Spoilers Russell T. Davies Returns to Doctor Who as New Showrunner

[The Wormhole]

That kind of production was known to take a toll in general, IIRC, being one of only two main cast (and the lead) on the original Quantum Leap led to Scott Bakula's first marriage falling apart, and by later seasons he actually had in his contract that he was leaving the studio by 4PM each day or something like that. I suspect this might be a reason why those kind of shows, with only two in the main cast going for over twenty episodes just aren't done in American television anymore. I think the last such show was Supernatural, and even that eventually added more to the main cast.

Even in the streaming realm, the only American show I can think of with only a cast of two is The Last of Us, and even with less than ten episodes, they still do the Doctor Who thing of a "Joel Lite" or both "Joel and Ellie Lite" episodes. Granted, the Joel Lites might be necessitated by the fact Pedro Pascal is something like twenty projects on the go simultaneously.

 

[Starkers]

That kind of production was known to take a toll in general, IIRC, being one of only two main cast (and the lead) on the original Quantum Leap led to Scott Bakula's first marriage falling apart, and by later seasons he actually had in his contract that he was leaving the studio by 4PM each day or something like that. I suspect this might be a reason why those kind of shows, with only two in the main cast going for over twenty episodes just aren't done in American television anymore. I think the last such show was Supernatural, and even that eventually added more to the main cast.

Even in the streaming realm, the only American show I can think of with only a cast of two is The Last of Us, and even with less than ten episodes, they still do the Doctor Who thing of a "Joel Lite" or both "Joel and Ellie Lite" episodes. Granted, the Joel Lites might be necessitated by the fact Pedro Pascal is something like twenty projects on the go simultaneously.

That must have been especially hard for Bakula, not only are you the lead who has to be in every episode, but as an actor you have to play a different character (to come extent) every episode, there's no coasting when you're playing Sam Beckett.

Of course setting aside a cast of two let's not forget that we get ten episodes of Only Murders in the Building every year. Admittedly there's a cast of three but one of them is 80 and another is 75!

 

[Allyn Gibson]

The being away from him and family comes with the job though, the job being acting, though like a lot of people I sometimes wonder if Who should come back home to London. But then I’d feel bad for all the people working the jobs it brings in Wales.

I remember being at BBC America's "Asylum of the Daleks" screening, and in the Q&A Matt Smith said he'd stay forever if they could always film in New York. In no way, shape, or form would that have been financially viable for the Beeb, but I thought at the time that maybe Montreal would have been doable. (BBC America had just started making Copper in Montreal. I always wished Richard Belzer would have a brief cameo as John Munch's ancestor in Copper.) Or Dublin; Ripper Street started filming there around the same time, IIRC.

American television has some far-flung filming locations -- there's a lot (Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill) that was done in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Wilmington is even more off the beaten path than Cardiff -- but there does seem to be something uniquely shitty about Cardiff.

 

[Jedman67]

I was doing seven-day weeks for eight months

That's bonkers. And sometimes those days would end closer to midnight than 5pm. Again, bonkers.

I have to wonder why things were so bad for him that he only lasted 16 episodes, compared to David Tennant and Matt Smith who both lasted 39 episodes, Peter Capaldi who lasted 36, or Jodie Whitaker who lasted 26. Is it just that hadn't done anything that intense before, or could the conditions have gotten worse?

so either he was incredibly naive or thought he could hack it and it would be worth it for his career.

Sex Education went several months past their original wrap date and Barbie needed reshoots. Working 3 shows back to back is intense. Working 7 days a week too is insanity.

Plus you have Disney stalling on a renewal commitment and BBC can't afford to break a contract, so they have to let the option expire before they can start producing new seasons of Who. You can't expect an actor to just sit twiddling their thumbs for a maybe/maybe not renewal. I'm sure if he was offered a S3 contract to begin filming in a year, he'd probably have stayed.

 

[Samurai8472]

That must have been especially hard for Bakula, not only are you the lead who has to be in every episode, but as an actor you have to play a different character (to come extent) every episode, there's no coasting when you're playing Sam Beckett.

Of course setting aside a cast of two let's not forget that we get ten episodes of Only Murders in the Building every year. Admittedly there's a cast of three but one of them is 80 and another is 75!

I once mentioned that the days of solo hero tv shows are long gone. Every reboot has added a "team" to those shows

Macgyver
Quantum Leap
Knight Rider


You can't expect one actor to carry a 22 episode season(for America) nowadays.

 

[EnderAKH]

I have to wonder why things were so bad for him that he only lasted 16 episodes, compared to David Tennant and Matt Smith who both lasted 39 episodes, Peter Capaldi who lasted 36, or Jodie Whitaker who lasted 26. Is it just that hadn't done anything that intense before, or could the conditions have gotten worse?

Well, I think part of it is like he said, it was Doctor Who right on the heels of (and even during) the 4 seasons of Sex Education, it sounds like he was burned out and I would guess had he stayed the intention was to go straight into season 3 (before Disney squirreled that all up). He was just tired and wanted a break.

 

[Steve Roby]

RTD was clearly so blown away by Ncuti that he shelved his original plans and was willing to compromise his own production by bending over backwards to accommodate Ncuti and Sex Education, even if it meant throwing Millie under the bus (another very inexperienced actor) in the process.

Millie Gibson did three years on the UK's most popular soap opera, Coronation Street, and won the 2022 British Soap Award for Best Young Performer. She's been acting since she was 13. She's young, but she's hardly an inexperienced actor.

 

[The Wormhole]

^^Granted, but this was her first time being a show's co-lead, and factor in she was basically on her own for the first month or two before Gatwa arrived.

 

[Starkers]

^^Granted, but this was her first time being a show's co-lead, and factor in she was basically on her own for the first month or two before Gatwa arrived.

Exactly, she'd been part of an ensemble in Corrie, a very big ensemble.

 

[matthunter]

a very big ensemble.

I read that in Bananaman for some reason.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Well… with the whole Kimmel situation and Disney bending the knee, I guess it’s worth it in the end to not have Doctor Who on D+ anymore and waiting a bit longer for the next series.

 

[Steve Roby]

Apropos of not much in particular other than RTD being showrunner... I'm a few months behind on reading Doctor Who Magazine and just got up to the one with a collection of his DWM columns from his first time as showrunner, and what a blast from the past that is, revisiting that time when no one knew how the return of Doctor Who would work out. Things may seem uncertain now, but looking back, the last couple of decades have been a lot more than we might have expected twenty years ago.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Well… with the whole Kimmel situation and Disney bending the knee, I guess it’s worth it in the end to not have Doctor Who on D+ anymore and waiting a bit longer for the next series.

In hindsight, it could end up being a blessing. But I'd be ironically amused if all this forced Disney to actually KEEP Doctor Who and actually order more seasons to compensate the losses they'd suffered since the last few days.

Apropos of not much in particular other than RTD being showrunner... I'm a few months behind on reading Doctor Who Magazine and just got up to the one with a collection of his DWM columns from his first time as showrunner, and what a blast from the past that is, revisiting that time when no one knew how the return of Doctor Who would work out. Things may seem uncertain now, but looking back, the last couple of decades have been a lot more than we might have expected twenty years ago.

That's why the hyperbole is annoying. I'm guilty of this too, but frankly, these 18 episodes after the 60th are a blessing. We could have very possibly not even had the full 21 episodes after Chibnall's exit.

 

[jaime]

In hindsight, it could end up being a blessing. But I'd be ironically amused if all this forced Disney to actually KEEP Doctor Who and actually order more seasons to compensate the losses they'd suffered since the last few days.

That's why the hyperbole is annoying. I'm guilty of this too, but frankly, these 18 episodes after the 60th are a blessing. We could have very possibly not even had the full 21 episodes after Chibnall's exit.

If it were to end, Power of the Doctor would have been a better place to have ended it, if not quite as circular as Twice Upon a Time Lord.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

If it were to end, Power of the Doctor would have been a better place to have ended it, if not quite as circular as Twice Upon a Time Lord.

The Power of the Doctor , while not technically a better story than The Reality War, would have been a better stop before a hiatus, yes.

 

[jaime]

The Power of the Doctor , while not technically a better story than The Reality War, would have been a better stop before a hiatus, yes.

Now I’m trying to work out what would make Reality War a technically better story than Power of the Doctor.

They’re both sandwiches rather than a meal, but one was made with a bit of love, and one fell on the floor and had its bits hastily scooped up and thrown back together.

 

[Starkers]

In hindsight, it could end up being a blessing. But I'd be ironically amused if all this forced Disney to actually KEEP Doctor Who and actually order more seasons to compensate the losses they'd suffered since the last few days.

That's why the hyperbole is annoying. I'm guilty of this too, but frankly, these 18 episodes after the 60th are a blessing. We could have very possibly not even had the full 21 episodes after Chibnall's exit.

Absolutely. The show could have quite easily ended, for good, with Chibnall and Whittaker. That we had those three Tennant specials and eighteen episode with Ncuti (of which I would certainly say the majority were enjoyable) is one hell of a blessing, especially if this is now the end, for good.*

*Not that I think it is.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

I don’t think it is ending for good.
But someone at BBC for sure is thinking, thank the Time Lords we are no longer part of that clusterfuck!

 

[jaime]

They would have been better off using Who as a cornerstone of charging for international access to IPlayer.
But rights and residuals could cause problems for full access (and soundtrack rights in some cases) and they already had a bit of a fail with the BritBox experiment, amongst other things.

So ultimately, they should consider a better the devil they know scenario — there’s already BBC coproductions with Amazon, and sometimes I think Netflix too.
They’ve lost all their big cash cows if they put Who in the fridge next to Top Gear, so they need to have a rethink. And maybe court less controversy next time out the gate. Not that that was the biggest mistake of recent years.

 

[The Wormhole]

Obviously Doctor Who isn't "gone for good," it will be back some day. But I do think we are now in a hiatus which could last for a few years, at least. I doubt it'll be as long as the Wilderness Years were, not even if you measure the length from Survival to the TV movie, or the TV movie to Rose. But I wouldn't be too surprised if there's no new Doctor Who until 2028 or later.