10 Fixes For Doctor Who's Future

The Disney era claimed to be a jumping-on point for Doctor Who. In reality, it was anything but.

Lest we forget that this era began by bringing back a Doctor and companion from fifteen years ago! As a one-off for the show’s 60th anniversary, there was some logic to this. But the callbacks continued throughout the Fifteenth Doctor’s era, which relied heavily on obscure characters and villains from Doctor Who’s past.

Take the returns of Sutekh and Omega, whose significance was lost on new viewers, and whose controversial redesigns alienated existing fans. And lest we forget the endless flashbacks, from the Doctor and Ruby literally rewatching Pyramids of Mars, to the constant Doctor clip-shows in Season 2.

We've already spoken about how too much reliance on the past can be damaging, but there are still lessons to be learned from looking backwards. In this case the simple, back-to-basic approach adopted by Series 1 in 2005 is something future series should look to emulate.

A brand-new Doctor and companion. New stories and villains, with a focus on character development and drama. No huge lore dumps or plot points hinging on niche references. Clever use of returning villains (Autons and Daleks), that don't require your audience to do any homework.

At this point we need a clean break where Doctor Who’s lore is brought in bit by bit, in a way that new viewers can easily understand. You can still do big backstory stuff like the Time War, but it needs to be able to stand on its own two feet. And a story from 50 years ago should never, ever feel like required viewing.

Like previous points, this approach wouldn't automatically make the show great. But it would undoubtedly be the healthiest way forward, given how much Doctor Who has started to eat its own tail in recent years.