Why I’m Not Optimistic About Chris Chibnall Taking Over
Guest contributor Nicolò Bicego shares some concerns over Moffat’s successor.
A week has passed since the big announcement of Moffat’s departure from Doctor Who as showrunner. We already know who’s going to take his place: Chris Chibnall, who is not new to the Whoniverse. Letting aside my thoughts on Moffat’s tenure (let’s just say I loved it), I want to express how I feel towards the future showrunner. Now I’m going to express some personal opinions, so keep that in mind every time you read something you don’t agree with. It all really comes down to personal tastes here.
Chris Chibnall and Doctor Who
Let’s start with “42”. As a huge fan of David Tennant’s tenure (he was my favourite Doctor for a long time), it surprises me how little I remember from this episode. I watched it a couple of times, and each time it failed to strike me as a good episode or even as a bad episode. I mean, I would never forget “Love & Monsters” because of how bad it was. “42” is not good, nor bad: it’s just there. The same could be said about “The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood”. If it wasn’t for Neve McIntosh playing recurring character Madame Vastra, I would’ve probably already forgotten about the Silurians entirely, the lizard-like alien race re-introduced for the new era in this two-parter. I never felt like going back to watch even one of the two episodes, and I think that says it all.
Now, let us move on to the more recent past. “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” is part of Series 7’s first half, as is the last of Chibnall’s Who episodes to date, “The Power of Three”. In truth, I think Series 7 was the worst of the revival, because of the majority of episodes being just mediocre, or average at best. These two episodes are no exception. I remember them pretty well, in contrast to the former two Chibnall episodes, but it’s not for the good reason. I found them both mediocre at best, with easily forgettable characters and a boring plot. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship had a ‘controversial’ ending, regarding the Doctor’s actions in the episode, but that’s not the problem. It’s just that both episodes failed to impress me, as all of Series 7 did.
By contrast, when Moffat stepped in, I was already in love with his writing for Doctor Who. Some (or even all) of his episodes during RTD’s era were instant classics, and he proved himself to be a really great showrunner. Chibnall, on the other hand, never impressed me with his writing. On the contrary, I never really liked him as a Who writer. I don’t want to have prejudices towards him, but it’s unavoidable for me to feel this way. And I have a couple of other reasons to feel like this…
Chibnall and Torchwood
Chibnall was lead writer during the first two seasons of Torchwood. I must stress again, what I’m going to say is heavily based on personal tastes. I loved season three and four of Torchwood. I know many people who disliked season four, whereas I found it great. And I know many people who loved the first two seasons, whereas I found them mediocre. Again, I must use “mediocre” to describe the work of Chris Chibnall.
The first two seasons of Torchwood didn’t impress me. They were okay entertainment, but definitely not something you couldn’t miss. If one of my most dear friends hadn’t given me the four seasons’ DVD box set as a gift, I probably would’ve left Torchwood right after season two. It just didn’t appeal to me. Not all episodes were written by Chibnall of course, so maybe it’s not all his fault, as the series was supervised by RTD at that time, but that does not save Torchwood and Chibnall’s episodes from mediocrity.
Chibnall outside Doctor Who: Broadchurch
I’m going to get a little bit off-topic here. It’s for a good reason, though. Chris Chibnall said he conceived crime drama Broadchurch as a trilogy. After watching the first season of the show, I couldn’t have been more happy about that. I loved the first season and I was hungry for more. It had good characters, interesting mysteries, and a perfect atmosphere. For once, Chibnall got it all right, even if in a completely different genre to Doctor Who. The first season didn’t really leave much open for a second season, but knowing that Chibnall had a trilogy in mind made me hopeful…
Boy, was I wrong! The second season was utterly terrible. It felt like a tired sequel. Something made just because of the success of the first season, as opposed to something created for the joy of storytelling. Characters were forgettable, the story was plain boring, and the whole atmosphere of the first season was gone, except for a few times. I was deeply disappointed with season two, as I found it a perfect example of bad writing. That’s why I have little hope for the next (and supposedly final) season. I don’t see how the series can come back to greatness after a disaster like season two.
Conclusion
As you might’ve guessed by now, Chibnall wouldn’t have been my first choice as new showrunner. Well, to be fair, he wouldn’t have been my second or third choice either. When his name surfaced as a possible candidate in the past months, I was always afraid of the possibility. I never liked his writing and I didn’t see him as a possible showrunner. I’m trying to keep calm and give the guy a chance. Maybe he’ll surprise me this time and I’ll change my take on him and his writing. Maybe, in a far future, I’ll read this article again and laugh at past me. Who knows.
In the meantime let me know your opinions about the next showrunner in the comments below, maybe you’ll be able to change my mind about him… anything is possible!
