Like Watching A Trailer…For A Show You’d Like To Watch Later

One former Doctor Who star is not pleased with the direction that the show is taking. After the BBC agreed to a massive deal with Disney+ for much of the Ncuti Gatwa-led era, Disney+ recently declined to renew its Doctor Who deal. With Gatwa exiting and Billie Piper returning to play the Sixteenth Doctor, the show’s future is in doubt.

This is a franchise that has been prominent around the world since it first premiered in 1963. As a consequence, over a dozen actors have played the leading character, including David Tennant, Pete Davison, and, evidently, Billie Piper. Piper appears to be poised to lead the next era of the show, but one star believes that Doctor Who is struggling.

Pete Davison, who played the Fifth Doctor, believes that the show is failing to maintain a fulfilling narrative. In an interview on the Lewis Nicholls Show, Davison described watching Doctor Who as “watching a trailer“. He believes that there is no narrative cohesion, as the series jumps from point to point with no direction. Check out his comments below:

It’s like watching a trailer for a Doctor Who show you’d like to watch later. There are huge gaps in the narrative. They’re just leaping onto the next bit and hoping your brain fills in the rest.

What This Means For Doctor Who’s Modern Era

Davison Believes Doctor Who Is Struggling Narratively

Having played the Doctor from 1981 to 1984, Davison has maintained a strong presence in the Doctor Who community. Even his son-in-law, David Tennant, played the Doctor from 2005 to 2010 and later reprised the role to play the Fourteenth Doctor. Having remained connected to the show through the decades, Davison’s opinions carry weight.

The BBC is still shopping for a new deal for the show, but Davison’s criticisms could cut to the heart of its problems.

Doctor Who is facing declining ratings, having reportedly fallen by nearly 2 million average viewers over the past two seasons. Losing the Disney+ deal is also worrying, given that Disney offered a massive contract for the show, leading to an increased budget and greater international recognition. By all metrics, the show is facing a worrying decline.

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The BBC is still shopping for a new deal for the show, but Davison’s criticisms could cut to the heart of its problems. After all, the increasingly complex storyline rarely has the opportunity to build and develop slowly over the course of a season. Instead, showrunner Russell T Davies prefers a frantic narrative style, which led directly to Davison’s arguments.

Our Take On The Doctor Who Criticism

Peter Davison Has A Point

Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor facing off with a Cyberman in the Doctor Who serial "Earthshock."

It is difficult to dismiss Davison’s criticisms, given that audiences have apparently agreed about the show’s decline, but it is also easy to understand how the show went wrong. TV shows are increasingly competing with social media, which generally offer bite-sized content to engage viewers with attention spans.

If Davies hopes to engage those viewers, a trailer-like series could be an effort to capture attention. Unfortunately, it does not appear that it has actually worked for the show. With declining ratings, the loss of the Disney+ deal, and concerns about its future, Doctor Who may need to return to its roots.

Slow and character-focused storylines could help to bring back the allure that once made this series so great. While season-long storylines are engaging, they can be simplified to give more room for slower-paced scenes that help audiences connect to characters. Davison is right that Doctor Who needs to change, and now is the perfect time to do it.

Source: The Lewis Nicholls Show / YouTube

Doctor Who

5/10

Release Date: December 25, 2023
Directors: Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Michael Ferguson, Richard Martin, Peter Moffatt, Pennant Roberts, Lennie Mayne, Chris Clough, Ron Jones, Paddy Russell, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Morris Barry, Gerald Blake, Graeme Harper, Waris Hussein, Rodney Bennett, Mervyn Pinfield, Hugh David, John Gorrie
Writers: Russell T. Davies, Dave Gibbons, Kate Herron, Steven Moffat
Franchise(s): Doctor Who / Whoniverse

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