Russell T. Davies Returns to Doctor Who as New Showrunner

[kirk55555]

Series 5 and 6 are my favorite Doctor Who series, no contest, but series 1-7 are all good to great. I'd rank them: 5 > 6 > 4 > 1 > 3 (Counting the specials) > 2 > 7

After that things get...dicey,. Series 8 has huge problems and some really bad episodes. Series 9 has more good to great episodes then it has bad episodes but the few bad episodes are truly awful. Series 10 had a bit too much mediocrity mixed in with some ok episodes and a mostly great ending, and then Series 11 through 13 are just unwatchable for me except for literally three episodes, specifically Fugitive of the Judoon, the first episode of Flux (but only the first episode) and The Power of the Doctor. I'd rank these series

9 > 10 > 8 > 12 > 13 > 11

(with only series 9 and 10 being actually good, and 8 being mediocre but still a lot better then 11-13, in my opinion)

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I think the show has peaks and troughs. I really go up and down with it.

Series 1: I enjoyed it at the time, but in retrospect I find it quite tame.

Series 2: It's all over the place. Great highs and equally great lows.

Series 3: I love it. The Lazarus Experiment is quite bland, but the series overall is peak Who for me.

Series 4: As with Series 2. All over the shop.

Series 5: Stunning.

Series 6: Rises in my estimations on every rewatch.

Series 7: See Series 2 and 4.

Series 8: Another blinder. I love it from start to finish.

Series 9: See Series 2, 4 and 7.

Series 10: Another stunner. I love it.

Series 11: I know many don't, but I like it. It's the best of Jodie for me. It lacks a truly great finale and intro I think, but there's greta stuff in there.

Series 12; See Series 2, 4, 7 and 9.

Series 13: See Series 2, 4, 7, 9 and 12.

I do love Doctor Who for the fact it never stays still though. It's always changing and trying new things.

Yeah, that's fair. And I do love lots of Capaldi's and Whittaker's eras, but there was something truly special with The Tenth Doctor & Donna and The Eleventh Doctor, Amy, and Rory. Something about those dynamics that's only happened handful of times throughout the history of the show. They just clicked so damn well.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Yeah, that's fair. And I do love lots of Capaldi's and Whittaker's eras, but there was something truly special with The Tenth Doctor & Donna and The Eleventh Doctor, Amy, and Rory. Something about those dynamics that's only happened handful of times throughout the history of the show. They just clicked so damn well.

Amy and Rory I loved. It's a strong run of episodes as well.

With Tate/Tennant... the chemistry was fine, but one week you got something great like The Fires of Pompeii, next time you could get The Doctor's Daughter. I think I especially hate the finale in Series 4.

I can appreciate those episodes more now, but coming off the back of Series 3, at the time Series 4 just wasn't what I wanted.

 

[Mr Awe]

Yeah, that's fair. And I do love lots of Capaldi's and Whittaker's eras, but there was something truly special with The Tenth Doctor & Donna and The Eleventh Doctor, Amy, and Rory. Something about those dynamics that's only happened handful of times throughout the history of the show. They just clicked so damn well.

Totally agree about those magical times!

During a recent rewatch, I really grew to value Capaldi's era as well. I enjoyed it the first time around, but even more so later. His final season was excellent and I'd say his Doctor and Bill clicked as well as the earlier examples.

I need to rewatch Whitaker's era at some point.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I think the greatest drawback of Whitaker's era is how... milquetoast most of it was. Sadly I don't think Jodie ever got her Blink/Vincent and the Doctor/Listen... Maybe Rosa? A great actress unfortunately saddled with some of the most bland stories in the history of the show.

Put me in the Ryan fan club though. I think he was a fantastic companion.

 

[douwed]

I think the greatest drawback of Whitaker's era is how... milquetoast most of it was. Sadly I don't think Jodie ever got her Blink/Vincent and the Doctor/Listen... Maybe Rosa? A great actress unfortunately saddled with some of the most bland stories in the history of the show.

I think that's the biggest problem with the Jodie era. She was great, I liked the companions but the stories were bland. On the positive side there were no really terrible episodes (parts of episodes maybe, orphan 55 I'm looking at you) but apart from the last Christmas special (which I really enjoyed) it was all fine, nothing great, just fine.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

So many times I felt the era was on the edge of touching greatness. There are fantastic aspects of it. Sascha Dhawan stands out in particular.

 

[DigificWriter]

The 40th anniversary sure was a wild time.

Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm. And yet, whenever one of us reminds you of all the times you've been wrong in the past with your predictions, you get all "I'm only stating an opinion. GET OFF MY BACK!!!" Yet when someone else states their speculative opinion, you have to be the first to tell them "YOU'RE WRONG! YOU'RE WRONG!! WRONG!!! Holy Producer said as much." And you wonder why we take so much joy in pointing out when you've been proven wrong.

And we're all well aware of what RTD has said on this matter. In fact, I seem to recall we were the ones trying to convince you Tennant would be the Fourteenth Doctor back when you were stubbornly refusing to believe he'd be back as a new Doctor.

I'm glad you said that so that I didn't have to. You read my mind though.

I'm not claiming or trying to claim any positional 'high ground' here. I'm simply stating a fact, which is that it is unlikely that there would be a coordinated attempt by RTD and the Doctor Who marketing and non-televised product divisions to deceive the public with regards to the nature of David Tennant's return by falsely labeling him as the official Fourteenth Doctor if he is not and his return is somehow, as some are speculating, 'tainted' or related to what is believed by some to be the return of the Celestial Toymaker as brought to life by Neil Patrick Harris.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I'm not claiming or trying to claim any positional 'high ground' here. I'm simply stating a fact, which is that it is unlikely that there would be a coordinated attempt by RTD and the Doctor Who marketing and non-televised product divisions to deceive the public with regards to the nature of David Tennant's return by falsely labeling him as the official Fourteenth Doctor if he is not and his return is somehow, as some are speculating, 'tainted' or related to what is believed by some to be the return of the Celestial Toymaker as brought to life by Neil Patrick Harris.

I know what you were doing. I’m familiar with your post history.

Everyone moved on, so move on.

 

[The Wormhole]

I think I especially hate the finale in Series 4.

Journey's End is an episode I go back and forth on a lot. The first time I saw it I hated it, though I did also have a somewhat serious flu at the time which I think put me in a sour mood to begin with. On rewatches my opinion has lightened somewhat though I still think of it as extremely flawed.

Finales always have been RTD's weakness. Even his good finales usually suffer from everything getting resolved way too quickly and conveniently and unsatisfactory payoff despite the buildup in the first part of the finale storyline. And that certainly is the case with Journey's End. And while the overall episode isn't that great, the episode does have a lot of excellent moments throughout it, among them everyone in the console room as the TARDIS tows Earth back to the solar system and the good-bye scene between the Doctor and Wilf at the end. As such, I've learned there is some merit to Journey's End, even if it is still the weakest finale of RTD's first era.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

@The Wormhole

Time and distance heal all wounds. There's a lot in Season 4 that I can appreciate now that I did not appreciate at the time.

Tate and Tennant were fantastic together though. For evidence of that one need look no further than The Unicorn and the Wasp which was one of the finest episodes of the whole era.

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One thing I hope the upcoming specials can redress is the shitshow of an ending which Donna Noble received.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Journey's End is an episode I go back and forth on a lot. The first time I saw it I hated it, though I did also have a somewhat serious flu at the time which I think put me in a sour mood to begin with. On rewatches my opinion has lightened somewhat though I still think of it as extremely flawed.

Finales always have been RTD's weakness. Even his good finales usually suffer from everything getting resolved way too quickly and conveniently and unsatisfactory payoff despite the buildup in the first part of the finale storyline. And that certainly is the case with Journey's End. And while the overall episode isn't that great, the episode does have a lot of excellent moments throughout it, among them everyone in the console room as the TARDIS tows Earth back to the solar system and the good-bye scene between the Doctor and Wilf at the end. As such, I've learned there is some merit to Journey's End, even if it is still the weakest finale of RTD's first era.

I fully agree about Davies and finales...

...and yet, despite myself, I love "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End." It did take me awhile to get comfortable with the Meta-Crisis Doctor but I've since made peace with it. Otherwise, I absolutely love how bonkers that story was and hoe Davies went all in...and it worked for me.

Along with the big highlights you've already mentioned, one that always hits the hardest for me is Sarah-Jane's reunion with Davros...and him appreciating her presence. When I saw both of them returning in "The Stolen Earth" (or maybe earlier, I can't remember what I knew spoilers-wise going in), I begged and hoped for such a reunion and for that history to be recognized...and Davies did not disappoint.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Journey's End/The Stolen Earth was just a case of too many cooks for me.

I would have been good with Davros and finishing Donna's story, but we got SJS (and Luke as I recall?), Captain Jack and Torchwood, Harriet Jones, Rose Tyler, Dalek Sec and the 10th Doctor x2. Then there's Donna's ending... I still find it to be so mean spirited. She deserved so much more (as 10 would say).

Saying that, I liked the first half. The cliffhanger was fantastic. But Journey's End... I still don't like it. It was the beginning of a rough patch in the show for me and I didn't really feel any enthusiasm for it again until we got to The Waters of Mars.

I tell you what though, I like The End of Time. I like that a lot. RTD could wrap up a finale. People talk about The Last of the Timelords being a deus ex machina and I couldn't agree less. The Archangel Network was seeded very early in the story and for me the ending was a classic case of the Master being hoisted by his own petard. Doomsday is a very tight episode and I don't think anyone dislikes The Parting of the Ways do they?

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

So many times I felt the era was on the edge of touching greatness. There are fantastic aspects of it. Sascha Dhawan stands out in particular.

Rarely do I disagree on entire posts.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Rarely do I disagree on entire posts.

Apparently you just snipe without adding anything meaningful instead?

Don't quote me if you have fuck all to say.

 

[Tuskin38]

I'm simply stating a fact

No, it's an opinion.

 

[The Wormhole]

Now, now. As you know, it's a fact if Digific states it, but an opinion if the rest of us among the unwashed masses states it. That's just how things work.

 

[Steve Roby]

I don't want to get involved in this, but...

"I'm simply stating a fact, which is that it is unlikely that" --

If your statement includes terms like "unlikely" you're talking probability, not fact.

 

[matthunter]

I don't want to get involved in this, but...

"I'm simply stating a fact, which is that it is unlikely that" --

If your statement includes terms like "unlikely" you're talking probability, not fact.

To be nitpicky, it is perfectly fine to state that "it's a fact that event X occurring is extremely unlikely".

It would be perfectly factual to say that a pair of guided missiles spontaneously turning into a sperm whale and a bowl of petunias is highly improbable. One might even hazard infinitely.

 

[Rich Watson]

To hopefully wrench this back on topic, a few bits from the new DWM.

Gemma Arrowsmith has been cast in the series; which makes her one of the few people to have both written for (well, Big Finish) and acted in the show.

Russell auditioned to be a presenter on "Play School" in one studio while "Paradise Towers" was being rehearsed next door.

There was only a three week break between the end of work in Series 14 and starting work on Series 15.

And this one definitely needs a spoiler tag...

Spoiler: Guest Star News

Yasmin Finney is also appearing in Series 14, not just the Specials.