- Joined
- Feb 15, 2018
Hey guys, I'm pretty new to this, so please bear with me.
Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the show, by the way.
So Doctor Who is changing, hopefully for the best, with a new Doctor, new companions and a new showrunner, as well as a new episode format, with 10 1-hour long episodes next season instead of 13 45-minute ones.
Out of curiosity, what would you guys like to see in Series 11? Would you like some new things brought over, some better writing?
I live in hope that there will be more profound storytelling this time around. Speaking as a big fan of the classic series (with episodes like Genesis of the Daleks, The Silurians, The Web of Fear, and City of Death, to name a few) and the Big Finish audio dramas (e.g. Spare Parts, the Rob Shearman stories...), both of which have demonstrated huge amounts of creativity and profound writing, and because the new series has had some brilliant stories of its own (Dalek, Blink, Midnight, Turn Left, Vincent and the Doctor, Heaven Sent, etc.), I would love to see something along those lines. I feel the new series has relied too heavily on nostalgia and marketing recently, which stifles opportunities for continuing the overall show's potential for brilliant, surreal and truly creative ideas (again, Big Finish is a perfect example of this). The show could be a surreal and explorative adventure with profound drama, with proper character development.
Other things I would like to see would be:
1. Historical adventures: something from the classic series which can be brought back. No monsters necessary, because there really isn't any need for one. Some of the best Doctor Who stories in the past were pure-historicals (The Marian Conspiracy, The Aztecs, The Crusade, Marco Polo...). And explore other periods of history, because Victorian London and the Second World War have been done to death.
2. Less Daleks: now the Daleks seem to have an obligation to appear in every season these days, as requested by the Terry Nation estate. Thing is, we have reached a point where the general reaction to the Daleks' return would be more exasperation than excitement. They have lost much of their spark by this point. So, if they can't be given a break, why not have a story revolving around them, with some cameos here and there. We could have an episode which is set on a planet in the aftermath of a Dalek invasion; a post-apocalyptic tale which shows what would happen when the Daleks are victorious, and it could be a demonstration of how the Doctor is just as flawed as we are, that he/she cannot save everyone in the universe.
3. Make the companions fresh and new: it seems we have a new kind of TARDIS crew coming up, with three companions, and only one of them is a young woman from the modern era, which really feels like a breath of fresh air. Bill and Nardole were a good step forward in the previous season, so let's hope this continues that step, with little romance and fleshed-out characters who have proper strengths and flaws.
4. A more coherent story arc: let's face it, the arcs we have had were poorly built up and even more poorly paid off (What is the Hybrid? Umm, we think it's the apparently toxic relationship between the Doctor and his companion which we haven't properly demonstrated; Why is Clara so important? Oh, she stepped into the Doctor's timestream and somehow saved him from a disembodied entity...which anyone could have done...etc, etc). A story arc needs to be slowly put together with a decent payoff, and also needs to be carefully planned out in advance, as opposed to just being made up as you go along.
......
That is all I can think of for now. What do you think? Is there anything you would like to see?
Apologies for the rambling. Thank you all for your patience.
Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the show, by the way.
So Doctor Who is changing, hopefully for the best, with a new Doctor, new companions and a new showrunner, as well as a new episode format, with 10 1-hour long episodes next season instead of 13 45-minute ones.
Out of curiosity, what would you guys like to see in Series 11? Would you like some new things brought over, some better writing?
I live in hope that there will be more profound storytelling this time around. Speaking as a big fan of the classic series (with episodes like Genesis of the Daleks, The Silurians, The Web of Fear, and City of Death, to name a few) and the Big Finish audio dramas (e.g. Spare Parts, the Rob Shearman stories...), both of which have demonstrated huge amounts of creativity and profound writing, and because the new series has had some brilliant stories of its own (Dalek, Blink, Midnight, Turn Left, Vincent and the Doctor, Heaven Sent, etc.), I would love to see something along those lines. I feel the new series has relied too heavily on nostalgia and marketing recently, which stifles opportunities for continuing the overall show's potential for brilliant, surreal and truly creative ideas (again, Big Finish is a perfect example of this). The show could be a surreal and explorative adventure with profound drama, with proper character development.
Other things I would like to see would be:
1. Historical adventures: something from the classic series which can be brought back. No monsters necessary, because there really isn't any need for one. Some of the best Doctor Who stories in the past were pure-historicals (The Marian Conspiracy, The Aztecs, The Crusade, Marco Polo...). And explore other periods of history, because Victorian London and the Second World War have been done to death.
2. Less Daleks: now the Daleks seem to have an obligation to appear in every season these days, as requested by the Terry Nation estate. Thing is, we have reached a point where the general reaction to the Daleks' return would be more exasperation than excitement. They have lost much of their spark by this point. So, if they can't be given a break, why not have a story revolving around them, with some cameos here and there. We could have an episode which is set on a planet in the aftermath of a Dalek invasion; a post-apocalyptic tale which shows what would happen when the Daleks are victorious, and it could be a demonstration of how the Doctor is just as flawed as we are, that he/she cannot save everyone in the universe.
3. Make the companions fresh and new: it seems we have a new kind of TARDIS crew coming up, with three companions, and only one of them is a young woman from the modern era, which really feels like a breath of fresh air. Bill and Nardole were a good step forward in the previous season, so let's hope this continues that step, with little romance and fleshed-out characters who have proper strengths and flaws.
4. A more coherent story arc: let's face it, the arcs we have had were poorly built up and even more poorly paid off (What is the Hybrid? Umm, we think it's the apparently toxic relationship between the Doctor and his companion which we haven't properly demonstrated; Why is Clara so important? Oh, she stepped into the Doctor's timestream and somehow saved him from a disembodied entity...which anyone could have done...etc, etc). A story arc needs to be slowly put together with a decent payoff, and also needs to be carefully planned out in advance, as opposed to just being made up as you go along.
......
That is all I can think of for now. What do you think? Is there anything you would like to see?
Apologies for the rambling. Thank you all for your patience.