Doctor Who: Multiple episode stories – when and why they work

The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a classic example of a longer paced story done right. But why?

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: BBC.)

It’s recently been confirmed that we won’t be getting any two-part stories this season. Today, we pay tribute to the longer length stories, and explore the reasons why they work.

Recently, at San Diego Comic-Con, Chris Chibnall confirmed that we won’t be getting any two-part stories for Series Eleven. I must admit, this is rather disappointing news. While it’s understandable, particularly for accessibility, Doctor Who has told many great stories over multiple episodes.

Occassionally, the longer length stories have their drawbacks. Especially when there’s not enough story to justify it. This was one problem that the Classic Series often had, especially in its early years. Serials with enough plot for four episodes would sometimes be dragged out to six. Or even more.

But other times, a story with a longer length won’t just be enjoyable. It would even be far, far preferable.

There are a few key reasons why a Doctor Who story would benefit from a longer length. We’ll take a look at each of them.

The amount of plot

Sometimes, a story would cram in a great deal of plot. If squeezed into just one episode, this can often work against it. Particularly if it doesn’t give our characters room to breathe. With Doctor Who, it’s important, especially in the New Series, to balance out the plot element with the drama.

This was less of a problem in the earlier seasons of the New Series. Stories would be told in forty-five minutes; they’d have simple but fast paced stories, and it would work. Rose, Dalek and Father’s Day are all key examples of simple concepts fleshed out just right, with not too many characters to focus on.

But over the years, episodes have become more fast paced and complicated. This can have a real problem on the episode’s story, especially when there are too many characters or storylines to resolve.

This isn’t always the case, but episodes such as The Power of Three, which was incredibly hastily resolved in the last ten minutes, or Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, which includes a huge amount of characters from the very start, can really suffer from having just one episode.

Large cast of characters

This leads me to another point: characters. In some stories of Doctor Who, you’d get six parters that really worked due to including such a huge cast. Robert Holmes was very effective at demonstrating this in The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

Even today, both Philip Hinchcliffe and Marc Platt know how to write a solid six-part story, as proved by Fourth Doctor audio The Ghosts of Gralstead. It’s a great story that allows the plot to flow over a nice pace, while exploring all the drama and humor provided by its vast number of characters.

However, if you include too many in just one episode, then they won’t be given the right amount of time to be fleshed out. Especially if they’re a character with real potential.

For example, the brilliant duo of Jago & Litefoot only appeared in one Doctor Who story. And yet, they were so popular, their spin-off series was successful enough to last for thirteen series, plus numerous other releases.

All of which happened decades later for them, after just one story. And yet, they were so wonderfully fleshed out and well-written, that fans still had fond memories of them, decades after their original appearance. I doubt that would have happened if they had only appeared for less than an hour.

Some serials radically change their story at one point, particularly in the New Series, such as Last of the Time Lords.

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: BBC.)

Major plot changers

This is something that the New Series of Doctor Who actually does really well with multiple episode stories. Sometimes, a story will have a significant change to it. The story won’t completely finish, but something major will happen to change how the rest of the story unfolds.

For example, Bad Wolf focused on deadly game shows, while The Parting of the Ways was far more focused on Daleks. The Sound of Drums focused on the Master being Prime Minister, while Last of the Time Lords focused on a dark, alternate Earth.

This happened in the Classic Series, too, particularly during the Philip Hinchcliffe era and its six-part stories.

It’s actually a pretty great idea, and a wonderful way of really shaking things up. If there are guest characters that we really enjoy, we get to spend more time with them, while also see them in very different circumstances. A change of setting, location or even enemy can work really well when the story’s more than one episode.

Classic Series

Longer paced stories are these days a common criticism for the Classic Series, especially with stories that didn’t need to be as long as they were. And honestly, I can definitely see why it’s a common criticism.

There are far too many stories that were six episodes long when they didn’t need to be. Usually, the only reason they were that long at all was more for budgetary reasons, I suspect. If you’ve got twenty-six episodes, why waste money on six stories when you can spend that same amount of money on five?

With less new characters to cast, new costumes to make and new sets to build, it’s easy to see what was the cheaper option.

Big Finish

But I still enjoy a longer-paced story when its done right. It’s why I’m a fan of many Big Finish releases, as many focus on the old four-part structure. And while they rarely handle a six-parter, when they do release one, it’s usually incredibly enjoyable to listen to.

(Cold Fusion is especially a great listen. If you haven’t checked out the novel adaptation featuring the Fifth and Seventh Doctors, do so. You won’t regret it.)

While I can see why Chris Chibnall would want to move away from two-parters, it’s still a shame. Especially how important cliffhangers have been to Doctor Who in the past. Hopefully, the stories we’ll get from Series Eleven will still be highly enjoyable.

Next: Review: Hour of the Cybermen (Sixth Doctor/UNIT story)

Do you enjoy the longer-paced stories? Or do you prefer stories to be told in a single episode? Do you think two-parters should be phased out altogether? Let us know in the comments below.