Jodie Whittaker to leave Doctor Who.

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Jodie Whittaker, the first female Doctor Who, is to leave the series. From the BBC itself, so unlikely to be a rumour.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-57940451

[IndigoPrime]

“and Chris Chibnall”

Good. He’s really messed things up, being responsible for imprinting his own legacy on the show in a manner that’s a bit HMMM, giving the first female Doctor precisely no character (I still don’t really know what she stands for), adding too many companions (Why not Yaz+Doctor? Why do we need ANOTHER middle-aged white guy in the TARDIS?), seemingly not really caring about logic and consistency (even within the same episode), and more.

Whittaker was ideal casting. That opportunity has been wasted. I’m sure we can now look forward to a billion articles guessing who the next Doctor will be, before it’s invariably a relatively little known white bloke, and a new show runner who’s not really suited to the show.

Frankly, they should give it a rest for a few years and figure out how to compete with streaming services. (Hint: it’s about scripts and stories — the BBC cannot compete on ‘epic’ and effects. Against the likes of The Expanse, Doctor Who these days looks little better than the cardboard sets of the 1980s. But with great stories and a smaller scale, it could still rock. Well, if they get a decent showrunner.)

[wedgeski]

Yeah, that's a shame. She's great in the role, and while I generally enjoyed her and Chibnall's run, the whole enterprise felt a little tired. I've had that feeling all the way back to Capaldi, except his Doctor had the necessary standout stories to make up for it.

[edgeworthy]

Ah, my lack of surprise is almost matched by my lack of surprise

[Jim_Campbell]

So, apparently, we're getting a "trio of specials" in 2022, continuing Chibnall's baffling record of being unable to turn round a 13-episode series in a year… I mean, it's hardly Game of Thrones, is it?

I'll be sorry to see Whitaker go, but I think Chibnall's been a disaster, that one casting choice excepted. The second series was a distinct improvement on the first, but that's not saying a lot. I mean, if you get handed the keys to a flagship BBC show with a huge worldwide fanbase and by the fourth episode you're relying on "giant spiders because something, something, toxic waste" it suggests you're not really trying.

(The most recent New Year special is the first episode of New Who I've skipped since the series came back… I saw the trailer and was just… meh.)

[broodblik]

I do not have a problem with Jodie as the Doctor but an actor can only do so good with some poor storytelling and weak plotlines. I also never really "liked" her companions which is part of the problem.

[IndigoPrime]

being unable to turn round a 13-episode series in a year…

Mm. Six episodes and three specials, even given COVID is… yeah. But, hey, he gets to string things out through 2022, so it’ll be, what, 2023 or even 2024 before someone else gets a crack at this. And that spiders episode was a big screw-up for other reasons, not least the Doctor arguing you can’t shoot them, whereupon she seals the things in to starve to death and/or eat each other. So much for mercy.

[Leigh S]

Curiously it was only a few weeks back I went looking for a podcast or video supporting Dhibnall Era - Like Marshal Law hunting heroes, couldn't find any, but did find Jay Exci's excellent video that sums up my feelings almost perfectly


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8_A7n83Rh0

I do think Chibnall is the natural progression from RTD Era "head in the sand" M**g-M**g shaming. The problems in Chibnall Who are there in Chibnall's ealiest attempts to ape RTD - sodding CyberWoman!

We really need a non fan to take over - the questionis just how deep can Chibnall bury the corpse in the 10 episodes he has? The one bright hope is that the writer of Villa Diodati (sp) is named as a core writer for series 13

[IndigoPrime]

Ideally, you want someone who cares about the genre (which Chibnall in the past has been cool on at best), but who won’t fan-wank all over the thing, desperately trying to print their own massive continuity/history-busting revelation on a long-running show.

But ultimately unless they employ an excellent script editor who has actual power *and* understands the very uneven playing field the BBC is now competing in, Doctor Who is already quite probably doomed to failure. Frankly, they’re going to revert back to a male Doctor, so perhaps they should employ a female showrunner. Some people recently were talking about Naomi Alderman on Twitter. I’ve no idea if she’d be right for the show, but they need to think outside of the usual circle, because Chibnall was the obvious choice but also a bad one.

[Tiplodocus]

Shame! She could have done so much better.  But given the last episode I can remember as being "Great! I'd happily watch that again and again" was HEAVEN SENT some six years ago (and that's about the only Capaldi I remember) then yeah, I won't really miss it if it does take a rest.

[von Boom]

Great news. Now they need to eliminate the Timeless Child, unlimited regenerations, and being non Gallifreyian mess.

[IndigoPrime]

I suspect Chibnall is going to use his remaining time to indelibly stamp his mark on the series, tying things up in a way that forever changes the show, then leaving with a grin and chucking the entire thing to his successor.

It really feels like the show has fallen into a mistake of creating puzzles. It’s so wrapped up in its own cleverness that the broader arc is largely impenetrable. RTD very cleverly simplified and streamlined everything: time traveller in a box; last of his species; travels around with a human because he likes Earth and he’s lonely; lots of enemies; tried to protect people. Moffat and particularly Chibnall are over complicating a show that doesn’t need that level of complexity; and even if it did, the end result just isn’t that good.

I just hope whoever comes next cares more about the characters than making them chess pieces, understands how to balance gender (two women in the TARDIS, one of which is the Doctor, and yet Graham was the most fully fleshed out character under Chibnall’s run, with the Doctor herself frequently being sidelined and a cypher), and sees the value in tightly written scripts that work within the internal logic of the show (or at least the episode itself). But I fear we’re in for more of the same—assuming we get anything at all after Chibnall leaves.

[Hawkmumbler]

Would we want another super fan to take up the head writer mantel or no? Either way, if he was game, Reece Shearsmith gets my vote to step up to the plate.

[wedgeski]

Straczynski has even indicated he'd be interested, that's how deep the vein runs.

[Mister Pops]

Normally, when the news of a new era of Who breaks, it starts me into a cycle of thinking "It will be interesting to see the newest take on the Doctor", then watching a few of the new episodes before thinking "This isn't for me". This has been happening since RTD left, with each iteration taking fewer episodes before I switch off.

This time I can't even get to "This could be interesting" stage.

It really feels like the show has fallen into a mistake of creating puzzles. It’s so wrapped up in its own cleverness that the broader arc is largely impenetrable. RTD very cleverly simplified and streamlined everything: time traveller in a box; last of his species; travels around with a human because he likes Earth and he’s lonely; lots of enemies; tried to protect people. Moffat and particularly Chibnall are over complicating a show that doesn’t need that level of complexity; and even if it did, the end result just isn’t that good.

The best criticism I heard of Who from Moffat's stewardship and beyond was along the lines of; Dr Who used to be a show with an intriguing little story happening somewhere in space and time, with the Doctor getting involved at some point. Now it's a show with an overbloated story about the Doctor, with somewhere in space and time getting involved at some point. And there's a million speeches about how arsom the Doctor is.

The problem with all this mystery box bullshit is that the resolutions are rarely satisfying and sometimes just reveal an even BIGGER mystery box that won't have a satisfying pay off either. I sometimes have felt like the show is being written to generate online speculation and clicks*.

They need to get back to being an anthology show with a quirky recurring character in a phone box whose appearance sometimes changes. So maybe Shearsmith would be good fit, although would he want to? He already has a successful anthology show which doesn't have a rabid fan base scrutinizing everything.

This show is in danger of becoming a poisoned chalice, if it isn't already.

*This was definitely the case with that carcrash, Sherlock