10. Repetitive Incidental Music
Don't worry, no one is about to bash Murray Gold or anything. He's doing a tremendous work considering that he's been the show's sole composer since the 2005 revival. Which leads us to our problem. Brilliant as he is, how much diversity can a single artist have? In a show that constantly changes its cast, production crew and writing team, how come Murray Gold is the only one to stay after so long? During the Classic days, Dudley Simpson was the main composer of Doctor Who until the 80's. But he wasn't the sole composer. He had 62 episodes that used his scores, and while that's not so far away from Gold's 97 stories and counting, his reign was not absolute, as composers came and went along during the ever changing show. What that meant was a greater soundtrack diversity, even though it was all mainly made on synthesizers. Some scores were memorable, others almost ruined episodes, but it surely wasn't as homogeneous as today's constant compositions. Yes, it's great that each Doctor has his own theme, but how many times can you listen to (the otherwise superb) "I Am The Doctor" before you instinctively switch off your sonic receivers (or ears, if you want to call 'em that)? It's true that Doctor Who has never sounded more epic but does it always have to be about boastful orchestral music? There are exceptions, like the very catchy theme of Doomsday, but every fan of old sci-fi knows that there's nothing quite like those timeless eerie electronic scores. Even the title theme has lost a bit of its mystery after it was rearranged, so why not occasionally bring back some early synths or even theremins? Especially now that Capaldi's reign tries to bring back a bit of that Classic era feel. No one would mind if Murray Gold takes an episode off just once in a while.