And so we reach Part Three of my analysis of "The Delicate Years" of Doctor Who. The show makes a proper return in 2005 that continues to this day. It's off to a great start. But then it stumbles for just a little bit....
"NO SECOND CHANCES" ONLY RINGS TRUE FOR SYCORAX
As we enter the 21st Century, fans are resigned to the fact that there will never be new episodes of Doctor Who. But, quite honestly, we're happy with what we are getting. Even Doctor Who Magazine is still going strong. For a show that has been, pretty much, off the air for over fifteen years (with only the briefest return in 1996). that's pretty damned amazing.
And then, in 2004, the announcement is almost casually released. Russell T. Davis, creator of the popular Queer as Folk series will be the Head Writer for a revival of Doctor Who. No "backdoor pilot", this time, either. A full season of thirteen 46-minute episodes and a one-hour Christmas Special. Fans can barely believe what they're hearing. Is Doctor Who really coming back?!
The Big News is ever-so-slightly bittersweet, however. There is no mention of Paul McGann being involved with this new series. He won't be allowed the same privilege McCoy received to give his Doctor a proper send-off. Things will just begin with the Ninth Doctor already in action (although the slightest hint is given that he has freshly regenerated).
While many bizarre choices were made in the creation of The 96 Telemovie, it's clear that RTD has put a lot of thought into how he will present a version of Doctor Who that suits 2005. The very first episode shows all sorts of new and modern conventions for the show. But it also includes the Autons. A beautiful nod to the past. As a total nitpick: I love that they even went to the trouble of finding the same sound effect that was used in the Classic Series when the Auton hand drops away to reveal its gun.This is the sort of dedication you get when fans are making the show! Immediately, we are re-assured that this is not a re-boot - but a continuation. The first twenty-six seasons of the series are not about to be ignored.
By the end of Rose, many fans are already thinking this new version of Doctor Who looks very promising.
SERIES ONE - PRETTY MUCH, A MASTERPIECE
As the season continues, we see a few major differences between this new series and the one that came before. Most stories will be resolved within one episode with only the occasional two-parter. Cliffhangers and multi-part adventures will no longer be commonplace. There will also be a season-long arc that will involve the words "Bad Wolf" appearing over and over. By no means is this going to be as tight of an ongoing story as Trial of a Time Lord, but it will be a thematic link throughout the season.
And, of course, the biggest development since Classic Who: the Time Lords have been wiped out and the Doctor is the last of his race. This bit of news has all kinds of consequences. It puts a very different spin on how the protagonist is presented. It also gives the show a sort of new starting point that is less cluttered by the continuity of the original series. We don't have to spend too much time explaining Time Lord culture,now, because they don't actually exist anymore.
There are a few other minor alterations to the formula of the show but those are the big ones. The core spirit of Classic Who is still there - but this is a very different beast, now. RTD has definitely modernised things and made the central premise something workable for 21st Century television.
I think it's safe to say that Series 1 is still one of the best seasons of New Who. Even the weaker stuff involving the Slitheen has its merit. As much as some were annoyed by the fart humor, it established quite clearly that Doctor Who was not a show that took itself too seriously and was going to have a bit of fun now and again. In general, the emotional resonance of the program had become quite astounding, too. Who can forget Pete Tyler's final decision to willfully let a car run him over in order to save the Web of Time? Or the beautiful holographic message the Doctor leaves for Rose after he's tricked her into returning home in Parting of the Ways? Or Rose reducing her mother to tears when she reveals to her that she was the mysterious woman who kept her husband company as he died? No one expected Doctor Who to ever "hit us in the feels" like that.
Overall, these were some very solidly put-together episodes. In the end, however, Series 1 gave all of us way more than we expected. The show was an absolute hit. And it deserved to be.
Even the fact that Christopher Eccleston decided to leave after only one season worked to everyone's advantage. It introduced, very quickly, the concept of regeneration to a new audience so that everyone would understand this was a vital ingredient to the formula of the program. Thematically, it also moved the Ninth Doctor through a beautiful character arc that had him healing from his survivor's guilt before going on to his next incarnation.
There really is almost nothing wrong with New Who's first season. It is truly a triumphant return.
SERIES TWO - ONE LAST LITTLE BIT OF DELICACY
There is a metaphor that is, sometimes, attached to Series 1 of New Who. Some fans compare it to the first album a popular band releases that gives them their big break. In many ways, the band has put years of experience and effort into that album. Their entire career has been building up to this moment and this creates a magnificently-crafted piece of music. Which is why the album ends up having such a huge impact on the public and earns fantastic sales.
Because of the success of that initial album, a band is then pushed very hard by their record executives to make them more money. Quite often, they are rushed into making a second album that isn't as strong as the first. The musicians weren't given enough time to "incubate" some more and create equally-strong material. Essentially, they recorded that second album before they were truly ready to.
Much the same can be said for Series 2. Russell T Davis even admits that he wasn't ever expecting there to be a second season. That he would just get those first set of episodes and then Doctor Who would be over with again. So he hadn't made the most concrete of plans for the show's future beyond that first commission.
This creates a very uneven second season. Really, the only thing outstanding in Series 2 is Girl in the Fireplace. A lot of the other stories are pretty sub-par (in my opinion, at least). And some are even genuinely bad. Most would site Love and Monsters and Fear Her as being the big culprits in this department (and I wouldn't argue much with that opinion), but I actually think Idiot's Lantern is the biggest stinker of the bunch. After giving us a brilliant episode like Unquiet Dead, Mark Gatiss delivers the exact opposite, this time.
Probably the biggest sin of Series 2, however, is its attempt at another season-long arc. Whereas the insertion of the term "Bad Wolf" seems quite fluid in Series 1, "Torchwood" comes across as painfully shoe-horned. It feels most ludicrous because the Doctor should have had a moment like he did in Boomtown, where he remarks on the fact that the word seems to be following him all over the place. But it never happens. Which comes across as somewhat odd.
Of all the seasons of New Who, I definitely consider Series 2 to be the worst. If we lined it up against Old Who too, I'd even say this is another time where I would prefer Season 24. I feel most sorry for more recent fans that are trying to binge watch the new series from its very beginning. Many complain about how hard it is to get through Series 2. I just tell them to hang in there. It gets better.
Unlike Season 24, this dip in quality doesn't seem to put the program's future in jeopardy. A third season is commissioned with barely a flinch from the BBC. But it does give us a show that appears very unsteady on its feet. At this point, the overall direction of the program seems very unclear. We're really not sure of the formula, anymore as the styles of the stories seem to be going all over the place There also seems to be a poor use of budget. Fear Her is required to take place, principally, on a street because they've run out of money. Even the character of the Doctor is a bit inconsistent. It seemed right for Eccleston's Doctor to have all that angst since he was recovering from what he did in the Time Wars. His journey through Series 1 causes him to heal those emotional scars by the time he regenerates. Tennant, however, is all about angst again. It makes all of Nine's character growth seem irrelevant.
These numerous problems are the reason why I consider this season to still be part of "The Delicate Years" of the show. RTD really needed to sit down and get a clearer idea of what he wished to do with his creation. It does not appear that he did that between his first and second seasons. The result is a show that still seems very uncertain of itself.
FULL RECOVERY
As the somewhat-painful Runaway Bride Christmas Special wraps up, RTD seems to get the downtime he needs to re-evaluate his vision for the program. Series 3 reaches our screens with a quiet confidence of a show with a firm direction. From this point, onward, Doctor Who really seems to have a clear idea of what it's about, again.
Is Series 3 perfect? Of course not. The Dalek story it offers is quite shaky. And some are a bit disappointed by the "Tinkerbell Ending" that the season has when the positive mindset of the entire population of Earth suddenly gives the Doctor super powers. Series 4 has a few problems, too. It has my least favorite season finale, ever. I'm not particularly fond of "The Specials" that we get over the next year, either. Waters of Mars is brilliant. The rest of them are mediocre, at best. Some of them are genuinely bad (Next Doctor is my least favorite New Who episode ever).
Overall, however, the show is performing consistently again. Moff takes the reigns from RTD and keeps the calibre of story-telling high. The show goes back to being the massive success it once was. Everything is right with the world, again.
But Series 3 really does mark the beginning of the full turnaround. It is at this point that the show is finally running smoothly again. There might still be the occasional "hiccup" here and there. But, overall, Doctor Who is back in all its glory.
And so, the Delicate Years have reached their end. The fans have got their show back. Joy has returned to our lives!
It should be noted, however, just how long those Delicate Years lasted: Six entire seasons and a feature-length Special. This speaks volumes of the uniqueness of Doctor Who. No other show would be allowed that long of a period of time to sort itself out. Anything else would have been abandoned ages ago. But there is such a unique magic to this program that its audience is willing to let it go through whatever transformations it needs to make.
Doctor Who really is the most incredible of TV shows. Chronicling its Delicate Years was a great way to highlight that.
AFTERTHOUGHT: ARE WE AT ANOTHER FRAGILE PERIOD?
At the time of writing this, we are twelve seasons into the new series. In fact, it was just pointed out the other day that Doctor Who has now been back on the air for as long as it was off. These are things we should be grateful for. The show has returned to being an institution.
And yet, I'm starting to see negative indications, again. Perhaps, even, Signs of Doom!
Probably the biggest red flag I've seen, of late, is the strong desire in fandom to demonise the current Head Writer. Some folks do take the same stance I do with Chris Chibnall. We actually like a lot of what he's doing and think the show is very good. It's most distressing, however, how fans who dislike him will actually berate us for our tastes. This doesn't happen every time I express a pro-Chibnall opinion - but it happens frequently enough. I have even gotten flack for some of the entries I have written of late concerning my stance on his work.
Now, I have read some very well-formulated opinions by fans who do not appreciate his vision for the show. Those sort of dissertations are out there. And the ones who make effective cases are often happy to just "agree to disagree" with me rather than turn things into attacks. But a whole lot more of what I'm seeing comes across as fairly mindless vitriol. In some cases, it's legitimate blind hate.
This sort of attitude strongly resembles the sort of contemptible behavior we saw directed towards John Nathan Turner back in the late 80s. When fans started becoming impossible-to-please and the show started getting shorter seasons and negative attention from BBC Executives. All of which, eventually, led to its demise.
Could we be seeing the first signs of a return to another fragile period? If some of these other factors start coming into play. If a few key figures in the upper echelons of the BBC decide the show needs another rest, then this could spell out some serious trouble for the show.
Does this mean we should just like the show, regardless? Because, if we don't, it could get cancelled! Of course not. But, maybe, we could reserve our opinions until we've given them some serious consideration. So many fans need to verbalise how they feel so quickly. Particularly now that we have the internet. And they also understand that if they're inflammatory in their remarks, they will probably get more attention.
Perhaps we should care more about the show than we do about being noticed. Have a negative opinion if you really do feel that way. But creative teams will probably pay better attention to what you're expressing if the criticism is constructive rather than rude. I know if I were a showrunner and all I was seeing was: "Rob Tymec sucks at making Doctor Who!" I would pay little heed to what you have to say. Because, in the end, that sort of language is just abuse. And who would actively seek that sort of treatment?
BBC executives, however, might start getting just a little too distressed about such strong opinions and wonder if harsher changes need to be made. And we've seen what becomes of the show when something like this happens.
I hope I'm not coming across as too preachy, here. But I also just felt this might be a good place to state my feelings on the matter. Quite honestly, I'm only saying this because I really don't want to have write another essay, someday, on a second wave of Delicate Years....
And so, the three-parter ends. Again, I hope I didn't get up on too much of a high-horse in my closing paragraphs. I also hope you enjoyed my own insights into what the show went through during its most difficult transition. Perhaps I will look into behind-the-scenes subjects more often.
Missed Part One? Here you go:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/07/analytical-doctor-who-delicate-years.html
Part Two:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/07/analytical-doctor-who-delicate-years_20.html
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