The world’s longest-running science fiction show is about to undergo a transformation once again. Jodie Whittaker is leaving Doctor Who after five years in the lead role. Whittaker is to be replaced (in the first instance) by one of her predecessors, David Tennant, who returns to the role of the Doctor after a twelve-year absence.
However, it’s not just a change of the actor standing at the TARDIS’ controls that has fans squealing with joy and developing theories. Here’s why 2023 promises to be a gala year for Doctor Who fans, from returning cast and crew to an important celebration.
The Tenth Doctor David Tennant Returns
BBC
Although his affection for one of his most famous roles is well known, David Tennant’s return to the show nevertheless came as a surprise. It’s been made clear that the two-time Emmy Award-winning actor will pass the baton to Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education, The Last Letter From Your Lover), who was announced as the Fifteenth Doctor earlier this year, but also that Tennant’s Tenth Doctor will be featured next year as the Fourteenth Doctor.
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If you’re not confused, you might be doing it wrong. It’s not for nothing that Doctor Who is known for labyrinthine plotting and convoluted callbacks to its voluminous past. But irrespective of the nature of the mechanism that brings him back to the show, the actor’s return is generally seen as a very good thing in fandom.
Tennant’s time on the show coincided with the appearance of new alien races such as the Judoon and the Weeping Angels, a redesign of old foes such as the Daleks and the Cybermen, and some decidedly romantic beats between the Doctor and his companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) that resulted in heartbreak, redemption, and a hitherto unimaginable amount of shipping in the show’s fandom. As Tennant’s tenure in the role is seen as one of the high points of the show’s history, it’s fair to say that fans are by and large welcoming his return, even if it will be brief.
Meet The New Showrunner, Who Is The Old Showrunner
But for fans, the equally interesting development is the news that Russell T. Davies is returning to the show for a second stint as showrunner. Davies was one of the prime movers in ensuring that Doctor Who returned to television after a sixteen-year hiatus from 1989 to 2005. By the time the series was recommissioned, Davies had an extensive portfolio of writing and producing credits in British television.
The overnight success of the show’s renewal gave him the necessary clout to lobby for two spinoff Doctor Who series, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Davies was careful to aim the shows at different demographics. The former offered a grittier, sexier take on Doctor Who, while the latter was positioned as a children’s drama. Both were runaway successes and spawned the beginnings of a televisual Doctor Who extended universe.
It’s fair to say that the show’s most recent predecessor Chris Chibnall polarized fans, with some finding fault with the style of story that proliferated during Whittaker’s tenure as the Doctor. Regardless of assessments of the show’s more recent history, fans know exactly what they’re getting with Davies back in charge: a Doctor Who that is fun, larger than life, unafraid to tug at the heartstrings, and affectionate towards its past.
Happy Birthday, Doctor Who!
Speaking of the past, Doctor Who fans will celebrate the show’s sixtieth anniversary in November next year. Its remarkable longevity, including 871 episodes that have been filmed to date, is matched only by the extraordinary variety of guises the show has taken on over the years. The show has made use of various genres since its inception in 1963, including historical dramas, hard sci-fi, gothic horror, farce, and many others.
When it comes to anniversaries, fans know the drill. For many years now, the show’s major birthdays have been excuses for a massive outpouring of fan sentiment - and the exciting prospect of a multi-Doctor story. This tradition began all the way back in 1973, when the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) teamed up with the then-current Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee), and further specials followed in 1983 and 1993 (the show being off the air didn’t stop its cast and crew from reuniting).
In 2013, a 90-minute special simultaneously broadcast in almost 100 countries worldwide featured all the Doctor’s previous incarnations uniting across space and time to defeat the Daleks, with a poignant cameo from of the show’s most beloved figures, Fourth Doctor Tom Baker, opposite the Eleventh Doctor, played by House of Dragon’s Matt Smith.
Plans are already afoot for something similar next year. Stay tuned, Whovians!
