10 Simple Fixes For Doctor Who's Future
A few turns of the sonic could give Doctor Who an even brighter future in 2025, and beyond!
Despite what you might read in some corners of the internet, Doctor Who Season 1 was far from an absolute disaster. There were some fantastic episodes in there like Rogue, Boom, and 73 Yards, and a delightful and charismatic duo leading the charge.
Doctor Who has been back on our screens for almost 20 years now, and despite what those same corners may have thought, Saint Russell of Davies isn't a miracle worker. The TV landscape in 2005 was vastly different from the one we have today – across traditional broadcasters, streamers, and YouTube, there's such a huge amount of choice on offer that it's much harder for a show like Doctor Who to compete.
To put it another way, you have to do something really special if you're going to rise to the top.
It doesn't help then that if we're being honest, this bold new RTD era does feel a lot like the old one. For all the excitement surrounding Ncuti Gatwa's casting as the Doctor, the show doesn't feel like it's evolved in the ways it needed to, and also made some basic mistakes that must be rectified going forward. This may not be a problem for hardcore fans like us who are going to tune in regardless, but it's hardly likely to win over a new crowd of viewers, which was the whole point of "Season 1" in the first place.
So with that in mind, let's propose some relatively minor tweaks and fixes that can help Doctor Who be even bigger and better in 2025, and beyond!
10. Make The Season Opener A PROPER Event
Between 2005 and 2008, Russell T Davies' series openers were fun, frothy romps that allowed the Doctor and their new companion to get to know each other. Since then, we've had sweeping blockbuster premieres like The Impossible Astronaut and Spyfall, episodes that boldly and loudly announce "DOCTOR WHO IS BACK!"
Compared to those, Space Babies felt like mid-season filler awkwardly elevated to primetime status.
Maybe it was the fact that it dropped at midnight, or maybe it was because Space Babies, a silly bit of fun though it was, was a tad underwhelming. And dare we say... a bit embarrassing? Either way, it didn't feel like the big launch of a brand-new era, something that would get potential new fans raving on social media.
There was no gripping drama or a mind-blowing plot twist – there were just awkward CGI baby mouths and a farting spaceship.
By immediate contrast, the second story of that night, The Devil's Chord, was a much better opening episode.
It had a huge guest star in Jinkx Monsoon, it featured The Beatles, and the musical elements led neatly into that night's Eurovision Song Contest. If they'd led with this episode on its own, it would've been interesting to see how audience retention for the season was affected.
The third episode, Boom, would've also been a great opener. A stone-cold thriller with a brilliant concept and a riveting central performance from our new Doctor would've definitely got more casual viewers buzzing about the latest Doctor Who relaunch.
Given that we're likely to meet Varada Sethu's new companion Belinda in the Season 2 premiere, that might be enough to 'eventise' the episode. But we also need something a lot more dramatic and thrilling than Space Babies was. You and me may love a bit of silly Doctor Who, but it's much harder to get broader audiences to take those episodes seriously.
And to be fair to Russell T Davies and co, it seems they did realise this. Not only was the decision to add The Devil's Chord to the opening day lineup a clear admission of Space Babies' shortcomings, but they were once hoping to launch Season 1 in January 2024, essentially making The Church on Ruby Road – one of the stronger episodes of RTD2 thus far – the season opener.