10 Things Nobody Wants To Admit About Doctor Who

As mentioned, Season 1 leant heavily on things from Doctor Who's past, a strange decision considering that it was meant to be a big new relaunch. With a new streaming partner, a new Doctor, and a reset of the series numbering, the whole point of Season 1 was to be an ideal jumping-on point for Doctor Who newcomers.

It's a problem Doctor Who has been wrestling with for many years, and a problem that's only got bigger as the 2005 revival has ticked on. How do you attract new fans to keep the franchise healthy, while still appealing to those who made the show what it is? Matt Smith's first series in 2010 seemed to have the most success in this regard, and though efforts were made with Peter Capaldi's final series, Jodie Whittaker's first, and now the Disney+ era, it has never worked quite as well since.

Part of the problem might be that the show is simply a bit too long in the tooth to attract a sizeable new audience. As fans we often tell newcomers to start with Eccleston or Smith, without actually realising how daunting that could be. Imagine being new to something like Star Wars? People get sticker shock when you recommend a show with six seasons – now times that by ten and add in the expanded universe, spinoffs, and the episodes yet to come.

Still, it is quite funny to realise that there were over 14 Doctors and 39 seasons before a run of episodes that was literally called "Season 1". Only in Doctor Who, eh?