Thoughts on the current state of DW
Jun. 15th, 2026 09:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shivverIt really feels like all my journal has talked about lately is bad news. Ah well, things are as they are. I know I don't need to say what I'm talking about.
First, I will link this, because I'm going to reference it: Blogtor Who's article about the DW's cancellation. I like this article because it summarizes what we know about what has happened and does not add any opinions or rumors.
You probably already know from my last entry about the state of DW that I'm not surprised. What you probably don't know is that I'm not unhappy about the cancellation of the Christmas special, the move away from RTD/Bad Wolf, and the indefinite hiatus while the BBC looks for a new production company and showrunner. Actually, I think it's a good thing.
Okay, I'll admit, I'm not happy about losing RTD and Bad Wolf. I loved these two past seasons. They felt like a return to what I loved about the show, what I feel was lost in Moffat's run, that returned in Chibnall's time but wasn't done as well: the Doctor as the explorer, out to see the universe with their friends and hoping to help out a few people along the way. The Doctor's just doing the best they can. That's what makes them a hero, and what made me fall in love with the show the moment he took Rose's hand and said, "Run!" Thirteen brought that back, but Fifteen owned it.
But the rest of it, the cancellation and the hiatus? Actually, I think they're both good ideas. Of course, it's been a week since the press release and I've had time to think about it, but honestly, even when we first heard the news, I thought, "That's really for the best." The show obviously doesn't know what it wants to do, so yes, take the time to figure it out. I would much rather have a long hiatus that produces a great show than rushed attempts at content that produces crap.
The saddest thing about this entire mess is how Disney caused it all -- the delay in deciding about the third season causing Ncuti Gatwa to leave, causing the rewrite of "The Reality War" ending in the regeneration to Billie Piper, which left a cliffhanger that can't be resolved until the next Doctor is chosen; see the Blogtor Who article for details. (To be fair, however the regeneration ended would have been an unresolvable cliffhanger without a new Doctor, even a regeneration to nowhere like what was shown for the War Doctor.) This is what I'd thought had happened, but I'd been seeing on the internet people saying that the show was going to be canceled because "everyone hates the Disney seasons". That didn't make sense to me, as first, I loved both seasons and the fans among my friends loved both seasons, and two, what I could find of the ratings and viewership showed that DW was still highly-ranked in the UK. The Blogtor Who article backed me up on that thought and laid out clearly the path that got us to this point.
It wasn't a popularity or profitability problem. In general, we still love Doctor Who. It was Disney stomping on the BBC. (Or at least, Disney taking their sweet time without concern for the damage wrought by the delay.)
I also suspect that Disney is behind the BBC's silence this past year. Why? We know that Disney controlled everything about the distribution and marketing of the show outside of the UK. For example, Commonwealth nations like Australia had to watch DW on Disney+ instead of BBC1. Disney did not allow the seasons to be released on DVD outside of the UK until a year after the broadcast of the last episode. There are lots of examples like this. So, it doesn't seem unlikely that Disney also had made provisions for forbidding the BBC from independently releasing news and marketing about the show that would affect Disney's share of the pie.
Well, guess when "The Reality War" aired? One year ago. The season 2 DVD was released worldwide on June 2, and a week later, the BBC announces the cancellation of the special and the search for a new production company. I think that this decision was made months ago, that they knew probably late last year that continuing with the Christmas special and beyond wasn't the right path, but the BBC kept silent all this time because Disney still controlled what they could say until a year was up.
Anyway, where do I hope this all goes? I hope we get a showrunner who is 1) an experienced showrunner, 2) an excellent writer, and 3) a fan of the show (because we all know what happens when someone who doesn't know and love the show tries to write for it -- I'm looking at you "In the Forest of the Night" and "Smile"). Personally, I'm hoping for Pete McTighe, but that's only because he's the only successful showrunner/DW writer/DW fan that I know. :P I'm hoping for a production company that excels in practical effects, because while CGI is great, part of DW's charm is its practical effects and monster work.
And I hope that this can all be figured out soon, so that we can have a new season in 2029, but that's probably not going to happen. So, Imma go pop in my Season 2 blu-ray and watch "Lux", and imagine that Reginald dancing with the ghost of Helen is me dancing with the 41 past seasons of Doctor Who.
First, I will link this, because I'm going to reference it: Blogtor Who's article about the DW's cancellation. I like this article because it summarizes what we know about what has happened and does not add any opinions or rumors.
You probably already know from my last entry about the state of DW that I'm not surprised. What you probably don't know is that I'm not unhappy about the cancellation of the Christmas special, the move away from RTD/Bad Wolf, and the indefinite hiatus while the BBC looks for a new production company and showrunner. Actually, I think it's a good thing.
Okay, I'll admit, I'm not happy about losing RTD and Bad Wolf. I loved these two past seasons. They felt like a return to what I loved about the show, what I feel was lost in Moffat's run, that returned in Chibnall's time but wasn't done as well: the Doctor as the explorer, out to see the universe with their friends and hoping to help out a few people along the way. The Doctor's just doing the best they can. That's what makes them a hero, and what made me fall in love with the show the moment he took Rose's hand and said, "Run!" Thirteen brought that back, but Fifteen owned it.
But the rest of it, the cancellation and the hiatus? Actually, I think they're both good ideas. Of course, it's been a week since the press release and I've had time to think about it, but honestly, even when we first heard the news, I thought, "That's really for the best." The show obviously doesn't know what it wants to do, so yes, take the time to figure it out. I would much rather have a long hiatus that produces a great show than rushed attempts at content that produces crap.
The saddest thing about this entire mess is how Disney caused it all -- the delay in deciding about the third season causing Ncuti Gatwa to leave, causing the rewrite of "The Reality War" ending in the regeneration to Billie Piper, which left a cliffhanger that can't be resolved until the next Doctor is chosen; see the Blogtor Who article for details. (To be fair, however the regeneration ended would have been an unresolvable cliffhanger without a new Doctor, even a regeneration to nowhere like what was shown for the War Doctor.) This is what I'd thought had happened, but I'd been seeing on the internet people saying that the show was going to be canceled because "everyone hates the Disney seasons". That didn't make sense to me, as first, I loved both seasons and the fans among my friends loved both seasons, and two, what I could find of the ratings and viewership showed that DW was still highly-ranked in the UK. The Blogtor Who article backed me up on that thought and laid out clearly the path that got us to this point.
It wasn't a popularity or profitability problem. In general, we still love Doctor Who. It was Disney stomping on the BBC. (Or at least, Disney taking their sweet time without concern for the damage wrought by the delay.)
I also suspect that Disney is behind the BBC's silence this past year. Why? We know that Disney controlled everything about the distribution and marketing of the show outside of the UK. For example, Commonwealth nations like Australia had to watch DW on Disney+ instead of BBC1. Disney did not allow the seasons to be released on DVD outside of the UK until a year after the broadcast of the last episode. There are lots of examples like this. So, it doesn't seem unlikely that Disney also had made provisions for forbidding the BBC from independently releasing news and marketing about the show that would affect Disney's share of the pie.
Well, guess when "The Reality War" aired? One year ago. The season 2 DVD was released worldwide on June 2, and a week later, the BBC announces the cancellation of the special and the search for a new production company. I think that this decision was made months ago, that they knew probably late last year that continuing with the Christmas special and beyond wasn't the right path, but the BBC kept silent all this time because Disney still controlled what they could say until a year was up.
Anyway, where do I hope this all goes? I hope we get a showrunner who is 1) an experienced showrunner, 2) an excellent writer, and 3) a fan of the show (because we all know what happens when someone who doesn't know and love the show tries to write for it -- I'm looking at you "In the Forest of the Night" and "Smile"). Personally, I'm hoping for Pete McTighe, but that's only because he's the only successful showrunner/DW writer/DW fan that I know. :P I'm hoping for a production company that excels in practical effects, because while CGI is great, part of DW's charm is its practical effects and monster work.
And I hope that this can all be figured out soon, so that we can have a new season in 2029, but that's probably not going to happen. So, Imma go pop in my Season 2 blu-ray and watch "Lux", and imagine that Reginald dancing with the ghost of Helen is me dancing with the 41 past seasons of Doctor Who.
no subject
Date: 2026-06-15 08:22 pm (UTC)But he could also get weirdly dour and convoluted ( points to s10 ).
Chibnall’s era was overall very good ( I’ve grown to appreciate the Timeless Child thing), and Fourteen and Fifteen were awesome.
Oh, good to know I’m not the only one who wouldn’t mind McTighe. Somebody on Tumblr started a poll about who you think should be the new showrunner: with options like Paul Magrs, McTighe, one or two I can’t remember off hand, and stuff like that” the reanimated corpse of Verity Lambert” or “ the ghost of Mary Whitehouse. “ 😜
I am a little disappointed, but maybe like you said, they need this.