You've probably already heard the news. Russell T. Davies, the man who revived Doctor Who back in 2005 and helped the iconic sci-fi show soar to new heights of popularity, is returning to take over the series once more.
The BBC confirmed last week that Davies will take over from Chris Chibnall in 2023 and will once again serve as the show's head honcho for the 60th anniversary and beyond.
This is, of course, supremely exciting news for Doctor Who fans. Davies is widely regarded as the most popular of modern Who showrunners, and it's clearly the BBC's hope that he can help steer the show away from falling ratings and back to the glory days of the David Tennant era. As a fan of both Doctor Who and Davies, I'm just thrilled to see what new ideas he brings to the table after a decade away from the show.
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While we don't yet know what tricks Davies has up his sleeve this time around, an interview from earlier this year may give us some idea of the scope of his ambition for his Doctor Who return.
Speaking to the Radio Times back in January, Davies joked that he was doing the whole shared universe thing years before Marvel found success with it in cinemas. You may recall that in addition to Doctor Who, Davies helped create two extremely popular spinoff series: Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Characters from these shows would occasionally show up in Doctor Who, and vice-versa. It very much sounds like he wants more of that from the show going forward.
"There should be a Doctor Who channel now," Davies said. "You look at those Disney announcements, of all those new Star Wars and Marvel shows, you think, we should be sitting here announcing The Nyssa Adventures or The Return of Donna Noble, and you should have the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors together in a 10-part series. Genuinely."
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At the time this sounded like little more than wishful thinking, but now that we know Davies is taking charge of the show once more in 2023? Well, these comments become a heck of a lot more exciting.
There's certainly no reason why we couldn't see older Doctors appear in their own side adventures that run alongside the main series, is there? The wonderful Big Finish audio plays have long since established that every incarnation of The Doctor has had tons of adventures that we never saw on TV, so... let's put them on TV.
The fans get to see their favourite actors back in the role, the BBC gets the viewing figures a David Tennant/Matt Smith miniseries would inevitably bring in, and interest in the ongoing adventures of the 14th Doctor, whoever they may be, is boosted. Everybody wins. Make it happen, Davies. And while you're at it, bring back Paul McGann for his own run of stories. We've waited long enough.
Featured Image Credit: BBCTopics: TV and Film