As you probably know a new series of Doctor Who is starting soon. This is the 10th series
since Doctor Who returned back in
2005 and the last series for Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor. I became a
Doctor Who fan back when I was 8 and
saw the episode Rose when it originally
aired. However I have been getting increasingly cold on Doctor Who since the mess that was Series 8 aired. I have been a
very loyal fan for a large chunk of my life so this isn’t just me spewing out negativity.
I really want this new series to be good.
This series is bringing us a brand new companion, Bill. I’m
still trying to make my mind up on Bill however in terms of personality it
looks like she is going to be a distinct departure from Amy Pond and Clara
Oswald. Also Bill has a girlfriend! This is tremendously exciting to finally be
seeing a full time LGBT companion in the TARDIS, especially an LGBT Woman of
Colour. LGBT characters in sci-fi/fantasy are rare and LGBT Women of Colour are
even rarer, so long as her story is well handled I think we should be applauding
the BBC for this move.
From a story point of view it’s also a very promising sign that
Bill already has a partner when she meets the Doctor. Part of what made the
Russel T Davis era of Doctor Who so
good was that Rose Tyler, Martha Jones and Donna Nobel all had people they
cared about. The companions having lives outside of the TARDIS was a new
development when Doctor Who came back
in 2005 but it was something that helped make the new series even richer. In
this way I hope that Bill will follow the mold set by Rose, Martha and Donna.
Another element that I hope is revived from the 2005 series
for this new series is the way that story arcs are handled. The Bad Wolf and
Torchwood arcs from Series 1 and 2 are perfect examples of how a story arc
should unfold within Doctor Who. Week by week there were little hints which
built towards the finale. If you missed them it didn’t matter but if you went
back and viewed the whole series you could see the arc being foreshadowed. This
is how a story arc should be done as opposed to the mess of unanswered
questions and needlessly complex back and forth plotting that has become the
norm since 2010.
The Ice Warriors are back! This has me excited as the Ice Warriors
rank pretty highly amongst my favourite Doctor
Who monsters. The race of warriors from Mars are arguably one of the most
complex alien races in Doctor Who.
They are a military race who have a strong code of honour – not unlike the
Klingons in Star Trek. However what
makes the Ice Warriors so interesting to me is that they are allowed to be
morally ambiguous, some of them are pacifistic scientists whilst others are
completely evil warmongers. The trailers for the new series also seem to be teasing
that the Ice Warrior story is going to be set on Mars. This is a new take for
the Ice Warriors as they have never had a TV episode set on Mars. In the Doctor Who expanded universe there have
been many Ice Warrior stories that have delved into the culture of their home
world I hope we get to see this on TV.
I’m disappointed that the Daleks are coming back, however I
am intrigued by the return of the Cybermen. The Daleks have become overused and
in my opinion they need a significant break before they next return. The
Cybermen have also been overused in recent years, let’s be honest the last good
Cyberman story was 2006’s Doomsday. But
what I find interesting about them retuning this time is that the production
team has decided to bring back the very original designs of the Cybermen from
their 1966 debut. Bringing back the original Cybermen allows for a fresh start
and provides a convenient excuse to drop the mess of continuity and bad
storylines from the past decade of Doctor
Who.
Basically at the moment I’m expecting the best but preparing
for the worst. I really want this new series of Doctor Who to be good but I am worried that it might let me down
again.
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