Recent episodes have been so preachy, watching them is akin to doing GCSE history homework while being thwacked over the head with a rolled-up copy of The Guardian.Ī writer of Russell T Davies’s undoubted talents is easily capable of reigning in such clumsiness. What’s changed is that this subtext has moved from subtly metaphorical to the more literal level. Created by and for misfits, Doctor Who is quirky outsider art in a shiny mainstream package. There has always been a political dimension to the venerable old show's storytelling, from anti-war sentiments to the race-based bigotry of the Daleks.
It’s naive for naysayers to pretend that Doctor Who has only become politically correct in recent years, angrily accusing it of “woke-washing” or a “liberal agenda”. They’ve got to be capable of doing anything.” Too true. As he said recently: “They’ve got to be limitless. Davies’s job is to block out all the external noise and simply hire the best candidate. Like the eternal “next James Bond” debate, the role has become a lightning rod in the culture wars. There’s even an argument to say that the next Doctor should be an old, straight white man – surely that’s now the most radical casting of all. We’ve now had a female Doctor so, moving with the times, we might well get a black, Asian, gay or non-binary Time Lord next. It’s anyone’s guess which way he’ll go with the 14th Doctor but unpredictability is a good thing. He followed this craggy-faced, leather-jacketed enigma with the more crowd-pleasing David Tennant, the best Doctor since Tom Baker.ĭavies’s casting has also been head-turningly terrific in his other creations: see Hugh Grant in A Very English Scandal or Emma Thompson in Years & Years. He added credibility and dramatic heft to Doctor Who’s risky 2005 revival by luring Christopher Ecclestone into the lead role. Cast the best Doctor, not the most diverse DoctorĬasting has always been a strength of Davies’s, both in the Whoniverse and elsewhere.
MONSTER AUDIO COMPANION SERIES FULL
So ahead of star Jodie Whittaker and incumbent boss Chris Chibnall’s final full series starting this Sunday (6.25pm on BBC One), we’ve drawn up Davies’s 10-point to-do list… 1.
With ratings down and critics carping, Davies has something of a salvage mission on his hands. And as the Tardis keys get handed over, he’ll be bringing a new Time Lord with him, too. To the relief of Whovians, award-laden screenwriter Russell T Davies has been announced as the next showrunner, returning to the BBC's sci-fi institution to oversee its 60th anniversary in 2023. After a divisive few years, the winds of change are blowing through Doctor Who’s time-space continuum.
0 kommentar(er)
