The BBC has announced that Russell T Davies (photo ©Tony Hassall) will again be the “Doctor Who” showrunner starting on the 60th anniversary of the saga. The return of the man who ran the revival of the saga will happen alongside Bad Wolf, the production company created by Davies together with partners such as Julie Gardner, who was the revival’s producer as well.
Chris Chibnall as “Doctor Who” showrunner received far more criticism than praise. Some people didn’t even give him a chance because he dared to choose a woman to play the Doctor. However, a lot of criticism concerns his choices in the episodes’ scripts: in his first season, several episodes seemed a bit dull, and honestly, I remember only the historicals, while his second season is controversial for the choice to heavily go into the Doctor’s personal story.
All the showrunners of the new series have received criticism, and it’s normal that especially the latest is remembered. Some fans criticize the present and consider the past, even the recent one, as a legendary period. Russell T Davies received criticism too but is now hailed by many fans as the savior of the saga. Is that the truth?
When he revived “Doctor Who”, Russell T Davies wrote several episodes with trash elements, particularly the ones with the Slitheen. In my opinion, the worst part was adding soap opera elements. Personal tastes aside, those stories brought fangirls interested only in shipping the Tenth Doctor and Rose. In the long run, those fangirls were extremely toxic in the fandom because they didn’t understand anything beyond the story between the two protagonists and they spread poison for years on everything that came after them.
After leaving “Doctor Who” and its spinoffs, Russell T Davies has been involved in the production of other TV shows, which proves that he had other ideas to develop. Consequently, we can hope that his return can bring something new and doesn’t re-propose old patterns. We can also hope for a return of “Torchwood”, a show that remained in a sort of limbo.
Television has changed in the last decade, and change is a fundamental part of “Doctor Who”. Davies is an old fan of the saga and knows it very well, so there are reasons to be optimistic about his return. The majority of the fandom is now praising him but don’t be surprised if criticism of his choices will start again and someone will miss Chibnall.
