If you were the Doctor Who showrunner, what would your era of the show look like? Let’s assume you have limitless money, unlike Russell T Davies. How many episodes would each series be? Would you have any spin-offs? Who would you cast as the Doctor and companion?
Personally, I’d go for an Arrowverse approach. Each series would have a serialised story arc, with each episode including one scene that ties each episode together, and furthers along the story. Every series of the main show would be 13 episodes like the original RTD era, and one Christmas Special, and I’d have a few interconnected spin-offs with their own story arcs.
Alongside each show’s story arc, there would be one event arc that crosses over between each show. The climax to the event arc would see one episode of the crossover for Doctor Who, and the other parts would come in the spin-offs.
I would cast Hayley Atwell as the Doctor, who would be a more stern and authoritative woman of action, like a female Third Doctor, and there would be two companions in total across three series. My series would be as follows:
Series 1: The Diabolical Box
Joining as companion in this series is Brian Conley as P.T. Barnum. Alongside the story arc, there’d also be a character arc regarding over whether P.T. Barnum can be changed, acknowledging his controversial views regarding freak show entertainment, or if some people are beyond changing.
Episode One: Geeks And Freaks - The newly regenerated Doctor lands in 1850, in the middle of P.T. Barnum’s circus. P.T. Barnum is amazed, and becomes fixated on making the Doctor a part of his freak show. Whilst at the circus, the Doctor discovers P.T. Barnum has found and captured an Ood, to use for his show.
As the Ood’s eyes turn red, can the Doctor contain the threat and free the Ood from captivity before anyone gets hurt? This one would borrow elements from the excellent Big Finish audio Judoon In Chains, and concludes with P.T. Barnum stowing away undetected on the TARDIS, as part of his plan to make the Doctor a part of his circus. Meanwhile, there’s also a story arc scene of the Daleks discovering the existence of the Diabolical Box, which promises to offer the Daleks the ultimate power.
Episode Two: Cinématographe - The TARDIS arrives in Paris 1895, when the Lumber brothers introduced the notion of cinema to an audience for the first time, using their Cinematographe - a camera, projector, and film printer combined. The Doctor is irritated to discover P.T. Barnum stowed away on her TARDIS, and is concerned about the effect this will have on the timeline, whilst P.T. Barnum is amazed by the Cinematographe. The audience get more than they bargained for, however, when a spaceship that looks like a steam train crashes through the screen, and extra-terrestrial bandits steal the Cinematographe as a historical artefact to sell on the intergalactic black market, as it turns out artefacts from Earth’s history are worth a ton in the future. Can the Doctor save cinema? Meanwhile, the Daleks take the Diabolical Box to Skaro, where they conduct experiments on how to open it.
Episode Three: The Rules Of Time - With P.T. Barnum seemingly here to stay, the Doctor establishes some ground rules for her new companion: always be kind, and treat everybody the same, no matter how different they appear. The pair are interrupted by the Shadow Proclamation, who need their help in capturing a dangerous criminal from the planet Draxicargo, who plans to assassinate the president of the planet Faragan, who is destined to sign a peace treaty that changes the face of the war between the Draxicargoians and the Faragans. Can the Doctor and Banrum catch the criminal assassin? Meanwhile, the Daleks uncover a new mystery on how to open the Diabolical Box, which requires help from the Mechanoids.
Episodes Four/Five: The Regeneration Of UNIT/A New Legacy - Kate Lethbridge-Stewart is tragically killed during a failed UNIT operation to stop a gang of alien dinosaurs from the planet Terra, who plan to destroy the Earth, and terraform it back to the conditions of the prehistoric era, so that they can populate the planet. They appoint a gruff and outspoken woman named Valerie Pemberton as their new UNIT Brigadier, who immediately clashes with the Doctor’s pacifistic views. Barnum spots an opportunity to capture the alien dinosaurs and take them back home for his freak show, but the Doctor works to make him change his mind. The two-parter sets up the UNIT spin-off and also features two scenes of the Daleks’ uneasy alliance with the Mechanoids to open the Diabolical Box.
Episode Six: Reversal - The Doctor and Barnum land in the year 3692, where the world is largely populated with the kind of people Barnum would have viewed as ‘freaks’, and those without any abnormalities are instead the ones seen as different. The Doctor and Barnum work together to negotiate peace between those who are seen as ‘freaks’ and those who are not, and for the first time Barnum can see things from the perspective of those who he deemed as ‘freaks’ back home. Meanwhile, the Daleks and Mechanoids are amazed to discover the Diabolical Box contains a tiny supernova.
Episode Seven: The Queen Of Hearts - The TARDIS arrives during Princess Diana’s final days before her horrific car crash. This one’s an emotional episode, with the Doctor falling in love with Princess Diana but knowing the tragedy that’s to come, and Barnum trying to work out why the Doctor looks so sad. The story arc scene is the Daleks betraying the Mechanoids and exterminating them.
Episode Eight: Political War Part One - This is the first episode of a multi-show event. UNIT discover that the world’s most powerful politicians have been replaced by alien shapeshifters, and call in the Doctor and Barnum to help. The episode concludes with a massive nuclear explosion, and there’s a story arc scene of the Daleks building something big that they plan to use the Diabolical Box for.
I’ll do more tomorrow as I’ve got to go to sleep for work tomorrow.
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