Doctor Who Gave Up on the Fifteenth Doctor Much Too Soon

Warning: This nonfiction contains afloat spoilers for Doctor Who Season 15.

With the latest play of Doctor Who present complete, we tin look backmost and analyse the entirety of the Fifteenth Doctor’s era. You didn’t work that wrong, by the way. Ncuti Gatwa’s clip arsenic the Doctor is officially over. Despite earlier comments from Gatwa that indicated helium was intending to proceed connected for a 3rd season, the Season 15 finale, “The Reality War,” ended connected Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor regenerating into nary different than Billie Piper, champion known to franchise fans arsenic Rose Tyler, the archetypal companion of the modern era. It was a shocking infinitesimal for longtime viewers, but possibly not successful the mode the show’s accumulation squad intended.

While it’s not wholly wide yet if Piper is really playing the Sixteenth Doctor–the information that the extremity credits don’t notation to Piper arsenic “The Doctor” successful accordance with normal has raised galore an eyebrow–the uncover has landed with a thud for critics and audiences. In his reappraisal of the finale, IGN’s Robert Anderson said Piper’s quality is simply a “hastily thrown-together intermission fastener portion the aboriginal of Doctor Who gets softly reshuffled.” But it besides speaks to however the amusement ended Gatwa’s tenure acold earlier his time, successful what appears to beryllium a knee-jerk effect to fandom backlash. Let’s instrumentality a look astatine wherefore Doctor Who gave up connected the Fifteenth Doctor excessively soon.

Lost successful Space and Time

To accidental the past respective years of Doctor Who person been a roller coaster would beryllium thing of an understatement. Chris Chibnall taking implicit arsenic the 3rd modern-era showrunner (after Steven Moffat) followed up a divisive tally with a full travesty, contempt the champion efforts of Thirteenth Doctor histrion Jodie Whittaker. Russell T. Davies, who launched the modern era, was recruited to instrumentality to the relation of showrunner aft Chibnall, and Ncuti Gatwa was announced arsenic Whittaker’s successor, lone for Thirteen to regenerate into yet different incarnation played by David Tennant. Three specials and 1 lore-questionable bi-generation later, and we yet received the Fifteenth Doctor, lone for his tally to conscionable with mixed reception from fans, immoderate of whom felt the caller epoch didn’t unrecorded up to Davies’ archetypal tenure.

Opinions connected Season 14 vary, but astatine slightest for me, I recovered it to beryllium the instrumentality to signifier the bid had desperately needed for years. Gatwa’s instrumentality connected the Doctor and his dynamic with companion Ruby Sunday led to a mostly coagulated drawstring of episodes, culminating successful climactic manner with the instrumentality of Sutekh, 1 of the Doctor’s all-time top enemies. Sadly, the series’ renewed originative spark rapidly drained distant successful Season 15, which is mostly a postulation of ill-conceived adventures missing a consciousness of focus. This is alternatively unusual since the play has 2 main throughlines: the Doctor trying to get caller companion Belinda Chandra backmost to an Earth helium doesn’t cognize is destroyed, and the enigma individuality of the recurring quality Mrs. Flood.

The 2 upwind up being connected, with Mrs. Flood being an incarnation of Classic Who villain The Rani, who is down the demolition of Earth. Yet though these subplots are threaded done the full season, the payoff inactive doesn’t consciousness similar it has capable foundation. The Rani is poorly defined successful her appearances here, and is defeated truthful rapidly arsenic to travel disconnected utterly ineffectual. Tying successful different Classic Who antagonist successful Omega besides falls level due to the fact that helium has truthful small screentime and doesn’t look thing similar his aged self. Everything astir the two-part last communicative is conscionable off, with each constituent someway rushed oregon shortchanged, adding up to a confused messiness of ideas with nary fixed constituent of reference. That goes treble for the regeneration, which lacks the gravity specified a supposedly elephantine infinitesimal deserves.

A Rushed Regeneration

As it stands, “The Reality War” doesn’t consciousness similar a regeneration story. Although the stakes are appropriately precocious with the Rani threatening the full planet, the occurrence shifts absorption successful the backmost fractional to the Doctor trying to prevention Poppy, the kid of the Doctor and Belinda who was wished into beingness arsenic a broadside effect of the Rani’s plan. Setting speech the weirdness of a familial transportation betwixt the Doctor and Belinda (even if it turned retired to beryllium fake), mounting truthful overmuch communicative value connected Poppy fails due to the fact that the assemblage hasn’t spent capable clip with her to beryllium invested successful her fate. Poppy is an abstraction, thing the communicative assumes we attraction astir due to the fact that she’s a kid. So the Doctor shifts world to prevention her, astatine the outgo of his ain life.

This alteration successful what the occurrence is astir makes the finale consciousness similar 2 episodes successful one. The villains are defeated ridiculously rapidly to marque country for an excuse for the Doctor to regenerate. Given Gatwa’s antecedently mentioned comments hinting astatine a 3rd season, it appears parts of “The Reality War” were reshot to accommodate the regeneration. There’s simply not capable build-up to it, and what felt similar the communicative of the Doctor trying to acceptable Belinda’s beingness close crossed the play by getting her location was swept distant astatine the past 2nd for the Doctor trying to rescue Poppy. Belinda hardly registers successful the finale, with her full information and property changing into an all-consuming devotion to Poppy, to the constituent of the Doctor altering world with his regeneration vigor to marque Poppy her biologic daughter.

The regeneration doesn’t consciousness motivated either in-universe oregon out. It’s contrived arsenic a communicative device, but it besides feels unpleasant arsenic a accumulation one. Ncuti Gatwa, the archetypal histrion of colour to play the Doctor arsenic the show’s lead, is besides the archetypal 1 since Christopher Eccleston to not person astatine slightest 3 seasons. These are shorter seasons connected apical of it, with 8 episodes and 1 peculiar apiece, meaning Gatwa’s full tenure is simply a specified 18 episodes. Him being rushed retired the doorway truthful rapidly and being replaced by a blonde achromatic pistillate who has already been extensively featured connected the amusement would travel crossed arsenic comical if the optics weren’t besides truthful cynical. If Billie Piper is so our Sixteenth Doctor, past not lone is the amusement engaging successful Disney Star Wars-level nostalgia bait, it’s besides 1 ft into immoderate alternatively murky ethical waters.

Paying the Piper

I accidental this with thing but emotion for Billie Piper and her enactment arsenic Rose Tyler: her clip arsenic portion of Doctor Who should person stayed successful the past. Rose is simply a large character, but she had a reasonably definitive ending successful the Season 2 finale, “Doomsday.” Her forced separation from the Doctor and accomplishment successful an alternate world wherever her begetter is live but she can’t beryllium with her existent emotion was tragic and affectional successful each the close ways. It’s inactive 1 of the champion play finales the amusement has ever done. Yet Rose has slipped backmost into the amusement respective times, from recurring impermanent appearances successful Season 4 that led to her getting a consolation prize successful the Meta-Crisis Doctor, her playing The Moment successful “The Day of the Doctor,” and present perchance being the Sixteenth Doctor.

Quite frankly, it’s excessively much. Every consequent Rose quality aft “Doomsday” dilutes that episode’s power, each for the involvement of trying to delight fans. And astatine a infinitesimal successful clip wherever the fandom is incredibly divided connected Davies’ 2nd epoch arsenic showrunner, having Piper instrumentality feels similar hitting an exigency button. Davies was already entering questionable territory with the instrumentality of David Tennant arsenic the Fourteenth Doctor, though that was mostly smoothed implicit by yet giving his Doctor and Donna Noble the blessed ending they deserved successful “The Giggle” aft the unsatisfying decision to their narration successful “Journey’s End.” Bringing backmost Piper is simply a wide effort to recapture the emotion the assemblage had for Davies’ archetypal tenure, alternatively than gathering thing caller audiences could emotion astir his existent one.

Ncuti Gatwa was an fantabulous Doctor. He and Jodie Whittaker some gave large performances that elevated immoderate of the shaky scripts they were handed, which is what made their country unneurotic successful “The Reality War” specified a joyousness to watch. It’s besides a reminder that determination was nary bully crushed to not effort to rally and springiness Gatwa a coagulated 3rd play truthful helium could spell retired connected a precocious note. Even with each the missed opportunities this play similar the dropped thought of Belinda arsenic a hesitant companion, the instrumentality of the Rani and Omega, the underuse of Ruby Sunday, and the Fifteenth Doctor ne'er battling the Daleks, Davies and institution should person stuck to their guns.

Instead, our adjacent Doctor (barring a monolithic swerve) looks to beryllium a hollow echo of a large quality from decades ago. It’s a crystallization of the existential situation the amusement has been successful since the Moffat era, which felt similar the past clip Doctor Who knew what it wanted to be. The aboriginal of Doctor Who should ever beryllium an breathtaking caller path. Instead, this feels acold much similar a surrender.

Carlos Morales writes novels, articles and Mass Effect essays. You tin travel his fixations connected Twitter.