“Doctor Who” is a British sci-fi show that began airing in 1963, was canceled in 1989 and was revived for another run in 2005, which is still going to this day. A show coming up on its 60th anniversary didn’t start to get boring until 2016, and even that season had a killer finale. I want to highlight how incredible that is. Unfortunately, seasons 11 through 13 have been less than spectacular. They’ve all been boring, samey episodes ranging from ok story quality to downright awful. Season12 tried to give a new, fresh “Doctor Who” story by giving us a plot twist that rewrote the show’s entire story from the beginning. But, instead of being blown out of the water by this incredible revelation, I simply sat there, a disgusted look on my face, wondering, “Doctor Why?” (I know, that was bad. You can boo me for that one.)
Doing the same thing over and over again is the best way to bore your audience. Sure, it might have worked the first time, but that doesn’t mean it’ll work the next 500 times. The fact that “Doctor Who” has lasted as long as it has feels like a miracle, but it isn’t. When I tried finding an average episode to show my family so they understood what the show is, I had a very difficult time. There isn’t an average episode in “Doctor Who.” That’s the beauty of it. Sure, there are plenty of ok episodes, but they all feel unique. Every one of them is different, except for the later seasons. Those have all felt bland and samey. Why? Because the writers follow the “Doctor Who” formula to the letter, and they don’t introduce any interesting sci-fi concepts, or, when they do, they don’t flesh it out.
When I say the “Doctor Who” formula, you may think, “Wait a minute. I thought you said every episode was unique.” I did say that, and it still applies, but there is a formula for this show. The Doctor travels to a new location. He finds something wrong. He proceeds to investigate the problem and finds a solution. The companion learns a lesson, and they fly away to their next adventure. That’s your typical “Doctor Who” episode. Seems pretty basic, right? How could a show do that every episode for the last 60 years and still be enjoyable? Wouldn’t the audience get tired of it?
You’d think we would, but we don’t. I recently began watching the original show from 1963, and it’s the same formula as the new one, but I still absolutely love it. I’ve read books, and comics, listened to audio dramas, and I can’t get enough of it. So, why am I suddenly bored of the formula with the newer seasons if it’s so good? But I still like the formula with the older stuff. Do I just not like new things?
Absolutely not. I love new things. It’s because, while “Doctor Who” follows the same formula, they always have something unique and interesting in each episode. There’s always some new monster, sci-fi concept, or mystery we haven’t seen before. For example, let’s talk about the Daleks.
The Daleks are the Doctor’s greatest enemies and probably one of the greatest villains in sci-fi history. But they’re only space nazis? That trope has been done so many times before. How could they be so good? Because every time we see them, there’s something different. In the new show, we’re introduced to the Daleks in the season one episode called, well, “Dalek.” In it, we meet a lone Dalek, who is damaged and captured by some humans. But the Dalek escapes after restoring to full power by absorbing some human DNA, and the amount of kills it racks up is immense. It kills almost everyone in the museum it was in, but the human DNA is too strong, and it begins to feel human emotions. It feels guilty about its actions because of the little bit of human in it and stops. Not only are we introduced to an incredible adversary, but the Doctor also has a very different relationship with this alien. Before, the Doctor had hoped that every alien he met was good deep on the inside, but with this alien, he shouted at it, tortured it, and put it in agony. We see a different, darker side of the Doctor, and it’s very interesting.
The other times we see the Daleks, it’s never the same. At the end of season one, we find the Doctor facing an armada of Daleks. At the end of season two, we meet the Cult of Skaro. The Cult of Skaro is experimenting with Dalek/Human hybrids in season three. Then, at the end of season four, the creator of the Daleks from the classic series returns and threatens all of reality. The Daleks appear in many more episodes after. We never see the Daleks the same way twice. They’re always doing something new, or we see a different side of them. It’s very interesting and engaging.
The same goes for the rest of the episodes of the show. We never see the same things twice. If an alien reappears, it’s not in the same way we saw them before. When the episode doesn’t feature a returning alien, we meet a different, unique race or explore more of the Doctor or their companion. The show offers something unique, except for the newer episodes. They haven’t done much work on writing unique and interesting episodes in the last three seasons. We’ve seen all of this before, whether in another episode of “Doctor Who” or something else. Season 12 did a slightly better job, especially with “The Haunting of Villa Diodati.” However, season 12 did badly for the most part.
If you plan on writing a series, never write the same book twice. Always bring something new and different to the table, or you risk boring your audience. Sure, every story has been told at least once, but it’s never been told how you can tell it. You can always tell something unique, and people will listen.
Thank you for reading! Have a fantastic day.