Season 1 had a lot of successes and was a big step up for Doctor Who and in my opinion, put the show on a more positive track. I particularly admired Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor, the bold and experimental individual stories and the fantasy direction. That being said, the season still had its weaknesses and there was a flawed clunkiness to the overall structure of the season. Therefore, I think there are improvements and alterations that could be made to improve the consistency of the era. Let's begin!!!
10.) A chance to flesh out the UNIT side characters
It's become obvious that a UNIT team is very difficult to flesh out and develop unless you have them appear consistently across different stories. The 1970s UNIT team with Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, Mike Yates and Sergeant Benton were a heartwarming and comforting trio of military characters which it was pleasurable to return to with the familiar family dynamic. The presence of Nicholas Courtney and the exiled to earth format of the Pertwee run is what made UNIT succeed. When the Doctor is roaming around time and space, it becomes far more difficult to give the audience the same familiarity with the characters. However, I think the current UNIT team has had a solid ensemble of likeable characters with a lot of realism which I’m intrigued to see more of. Kate Stewart has a strong sense of leadership and Shirley Anne Bingham and Colonel Ibrahim are very likeable additions, along with Mel and Rose. The War Between the Land and the Sea will hopefully give these characters full attention and development, a privilege UNIT hasn’t had in recent years. It would still be nice to see more depth to these characters in the main show. I can see a lot more depth in Kate Stewart since Russell T Davies took charge of her character, but Rose in the Season 1 finale felt pointless and very under-used. It would be fitting to make room for the UNIT characters to take centre stage at some point, especially Mel, who I would like to get the chance to learn more about and develop who she is at this point in her life. It looks like we will be getting a full episode focused around Ruby and her endeavours as part of UNIT, so this may come to fruition.
9.) A different approach to the puzzle box mystery
I've grown weary of Doctor Who's story arc style, which has become worn out. There is only so long the show can maintain the traditions and the same tropes of a story arc and still feel fresh at the same time. The arcs of Bad Wolf, Vote Saxon and the crack in time were very effectively integrated but as time goes on the efforts to replicate the success of past years ends up descending into laughable and absurd results with the likes of the Hybrid and the Timeless Child. I was hoping Russell T Davies would rectify this, but Season 1 resorted to the same series structure as his original run. Whilst this had some success, there were some clear logical contrivances with Russell T Davies trying too hard to out-think the audience which made the plotlines needlessly complicated and difficult to resolve. With Anita Dobson playing the mysterious Mrs Flood, a mystery box is unfortunately inevitable. I just hope there is some attempt to keep things fresh and structure the mystery in a slightly unexpected way. I would ideally like more focus upon the concept and possible villainy of Mrs Flood as a character rather than the nonsense surrounding the mystery. Series 10 with the Vault has had the best arc of recent years because it was more focused on the character development of Missy. The sooner we are able to get to the centre and point of Mrs Flood to actually explore the character, the better the series will be.
8.) Simplistic storylines
The biggest drawback to the Disney+ deal and higher budget for Doctor Who I think is the focus on bigger spectacle. It has some strengths and merits and is clearly an attempt to compete with other science fiction and fantasy related programming, especially with the output of Marvel and Star Wars. The difference is that a high spectacle and blockbuster feel tends to be the expectation with other science fiction franchises, but it isn’t usually at the centre of Doctor Who or where it thrives best. Doctor Who originated on a shoestring budget and made its impact by telling suspenseful and eerie stories that terrified audiences. Therefore, a majority of the best Doctor Who stories tend to be quite isolated and contained. Doctor Who is a show that can go anywhere and do anything so from a certain point of view a higher budget opens the show up, but I think in some ways its constraints help the show to thrive. The visual spectacle and experimentation of the Devil’s Chord was a high-point of Season 1, but there were also other low points and weaknesses that came as a result of the Disney funding. The misjudged CGI of Space Babies felt overambitious and the end of the universe stakes of the finale didn’t deliver in the expected fashion. Everything felt incredibly hollow and insincere. Sometimes it’s the simplest and more stripped back stories that end up being more gripping. The best stories of the era so far, in my opinion, are Wild Blue Yonder and Boom. Both are stripped back and simple stories which the show needs more of.
7.) The return of Susan Foreman
The identity and place of Susan had kind of been tossed aside for many years despite the character being a large part of the early years of the show with William Hartnell. Season 1 seemed to rectify this by making Susan into a vital part of the Doctor’s backstory with a lot of regret and pain coming from the Doctor. That being said, after the way Susan’s inclusion was handled in the last season, there are a lot of open questions. The use of Susan Triad framed Susan as a misdirect for the reveal of Sutekh which was very effectively handled. However, with all the references to Susan in the narrative, I do feel like if Susan does not appear at some point soon, then fans have been needlessly baited all for a superficial shock which would be a poor move by Russell T Davies. With Ruby going on an ongoing journey trying to find her birth family, it would make sense to have the Doctor reunite with Susan at some point with all of his recent healing and development. It would be interesting to see the maturity of Susan after the events of the Dalek Invasion of Earth and especially with the aftermath of the Time War. With Susan being under-used as a damsel in distress figure, in the original William Hartnell era, there is an opportunity to take the building blocks and basics of Susan as a character and develop her into someone with more substance and give the character what she deserves. It would be fascinating to see Ncuti Gatwa play a more elderly grandfather role and to tell a story about how the Doctor and Susan have both changed across the centuries in an effective story about coming back together and resolving past family conflict.
6.) A darker side to the Fifteenth Doctor
Ncuti Gatwa has been incredible as the Doctor and an inspired piece of casting for the character. However, I think the flaw in Season 1 was that due to his filming schedule on Sex Education we didn’t get as much of him as I would have hoped. We still did get a strong enough demonstration of the personality and characteristics of his Doctor as a first season should. Stories like Boom pushed his Doctor to the limit showing a lot of emotional vulnerability. Season 2 needs to be doing more with his character and the darker aspects that have proven to be intriguing. The Fifteenth Doctor is very emotionally open and compassionate, but the alien darkness of prior incarnations still lingers. When the Doctor thinks he has lost Ruby in Rogue, there is a dark ruthlessness and anger shown in his character. The darkness of the Doctor when he disposes of Sutekh and when he prods and coerces Joy shows a spikiness and harshness in the Doctor which keeps a consistency with the Hartnell Doctor from the start of the show and is very interesting. It's obviously a part of himself the Fifteenth Doctor is ashamed of and tries to bottle up and it would be interesting to see what circumstances could allow for that part of his personality to come out more prominently and fascinating to explore.
5.) A keen eye on cringey absurdity
Season 1 took a very supernatural root which is a valid direction for Doctor Who’s future, which allows a lot of variety and challenges for the Doctor. However, there has been a silliness to the series which has brought in an absurdity which has been questionable at times. Doctor Who has always had a bonkers energy to it which is mixed well with danger and scariness. The Church on Ruby Road and the Devil’s Chord gets the balance just right. However, there are other stories which descend so far into immaturity and silly aspects that the show loses itself. Space Babies was a particular low point for Season 1 and a bad choice for a season opener. The idea of talking space babies had very little merit in the first place and was always going to feel stupid and like an off-putting concept, but the CGI makes them feel closer to creepy than adorable. The crass humour and forced immaturity ruin the chances of the episode along with its very sentimental messaging. There are also strange aspects in other episodes like Ruby’s Mother naming her by pointing at a sign which felt dumb and very illogical. Doctor Who has always had a wackiness to it but there needs to be some caution in how that wackiness is balanced to make sure the show maintains its essence. The grounded aspects help Doctor Who maintain some level of believability amongst its sci-fi nonsense. This is what made the first era of Russell T Davies successful and stories like 73 Yards are memorable because of the mix of grounded elements and alien aspects. Hopefully, the show will try to maintain a neat balance of tone.
4.) Breathing room
The biggest structural issue of Season 1 is that whilst it has a lot of wonderful and memorable stories, there is a rushed pace to all of them and to the season as a whole which harms it. This does fit the feel of some of the stories. The Devil’s Chord has a mad and frantic energy where the fast-paced feel of it makes a lot of sense. However, as a whole I think this harms the season. Most episodes feel like they could have done with an extra ten minutes to flesh things out and wrap things up more efficiently and effectively. There seems to be a concern in trying to hold the attention of a younger audience of the TikTok generation, and as such things move at such a fast-paced feel that you don’t have time for proper development and plots are rushed to the finish line. The relationship between the Doctor and Ruby has felt fairly underdeveloped although the short structure of Season 1 and lack of availability from Ncuti Gatwa was a factor in this. I enjoy their dynamic and relationship, but you don’t get to see much of their friendship or see them together as Doctor and companion a great deal. You have a season with a lot of great stories, but the in-between moments between adventures that help build the character dynamics is lost. There isn’t much of the Doctor and Ruby just hanging out on the Tardis, which is a real shame. When the deleted scenes for Season 1 were revealed, it became clear to me that the season had needed more of the quieter, more suspenseful and character driven moments. I adore Classic Who for its slow pacing and development and we’re never going to go back to that. However, I do think the show needs to take its time more as suspense and horror are a key part of the show and you can’t have that without some breathing room and slower moments.
3.) Fleshed out family dynamics
One of the best parts of the first era of Russell T Davies was the family dynamics. The companion role was transformed and modernised by showing the impact of the travels of the Doctor on the companion's home and family life. The relationships of Rose and Donna with their families added a lot of heart and emotion into the series, with world-building and emotional development and characters within the family dynamics who were also able to evolve. There is a similar spark with the family of Ruby Sunday. Carla and Cherry Sunday, played by Michelle Greenidge and Angela Wynter, are likeable and grounded characters with a lot of personality and a very comforting family dynamic that is supportive of Ruby. They certainly add a lot to the stories where they feature. The problem is that the structure of Season 1 means they are under-used, and you don’t get the same emotional development and conflict that you would have expected in the previous Russell T Davies era. We don’t get the chance for much conflict between Carla and the Doctor to be developed. If you’re going to include the companions’ families within the series, then doing something with the domestic conflict makes sense. All I’m asking is to make more room for these family relationships and conflict to be explored with more depth and to have more of a point. If you can’t explore the conflict between family relationships and the alien world of the Doctor, there isn’t much point in involving domestic families within the show at all.
2.) A fresh companion who challenges the Doctor
I enjoyed the relationship between the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday a lot. There was a comforting best friend relationship and very valuable sibling bond and great chemistry between Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson. I’m still happy we are getting a different companion in Season 2 as it will offer a different dynamic and new challenges for Ncuti Gatwa as an actor. The Doctor and Ruby's relationship was occasionally too amicable, lacking sufficient conflict. I rather appreciated the dynamic between the Fifteenth Doctor and Mel, as Mel had the stubborn energy and personality to match his Doctor and challenge him better. To contrast and counter the Doctor's sensitive and emotional nature, a resilient and strong character would be fitting. Verada Sethu is an actor I have appreciated with her role in Andor and playing Mundy Flynn in Boom. Her older sense of maturity and confidence, I think, will work well with Ncuti Gatwa’s energy, personality and dominance as the Doctor. Ncuti Gatwa has a natural coolness, ability and passion in his portrayal of the Doctor. It's going to be interesting to see the challenges the Doctor will have to overcome with a companion who could perhaps confront his nature more decisively. It seems like Belinda Chandra is going to be an unwilling traveller, much like Ian and Barbara were at the start of the show, which should set up an intriguing conflict.
1.) Darkness and consequences
The main thing missing from this second era of Russell T Davies, which was very prevalent in his first run, is the lack of death and consequences which follows the Doctor. The Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant era was very grounded with a great deal of world-building and emotional development which saw the show at its very best. The Tenth Doctor’s arc felt so gratifying because of the death and tragedy that followed him everywhere whilst he was desperately trying to make up for his acts in the Time War and be a better man. There was a darkness to Russell T Davies' writing that had an emotionally heart-wrenching tragedy. I was hoping we might get a return to this in Season 1, but Russell T Davies seems to have returned with a more optimistic mindset, which in some ways isn’t bad, but the season was very lacking in death and tragedy. This becomes apparent in the finale. Empire of Death is an episode where the stakes feel insincere. It's clear immediately that the death of the universe is going to be reversed at the end, which makes the story feel meaningless and consequenceless. I don’t feel like anyone suffered or learnt anything by the end of the story. It's not like we didn’t have resets during the original Russell T Davies era, but it usually had some kind of dramatic or emotional loss and cost which gave the series weight and tragedy. You don’t get any of that in Empire of Death, which makes its purpose feel redundant. Whilst I can appreciate a happy ending, there is a great emotion that can come out of darkness and tragedy which I would like more of.
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