Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies recently claimed he plans to “unroll a whole new Doctor Who mythology” with the introduction of Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor.
The Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) in Doctor Who Special One: The Star Beast
In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine via SFF Gazette, Davies stated, “There will be controversial events in [‘The Giggle’]. If you listen and watch the commentary on the iPlayer, I unroll a whole new Doctor Who mythology for you, based around the events taking place. And I’m explaining this to David Tennant and his mind is exploding.”
“That commentary will have absolutely exclusive information that will rock the world. I hope you’ll all find it fascinating,” Davies continued. “It’s a whole new way of looking at the history of Doctor Who and I can’t wait to see the reaction.”
The Meep in Doctor Who Special One: The Star Beast
Davies also detailed to Radio Times that the show will have a more fantasy focus moving forward.
Referring to shows such as Stranger Things and The Witcher, Davies said, “I was just a bit jealous that all those other shows were getting a bigger taste of the pie, so this Christmas the enemy is goblins.”
He continued, “The show is taking a sly step towards fantasy, which will annoy people to whom it’s a hard science-fiction show.”
Davies specifically noted that the second episode of the new Doctor Who is where the fantasy elements take off, “Episode two next year is wildly fantasy. Completely making up scenarios on-screen that we’ve never been able to show before. But the following episode is proper hard science-fiction.”
The Doctor (David Tennant) in Doctor Who Special One: The Star Beast
Davies return to Doctor Who has already been received as a disaster. Pop culture expert and analyst Gary Buechler, of YouTube channel Nerdrotic noted the show was “murdered by the message.”
That “message” also seemingly saw over a quarter of a million people choose to not tune into the second special. “The Star Beast” initially had overnight viewership of 5.08 million viewers. It’s total viewership would climb to 7.61 million in the United Kingdom.
The second special “Wild Blue Yonder” saw a decline in the show’s overnight ratings according to Doctor Who Guide. It only brought in 4.83 million viewers. That’s a decline of nearly 5% in viewership, and a quarter of a million people. Full viewership numbers for the United Kingdom have not been released yet.
In the United States, “The Star Beast” special did not climb into the top 10 on Samba TV’s weekly streaming chart looking at the top streaming programs. As you can see below it was bested by everything from The Crown to Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Lawmen: Bass Reeves.
The #SambaTVWeeklyWrap is here! #Netflix dominates the top 4 with #LeoOnNetflix, #SquidGameTheChallenge, #BestChristmasEver, and #thecrown6. Rounding out the top 5 is #Paramount+’s #LawmenBassReeves.
In the back half of the top 10, we see #Peacock‘s #Genie movie,… pic.twitter.com/UpJo9EHAYP
— Samba TV (@samba_tv) December 1, 2023
What do you make of Davies’ promises? What do you make of Davies’ return to Doctor Who?
NEXT: Ironheart Episodes 4–6 Finale Review: It Got SO Much Worse!
This is why you don’t hire alphabets like Davies – they can’t help themselves and they’ll insert identity politics whenever possible. They will start with tolerable amount and then they will go off the rails.