Russell T. Davies Returns to Doctor Who as New Showrunner

[The Nth Doctor]

There's a part of me that's hoping she's another renegade Time Lord, but one that is an adventurer like the Doctor rather than a villain like the Master or a ruthless scientist like the Rani.

I always had a hard time accepting the Doctor as "the last of the Time Lords," not only because the existence of the Master made that false to begin with, but because during the classic era it was established that other Time Lords had gone rogue and left Gallifrey too (K'Ampo Rimpoche, Drax, Azmael, and of course the aforementioned Rani). So even if Gallifrey fell, there had to be a number of Time Lords expatriates scattered throughout the cosmos that sat out the Time War, IMO. Maybe the Duchess is one of them?

And, as I've mentioned many times since 2005, Romana was last seen in E-Space!

Yes, of course, Big Finish has done many great adventures with Romana (past, present, and future!), all of which I've loved, and Davies is a fan of Big Finish, but let's be honest: Aside from the occasional non-major references, there's no way this show would be held back by whatever Big Finish established.

As far as the average Whovian is concerned, she's still in E-Space.

Give me Romana already!

...that all said, I'm not actually advocating for Indira Varma's character to be secretly Romana or any other Time Lord. I would love to see plenty more of her on the show, but it is a tired fan trope to expect such a reveal at this point. Such a reveal is best when it's the least expected. Like The Fugitive Doctor.

 

[Mr Awe]

Anger and frustration are not rational reactions, but they are valid and legitimate reactions.

Kudos for recognizing and understanding your previous reactions. That's not always easy.

 

[Mr Awe]

Damn it! Ncuti is one of those irritating people who'd look good wearing an old potato sack isn't he!

Him and Marilyn--who actually did that!

 

[Mr Awe]

So the middle episode is the one we're not allowed to see anything of so presumably the one that might (might) feature past Doctors?

Apologies if this has already been mentioned but there's a theory going around that

Spoiler

the Toymaker (if he is the Toymaker) is going be a stand in for toxic fandom, an omnipotent watcher who's reset the Doctor to a time when he enjoyed watching the character more, which seems very meta given RTD's brought Tennent and Tate back, but maybe that's the point? A meta story inside a meta story? You're confusing the Meta!

Oh no, shades of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy! My least favorite episode in all of DW!

But I trust RTD to make it watchable if your theory is correct.

 

[jaime]

Oh no, shades of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy! My least favorite episode in all of DW!

But I trust RTD to make it watchable if your theory is correct.

Really?
Greatest Show has Mags. And that’s only *one* of the good bits. Well… depends how you count bits I suppose.

 

[The Wormhole]

There's a part of me that's hoping she's another renegade Time Lord, but one that is an adventurer like the Doctor rather than a villain like the Master or a ruthless scientist like the Rani.

I always had a hard time accepting the Doctor as "the last of the Time Lords," not only because the existence of the Master made that false to begin with, but because during the classic era it was established that other Time Lords had gone rogue and left Gallifrey too (K'Ampo Rimpoche, Drax, Azmael, and of course the aforementioned Rani). So even if Gallifrey fell, there had to be a number of Time Lords expatriates scattered throughout the cosmos that sat out the Time War, IMO. Maybe the Duchess is one of them?

It ultimately comes down to the fact that RTD simply doesn't like the Time Lords which is the whole reason he made them extinct when the show came back in 2005, so that there'd be a reason why the Doctor wouldn't run into any. As it is, using them in TEOT was actually Julie Gardner's idea, one which RTD was initially vehemently, and only came around when he realized using them actually solved a plot hole that existed in the script at that stage. And even then RTD actually regretted the decision as he found writing for Time Lords was the most challenging part of his first term as DW showrunner.

With all that in mind, I find it doubtful we'll be seeing any Time Lords besides the Doctor and maybe the Master while RTD's in charge. For that matter, none of the modern showrunners seemed to care for the Time Lords. The Writer's Tale indicated Moffat didn't, which would seem to be backed up by the fact he actually issued a public apology to fandom for resurrecting them in Day of the Doctor. And Chibnall made them extinct again.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Which, honestly, I don't blame them. As a society, they're worthless.

I'm just regretful at losing some great characters who as individuals are wonderful. Not just The Master and Romana, but also The Rani,, Drax, K'anpo Rimpoche, Azmael, Rodan, Borusa, The War Chief, and even the Valeyard (if only more so because of Big Finish). If we're talking Big Finish, then also Narvin and Braxiatel (among others, but especially those two). I want to see certain individuals return but not the society itself.

 

[C.E. Evans]

The thing about the Time Lords is that we're not supposed to like them. Aside from the Doctor themselves, the Time Lords are the ultimate warders in the Doctor Who Universe and more often than not written to be stuffy, arrogant, condescending, and self-righteous. I mean, there's a reason why the Doctor ran away from them in the first place, right? They're meant to be unlikeable, but they did serve a place during the classic run as people who could check the Doctor periodically and then they could turn and check them right back. In a way, the Time Lords are villains, and on more than occasion, have been the bad guys in a number of serials/episodes. The only time the Doctor ever truly lost to the Time Lords was at the end of their second incarnation...

If Time Lords were cool, the Doctor would never have left them. They remind us why the Doctor prefers the life of a renegade. They are as much foe as friend, perhaps even more so foe at times, IMO.

 

[The Knappos]

In Hindi, Duchess translates as raanee or raani

 

[The Nth Doctor]

And so it begins.[/Kosh]

 

[Starkers]

The Duchess is a film starring Keira Knightly.
Knightly first found fame in Bend it Like Beckham
David Beckham used to play for Man Utd
Man Utd are currently owned by the Glazer family.
A glazer is someone who works with glass.
It's often said that people with glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
The Rolling Stones had a song called Sympathy for the Devil
The Devil is often portrayed as a master of evil
that's right you've won Dusty Bin

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Per script editor Scott Handcock in his Production Diary for Doctor Who Magazine (via Radio Times), Jinkx Monsoon will team up with a classic Tom Baker era actor.

"It’s a triple-unit shoot day as Julie Anne Robinson wraps on Block Three, David Tennant continues with his publicity material for the specials, and Ben Chessell kicks off filming on Block Four – with Jinkx Monsoon’s announcement.

"What isn’t announced is that Jinkx’s first day on set teams her with an unexpected name from the Tom Baker era."
​

May the wild speculation become even crazier!

 

[jaime]

Just an unexpected ‘name’.

Jago. Descendant. That’s my instinct.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Just an unexpected ‘name’.

Jago. Descendant. That’s my instinct.

Yeah, I noticed that detail.

If it's Christopher Benjamin playing the descendent, then it makes sense not to have Litefoot.

Otherwise, we best get both of them!

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Not Romana, surely?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Like I said, I sure would like that!

But as The Wormhole has already noted, Davies doesn't like the Time Lords, so it's probably not her, alas.

 

[The Wormhole]

The thing about the Time Lords is that we're not supposed to like them. Aside from the Doctor themselves, the Time Lords are the ultimate warders in the Doctor Who Universe and more often than not written to be stuffy, arrogant, condescending, and self-righteous. I mean, there's a reason why the Doctor ran away from them in the first place, right? They're meant to be unlikeable, but they did serve a place during the classic run as people who could check the Doctor periodically and then they could turn and check them right back. In a way, the Time Lords are villains, and on more than occasion, have been the bad guys in a number of serials/episodes. The only time the Doctor ever truly lost to the Time Lords was at the end of their second incarnation...

If Time Lords were cool, the Doctor would never have left them. They remind us why the Doctor prefers the life of a renegade. They are as much foe as friend, perhaps even more so foe at times, IMO.

I don't think that's what RTD was referring to when he said he didn't like the Time Lords. He was referring to not liking them from a writing perspective, since narratively they can drive a story to a screeching halt. They're all powerful, and they're corrupt douchebags. That doesn't really lend itself to a lot of narrative options.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I don't think that's what RTD was referring to when he said he didn't like the Time Lords. He was referring to not liking them from a writing perspective, since narratively they can drive a story to a screeching halt. They're all powerful, and they're corrupt douchebags. That doesn't really lend itself to a lot of narrative options.

Not to sound too harsh, but that's just not trying hard enough. They're a challenge for RTD to write, so he doesn't want to write them at all. Where would we be if all television writers only wanted to write the easy stuff?

 

[Commander Troi]

Not to sound too harsh, but that's just not trying hard enough. They're a challenge for RTD to write, so he doesn't want to write them at all. Where would we be if all television writers only wanted to write the easy stuff?

All those Dick Wolf shows?

 

[C.E. Evans]

All those Dick Wolf shows?

Explain that one to me. I've never really watched those shows.