Doctor Who season one has finished airing with the Empire of Death. Beginning its ongoing relationship with Disney, the show’s relaunch has brought highs and lows that the production team will need to assess ahead of their next season.
The first season of Doctor Who, with Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, has been a divisive return for former showrunner Russell T Davies as the show’s necessary pivot into commercial storytelling ruffled feathers amongst traditionalist viewers. Whilst not every point of criticism towards Doctor Who season one may be reflective of the wider picture and plan for the show, this expansive dissection of the season’s highs and lows will give points to mull over ahead of producing future seasons.
- Writer Representation
- Series Funding and Broadcast
- Story First, Socials Second
- Curating the Experience
Released as eight episodes of 45 minutes each for season one, referred to as 8 x 45′, the first season offered audiences a chance to learn more about the Doctor and Ruby Sunday, with a lingering narrative thread on Ruby’s origins and the Pantheon of the Gods as namedropped in The Devil’s Chord (2024).
I am sure audiences may instead ask for longer episodes, extending them to an hour; however, keeping them at 45 minutes encourages all writers to tell self-contained stories, for there’s strength in concentrating a story in theme and form.
| Episode Name | Rating | Episode Writer | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| Space Babies | ★★ | Russell T Davies | Julie Anne Robinson |
| The Devil’s Chord | ★★★★ | Russell T Davies | Ben Chessell |
| Boom | ★★★ | Steven Moffat | Julie Anne Robinson |
| 73 Yards | ★★★★★ | Russell T Davies | Dylan Holmes Williams |
| Dot and Bubble | ★★★ | Russell T Davies | Dylan Holmes Williams |
| Rogue | ★★★★ | Kate Herron and Briony Redman | Ben Chessell |
| The Legend of Ruby Sunday | ★★★★ | Russell T Davies | Jamie Donoughue |
| Empire of Death | ★★ | Russell T Davies | Jamie Donoughue |
Written mainly by Russell T Davies, who returned as showrunner after leaving the show in 2010, the series felt somewhat similar in its tone and approach to storytelling to his earlier writing days, with inspirations drawn from previous shows Years and Years (2019) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007-2011); however, as Davies penned 75% of the new season — six out of the eight episodes — it does raise concern about the range of talented writers and voices coming to the show, with the episodes feeling as though belonging to, or inspired from, Davies’ previous bodies of work.
Writer Representation
Whilst I appreciate that having a tone of recognisability for the first season is a strong foundation for new audiences to join the show, when the other season writers were Steven Moffat, once again reprising his role as showrunner for one-off episode Boom (2024), or Kate Herron and Briony Redman, there becomes a slight cause for concern in the range of writers, talent, and voices on offer.
The lack of representation is especially poignant when none of the writers are of colour, despite Gatwa’s identity as the Doctor embracing his heritage as a Black man. In one particular episode, Dot and Bubble (2024), it extensively tackles white privilege and racism at the expense of the Doctor. Had a person of colour been involved in writing the episode or any other part, it would have supported Ncuti Gatwa’s performance and the genuine comments Davies was trying to make. Looking ahead, I hope writers of colour are brought into the writing room to give a representative voice ahead of seasons two, three, or four.
For example, Daniel Lawrence Taylor, Michaela Coel, Adjani Salmon, Gbemisola Ikumelo, and Akemnji Ndifornyen have all proven their writing capabilities over recent years on BBC shows Boarders (2024), I May Destroy You (2020), Dreaming Whilst Black (2021), and Black Ops (2023), respectively, and so, individually or as a collective, any of these writers would be a welcome addition to writing for Doctor Who. Including them in the writing team will introduce new ideas and stories, and they’ll also be able to write a personalised and representative voice for the Doctor that we still need to have.
After all, it follows on from Russell T Davies’ comments to the RadioTimes on hiring queer actors to play queer roles; and providing spaces for representative individuals of the communities Davies is covering. Having such an enigmatic lead with Ncuti Gatwa isn’t very reassuring that there has yet to be a correlation to its representation on the page.
However, whilst it is easy to point the finger at an individual rather than those around them, it is worth considering that it was only under Davies’ show-running predecessor, Chris Chibnall, that writers of colour were given a platform at all within the show allowing their stories to be heard.
For instance, Malorie Blackman’s Rosa (2018), Vinay Patel’s Demons of Punjab (2018), and Fugitive of the Judoon (2020) are some of the strongest episodes to date. Both Rosa and Demons of Punjab tackle the experience of Black and Indian diasporic identity with considered authenticity.
Series Production and Funding
Beyond its representation, another change the executive team could make to the show’s structure is extending the season back to 12 x 45’—twelve episodes at 45 minutes — as was standard between 2005 and 2017. Extending it back would allow the editorial and production team to explore broader themes and characters and, better still, give opportunities to diverse writers, directors, and talent behind the camera, as already highlighted.
Though this may require additional funding from a body other than the BBC, which audiences may fear, the concept of a programme requiring multiple funders is too commonplace, especially for a high-end television (HETV) production like Doctor Who. So, by embracing the connections between Disney and Bad Wolf, their hopes for the show and their financial investments, the show could return to their 12 x 45′ norm. However, to be incentivised to invest more, Doctor Who season one must prove successful for the new investors.
Despite the inclusion of the Walt Disney Company, which created a guaranteed worldwide release for the show on Disney+, the release window for the episodes should be similarly reconsidered for season two as season one unfairly weighted its American audience over its British history, as evidenced by the struggling UK viewing figures.
One can only imagine this was a stipulation from the company’s contract as per their investment. Before Disney’s involvement, all episodes would broadcast in a weekend prime time slot before being available for streaming via iPlayer. For Doctor Who season one, all episodes have been released in America on a Friday prime time slot, 19:00 EST, translating to 00:00 BST the following Saturday morning for British audiences, before being broadcast at a regular Saturday prime time slot that evening.
If Disney were keen to maintain a simultaneous release window for British and international audiences, the way to resolve this would be to upload episodically at 19:00 BST (14:00 EST), which would also then consider flexible programming slots for that evening both in America and for British audiences with the show airing between 18:00 and 19:00 BST.
Of course, this is admittedly a romanticised ideal. Still, when overnight viewing figures for the BBC saw the show averaging 2.6m for its first episode, Space Babies (2024), it raises cause for concern that the leap to online-first isn’t suited for a show that lives and dies on the watercooler moments it creates.
But, putting things into perspective, in a landscape where streaming and catch-up dominate, only looking at data within seven days fails to capture the whole picture. Considering the consolidated figures over a month, the numbers allow for catch-up viewing as is now normalised within the TV viewing landscape.
| Episode Name | Overnight Views (Millions) | 7-Day Ratings (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| Space Babies | 2.62 | 4.01 |
| The Devil’s Chord | 2.4 | 3.91 |
| Boom | 2.04 | 3.58 |
| 73 Yards | 2.62 | 4.06 |
| Dot and Bubble | 2.12 | 3.38 |
| Rogue | 2.11 | 3.52 |
| The Legend of Ruby Sunday | 2.02 | TBC |
| Empire of Death | 2.25 | TBC |
Nevertheless, there is hope that with Disney attached in worldwide distribution, it will continue to close the concerning gap, even if data is unavailable on how the show is performing overseas.
In the UK, the online-first model created flexibility for audiences, especially parents with children, whom the show best targets. But for those prolifically online, many were likely to awaken with spoilers, reveals, and conversations surrounding the show that felt odd to join in with after the social zeitgeist train moved on: a feeling all too common on social media.
Waking up each morning to see the never ending theories and comments about the appearances of Susan Twist’s cameos became a regular mainstay for the show, dominating week after week, so much so that it led the majority of speculation overwhelming the conversation despite the series breadcrumbing the mystery of Ruby Sunday’s lineage — a companion, in truth, we still know little about.
Story First, Socials Second
Admittedly, this is an acute criticism, but the inconsistency in which the story breadcrumbed its reveals also felt muddled. Davies, who hadn’t written a series finale or arc since 2009, concluding with Journey’s End, was once masterful in planting seeds and nurturing its growth throughout the series. A wallflower that latched to each episode for support but never became centre-focussed, only flowering when the time was right.
Across four series, Davies was remarkable at working his larger arcs into his show. Bad Wolf in series one, Torchwood in series two, Harold Saxon in the third, and the disappearing bees in the fourth all became central to the plot at the end, with audiences barely noticing any of the subtle threads Davies has woven between them all.
Nearly twenty years later, Russell T Davies peppers snow falling, forever mentions parenthood, and the clanging subtly of a Susan Twist-shaped lead balloon raises alarm bells about the faded magical nuance the show once carried.
In its defence, the show did manage to maintain the reveal of Jonathan Groff’s significance in Rogue (2024) despite rumours circulating. Equally, the red-herring nature of its clanging subtly did create an exciting cliffhanger in The Legend of Ruby Sunday (2024), even if its follow-up, Empire of Death (2024) ended the season in a disappointing fashion despite the return of Sutekh the Destroyer.
Nevertheless, this felt explicitly targeted at an audience conditioned to the Internet age of spoilers and theory sharing. However, with varying quality from episode to episode, Davies put so much hope of the season’s success into the arc, which, at its core, struggled to invoke a sense of care or interest between the Doctor and Ruby Sunday, with the pair seldom sharing screentime.
In fact, with consecutive episodes from Boom, until Rogue separating the Doctor and Ruby, there was a worrying division between the Doctor and companion in a series that asks audiences to care and wonder about her origin. With Varada Sethu announced as the next companion, sharing the screen with Millie Gibson, there is a cause for concern in how the pair will share the stories, as, despite leading Doctor Who season one, Ruby Sunday still needs to be developed.
Curating the Experience
Similarly, when constructing the running order for Doctor Who season two and beyond, there needs to be an apparent reconsideration and justification into why an episode is shown first, second, third (etc.). To many in an audience, this will make no difference, but thinking back to the beginning of Doctor Who season one, where the show launched with Space Babies, this was one of the season’s weakest offerings, and if that’s an entrée before the main event, setting up the tone for the whole metaphoric meal, then come dessert, the guests are going to be very confused and unfulfilled.
Admittedly, I think Space Babies should have been shelved, and another story allowed to see the light of day; however, even by swapping it and The Devil’s Chord, audiences would have been welcomed back with an ungodly threat and a recognisable thread tying it and the 60th-anniversary specials together.
However, curating the experience goes beyond the show, as all the supplementary materials are made to help the show sing. Doctor Who: Unleashed, hosted by Steffan Powell and produced by Bright Branch Media, consistently delivered a high-end package to partner with the show. Despite this, the Official Doctor Who Podcast, now produced by David Manero, Aidan Judd, and Georgia Arundell, must be returned to the drawing board after James Goss’ departure.
The podcast, now fronted by two social media influencers, Nadia Jae and Shabaz Ali was originally a podcast that provided a debriefing conversation after each episode about the show. But over the weeks, the decision-making justifications in asking two influencers to host took its toll as inconsistencies were shared, and the pair needed help to grasp the concepts or conversational themes the stories asked of them. In one instance, comedian Sarah Keyworth, who guest appeared on the show, outperformed the hosting duties put on the influencers, which is never a sign things are going great. Curiously this is something reiterated in the last episode of the podcast, as its thumbnail image focussed on guest, and former host, Christel Dee, rather than our two leading influencers, as though even the show itself is acutely aware of the miscasting.
With the podcast specifically, attention needs to be paid to what audience it draws, what audience it wants to draw, and whether the two align. I suspect, despite the best intentions of the podcast acting as an additional tool for newcomers, it better serves the devoted fans who will tune into it each week.
In contrast, Doctor Who: Unleashed, with its magazine-show format and presenter Steffan attempting a different job role on set, is the gateway for first-time watchers wanting to learn more about the show and its history on BBC Three/iPlayer. With the show’s international appeal, one can hope that Doctor Who: Unleashed can also be introduced overseas to a worldwide audience.
Conversely, the secret reveal of the additional episode for the spin-off show Tales of the TARDIS (2024) was a welcome surprise. The spin-off show focusses on companions and occasionally a former Doctor recounting a tale in the Remembered TARDIS. The surprise episode, starring Gibson and Gatwa, sandwiched the two-part finale recontextualising the Pyramids of Mars (1975) into an omnibus feature.
Following this, though I believe there needs to be consistency in the content and the audience it intends to draw, it cannot be understated the amount of work that has gone into creating all the projects for this season: the 8 x 45′ main series, a 9 x 29′ behind-the-scenes series, the eight supporting podcast episodes, its New to Who? web series and an additional omnibus episode of Tales of the TARDIS. It cannot be denied the dedication from those behind the scenes, with their affection and joy consistently translating onto screen.
In fact, the attention put into the show from all the departments is one of many reasons why Doctor Who season one was in truth, for the most part a strong return to form. It sparked discussions with its commentary on social politics, with its quality consistently above that from recent years, but most impressively, Ncuti Gatwa dominated the role as the Doctor and whose time is quickly going cement himself as a long-term fan favourite, especially for first-time viewers. Episode after episode Gatwa triumphed, dazzling with each line and inflection and for whom the season’s revival would be nothing without.
However, the issues in Doctor Who season one must be discussed and resolved before the third season goes into production, especially after the disappointing conclusion in Empire of Death. Even better still, for a long time in the show’s history, as a result of Disney’s involvement, feedback and criticisms feel like they’re things the team are willing to hear, all to shape its future.
Doctor Who: Season One is available to stream in its entirety either on BBC iPlayer for UK audiences or for international viewers, via Disney+.
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