice of a "bait and switch" type stunt and what Starkers pointed out is so very similar.

(Okay, so Xanadu is not that great a film anyway, but I had something of a teen crush on Ms. John; I loved her music as well as that of ELO (which kinda' brings this back to DW). So what they did in the final minute of the film was a real kick in the teeth. Then again, it's the kind of crap the Greek Gods pulled upon mortals anyway, so in that aspect, it was on theme.

Wasn't Xanadu the inspiration for creating the Golden Raspberry Awards?

 

[Redfern]

Wasn't Xanadu the inspiration for creating the Golden Raspberry Awards?

I honestly have no idea, but it would not surprise me if it did.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Oh, ho, ho! You've struck a personal "sore spot" for me, one that first slapped me in the face in 1980.

"What DW serial was that, Bill?"

Not Doctor Who, but rather a totally unrelated movie, though it too was "high concept". Anybody remember a film starring Olivia Newton-John, featuring her music as well as that of ELO, a flick called "Xanadu"? If anybody has seen it, you'll know the "plot twist" that really sticks in my craw. That was the first time I really took notice of a "bait and switch" type stunt and what Starkers pointed out is so very similar.

(Okay, so Xanadu is not that great a film anyway, but I had something of a teen crush on Ms. John; I loved her music as well as that of ELO (which kinda' brings this back to DW). So what they did in the final minute of the film was a real kick in the teeth. Then again, it's the kind of crap the Greek Gods pulled upon mortals anyway, so in that aspect, it was on theme.

I remember liking the music in that movie and yeah that ending just sucked the fun out of the film.

I never cared about her as a youngster but later in life in my 20s I found ONJ quite captivating

 

[DeadmeatDiggory]

In my head cannon Rose ultimately rejects the Metcrisis Doctor, leading to him becoming the Valeyard (where he fits perfectly between the last and second last regenerations). It's a bit fanwank, but that's what head cannon is for.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

So yeah The Doctor meeting Star Trek and for fun we use my gal Michael

Hello I'm The Doctor
Hello I'm Michael Burnham
I know who you are
I saved all organic live in the universe, everywhere
I killed all the Daleks
What are Daleks
Prey you never have to meet them
Did I mention I saved all sentient live in the universe?
Oh shut up I destroyed and rebooted the universe once, maybe twice.

 

[Jayson1]

Am I the only person interested in maybe exploring a Doctor from that alternate universe. You could reboot the show in away even the 2005 return didn't.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Am I the only person interested in maybe exploring a Doctor from that alternate universe. You could reboot the show in away even the 2005 return didn't.

What about the version of The Doctor that lives in Pete's World, but then we get Rose again so maybe not fond of that idea so much.

 

[Jayson1]

I would like to see him again. Maybe his death leads to the new Doctor we would follow. Maybe this version doesn't even have a Tardis. The Master is good in this universe. The Daleks dont exist. The Cybermen are more like Cyberanimals. The natural Doctor of this universe is evil and the same actor that plays our lead also plays the evil Doctor. Captain Jack is just like ours.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I would like to see him again. Maybe his death leads to the new Doctor we would follow. Maybe this version doesn't even have a Tardis. The Master is good in this universe. The Daleks dont exist. The Cybermen are more like Cyberanimals. The natural Doctor of this universe is evil and the same actor that plays our lead also plays the evil Doctor. Captain Jack is just like ours.

I thought the 10th Doctor gave him a piece of TARDIS coral to grow his own TARDIS...