How About A New Animated Doctor Who Spin-off?
Guest contributor Sam White ponders the possibility.
While the live action television series format of Doctor Who continues to serve as the epicentre of the Doctor Who universe, the said universe itself is very diverse with myriad stories both canon and non-canon existing in the form of comics, novels, video games, and audios. Back in 1999 during the wilderness years when Big Finish started making audio dramas for Doctor Who, who would have thought that the format would go on to gain the huge popularity it boasts today. Not only did it provide the classic-era Doctors with a chance to shine again but also opened up doors for some of the best stories the franchise has to offer as a whole. Recently, there was even a revelation that Sony has plans to make a heavy-budget Hollywood blockbuster out of Doctor Who in the next 8 years or so. With Doctor Who existing successfully in so many formats, the question of an animated series is an interesting one.
The internet is rich with fan-made stuff that provides glimpses of such a world if it were to exist. The simple fact is that there is nothing novel about the idea of an animated Doctor Who. It has been around for years. Back in 2003, the year of the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who, a six-part flash-animated series Scream of the Shalka was officially made to celebrate the show and was posted on the BBC website. The series was written by the popular Doctor Who novelist Paul Cornell and featured an alternate Ninth Doctor voiced by actor Richard E. Grant. The revived series chose to ignore its events but Mr. Grant eventually went on to appear as the main antagonist(Dr. Simeon/The Great Intelligence) in Series 7 of the revival against the Eleventh Doctor, making it his third Doctor Who outing if we count in The Curse of the Fatal Death as well.
The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) himself appeared in two short official animated features during his run, namely The Infinite Quest and Dreamland. However, unlike Scream of the Shalka these two shared continuity with the revived series and are considered canon. However, these examples are not congruent with my conception of an animated series. They either lacked in presentation or they lacked in plot. It is needless to say that they garnered a very mixed reception.
What I am talking about here is a proper-animated verse that can stand on its own alongside the main television show if not in place of it just like the Big Finish audio dramas. There are many questions to consider. Should it be canon? What ground should it cover? What should be the animation style? (This is an important one) and what should be the format? The answer to each and every of these questions will determine whether such a series would be successful or not.
Canon or not?
First and foremost it must be considered canon because not only does such a tag help with the content’s success but also keeps the writers in check so that they just don’t conjure up extremely bizarre stories that can put off casual viewers from the show. Plus, it also helps build upon existing elements and stories which can keep the die-hard fans hooked. This translates to the series being an official production that will be promoted and marketed just like the television series. This will help in bringing in new audience and familiarizing them with the Doctor Who mythos.
What will it be about?
Secondly, we have the question of what the series should be about. This is a question that has multiple possibilities and is governed by external elements such as when will it be made and who will it feature. The series could be about the previous Doctors just like the Big Finish audio dramas. In such a case, a plus point would be that the writers will get to mine existing novels and audio dramas for stories, which means that the series will work to adapt existing content into an animated feature. This can be a good thing as many fans out there still don’t listen to the audios or read the books and are primarily acquainted only with the television series. Another approach can be to fill in the various gaps present in the Doctor’s life like stories about the Last Great Time War, the War Doctor, Tenth Doctor’s solo adventures and Eleventh Doctor’s life after he loses Amy and Rory. This would provide an opportunity for the old Doctors to return and a blissful occasion for the fans as they get to see their Doctors again.
No matter how popular the show is today there is always a faint possibility that it can axed in the near future if it doesn’t perform. In such a scenario an animated series can help carry on the series and save it from total television wipeout. A big question in such a case would be whether the fans would agree with the idea of an animated series to canonically continue the ongoing story in the absence of the live-action alternative. I for one will not object given that the series is handled with care and feels like an honest and wholehearted attempt to keep the ball rolling, which brings me to the third question.
What should be the animation style?
When talking about an animated series an important question is what the animation style should be like. There are several examples of hugely popular animated shows that prove that unconventional animation can be popular as well. A brilliant example of this is the hugely popular and still ongoing Adventure Time which started back in 2010. For a show which has extremely childish and bizarre artwork, it has gained a huge cult following of both teens and adults due to unconventional animation and out-of-the-box stories. This is not to say that Doctor Who should adopt such a style but I am just putting it out there so as to counter some of the inhibitions fans have towards animation in general let alone offbeat animation, the point being that if the stories are good and the work inspired then any animation style could work.
My preference however would have to be something akin to Ben 10 or The Legend of Korra where the characters feel closer to real life. Speaking of Korra, I have to say that I absolutely adore the idea of an anime-esque Doctor Who series. For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, you can watch the above clip and see what Doctor Who might be like if it were an anime. It features the Third Doctor in action, the Daleks and much, much more. Anime is an animation style that is prevalent in Japan and Korea and features exaggerated expressions, slightly over-the-top physical traits like weird hair and big eyes and extremely fluid movements. Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z are both anime while Avatar (The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra) has anime-inspired animation and is technically not an anime. The best thing about anime is that it is a style which can depict both dark and comedic elements effectively, which is intrinsic to Doctor Who in general. Anime is hugely popular worldwide and adapting Doctor Who into an anime-esque show would definitely bring in loads of new viewers.
My least preferable alternative would be the 3D CGI animation style which was used to make Dreamland. The quality was very off-putting and cringe-worthy and obstructed any attempt I made to enjoy the story. I would much rather prefer the animation style used for Star Wars: Clone Wars but even then I think that it would be overkill. So according to me good 2D (please no flash-animation) is adequate; storytelling-wise, budget-wise, and production time-wise.
What should be the format?
Finally, we have the question of format. The answer to this is pretty straightforward. Here I would prefer the format of Classic Who with every story spanning 4 to 6 half-hour episodes. Such an approach would help properly flesh out the stories and provide ample opportunity for proper characterization of the characters involved. Plus around 3 to 4 quality stories per year would be more than enough (I can hear people saying that there is no such thing as enough Doctor Who, I feel you guys but I am just being realistic). This coupled with the idea of adapting novels or audios can prove to be the success mantra for the animated series. The answer to when it should air is also an easy one. If it were to be made alongside the live-action series then the gap between two successive series would be appropriate and if it were to carry on from the live-action version then any time once a year would be great for me.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe that a Doctor Who animated series could very well work provided that it is given proper effort and thought. Of course, several issues must be addressed, primarily that it doesn’t affect the live-action series which is a tough task because animation in comparison requires less production time and less production cost than its live-action counterpart. No cost of filming on location, costumes, props and what not. Plus it has the advantage of more scope and more expansive storytelling. There is always the possibility that it might undermine the live-action series. Additionally, there is also the risk of alienating old fans who don’t prefer animated shows but then there is also a chance of making new fans all over the globe.
On a more uplifting note, such an animated series would give the older Doctors and Companions a chance to star in their own full-fledged series as all that would be required of them would be to lend their voices which most of them are already doing with Big Finish. Plus such a series could help provide a breather for the live-action series if such a need ever arises. Then there is an added possibility that such a series could lead into the much talked about live-action movie. Frankly, the possibilities are endless and there is no way for me to document them all in this article but I hope that this article got you thinking and that you will share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below. Thanks for reading.
