Chibnall claims that he doesn’t read fan comments, but given how much series 12 has moved away from the criticisms of series 11, I have to question that. Whittaker’s first series as the Doctor in 2018 consisted mostly of standalone adventures, with only light story arcs exploring the companions’ personal issues connecting one episode to the next. This year, character-centric arcs mostly took a backseat to explore some deep Doctor Who lore, featuring several controversial and canon-shaking reveals that only a couple of years ago would have seemed preposterous.
While the Doctor was left dealing with the recent destruction of Gallifrey following the premiere episode “Spyfall”, series 12 clung mostly to Earth-based adventures, using variations of end-of-the-world stories to add depths to her arc. The new Master, played by Sacha Dhawan with a simmering rage and childish curiosity that mirrors Whittaker’s Doctor, razed it down to the ground after discovering the secret of the Timeless Child. This, as well as the appearance of a new, mysterious Doctor played by Jo Martin and the warning of a lone Cyberman, left a lot of threads to be tied up in the two-part finale.
And on this level, Chibnall mostly succeeded – though not without angering a lot of fans in the process. Myself? I’m still processing it all, and I don’t think I will stop processing it until Chibnall’s run on Doctor Who is over. On one hand, he has explained the origins of both the Doctor and the Time Lords, removing a lot of mystery from the show’s lore. He has set the Doctor apart from her species, making her “special”, whereas before she was always just a regular Time Lord who had one day decided to run away from home.
On the other hand, Doctor Who canon has always relied on bending canon to survive. In 1966, the concept of regeneration was introduced without warning, essentially ensuring the show’s longevity. In 1969, we discovered that the Doctor belonged to an ancient race of aliens called the Time Lords, whereas originally he was assumed to be human. In 2005, Gallifrey was destroyed, allowing new dimensions of the Doctor’s character to emerge (and also to make an excuse for why the high-budget home planet was no longer around in this low-budget revival).
Granted, now we are getting one of the biggest changes to the canon since the show’s return, and many of the criticisms regarding how much it actually breaks Doctor Who lore are valid. But it is also clear that right now we don’t have all the answers. Chibnall himself stated that the seeds of series 13’s story arc would be planted in series 12’s finale, and it is already clear where certain holes might be filled in. Why is the Fugitive Doctor’s TARDIS a police box, if she is a pre-Hartnell incarnation? What was the point of Captain Jack’s return, besides his warning? What is The Division, and why has the information about it been wiped from the Matrix?
Even if the Timeless Child reveal does end up leaving some holes in continuity, it could potentially come with the benefit of reinvigorating the show with fresh explorations of new themes, concepts, and characters for years into the future. It will all come down to how this development is handled, and whether it will be mined for all its worth or left by the wayside.
Story arcs and canon-bending aside, it seems that Chibnall is drawing a few of the companions’ times on the show to a close, with each of them wondering out loud how much longer they can continue travelling for. Graham mostly fulfilled his arc in series 11, while this series explored a little more of Yaz and Ryan’s relationships with their family and friends back home. None of them have really had as much development as previous companions, but that is the downside to using ensemble casts as opposed to two or three central characters.
Now that Tosin Cole has just been cast in another show, we can at least expect to see goodbye to Ryan in the upcoming holiday special. And if Ryan goes, Graham probably won’t be far behind. Perhaps Yaz will stay on for a little bit longer, though if she does hang on for one more series she would become the longest serving companion of the revival, and could risk outstaying her welcome.
At the end of the series finale, “The Timeless Children”, the companions had been safely dropped back home in 2020, while the Doctor had been teleported into a Judoon prison. This cliffhanger will lead into the upcoming holiday special, “Revolution of the Daleks”, which will be Whittaker’s second episode facing off against the Doctor’s iconic enemies. We have previously seen that pitting her against villains that she has a history with brings out a darker side to her usually upbeat interpretation of the rogue Time Lord, and so it is likely that we will be seeing much more of this very soon. As for the direction that Chibnall takes all of it in, I am both eager and apprehensive.
Originally he was assumed to be human? To make an excuse for why the high-budget home planet was no longer around in this low-budget revival?
Very strange and superficial article by someone who looks like he doesn’t have a lot of writing experience, & doesn’t know much about the series, but who presumes to be on last-name terms with the showrunner.