RTD Is Already Making Doctor Who Exciting Again (Not Just The Castings)

As the official announcements for Russell T. Davies' second Doctor Who era begin, the returning showrunner is already making the show exciting again.

RTD Is Already Making Doctor Who Exciting Again (Not Just The Castings)

If the BBC hired Russell T. Davies to make Doctor Who exciting again, the returning showrunner is already earning his money. Chris Chibnall’s Doctor Who has strengthened the franchise in more ways than it often gets credit for. Jodie Whittaker and Jo Martin are both pitch-perfect as The Doctor, the Sontarans were taken seriously for the first time since 1973, and scripts have championed diversity more than ever before. Nevertheless, Doctor Who finds itself at a critical nadir. Nonsensical plots and nonexistent payoffs have muddled Chibnall’s narratives, and his era will be remembered for notorious moments like the Timeless Child (which remains largely unexplained with one episode remaining) and the genocidal ending to Doctor Who: Flux.

Chris Chibnall’s final Doctor Who episode will mark the Thirteenth Doctor’s regeneration. Then it’s 2005 all over again as Russell T. Davies relocates his groove in the Doctor Who hot seat. According to the official BBC press release, RTD will take the helm for Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary celebrations in 2023 before moving onto season 14 proper. Whittaker and Chibnall may have one more adventure in them, but announcements for the RTD2 era are already landing thick and fast… and Doctor Who feels all the more exciting for it.

Russell T. Davies’ spell of excitement over Doctor Who isn’t just the result of well-received casting announcements, but those confirmed names certainly haven’t hurt. In Ncuti Gatwa (RTD’s new Doctor ) and Yasmin Finney (an enigmatic newcomer called Rose), Doctor Who now has two hugely exciting young talents, both showing great promise in Sex Education and Heartstopper, respectively, but fresh enough to offer the TARDIS a completely new dynamic free from expectation or typecast. It’s the injection of modern youth Doctor Who needed, but their newness is tempered by the nostalgic returns of David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor and Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble. Between that fantastic foursome, Doctor Who‘s future promises the best of both worlds.

Russell T. Davies’ new (and old) castings may be building buzz, but the momentum behind his impending return goes far beyond just the actors involved. Speculation is already rife as to whether Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor is the regeneration directly after Jodie Whittaker, while theorists have Yasmin Finney’s Rose pegged as Donna Noble’s child. On-set photos of David Tennant tease a new(ish) costume and Jodie Whittaker’s TARDIS, causing some to question whether the Thirteenth Doctor regenerates back into the Tenth. Then there’s all the little clues dropped by the BBC and RTD himself – a totally new style of Doctor Who, playing coy over Gatwa’s Doctor debut, drumming up intrigue over why there’s a new “Rose,” etc. Doctor Who is offering just enough to court curiosity, but not for anyone to actually know what the hell’s happening. There’s a sprawling, ambitious tapestry being woven, and we only have a scant few glimpses.

Doctor Who has sorely missed this sense of unknown mystery and wide-eyed wonder. Genuine anticipation now hangs over what 2023 might bring – a new Doctor, an old Doctor, a multiverse, and a thousand possible ways those components can fit together. Chris Chibnall’s Doctor Who enjoyed its fair share of speculation, but always alongside a hefty swig of skeptical cynicism or cautious reservation. The Timeless Child conversation was always warily confused rather than excitable and eager. “Can Doctor Who make this work?” rather than, “What does Doctor Who have up its sleeve next?” You’d have to jump in the TARDIS and vworp back to the days of Eleven and Amy Pond to find a time when Doctor Who felt so full of optimistic possibility and storytelling promise as it does right now with Russell T. Davies’ return taking shape.