Yeah when I saw it was just for one season, I assumed that was basically so BBC has an easy out if turns out disastrously or just doesn’t match their expectations. But with them also looking for a team with experience with a 3+ season show, that indicates to me that they’re looking for someone that can keep things going for a while. So it’s like a season-long pilot episode, and if it goes well, I wouldn’t be surprised if they get recontracted for a longer term after that.
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Also, from my understanding, Doctor Who has always been commissioned one season at a time (the exception being RTD2). Series 2 in 2006 wasn’t commissioned until after Rose was aired, for example. So this is just standard procedure.
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That said, if it does completely fail in one season, I can’t see them trying again with a new company without leaving a hiatus of a considerably longer duration.
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My worry is that the next team – whoever that ends up being – will be too aware of this and end up playing something safe just to avoid that. And it’s tricky to explain where I stand on that beyond calling it a worry.
On the one hand, I understand playing it safe. After a very turbulent era and a brief hiatus, with the threat of a longer pause very palpable, you’d want to give something reliable that the BBC can trust and the general audience can recognise so a strong foundation can be established. But, on the other hand, there’s every possibility that ‘a strong foundation’ is just yet another rehash of the Tennant years/aesthetic; despite what some may believe, I love Tennant and his era as much as the next guy, but I fear – hopefully irrationally – whatever comes next is going to be more of the same…
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Interesting that it mentions Specials plural. I’m guessing the show will return in 2028 with a Christmas Special, followed by a new series starting a week later from New Year’s Day, and then another Christmas Special in 2029.
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Actually, you’ve landed on the one time where two series of the show were commissioned in rapid succession. Series 2 was commissioned on the last day of March 2005, and then Series 3 was commissioned in June 2005. But, of course, the TV industry and the economy were different before the '08 recession. You could do that with runaway hits. Very few things do that now.
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Building off my Gallifrey is back concept: Susan needs to be reintroduced as the new President of Gallifrey.
Once again, no explanation of why she’s here now. Just imply they she’s his granddaughter and they have a complex history but don’t go into any details.
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I’m quietly, genuinely encouraged by this update. Althoigh a multi-series commission is what we would all love to see, single-series commissioning is simply basic BBC economics right now rather than a lack of faith. Indeed, this was the norm back in 2005 onwards (with minor exceptions). What matters is that the tender document doesn’t sound defensive or safe. It reads, to me, like a genuine call for an ambitious and fresh new era.
Doctor Who has always been at its best when it forces us to think, and that requires ideas with real substance. That’s why the tender’s insistence on high-concept science fiction is so richly welcomed by me. It explicitly asks for television that engages the mind (AKA Doctor Who at its best) rather than just delivering empty spectacle. Moreover, the brief balances this with the expectation that the sci fi ideas must be grounded in character and human experience. The tender document recognises that character mustn’t be an afterthought to the sci-fi. Caring about the characters is the driver that gives the ideas their weight (and will, crucially, keep that general audience tuning in week after week).
By requiring companions who are distinctive, authentic characters in their own right, and who actively challenge, support, and influence the Doctor, the document highlights the dynamic that has always made the show work (think right back to the key roles that Ian and, especially, Barbara played in 1963-1964). Add in explicit themes designed to interrogate the human condition through curiosity, courage, intelligence, and compassion (yes please… ALL of that!), alongside the mandate to be brave and have fun and you have a brief that I believe favours intellectual curiosity, creativity and deep emotional investment rather than sinply playing it safe. It zeroes in on the specific mix of intellect, heart, and imaginative freedom that has always made Doctor Who stand entirely apart.
I see the ambition and I am eager to see how this all pans out.
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I just hope the next era is successful enough to keep getting renewed as I’d hate if the show ended up going out to tender again after just one series.
The best thing they could do is look at the success of Lanterns on HBO Max/NOW TV and why that has resonated with audiences as well as it has. Maybe it’s time to return to a more grounded feel with a Doctor more like the Ninth? My Mum keeps saying James Nesbitt should be the Doctor and he would work as a more Eccleston-esque incarnation.
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I think we can all agree that we hope for success and ongoing renewal. That said, the details on the pitch do tick all the right boxes (from my point of view, at least). I am hopeful and I eagerly await future news. It’s actually quite an exciting time!
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I’d really rather they didn’t ape American prestige style storytelling. If they’re going to look at anything I think they should look at the success of Ghosts. Semi-episodic, stories with both weight and levity, a sprinkle of edutainment without talking down to the audience.
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This is a really great example, and one I completely agree could form an inspiration for a future era of Doctor Who. We’ve already seen attempts at pushing the show in a more “prestige” direction across the last two eras, and I’d argue that approach didn’t do either the Chibnall or RTD2 runs much good. Any feeling of the show being a prestige, cinematic drama should be a by-product, rather than an end in and of itself.
What I find really appealing about the Ghosts comparison (or Ann Droid or Red Dwarf, to take another recent and historic example respectively) is that it’s a really character- and situation-driven show first-and-foremost, and I think that gels well with Doctor Who - I’d suggest the Who fanbase historically has a tendency to gravitate to characters and individual stories rather than mystery box plots or grand arcs, and it’s similar for the general audience.
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I’d never considered this approach but it’s actually a really great shout. It would feel like a really fresh take but still leave a lot of room to stay true to the show’s roots. I’m nervous about very new directions to take the show but if done right, this could be a very positive one.
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Having seen Lanterns but not Ghosts I’m still leaning towards the episodic format at least for the first season. I’ve always had this impractical urge to say we should just go back to the Classic format despite that probably not working in this day and age.
The thing about Lanterns is I really loved the show and I think the format has a lot of promise but it isn’t how I would serialize Doctor Who. In my personal opinion if an entire season was spent on one location/plot it’s not really getting Doctor Who right (I know Pertwee spent 3 seasons on earth but they kept finding ways around it like Colony in Space/Curse of Peladon).
On the other hand a season where The Doctor has to unravel a complex mystery could really work later on in an era. They could travel to different points in the place’s history for a firsthand view inadvertently weaving themself into the very mystery they are trying to solve. Bonus points if the “present” version is some futuristic location potentially not even on Earth and The Doctor sees the beginning and end of this civilization while meeting whatever mysterious force is guiding it all.
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This is just the earliest possible time for when it could return, right? Not actually confirmed. Honestly I was sort of hoping it would be off for a bit longer, until 2030 at least.
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Or do The Chase/Daleks Masterplan again. I’ve been saying that as long as i’ve been on here. Serialized plot thread of being chased or chasing something while allowing for every stop to get its own story.
If you want an example of how this would work modern day look no further than The Fugitive Doctor sets.
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I’m sure nothing will be even close to confirmed until pre-production starts. But it’s the time scale the BBC have said they’re expecting in their tender release.
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I removed the dates as you’re right that is just a best case scenario and I don’t want to disappoint people if it is later!
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