5 New Year’s Resolutions for Doctor Who

Guest contributor Patrick Kavanagh-Sproull lists five New Year’s resolutions for Doctor Who.

As with every New Year come resolutions; promises to ourselves that we shall learn Italian, or lose weight, or walk the dog more. Tiny little things that deep down we try and progress on. 2013 has arrived and so has a whole new era of Doctor Who. At present, the Whoniverse isn’t perfect, so I’ve listed the things; I think it needs to work on…

Get more Doctors back

The last time another Doctor hit our screens alongside the then current incarnation was the 2007 minisode, Time Crash – an ingenious episode within itself that sadly was a rare and fleeting occasion. If one were to turn back time, they would find that the Classic era is packed with enjoyable multi-Doctor appearances. The Third, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctor eras all boast stories of this format… but nothing proper has been seen since The Two Doctors. The Whoniverse is yearning for more than one Doctor, and twenty years has gone by since the last outing of this genre. Moffat must hear fans’ pleas and deliver something fantastic for the 50^th anniversary.

Create another spin-off

Ever since the tragic cancellation of The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2011, Doctor Who has been without a counterpart. Torchwood is presently off air, much to the dismay of many fans, and Russell T Davies is having a ball in Wizards vs. Aliens. The Whoniverse needs another spin-off, especially with Moffat’s strict regime of sanctioning half the year to boredom. Calls for a Paternoster Gang spin-off are emerging, a near identical call from when A Good Man Goes To War aired. Maybe if Steven Moffat didn’t write it, then it’d have a chance… names like Chris Chibnall, Toby Whithouse and Mark Gatiss spring to mind.

Fire some writers

Since its revival in 2005, Doctor Who has been dragging around many writers. Toby Whithouse has been in the Whoniverse since David Tennant’s debut series, while Mark Gatiss began in The Unquiet Dead, way back in Series One. Chris Chibnall has delivered plenty an episode since Series Three and Tom MacRae has been hanging around suspiciously. All these writers are brilliant in their own rights but I personally think that Moffat should lay them off for at least a series. Neil Cross will be premiering his new scripts in the remainder of Series Seven this year, so it’s nice to see some fresh blood around. Mark Gatiss has been hovering over the show like a petrifying shadow for too long, and his latter scripts like Victory of the Daleks and Night Terrors have far from appealed to me. Gatiss would be my first choice to leave, followed by Chris Chibnall. I love Chibnall’s scripts like 42 and his Silurian two-parter but recent contributions like The Power of Three and Dinosaurs on a Spaceship angered me. The former was one of the worst episodes of the revived series and Dinosaurs was an enjoyable romp but nothing serious, meaning it was a waste of space and added nothing to the overarching storyline. Toby Whithouse has always packed a brilliant punch with his scripts and I’d love him to carry on, especially after cult favourite, A Town Called Mercy this season. Neil Gaiman has dazzled audiences globally and I wish for him to keep continuing working on the show until it runs off the air.

Make more specials

2009 marked the sad departure of David Tennant from the eponymous role. It also marked one of the oddest turns in the revival. Instead of a full-running series, we received four completely withstanding specials. I loved them all in their own unique ways, with Planet of the Dead being a particular favourite of late. I would adore more specials like these, at Christmas, at Easter, especially at Halloween, to continue in between the series’. When Moffat has us sitting quietly for six months, I’d like that gap to be filled with more specials.

Keep acknowledging the past

Doctor Who has reached the critical stage where its past is now merely an echo of times ago. Moffat’s direction of the show is belittling the Classic era and there aren’t as many callbacks for former monsters and characters. Little mentions like the Zygons in The Power of Three barely count, and the only time Doctor Who gives a nod to its history is in regeneration episodes. Gaiman’s The Doctor’s Wife was absolutely brilliant and fans adored it largely because it had so much Classic Doctor Who about it. More monsters must come back, and fans were delighted to see the return of the Great Intelligence at Christmas. Steven Moffat once said that the Rani shall not return due to nobody’s knowledge of her – he doesn’t realise how many fans there are that want the Rani to come back. He isn’t just catering for younger children that only think there are three Doctors… he is delivering for a humongous and brilliant fandom.

In Conclusion

Doctor Who is still a brilliant show and every year packs more fantastic guest stars, episodes, monsters and writers, but there are still more things that need to be worked on, and with the right guidance everything aforementioned can become an amazing reality.

Why not list your own suggestions in the comments?