Doctor Who: Continuity – when doesn’t it work?

With Series Eleven promising to feature less continuity than in recent years, we have to ask: can too much continuity in Doctor Who be a bad thing?

Recently, new Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall confirmed that Series Eleven won’t be too tied down in continuity, with a heavier focus on new monsters than old ones. Even the Daleks are finally being given a rest.

It’s understandable. It’s a completely fresh start for Chibnall as a brand new showrunner, and he’d want to present his take on Doctor Who as a great jumping-on point. Just as Russell T Davies did in 2005, and arguably even Moffat did with his first series in 2010.

So can continuity become a bad thing? What happens when referencing the show’s past doesn’t work, and why?

Too much continuity

During the Eighties, there were many instances where a story relied on continuity to work. Perhaps far too much, at times.

For example, Attack of the Cybermen, while it had a great first episode, had a ton of continuity references. It featured a return of the planet Telos and the Cyber-Controller, neither of which had appeared since Tomb of the Cybermen, almost two decades before this story.

There’s also a strong reference to the events of The Tenth Planet, and even Lytton from Resurrection of the Daleks appears.

Now, that’s simply far too much continuity to include in just one story. While plenty was explained, and the story had some originality with the Cryons, the focus on the show’s history with the Cybermen was too much.

There were quite a few stories like this in the Eighties, too. Stories that relied too much on continuity, rather than trying to tell something fresh and original.

It can be a good thing reference the show’s past sometimes. But there can also be times when it’s taken too far, as Attack of the Cybermen shows.

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: BBC.)

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The big problem with continuity is that if you rely on it too much, it can be off-putting to the more general audience. Yes, you want to call back at certain points, and reward fan loyalty by providing them with a story that develops from what they’ve seen before.

But at the same time, the general audience is absolutely crucial, especially to something like Doctor Who. This will always be a family show at the heart of it. To really get the children as well as the adults interested, you need to make many of your stories as fresh and easy to grasp as possible.

So including too much continuity, or using it badly, can get in the way of that. Especially if you rely on it to essentially tell your story.

But when does continuity work? How can referencing the show’s history work in a story? We’ll be looking into that side of the argument in more detail tomorrow.

So what are your thoughts? Can you think of any instances where continuity has worked against a good story? Could presenting Series Eleven as a fresh starting point be a good thing? Let us know in the comments below.