Doctor Who: Series Eleven – how much of a clean slate do we need?
By James Aggas
When Series Eleven starts with a brand new Doctor and showrunner, just how much of a fresh start should this be for Doctor Who?
We’ve got a lot to look forward to with October 7. A new Doctor, a new TARDIS team, even a new theme tune. It really will be the start of a brand new era for Doctor Who.
But how much of a fresh start will it be? In a recent interview with Times magazine, Chris Chibnall has apparently recently confirmed that there will be many familiar faces that definitely won’t be appearing this year. These include River Song, Missy and the Paternoster Gang.
This isn’t exactly a surprise. In fact, in some ways, it’s almost reassuring. While I look forward to River and Missy meeting each other in next year’s The Diary of River Song: Series Five, as far as their story in Doctor Who is concerned, both have been completely resolved. Right now, there’s no reason to bring them back. While I’m sure the Master will be back eventually, the story of Michelle Gomez’s incarnation was resolved nicely in The Doctor Falls.
But without the Daleks or the Cybermen showing up in this series either, is it just a problem of there being too much change at once? Should there be a limit on how much there should be “new” to the series?
When Doctor Who came back in 2005, it presented itself as brand new and accessible to a new audience. But how much new content should Series Eleven feature?
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
A fresh start
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Not necessarily. There are some core concepts that shouldn’t be changed. These include the Doctor being a Gallifreyan, the TARDIS being bigger on the inside and looking like a police box, and of course, the theme tune. While we can expect a new version of the tune to play at the start, we also know that it will stick to the same basic tune that’s been used for over five decades.
Aside from that? Starting off with a brand new slate, including new Doctor, new companions, new monsters, and no returning faces? I’ll admit, it’s a risk.
While Russell T Davies brought the show back with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor, and wanted a heavy focus on how fresh and new it was, he didn’t just bring back the show’s core elements. He also brought back the Autons in the very first episode, and of course, the Daleks later on in that same season.
But after having many appearances from core characters and races during the past few years, it also makes sense to give them a rest, for the time being, at least. This may be the biggest “refresh” the show’s had since it came back in 2005.
Even Moffat’s first series, while it still presented itself as a fresh starting point, it also brought back the Daleks, the Weeping Angels, and the Silurians.
How well will this approach work? Well, we’ll just have to wait until October 7th to find out.
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Are you sad that so many favorites definitely won’t be showing up in Series Eleven? Is there a particular character that you wanted to see return? Or do you think the show needed to take a long overdue rest from many of these different characters? Let us know in the comments below.