The latest season of Doctor Who is underway, and those who tuned in with a Disney+ subscription saw Belinda Chandra's first encounter with The Doctor. They also saw some weird moments that were hard to explain, which was ultimately revealed to be the classic "timey-wimeyness" of the series in full effect.
The term might be new to those who only just joined the fandom because they love Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor, but those familiar with David Tennant's speech in "Blink" (one of Doctor Who's best episodes) know just how broad and loaded that term is. For those that don't, let's get into it below and talk about why I'm concerned about this season, based on past experience.
Doctor Who's Latest Story Is Heavy On Timey-Wimey Plot Points
Doctor Who has used the term "timey-wimey" a few times in the past, and the gist of it means that the viewer may not always understand why things are happening until later in the story. Parallel timelines, events where characters appear in two places at once, and time paradoxes all fall under this category, and when there's zero context, it can feel confusing at first.
This isn't a time-traveling trick exclusive to Doctor Who, as franchises like Harry Potter and Star Trek have utilized time travel to tell a story out of order and leave the audience mildly out of the loop on what is happening. Usually, it all comes full circle, and by the end of the adventure, everyone understands what was going on and why those unexplainable moments that were seen prior happened. When it's pulled off correctly, it can result in masterful storytelling.
The problem is that these storylines can be hard to do well, and yes, even a show that deals with time travel as much as Doctor Who has fallen short when trying to tell them. In fact, there's a very recent example I can point to when it comes to this type of storytelling in the franchise, and its reception has me shocked that Russell T. Davies would attempt to tell a story like this again so soon.
Doctor Who Tried This With Its Flux Storyline, And The Response Was Heavily Critiqued
Chris Chibnall's stint as showrunner received a lot of criticism, and while I would say not all of it, like criticisms directed toward the first female Doctor actress, Jodie Whittaker, were justified, I would say complaints about Flux were on the money. The final season for the star and showrunner was told amidst pandemic shutdowns and was very ambitious in that it tried to tell a "timey-wimey" story across the course of an entire season. As readers might've picked up on by now, the response was mixed at best, and fans had a lot of valid criticisms about the storyline.
From my own perspective, I had issues with it being a bit too confusing and the characters being introduced without having a meaningful tie-in to the plot at large. Sure, I loved seeing Jo Martin return as her iteration of The Doctor, but her role, similar to other characters, didn't mean much. While that's not entirely unforgivable in a story, it does make it more irksome when watching a season where any unexpected reveal could be relevant to the larger plot.
Obviously, this is the fear I have with this new season. At the same time, I have to think there are people working at The BBC at the highest level who remember the Flux story and would express concern if they thought Davies' creative direction was following in its footsteps a little too closely.
Then again, I don't think anyone in the industry intentionally sets out to make television that its audience may have mixed feelings about, and it could just be that the time element was a bit too complicated for the casual viewers and fans. I'll admit, I didn't understand what Flux did, and it took the anniversary specials to explain the whole situation in a manner in which I understood it. I guess the showrunner is owed some trust, especially given his involvement in many of DW's greatest stories.
With All The Chatter That Doctor Who Is Potentially Not Returning For A New Season, I'm Mildly Concerned
While I'm sure it wasn't known at the time the season was filming, it was a bold choice for Doctor Who to take on such storytelling in a season that could determine whether or not it gets a renewal. The BBC has confirmed there will not be a new season renewal until the network and Disney+ get a chance to look at the viewership for the upcoming season, and it's looking more and more likely we're headed for a best case scenario in which we have a gap year with no new episodes of the sci-fi series.
There are also questions surrounding star Ncuti Gatwa's status in the series, as he just signed on for an eleven-week play that is set to start its run in August. That doesn't seem like the actions of a man who thinks he's returning to film Doctor Who in 2025, which has me wondering. Did Gatwa take the role because he knows the series won't be returning until 2026 or later, or did he already film his regeneration scene and won't be returning as The Doctor for a third season?
Ultimately, these are answers we won't get until the season is over, and all we can do is continue to watch episodes as they release and ensure we're watching in a timely manner. Beyond that, much of the series' future is out of our hands as fans, and I can't help but feel it's a bit ironic that it comes down to me saying "time will tell" how this all shakes out, during a season where the exact same thing can be said.
Watch new episodes of Doctor Who as they arrive on Disney+ on Saturdays at 3:00 a.m. ET. This season has looked very entertaining from all the trailers we've seen leading up to it, so I'm hoping it won't disappoint.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
