Doctor Who’s Recent Seasons Made One Huge Mistake That Failed Them Before They Even Began

One huge mistake made at the start of Ncuti Gatwa’s run as the titular Time Lord in Doctor Who may be the cause of many other mishaps that have received criticism in recent years. Gatwa (Sex Education) took over from Jodie Whittaker (and the returning David Tennant) as the Doctor in 2023. His casting as the Doctor was incredibly exciting, with many believing his debut would revitalize the series after viewership dwindled during Whittaker’s run as the Thirteenth Doctor. Unfortunately, his time as the Doctor was also marred by criticism.

Gatwa’s debut in Doctor Who coincided with Russell T. Davies’ return as showrunner, leading many to expect a return to the quality and heart of Davies’ original adventures, which ran between 2005 and 2010. However, Gatwa’s seasons were only nine episodes each, including Christmas specials, which meant his stories felt rushed, saturated, and underdeveloped. Most of the other criticisms aimed at Doctor Who in recent years could also be attributed to the series being shortened – especially the criticism that Ncuti Gatwa didn’t have enough time as the Doctor before regenerating in “The Reality War.”

Both of the Doctor’s recent traveling companions, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu), were also severely underdeveloped, meaning audiences simply didn’t get as invested in their stories or backgrounds. Ruby’s appearances in Gatwa’s second season helped to quell this issue, but it was hard for viewers to care much about Belinda. Both of their stories were rushed and disappointing, with Ruby’s mother being revealed to be a regular person, and Belinda being Poppy’s mother being very confusing. Longer seasons could have solved these issues.

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When Russell T. Davies first revived Doctor Who back in 2005, when Christopher Eccleston was in the driver’s seat as the Ninth Doctor, each season had 13 episodes and a Christmas special. This gave the Doctor and their companions plenty of time to grow, form a tight relationship, and embark on some emotional, heartfelt, and unexpected adventures. This also meant there was time for more one-off, standalone, and Doctor-lite episodes, which hasn’t been the case more recently. Losing these episodes has made Ncuti Gatwa’s run feel over-saturated with content, with few moments to breathe, which is a shame.

It’s unclear exactly why Doctor Who’s recent seasons were shortened to eight episodes. Perhaps the larger budget awarded thanks to Bad Wolf Ltd. and Disney meant that more content and work was put into fewer episodes, rather than stretching the season. Perhaps there were also scheduling conflicts among the cast, particularly with Gatwa, who recently had a role in Barbie and will reappear in The Roses, and Sethu, whose role in Andor may have eaten up a lot of time. Whatever the reason, Doctor Who’s shortened seasons may have created more problems than solutions to the series’ prior issues.

What did you think of Ncuti Gatwa’s seasons of Doctor Who? Let us know in the comments!

Doctor Who is streaming on Disney+.