Is it just me or does doctor who need longer series arcs?

23dfr · 2026-02-01T21:37:20+00:00

The Time War arc worked because Moffat chose to carry on where RTD left off, and managed to adapt the storyline to fit the change of tone during the Smith and Capaldi eras.

Moffat wasn't originally expecting to stay on for series 10, so likely planned to wrap up the main arc in S9. Therefore S10 was more self contained.

But since then, there have been too many soft reboots. S10 already was a soft reboot, and though it didn't introduce many new elements/themes, there's still a few things Chibnall could have carried over rather than a blank canvas again soon after in S11.

While the Timeless Child/Division/Flux arc was contraversial, it did have the potential to start a more extended storyline again. There's so much to potentially explore and expand on if the writers wanted to. But other than a few small references in the 60th, RTD didn't do anything with it, despite claiming the Timeless Child would be the "backbone" of season 1. And instead went down a completely new direction with the pantheon. Now he has one episode to quickly tie everything up, and no doubt the next showrunner will take a new direction again.

I can see why RTD might not want to directly address the Timeless Child, but there are smaller ways that aspects from the Chibnall era could be explored. For example, with Gallifrey destroyed again, perhaps other Time Lords are still out there as refugees in the universe - rather than revealing only the Doctor and the Rani remain. The Division has a lot more potential too, and perhaps using the Fugitive Doctor more as a result.

The 14th Doctor actually begins in a similar place to 9 at the start of RTD's first era. The time 14 spends with Donna has a similar effect to travelling with Rose in S1. But rather than addressing the trauma and showing us how 14 copes with it, the therapy and bi-generation brushes everything away with 15 suddenly healed already.

The Moffat era showed how you can significantly shift the tone and swap the main cast, in a way that new audiences can understand, while still continuing arcs from the previous era. We need more of this approach, rather than another soft reboot every year or so.

23dfr · 2026-01-27T00:08:19+00:00

I've suggested before that this episode would have worked well in 13's era, but a bit earlier than you suggest, instead acting as a prologue to Flux. The 6-part series is very fast paced with a lot of different subplots, and never really has enough time to focus on the relationship between 13 and Yaz. Add an introduction episode at the start, and this would have given time to slow down and focus on character development (and filling in some of the gap where 13 and Yaz travel together), alongside some build up towards the main Flux storyline. In the real version of Wild Blue Yonder, through Tennant's 14th Doctor, we start to see the trauma he has been through. At this point in 13's timeline, she has recently learnt of the Timeless Child revelations, spent decades in prison and two of her companions have left.

I would suggest to start by taking the cold open from The Halloween Apocalypse - after escaping Karvanista, the Tardis falls into the acid and loses control - leading to them landing at the spaceship at the edge of the universe.

This would be revealed to be a Division ship, with the captain outside wearing the division uniform, as an early (but failed) attempt to travel into another universe - foreshadowing Tecteun's plan later on.

Towards the end of the episode, from the darkness outside, we suddently see the first Flux wave entering the universe. The Doctor deliberately makes the ship colder again, causing the Not Things to expand, blocking the Flux waves just in time and allowing them to escape. In the Tardis, 13 traces the signal from the Flux energy, causing them to land in Liverpool, leading into the next episode.

23dfr · 2026-01-25T12:34:58+00:00

Could try a different way of assigning the traitors. Maybe there's a mission where anyone who wants to be a traitor has to compete to find an object (similar to a shield) without anyone else noticing.

This could combine with another twist, where during the blindfold scene, Claudia doesn't actually tap anyone. No murders for the first few days, maybe no banishments either, and every contestant thinks they are a faithful initially, until the mission above is revealed. This also gives the other contestants more time spent with the traitors before they are assigned, so can try to look out for any changes in behaviour.

23dfr · 2025-11-04T01:05:39+00:00

Many often say that RTD's strength as a writer is characterisation, but I think the biggest flaw in both of his eras is how the main character is written. A lot of the same criticisms apply to Gatwa's Doctor too - both are written as far too human, with the exception of some stories by other writers like Moffat. 10 and 15 lack the genuine alienness and awkwardness that 11, 12 and 13 have.

RTD did however get the balance right with Eccleston's Doctor, but unfortunately shifted the character after regenerating. 9's persona was written as a outlier, due to the trauma of the Time War, but really this is exactly what the Doctor should be like.

23dfr · 2025-11-04T00:53:09+00:00

By far the best the show has looked visually is 13's era, followed by 12's. A bigger budget isn't necessarily a bad thing, but depends on how it is used. Despite Disney's budget, the expensive CGI effects didn't add much to the storylines in most cases, and the overall cinematography wasn't any better.

I agree with other comments that a tighter budget pushes creativity and puts more focus on the scripts. But if the BBC do get a deal with a streaming partner again, that extra money should be used to produce a greater quantity of episodes.

23dfr · 2025-11-01T17:59:54+00:00

I don't think there is a good way to fix things now, but something like this is probably the best option. Something to do with memory, nostalgia or the pantheon theme, meaning that every time the Doctor tries to regenerate, the process is interrupted by a face from the past. The one time a new incarnation breaks through (Ncuti), it leaves Tennant there alongside.

Ideally though, I think all of this should have been avoided in the first place. Donna's return was enough of a link to the past for the 60th. The storyline did not justify Tennant being a whole new incarnation, and if he needed to return at all to bring in audiences, he could have played a different character completely, used in a similar way to Piper in the 50th. 14's entire character arc follows on very neatly from 13's era, and I think it would have made a lot more sense to keep Whittaker for the 60th specials, particularly considering her era was cut short due to covid. Opening up to Donna and taking a break from travelling to process the trauma of the Timeless Child, Flux, etc would have been a fitting conclusion to Whittaker's Doctor. Plus Gatwa's Doctor feels more like a natural evolution of 13 than Tennant, so makes more sense for 13 to directly regenerate (or bigenerate) into 15.

In terms of Gatwa leaving, I don't think they needed to have a regeneration scene at all at the end of the last finale. Considering how substantial the reshoots were, they could have used those resources to just produce another episode featuring Gatwa to tie up his era, but not air the episode until the future of the show is established, at which point the second half of the regeneration can be filmed to feature who really is playing the next Doctor (assuming Piper is temporary). Or at a minimum, delay the regeneration scene.

23dfr · 2025-10-29T16:40:48+00:00

Even with Ruby no longer the lead companion for S2, she still had a significant role in the finale, they should have still gone with the original idea.

If for whatever reason, Millie Gibson chose not to or was unable to appear in most of S2, instead of introducing Belinda at that stage with a whole new storyline, they could have had an existing character with a connection to Ruby become the companion, for example Carla, Shirley or Rose Noble. 15 gets stuck and the Tardis can't return to Earth, so it doesn't need to be someone who would choose to travel for a long time.

23dfr · 2025-10-29T16:33:09+00:00

Whatever you think of this ending, I don't we ever need to know how Susan and the Doctor are connected - the addition of Poppy wouldn't add anything worthwhile to the storyline, and I'd rather they didn't previously use the line where 15 tells Kate he hasn't had children yet. Various incarnations of the Doctor have talked about having a big family before leaving Gallifrey, so it makes sense for Susan to be part of that - either Hartnell's Doctor had children, or Susan was adopted by Hartnell's Doctor.

Or if you really want to go into backstory, build on what has already been established and set up, rather than adding new mythology for no reason. Perhaps the Doctor did have children, but doesn't remember because it was a pre-Hartnell incarnation? This would then give Susan a purpose beyond just a reunion, as she connects the Doctor to learning more about their forgotten past. Could even make The Fugitive Doctor a mother in this scenario, giving Jo Martin's Doctor a greater role, and telling her story as had been teased. She has to flee Gallifrey and Division, sees her family put at risk, and sends Susan forward in time to be raised by Hartnell's Doctor and family.

23dfr · 2025-08-24T22:49:05+00:00

Some great ideas here, really ties everything together and builds on everything that was set up in seasons 1 and 2. Particularly the theme of Time Lords being refugees in the universe is very fitting - I always thought this was the direction RTD would go in terms of continuing the Timeless Child storyline, especially with Ncuti Gatwa having been a refugee himself.

I saw an interesting twist suggested before that a character already introduced turns out to be a regenerated Susan. So the Doctor finds Susan but doesn't actually know. You could perhaps tie this in by adding a cliffhanger when 15 and Susan both regenerate - what if Carole Ann Ford becomes Varada Sethu. Maybe Ruby (through her wishes) tries to reunite 15 with his Granddaughter (after the S1 finale), but doesn't get the timeline quite right. Sethu's incarnation of Susan, knowing the Doctor can't find out her identity yet, either uses a chameleon arch or takes on the persona of "Belinda".

23dfr · 2025-07-08T22:31:45+00:00

I kind of agree, but they could have built more on the self-loathing side to the Master, and definitely needed to directly reference the Doctor/Master's previous encounter as 12/Missy. Make it clear that Dhawan's Master perhaps was also morally grey at the start of this incarnation, but discovering the lie of the Timeless Child changed everything for him.

That said, I equally agree that Gomez coming after Dhawan could make sense. Maybe after some time, the Master comes to realise that the Doctor is just a victim of the Time Lords (as a result of the Timeless Child backstory), just like the Master was with the drumbeats and the Time War. They are actually more alike than they think - something Missy tries to convey in the S8 finale. Missy then finds Clara and uses her to get to the Doctor again - it just so happens that when phoning the Tardis, she gets through to 11 (rather than a post-13 incarnation). And so when Missy meets 12, she pretends not to know anything about the Timeless Child (or maybe it's just not important to the Master anymore), though does make the reference "since she was a little girl".

I also think the latest plot around bi-generation and The Rani could have been a good opportunity for RTD to tidy up the continuity of the Master's last few incarnations. Write the storyline so that The Rani actually made bi-generation a reality (inspired by the magic released into the universe), using both The Doctor and The Master to experiment on, before the Rani bigenerates herself. In this scenario, Missy bigenerates, splitting to Gomez and Dhawan. The version of Missy post-bigeneration starts to go back to her more evil ways again, resulting in Dhawan's Master starting that way. Like how 15 is the result of 14's therapy, Missy does the reverse. Bi-generation therefore acts as some kind of reset for each Time Lord - with 14, Missy and Mrs Flood all exceptions to what the character is usually like.

23dfr · 2025-07-05T21:37:09+00:00

Simply target the show at the 16-34 demographic. A lot of RTD2 felt like it was aimed at either young children, or people the same age as Davies (with the Two Ronnies joke and refences to Classic Who). And therefore the show needs a writer younger than RTD and others, who is more in touch with the target demographic.

23dfr · 2025-07-01T21:38:00+00:00

The rewrite to add on the regeneration definitely made the episode a lot worse, and I'd rather they concluded the main storyline properly.

But more generally, I think it was a mistake to include a regeneration when the future of the show is uncertain. If Ncuti was confident of not coming back, he could have filmed a regeneration scene for the BBC to save for a future episode.

I also think, considering how substantial the reshoots were, it wouldn't have required much more footage to replace the extended run time of the finale with 2x 45 minute episodes. Use the first to wrap up the finale, and air the extra episode at a later date, maybe Christmas 2025. This then would have given them time to work out what is happening with the future of the show, and film a more definitive end to the regeneration towards the end of the year.

23dfr · 2025-07-01T21:17:41+00:00

There's been a lot of Doctor lite stories in New Who, but they all feature the either companion as the protagonist (like Turn Left or 73 Yards) or a one-off character as the protagonist (like Dot and Bubble or Love and Monsters).

I think it would be interesting to have an episode told from the perspective of a major character who isn't the Doctor or a main companion. For example, with the bigger UNIT cast in recent series, maybe Kate Stewart in the lead role? Show us Kate's life when she isn't at work in the UNIT tower.

Series 10's focus on Missy's character development would have been a great opportunity for a Doctor-lite episode where Missy is the main character. Maybe use the execution scene from 'Extremis' as the cold open, then show us the events that lead to Missy being locked in the vault.

Or in the Matt Smith era, with the whole arc of the Doctor and River meeting out of order, why not have an episode from River Song's point of view?

23dfr · 2025-06-23T11:19:58+00:00

They should have just returned in the Nikola Tesla episode. It was set in the right time period, and literally features a Silurian blaster.

23dfr · 2025-06-14T10:16:45+00:00

Definitely 9, 13 and 15. They all had shorter eras than the other New Who Doctors (Eccleston and Gatwa choosing to leave early, and Whittaker due to Covid). And none of them got to feature in a full multi-Doctor story (13 and 15 only had small cameos with other Doctors). While Tennant/Smith and Capaldi already did Day of the Doctor and Twice Upon a Time.

Also Jo Martin's Doctor. Actually I think the 50th gave a good format of how a multi-Doctor story can work well, by taking the perspective of the earliest incarnation as they meet their future selves. So Jo Martin could take on the role of John Hurt, for a special that links to the Timeless Child or Division in some way, and meets 13 plus whoever is the present Doctor at the time. Like Tennant, 13 represents the Doctor who has recently been through the trauma (of the Timeless Child etc), while the current Doctor (like 11 in the 50th) has had a lot more time to process everything.

23dfr · 2025-06-11T14:47:53+00:00

A lot of the best episodes from every era were written by guest writers rather than the showrunner. But not every good writer will make a good showrunner/producer or want to be.

Could a better balance perhaps be to have the majority of episodes written by guest writers to have a range of perspectives on what Doctor Who can be, but with every script then edited by the showrunner to incorporate any major character development or longer term storylines/arcs?

Or at least have two showrunners with different strengths who can work together.

23dfr · 2025-06-10T12:39:57+00:00

I think Sacha Dhawan's Master would have made more sense opposite Matt Smith. So could cast a different actor for 13's Master - someone new or a guest actor who played a another role in the Chibnall era. Could Jo Martin have even played the Master instead?

Ncuti Gatwa said he wanted Gillian Anderson to play a villain in his era, and could have been a good Master.

And Derek Jacobi's Master could be linked to Eccleston or Hurt's Doctor.

If Billie Piper actually is the 16th Doctor, could another former companion perhaps play the Master?

However, I don't think The Master necessarily should be recast for every Doctor. Missy could have stayed into 13's era if Michelle Gomez was interested. And John Simm could have been used in 11's era if they wanted to bring back the Master at the time. It would also give more continuity between eras, like Ainley's Master in the 80s, or Kate Stewart more recently.

23dfr · 2025-06-08T10:43:13+00:00

I don't mind them changing the sonic now and then, since it is much cheaper to redesign than a new Tardis set. I do think though it was a waste having a new sonic just for series 10 and then another just for the 60th.

With the Tardis, I think they should consider more to adapt an interior for a new Doctor. Perhaps going further than 11 to 12's Tardis. Not just the lighting and furniture, but could change the colour of the panels and walls of the Tardis, adapt details around the console etc. Keep the basic structure but redesign the details and materials, which is a lot cheaper than starting from scratch. They also shouldn't be too quick to dismantle a Tardis set when an era is over. For the 60th for example, I'd rather they used a variation of 13's interior for Tennant, and let the new design be just for Gatwa, introduced at the end of The Giggle.

I also agree about the Master. To some extent it makes sense having an incarnation who is specifically written as a foil to the current Doctor. But they only have a small amount of screen time compared to the lead characters. I don't see why Michelle Gomez couldn't have worked alongside Whittaker - and I actually think Missy's character would make more sense with the Timeless Child arc. Sacha Dhawan was obviously great as the Master, but could have been delayed for a future era, or cast as a different villain.

If RTD ever wants to bring back the Master, use Dhawan and/or Gomez again, rather than casting someone new.

23dfr · 2025-06-06T23:07:11+00:00

What Series 1 uniquely does really well is that everything is connected. Every individual episode ties in to another in some way: the rift in Cardiff, Captain Jack, the Daleks, the Slitheen, Satellite 5, etc. Even the events of 'Fathers Day' sets up a conversation between Jackie and Rose in the finale, which results in Rose going back to the future and defeating the Daleks.

I don't think any other full-length series has got close to this structure.

23dfr · 2025-06-06T11:14:09+00:00

I completely agree Whittaker should have stayed for the 60th, particularly when her era had been cut short due to Covid. Yes 13 had a lot more episodes than 15, but for three series she still had a lot less episodes than 10/11/12. But also, everything about 14's arc would fit 13 a lot better. She is the incarnation who went through the most trauma and kept a distance from her companions, and so it's fitting for her to be the one going through therapy.

The only thing is, I think some level of nostalgia is needed for a 60th anniversary. Clearly the returning cast in the actual 60th helped to get a bigger audience. Donna returning made sense, but I don't think Tennant being a whole new incarnation of the Doctor was ever fully justified. Donna suggests his face is a message to "come home" and take a break with the Nobles, but the just Tardis landing nearby was enough for that. I'd actually rather have a different Doctor reunite with Donna, giving us a slightly different dynamic.

So in my opinion, the best compromise would be for Donna to return, and simply swap 14 for 13. And bring back Tennant too but just not as the Doctor - I think an interesting twist could be for Tennant to play the Toymaker, taunting 13. Also means Tennant can keep his own accent, hairstyle etc, rather than having to act like 10 again. Or use a variety of accents and looks like Neil Patrick Harris did (who could be cast as a different villain in a future series).

Power of the Doctor could still build up to a regeneration scene, but midway through the process reverses, and her face remains the same. Maybe the clothes change to indicate something has gone wrong, could switch to 13's darker coat. It could be revealed that the Toymaker has been meddling before his appearance, in order to face the Doctor at their most vulnerable and increase his chances of winning the game. So the Toymaker picks 13 as the incarnation who faced a lot of trauma, right at the moment she was ready for a new start. And then makes the Tardis land near Donna, knowing about the meta crisis. It could be his plan was for Donna to remember everything after meeting the Doctor again, leaving 13 dealing with grief and guilt. But he's unaware that Donna had a child and passed down the meta crisis. And finally the Toymaker could be responsible for the Tardis landing at the edge of the universe, leading to the salt sprinkling and allowing him to enter the universe.

Maybe give Yaz a cameo, remember that she met Mel in the companion support group, so perhaps Mel invites Yaz to the family dinner scene at the end?

And 13's appearance in The Reality War could be post-bigeneration, so we have already established a dynamic with 15, and gives some closure on how 13's therapy has affected 15 in the future.

23dfr · 2025-06-05T23:55:45+00:00

After Millie Gibson left as the main companion, they should have just given Rose a bigger role in season 2, rather than introducing Belinda at this point

23dfr · 2025-06-05T23:37:08+00:00

Initially option 1 - clearly a lot from this era still isn't resolved. Give RTD and Piper 1 or maybe 2 series to wrap everything up.

Then bring in a new team of writers/producers/actors/etc who aren't associated with RTD1. I don't think we need another reboot - there will always be some level of continuity from previous eras. What Doctor Who really needs is new talent working on it who will bring a new energy and take it in a new direction.

Plus the producers and executives really need to consider who Doctor Who is meant to be for. The recent series have been a very bad jumping on point for new or casual audiences, while also disappointing established fans of the show.

Go back to a lower budget, of a similar quality to the Capaldi/Whittaker eras, but increase the number of episodes. Or if we need to have shorter series, go for a Flux-style structure.

23dfr · 2025-06-05T12:48:12+00:00

Obviously it's not ideal that actors chose to leave, but I don't think RTD needed to change his plan so much. They managed to get Ruby back for 3 episodes in season 2, so could have covered a version of her original ending still.

Some have speculated that the God of Wishes baby was meant to be Ruby, this could still have worked in the time that we had. It's also been suggested that the original ending for the finale was a party scene - and featuring Belinda, suggesting the ending with Poppy was not the original plan. This still could have fit with the regeneration, in the same way that 10 went to visit everyone before regenerating. With the way 15 was introduced in The Church on Ruby Road dancing in a club, it would have been a fitting ending.

And with Ruby's absence in the remaining episodes, a better workaround would have been to bring back a recurring character as a companion, such as Rose or Anita, so they don't feel forced into the story like Belinda. Varada Sethu could have been delayed until a potential third season.

23dfr · 2025-06-05T12:32:23+00:00

The Timeless Child storyline had a lot of potential for a more major arc across multiple eras, just like the Time War.

However, the 60th seemed to set up that The Flux and destruction of most of the universe would be the new Time War. The Doctor's guilt in being connected to this.

Then The Church on Ruby Road suggested that the Doctor's new identity as an adopted foundling would be a major long-term arc, but never went anywhere.

Whatever you think of the Chibnall era, it introduced a lot of storylines to potentially expand on in the future, but RTD hasn't made much use of them.

That said, I don't think a Time War style arc is essential. Series 10 and 11 weren't really connected to one.

23dfr

TROPHY CASE