DOCTOR WHO 2018 AND BEYOND

Last week, The Mirror, a UK tabloid newspaper printed an article about what the BBC is planning to do with Doctor Who when Chris Chibnall takes over as head writer and executive producer for season eleven, due to air in 2018. According to the report, the BBC is keen to return the world's longest running sci-fi drama back to the same sort of settings that the show had during the Russell T. Davies era (2005-2010) by returning the show to it's regular springtime early evening Saturday night slot with "A dashing male hero and a young female sidekick." Similar in particular to David Tennant's tenure as the Doctor. This is apparently due to falling merchandise sales over the past year. This suggests that Peter Capaldi will not be returning to the role of the 12th Doctor for season 11 and gives strong hints that Pearl Mackie's time as new companion Bill might be a one season only deal. And the report makes it very clear that the BBC are keen on having the 13th Doctor being played by a male actor. So let's go over this one bit at a time...

1. Doctor Who was moved to an autumn Saturday night slot two years ago in an attempt by BBC bosses to create an even stronger alternative to ITV's singing show, The X Factor which had been dominating autumnal Saturday nights in the UK for the best part of a decade. However with ratings for the singing contest on the slide and viewers preferring to watch the BBC's own Strictly Come Dancing (the British version of Dancing With the Stars), the BBC decided to really try and dominate Saturday night television by moving Doctor Who to the autumn and airing it straight after SCD. Here the show would also serve as a replacement to the popular fantasy series, Merlin which had recently ended it's five-year run. However this came with problems. Because the average episode of Strictly Come Dancing can last up to two hours this meant that Doctor Who was moved from its usual time of around 7pm to 8.30pm which upset viewers, particularly those with young children. Also in last year's season nine the UK air time was never the same week-to-week. One week the show would start at 8.15 and then next week it would start 8.55 and then the next it would be 7.50! Even Steven Moffat and other show writers were complaining about the BBC's treatment of their most lucrative and beloved drama series. And even though the BBC kept putting out trailers about how Doctor Who available on their on demand service, BBC iPlayer, it gave the audience the strong impression that Doctor Who was no longer "event television" as it had been under the Davies era, but something that you could sit down and watch on your phone any old time while you wait for Antiques Roadshow to start. 
    So you can imagine just how happy everyone was it was announced that Doctor Who would be returning to it's springtime slot for season 10 in 2017. However whether it will be in its traditional 7pm slot remains to be seen. But I think given the makers of the show and the public's reaction to the later and ever-shifting autumnal time slots that the show has been in for the past two years I would be very surprised if the BBC decided to put Doctor Who on any later than 7.45pm.

2. I don't believe that the BBC are surprised by the downturn in Doctor Who merchandise sales. The show hasn't had a full season in over a year now. You can only move merchandise if the thing that inspired it is still present in the public eye. For example, sales of Star Wars merchandise were going down at the time Disney took over Lucasfilm Ltd. Once the House of Mouse started making new Star Wars films and cartoons, merchandising sales for all things Star Wars went through the roof. 

3. With the BBC suggesting that they would like a "dashing male hero", similar to the 10th Doctor for season eleven this does seem to add fuel to the fire that Capaldi will be handing the keys to the TARDIS sometime soon, although the BBC has said that the role is Capaldi's for as long as he wants it. Sad though Capaldi's departure would be (because he is just soooooo good in the role), it wouldn't be at all surprising as season ten will be Capaldi's third in the role and it's rare for actors to stay longer than three years. Indeed, Patrick Troughton (The 2nd Doctor, 1966-1969) would famously tell actors taking on the part, "Only do three years."

4. As for new companion, Bill, I honestly don't know. Maybe Chibnall will keep her character for another season and bring in a second companion or maybe she's a one-season only companion. To be honest, I actually much prefer having one-season companions like Martha Jones and Donna Noble. You get a whole story with one character in one season and then you get to start a whole new one with a new character at the start of the next. But who knows, as far as Bill is concerned, it remains to be seen. 

5. The report claims that the BBC want a male actor to the play the 13th Doctor, much to the disappointment of a large section of Who fans, (myself included) who would like to see the Doctor change gender for his next incarnation. Over the past two years, we have seen other Time Lords such as The Master and The General regenerate into other genders. In the case of the General it turned out that he'd always been a woman, it was just the last incarnation that she had been male. I don't know what Chibnall's views are on this matter but Capaldi has said in the past "I think next time it might be a female Doctor." and Moffat has said about the Master and the Doctor "Given that they're two asexual characters, does it matter that they've switched reproductive organs? They don't seem to use them anyway!"

6. Finally, don't get too excited by this report. The Mirror, like many British red-top tabloids have a track record for making up or paying out for fake showbiz stories simply to fill up space in their pages. Really, you'd think they'd have far more important things to talk about right now as 2016 continues on in it's quest to be the Matrix sequels of years.

So that's my thoughts on the immediate future of Doctor Who but what about you guys? What do you think the future for the show is? Just comment below and let me know and please remember to be polite. Peace and love!