Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall to leave Doctor Who in a trio of Specials in 2022

[nonoriri]

Also it really needs to be said that the first season of Broadchurch was fantastic. He's capable of writing good things and he successfully ran a show that had both David Tennant and Jodie Whittaker in it.

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I don't really agree with this. His writing on Broadchurch is that there is a lot happening, there's lots of cliffhangers and twists but the characters are pretty empty. They have backstories, but very little inner worlds or thought processes. Even the reveal exists just to be a reveal, there's nothing leading up to it that the audience could figure out (like he didn't even tell the actor that their character was the killer until they filmed the reveal, so they couldn't add any subtlety to their performance). Broadchurch worked because you get so caught up in all the stuff happening that it sort of hides all the pieces don't add up to a whole. And that's why the second season was such a disaster. Chibnall couldn't hide behind all the stuff of a murder mystery and it just collapsed.

 

[bremen]

JNT was in charge of Who during the worst part of it's original run, so I don't know if I'd bring him in as a comparison.

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I was talking about getting the show out regularly and on time compared to how it is now, rather than the quality of it.

 

[zeroshiki]

I wish Moffat would come back. He was burnt out on Doctor Who but his era (and even his episodes during the RTD era) were some of the cleverest the show had ever been and was what drew me into Who in the first place.

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

I don't really agree with this. His writing on Broadchurch is that there is a lot happening, there's lots of cliffhangers and twists but the characters are pretty empty. They have backstories, but very little inner worlds or thought processes. Even the reveal exists just to be a reveal, there's nothing leading up to it that the audience could figure out (like he didn't even tell the actor that their character was the killer until they filmed the reveal, so they couldn't add any subtlety to their performance). Broadchurch worked because you get so caught up in all the stuff happening that it sort of hides all the pieces don't add up to a whole. And that's why the second season was such a disaster. Chibnall couldn't hide behind all the stuff of a murder mystery and it just collapsed.

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As far as I'm concerned, if you're considering a season of a show a success because the writer has hidden it's faults behind it's strengths, that's a positive. Like, if you analyze things after the fact with this knowledge then I'm sure it can start to feel worse but I honestly would have had no idea about details like "he didn't tell the actor" without being told. I think sometimes media analysis online gets too caught up in how they think something should be written or made when none of that is nearly as important as how it feels when you watch it.

I think that the first season of Broadchurch has some pretty great character moments, some really decent drama, and a relatively fun mystery. I had a great time watching it. There is nothing, even on a scene by scene basis, that comes close to it in Chibnall's Who era. Even if you don't think that Broadchurch was ever good, at the very least it was leagues better than what we got with his Who run.

 

[acheron_xl]

For those that do not remember, here are the episodes Chibnall wrote before becoming showrunner.

42: A "24 in space" episode that was kind of boring. I don't remember much about it.
The Hungry Earth & Cold Blood: The two-part return of the Silurians. It was not a good return, boring too (thankfully we would get Madame Vastra, a much better Silurian).
Dinosaurs in a Spaceship: As the title says. It should have been a cool idea, but it was mostly wasted.
The Power of Three: An interesting slice of life episode in the Pond household. This was so close to being great, but the ending ruined it. i just remember coming away annoyed.

Chibnall also wrote several episodes of Torchwood, including the much-maligned Cyberwoman.

So yeah, people had a reason to be concerned when he was announced to be running things. Glad he's gone.

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I always thought Chibs wrote Amy really well. Dinosaurs is peak Amy imo.

 

[butalala]

I was talking about getting the show out regularly and on time compared to how it is now, rather than the quality of it.

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Oh, that makes sense. I guess you could also look at RTD's run, that felt like the most consistent of the modern era. BBC budgets also must make an impact on timeliness? I'm not really that knowledgeable, I admit.

 

[Night]

Good - on both accounts.

 

[Mezentine]

This news and some other chatter got me to go back and dive into series 11 and uh this Amazon Warehouse episode might be one of the most revolting and morally bankrupt episodes of TV I've ever seen, and easily takes the crown from Love and Monsters for worst episode of the revival era. I can't think of the last time a plot twist actually offended me like this one does. Was this discussed at all when it aired? What the fuck? I think Whittaker is fine but Chibnall going is definitely a good thing

 

[Kschreck]

I liked Jodie well enough but yeah I'm ready to move on from the Chibnall era. By far the worse Who for me personally. As far as modern Who goes, series 1-6 is still my personal favorite with some decent episodes and arcs sprinkled throughout 7-10. I don't know what exactly happened to Who. I remember 5 and 6 have some amazing visuals and amazing story arcs that really gave you a sense of adventure and mystique then 7 more or less really downgraded the storytelling aspect of the show into more monster of the week episodes and that's more or less how the show went on from there. Obviously some story arcs but now in the way that the older series had.

I would love BBC to partner with HBO Max, raise the budget and bring back the long form, well written story arcs. What made the older Who series so great is that they were able to appeal to both kids and adults and really get you to think about the stories they were trying to tell whereas the Jodie seasons felt designed for small school children only.

All of this is just my opinion but 5-6 are still my favorite season. I loved all the mysteries and twists. 1-4 were also great and I liked certain episodes and arcs from the Peter Capaldi era. Beyond that not much I enjoyed in the Jodie era. Something here and there but that's it. I hope the next team can do a more compelling show and bring Doctor Who back to greatness!

 

[SigmasonicX]

This news and some other chatter got me to go back and dive into series 11 and uh this Amazon Warehouse episode might be one of the most revolting and morally bankrupt episodes of TV I've ever seen, and easily takes the crown from Love and Monsters for worst episode of the revival era. I can't think of the last time a plot twist actually offended me like this one does. Was this discussed at all when it aired? What the fuck? I think Whittaker is fine but Chibnall going is definitely a good thing

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As I recall, when it aired, people were still giving the series the benefit of the doubt. A lot of "OK this episode was bad, but..."

 

[CommodoreKong]

Somehow feels like the shortest, and longest Doctor Who run.

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It feels like that because it actually is for modern Who. Jodie will have been the longest serving modern if you look at how many years she was in the role but she'll have the least number of episodes of any modern Doctor that was in more than one season.

 

[digit_zero]

Chibnell leaving will at least get me try to watch Doctor Who again. I enjoyed Whittaker in the role... but the show around her was so off what I wanted from Doctor Who I don't think I even finished her first season before dropping the show.

Every once and awhile I'd check in and see if it got better, and consistently was told it hadn't - but I do miss myself looking forward to and enjoying some Doctor Who.

 

[BGBW]

Sad to hear Jodie is leaving. Rather liked her as the Doctor.

Clearly the next step to get Doctor Who popular with da yoof again is to make them a Vtuber.

 

[Mezentine]

I haven't been following, did they really badly nerf the budget even further in these most recent seasons? Because I just watched the Amazon episode and the Witch Hunt episode back to back and uh these look like they were cheaper to make than Star Trek

From the 60s

 

[Dwebble]

The rumours have it that Sally Wainwright(Gentleman Jack, Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax) is the name in the frame to take over from Chibnall, by the way.

I'm taking it with a pinch of salt, if only because that's pretty close to my dream appointment, and life doesn't tend to be that good.

 

[Qwerty Keyboard]

Sad to hear Jodie is leaving. Rather liked her as the Doctor.

Clearly the next step to get Doctor Who popular with da yoof again is to make them a Vtuber.

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That would be the quickest way to kill the show 😂

 

[Paradox]

The rumours have it that Sally Wainwright(Gentleman Jack, Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax) is the name in the frame to take over from Chibnall, by the way.

I'm taking it with a pinch of salt, if only because that's pretty close to my dream appointment, and life doesn't tend to be that good.

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Wainwright would be an insanely good choice.

She's one of very few 'recognisable' British writers who have built a pedigree to their name, she is one of the best around in terms of character work and believable dialogue, and, you know, she's a woman, which would be a nice change.

Though I did think that one episode of DW she wrote where the Master, whose daughter turned out to be a companion of the 8th Doctor, fell in love with a Plasmavore, whose daughter was the Adipose Matron, was a bit of a weird one. This is just a joke about Last Tango in Halifax and the numerous DW connections in all of her shows, before anyone panics

 

[Kalor]

Sally Wainwright would be an really good choice and now I'll be disappointed when it doesn't happen.

 

[Siggy-P]

I haven't been following, did they really badly nerf the budget even further in these most recent seasons? Because I just watched the Amazon episode and the Witch Hunt episode back to back and uh these look like they were cheaper to make than Star Trek

From the 60s

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BBC doesn't have the same money to throw at shows, even super successful ones, as other studios do. But even by their standards Doctor Who always get the short end despite its popularity.

Moffat was vocal about this after he left but more recently Capaldi was comparing it to suicide squad and how many things on Doctor Who had to be litteraly held together by tape.

 

[Mezentine]

BBC doesn't have the same money to throw at shows, even super successful ones, as other studios do. But even by their standards Doctor Who always get the short end despite its popularity.

Moffat was vocal about this after he left but more recently Capaldi was comparing it to suicide squad and how many things on Doctor Who had to be litteraly held together by tape.

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I guess, but even the later Capaldi episodes would feature...a set or two.

 

[Randomless]

Wow I missed this thread earlier. Very happy about Chibbers leaving. Sad for Jodie. Maybe Big Finish can give her some better stories to work with.

 

[Dalek]

The rumours have it that Sally Wainwright(Gentleman Jack, Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax) is the name in the frame to take over from Chibnall, by the way.

I'm taking it with a pinch of salt, if only because that's pretty close to my dream appointment, and life doesn't tend to be that good.

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Happy Valley was a fucking masterpiece.

 

[TheGamingNewsGuy]