11 Biggest Problems With The Chris Chibnall Doctor Who Era

If you were unhappy with the Moffat era this puts things in perspective...

Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver
BBC Studios

Doctor Who is an absolute national treasure and a truly brilliant TV show, so it's always genuinely worrying whenever it seems to be in trouble. Unfortunately, that's definitely the case right now. It's suffered not only a huge ratings drop, but an absolute plummet in general quality.

After his highly successful career in TV, Chris Chibnall seemed like a great choice to take over, but he's done a terrible job with Doctor Who, while the first ever female incarnation of The Doctor has been a let-down as well. There are a few good things in this current era of the show, such as Bradley Walsh's wonderful performance as Graham, the strong visuals and soundtrack, some decent dialogue scenes, and the odd good episode here and there, but for the most part the Chibnall era of NuWho has been pretty dreadful.

Irritatingly, a lot of criticism seems to be focusing on the show being 'too woke', and with all due respect, that is really missing the point. The issue is not that the show's political ideology; rather, it's the terrible writing alongside quite a few other things...

11. It Doesn't Feel Like <i>Doctor Who</i>

Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver
BBC

This first issue has been around a little bit since the end of David Tennant's run, but at least seasons five through ten, despite their varying quality, usually felt like Doctor Who. This current run just doesn't.

It doesn't have the sense of wonder and charm that defines the series, and there's a real sense of disconnect from the show's past. Season 12 was a bit better in this regard since, unlike season 11, it did bring back some old Doctor Who characters and enemies, but it still doesn't feel like the show we know and love for the most part.

One of the main things we can take away from this current run is that, with hindsight, many fans (myself included) were far too harsh on Steven Moffat and he did actually do a perfectly solid job in hindsight. Compared to Chibnall's tenure as show-runner his seasons were positively masterful.

It's like that hit song 'Let Her Go' by Passenger says: "You only miss the sun when it starts to snow."

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Film Studies graduate, aspiring screenwriter and all-around nerd who, despite being a pretentious cinephile who loves art-house movies, also loves modern blockbusters and would rather watch superhero movies than classic Hollywood films. Once met Tommy Wiseau.