From David Tennant and Catherine Tate returning for a trio of 60th-anniversary specials to Ncuti Gatwa making his Whoniverse debut on Christmas Day, now it a really exciting time to be a Doctor Who fan! With the arrival of Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, Russell T. Davies is rejuvenating the BBC series for a second time, following his successful revival back in 2005. The new season will be marketed as “season 1,” and Davies is calling it a “complete reinvention.”
Ncuti Gatwa will be formally introduced as the new Doctor during the third and final 60th anniversary special, titled “The Giggle.” He’ll then have his first solo outing in “The Church on Ruby Road,” which premieres on Christmas Day. The episode will usher in a new era for the Whoniverse, providing a perfect jumping on point for new viewers. It’ll focus on new companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), for whom the Doctor will be a much more mysterious figure.
“It’s completely a reinvention,” Davies told SFX Magazine. “Reinvention of the show, brand new, but not a reboot, it’s the same old show, everything starts again, everything’s seen through the eyes of Ruby Sunday and it’s that lovely feeling of here we go, a new era beginning.”
Moreover, Davies revealed that the holiday special, “kind of goes into territory we’ve never touched before.”
"When Millie first came into that room, I just thought, ‘Oh, me and you would have gotten in so much trouble at school’" ❤️❤️➕♦️
— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) December 7, 2023
Ncuti Gatwa shares his first impressions of co-star Millie Gibson in this month's #DoctorWho magazine! pic.twitter.com/5XOqbxA4in
Doctor Who is taking a “sly step towards fantasy”
Doctor Who has done a bit of everything over its 60-year span. From historical episodes to adventures in outer space, there’s something for everyone. Given the popularity of fantasy nowadays, Davies is keen to give Doctor Who a stronger fantasy edge. Goblins, anyone?
“I was just a bit jealous that all those other shows were getting a bigger taste of the pie, so this Christmas the enemy is goblins,” Davies told Radio Times. “The show is taking a sly step towards fantasy, which will annoy people to whom it’s a hard science-fiction show.”
Expect Daleks and Cybermen to be substituted for goblins and dragons, I suppose. I’m not complaining, we could do with a switch up.
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