by The moment Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who regenerated will go down in history as one of the greatest modern Who blockbusters.
There she was, standing on a rocky outcrop, ready to hand over the mantle to the next line. But this time there was an extra twist for those watching. Instead of a regeneration into Ncuti Gatwa, who was announced as the next Doctor in 2022 after rising to fame in Netflix’s Sex Education, people instead saw David Tennant in his place, ready to reprise the role he played thirteen years ago to recapture.
To quote the Doctor, reacting to this change of plans: what?!
With that phrase (can a word be a phrase? magically it looked good when paired with a pinstripe suit.
I wasn’t around for the original Who, but I watched from behind the sofa as my dad (a lifelong fan) turned on the TV for the reboot in 2005. Scary how the Daleks to be, this show is catnip for children: the monsters; the prospect of entering a magic box and going on adventures in time and space; and above all, the knowledge that will ultimately save the day for the Doctor.
At the helm of the first series of reboots, Christopher Eccleston came and went, with that kind of mystique to him – a bit too intense for my nine-year-old self, but the baddies kept me in my sights. : the gas mask zombies, the Slitheen. , even (shudder) the return of the Daleks. And just as I was getting right into the show, along came David Tennant.
For millions of fans like me, Tennant was more than just a version of the Doctor: he was the Definitive doctor. Taking the reins from Eccleston after an excellent but troubled first season (Ecleston has spoken of how he was blacklisted by the BBC when he left the show and almost destroyed his career), he immediately breathed new life into the character.
Along with showman Russell T Davies (who has an impressive list of credits to his name, including It’s A Sin and Queer as Folk) Tennant helped launch Who into the stratosphere: suddenly, he was watching the show ( wait for it) cool, something for both kids and adults to hear. First up, Tennant’s Doctor Who pulled in 13m viewers – a world away from Jodie Whittaker’s swan song, which drew just four.
A blend of established characters by Davies – he always took the time to nurture the companion’s families and make sense of their lives – and tightly plotted episodes were a winning combination. Think The Parting of the Ways, where the Doctor and Rose bid a tearful farewell on a bleak beach in Norway; or the haunting Midnight, which must be among the bleakest.
Of course, a great script is one thing, but selling it is another. As the face of the show, Tennant could switch from cheeky chappie to ultra-serious baddies blaster in a nanosecond; Yes, Eccleston had the gravitas, but Tennant had that, plus sass. And clearly, he loved playing the Doctor: a lifelong fan himself, he once told GWR FM, “Who wouldn’t want to be the Doctor? I’ve even got my own TARDIS! ” It’s a fair point.
Needless to say, I lapped it up; even more so when Catherine Tate came on board as the perpetually mad Donna. It was a golden age, but alas, all good things must come to an end. When both Davies and Tennant left in 2010, the show was struggling. Matt Smith was energetic and chirpy, yes, but the writing, under Steven Moffat’s tenure, was more bland, the plots more slapdash. Where were the classics: the Blinks, the Empty Children?
As the years went by, I stopped watching altogether – as did many others. Doctor Who wasn’t cool anymore; It was again the field of nerds and dedicated fans who were invested enough in the show’s lore that the fiendishly complicated scripts (or indeed the show’s revolving catalog of rebooted monsters from the original series) made sense. For some, the bad patches were worth toughening up. Which is fine, of course; I’m a nerd myself.
Something was missing; a spark, perhaps. Jodie Whittaker and Peter Capaldi’s tenures both suffered from poor script writing; the plots were shoddy. The Doctor suddenly began sprouting mysterious incarnations. Why were the Gol Angels everywhere all of a sudden? I would read reviews of the series and stare at the screen, longing for the good old days.
I was just about to hang up my sonic screwdriver for good – at least until I heard that Russell T Davies was coming back as the showrunner, alongside Tennant and Catherine Tate as his companion Donna. The classic gang, back together again, and returning for one more bite at the apple before passing on the mantle to Gatwa.
Bringing back Tennant was a big win for Davies. If my ears perked up, so did the ears of thousands of former Whovians, hungry for some sweet nostalgia. And we’ve been rewarded handsomely: that first scene of Tennant strolling around London in his refurbished Tardis made me feel like a kid. As the first referred to “Allons-y!”, his old catchphrase.
It was a joy to watch him bounce around the globe with old partner Donna; even better, this is a Doctor who is brought firmly into the present day universe. He is still recognizable himself, but this time he is pressed on Isaac Newton Nathaniel Curtis (“He was so hot … oh! Is that who I am now?”) and he lets Donna and his daughter Rose (Yasmin Finney ) school him on pronoun use. You can sense the mischief in Davies’ pen, as well as his obvious love for the series, still peppering his scripts with plenty of Easter eggs.
So, as the third and final special approach, I’m not ready to let Tennant go just yet. How could I be? We’ve just got it back, but the timey-wimey rolls swiftly-wobbly on, and it’s been a joy to see the show looking more vibrant than it has in years.
Job done? With Davies at the helm, I’m hopeful that the soft restart he and Tennant have continued in style. Gatwa has big shoes to fill, but one thing is certain about Doctor Who: it’s about change. Stay tuned for the future… but if Tennant ever decides to guest star again, I’ll be there in the blink of an eye of a weeping Angel.
Doctor Who will be broadcast on BBC One on December 9 at 6.30pm
