The near death, possibly actual death, of Doctor Who has some amusing similarities to the Universal Dark Universe.
Both were born off apparently hubris, with all sorts of pronouncements made. Idents were created, in the case of Doctor Who it was the much touted Whoniverse. And then… failure.
Despite a huge cash injection and global route to market from Disney, the creatives simply couldn’t get out of their own way and insisted on inserting all of their own personal peccadillos into the show, just when you needed it to be as open and accessible as possible.
So now the world’s longest-running and most successful sci-fi serial remains in something of a zombie state. Not dead, but not alive. Just shuffling around making occasional sad noises.
The BBC will want to continue the show, as it is a huge global cash cow, but there are going to have to be some changes.
Ncuti Gatwa’s The Doctor regenerated into something with at least the face of previous companion Rose Tyler.
Whatever the hell that is about will have to be resolved in the end of year Christmas Special.
The smart money is now on this serving as showrunner Russell T. Davies swansong, as the show can’t move forward with him and his well known need to write everything according to his own worldview.
After he departs, there will be a break possibly of a couple of years, and a new creative team will come on board.
Now, in an interview with Half the Picture, the show’s composer Murray Gold indicates that Davies has written several variations of the special, to cover all contingencies:
“I know that Russell’s written, I think, multiple versions depending on certain outcomes. So that’s all I really know, and I’m not sure I’m even supposed to know that.
I think we’re at a precarious point for Doctor Who. I am hopeful that it’s all going to be the start of a wonderful new era. So I really hope that that’s what happens.
The other artefact of the now-stalled Whoniverse is the limited series spin-off The War Between the Land and the Sea.
This was shown in the UK around the New Year, but appears to have been parked by Disney+.
