Why Doctor Who Restart Doesn't Make Any Sense At All

Summary:

• Doctor Who is a classic British sci-fi TV show that has been on the air since 1960.
• In 2023 BBC announced that Doctor Who will become a joint production between BBC and Disney, and the show will also be streaming on Disney Plus.
• Disney brought Doctor Who to another revival that long-time viewers do not see as helpful.

When the news first broke that Disney Plus was not only acquiring the rights to stream Doctor Who, but would also be heavily involved in its production, many longtime viewers of the iconic British sci-fi drama were skeptical about the decision.

While Disney is known for bringing the budget to any production, and a show with a premise like Doctor Who can definitely use the higher budget, Disney is also known for bringing their own superhero-esque style to any franchise they get their hands on. And Whovians weren't sure if that was the vision they had for the return of their favorite show.

The pill was definitely sweetened by the string of comeback news. From the original showrunner of New Who, Russell T. Davies, to the much-loved 10th Doctor, David Tennant, and his companion, Donna Noble, portrayed by Catherine Tate.

The more the show went into production, the more leaks the viewers got, the more satisfied they were with what series 14 and 15 would look like under the joint production of the BBC and Disney. The 15th Doctor Ncuti Gatwa was announced, along with his companion and a handful of celebrity guests.

It all felt like a dream that the fandom could never have imagined. However, they were met with an unexpected and rather unpleasant reminder that Doctor Who under Disney will never be the same as it was before.

Disney Style Doctor Who Revival

As leaked by the rumors in the fandom, but later confirmed by Russell T. Davies himself, the new era of Doctor Who will be separated into its own group. Just like the classic episodes of Doctor Who, which ran from 1960 to 1989, the episodes of the revival, from 2009 to 2022, will also be considered as a separate part.

Although the fandom was upset by the decision to separate the content they loved and classify it as somewhat old, that wasn't the main problem viewers had with the decision. They would even be willing to forgive Disney the restart by calling the first season of the 15th Doctor an actual season 1, instead of continuing the count with series 14.

The problem is the utter confusion such a division creates. There wasn't a huge time gap between the end of the last era of Who and the beginning of the new one. There was no need to add a 4th entry to the BBC iPlayer search queue to confuse any new viewer trying to figure out where to start.

And there was certainly no need to start something as fresh as the first season of the revival with the new Doctor, with three special 60th-anniversary episodes. If the confusion during the search wasn't enough to turn people off, many Whovians believe this will be.

The good news is that the branding will not affect the quality of the episodes that are already coming your way. Tune in to Disney Plus on November 25th for the premiere of the first of three special episodes, The Star Beast.