4 Reasons Why Doctor Who Should Return To The Serial Format

By James Alexander Allen /

Let me start this article by making something very clear; I am loving the new series of Doctor Who. I think Matt Smith is an excellent Doctor and regularly enjoy the humour and variation of the scripts. So prepare to be a little disappointed if you came to read an outpouring about why the show sucks. I always check the reviews and comments after each episode to see how my opinion compares with others. After analysing a lot of the general chatter, I have come to realise something. In case you aren€™t familiar with the old Doctor Who (that is, pre-Christopher Ecclestone), it wasn€™t usually broadcast in the 45-minute episode format that it is shown in today. Instead, the stories were fewer and much longer in length, but split up into 20-minute parts that were broadcast weekly. Each part would normally end on a shock or cliffhanger, to be resolved the week later. While changing to the more-manageable 45-minute format was undoubtedly a wise move to accessibly bring Doctor Who back into the public eye, I reckon the show has grown enough now that it could actually benefit from returning to the old serial format for which it was originally known. So without further ado, here are 4 reasons I present to you, to explain why the serial format would now be a good choice.