Of course I was going to bring up the story that introduced us to the best companion of all time! 
(You can decide for yourselves if that means MrWok or his dog 
)
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You should 
It a fun, weird ride 
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You’re talking about Vinder
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I agree with this part of your statement 
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Predictions:
- The 16th Doctor with a new companion.
- 8 episodes for the season. As much as I’d like 10, it all costs money and time. I honestly think we’re stuck with 8 being the new norm, plus occasional specials.
- The return of either the Master, Daleks or Cybermen. It feels like it’d be time, after a few years off-screen and two whole seasons’ absence.
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If we get one of the big three I really hope its not the Master 
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I sort of agree, but then it depends. If they had a really good story and it was Dhawan, I’d be interested. But if it’s the Master for the sake of the Master doing Mastery things then, yeah, nah, no thanks.
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I’m hoping I’m wrong on this, but my honest prediction on season 3 is that it isn’t going to happen, at least with Disney. I think there have been warning signs regarding a renewal of the current deal for a while now, and if they weren’t willing to renew after last season, I honestly don’t see how they’re more likely to renew after this one. Obviously, I have no insider knowledge, and I will be quite happy to eat humble pie if we do get a renewal after all, but I’ve been leaning towards it not happening for a while now. If it does happen, I’m reasonably certain it will be with a new Doctor.
To strike a more hopeful tone, if we do get a season 3 of the current iteration with Fifteen, I would love to see the following:
- A dual companion setup again, as I think it’s usually more interesting than the single companion dynamic. Fifteen is also a very strong screen presence, and I think having two companions might go some way to evening out the Doctor/companion balance
- A gay romance for Fifteen, as long as it isn’t written by RTD and it isn’t with Rogue (as I’ve said in other threads, I really don’t want a repeat of the Jack/River archetype)
- A more mature tone
- No pantheon appearances or mentions, and dial back the fantastical/supernatural elements
- NO MUSICAL EPISODES!
- Some classic monsters which aren’t the big three or from RTD1 - give some other villains the spotlight for a change
- No mystery box season arc, as I think they are very played out at this point, and I don’t think they attract anyone new to the show. I would rather have a very character-based season arc as we saw in the Capaldi years
- More new writers or returning writers who haven’t written for the show in a while (but also, more Steven Moffat )
- Bring back Gallifrey! This one ain’t happening
- Either a Fugitive Doctor or Eighth Doctor-led episode in the Doctor-lite slot - I don’t think we’re ever getting those onscreen spinoffs, so this would be the next best thing
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This guy has the right idea!! Eight NEEDS to be in the show. @DoctorDisco for showrunner when???
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To be fair, I’ve basically nicked a suggestion @shauny made regarding the Fugitive Doctor in The Story and the Engine discussion thread, and added Eight on top - I will take the showrunner job anyway though (you know what they say, talent borrows, genius steals!)
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WHAT I’D LIKE FOR SEASON 3
- I love the Pantheon storyline, but 3 seasons would be perfect to round it off. Therefore, I’d love an epic 3-part finale with a full on battle against the pantheon
- Trickster return (obvs it’s in my bloody username lol)
- Some more returning villains (maybe its time for the cybermen or daleks to come back now, not for a finale tho I reckon, we’ve had that a lot)
- 10 episodes would be good!
- Wouldn’t mind another semi-serialised format like this current season, it works really well, as long as it’s executed well
- LOVE RTD but would love new writers and returning writers to come and try stuff!!! Bit of the Moff would be nice
- Ncuti for one last season (and it would be cool to have a full on war with the Pantheon that would cause him to regenerate)
- Some returning characters (preferably the SJA gang) and maybe a similar finale to ‘Journey’s End’ with loads of returning gangs and companions (would be flippin epic)
- Lastly, honestly something similarly formatted to Season 2 would be great, just not the same predictable themes of episodes!
EDIT NOTE: Also, I wouldn’t mind a more traditional season this time, with more of an RTD 1 feel. Season 1 & 2 have been very experimental (WHICH I LOVE) but sometimes inbetween a few seasons its nice to take one down the experimental knob a lil bit
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I nominate you to be the next showrunner!
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Not that I disagree with you (I think the Disney deal may be over, just based on the numbers so far) but just to add - apparently they have always said they will decide whether to renew after all the episodes have aired, and that includes the spinoff The War Between the Land and Sea.
So whilst I probably agree with you that they’ll be looking for a new streamer, I don’t think anybody knows right now, and we can’t say it’s because they haven’t done it yet, because they never would have done it yet.
Oh and it’s entirely normal, by-the-books behaviour for streamers to be like this, which is why we now get years-long gaps in between seasons of shows - they wait until it’s all aired, count the views and see if they gained new subscribers, and who stayed on afterwards, and then they renew so they start filming. That means 2-3 year gaps. RTD was wrong to say “no more gap years!” :(
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Another reason why I think the subscription model isn’t great. Analysing whether to renew a show based on subscriber retention instead of / as well as the merits of the show itself is so annoying!
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Apart from the obvious (sack RTD, MG etc)
- More episodes (10 woul be great, & allow for some 2 parters)
- If no episode increase follow the Flux format - one multi-part adventure
- No Doctor-lite episodes
- Companion for more than 1 season (possbily 2 companions one contemporary one historical/from another planet)
- Return of the Master (but only if its Spy Master)
- Minimum 50% of the season to be written by new writers only (diverse & exploring cultures/themes new to the show)
- Less Pantheon/fantasty elements
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- I want the Daleks to return, having a Doctor that hasn’t fought the Daleks at least once seems… wrong.
- I want a male companion, but one that isn’t the tin dog. A companion that isn’t relegated to being the 3rd wheel, just the Doctor and some dude (NOT JACK HARKNESS).
- As many others have said, more writers, or tbh the same number of writers as S2, I think we’ve got a good balance so far.
- This may change based on how S2 ends, but I would want less Pantheon stories, hopefully it’s wrapped up by the end of S2.
- And most importantly, either take a break on the mystery boxes, or just be less in your face about it. I really don’t think we need a cameo from some 4th wall breaking old lady every episode.
Regardless of the list, my biggest wish for S3 is that they keep up the quality from S2. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of S1, S2 has been spectacular so far, and I wouldn’t say no to more of that.
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Yes! This should have been on my list. For example can a companion just be a companion, they can still be a realy interesting character without them being the focus of the season.
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All very good points! I think RTD saying no more gap years is very telling though, because it’s either wildly optimistic, a fib, or an indicator that something has changed behind the scenes, if the plan was initially to wait until the end of season 2 (or even The War Between!) to renew. Even if a new season were to start filming now, it seems very unlikely it will be ready for broadcast until 2027, and the BBC and the production team would have had to have known that, if this has always been the intended plan.
My completely armchair speculation is that the BBC, RTD and Bad Wolf were very bullish going into the Disney deal, on the basis that they were responsible for the 2005 - 2010 golden years and they had Disney’s backing, and were assuming the current iteration would be a much bigger success with the wider audience than it has necessarily been, leading to a quick renewal and turnaround for subsequent seasons. The indicators we have are that that hasn’t really happened, and Disney’s approach to commissioning shows has also changed since the gold rush that was the COVID/immediate post-pandemic period. Consequently, the original hope of no gap years, spin-off commissions and a big reversal of the show’s fortunes in the eyes of the general audience is probably on hold, and I think that’s reflected in a lot of the production team comments and behind the scenes information we’ve heard since season 1 aired.
Having said all that 
who knows what kind of metrics the BBC and Disney have, and they might be really happy with how the show is doing. It could also be as you said, that this has always been the plan, and RTD just misspoke with the no gap years comment. I don’t wish to be a voice of doom-and-gloom (and as a Doctor Who fan, I’m definitely normal and not at all unhinged regarding topics like viewing figures, renewals and cancellations ), this is just the way I’m leaning based on what we know publicly today.
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Agree with this 100%. The massive ego of RTD & his production chums. Evidenced by such a quick announcement of a spin-off before the success of this new era had even been assessed!
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Even Wednesday, which was a huge success, did not get renewed until a couple of months after season 1 aired.
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