Yeah. He’s been across the entire show (and spin-offs) since 2004.
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That is impressive but also not strange that he wants to do something new.
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The thing is, he’s worked on many other shows at the same time as Doctor Who. He hasn’t been exclusive to Who.
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yeah i think we all want this but whether its the reality idk.
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I see where you are coming from, but I actually think that a new Flux type of season could hurt/change the show’s future. If they learn the wrong things from that, they might think that this is what the show has to do to survive in the future, and I don’t want it to change the main format and start making it so that each season becomes a miniseries. I would really not like that; I love that it is a monster-of-the-week type of show.
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Yeah, I guessed that. I mean it more in a bigger way. Maybe he wants to do something outside of TV or anything else. It is not that unusual to change jobs after 21 years of doing the same thing.
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I think there’s merit in trying another serialised mini-series, though. You could switch it up. We’ve now had full length series, Flux-esque serialised Who, and specials, across the last 20 years. I’m not saying cement the future into being one thing, but I think there’s a logic (in the current era of the show) in grounding it somewhat – focus on a couple of recurring locations, an ensemble cast, and one over arching story. Flux proved you can still have a lot of variety within it. Especially if we’re heading into a slightly uncertain future where we may have less funding and there’s no guarantee of multi-year commissions anymore. Then, in the future, go back to a monster-of-the-week approach. Keeps it fresh, rather than running the exact same formula every series.
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Don’t get me wrong, I think that Doctor Who could work in that format. But I think that we have not had a proper full-length series since 2020, and I think that is something that we need. I think that going against what others are doing is what Doctor Who does best, and to boldly say that we are going full monster of the week with only character growth as story arcs would be the best way for the show to stand out and show that it is confident that it is amazing.
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I think to me at least 6 isn’t terrible and compared to lots of shows I’d say it’s full length but of course when compared to American shows and most of new who it is understandably a drop. It’s interesting how we’re having this discussion when Rtd Committed to no more gap years and more eps in the future 
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We just had two in a row. I know they were only 8 episodes + Christmas, but even that’s more than some shows get. [If we’re picking and choosing what constitutes a ‘proper full length series’, then one could argue we haven’t had that since the Matt Smith era. But the episode count has reduced over time and could well again, unfortunately.] In 2025 and beyond, I struggle to see Doctor Who ever going back to 10/12 episode seasons, unless they scale back and we only get a season every 18 months or 2 years.
I’d love to get a 10 episode season again - I just don’t see it. Hence why I think, if we can’t get back to that, they could attempt another serialised story arc, in amongst adventure of the week type storytelling.
It’ll be interesting to see how The War Between fares, since that’s the sort of thing I’m talking about. If it takes off, I could imagine them attempting to use that formula for the next batch of Doctor Who episodes (however many that happens to be).
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I completely agree with this. I almost would love a Series 11 approach again. Truly separate adventures of the week, with maybe just one recurring villain popping back up at some point in the series.
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I know that we could count them as full seasons, but I think a major part of the problems with the two later seasons has been a direct consequence of the episode count. I think that TV shows trying to become movies is hurting the industry so much. TV is great because we get time to breathe, but we don’t get that in short seasons. I love low-stakes Doctor Who, and those episodes are the ones that don’t get made when you only have 6 episodes and a finale.
I would love to see this concept again. I 100% want this regardless of the episode count. I think that the 60th and the CoRR show that this could work greatly even if the episode count is low.
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Personally if the next season is only 6 episodes, I hope instead of doing a flux style story, they instead just do a pure anthology. To me the overarching plot of Flux was it’s weakest aspect, while the unique, mostly standalone episodes like Sontaran and Village of the Angels were the best part.
If they did want to have some connectivity between episodes, they could do something like The Pandorica Opens where major characters from the season make a brief cameo.
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Yeah i agree war of sontarans and village of angels were peak.
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I think I’d love a Flux like story again some time, but with how arcs have been handled recently I agree that I’d prefer an anthology series for the near future
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Series 11 had the right idea where u didnt really have an arc besides the whole graham and ryan thing,it also had no 2 parters,which i kind of miss honestly.
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I want this even more if RTD does the next season. I think that it would really play to his strengths as a writer/showrunner. He is so much better at character-driven stories than big spectacles.
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I could see this working and wouldn’t mind, as long as there’s both variety from episode to episode and not very season is serialised. Key to Time is probably the perfect balance I’d like to see if they do end up going for this tbh
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My Ted Talk on the future of Doccy Who
The BBC need to accept that the show is never going to be as popular as it was during the RTD1 era. Also, despite all the talk of the death of linear TV, partnering with a streaming service has not worked. There are some exceptions but the streaming model is more about ‘content’ & does not value the creative process. It thrives on gimmicks that generate a buzz on social media. It places more importance on subscriber figures & retaining those subscribers regardless of the quality of the ‘content’ as long as it drives people & attention towards their streaming platform. This is detrimental to long form genre tv.
While ratings do play a part in the BBC’s creative decisions it is not as big a factor. The BBC, as well as the entire UK media industry, is in crisis. Partly of its own making, partly down to successive governments undervaluing the industry. There is talent out there but the opportunities are either not available or perceived to be not available, which is just as bad. The BBC should embrace the niche appeal of Doctor Who & be bold, take chances. Taking chances does not mean bringing back old gatekeeping showrunners who appear to have been given carte blanche to regurgitate past successes & tropes, & employ their chums again.
There is a dearth of minority voices on screen & behind the camera in the UK. This goes beyond the LGBTQIA+ community & more broadly includes not only women but the working class. Speaking as a white middle-aged cis male there are so many stories we are missing out on, not just the ‘worthy’ dramas about minority experiences but the value they can bring to genre tv. A diversity of creative voices & lived experiences can bring fresh perspectives to shows like Doctor Who which have been around for so long.
Doctor Who, with its unique format that can tell any type of story & change genre on a weekly basis seems like the perfect place for taking risks, even though I personally don’t see giving opportunities to minority groups as a risk. The BBC should forget chasing a dwindling audience or trying to repeat former glories. Use the show as a place for new voices both in terms of actors & writers. So-called ‘Nu Who’ has been around for 20 years now, no one should expect it to be around forever but to secure some longevity do something new. A by-product of this approach would see a lot of media attention, I know that may not all be positive but the show might feel relevant again to a contemporary audience.
In 2005 the show didn’t look back 20 years to find a showrunner, it did something different. Yet now it seems to have regressed, pleasing a fanbase who can whoop & applaud at seeing someone they recognise from a couple decades ago, who can leap out of their chair during a reaction video when a character from the distant past gets name dropped. The show is about change, about moving forward. If it wants to survive, if it wants to be different & not just another sci-fi fantasy show amongst a glut of similar shows audiences scroll through on their streaming apps, it needs to regenerate, not de-generate.
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This is so painfully true for creatives from writers to actors. It is such an inaccessible thing to break into, and worse when you have to worry about supporting yourself while earning peanuts for opportunities. We need voices from all walks of life because that it what makes things interesting. But the way things are now simply do not allow that to happen.
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