Doctor Who: Everything We Just Learned At Comic-Con 2021
6. No More Standalone Episodes: The ENTIRE Series Is One Long Story
One of the first things Chibnall mentioned in the panel is that Series 13 is doing something that Doctor Who hasn't done in a long, long time: it's ditching the self-contained episodes. Instead, the entire series will be one long story, with each episode serving as a "chapter" in this grander tale.
Think The Trial Of A Time Lord, or Torchwood: Children Of Earth.
According to Chibnall, this course of action was largely influenced by the restrictions of the pandemic. Obviously, creating one big story instead of eight smaller ones greatly streamlines the production process, making it easier for the team to create the show during a trying global time.
While Chibnall didn't go into much detail on this topic, it does raise an interesting possibility that we have to mention: if the entire series is one long story, does that mean all the villains are somehow connected too? As in, could we be looking at a Series 5-style villainous team-up, like The Alliance in The Pandorica Opens?
The Alliance is one of those villains that we're eager to see make a comeback, so it would be cool if Chibnall is thinking along those lines. After all, he did name-drop Rory Pond during the panel, so he's clearly quite fond of that whole Series 5 era.