10 Biggest Mistakes Of The Doctor Who Disney Era
7. The Back Catalogue Black Hole
If there’s one thing this show has going for it, it’s a sprawling back catalogue (and, as I’d hope most people who have read seven pages deep into this article would agree, most of that back catalogue is pretty good). For most of the revival, I’d argue Doctor Who has been consistently great - the reason we’re now twenty years into NuWho is because of the solid foundation of series past.
Disney+ launched the new era without access to Classic or NuWho, and, in the process, lost huge swathes of people who would have flocked to watch 60 years of Who, either for the first time or the fiftieth (this show, with its anthological structure, is perfect for rewatching in the era of streaming). International viewers have been clamouring for a steady home for the NuWho library for years, and this deal didn’t just pass up the perfect opportunity to give them that, it straight up led to the end of exclusivity agreements with other streamers, meaning viewers in some countries could no longer watch series 1 through 13 (or the classics) without paying through the nose or investing in a VPN.
Another great thing about this back catalogue is that it contains a plethora of far better jumping on points than The Star Beast (which, in spite of being labelled a special, is where most viewers are going to start after a quick Google). Now, The Star Beast, along with the other two 60th anniversary specials, hinged heavily on foreknowledge of the show - and by foreknowledge, we mean Series 4, because the show has been draining that well for years.
Can most viewers actually watch Series 4 for some much needed context? Nope. New viewers had to guess their way through Donna’s history, go down a Wikipedia rabbit hole, or go on a scavenger hunt across other streaming services.
The Disney era, in spite of acting like this wasn’t the case, expected audiences to jump into a sixty year old franchise blindfolded. If the goal was building a global fanbase, maybe provide more than a fraction of the actual show.