10 Times Doctor Who Made Obvious Mistakes

In a 2022 interview with Doctor Who Magazine (via Radio Times), Chris Chibnall revealed that Jodie Whittaker's first series finale, The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos, was a first draft script that "didn't feel enough like a finale". He's not wrong either: the whole plot of Tim Shaw attempting to use his planet smasher against Earth should have felt much more epic than it ultimately did.

Having spent time introducing Yaz's family in previous episodes, it would've made sense to cut back to them watching in horror as Tim Shaw's plan was carried out. Instead, there was an overhead shot of a CGI Earth looking mildly scuffed from some sci-fi energy rays.

Chibnall stated that he had to work on rewriting the scripts of other Series 11 writers, which led to delays in redrafting the finale. It's a shame, because there's genuinely a decent story at the heart of The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos - no honestly, there is.

It's a story about how travelling with the Doctor has helped Graham to move on from his grief, as he chooses to let Tim Shaw live, rather than executing the toothy villain for causing Grace's death. Another rewrite could've developed that further, and excised the more extraneous sci-fi archetypes that clutter up the episode.