What if dumb me was showrunner? (Hypothetical 5 Season Doctor Who Plans)

Fan Media
1

I really enjoyed the Thread from @DarthGallifrey (which you should read, it’s great!) (here: Hypothetical Doctor Who 5-Season Breakdown) about what they might do if they were Showrunner of the Show, so I thought to myself, what I might do if I was in place of that. I am thinking more of a 5 Season Plan (as to also break a bit the typical 3 Season Mold) with 11 Episodes each and one October/Halloween Special (Sorry Christmas Specials Fans, got nothing for you).

This is very much in many ways not too realistic, and I doubt it could be pulled off, but I still very much like the Idea.
As for the Doctor, I am not too sure. I do like it to be another Woman again, after we get some marvelous Performances from Jodie and Jo in the last Era. I am not sure what outfit they would wear, but something like 2’s or 8’s one would be the Direction, I’d like to go in.
And not too sure about their Character, besides obviously staying true to their core elements. As Darth already did in their Thread, I will write each Season in its separate Post.

8 Likes
2

Season 1:

Episode 1/2 “The Power of the Cybermen”': The Introduction Story! This one would introduce the new Doctor, who has to find herself again on a Prison Planet. Meanwhile, at this Prison Planet it becomes clear that the Inmates are slowly turned into Cybermen, so to “prevent” any further crimes done by them if they are released outside. I would have to figure out some specifics, but this would be a summary of what I would do for an Introduction. Classic Villain with the Horror of the Cybermen, not sure what Design I would go for, the Telos one would be fun!

Episode 3 “Why did the Chicken cross the Road?”: A smaller scale Episode. The Doctor arrives on Earth only to find out that a Giant Chicken crossing the Road is all over the News and everybody on Earth wants to find out badly why it crossed the Road. Now the Doctor has to find out many Things: Why is everybody obsessed with it? Why is there a Giant chicken? And why did it cross that Road?? Another Episode with a Villain returning, this Time the Monk/Nun (Diane Morgan would be fascinating to see in that Role or Matt Berry)

Episode 4: Pseudo Historical with Salvador Dalí, not sure what else would happen here

Episode 5/6 “The Queen of Mercury”: The Doctor gets a distress signal from a Planet and is sent to Mercury to act as an Ambassador to prevent a possible War between said Planet and Mercury. Negotiation don’t work out, and she finds herself quickly thrown into a Prison She escapes with the Help of the Rebels and now has to find a Way to prevent a possible Attack from Mercury.

Episode 7/8 “Pirates!”: A Pure Historical with Pirates again (because the Smugglers is great and I won’t hear otherwise)! It would introduce a new female Companion, “Kassandra”, who would be on board of a Pirate Ship. They threaten to take the Doctor to on the plank, but decides against it when she shows that she knows a lot of useful Information. Kassandra would decide to travel with the Doctor at the End of the Story.

Episode 9: Not sure exactly what I would do with this Episode, but we would mainly follow Kassandra, who experiences contemporary Earth for herself. It would be much lower stakes Episodes and one to save the Budget. The Doctor would mainly investigate some Alien Invasion in the background of this Story, only for it to come all around at the end. Mainly an Episode to get to know our Companion, maybe she would befriend somebody, and we see their Start of a possible Friendship?

Episode 10/11 “Everyday Chemistry”: Okay, this needs explaining. I do highly recommend anybody to read about it theme selves online, but that’s the Gist of it: So there is this fairly popular Story online, about the Beatles never splitting up, often known as “Everyday Chemistry”. It’s a fairly fascinating one, even if this isn’t grounded in reality whatsoever.
(This Site explains it fairly decently, so I recommend it to learn more about it: WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT . . . EVERYDAY CHEMISTRY: The Beatles beamed in from beyond | Elsewhere by Graham Reid)
So this would be based on it, the Doctor and Kassandra land in the 1990s only to find out that the Beatles are still together, behind this would be the Monk/Nun.

October Special 1: This one would be a Solo Adventure. Kassandra is dropped off with the Friend she made a few Episodes ago. This one would be set in Victorian Time and would feature the Return of the Paternoster Gang. I am not their biggest Fan, but I think after over a Decade, they’d deserve to return at least once again.

9 Likes
3

Season 2:

Episode 1/2: Pure Historical set in the 1920s Hollywood, not sure if it would focus on a famous Actor or Actress

Episode 3 “The Winter King”: Kassandra and the Doctor find themselves in a Winter World, where everything seems perfect, ruled by a charming handsome King known as the Winter King, but it turns out quickly that this nothing is quite like it seems. Yet another one which would explore a new Alien Planet.

Episode 4: Trip to Australia, (Spot left for a Writer to fill it out, I just would like the Setting of Australia)

Episode 5: “Mary the Living Planet”: The Doctor and Kassandra arrive on a World which seems to have no life on it at first glance, but it becomes pretty clear that it’s alive and very self-aware. The Twist is, that’s just the start! This living Planet in Question is an old Friend of a past Incarnation, and we get basically a jealous Planet who tries to spend the most Time with the Doctor while trying to get rid of Kassandra in secret.

Episode 6: Base under Siege (Spot left for a Writer to fill it out)

Episode 7/8 “Conspiracy Bloodline”: The Doctor and Kassandra find themselves in a gothic Mansion filled with Vampires. Not too sure on it overall, but I’d love to see Vampires again in Who!

Episode 9 “Lost in Darkness”: The Doctor and Kassandra find themselves on a Spaceship where it seems like nobody is alive anymore, but it becomes pretty clear that some aliens known as “the fry cookers” invaded and got a bit of a bite at the People there. (Of course, any graphical depictions would be avoided for obvious reasons). Kinda a base under Siege Story where we see the titular “Base” already being invaded.

Episode 10/11 “Death Game”: The Two Parter Finale with the Return of Fenric. This one would give us more of the manipulative side that a lot of Doctors show from time to time. This will also be a Reason why Kassandra leaves feeling a certain unease about it and having a hard time to trust her. Of course the Doctor would get her somewhere else and tries to accept it but has a hard time with it.

October Special 2: Yet another Solo Adventure, this Time all about the Return of Susan. Not too sure about it, but I think you have to Deal with the Fact that the Doctor didn’t give Susan really a Choice when he left her on Earth.

8 Likes
4

Season 3:

Episode 1 “The Creatures in Black”: Pseudo Historical with the Silences

Episode 2 “Five Ways to buy a Sonic”: After the previous Episode, the Sonic was destroyed. So she travels into an alien supermarket and tries to find all the Things she needs to create a new one, she gets up to some antics some smaller and some bigger ones. All those bring her to the conclusion that she has been relying too much on the Sonic, and decides to give it a break. Meta-Commentary on the Overuse of the Sonic and the Start of it being gone for a bit.

Episode 3 “Pooh and the Doctor”: A Story set in the Land of Fiction, with the Doctor encountering the Characters of Winnie Pooh (at least those who entered the Public Domain)

Episode 4: Another Story set in the Land of Fiction, it seems like another Historical at first, and we think the Doctor got out of there, but we meet a Sherlock Holmes and Watson

Episode 5: Last Story set in the Land of Fiction, ending this mini Arc and returning the Doctor to N-Space

Episode 6: Doctor-Lite Episode following three Perspectives while a War is going on an Alien Planet.

Episode 7: Loch Ness themed Episode about Nessie, we met a new female Scottish Companion

Episode 8/9: Two Parter where we get a glimpse of the Sontaran and Rutan War, after the two Parter one Rutan would join the Doctor and the Scottish Companion

Episode 10/11 “Cult of Marry/The Dead Planet”: A Cult forms around a Planet in the Future of Earth, some of those Members want to bring said Planet back to life again. Yet another Return, this time for S2 Episode 5 “Living Planet” also known as Marry. I think it would be fun returning to this plot in a finale Story.

October Special 3: I am going to be honest, no Idea about it, perhaps a spooky Historical? Not sure really

9 Likes
5

Season 4:

Episode 1: In this one we would return to the Home of the Scottish Companion, not sure what else would happen here.

Episode 2/3: Pure Historical set in the Time of the Samurais

Episode 4 “Flames of the Daleks”: I think you got to have at least one Dalek Story. This one would be mainly doctor-lite with our companions facing against the Daleks, only for the doctor to return at the end, the Rutan Companion decides to leave at the End, staying only for a few Stories.

Episode 5/6: Return to Kassandra, we get some Interactions between Kassandra and the Scottish Companion, where she talks about the darker aspect of the Doctor. Making our current Companion feel uneasy and unsure about their further travel, not sure what the overall Plot would be

Episode 7: Pure Historical about Georges Méliès

Episode 8: Same similar set up as the first Episode with us returning to her Home again

Episode 9/10/11: An Epic Multi Doctor Story, where for a good part the other Doctor Actors would play different Parts, similarly as to Zagreus in that regard. I am not sure which incarnations I would like to see appear here, but 8 and 13 would be lovely to see here. Not exactly sure what the Story would have, the Threat would be no returning Character, it would end on the Death with the Scottish Woman.

October Special 4: We explore a special Holiday which it being an Alien exclusive one, not sure what else would happen here. We would also explore the Doctor’s Guilt in here.

8 Likes
6

Season 5 (I swear I thought I only wrote for 4 originally, but apparently I labeled Season 2 and 3 as both 2 for some reason :sob:):

Episode 1: The Doctor is still in Grief over their last Companion, so they try to distract themselves with adventures but after a crashing, the Tardis disappearing out of nowhere. (Yes the Tardis did this on purpose, of course). And now she is stuck there. She would quickly met an older Lady, a Widow, who only recently lost their Partner. And they both bond over their shared grief. This would be the last Companion Introduction, with Carol joining her into the Adventures.

Episode 2: Pseudo Historical, not sure what else, up to the possible Writer

Episode 3 “Master Game”: A low stake Story, mainly Doctor-lite where we see two Masters trying to cause Mayhem differently there (not sure if one of them would be a new one, I’d love for Missy to return here, I adore Gomez in the Role so she would be great here. Who the other Master is, not sure!)

Episode 4: Alien World, which has a red sky with Creatures who have a Plague Doctor Look to them, not sure what else

Episode 5: Alien Invasion Story

Episode 6/7: Pure Historical set in Greece

Episode 8: Alien World

Episode 9: Carol gets back home, only to find out that an old Friend of hers is deadly sick. The Doctor convinces her to take them to a trip to the Tardis so she can get to a Place, she always wanted to, but never was able to. And while this Friend enjoys herself there, Carol and the Doctor try their best to make a Cure for her. Only to not realize that she is ready to go.

Episode 10/11 “Eternity Paradox”: We explore Carol’s Past, while also finding out that there is something wrong with her Past and it got somehow corrupted. (Imagine Time Glitches)

I think I would like to end my Run with two Specials, which would be the Regeneration Story, I am thinking of a Two Parter. I am not sure what exactly it would be, but probably a Historical Setting with the Monk returning. An Idea I’d like to see would be if Lincoln wasn’t assassinated, but I am not sure if televised Who would explore such a “What If” Question. Not sure how or why the Doctor would regenerate, I’d like the approach for it to be tragic for sure.

Some of those Ideas I am less excited about others, I did try to mix it with some Aspects, which seem realistic (Dalek, Cybermen, Master Story) but give it all a new Spin. As I said, I am not necessarily trying to be that realistic, but I think it’s a decent enough Idea overall.

That being said, RTD, if you have Troubles finding somebody to take over, I am available!

8 Likes