The Oldest Sci-Fi Show Still Doesn't Have A Solution To Its Biggest Challenge
Not even a TARDIS can reveal this future.
Doctor Who began as a plucky educational sci-fi show meant to teach children about history through time travel, but it quickly morphed into one of the BBC’s most important cultural artifacts. Now, over 60 years later, Doctor Who is a pop culture behemoth that has evolved with the times. However, that growth was stunted by a major business decision, putting the entire future of the show in jeopardy.
So, how will Doctor Who regenerate? That seems to be a question nobody can answer, not even the powers that be. Thankfully, there’s one fact that seems undeniable: the series will endure. It’s just a matter of figuring it out.
Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary specials proved what was possible with a big enough budget.
In an interview with Deadline, BBC Studios Production Chief Zai Bennett spoke about the enduring relationship between British television and American audiences, as shown in the success of Baby Reindeer and the US import of BBC sitcom Ghosts. But there’s no better evidence of this special relationship than the recent deal between the BBC and Disney+ to produce new episodes of Doctor Who.
Ahead of the series’ 60th anniversary, Disney+ joined in on the production of Doctor Who with a couple of big changes: the return of showrunner Russell T. Davies, who brought the show back from limbo in 2005, and Ncuti Gatwa taking on the torch of playing The Doctor. For a handful of specials and two full seasons, Disney+ was able to release new episodes of Doctor Who that enjoyed high production values, allowing for episodes filmed mostly on green screens or video walls.
However, Disney chose not to renew the deal for more episodes, leaving the future of the show in question. “We’re a big, important part of Doctor Who and are all motivated to make sure Doctor Who has a long and flourishing life,” Bennett said. “We’ve got the Christmas special coming. After that, it’s time for us all to work on it.”
We still don’t know what’s in store for Doctor Who’s future.
So while Bennett can’t be too specific about where money for Doctor Who’s future will come from, he doesn’t seem too worried. Doctor Who has survived (albeit with some years in hibernation) for over 60 years now, and it’s become an icon of British culture as much as Sherlock Holmes or Paddington Bear. The audience is still there, so the show should continue, even if the good folks at the BBC have to use some can-do British spirit to make it happen.
There are some fans who are anxiously awaiting a lower-budget version of Doctor Who, longing for the days when every “exotic planet” happened to look like a quarry in Wales. But regardless of what kind of Doctor Who we get in the future, fans are clamoring for more. Hopefully, that demand is enough to make that happen.
