When it comes to the 21st century revival of Doctor Who, many regard the run of Russell T. Davies as executive producer, showrunner and head writer as the show’s ‘golden age’. His run lasted from 2005 to 2010; kicking off the revival series with the introduction of Christopher Eccleston’s incarnation of the Doctor in ‘Rose’, and ending with the triumphant two-part closing story for David Tennant’s Doctor in ‘The End of Time’. Whilst this era of Doctor Who is regarded by many as the golden age due to Tennant’s iconic performance, it was Davies’s tight plotting, unique storylines, and emotional payoff which also contributed to the memorability of this era. Davies not only brought us some of the greatest Doctor Who episodes of the past two decades, but also some of the most memorable series finales. I remember first watching the series 4 finale, ‘Journey’s End’, and feeling the emotional satisfaction of all of the Doctor’s companions in the TARDIS tow the Earth back to its rightful place in the universe. Whilst the production values, special effects, and portrayal of each Doctor since Davies’s departure has maintained resonation with loyal audiences, the writing and stories themselves have generated mixed reactions. Many of the stories by Steven Moffat or Chris Chibnall have been regarded as loosely plotted, enigmatic, and constructed using bewildering parallel-running plot lines, with characters sometimes dying and then being mystifyingly revived. Both my dad (who has watched Doctor Who since the very first episode in 1963) and I often struggled keeping up with what was going on in the era that straddled late Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi! This is another aspect of Davies’s initial run which made it so memorable – it could be appreciated by older returning fans to the series whilst bringing enjoyment to a new generation. Being such a substantial part of British pop culture, it would be extremely fulfilling to see Doctor Who given a fresh but familiar coat of paint; bringing audiences of multiple generations together rather than generating mixed reactions.
So what can we expect from Davies’ return as showrunner? Personally, I hope he brings back his unique style of tightly plotting each episode; providing each with its own unique storyline whilst maintaining a concurrent theme throughout the series to keep viewers hooked. With the Flux seemingly resolved at the end of series 13, hopefully the forthcoming episodes will provide more insight into this mysterious character so far referred to as ‘time’, and the purpose of the fob watch the Doctor obtained. Is it an intriguing coincidence that this fob watch is reminiscent of the watch seen in the series 3 episode ‘Human Nature’ when the tenth Doctor is forced to become human (executively produced by Davies)? Since series 13 told one continuous story over six episodes, perhaps Doctor Who will return to its self-contained episodic stories, whilst alluding to the mystery surrounding ‘time’ and the fob watch throughout. With references to a wider diversity of sexuality in the series with Yazmin (Mandip Gill), it would also be interesting to see this explored further. Davies has very effectively explored same-sex relationships in a thought-provoking way in his other work, so perhaps we can expect this to be handled compellingly and with sensitivity in series 14 of Doctor Who. If the previous Davies era is anything to go by, I believe we’re in for some unique, episodic adventures which will climax in a classic Davies series finale resolving the mysteries set up by the previous series. New Doctor, new writer, high stakes – let’s keep our fingers crossed for a triumphant return of what made Davies’s rejuvenation of this British icon memorable.
G does Films 