10 Simple Fixes For Doctor Who's Future

Ncuti Gatwa is the show's first lead actor who was born after Doctor Who went off the air in 1989. His completely fresh perspective on Doctor Who (and the character of the Doctor) could've been fundamental in revitalising the show for the 2020s.

However, that's not quite how things have worked out, and that's partly because the majority of Gatwa's scripts were written by two dyed-in-the-wool Doctor Who fans who are now in their 60s – two dyed-in-the-wool Doctor Who fans who have already written a substantial amount of Doctor Who.

While we had Kate Herron and Briony Redman write the fantastic Rogue, one of the biggest disappointments of Season 1 was the lack of new talent. If Doctor Who is going to survive past the RTD2 era, Russell needs to start shaping the next generation of showrunner. And bringing in younger writers who have fresh new ideas for what Doctor Who can be is the best way to do that.

To be clear, we are not saying that old writers, or returning writers, can't get the job done. Steven Moffat has written more Doctor Who than just about anyone, and yet Boom was the best episode of Season 1 by a fair margin. Similarly, RTD delivered the goods with 73 Yards, and there are fans already hailing Wild Blue Yonder as a classic. It's just that the balance between new voices and seasoned voices needs to be a bit better. You have to look at what's next for Doctor Who – RTD and Moffat can't keep doing this forever!

There's also the fact that having Russell write less of the scripts would allow him to focus on the bigger picture season arcs and general showrunning, which should lead to a more cohesive and satisfying overall package.

It's already looking likely that Season 2 will feature more new writers, and hopefully this continues going forward. By all means, invite Steven Moffat back to write a new episode every year – but at the same time, have one eye on finding the next Steven Moffat.