Russell T. Davies Returns to Doctor Who as New Showrunner

[The Nth Doctor]

And it should be mentioned that Chibnall's series have still beaten 90% of the rest of drama on British TV in the ratings and aren't that far off what Moffat was getting for Capaldi's series.

Indeed, which should dampen the ongoing belief that Davies has been brought back as some form of damage control.

But, of course, that won't stop some people from still believing that ludicrous notion.

8th Doctor show. 8th Doctor show. 8th Doctor show.

I desperately want that to happen, but at this point, I don't think it'll ever happen. I've made my peace with that notion especially since we have dozens and dozens of fantastic Big Finish audio plays with Paul McGann.

 

[Mr Awe]

io9's James Whitbrook thinks that Davies' (re)hiring might herald Doctor Who many spinoffs like Davies tried to do during his time because the all of the big franchises are doing it now. (Forgetting, of course, the fact that Star Trek did the same thing a decade before Davies...)

That's really interesting and, yes, I think it might explain why RTD would return to previous work when he's said all along that he wouldn't. That's what he might be getting out of this--the ability to run an "empire." And, if the production is outsourced, he might have more freedom too. The BBC clearly trust him keep it all running. So much so that they weren't sure if DW would continue after he left the first time!

So, it looks like a win-win situation.

 

[Samurai8472]

Because she wants to, because she wants to....

https://collider.com/billie-piper-doctor-who-return-comments/

 

[StCoop]

Because she wants to, because she wants to....
https://collider.com/billie-piper-doctor-who-return-comments/

Only a couple of months ago she was saying that she definitely would never come back. I wonder what could have changed since then to make her more open to the idea...

(Remember the days when the series used to win BAFTAs?)

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Man, that giant Davies!

 

[The Wormhole]

The good news about this is people on YouTube will never complain about Doctor Who anymore. Finally fandom will be at peace.

Yeah, no. Sure, fandom seems to be unanimously enthusiastic about RTD's return at the moment, but once his episodes start airing, the bitching will commence with complaints ranging from "RTD is spent! He never should have returned" or "I never liked RTD anyway, he never should have returned." Fans were enthusiastic about Moffat taking over only to revolt once his episodes began airing. And while Chibnall may not have had an enthusiastic fanbase looking forward to him taking over, there were those who felt he'd be an improvement after a burned out Moffat left, but now those same fans complain about him.

Doctor Who prequel, pre-First Doctor where the Doctor smokes cigarettes and wears a yellow rain coat

This reminds me of something I've been mulling over the past few days, and if true, definitely means that RTD will be keeping the Timeless Child stuff. I'm wondering if one of the reasons he's agreed to come back to the Doctor Who franchise is if the Timeless Child, or specifically the existence of pre-Hartnell Doctors has is something RTD is latching onto and sees story possibilities and new ways to take the franchise? That could certainly be a reason he'd agree to come back after spending the past decade vehemently saying he's done with the franchise, even writing an entire book to that effect.

 

[Photoman15]

Billie Piper will be the Next Doctor.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Because she wants to, because she wants to....

https://collider.com/billie-piper-doctor-who-return-comments/

Well...I guess it was inevitable...

This reminds me of something I've been mulling over the past few days, and if true, definitely means that RTD will be keeping the Timeless Child stuff. I'm wondering if one of the reasons he's agreed to come back to the Doctor Who franchise is if the Timeless Child, or specifically the existence of pre-Hartnell Doctors has is something RTD is latching onto and sees story possibilities and new ways to take the franchise? That could certainly be a reason he'd agree to come back after spending the past decade vehemently saying he's done with the franchise, even writing an entire book to that effect.

Heh, that does make sense. That'll definitely drive some people crazy.

 

[Photoman15]

This reminds me of something I've been mulling over the past few days, and if true, definitely means that RTD will be keeping the Timeless Child stuff. I'm wondering if one of the reasons he's agreed to come back to the Doctor Who franchise is if the Timeless Child, or specifically the existence of pre-Hartnell Doctors has is something RTD is latching onto and sees story possibilities and new ways to take the franchise? That could certainly be a reason he'd agree to come back after spending the past decade vehemently saying he's done with the franchise, even writing an entire book to that effect.

I'll just say this:
"I Am Not Spock" by Leonard Nimoy
"I Am Spock" by Leonard Nimoy

 

[Mr Awe]

This reminds me of something I've been mulling over the past few days, and if true, definitely means that RTD will be keeping the Timeless Child stuff. I'm wondering if one of the reasons he's agreed to come back to the Doctor Who franchise is if the Timeless Child, or specifically the existence of pre-Hartnell Doctors has is something RTD is latching onto and sees story possibilities and new ways to take the franchise? That could certainly be a reason he'd agree to come back after spending the past decade vehemently saying he's done with the franchise, even writing an entire book to that effect.

That could be the case but not necessarily. Personally, I hope not. But, it's also possible that he wants other spinoffs related to companions. I believe in the past he indicated the possibility of Jo continuing on from SJS and for Ace to have her own spinoff. I think, but not sure. Wasn't there talk of a Alternate Rose spinoff? There'd be a whole bunch of potential ideas to draw on in that vein. He wouldn't need to use the Timeless Child if he didn't want to.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

I'd take a spinoff for any of Ten's companions, really. They were all set up and ready to go too!

Rose and Hand-Ten, Alien Police! Martha and Mickey, Also Alien Something or Others, like Hunters, I guess! And the Chronicles of Donna Noble, where she tackles a new part time job each time before stumbling upon an ancient power, in which she becomes an Alien Something or Other... And Captain Jack and the Curse of Waving His Junk Around.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Found this video about the return of RTD.

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[Emperor-Tiberius]

I really don't think RTD's priority or even starting point will be the insipid TC. If he's brought to "save Doctor Who" he has a much different outset to work with.

 

[dupersuper]

I'll take The Woman Who Fell to Earth over The Eleventh Hour

Wow. I like Whittaker, but we are very different people...

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Wow. I like Whittaker, but we are very different people...

That's just nuts. The Eleventh Hour is the best post-regeneration story of NuWho, if not ever, one of Moff's best. The Woman Who Fell to Earth is... there. Furthermore, I'd argue most of the output of Whittaker's run is worse than the worst of Capaldi's run.

 

[Starkers]

Unless your name is Jed Mercurio the days of 2005-2009 ratings are gone for television in general, let alone DW, so I'm not sure what metrics the Beeb will be using to judge their no doubt sizable investment in him and Bad Wolf on.

And it should be mentioned that Chibnall's series have still beaten 90% of the rest of drama on British TV in the ratings and aren't that far off what Moffat was getting for Capaldi's series.

Well unless you're Jed Mercurio or Call the Midwife, but yeah this is true, I think it's the drop off that concerned the BBC more. S11 had great numbers but even within S11 the drop off was more pronounced than with most seasons of modern Who (they pretty much all start high and then drop before reaching a plateau, but Chibnall Who didn't seem to even out, it kept dropping.) Then S12 came along and the trend continued. The AI numbers (for what they're worth) are also pretty poor for Chibnall's seasons.

It may be that ratings have levelled out now, and maybe today the best Who can hope for is around the 5 million mark, whether that's Moffat/Capaldi, Chibnall/Whittaker, or even RTD/?. It's depressing that Whittaker started on such a high. A lot of people showed up for her debut, and yes a lot of that was the novelty factor of a new Doctor (and a woman to boot) but clearly large numbers stuck around for the opening run of episodes. There was a new audience waiting to be grabbed but instead they were allowed to drift away.

I was talking to my goddaughters at the weekend, both of whom became Who fans because of Whittaker, especially the younger one, and while they still love Who, they haven't watched all of S12 yet! (it got a bit preachy as their mum remarked).

The world has changed. Who has way more competition than it did in 2005, maybe even more competition than since the Smith era so I hope the BBC have realistic expectations for RTD. My plucked out of thin air, no scientific thought whatsoever, gut feeling is that if RTD can consistently get the rating back above six and a half million then it'll be seen as a success, especially if this comes complete with increased critical approval.

 

[Tomalak]

Unless your name is Jed Mercurio the days of 2005-2009 ratings are gone for television in general, let alone DW, so I'm not sure what metrics the Beeb will be using to judge their no doubt sizable investment in him and Bad Wolf on.

And it should be mentioned that Chibnall's series have still beaten 90% of the rest of drama on British TV in the ratings and aren't that far off what Moffat was getting for Capaldi's series.

I think this is right. The overnights have dropped hugely since the RTD glory years, but it's mirrored by virtually all over drama series. The ratings for soaps is well down too.

In this context, Doctor Who has been perfectly healthy and usually does very well once the catch-up figures have been factored in. The show can still pull in huge overnights for big events - Jodie's first episode was a big draw (though the drop-off for the rest of the series was quite considerable) and the most recent New Year special was a massive hit. So viewing figures are fine, if a bit inconsistent.

But I think there is a general consensus that the show has a lower profile than it used to have. I don't think it helps that it feels a bit lost on a Sunday evening and the marketing and promotion of the show has been very inconsistent. Chris Chibnall obviously doesn't naturally enjoy the promotion to the same extent that RTD and Moffat did, and his natural inclination is to keep things under wraps to stop leaks/spoilers. This is great for fans when it works and there is a genuine surprise, like with Fugitive of the Judoon. But you do need to build some anticipation to make sure people know they should watch in the first place.

This is the real success of Jed Mercurio and Line of Duty in particular - that anticipation is there, so people do tune in live to find out what happens so they can join in the discussion and avoid spoilers. It shows those 'watercooler moments' are still possible.

Doctor Who might not be Line of Duty, but I don't think the balance is quite right, and it wouldn't take too much to nudge it back into the public consciousness. I guess it's partly a problem of how you reinvent a long-running series, but Doctor Who is uniquely positioned to do this. They had a big chance with Jodie's debut, but the subsequent episodes didn't do enough to retain viewers.

TL;DR - I agree with @Starkers.

 

[StCoop]

I'd definitely agree that raising the show's visability (and those AI numbers) is as important as bringing in new viewers/bringing back old ones.

Chibnall has the personality of a wet fish, which wouldn't matter if he was making any other show on TV, but for better or worse being in charge of DW requires you to be a showman as well as a showrunner.

 

[Orac Zen]

So this is apparently real. Joy. I realise a lot of people will enjoy the hell out of Davies' return but to say I'm unenthusiastic about this news would be putting it ridiculously mildly. The Beeb would be better off putting the series away than revisiting the past, but to each their own.

Billie Piper will be the Next Doctor.

This would absolutely guarantee I'd never watch the show again.

Having said that, I won't be even remotely surprised when she turns up. Rose's supposed permanent, she-can-never-ever-ever-ever return departure lasted about ten minutes so she's bound to reappear.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

So this is apparently real. Joy. I realise a lot of people will enjoy the hell out of Davies' return but to say I'm unenthusiastic about this news would be putting it ridiculously mildly. The Beeb would be better off putting the series away than revisiting the past, but to each their own.

This would absolutely guarantee I'd never watch the show again.

Having said that, I won't be even remotely surprised when she turns up. Rose's supposed permanent, she-can-never-ever-ever-ever return departure lasted about ten minutes so she's bound to reappear.

Please no don't tempt the gods by saying that.

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.