I Got in the TARDIS and Took Over Doctor Who! By the New Showrunner (Unofficially)

Let’s not beat around the bush, the past couple of years have been frustrating. I cannot put my finger on it fully, because I adore Ncuti, and I have loved a lot of the episodes. It still feels messy though! There have been confusing and/or disappointing finales, there has been a whole load of nostalgia baiting that has gone nowhere, and we didn't get enough time with an amazing Doctor and two potentially amazing companions.

Belinda is a prime example of the Disney era, a really strong start, the potential to be amazing, then suddenly Ruby gets an episode to herself and Belinda is barely seen again, except to raise a child that isn't really her child and stand in a box.

@BBC

Anyway, I have grabbed myself a TARDIS, I am punching in the co-ordinates of Bad Wolf Studios and I am remaking the past couple of years with a healthy dose of hindsight and without the talent of anyone who works on the show. So take what I say with a large pinch of salt, but humour me anyway.

Are you ready for your new Doctor Who showrunner? Allons-y!

No Bi-generations. No 60th. No Christmas. No Tennant

Ah sorry, first things first, you won't be hearing allons-y anytime soon in my new era. Jodie's regenerating, but she is regenerating into Ncuti. Just one, clean regeneration. Not a bi-generation in sight!

The 60th anniversary specials and Christmas special? Cancelled. Why? Because I want more time. Ncuti Gatwa deserves a proper debut and the prep to film it, not to be buried under the weight of a returning David Tennant. I love the Tenth Doctor, and the Tenth Doctor he shall remain.

We’re taking the time those specials would’ve eaten and using it for one thing. A real meaty couple of series.

@BBC

The New Era Begins: 10 Hour-Long Episodes

The new series will be series 14, we will not be making season 1, again, for the third time. This series will be a tight, focused run of ten one-hour episodes. I have banned the word 'content' from Bad Wolf Studios. We aren't making content, we are making Doccy Who.

The show will air in the autumn of 2024, dropping simultaneously on BBC One, iPlayer, and Disney+. The UK is the shows bread and butter, and the UK will get priority. Sorry, not sorry!

A Real Streaming Strategy

The Disney deal is locked in. But I am meeting Mickey Mouse and demanding more from him! He has agreed, and Disney will now have every series from 2005 on their platform. This will launch a month before the series airs. New fans can binge away on Doctor Who before the new series has even come. They will fall in love with Rose, and Clara, they will cry when Ten doesn't want to go, or when Thirteen tags the next Doctor. They'll be ready for Ncuti.

I found it baffling that this wasn't part of the Disney deal. I found it baffling that they made a big thing about the deal and then went on to release the UK only Tales of the TARDIS. Come to think of it, was Doctor Who: Unleashed on Disney? I cannot see anything that says it was, so that is going on Disney+ as well.

Doctor Who talked a lot about content (Ah fuck, I said it, 50p in the C jar) and streaming, and offered no real content or streaming to international fans. The fans were already there in the UK, I thought the whole point was taking it international?

Opening With Style - The Devil’s Chord

We open with The Devil’s Chord. Maestro, the music, the madness. It sets the tone, the style, and most importantly, the threat. Maestro will appear throughout the entire series, building an army of monsters and villains, laying the groundwork for the grand finale.

I plan for the show to go darker, but Jinkx Monsoon will be bringing the camp and the chaos as well!

@BBC

Binning the Babies, Building the Arc

Space Babies is gone, and I am not losing any sleep over it. You could say I have been sleeping like a baby after making this decision.

Rogue will be making an earlier appearance before the episode of the same name. I want a romance with the Doctor to build. I want it to blossom through the series before tragedy strikes. Also, as Rogue will be just before the finale, the Chuldur can be obliterated halfway through the story. By who I hear you ask? Well, if Maestro is building an army, there really is only one lot of angry pepper pots you should be calling isn't there? Exterminate!

No Doctor should have to face a load of angry white dudes but not the Daleks. They are coming, and they are front and centre of the finale. They are going to be more driven than ever, and they are going to be killing, a lot!

It’s for Kids. But Not Just for Kids

I went to the Doctor Who Proms. Do you know what was missing? Kids. There were barely any there.

Want to know a secret? Kids don’t need to be sanitised. They love scary. They love danger. We’re making Doctor Who darker, but it can still have that Doctor Who charm and light. A healthy balance.

I think the ironic thing is, the darker it gets, the more children will want to watch. Kids don't want to talk about talking babies, they want to talk about a Dalek going on a killing spree. Maestro with a chainsaw made of music.

Ruby, Rewritten

Ruby Sunday gets room to breathe. More character work. Less of the mystery. I am sorry, but I want Ruby to see through at least two series, so Belinda is just plain old Munday Flynn now.

Ruby's mum will still play a part, but the stories throughout the series will reveal more about her as we go. Ruby will never fully find out though I'm sorry to say, because her mum knew she was coming, and she was warning her of something behind her. So when Ruby ducks, her mum is killed by Maestro, and then Maestro is killed by a Dalek. Then the Doctor stops the Daleks, and phew, the universe is safe, but poor old Ruby is broken!

@BBC

Cliffhangers. Every Episode

Every single episode ends on a cliffhanger. I am not going to give you a next time trailer either. You'll just have to wait until the next cold, dark autumnal evening to find out what happened.

A real, nail-biting, emotional or plot-driven cliffhanger that makes you need the next hour. The show becomes a chain, one episode pulling you into the next.

Just one more. That's what people will be saying.

Who’s Not Invited

• No UNIT skyscraper. UNIT is Kate, a couple of soldiers, and that’s it.

• The Vlinx is put to the scrapheap in the sky. What I save on the Vlinx will go on a bad ass Dalek moment.

• No Mrs. Flood. No Susan Twist. No 'mysterious' woman turning up every week.

• Mel and Rose Noble? Gone. They added nothing and got grand entrances they didn’t earn.

• No Classic Who cameos. Not because I hate Classic Who, but because they don’t serve the story anymore. This is now. Daleks, Cybermen and the Master? Well they can stay, but anything else, gone. Well apart from the Doctor and TARDIS of course.

  
  

Series 15 - Let's Keep the Fire Burning

Ncuti and Millie? They stay together for Series 15 too. No new companion shuffle.

We keep the best of Series 15’s original ideas, but rework the pacing and give everything more breathing room. There's a lot to like about the series.

The Story & the Engine needed more time, and that can be a two parter. The Robot Revolution is cut. Instead, we pick up the emotional and world-breaking fallout of Series 14.

Maestro is defeated, but who is waiting for us in series 15? I'll give you a clue. She's so fine!

Missy returns! No Rani. No Sutekh. No Omega. Why? Because nostalgia just isn’t enough. Those names don’t mean anything to most viewers under 30 either.

Missy will be causing carnage by the close of series 15.

@BBC

And the Next Doctor? Can Doctor Who's New Showrunner Survive?

If and when Ncuti regenerates (I'm trying to pin him down for another series) he's still getting that great scene with Jodie. A complete full circle.

Then... maybe he regenerates into Billie Piper. But Billie will be the Doctor! Nothing more, nothing less. No Rose, no Bad Wolf, no trickery. Just The Doctor who looks like Rose. Why? Because she can act the hell out of it, and we don’t need to waste a second explaining it. Just get on with having adventures!

Hopefully I now have a streaming behemoth on my hands, and I'll be back to run the show in 2045. See you in 20 or so years. I have a TARDIS, but you, well you will be taking the long way round.

Introducing Billie Piper as the Bloody Doctor

Would you sack me? I have probably stretched actors to the limit and blown the budget! I also have no idea how deals with the likes of Disney work, but I can dream can't I? What would you have done differently? Let me know in the comments below.

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