How Season 10 Could Be The Best Season of Doctor Who Yet!

This weekend, the Doctor flew back onto our screens for its first series since 2015 and it did not disappoint. The new companion, Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) was great, Nardole (Matt Lucas) was amusing enough not to be annoying and The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) was at his electrifying best. The main monster, a girl called Heather who had somehow been turned into a strange water/puddle creature, was absolutely terrifying as well! Can this amazing start continue though? And if it is to continue, what will be the main reasons? How can Moffat turn his Doctor Who swansong into the best season since the show came back twelve years ago?

Keep a leash on Matt Lucas

I like Matt Lucas. In interviews he always comes across as a thoroughly nice chap and he's also quite funny, Little Britain aside. On the surface, his double act with an older and kinda cantankerous Doctor is genius. However, in last nights season premiere he did come perilously close to being annoying and in Doctor Who, annoying is not a good thing. As great as Catherine Tate was as Donna in the Tennant era, she is far better in her later episodes than in her earlier ones because she grew into the role. In her Christmas special debut, she was annoying and, in my opinion, is one of the main reasons that episode is cited as a series low point. If this season of Doctor Who is to be as great as it potentially could be, Nardole needs to be kept on leash and needs to become a foil to Capaldi as opposed to a side kick.

Make the show scary again

The long awaited return of The Mondasian Cybermen should
reintroduce the fear factor

Last nights monster was downright scary in my terrified opinion. If I'd had a sofa, I'd have been cowering behind it. That's what Doctor Who is about, being scared and that is one of the times when Doctor Who is at its finest. There's a reason that the likes of 'The Empty Child' and 'Blink' are favourites among the shows fan base, the monsters are bloody scary! The Daleks need to be scary again which might mean giving them a series off. Yes, they are iconic but they have been massively overused since the shows arrival. 

Make John Sims return more than a gimmick

It is now common knowledge that John Sim is set to return alongside Missy as The Master and it needs to be done right. Don't make it gimmicky, please! Have a reason for him being there. My preferred reason would be for us to meet up with The Master before his regeneration into Missy. We all know how Moffat has enjoyed making his mark on the show and by having a multi Master story, he would be the first to do that. It might be a good thing, to see The Master and Missy onscreen together however I'm not convinced and much prefer the regeneration idea. Maybe The Doctor causes The Master to regenerate, maybe they cause each other to regenerate. 

Be uncomplicated

Capaldi; a great Doctor hampered by Moffat?

For me, the Moffat era is one of complication and vast plots. That's not a bad thing really however I get how it could put some viewers off. Doctor Who  should be about escapism. As viewers, we should feel like one of his companions, travelling with The Doctor to improbable worlds for adventure. By over complicating things with impossible jargon, long overarching plots and having The Doctor forever questioning what kind of man he is, it takes some of the wonderment and fun out of proceedings. The Matt Smith years were complicated with the impossible astronaut arch and then the impossible girl yet with Peter Capaldi, Moffat has gone on complication overload which, for me, has tainted the Capaldi era somewhat. It's a huge shame really because Capaldi has often been fantastic in the role and clearly loves being The Doctor. 

What would you like to see in this season of Doctor Who? What are you looking forward to and what are you dreading? Will you miss Capaldi and do you think he's done a good job in the role? Leave a comment and thank you for reading!

Why the long wait?

It's an agonising wait for the 3rd season of Outlander

Doctor Who will be back in April following a sixteen month break since season 9 finished. Since then we have had two Christmas specials but the wait for a full season has still been painful. In June, Game of Thrones will air its season 7 premiere, a full two months later than normal. Only a couple of days ago, it was announced that Outlander's third season wouldn't be airing until September, a full fourteen months since the season 2 finale. It seems that the makers of some of our favourite shows delight in making us wait, but why?

In Doctor Who's case, it isn't a new thing to have long breaks between seasons from time to time. David Tennant's departure aired seventeen months after his last full season aired! As for Game of Thrones, the later season is down to the crew having to film in Winter to account for the more wintry scenes they require. For Outlander, the reason is that they simply want to put out the best series they possibly can and you can't blame them for that.

Of course, having a long wait between seasons can be a good thing for the viewer. More time means for time to film a show. It also means that the show gets to spend more time in post-production which then means that we get a more polished product. It also means that we are more likely to get a full uninterrupted season as opposed to the split season model favoured by shows such as The Walking Dead and Once Upon A Time.

We had to wait 3 months for Rick to finally meet
King Ezekiel

The split season model, where we get a two or three month break in the middle of a season, is something that often frustrates the viewer. With a show such as The Walking Dead which has a standard sixteen episode season, eight episodes just seem to fly by. Often we are still getting over the premiere when the mid season finale airs. The good thing with this model though is that we only get a six month break between seasons as opposed to the nine months we'd get if The Walking Dead aired an uninterrupted season.


What do you think of the long wait for your favourite shows? Would you prefer shows like The Walking Dead to have a full uniterupted season or are you a fan of the split season model? Please, feel free to comment below...

Time for a woman to take control of the TARDIS

For fifty three years, The Doctor has been a man, traversing time and space in his little blue box. Surely, after thirteen male incarnations, it is time that he regenerated into a she. Of course many will have trouble with the concept, much like they did when The Master returned as Missy. There will always be those who criticise progress but there are some very good reasons why the next Doctor should be a woman.

Capaldi was a return to what made
Hartnel a great Doctor

I'm a big Doctor Who fan. I'll admit to not being as well versed on Classic Who as I'd like but I do have a decent conversational knowledge of the show. When Matt Smith announced his departure and there were rumblings of a female Doctor to replace him I was sceptical. The reason for that was because I didn't think it was the right time. After Eccleston, Tennant and the aforementioned Smith, I felt the show needed to go back to its routes and so championed Capaldi who eventually got the role. Capaldi was the first incarnation of The Doctors new set of regeneration's and so it felt right for him to be the character. He promised a more gruffer, older version of The Doctor which heralded back to William Hartnel's version. A woman wouldn't have had the same effect, I don't think and the reason why brings me to my second point.

If or when we do get a female Doctor, it could become gimmicky, or at least it would've had Capaldi's incarnation been a woman. At that point we hadn't met Missy. Although it had been inferred that Time Lords could switch genders during regeneration, we had never really seen the proof. Then Missy popped up and if that wasn't proof enough, we saw the process for ourselves in the season 9 finale, Hellbent. Now it is proven fact, a Time Lord can regenerate from a man to a woman and (it's assumed) vice versa. Because we, the audience have seen it and have known that Time Lords can regenerate into women for three years now, we are desensitized to the fact. After Smith, it would've been gimmicky but after Capaldi it is almost par for the course.

Moffat will soon be leaving the show,
a job he describes as "the best job in
the world" 

The departure of Steven Moffat from show runner duties is important because it allows for a mini-reboot of the show. There is a marked difference between the Russell T Davies years and the Moffat era in how episodes are structured and how they feel. With Chibnall coming on board for series eleven, it allows for another change and therefore for a change in gender of the lead character. If The Doctor does become a woman then it is likely that her main companion will be male and so we have a shift in the dynamics of the relationship between Doctor and companion. That relationship is extremely important, so important that the show pretty much rests on it. It is possibly why the likes of Rose, Amy and Clara lasted so long while Martha Jones didn't.

Could Swinton be the next Doctor?

My final point is that there are so many exciting female names being thrown into the hat now. Before Capaldi, the only female name which got a mention was Miranda Hart. Don't get me wrong, she's a terrific actress and with Call The Midwife she has shown she can do serious as well as comedy. She's not The Doctor though. This time we have Sheridan Smith, Olivia Coleman, Maxine Peake and the 4/1 favourite for the role, Tilda Swinton. As a Doctor Who fan, I would be more than happy with any of those actresses. Sheridan Smith's role as a companion to the Eighth Doctor (Paul Mcgann) in the Big Finish audio plays probably rules her out but maybe not. Peter Capaldi and Colin Baker had both prior Doctor Who experience before eventually landing the main job. All of that aside though, the world is ready for a madwoman to fly around in her little blue box, helping where she can. In fact, I'm ready!

What do you think? Are you ready for a female Doctor and if so do you have someone in mind? Or are you firmly in the male Doctor camp? Feel free to leave a comment below!

And The Next Doctor Is..........

So, the 12th/13th Doctor has been announced as the one and only Peter Capaldi! You have to hand it to Moffat and his team. For the last few months, well ever since Matt Smith announced his imminent departure from the show, they've been fanning the flames of rumour regarding possible choices for the new Doctor. A black Doctor seemed likely at one point with David Harewood and Idris Elba considered front runners for a while. In fact Harewood was considered a front runner right up until last nights big reveal! We also had a woman Doctor being rumoured with Miranda Hart and Dame Helen Mirren being championed by many a twitter user. Of course, the old names were also in the 'frame' with Russell Tovey (very nearly a David Tennent replacement), Benedict Cumberbatch (wanted for every role in the world ever) and Martin Freeman (one of my top choices) all being mentioned. Then we had the obvious choices, people such as Rory Kinnear, Andrew Scott, Stephen Mannagan, etc. In the end though Moffat went for his one and only choice of Capaldi.

Capaldi in 'The Fires of Pompei

     Now, Peter Capaldi is probably best known for his role as potty mouth Malcom Tucker in political satire The Thick Of It although Whovians will also recognise him for a previous appearance in the show! Back in David Tennents last full season he went to Pompei and Capaldi played Caecilius, the father of the family the Doctor saves at the end. Of course this isn't the first time an extra has gone on to play a lead part in the show. Colin Baker was in a 1983 episode before becoming the 6th Doctor a year later and both Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones) and Karen Gillian (Amy Pond) appeared in the show as different characters before landing the assistant gig. Infact Gillian actually appeared in Capaldis Pompei episode! It is therefore not unheard of for this to happen.

     As far as Peter Capaldi's twelth Doctor goes, what can we expect? Well I think it's safe to say that we can expect a different kind of Doctor. Capaldi is an amazingly versatile actor as his body of work suggests. He's also an older Doctor, the same age as William Hartnel when he got the part. I championed an older Doctor because I think it's what the show needed. It hails back to the original vision for The Doctor and I'm convinced that Capaldi will do a great job. Of course, with the ghost of Malcom Tucker still hovering we could get a few interesting encounters between The Doctor and his enemies. I can just imagine The Doctor telling an army of Daleks to f$%& themselves! On a serious note though, sure Capaldi's not as good looking as Andrew Scott or with the star quality of Idris Elba but at least he's not Miranda Hart!

The Next Doctor

William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davidson, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith (and apparently John Hurt which I'll get onto in a minute) have all played The Doctor during it's 50 years. All great actors and great Doctors in their own way. Now the Doctor will regenerate into it's 12th, or 13th incarnation after Matt Smith announced he was hanging up his sonic screwdriver recently.

Before I start discussing the next Doctor I think its important to discuss his forgotten incarnation who showed up at the end of the recent series finale episode 'The Name Of The Doctor'. Now my theory on this is that it's John Hurts Doctor who fought in the time war and made the decision which killed the Daleks and the Time-lords and destroyed his home world, Galafrey. Now, I'm not really versed on classic Who but this could place John Hurt between Mcgann and Eccleston. In any case it would make Matt Smith the 12th Doctor.

Now back to the most pressing of questions, Who will become the next Doctor? I've (with the help of Twitter friend and ex work colleague Mr Wayne Andrews) narrowed it down to 6 possibles. No doubt Moffat will completely disregard my opinions and go with an unknown (although that wasn't a bad idea last time), but hey oh, i can but speculate. In fact, talking about last time, I'd like to say a few things about Matt Smith. I was a huge fan of David Tennant. I guess he was my Doctor seen as he was why i started watching it! When he decided to call it a day I honestly didn't think he'd be surpassed. Matt Smith came bloody close, let me tell you. When you consider how complex some of Moffats plots are, it's testament to Smiths ability as an actor that he can still hold the viewers attention. He has proved to be a superb Doctor and will be a very hard act to follow, although I said that about Tennant!

Now onto the next Doctor.....

KEN STOTT

Now don't laugh, Ken Stott would make a great Doctor. He was great as Rebus and in Messiah and is currently somewhere in Middle Earth dressed as a dwarf! After the relative youth of Tennant and the obvious youth of Matt Smith (my age you know), maybe it's time The Doctor regenerated into an older, more wiser version. I also think it'd be interesting to see the dynamic between Clara and Stotts older and grumpier Doctor.

STEPHEN MANAGAN

You know, of Green Wing fame, currently starring in Episodes? Stephen Managan is my preferred choice for the role. He's not as young as Matt Smith and at 40 years old, fits into the ideal age of The Doctor in my opinion. He also looks a bit wacky which would hale back to the likes of Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. Although known predominantly for his comedy roles I.e. Green Wing, I'm Alan Partridge and Episodes that wouldn't be a bad thing as regards to Doctor Who. Correct me if I'm wrong!

MARTIN FREEMAN

Although he's currently on his way to the lonely mountain pretending to be a hobbit, Freeman would surely jump at the chance to portray the iconic Doctor. Freeman has proved himself as a versatile actor in the likes of The Office and Sherlock and also has experience on big budget productions such as Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and The Hobbit. He's also well known to Moffat via Sherlock. Of course many are championing Benedict Cumberbatch as the next Doctor but they really are forgetting that Freeman would make a superb Doctor and could be just the tonic after Smiths manic turn.

JOSEPH GILGUN

In my opinion, one of the most under rated actors on the television he's perhaps best known as friendly skin head Woody in This Is England and its subsequent tv spin offs. More recently he's been plying his trade on Channel 4's Misfits as Rudy. He brings something different to the shows he appears in and I think he'd be a different kind of Doctor but in a good way. He has a way of injecting humour into lines without really trying. I think he may struggle abit with some of the technical jargon but I do think he deserves his opportunity in a big show.

JULIAN BARRATT

Now Barratt is an outside chance but Im quite intrigued by what he'd bring to The Doctor. He is perhaps best known as elbow patch aficionado Howard Moon in The Mighty Boosh which is why I think he'd be great as the thirteenth Doctor (I'm officially assuming Jon Hurt was the ninth). He'd offer a new kind of Doctor, a new direction. He wouldn't be as manic as Smith or as talky as Tennant and would instead take The Doctor back to the days of Hartnell or Pertwee.

RUSSELL TOVEY

Russell Tovey was talked about as a possible successor to Tennant and was championed by a lot of fans, myself included. Out of all of my choices I think that Tovey has the best chance and he wouldn't be a bad choice. He's well known enough whilst also being relatively unknown if you get what I mean. He was superb in Being Human and The History Boys and is well known to Doctor Who fans having already appeared in two episodes (Voyage of the Damned and The End of Time if you're interested).

Now you may have noticed that there are no women in my list and that's because I'm not sure I would be happy with a female Doctor. The Doctor is a man in much the same way that James Bond is. I'm all for equal opportunities and all that, I'm a woman myself, but The Doctor should always remain male. I have no doubt that Miranda Hart would do a sterling job and I can almost imagine the moment Smith regenerates into Hart with some humour. I do find it difficult to see how it would work though, I really do.

Anyway, all of that aside, there you have my choices for the thirteenth Doctor. What do YOU think?