Doctor Who: Lighter Tone in Series Ten Starting With Christmas Special
By David Hill
After the darker tone of Series Nine, we were promised that Series Ten would have a lighter feel. Based on reports, that will be the case with the Doctor Who Christmas special.
This year’s Christmas special for Doctor Who is taking a cue from last year’s with a different vibe than we saw for most of Series Nine. With a purposefully cliche superhero, an evil corporation, and Nardole serving as sidekick comic relief, this feels more like the plot of an ongoing comic book franchise than the adventures of our favorite Time Lord.
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This different feel is promised to not stop after Christmas, as Steven Moffat has said that it is time for Doctor Who to get back to being “fun” again.
"“We had to pull it out of that nosedive. . . so that ‘Doctor Who’ could get back to being fun,” says Moffat. “The Doctor loves what he does, and he loves whipping around the universe — he has a great time out there. And it’s important that’s the default setting of ‘Doctor Who,’ as opposed to the tremendously dark journey he can be on at times. You want both, and you’ll certainly get both next season, but the fundamental version of ‘Doctor Who’ has a lot of joy and humor in it.”"
To get a sense of this new tone, check out the following clip which aired during yesterday’s BBC Children in Need special.
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It will certainly be interesting to see this tone maintained throughout Series Ten. While the previous series may well have been darker than audiences would have expected, it did have its lighter moments. And that darker tone fit in nicely with Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. Will a more “fun” feel to the show work for the Twelfth Doctor?
Actually, it could. There is no denying the joy that Capaldi has as the Doctor, and a more fun tone could allow that enjoyment to shine through. Yes, he has been stellar as the more crotchety grandfather type, but Capaldi lives and breathes the role. He routinely makes videos for fans, and goes out of his way to bring cheer to the fanbase. Why not let him have that same fun on the program?
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