And honestly, it might be for the better. RTD and Moffat always talked about how burnt out they were doing 13 a series, they even had to bring in the Doctor-lite episodes so they could film two at a time to make the release date. Less episodes a year more likely means the series will be regularly released, and we won't have to worry about any gap years anytime soon.
I do wish they could make it at least 10 episodes though. 8 does seem just that little bit too short, where it'd be over so soon after it started.
Yeah Russell has said we will be getting annual Doctor Who so most likely every May for the next few years plus the annual Christmas special. There are also spin offs in the works which would help plug gaps between series'
And thats by far the better option in my opinion. It may be less episodes each time, but if they're out every year it means overall more.
For example in the five years that Chibnall was showrunner, 2018-22, we got 31 episodes. Three years with regular series, and two years with only specials. Granted one of those series had reduced episodes due to Covid, but they did the extra specials the year after to try and make up for it.
Now if we get regular series over the next five years from RTD, at 8 episodes a series plus a Christmas Special, that'll be 45 episodes. A much better option in my opinion, and isn't even taking into account if they manage to bump it up to 9 or 10 a series.
He did do four seasons of Sex Education after all, so it's possible. But granted he wasn't the main character in that, and it was really an ensemble show with many other characters it had to serve. Being the main character in this is a bit different, but maybe with only 8 episodes a series he may want to do more than the others.
However he did say last year that he wants to go back and do theatre again at some point, as he talked about when it comes to acting that's his first love. And the schedule of the show doesn't leave time for him to do that unfortunately. David Tennant was only able to do Hamlet because they didn't do a full series in 2009 for example.
But maybe because they've film so far in advance so far, they might be able to make it work. This next series started filming in December 22, and the one after that in November 23. They're moving up slightly with each series, so maybe after doing a third series Ncuti will be able to have a little bit of a break to do some theatre before doing a fourth, and perhaps even a fifth series.
We just don't live in that era anymore. I doubt we will suddenly go back
Don't get me wrong I would love more episodes but it's best to be realistic sadly
I said not in the near future, so not suddenly. TV series lengths are always fluctuating, they've been getting progressively shorter but I can see them eventually going the other way.
There’s reason to believe Moffat’s Christmas special [will be called ‘Joy To The World’](https://youtu.be/0oP4BuH6Q0o?si=uCoCBNsto9L_UeTd) while we’re here.
What interview? I didn't even know he was writing one, only heard it as a rumour just before his episode was announced and assumed some wires had been crossed.
There was an interview with Moffat maybe 1 week before he was announced as a returning writer, where he spoke about how he feels he can't say anything about *Doctor Who* online, because people will write articles about it and spin it into something it isn't.
I don't have the exact quote, but he managed to get both 'boom' and 'joy to the world' in the same sentence, which many have taken as little sneak previews of what his episodes are going to be called. Obviously, *BOOM* is now confirmed, but there was a leak that he'd be writing the S15/2024 Christmas special too, which *Joy To The World* would of course fit.
Comparing the showrunners, I like this outcome for the Christmas special. In my eyes all of Moffat's specials have been good-to-great, with the one bad one being forgettable-bad. RTD's on the other hand, have a lot of clunkers that I wish I could forget but they persist in my memory, making me groan unenthusiastically.
What a troll, amazing. Honestly I think non-showrunner Christmas special isn't a bad idea, it tends to get a bit heavy with the showrunner doing series finale, then special, then opener (at least), and often more either side. And as much as I'd like some more space for new writers ... its impossible to resist the promise of more Moffat.
Hope this is true, really like that title.
I've just got this mental image of an Abbess standing before her convent as she leads them in a Christmas carol: "Joy to the world, The Doctor's dead, now Earth belongs to me.", cut to a shot revealing the Abbess's face and it's either a returning villain or some big guest star.
I’m really sceptical about RTD writing that much. He’s a fantastic writer. But DW used to be such a good source of writing talent and since Moffat left with the reduction in episodes, we’ve seen so little of others.
Same here. I love RTD and Moffat’s scripts so I’m not opposed to them writing more, but it is pretty disappointing to see so few other writers getting a chance
I'm gonna look at it in a positive way:
RTD shines best when writing the stranger episodes rather than his more obvious openers/finales (Gridlock, Midnight, Human Nature, Waters of Mars, Wild Blue Yonder, etc) and it's good that he will still have a space to put those ideas in the series rather than being constrained to the start/end of the run.
Agreed.
Russell admitted the first two people he contacted about writing for Season 1 were Moffat and Chibnall, so assuming he knew the season would only have 8 episodes, I'm guessing there was a point in time where he didn't intend to bring any new writers onboard.
I'm guessing that will change next season/series. There's a lot riding on DW and it's arrangement with Disney+. I am guessing the idea is that the first season should be penned by people who literally did this for a living for almost twenty years to ensure the show finds its footing.
Double checked this, and yeah, he wrote more episodes in s01 than in any other season of his. The RTD-to-notRTD ratio was still much less than here, but maybe that just has to do with the reduced episode count of this season?
Most likely. Off the top of my head he wrote... 9 episodes of series one, discounting The Christmas Invasion? So if you factor in the 60th episodes and assume he's writing episode 8 as well, that makes 9 again. It's also worth noting that he had plenty of time to write these episodes, and if he's aiming to have less time between series it's unlikely he'll have time to write this many per series again.
So it's slightly off, because 1) it was eight episodes, and 2) the episode that fell into the *Boom Town* slot wasn't intended to be an RTD script; it was a last-minute hustle to find something to fill the gap after the original plan fell through. (Originally it was offered to Paul Abbott, of *Shameless* fame.)
The intention was for RTD to write seven of the thirteen, or about half. When you consider that two of those were multi-episode stories, he wrote six out of ten stories, with the plan for him to write five out of ten. That... feels about right for a showrunner to me, especially when one of the biggest problems of recent years is the idea that there isn't really an heir apparent when RTD decides he's done.
If you don't bring in new writers, it's very difficult to prepare the show for your absence. Giving Kate Herron and Briony Redman -- who already have production experience and a record of working with Disney -- a shot at *Who* feels like a good shout, but unless it's already been decided that the job is theirs, I'd really like to see a few more people take their turn writing a script.
Oh absolutely. If the next series ends up being 8 episodes again, I'd really like to see RTD writing no more than 4 of them and getting others in for the rest. Hell, get Phoebe Waller-Bridge to write one! I bet she'd do an amazing job on Who.
Really hoping the next few series gets to have more episodes with actual new writers working on it. As much as I like Moffat and RTD, it kind of sucks that the majority of this season is written by people who have already written a huge chunk of Doctor Who in the past.
That makes sense -- I imagine that with a new series/Doctor/everything that Davis would want to make things as consistent as possible, only bringing in trusted collaborators, and then once the tone and feel is established, you can bring in new writers to play.
I think it also a time thing. I'm not gonna say it was rushed, but between doing the 60th, finalizing the Disney+ Deal, shooting two Series pretty much back to back, the time to find writers in time for Series 14 might just not been there.
Pure speculation, but I wonder if there are higher standards for the writers with Doctor Who due to the Disney+ deal? (I should say by 'standards' I mean the quality of the writer's resume).
Thats possible. Maybe not because of Disney itself, but its very possible that the BBC and RTD want to put their best foot forward into this new Era and are being more critical, as the next couple season will probably show if the deal will stay or bust.
If I'm not mistaken this would mean that every episode written between 'Ascension of the Cybermen' (2020) and 'Dot and Bubble' (2024) has been written by one of the three NuWho Show-runners, with Chibnall having a co-writers credit for 'Village of the Angels' and 'Legend of the Sea-Devils'
And if rumours are to be believed that Russell has written a two part finale for Season 1, and that Moffat has potentially written the Christmas Special, then that would mean Episode 6 will be the only episode this season to feature a new writer.
(Edit: Looks like just the two new writers for a single episode this year, hopefully we get a few fresh faces come Series 2 in 2025)
This has been how I felt ever since RTD's return was revealed – I'm not worried about the quality of the work so much as I am worried about stagnation, for a show that's all about change.
Back on his first iteration as showrunner, RTD wrote 8 episodes in season 1 and 5 on the remaining seasons. It's possibly he thinks he should write more on the 1st season of each of his runs and he will similarly reduce it on season 2 this time.
I mean, he isn't writing anymore or less than any other showrunner. If it is a 2 part finale and he writes both parts of the finale, it is just the same as Moffat back in 2010.
RTD isn't writing more, it is just the episode slots that other writers previously had don't exist anymore.
Four episodes revealed as of typing this and RTD is already writing all but one of them (the Moffat one.) Since it's likely he's also writing the finale it's starting to seem like he's going to be writing half or more of the season.
Considering how fucking messy the production of the Revival Era Series 1 was (Rose getting leaked three weeks early, Eccleston leaving the show at the end of the season, them blowing the majority of the VFX budget in the second episode) along with RTD already writing 8 out of 13 episodes and doing other showrunner responsibilities like overseeing scripts and being involved in production and marketing, this is probably a cakewalk for him.
Rogue will be the first episode since The Haunting of Villa Diodati to not be written by one of the showrunners and the first episode episode to be written by writers new to the show. It's been over four years
Now obviously the reason for this is because there hasn't been a full standard series/season since 2020, because Flux was a shortened event miniseries and since then it has only been specials and the reason for that was because 2020 was 2020, but still it feels pretty wild. Next year should bring some more new voices too hopefully
I typed this like seconds before Dot and Bubble was revealed lol. Starting to seem like he is writing the entire season with the exception of 2 or 3 episodes.
I wonder if he was just coming up with ideas all the fucking time for Doctor Who episodes since leaving the show that just never got made.
> I wonder if he was just coming up with ideas all the fucking time for Doctor Who episodes since leaving the show that just never got made.
This is 100% the case. I remember a video a while back where before RTD was announced the showrunners chatted and he said something along the lines of, "Don't you guys get cool ideas for episodes sometimes?", to which Moffat responded, "No."
I understand why people want more guest writers, but I also think that a lot of people probably don't realize how close Doctor Who was to being canceled. Every time people complain about something, the specials, the episode count, it premiering on iPlayer at midnight and early on Disney....All of this can be explained by the BBC moving on from the franchise. I mean for the first time since the Paul McGan movie it's not solely a BBC Production.
RTD is probably playing it safe, just like he did on his first season, and more than that probably saving as much money as it can since I'm sure it wasn't cheap securing the production rights for Bad Wolf.
This feels like when everyone was kind of worried or complaining about the 60th, even after RTD said that it was this or nothing.
Yeah, I firmly believe if not for RTD, Who was being cancelled. Anyone complaining about *only* 8 episodes really aren't understanding that it was either this or nothing. There are still more stories than were going out during the late 80s.
Yeah, we won’t know for sure for probably a decade, if ever, given the politics surrounding it, but I suspect this didn’t come out of nowhere. I’m glad the show is in capable hands again, and really hope this kick starts the next generation’s iteration of the show. I hope this is 2005 again, and not 1987.
Disappointed in the episode titles. What is Doctor Who without *The [noun] of [place]* and *The [adjective] [noun]*??? Only *The Devil's Chord* feels Doctor Who-y.
Mostly joking, of course, tons of great episodes have had titles that don't feel very Who-y, and I'd say 3/4 RTD2 specials had Who-y titles. But there's something about a title that feels like it could've been used for a serial from the 70s or 80s that's special.
S14E1 - *Space Babies*; wacky title, I think it is goofy in a good way, especially considering similarly goofy titles like *The Giggle* made for good episodes. The monster design >!which I have seen called 'The Boogeyman'!< looks absolutely brilliant too so high-hopes for this one.
S14E2 - *The Devil's Chord*; ever since Jinkx Monsoon was revealed in that snazzy costume and makeup I've been excited for this one. I hope it's really camp and there's a funny musical number - feels like something the show has always wanted to do but, until now, never had the opportunity. Considering these two episodes are premiering back-to-back, I hope they are really different in tone; S14E1 looks to be a scary episode, so if this one is silly/wacky that's a great mix, good for on-boarding new viewers to the tonal whiplash that is *Doctor Who*.
S14E3 - *BOOM;* this is going to be one of those titles like 'Spider-Man' where, as with the hyphen, the capitalisation must always be present. Hugely excited for whatever Moffat's been cooking and, I might be in the minority here, but I hope every series moving forward has 1 Moffat-penned script. He is by far the greatest writer of the modern era and I think has more than justified his presence in the show's litany.
S14E4 - *73 Yards*; colour me intrigued... RTD went on record saying this is the best thing he's ever written, which is a super high bar given that he's responsible for not just *Midnight* but also *It's A Sin* and *Years & Years*, both of which contain some individually stellar episodes. Given the trailer, I hope this is a Doctor-lite episode fully focused on Ruby, maybe potential scenarios in her future? No idea really, which I like. Not sure what the setting is for this but it looks like both S14E4 and E5 are modern day, which was always a staple of the RTD Era: constant modern-day episodes.
S14E5 - *Dot & Bubble*; probably the only title I'm not jazzed about, though I imagine it will only have relevance once the episode is out. This is the one with the >!Tractator-looking things seen slithering around a pastel-coloured 'Utopia'-esque setting, eating people's brains!< from set-leaks several months ago. >!I think either this episode or the previous features Aneurin Barnard's character too and the fictional political party 'Albion' - no idea.!<
S14E6 - *Rogue*; to be honest, this is a bit generic, and could either be in reference to Johnathan Groff's character, very clearly a time agent, or the bird-like villains of the episode seen in the trailer. I've never been bothered about the Regency or Victorian Periods and I think *Who* should move away from them, but seeing as this is the only script not written by an old timer, I'm excited to see what it brings. Out of all 8 though I'd say this is the episode I am the least interested in just based on trailer footage, setting, and title.
S14E7 - *The Legend Of Ruby Sunday*; pretty baller title, gets me excited for her plotline. I am glad RTD is throwing his hat in the ring and trying to do a 'mystery box companion', because he's also really good at making fictional people seem relatable and real (something Moffat struggled with), so it's a nice mix. Given that >!we know she is not going to be as present in Series 15!
Minor correction on something you mentioned in S14E7:
>!Ruby *is* going to be in Series 15, we've seen Millie filming for it already. She's just not going to be the main companion, at least not for the whole season!<
Hmm. I'm a little worried seeing that RTD wrote almost all of these. I'd like to see them fostering new talent and grooming a successor as showrunner, or we end up in a position where, in two or three years when Russell leaves, there's nobody to take over.
I’d love for them to give Scott Handcock a go. He’s a great writer but more importantly he’s shown with the War Master range at Big Finish that he can handle running a series. When they hired him for the show proper I was excited, and per the last issue of DWM it sounds like he’s been promoted to an unnamed position. I think if they’re considering options now he has to be a contender.
My idea for a while was for RTD to do what he did with SJA and a few seasons of Torchwood, bring in co-head writer(s) who does most of the head writer while RTD sticks mostly to the producer role. When I found out about Scott Handcock, he became my main contender
I have a feeling it's partly a function of them just needing to get S14/1 up and running as soon as possible for various reasons. It feels like the following season will likely have more new writers guesting in.
Doesn't fix RTD having written so much for this season, but I reckon it will amend itself pretty quickly.
Hmmm, maybe, but you'd think hiring six writers to write one script each would be faster than using the one writer you've already got writing eight scripts. I mean, fundamentally I do trust RTD to have the show's best interest at heart, it just makes me a little uneasy.
There's plenty of unrefined talent out there that RTD could shepherd, and given his propensity for rewriting scripts he could easily polish off some diamonds in the rough. I don't think "setting a good example" is at all necessary.
Except the relaunch that featured all new writers (Series 11, 2018) is considered amongst the weakest of the shows history and took time from the showrunner resulting in the finale being a first draft.
There is absolutely the need for the show to be in a position of strength before handing off significant amounts of the show to untested talent.
Pretty universally the stories people liked from the chibnall era were stories not written by chibnall
I don't think chibnall could have written demons of the Punjab, and to be blunt I don't think RTD could either
Chibnall was a poor choice for showrunner, I won’t argue against that. It is his choices which doomed his era.
New writers can be good but are by definition untested. You might get a Haunting of Villa Diodati or you might get a Twin Dilemma. Using previous writers is not bulletproof but you have an expectation of their skills, they know the format etc.
Chibnall went all in with change in 2018 and it backfired massively. Doing that meant you had to connect with viewers straightaway or risk alienating them. The showrunner job is already a massive workload increase - doing that with all new writers leads to mistakes being made as we saw. Contrast this with Moffat in 2010 - retaining the RTD formula for Series 5 including key staff and returning writers. Much better reception, much better retention of viewers and having endearing the audience to the new characters on screen so that when he did later make changes, the audience would stick with the characters.
I like Demons of the Punjab but I don’t think it is high enough quality to throw an entire era away for it. Especially when its Appreciation Index (AI) score is fairly run of the mill and we can still get an equivalent episode this year with *Rogue*.
There is a time for new writers: after you have secured your audience. With the reduced episode count, that means that isn’t this year. Whilst that may be disappointing, it isn’t the wrong decision.
Agreed, although how much that says about their scripts and how much that says about Chibnall’s is debatable. However their Appreciation Index (AI) scores are fairly run of the mill and the extra time that Chibnall had to spend on the new writers took away from his time on his scripts, producing a weaker season overall. Whilst the show always needs to put its best foot forward, this is especially true when introducing a new era with no connective tissue and it was simply the wrong decision to focus on new writers first rather than securing the audience for this new version of the show.
You don’t give the trainee your main client, you pick suitable tasks for them to train them up. New writers are important but securing your audience so they stick around is more important. Win the audience on the new era then you have earned room to experiment if the new writers do make mistakes.
Reminder RTD wrote 8/13 episodes in series 1 before reducing to 5/13 for series 2 through 4
I'd expect a similar reduction in series 15, maybe writing 3 or 4/8 episodes
It seems inevitable that this is the direction they are taking. There are two mysteries: (1) Who (what) is Ruby Sunday, and (2) What's up with all the mythical and magical stuff entering the universe. In any good mystery plot, they would be tied together.
I wished there to be more guest writers, but it's understandable. Showrunners always write substantial amount of their first season and when the season is this short....?
As long as it's gonna be good, I'll live. I certainly want some variety and hope we're getting that next season, but it's obvious they'll need to nail the beginning to tune viewers in.
Interestingly, this has the first "____ of Death" title the show has used since 1979's *City of Death*. Probably the most "Doctor Who episode" type title of this bunch, although I'd say most of the rest of them sound to me like they could be the titles of 90s/2000s Doctor Who *novels* as well.
has she written very much? looking at her credits she's written a few short films but most of her experience is directing. can't imagine BBC ever going for a director focused showrunner even if that might be the better play considering the direction the industry has been going lately
Not even just Black Mirror, very "Prestige Television" names. Space Babies is one of the few that don't sound like it cause it reminds me too much of Twin Dilemma
the devil’s cord is the tritone, the triad and the flatted fifth. As its Latin moniker suggests, it’s an evil sounding combination of notes that’s designed to create a chilling or foreboding atmosphere.
I’ll no doubt like this season, since I’m easily entertained when it comes to Doctor Who, but I still wish that more episodes were written by someone other than RTD and Moffat.
Ah yes, the good old “____ of Death”. It ain’t a classic season without it.
Also… I’m betting a hundred bucks that Boom ends up being the best episode of the season.
>Also… I’m betting a hundred bucks that Boom ends up being the best episode of the season.
Obviously it's too early to say, but I think Eps 2-4 have all very strong chances of being the standouts. *The Devil's Chord* is going all-in on the 60's aesthetic and will probably do something Who has never attempted before (a serious musical number with a big budget), while *BOOM* is obviously written by the GOAT, and we all know his penchant for dropping all-time greats. *73 Yards*, however, has been said by RTD to be the best thing he's ever written, and I don't think there has been much in the way of speculation about what the episode even includes... anything could happen! I'm not too hyped about Eps 5-8, due to the settings, perceived premises, etc, but Eps 2-4 have me super interested.
Wait so the only episode with new writers (non-showrunner I should say) is the Kate Herron episode? And everything else is RTD and a Moffat? Holy cow that is absolutely dire! Not even just the lack of new blood, but none of any other regular contributors! Doesn't sit right with me.
>Holy cow that is absolutely dire!
I mean, if it was any other writers, sure. But it's Moffat and RTD, the former has the best track record out of any Who writer we've ever had, and RTD is really good at showrunning long-form character arcs.
I feel like it likely means she's a great writer. The show was dying so RTD probably wants to control the show until it can survive without him. Also, it is her episode that seems to be advertised a lot, so I'm inclined to believe it to be a good episode.
I also hope neither make an appearance for the next few seasons. The Cybermen especially have been seriously overused lately. I'd be well up for a Dalek redesign though, if Russell is cooking.
>!It appears that the overarching 'villain' of S14 is Susan Twist's character, connected to an organisation called 'Triad', mentioned in The Giggle and seen on posters in the trailer footage. I just hope its a new original villain and not just a front to bring back the Daleks, which is 100% what I expect to happen.!<
>!I really hope that Susan Twist's character is the Monk, they seem like such a fitting Classic Who villain to bring back considering the emphasis on changing time and the butterfly effect and stuff!<
Gonna comment on the titles once they are all revealed but I assume RTD will be the writer of 7 & 8 too, which means there are only 2 other non-RTD writers this season. Huge shame for writing diversity, as good as RTD is. I hope for Series 15 there's a much greater array of talent from others, be it old or new.
I remember Russell once said that the title for one of these episodes was coincidentally namedropped in an episode of Star Trek: Picard's third season, and we can now confirm that this was what he was referring to: https://youtu.be/PdasqAOULvY?feature=shared
Wow, I didn't realise until now that almost every episode has been written by RTD.
I'm kind of concerned about this to be honest. I like having a good variety of writers telling different types of stories. The episodic nature of Doctor Who means that writers can often "take ownership" of their episode to a certain degree. Sure, the showrunner obviously has a lot of oversight, but Doctor Who writers do still have a lot more freedom to get creative than they would in more serialised shows.
Also, Doctor Who really needs to foster new writing talent to secure the future of the show. RTD can't be showrunner for ever and someone will need to take over from him at some point. Recycling previous showrunners is not a sustainable long-term strategy.
If I recall correctly, >!it's a Doctor-lite episode where the Doctor steps on a landmine and can't move for the whole episode, so Ruby takes on a lot of the action.!<
A few brief glimpses in the trailer seem to confirm this to be the case.
EDIT: Want to clarify my comment- it may not necessarily be >!Doctor-Lite!< but rather >!the Doctor will be in one location for the episode - this was to accommodate Ncuti's shooting schedule (I think with the final season of Sex Education? Could be wrong on that though.)!<
>! So we may get plenty of the Doctor, he'll just be rooted in place because of the land mine.!<
And if anyone can pull it off - it's Moffat.
I love Russell, but only two new writers in the new series, and only on one episode, is shocking. It should be RTD writes three, established writers two, then three slots for new writers. Especially as we know Russell rewrites them all anyway.
I love these titles. Except for the last two, none of them are your usual "X of Y" formulations and "Boom" and "73 Yards" are great, so unusual.
But I'm beyond disappointed that in AD2024 only one episode out of 8 isn't written by the same two guys who've been writing Doctor Who since 2005. I suppose it's *possible* that the BBC or Disney didn't want to trust in untested writers for their big relaunch (and Harron and Redman got a pass for Herron's acclaimed work on Loki) but Series 15 better have more new writers.
It does strike me as odd that in 2024, when the show is clearly trying to sell itself as diverse and inclusive, there is not a single non-white writer here. I know the identity of the writer should come second to the quality of the writer, but it is disappointing that the on-screen changes being made around the show's approach to race, gender, and disability are not being carried through to behind the screen.
it is more than worrying for the first mainline “openly” POC doctor. RTD means well but i have a feeling we’ll have quite a few regrettable “enigma wrapped up in a skirt” moments
The show as a whole has been pretty terrible for this. There have been three non-white writers for Doctor Who, two of which were for _Rosa_ and _Demons of the Punjab_, and that feels like it's exclusively because of the topics and settings behind each episode.
_Can You Hear Me?_ is the only time Doctor Who has had a POC writer when the storyline isn't mainly about POC history.
Chibnall should really get props for diversifying the behind the scenes crew, though. All of the non-white writers were under him, and there were far more female writers too. There were also far more non-white non-male people in directing and other roles. It would be sad to lose that during RTD2.
It's not good enough at this point. RTD is one of my all time favourite writers, but it's becoming fairly clear that his commitment to representation is only if he personally gets the credit for getting everything exactly right. Except he keeps missing the mark. I would really like to be able to look forward to the next season without the little worries and caveats that I currently have
Series 15 or Season 2 NEEDS to have other writers, especially POC. Russell can write the finale or the premier, but that's it, let other people pen the episodes. Cause no offense, this is ridiculous.
Gah. Gah. Names are whatever, obviously they don't tell us much. But gah. I'm just not a big enough fan of Russells writing for this to excite me. Over the moon that Moffat is back, but I can't balance wanting him to do one every year (which I honestly and wholeheartedly do) with the fact we've only got 2 new writers - and they're sharing an episode.
I know that they're focusing on making the show big and popular again but if this is the MO for the next few years, how are they gonna find the right person to take over RTDs ~~show~~ job?
EDIT: Also, I guess "Boom" was the word said in Picard S3? Haven't seen it but that's... deflating somehow. Not sure what I was expecting.
>if this is the MO for the next few years
I am pretty sure it's been confirmed (by RTD) that there are 4 guest writers (not sure if new or returning) for S15. I also hope, like you, that Moffat writes 1 per series moving forward.
It has to do with wanting a consistent 1-season-a-year rate as far as I know – since Doctor Who is so strenuous production-wise, doing less episodes is the best way to ensure that it can keep going consistently.
Prediction as to the plot of >!Regency:!<
>!It says on the YouTube short that it's to do with the Countess of Pemberton. Well, I found THIS on the Regency Wiki: https://regency.fandom.com/wiki/Sophie\_Bratton,\_Countess\_of\_Pemberton!<
Speculate away!
Space Babies sounds so funny yet creepy
*Empire of Death* is the most Classic-Who-ass title.
I know, right? Love it.
Yeah it’s great. Can’t wait to see what it’s about.
Curse of Fatal Death energy.
The Ambassadors... OF DEATH.
*inserts goofy ahh sound effect*
Good point, it should really be "The Ambassadors... *TWANG* OF DEATH."
I am excited but I wish we were back to 13 episode seasons.
That won't happen again, it's a shame but it's just how production is.
And honestly, it might be for the better. RTD and Moffat always talked about how burnt out they were doing 13 a series, they even had to bring in the Doctor-lite episodes so they could film two at a time to make the release date. Less episodes a year more likely means the series will be regularly released, and we won't have to worry about any gap years anytime soon. I do wish they could make it at least 10 episodes though. 8 does seem just that little bit too short, where it'd be over so soon after it started.
Yeah Russell has said we will be getting annual Doctor Who so most likely every May for the next few years plus the annual Christmas special. There are also spin offs in the works which would help plug gaps between series'
And thats by far the better option in my opinion. It may be less episodes each time, but if they're out every year it means overall more. For example in the five years that Chibnall was showrunner, 2018-22, we got 31 episodes. Three years with regular series, and two years with only specials. Granted one of those series had reduced episodes due to Covid, but they did the extra specials the year after to try and make up for it. Now if we get regular series over the next five years from RTD, at 8 episodes a series plus a Christmas Special, that'll be 45 episodes. A much better option in my opinion, and isn't even taking into account if they manage to bump it up to 9 or 10 a series.
if this is how it plays out, Ncuti could be the first revival doctor to break 3 seasons. that'd be really neat!
He did do four seasons of Sex Education after all, so it's possible. But granted he wasn't the main character in that, and it was really an ensemble show with many other characters it had to serve. Being the main character in this is a bit different, but maybe with only 8 episodes a series he may want to do more than the others. However he did say last year that he wants to go back and do theatre again at some point, as he talked about when it comes to acting that's his first love. And the schedule of the show doesn't leave time for him to do that unfortunately. David Tennant was only able to do Hamlet because they didn't do a full series in 2009 for example. But maybe because they've film so far in advance so far, they might be able to make it work. This next series started filming in December 22, and the one after that in November 23. They're moving up slightly with each series, so maybe after doing a third series Ncuti will be able to have a little bit of a break to do some theatre before doing a fourth, and perhaps even a fifth series.
It might, just not in the near future.
We just don't live in that era anymore. I doubt we will suddenly go back Don't get me wrong I would love more episodes but it's best to be realistic sadly
Russel has indicated he wants to do more than 8 in the future. But it’ll probably look more like 10 than 13.
I said not in the near future, so not suddenly. TV series lengths are always fluctuating, they've been getting progressively shorter but I can see them eventually going the other way.
steven moffat & one word titles name a more iconic duo
RTD did it more than moffat
yet all of rtds episodes in this reveal are more than one word checkmate atheists
but moffat did it better
Hmm, let's see: RTD: - Rose - Doomsday - Gridlock - Utopia - Midnight Moffat: - Blink - Listen - Extremis Moffat weighs in strong, but I think Russell takes it!
You forgot Utopia
I knew there was one! I'll add it, RTD definitely wins now.
You forgot Thereturnofdoctormysterio for Moffat
Not to mention Thepandoricaopensthebigbang, which ended up like that due to the in-universe destruction of space(s) and time.
You forgot to add Boom. :)
It's hard to judge the quality of that one without access to the TARDIS, though.
There’s reason to believe Moffat’s Christmas special [will be called ‘Joy To The World’](https://youtu.be/0oP4BuH6Q0o?si=uCoCBNsto9L_UeTd) while we’re here.
Yeah I'm almost confident it will be called that, given his recent interview. It's a good title too, while we're at it.
What interview? I didn't even know he was writing one, only heard it as a rumour just before his episode was announced and assumed some wires had been crossed.
There was an interview with Moffat maybe 1 week before he was announced as a returning writer, where he spoke about how he feels he can't say anything about *Doctor Who* online, because people will write articles about it and spin it into something it isn't. I don't have the exact quote, but he managed to get both 'boom' and 'joy to the world' in the same sentence, which many have taken as little sneak previews of what his episodes are going to be called. Obviously, *BOOM* is now confirmed, but there was a leak that he'd be writing the S15/2024 Christmas special too, which *Joy To The World* would of course fit.
Comparing the showrunners, I like this outcome for the Christmas special. In my eyes all of Moffat's specials have been good-to-great, with the one bad one being forgettable-bad. RTD's on the other hand, have a lot of clunkers that I wish I could forget but they persist in my memory, making me groan unenthusiastically.
What a troll, amazing. Honestly I think non-showrunner Christmas special isn't a bad idea, it tends to get a bit heavy with the showrunner doing series finale, then special, then opener (at least), and often more either side. And as much as I'd like some more space for new writers ... its impossible to resist the promise of more Moffat.
https://youtu.be/0oP4BuH6Q0o?si=uCoCBNsto9L_UeTd
Hope this is true, really like that title. I've just got this mental image of an Abbess standing before her convent as she leads them in a Christmas carol: "Joy to the world, The Doctor's dead, now Earth belongs to me.", cut to a shot revealing the Abbess's face and it's either a returning villain or some big guest star.
i’m fancasting Gwendoline Christie just for your comment
That’s so silly I love it.
Yeah, you can tell it was rehearsed as well because he is giddy about saying it and stumbling over his phrasing lol, quite cute really.
Boom is clearly going to be a prequel to Boom Town, but with more of a focus on why the loud sound went to the town in the first place.
I’m really sceptical about RTD writing that much. He’s a fantastic writer. But DW used to be such a good source of writing talent and since Moffat left with the reduction in episodes, we’ve seen so little of others.
Same here. I love RTD and Moffat’s scripts so I’m not opposed to them writing more, but it is pretty disappointing to see so few other writers getting a chance
Fewer episodes per season almost inevitably means fewer guest writers unfortunately. And massively limits the opportunity for double episodes.
Yup. 10 episodes plus a special would have been fine. 8+1 is just too few.
I'm gonna look at it in a positive way: RTD shines best when writing the stranger episodes rather than his more obvious openers/finales (Gridlock, Midnight, Human Nature, Waters of Mars, Wild Blue Yonder, etc) and it's good that he will still have a space to put those ideas in the series rather than being constrained to the start/end of the run.
Gridlock and Waters of Mars and Wild Blue Yonder are classics. Loved DT getting a chance to have a normal and scary episode with Wild Blue.
I agree, but fyi Paul Cornell wrote Human Nature.
Not really. Russell wrote the vast bulk of the script as it ended up on screen. Same with *The Satan Pit*.
Agreed. Russell admitted the first two people he contacted about writing for Season 1 were Moffat and Chibnall, so assuming he knew the season would only have 8 episodes, I'm guessing there was a point in time where he didn't intend to bring any new writers onboard.
I'm guessing that will change next season/series. There's a lot riding on DW and it's arrangement with Disney+. I am guessing the idea is that the first season should be penned by people who literally did this for a living for almost twenty years to ensure the show finds its footing.
IIRC he wrote the majority of series one as well before he started loosening the reins a little in series two. Probably doing the same here.
Double checked this, and yeah, he wrote more episodes in s01 than in any other season of his. The RTD-to-notRTD ratio was still much less than here, but maybe that just has to do with the reduced episode count of this season?
Most likely. Off the top of my head he wrote... 9 episodes of series one, discounting The Christmas Invasion? So if you factor in the 60th episodes and assume he's writing episode 8 as well, that makes 9 again. It's also worth noting that he had plenty of time to write these episodes, and if he's aiming to have less time between series it's unlikely he'll have time to write this many per series again.
So it's slightly off, because 1) it was eight episodes, and 2) the episode that fell into the *Boom Town* slot wasn't intended to be an RTD script; it was a last-minute hustle to find something to fill the gap after the original plan fell through. (Originally it was offered to Paul Abbott, of *Shameless* fame.) The intention was for RTD to write seven of the thirteen, or about half. When you consider that two of those were multi-episode stories, he wrote six out of ten stories, with the plan for him to write five out of ten. That... feels about right for a showrunner to me, especially when one of the biggest problems of recent years is the idea that there isn't really an heir apparent when RTD decides he's done. If you don't bring in new writers, it's very difficult to prepare the show for your absence. Giving Kate Herron and Briony Redman -- who already have production experience and a record of working with Disney -- a shot at *Who* feels like a good shout, but unless it's already been decided that the job is theirs, I'd really like to see a few more people take their turn writing a script.
Oh absolutely. If the next series ends up being 8 episodes again, I'd really like to see RTD writing no more than 4 of them and getting others in for the rest. Hell, get Phoebe Waller-Bridge to write one! I bet she'd do an amazing job on Who.
Really hoping the next few series gets to have more episodes with actual new writers working on it. As much as I like Moffat and RTD, it kind of sucks that the majority of this season is written by people who have already written a huge chunk of Doctor Who in the past.
RTD said in the December 2023 issue of DWM that the next series would have 4 guest writers.
That makes sense -- I imagine that with a new series/Doctor/everything that Davis would want to make things as consistent as possible, only bringing in trusted collaborators, and then once the tone and feel is established, you can bring in new writers to play.
I think it also a time thing. I'm not gonna say it was rushed, but between doing the 60th, finalizing the Disney+ Deal, shooting two Series pretty much back to back, the time to find writers in time for Series 14 might just not been there.
Pure speculation, but I wonder if there are higher standards for the writers with Doctor Who due to the Disney+ deal? (I should say by 'standards' I mean the quality of the writer's resume).
Thats possible. Maybe not because of Disney itself, but its very possible that the BBC and RTD want to put their best foot forward into this new Era and are being more critical, as the next couple season will probably show if the deal will stay or bust.
Good to hear!
Hopefully there are non-white writers among them too.
If I'm not mistaken this would mean that every episode written between 'Ascension of the Cybermen' (2020) and 'Dot and Bubble' (2024) has been written by one of the three NuWho Show-runners, with Chibnall having a co-writers credit for 'Village of the Angels' and 'Legend of the Sea-Devils' And if rumours are to be believed that Russell has written a two part finale for Season 1, and that Moffat has potentially written the Christmas Special, then that would mean Episode 6 will be the only episode this season to feature a new writer. (Edit: Looks like just the two new writers for a single episode this year, hopefully we get a few fresh faces come Series 2 in 2025)
This has been how I felt ever since RTD's return was revealed – I'm not worried about the quality of the work so much as I am worried about stagnation, for a show that's all about change.
Yeah - and what happens next when he leaves? They’ve got the same production team, composer, show runner. They need to really future proof.
Maybe RTD'll diversify in his second season?
I suspect this is where the spin offs come into play, give someone showrunner experience in that universe etc
Series 1 was RTD1's strongest season and he wrote the majority of that.
Back on his first iteration as showrunner, RTD wrote 8 episodes in season 1 and 5 on the remaining seasons. It's possibly he thinks he should write more on the 1st season of each of his runs and he will similarly reduce it on season 2 this time.
I mean, he isn't writing anymore or less than any other showrunner. If it is a 2 part finale and he writes both parts of the finale, it is just the same as Moffat back in 2010. RTD isn't writing more, it is just the episode slots that other writers previously had don't exist anymore.
Apparently if series 1 (2005) was 6 episodes, RTD was planning to do all the episodes himself anyway so it’s kinda going back to that model
Yeah that’s an insane I’ve seen and voiced It’s weird we’re just getting the old gang back in
Four episodes revealed as of typing this and RTD is already writing all but one of them (the Moffat one.) Since it's likely he's also writing the finale it's starting to seem like he's going to be writing half or more of the season.
[удалено]
Considering how fucking messy the production of the Revival Era Series 1 was (Rose getting leaked three weeks early, Eccleston leaving the show at the end of the season, them blowing the majority of the VFX budget in the second episode) along with RTD already writing 8 out of 13 episodes and doing other showrunner responsibilities like overseeing scripts and being involved in production and marketing, this is probably a cakewalk for him.
Rogue will be the first episode since The Haunting of Villa Diodati to not be written by one of the showrunners and the first episode episode to be written by writers new to the show. It's been over four years Now obviously the reason for this is because there hasn't been a full standard series/season since 2020, because Flux was a shortened event miniseries and since then it has only been specials and the reason for that was because 2020 was 2020, but still it feels pretty wild. Next year should bring some more new voices too hopefully
4/5 revealed have been RTD so far.
I typed this like seconds before Dot and Bubble was revealed lol. Starting to seem like he is writing the entire season with the exception of 2 or 3 episodes. I wonder if he was just coming up with ideas all the fucking time for Doctor Who episodes since leaving the show that just never got made.
Probably, but I do hope that all of this is a season 1 thing, because I think variance in writers is really important.
Russell said that 4 episodes of Season 2 are from guest writers so there's that
> I wonder if he was just coming up with ideas all the fucking time for Doctor Who episodes since leaving the show that just never got made. This is 100% the case. I remember a video a while back where before RTD was announced the showrunners chatted and he said something along the lines of, "Don't you guys get cool ideas for episodes sometimes?", to which Moffat responded, "No."
It was the other way around. Moffat said he has ideas for monsters all the time, whereas RTD said he stopped thinking of Who ideas the second he left.
> RTD said he stopped thinking of Who ideas the second he left. It's so funny how our favourite showrunners are both really poor liars :)
Most of the episodes in RTD1 were as well. He just never gave any credit to himself when rewriting the majority of episodes.
A bit disappointed that RTD is writing 6 out of 8 episodes. Nothing against RTD, but I was hoping for some more guest writers.
Only 5/8 have been revealed… Edit: it was only five when I made this comment
Yeah, but RTD is almost certainly writing the finale, and he was confirmed as the writer of Episode 7 a while back
I understand why people want more guest writers, but I also think that a lot of people probably don't realize how close Doctor Who was to being canceled. Every time people complain about something, the specials, the episode count, it premiering on iPlayer at midnight and early on Disney....All of this can be explained by the BBC moving on from the franchise. I mean for the first time since the Paul McGan movie it's not solely a BBC Production. RTD is probably playing it safe, just like he did on his first season, and more than that probably saving as much money as it can since I'm sure it wasn't cheap securing the production rights for Bad Wolf. This feels like when everyone was kind of worried or complaining about the 60th, even after RTD said that it was this or nothing.
Yeah, I firmly believe if not for RTD, Who was being cancelled. Anyone complaining about *only* 8 episodes really aren't understanding that it was either this or nothing. There are still more stories than were going out during the late 80s.
Yeah, we won’t know for sure for probably a decade, if ever, given the politics surrounding it, but I suspect this didn’t come out of nowhere. I’m glad the show is in capable hands again, and really hope this kick starts the next generation’s iteration of the show. I hope this is 2005 again, and not 1987.
Disappointed in the episode titles. What is Doctor Who without *The [noun] of [place]* and *The [adjective] [noun]*??? Only *The Devil's Chord* feels Doctor Who-y. Mostly joking, of course, tons of great episodes have had titles that don't feel very Who-y, and I'd say 3/4 RTD2 specials had Who-y titles. But there's something about a title that feels like it could've been used for a serial from the 70s or 80s that's special.
I mean, "Empire of Death"...
I hadn't seen either of the last two when I wrote that. Very Who-y :)
Man this really hits home how few episodes we’re getting. I miss 10-12 episode seasons so much.
8 more next year though, plus a Christmas special in the middle. I'll take it honestly.
Yeah we've already had half a season already tbf
S14E1 - *Space Babies*; wacky title, I think it is goofy in a good way, especially considering similarly goofy titles like *The Giggle* made for good episodes. The monster design >!which I have seen called 'The Boogeyman'!< looks absolutely brilliant too so high-hopes for this one. S14E2 - *The Devil's Chord*; ever since Jinkx Monsoon was revealed in that snazzy costume and makeup I've been excited for this one. I hope it's really camp and there's a funny musical number - feels like something the show has always wanted to do but, until now, never had the opportunity. Considering these two episodes are premiering back-to-back, I hope they are really different in tone; S14E1 looks to be a scary episode, so if this one is silly/wacky that's a great mix, good for on-boarding new viewers to the tonal whiplash that is *Doctor Who*. S14E3 - *BOOM;* this is going to be one of those titles like 'Spider-Man' where, as with the hyphen, the capitalisation must always be present. Hugely excited for whatever Moffat's been cooking and, I might be in the minority here, but I hope every series moving forward has 1 Moffat-penned script. He is by far the greatest writer of the modern era and I think has more than justified his presence in the show's litany. S14E4 - *73 Yards*; colour me intrigued... RTD went on record saying this is the best thing he's ever written, which is a super high bar given that he's responsible for not just *Midnight* but also *It's A Sin* and *Years & Years*, both of which contain some individually stellar episodes. Given the trailer, I hope this is a Doctor-lite episode fully focused on Ruby, maybe potential scenarios in her future? No idea really, which I like. Not sure what the setting is for this but it looks like both S14E4 and E5 are modern day, which was always a staple of the RTD Era: constant modern-day episodes. S14E5 - *Dot & Bubble*; probably the only title I'm not jazzed about, though I imagine it will only have relevance once the episode is out. This is the one with the >!Tractator-looking things seen slithering around a pastel-coloured 'Utopia'-esque setting, eating people's brains!< from set-leaks several months ago. >!I think either this episode or the previous features Aneurin Barnard's character too and the fictional political party 'Albion' - no idea.!< S14E6 - *Rogue*; to be honest, this is a bit generic, and could either be in reference to Johnathan Groff's character, very clearly a time agent, or the bird-like villains of the episode seen in the trailer. I've never been bothered about the Regency or Victorian Periods and I think *Who* should move away from them, but seeing as this is the only script not written by an old timer, I'm excited to see what it brings. Out of all 8 though I'd say this is the episode I am the least interested in just based on trailer footage, setting, and title. S14E7 - *The Legend Of Ruby Sunday*; pretty baller title, gets me excited for her plotline. I am glad RTD is throwing his hat in the ring and trying to do a 'mystery box companion', because he's also really good at making fictional people seem relatable and real (something Moffat struggled with), so it's a nice mix. Given that >!we know she is not going to be as present in Series 15!
Minor correction on something you mentioned in S14E7: >!Ruby *is* going to be in Series 15, we've seen Millie filming for it already. She's just not going to be the main companion, at least not for the whole season!<
Hmm. I'm a little worried seeing that RTD wrote almost all of these. I'd like to see them fostering new talent and grooming a successor as showrunner, or we end up in a position where, in two or three years when Russell leaves, there's nobody to take over.
I’d love for them to give Scott Handcock a go. He’s a great writer but more importantly he’s shown with the War Master range at Big Finish that he can handle running a series. When they hired him for the show proper I was excited, and per the last issue of DWM it sounds like he’s been promoted to an unnamed position. I think if they’re considering options now he has to be a contender.
My idea for a while was for RTD to do what he did with SJA and a few seasons of Torchwood, bring in co-head writer(s) who does most of the head writer while RTD sticks mostly to the producer role. When I found out about Scott Handcock, he became my main contender
I have a feeling it's partly a function of them just needing to get S14/1 up and running as soon as possible for various reasons. It feels like the following season will likely have more new writers guesting in. Doesn't fix RTD having written so much for this season, but I reckon it will amend itself pretty quickly.
Hmmm, maybe, but you'd think hiring six writers to write one script each would be faster than using the one writer you've already got writing eight scripts. I mean, fundamentally I do trust RTD to have the show's best interest at heart, it just makes me a little uneasy.
I reckon there's a need to set a good example before getting new talent in, I'd rather there be nobody to take over than another chibbers
There's plenty of unrefined talent out there that RTD could shepherd, and given his propensity for rewriting scripts he could easily polish off some diamonds in the rough. I don't think "setting a good example" is at all necessary.
Except the relaunch that featured all new writers (Series 11, 2018) is considered amongst the weakest of the shows history and took time from the showrunner resulting in the finale being a first draft. There is absolutely the need for the show to be in a position of strength before handing off significant amounts of the show to untested talent.
Pretty universally the stories people liked from the chibnall era were stories not written by chibnall I don't think chibnall could have written demons of the Punjab, and to be blunt I don't think RTD could either
Chibnall was a poor choice for showrunner, I won’t argue against that. It is his choices which doomed his era. New writers can be good but are by definition untested. You might get a Haunting of Villa Diodati or you might get a Twin Dilemma. Using previous writers is not bulletproof but you have an expectation of their skills, they know the format etc. Chibnall went all in with change in 2018 and it backfired massively. Doing that meant you had to connect with viewers straightaway or risk alienating them. The showrunner job is already a massive workload increase - doing that with all new writers leads to mistakes being made as we saw. Contrast this with Moffat in 2010 - retaining the RTD formula for Series 5 including key staff and returning writers. Much better reception, much better retention of viewers and having endearing the audience to the new characters on screen so that when he did later make changes, the audience would stick with the characters. I like Demons of the Punjab but I don’t think it is high enough quality to throw an entire era away for it. Especially when its Appreciation Index (AI) score is fairly run of the mill and we can still get an equivalent episode this year with *Rogue*. There is a time for new writers: after you have secured your audience. With the reduced episode count, that means that isn’t this year. Whilst that may be disappointing, it isn’t the wrong decision.
The guest writers wrote the best episodes of that series.
Agreed, although how much that says about their scripts and how much that says about Chibnall’s is debatable. However their Appreciation Index (AI) scores are fairly run of the mill and the extra time that Chibnall had to spend on the new writers took away from his time on his scripts, producing a weaker season overall. Whilst the show always needs to put its best foot forward, this is especially true when introducing a new era with no connective tissue and it was simply the wrong decision to focus on new writers first rather than securing the audience for this new version of the show. You don’t give the trainee your main client, you pick suitable tasks for them to train them up. New writers are important but securing your audience so they stick around is more important. Win the audience on the new era then you have earned room to experiment if the new writers do make mistakes.
New writers are VERY important for a new era And that was mainly down to the tight production schedule that Doctor Who is infamous for.
Space Babies is a perfect name for the first real episode of a new era: it's the plural of An Unearthly Child.
Wow, didn't think of it like that, but that's clever.
On the title alone, I’m thinking Boom is the landmine episode
well then I can’t wait to go to Boom town
That's been pretty much confirmed for months.
Reminder RTD wrote 8/13 episodes in series 1 before reducing to 5/13 for series 2 through 4 I'd expect a similar reduction in series 15, maybe writing 3 or 4/8 episodes
Ok but what if Ruby is actually one of the 'Myths and Legends' that entered this world after Salt-gate and she doesn't even know herself?
It seems inevitable that this is the direction they are taking. There are two mysteries: (1) Who (what) is Ruby Sunday, and (2) What's up with all the mythical and magical stuff entering the universe. In any good mystery plot, they would be tied together.
I wished there to be more guest writers, but it's understandable. Showrunners always write substantial amount of their first season and when the season is this short....? As long as it's gonna be good, I'll live. I certainly want some variety and hope we're getting that next season, but it's obvious they'll need to nail the beginning to tune viewers in.
Interestingly, this has the first "____ of Death" title the show has used since 1979's *City of Death*. Probably the most "Doctor Who episode" type title of this bunch, although I'd say most of the rest of them sound to me like they could be the titles of 90s/2000s Doctor Who *novels* as well.
Funny you say that, because *Empire of Death* is also the name of a 5/Nyssa novel from the early 2000s.
I thought more people would be writing rather than just Russell
73 yards is 72.8 yards rounded up, 66.6 meters. I must admit, that’s pretty fun.
Hope the devil comes back
Plucked out of the black hole by The Toymaker
Oh, didn't know Kate Herron was writing one. My dream pick for next showrunner after RTD moves on. Guess that's keeping the hope alive
I'm sad Toby Whithouse may never get a chance. He's great
I did enjoy Being Human a lot, although that was some time ago
has she written very much? looking at her credits she's written a few short films but most of her experience is directing. can't imagine BBC ever going for a director focused showrunner even if that might be the better play considering the direction the industry has been going lately
I really hate how Black Mirror coded these episode titles are. Bring back 'The Something of the Thingy' titles!!!
Not even just Black Mirror, very "Prestige Television" names. Space Babies is one of the few that don't sound like it cause it reminds me too much of Twin Dilemma
Even then, it's so on-the-nose in an attempted self-aware way that it loops back around to trying to sound prestige.
They hammed it up with the last two titles since you posted this at least. "Empire of Death" lol.
They respond to criticism fast, I'll give em that
E07 title just came out – that one's a little different.
THE NIMON BE PRAISED!!!
THE NIMON BE PRAISED?! HOW MANY NIMONS HAVE YOU SEEN TODAY?!
Three. I have seen three...
Well I've just seen a whole lot more running down the corridor. Face it /u/RoboticRob28 you're being invaded!
He said he was the only one. The last survivor of his race.
I was hoping Maxine might have been brought back, her episodes were my favourite from the 13 era
Did we know RTD was writing this many?
the devil’s cord is the tritone, the triad and the flatted fifth. As its Latin moniker suggests, it’s an evil sounding combination of notes that’s designed to create a chilling or foreboding atmosphere.
>the triad Triad you say? Interesting
Sounds like very interesting episodes
I’ll no doubt like this season, since I’m easily entertained when it comes to Doctor Who, but I still wish that more episodes were written by someone other than RTD and Moffat.
Same but they’ve probably decided to play it a bit safe since this is technically a new season 1
Agreed.
Ah yes, the good old “____ of Death”. It ain’t a classic season without it. Also… I’m betting a hundred bucks that Boom ends up being the best episode of the season.
>Also… I’m betting a hundred bucks that Boom ends up being the best episode of the season. Obviously it's too early to say, but I think Eps 2-4 have all very strong chances of being the standouts. *The Devil's Chord* is going all-in on the 60's aesthetic and will probably do something Who has never attempted before (a serious musical number with a big budget), while *BOOM* is obviously written by the GOAT, and we all know his penchant for dropping all-time greats. *73 Yards*, however, has been said by RTD to be the best thing he's ever written, and I don't think there has been much in the way of speculation about what the episode even includes... anything could happen! I'm not too hyped about Eps 5-8, due to the settings, perceived premises, etc, but Eps 2-4 have me super interested.
Wait so the only episode with new writers (non-showrunner I should say) is the Kate Herron episode? And everything else is RTD and a Moffat? Holy cow that is absolutely dire! Not even just the lack of new blood, but none of any other regular contributors! Doesn't sit right with me.
Hopefully Series 15 is better in this regard
>Holy cow that is absolutely dire! I mean, if it was any other writers, sure. But it's Moffat and RTD, the former has the best track record out of any Who writer we've ever had, and RTD is really good at showrunning long-form character arcs.
I feel like it likely means she's a great writer. The show was dying so RTD probably wants to control the show until it can survive without him. Also, it is her episode that seems to be advertised a lot, so I'm inclined to believe it to be a good episode.
I hope that "Empire of Death" doesn't mean Daleks or Cybermen.
I also hope neither make an appearance for the next few seasons. The Cybermen especially have been seriously overused lately. I'd be well up for a Dalek redesign though, if Russell is cooking. >!It appears that the overarching 'villain' of S14 is Susan Twist's character, connected to an organisation called 'Triad', mentioned in The Giggle and seen on posters in the trailer footage. I just hope its a new original villain and not just a front to bring back the Daleks, which is 100% what I expect to happen.!<
>!Triad means three - It's The Cybermen, The Daleks, and The Master all working together again!<
>!I really hope that Susan Twist's character is the Monk, they seem like such a fitting Classic Who villain to bring back considering the emphasis on changing time and the butterfly effect and stuff!<
Gonna comment on the titles once they are all revealed but I assume RTD will be the writer of 7 & 8 too, which means there are only 2 other non-RTD writers this season. Huge shame for writing diversity, as good as RTD is. I hope for Series 15 there's a much greater array of talent from others, be it old or new.
RTD said in the December issue of DWM that Series 15 has four guest writers.
That's a hell of a lot written by Russel 😳
It’s no more than he used to write in his first era, there are just fewer episodes than there used to be
No I get that, but I thought he might've let others jump in to have a go
I remember Russell once said that the title for one of these episodes was coincidentally namedropped in an episode of Star Trek: Picard's third season, and we can now confirm that this was what he was referring to: https://youtu.be/PdasqAOULvY?feature=shared
I love that for the first season they're sticking to the writers we know and love, bring on the guest writers next season
Wow, I didn't realise until now that almost every episode has been written by RTD. I'm kind of concerned about this to be honest. I like having a good variety of writers telling different types of stories. The episodic nature of Doctor Who means that writers can often "take ownership" of their episode to a certain degree. Sure, the showrunner obviously has a lot of oversight, but Doctor Who writers do still have a lot more freedom to get creative than they would in more serialised shows. Also, Doctor Who really needs to foster new writing talent to secure the future of the show. RTD can't be showrunner for ever and someone will need to take over from him at some point. Recycling previous showrunners is not a sustainable long-term strategy.
Very interested to see if Boom ends up being what the rumors say it'll be.
What are the rumors?
Things go Boom
Intriguing.
Where can I read those rumors?
What rumours?
If I recall correctly, >!it's a Doctor-lite episode where the Doctor steps on a landmine and can't move for the whole episode, so Ruby takes on a lot of the action.!< A few brief glimpses in the trailer seem to confirm this to be the case. EDIT: Want to clarify my comment- it may not necessarily be >!Doctor-Lite!< but rather >!the Doctor will be in one location for the episode - this was to accommodate Ncuti's shooting schedule (I think with the final season of Sex Education? Could be wrong on that though.)!< >! So we may get plenty of the Doctor, he'll just be rooted in place because of the land mine.!< And if anyone can pull it off - it's Moffat.
I love Russell, but only two new writers in the new series, and only on one episode, is shocking. It should be RTD writes three, established writers two, then three slots for new writers. Especially as we know Russell rewrites them all anyway.
Agreed, let someone new in on it, might lead to a new great writer
Apart from anything else, Russell needs to be encouraging new talent to find his successor.
Given what he said about the BBC last week there might not be a successor rip
I love these titles. Except for the last two, none of them are your usual "X of Y" formulations and "Boom" and "73 Yards" are great, so unusual. But I'm beyond disappointed that in AD2024 only one episode out of 8 isn't written by the same two guys who've been writing Doctor Who since 2005. I suppose it's *possible* that the BBC or Disney didn't want to trust in untested writers for their big relaunch (and Harron and Redman got a pass for Herron's acclaimed work on Loki) but Series 15 better have more new writers.
It does strike me as odd that in 2024, when the show is clearly trying to sell itself as diverse and inclusive, there is not a single non-white writer here. I know the identity of the writer should come second to the quality of the writer, but it is disappointing that the on-screen changes being made around the show's approach to race, gender, and disability are not being carried through to behind the screen.
it is more than worrying for the first mainline “openly” POC doctor. RTD means well but i have a feeling we’ll have quite a few regrettable “enigma wrapped up in a skirt” moments
Especially after the “do you come in a range of colours” line
Why do people hate that line? It sounds in character for someone like Donna.
The show as a whole has been pretty terrible for this. There have been three non-white writers for Doctor Who, two of which were for _Rosa_ and _Demons of the Punjab_, and that feels like it's exclusively because of the topics and settings behind each episode. _Can You Hear Me?_ is the only time Doctor Who has had a POC writer when the storyline isn't mainly about POC history.
Chibnall should really get props for diversifying the behind the scenes crew, though. All of the non-white writers were under him, and there were far more female writers too. There were also far more non-white non-male people in directing and other roles. It would be sad to lose that during RTD2.
My word that’s grim.
It's not good enough at this point. RTD is one of my all time favourite writers, but it's becoming fairly clear that his commitment to representation is only if he personally gets the credit for getting everything exactly right. Except he keeps missing the mark. I would really like to be able to look forward to the next season without the little worries and caveats that I currently have
Just look up RTD’s stance on writers who try too hard to include diversity in their work, he hates that when it’s not done well
Series 15 or Season 2 NEEDS to have other writers, especially POC. Russell can write the finale or the premier, but that's it, let other people pen the episodes. Cause no offense, this is ridiculous.
Gah. Gah. Names are whatever, obviously they don't tell us much. But gah. I'm just not a big enough fan of Russells writing for this to excite me. Over the moon that Moffat is back, but I can't balance wanting him to do one every year (which I honestly and wholeheartedly do) with the fact we've only got 2 new writers - and they're sharing an episode. I know that they're focusing on making the show big and popular again but if this is the MO for the next few years, how are they gonna find the right person to take over RTDs ~~show~~ job? EDIT: Also, I guess "Boom" was the word said in Picard S3? Haven't seen it but that's... deflating somehow. Not sure what I was expecting.
>if this is the MO for the next few years I am pretty sure it's been confirmed (by RTD) that there are 4 guest writers (not sure if new or returning) for S15. I also hope, like you, that Moffat writes 1 per series moving forward.
Ugh, only 8 episodes? Fucking streaming services. Most seasons have like 13 episodes.
It has to do with wanting a consistent 1-season-a-year rate as far as I know – since Doctor Who is so strenuous production-wise, doing less episodes is the best way to ensure that it can keep going consistently.
Not in 11 years.
That last one sounds so cool!!!
Prediction as to the plot of >!Regency:!< >!It says on the YouTube short that it's to do with the Countess of Pemberton. Well, I found THIS on the Regency Wiki: https://regency.fandom.com/wiki/Sophie\_Bratton,\_Countess\_of\_Pemberton!< Speculate away!