The Modern Series (2005-????)

Discuss the great modern series of Doctor Who here!  While it has some gems and great characters, I'll always prefer the classic series over it, but that's just my opinion.

~Valeyard

I was listening to the Series 5 soundtrack last night and forgot how magical it was. I loved the fairy tale aspect of that series (it is my favourite series by far) and really hope Chris Chibnall is able to make Series 11 similar in style and tone. I like what Moffat tried for Series 9 but I miss that great scope of adventure and thrill that we had for Series 5 (and even Series 4). 

If they can combine the cinematography and production values of Series 9 with the scope and tone of Series 4/5 for Series 11 then I might just love the show again  I'm hopeful we'll return to that style with the introduction of Bill for Series 10 but I'm more looking forward to seeing how Chibnall reinvents the show more than anything.

I'm personally hoping that Chibnall can recapture the spirit of adventure from the Eccleston and early Tennant eras. I don't know if it was just because that was my first introduction to Doctor Who and really what captured my mind and heart, but I definitely think NuWho was at its best then.

Series 5 just didn't do it for me. I enjoyed Series 6 though, and the first half of Series 7. The second half was the worst of NuWho so far though IMO. And as for Capaldi's era, I'm loving it. But things are quite stale now. We'll have had Moffat for 7 years by the time he finall goes. There's only so much flavour one person can bring before it gets boring. I'm really hoping that Chibnall can refresh things, and I'm really hoping he assembles an American-style writers room team, rather than one person be the executive producer and writer, meaning Series 11 should be continually fresh every week.

And most of all, I really hope Capaldi stays for Series 11! I will be gutted if he doesn't!

One of the most interesting things about Chibnall taking over is that I don't think we've really seen his own version of Doctor Who, have we? His Doctor Who scripts feel, in some regards, quite tailored to the style of the showrunner he was writing for; Moffat said something quite similar in the latest DWM.

I guess that means we'd have to turn to his other work to try and divine his style; lots of Torchwood, some Law on Order, Excalibur in America, and of course Broadchurch. The only one of those I've seen is Broadchurch (not, as I almost wrote, Boradchurch, though that'd be quite the crossover!) and that's not quite Doctor Who-y, despite all the obvious links in cast and crew. I guess the most you could take from that is that, perhaps, he might shift into a very specifically character oriented style, maybe? Though, then again, I think Doctor Who is already quite character driven, so all we really know is that he'll be good at it.

Interestingly, a recent interview with Matthew Graham (of Fear Her fame) revealed that both he and Chibnall spent quite some time working with George Lucas for a Star Wars TV show, which is... again, not necessarily informative, because one would hope Chibbers would have a different approach to both Doctor Who and Star Wars, but it's indicative of his sci-fi pedigree, I suppose.

Scary wrote:And most of all, I really hope Capaldi stays for Series 11! I will be gutted if he doesn't!

At the minute, all signs seem to suggest he will be - Capaldi himself has spoken about it and kinda indicated he'll stick around, and Moffat has said he doesn't expect to be writing out Capaldi, which you'd expect him to know about, given they're filming S10 now. (Of course, that's notwithstanding the potential for changes late in the day, like the first two times Jenna Coleman said she'd leave and then changed her mind, and of course there's always the possibility that Moffat's just lying.)

I wouldn't be surprised if Bill was only for the one season, mind you, with Pearl Mackie only signing on for Moffat's final year; Chibnall, presumably, would want to at least create his own companion, and I guess it might be tempting for Moffat to have one unifying character arc under his belt for the final year.

Yes, all of Chibnall's scripts for Who so far have been commissioned by RTD and Moffat so it'll be nice to see his vision for the series. I am kind of hoping Capaldi stays around for Series 11. Perhaps its just because I'm older now but it felt like Tennant was around forever and Matt even more so (the split series probably didn't help with that) so it feels like he's only just joined and as he is my favourite 'Nu Who' Doctor I would love for him to stay! I also feel like the writing at the moment doesn't let Capaldi unleash his full potential (although it did start to get better at the end of last year) so I'd quite like to see how a new showrunner would handle his Doctor and hopefully give him the writing he deserves. On the other hand, I would quite like to see Chibnall have a fresh start, so I am open to what ever happens.

I do think Bill will only be there for one year though. I doubt Chibnall will keep them both on if we want to keep the show moving and keep it fresh.

It will either be;

Capaldi & New Companion 
New Doctor & Bill
New Doctor & New Companion

I'm guessing either of the two former. 

I fully support the writers room idea! If it means we get good, solid stories out every week then I'm all for it. I also expect it will be hugely beneficial to series arcs and they will be much more clear and concise.  I have faith in Chibnall. He is a very good writer and an exceptional showrunner - Broadchurch proves both of these things!

I think they need to take Capaldi in the direction they went with McCoy. At first, light-hearted and fun, but overtime, a darker and more mysterious character who's motives are shrouded in mystery. Something along those lines. Bill seems like a more Ace-type companion, so hopefully, Moffat and maybe Chibnall develop her further and make her enjoyable, and hopefully one of the best companions in New Who.

~Valeyard

I think that they should introduce the companion that comes after Bill in a recurring status this series and then have the new one take over from Bill half way through Series 11, I'm bored of the same formula for introducing companions, Clara came close but all she had were some glorified cameos in Series 7 before actual Clara was introduced. I just think that it's dull if we have a series of Bill and then a new one comes in Series 11, or maybe the new one could join at the end of Series 10 or start of 11 for Bill to then leave halfway through.