• Welcome to ZD Forums! You must create an account and log in to see and participate in the Shoutbox chat on this main index page.

Doctor Who Series 11 - What do you want to see?

Joined
Feb 15, 2018
Hey guys, I'm pretty new to this, so please bear with me.

Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the show, by the way.

So Doctor Who is changing, hopefully for the best, with a new Doctor, new companions and a new showrunner, as well as a new episode format, with 10 1-hour long episodes next season instead of 13 45-minute ones.

Out of curiosity, what would you guys like to see in Series 11? Would you like some new things brought over, some better writing?

I live in hope that there will be more profound storytelling this time around. Speaking as a big fan of the classic series (with episodes like Genesis of the Daleks, The Silurians, The Web of Fear, and City of Death, to name a few) and the Big Finish audio dramas (e.g. Spare Parts, the Rob Shearman stories...), both of which have demonstrated huge amounts of creativity and profound writing, and because the new series has had some brilliant stories of its own (Dalek, Blink, Midnight, Turn Left, Vincent and the Doctor, Heaven Sent, etc.), I would love to see something along those lines. I feel the new series has relied too heavily on nostalgia and marketing recently, which stifles opportunities for continuing the overall show's potential for brilliant, surreal and truly creative ideas (again, Big Finish is a perfect example of this). The show could be a surreal and explorative adventure with profound drama, with proper character development.

Other things I would like to see would be:
1. Historical adventures: something from the classic series which can be brought back. No monsters necessary, because there really isn't any need for one. Some of the best Doctor Who stories in the past were pure-historicals (The Marian Conspiracy, The Aztecs, The Crusade, Marco Polo...). And explore other periods of history, because Victorian London and the Second World War have been done to death.

2. Less Daleks: now the Daleks seem to have an obligation to appear in every season these days, as requested by the Terry Nation estate. Thing is, we have reached a point where the general reaction to the Daleks' return would be more exasperation than excitement. They have lost much of their spark by this point. So, if they can't be given a break, why not have a story revolving around them, with some cameos here and there. We could have an episode which is set on a planet in the aftermath of a Dalek invasion; a post-apocalyptic tale which shows what would happen when the Daleks are victorious, and it could be a demonstration of how the Doctor is just as flawed as we are, that he/she cannot save everyone in the universe.

3. Make the companions fresh and new: it seems we have a new kind of TARDIS crew coming up, with three companions, and only one of them is a young woman from the modern era, which really feels like a breath of fresh air. Bill and Nardole were a good step forward in the previous season, so let's hope this continues that step, with little romance and fleshed-out characters who have proper strengths and flaws.

4. A more coherent story arc: let's face it, the arcs we have had were poorly built up and even more poorly paid off (What is the Hybrid? Umm, we think it's the apparently toxic relationship between the Doctor and his companion which we haven't properly demonstrated; Why is Clara so important? Oh, she stepped into the Doctor's timestream and somehow saved him from a disembodied entity...which anyone could have done...etc, etc). A story arc needs to be slowly put together with a decent payoff, and also needs to be carefully planned out in advance, as opposed to just being made up as you go along.

......

That is all I can think of for now. What do you think? Is there anything you would like to see?

Apologies for the rambling. Thank you all for your patience.
 

YIGAhim

Sole Survivor
Joined
Apr 10, 2017
Location
Stomp
Gender
Male
I don't know almost anything about Dr. Who, but do know that 45 minute episodes seem weird. I think it is better the new way
 
Joined
Feb 15, 2018
I don't know almost anything about Dr. Who, but do know that 45 minute episodes seem weird. I think it is better the new way

The problem with 45-minute episodes is mainly a rushed plot. We have barely enough time to get into the setting and get to know the characters, plus the climax is solved far too quickly. Two-parters improve the pacing, but yes, one-hour episodes are a welcome change.
 

Jirohnagi

Braava Braava
Joined
Feb 18, 2010
Location
Soul Sanctum
Gender
Geosexual
Hey guys, I'm pretty new to this, so please bear with me.

Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the show, by the way.

So Doctor Who is changing, hopefully for the best, with a new Doctor, new companions and a new showrunner, as well as a new episode format, with 10 1-hour long episodes next season instead of 13 45-minute ones.

Out of curiosity, what would you guys like to see in Series 11? Would you like some new things brought over, some better writing?

I live in hope that there will be more profound storytelling this time around. Speaking as a big fan of the classic series (with episodes like Genesis of the Daleks, The Silurians, The Web of Fear, and City of Death, to name a few) and the Big Finish audio dramas (e.g. Spare Parts, the Rob Shearman stories...), both of which have demonstrated huge amounts of creativity and profound writing, and because the new series has had some brilliant stories of its own (Dalek, Blink, Midnight, Turn Left, Vincent and the Doctor, Heaven Sent, etc.), I would love to see something along those lines. I feel the new series has relied too heavily on nostalgia and marketing recently, which stifles opportunities for continuing the overall show's potential for brilliant, surreal and truly creative ideas (again, Big Finish is a perfect example of this). The show could be a surreal and explorative adventure with profound drama, with proper character development.

TOM BAKER FOR EVER! Sorry had to say it, it's nice to see some appreciation for the older days again, used to sit there every saturday lat 90's watching the apparently all day dr.who fest.

Other things I would like to see would be:
1. Historical adventures: something from the classic series which can be brought back. No monsters necessary, because there really isn't any need for one. Some of the best Doctor Who stories in the past were pure-historicals (The Marian Conspiracy, The Aztecs, The Crusade, Marco Polo...). And explore other periods of history, because Victorian London and the Second World War have been done to death.

More to the point it'd be nice to see it as a purely human type of adversary, or hell a new timelord adversary, Rassilon and The Master are freaking overused. But it's kinda boring to see that it's always an alien somehow magically behind it all (LOOKING AT YOU CRIMSON HORROR)

2. Less Daleks: now the Daleks seem to have an obligation to appear in every season these days, as requested by the Terry Nation estate. Thing is, we have reached a point where the general reaction to the Daleks' return would be more exasperation than excitement. They have lost much of their spark by this point. So, if they can't be given a break, why not have a story revolving around them, with some cameos here and there. We could have an episode which is set on a planet in the aftermath of a Dalek invasion; a post-apocalyptic tale which shows what would happen when the Daleks are victorious, and it could be a demonstration of how the Doctor is just as flawed as we are, that he/she cannot save everyone in the universe.

Less Daleks, Less Cybermen, they used to be intimidating monsters now more like "oh lord these guys again". It happened with the Weeping Angels, they were bloody fantastic when they were first shown and shown off to the best effect then 11th doctor saunters around and boom we get an angel story near as damn every season.

3. Make the companions fresh and new: it seems we have a new kind of TARDIS crew coming up, with three companions, and only one of them is a young woman from the modern era, which really feels like a breath of fresh air. Bill and Nardole were a good step forward in the previous season, so let's hope this continues that step, with little romance and fleshed-out characters who have proper strengths and flaws.

I'm not too sure how 3 companions will work, they had hell making two work well back in Tennants era and it always led to one of the companions being boring, so hopefully the dynamic will be better written by the new writers. Will admit i hated nardole with a passion they turned him into a subservient robot (almost literally story wise) but it worked in that series. And Bill. Jesus i loved Bill, granted they dumbed down alot of things that got explained in prior series (most likely so it'd act as an introductory series for any new watchers) but bill fit the, ahah, bill far better than the likes of clara or Amy come the finish.

4. A more coherent story arc: let's face it, the arcs we have had were poorly built up and even more poorly paid off (What is the Hybrid? Umm, we think it's the apparently toxic relationship between the Doctor and his companion which we haven't properly demonstrated; Why is Clara so important? Oh, she stepped into the Doctor's timestream and somehow saved him from a disembodied entity...which anyone could have done...etc, etc). A story arc needs to be slowly put together with a decent payoff, and also needs to be carefully planned out in advance, as opposed to just being made up as you go along.

I dunno some of the best episodes were quite often ones not to do with the overall series arc, Blink, Midnight to name two. But when it comes to multi episode arc or season arcs, they really don't do well, it took them 3 episodes the most recent series to do one arc. The way it's rushed now (both episode length and overall arc length) really doesn't give time to build up good suspense, back in 2005 with eccleston we had the bad wolf arc, didn't know what it was or anything just the phrase popping up every now n then and it was good with the final reveal, ditto Saxon Arc, but those were literally put up over the season and thought out the last few seasons has been rushed, heaven sent, hell bent would've been a goddamn brilliant finale of a series, but they rushed it to the conclusion and then brought that crappy companion clara back.

The Arcs themselves left something to be desired. I.E explainations, most of the River Song arc (bar silence in the library and it's second half), the entirety of claras arc, why the hell she was kept around after the natural leaving point i don't know, the final part of the Ponds Arc, joy they copped it in a time not their own but that was totally unneeded as it was shown they wanted off the time travel train.


That is all I can think of for now. What do you think? Is there anything you would like to see?

Apologies for the rambling. Thank you all for your patience.

Biggest hope is that they treat the new Doctor as exactly that, the new Doctor instead of treating it as, oh look i'm a woman now but i can still do everything i could do while male. Or in other words hopefully it doesn't turn into a sexism/feminism thing.

I'd like to see brand new creatures instead of the return of the older ones, and please for the love of god no magic monks or daleks or cybermen, don't give us the Master or any other Timelord as the series baddie. Make it new and exciting, they've got the chance now to take Dr.Who into new paths and forests of creativity that they've not had before, they've broken the banks of expectation and demand and it'd be a shame if they just went back to old formulas and methods like moffat (the plothole king) did, and most importantly please no one upping and prior doctors, think we had enough of that with Smith during the 50th anniversary, or with capaldi just flat out one upping anything that moves.

And stop with this nonsense of reminding the doctor who he is, he's the sodding doctor he goes around saving the day with silly haircuts and magic sticks.
 

misskitten

Hello Sweetie!
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Location
Norway
For me I generally just want freshness. I love Moffat's writing, but he did handle Clara really badly by first making her just a plot point rather than a character and then going all over the place with her. I went from disinterested in her to going hot and cold on her, some episodes I would love her, other episodes I would be so annoyed with her. And why he had to ruin her exit like that I just don't understand. It just ruined the impact and took what could have been an amazing season finale to be kind of a letdown. I liked the take on Missy, but I really think we need a long break from The Master now, and I agree that we need fresh monsters and not so much rehashing of Daleks and Cybermen (the latter I just find so dull). I think it's a real shame Bill got thrown to the side so quickly (and man was I angry with Moffat about what he did to her), but I get having it all be new (I will miss River, though, I don't think I'll ever love a character as much as I love her). It gives the series another potential entry point for the uninitiated, just as Eleventh Hour was for me. And it gives free reigns to Whittaker and Chibnail to make the show and the Doctor their own.
 
Joined
Oct 14, 2013
Location
Australia
I want to see the BBC shut the **** up.
I get it, we have a female doctor now. There's no need to go on and on about "it's about time a female doctor was chosen". It's about time they treated her with respect and dignity and let her great acting skills come to show in the role. The doctor is a genderless time lord. So this was bound to happen one day. Just let her prove her good of a doctor she can be.

Back to actual Doctor Who issues.
I do agree with @misskitten that removing companions after a short time doesn't help any as it doesn't allow these companions to really shine. I really liked Martha also but she didn't get nearly long enough a go. I think it was wasted potential there. The same with Bill. Though Bill was never my favourite, I thought a season or two more of her would have really fleshed out her character and we all cound have gotten to know her more and possibly like her more as a companion.

With the chocie of Doctor, I'm surprised they went with a younger doctor here. Possibly as a contrast to Peter Capaldi (who I liked a lot). One day I would like to see an older female doctor. There's enough really strong older female actors out there who could give the role the justice it deserves.

I also think a few new writers for the series would be nice. Some fresh ideas. Not the same old aliens in the same old locations. Something fresh, interesting and new. That's what the show needs now.
 

Dizzi

magical internet cat....
ZD Legend
Joined
Jun 22, 2016
I agree with shiro like about the fact the docs a woman but god i hope they dress her properly and not in high heels and tiny skirts, and the 45 minute thing was so the bbc could sell it to other channels and they could cram some ads in and they would fill out an hour rather than the 45 mins amd the bbc could put on the news shorts
 

Vanessa28

Angel of Darkness
Staff member
ZD Legend
Administrator
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Location
Yahtzee, Supernatural
Gender
Angel of Darkness
What I wanna see...STOP RE-USING THE SAME THING(S) AGAIN AND AGAIN. I actually liked Bill very much as a companion because sdhe was fresh and funny and so not like Clara whom I came to hate so much. Her being in the regenerating scene felt a bit like 11 seeing Amy in his final moments. Stop using that same concept. Time for something new.
So far I like the outfit chosen for the new Doctor. It brings back the alien the Doctor actually is. I also like they're going to have more than one companion. Okay, this is used more often lately but I hope they continue having at least another alien companion like we had in the old days with Nyssa and Adric and with Nardole last season. This makes it interesting. Although Tegan and Adric were whiny many times.
For god sake, if they're going to use the Daleks, please make it a very good storyline and not a complicated one. Daleks literally saved the show in the early years but please, keep them mysterious! Don't make them the annoying trolls who invade the Doctor's Life like bloody commercials on the telly. Same with the Cybermen.
I also hope they leave River Song to rest. Her story got such a perfect and beautiful ending with "The husbands of River Song". Just let this Doctor have a great fresh start like done with "The Eleventh hour" so people who never saw the show can easily step in without having to watch everything again to understand a bit.

I seriously hope the new writer is going to make things interesting again. Moffat is a very good writer but so often his stories are filled with plotholes and gaps. It almost felt like he wrote a great story but in the middle of it, he forgot how to continue and just rushed things.

And to repeat Shiro: TOM BAKER FOREVER!
 
Joined
Feb 15, 2018
Sorry for being away so long. So much been going on.

First off, Tom Baker is indeed the greatest there is!!! :D :D :D

Secondly, I agree with everyone's views here, and it is nice to see what you have had to say here. Doctor Who has been rather much of the same these past few years, and many things, such as villains and storylines, have been repeated ad nauseum, like complicated plots (I do acknowledge that Moffat is a clever writer, but it seems he has focused more on that than writing a proper story) and convoluted characters (like a lot of people, I find Clara's character and overall story arc unbearable).

The show needs a fresh start, plain and simple. Anyone who says River Song or Clara should come back, just please don't. Their story arcs are over, regardless of how well those endings were executed (River: quite well; Clara: oh, my god, what the hell have you done, Moffat??!).

What I've heard is looking really promising, and even though they may just be rumours, I'm feeling really optimistic. It looks like Chris Chibnall has a vision for what must be done, and it seems like he wants what's best for the show, as opposed to what comes across at times as awkward fanfiction (the Doctor being the most important man in the universe, the Mary Sue companion and so forth). We can only wait and see, but as long as the format is fresh and new, then we're already up to a good start.

I think, in the end, we're going to see the Daleks whether we like it or not, but I think it could be improved if they either turn up for a brief cameo (like in the 2009 specials, Series 6 and Series 10) or in a story that does something new with them, to make them scary in ways we haven't seen before.
 

Castle

Ch!ld0fV!si0n
Joined
Oct 24, 2012
Location
Crisis? What Crisis?
Gender
Pan-decepticon-transdeliberate-selfidentifying-sodiumbased-extraexistential-temporal anomaly
I want to see more estrogen.

Just kidding. I don't want to see it at all anymore.
 
I'm with @Castle on this one.

Doctor Who has had some trying times. There have been some horrible arcs and some terrible, terrible episodes... but these low points never lasted for long. As soon as I thought my faith was gone something would happen to bring me back.

This time though...

I loved Matt Smith's Doctor and I loved Moffat's writing for the most part. I daresay he reminds me of a british Joss Whedon. Moffat's era as show runner was one I enjoyed perhaps moreso than anything of what Davies did. I could feel the love and passion and thought put into the whole 11th Doctor's time.

But clearly Moffat didn't think any further ahead than 11 because as soon as Capaldi came in things went to hell very, very, very quickly. I love Capaldi as the Doctor, I think Capaldi is a great actor, he brings and incredible intensity to the role...

Which is why it is so ****ing insulting that Moffat and whoever else had writing duties gave Capaldi such tripe to work with. I enjoyed maybe two episodes of Capaldi's entire run.

Seasons 8 and 9 were so damn abysmal that I didnt dare waste my time with season 10. Not only was Capaldi insulted but the memories of actors and dignities of their characters were insulted in episodes such as Death In Heaven.

I no longer wish to waste my time on something this bad. I dont want to watch season 10 to be up to speed for season 11 which boasts a new showrunner and new Doctor. It isn't worth it.

It boggles my mind how a show can get this bad. It really is to TV what Other M is to videogames. That's how bad this show has become.

Could they save it? Yeah.

Will I care? Nope.
 
Joined
Oct 14, 2013
Location
Australia
I want to see the BBC quit the sexist bull**** they have used to advertised this season of Doctor Who.
We all don't give a **** about the gender of the actor. The Doctor is a genderless timelord anyway. As long as they pick a good actor for the role, that's all that matters. The BBC making a song and dance about "it's about time a woman was the doctor" only serves to push people away from the show.
The BBC should have treated equal to every doctor and given her a fair chance, not surround her in the sexist biull**** they did.

I think she'll do / is doing a great job so far. I don't care who plays the role as long as they do a good job.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom