10 Reasons RTD's Doctor Who Return Failed

2. OBSESSED With The Past

While RTD2 had some original episodes like 73 Yards, Dot and Bubble, Lucky Day and The Story & the Engine, overall it felt like it was never able to escape the shadow of Doctor Who’s past.

Bringing back David Tennant, Catherine Tate, the Toymaker, and adapting a 1980s Doctor Who Magazine comic-strip were harbingers of what was to come.

And while the Fifteenth Doctor’s first season initially seemed determined to forge its own path, it was undermined by a finale that brought back a villain previously seen 49 years ago, and involved scenes of our leads literally watching his first story.

Even the Doctor discussing his history with Susan in The Devil's Chord was a stange moment in hindsight. All that talk in the buildup about this being a jumping-on point for new fans, but right out the gate you hit them with 61-year-old lore? It would be a bit like Christopher Nolan's Batman reboot mentioning something that happened in the Adam West TV series – just bizarre.

Season 2 continued this trend from The Well inexplicably being a Midnight sequel, to a cameo from the Fugitive Doctor, to yet another classic-focused finale.

Considering the audience you're trying to reach will not have seen the classic series or even have access to it (Disney+ didn't even have modern Who, let alone Pyramids of Mars or Time and the Rani), the fanboy nature of RTD2 was a massive unforced error that greatly damaged the accessibility and broad appeal of the show.

It's difficult to comprehend why these decisions were made considering how safe RTD played it with references and returns in 2005.