meet the new boss same as the old boss
Russell T Davies will be taking over as Doctor Who showrunner, effective the 60th anniversary
I'm not happy.
I try really hard to be positive about Doctor Who stuff -- it's my happy fandom, honestly! -- but this news has genuinely made me distressed. For multiple reasons.
For one thing I don't think we should be going backwards. I understand that this is a hard position to fill -- Moffat reportedly had to get Chibnall drunk in order to get him to accept the job, and even then he had to stay a year longer than he'd originally planned -- but we couldn't find anyone new? Doctor Who is a show that should be moving forwards. It's a show that should be celebrating progress and new ideas. (I mean, it's arguable how much three white middle-aged dudes in a row are doing that, but nevertheless.) Going back fifteen years to the guy who was in charge when the current crop of fans were kids is...not doing that.
I also don't really think I've made a secret that RTD is my least favorite of the New Who showrunners. Unpopular opinion, sure, but there it is. I revisit his era and there's stuff there I love and there's stuff there that makes me really tired and unhappy. That's probably the least significant item on this list but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my biases.
And, above all else, there's some really worrying shit that was going on behind the scenes during his time as showrunner that's been having a spotlight shone on it recently. Three male actors have had sexual assault or harrassment charges brought against them, one of whom was so well known as bringing his junk out on set that everyone else (RTD included) made a running joke out of it. Chris Eccleston has made it clear that he refuses to return to Doctor Who on TV because RTD-era production was such a toxic set, and specifically named RTD and Julie Gardner for enabling and furthering that. Obviously it's been a long time since then and RTD has showrun other shows and presumably learned from the experience and (hopefully) will not repeat mistakes, but... It's still concerning to me that this is all happening at once without even a mention.
I don't know.
I'm trying to keep an open mind and hopefully it'll all work out for the best but I'm just really not excited about this news.
I'm not happy.
I try really hard to be positive about Doctor Who stuff -- it's my happy fandom, honestly! -- but this news has genuinely made me distressed. For multiple reasons.
For one thing I don't think we should be going backwards. I understand that this is a hard position to fill -- Moffat reportedly had to get Chibnall drunk in order to get him to accept the job, and even then he had to stay a year longer than he'd originally planned -- but we couldn't find anyone new? Doctor Who is a show that should be moving forwards. It's a show that should be celebrating progress and new ideas. (I mean, it's arguable how much three white middle-aged dudes in a row are doing that, but nevertheless.) Going back fifteen years to the guy who was in charge when the current crop of fans were kids is...not doing that.
I also don't really think I've made a secret that RTD is my least favorite of the New Who showrunners. Unpopular opinion, sure, but there it is. I revisit his era and there's stuff there I love and there's stuff there that makes me really tired and unhappy. That's probably the least significant item on this list but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my biases.
And, above all else, there's some really worrying shit that was going on behind the scenes during his time as showrunner that's been having a spotlight shone on it recently. Three male actors have had sexual assault or harrassment charges brought against them, one of whom was so well known as bringing his junk out on set that everyone else (RTD included) made a running joke out of it. Chris Eccleston has made it clear that he refuses to return to Doctor Who on TV because RTD-era production was such a toxic set, and specifically named RTD and Julie Gardner for enabling and furthering that. Obviously it's been a long time since then and RTD has showrun other shows and presumably learned from the experience and (hopefully) will not repeat mistakes, but... It's still concerning to me that this is all happening at once without even a mention.
I don't know.
I'm trying to keep an open mind and hopefully it'll all work out for the best but I'm just really not excited about this news.