RTD - The Second Coming

 

Well, well, well... that was totally unexpected. Announced today is the news that Russell T Davies will be returning to Doctor Who as showrunner once Chibnall has ended his run. Joining RTD will be Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter, who were intimately involved in the return of the programme in 2005 and worked alongside RTD until he made way for Steven Moffat.

They will be in post for at least one year / season, as the 60th Anniversary is mentioned, though the BBC had earlier suggested that whoever took over would be taking the show into the future. There was also talk of a completely new vision for the programme - but today's announcement seems, at first glance, to be more of a backwards step.

As far as I'm concerned, today's news is a good thing. I liked the RTD era. It was populist, showy, deliberately manipulative emotionally - but I had no problems with any of this.

My first reaction to the news was that he's been brought back to save the show, and the BBC think that it has lost its way in recent years. On further consideration, we still have one more series from Chibnall, plus a couple of Specials culminating in November 2022's BBC Centenary celebrations. If the BBC really didn't like what Chibnall was doing with the series, he would have been shown the door at the end of Series 12.

But the series certainly has lost its way recently, with falling viewer numbers, and plummeting audience appreciation figures. This can't all be placed at Chibnall's door - the slide began during Moffat's tenure - but CC didn't help matters by having a really tedious first season, followed by a continuity-laden second season (derived from a minor plot point from 1976).

The series needs to get back to the viewership and appreciation levels of the RTD era - so what better way of doing this than bringing him back to achieve them, getting the series back into the general public's attention.

Of course, RTD on his own won't be able to turn things around. His choice of Doctor is the big unknown at the moment, and that decision will determine his chances of success. Could we see the return of David Tennant as the Doctor? Or is Olly Alexander back in the running with the bookies?

Jodie Whittaker will be recording her regeneration any day now, as it's reported that she's currently making her final episode. The second half of a regeneration doesn't have to be filmed until months later, however, so there's no great rush to announce her replacement. Indeed, RTD may want to wait until the last minute so as not to divert attention way from her, until it's too hard to keep the new person a secret.

Interesting times ahead...