Hello everyone! 🙂
Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!
(sighs) I was afraid this would happen.
And whilst many of you have your own opinions about Jodie Whittaker’s performances as the Thirteenth Doctor and Chris Chibnall’s efforts as the current showrunner of ‘Doctor Who’, I must stress that I also have my own opinions about these two. I’m saddened to hear that they’re leaving.
This year, the rumours have been circulating about whether Jodie Whittaker would leave the TV show or not. I held back from making any comments since they weren’t officially announced by the BBC and I wanted to be sure the rumours were true. Sadly this BBC News article that I’ve come across confirms the rumours.
I’ve made it clear in both in my blog posts and in my fully-detailed reviews that I rate Jodie Whittaker very highly as the Thirteenth Doctor. She’s one of my favourite Doctors alongside Peter Davison and David Tennant. Watching Jodie as the Doctor in the TV show has given me endless bouts of joy. 😀
Watching Series 11 and Series 12 has reinvigorated my interest in the TV show. Jodie even cheered me up when I was feeling down during the Covid-19 pandemic in her ‘Message From The Doctor’ video. There’s no doubt I’ve had positive and happy memories watching Jodie’s Doctor in the TV series. 🙂
I greatly enjoyed watching Jodie’s Doctor in ‘Revolution of the Daleks’ this year on New Year’s Day back in January. I’m currently looking forward to the upcoming Series 13 with Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill and John Bishop, which you can get a taste of in the following YouTube trailer. It seems pretty exciting.
I’m intrigued about what this six-part story formed as Series 13 of ‘Doctor Who’ will be like and I’m looking forward to seeing the three specials shown throughout 2022. One will be shown on New Year’s Day, one will be shown in the spring and Jodie’s last adventure will be shown in the autumn. 🙂
Whilst I’m excited by Series 13 and the three upcoming specials, I wish Jodie had stayed on to play the Thirteenth Doctor for the show’s 60th anniversary. She could have at least stayed on to end her tenure for the show’s 60th year like Matt Smith did for the 50th year. I hope that Jodie will be able to return for the show’s 60th anniversary.
I’m also saddened Chris Chibnall is leaving as the showrunner for ‘Doctor Who’. I know people have criticised Chris’ writing in ‘Doctor Who’, but for me, I felt he was a breath of fresh air and a welcome relief compared to Steven Moffat’s writing. I know people won’t agree with me on that, but it’s how I feel.
It’s a shame Chris Chibnall never got to outlive his true potential as a showrunner compared to Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat who were in the job longer than him. Chris Chibnall is likely to end up as an underrated ‘Doctor Who’ showrunner, much like how 1970s producer Graham Williams ended up.
I don’t know what the future of ‘Doctor Who’ as a TV show will be like. Maybe the new showrunner will be good. Maybe the casting of the new Doctor will be good. At present, I’m not interested yet. I’m currently saddened that Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall are leaving too soon for me.
I might change my mind about the future of ‘Doctor Who’ and will be excited by it. For now, I’m looking forward to finding out what Series 13 of ‘Doctor Who’ will be like and I hope Jodie will have a good swansong in the last three specials of 2022. At least, I’ll be getting used to her leaving the show until then.
I’m also glad Jodie got to do three seasons of ‘Doctor Who’ as opposed to two.
Thanks for reading!
Bye for now!
Tim. 🙂
Bradley's Basement 
I respect your opinion. I too will miss Jodie, and particular her chemistry with Sacha. I’ve also enjoyed some aspects of Chris Chibnall’s writing and showrunning: the direction he’s chosen for the Daleks and Cybermen is particularly interesting.
One aspect of the Chibnall era is the neglect of the development of the companions. They’ve no grand arcs, no passionate moments.
Chris has set up a lot of threads otherwise, though, and I hope that he manages to bring it all together in his remaining 9 episodes.
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Hi Daz
Glad you respect my opinion. Yeah I enjoyed Jodie’s interaction with Sacha in Series 12. Hopefully we’ll see that again soon in Series 13 or the specials. Glad you enjoyed some aspects of Chris Chibnall’s writing including how he handled the Daleks and the Cybermen.
Yeah it’s a shame that companions like Graham, Ryan and Yaz weren’t given proper character arcs or development and that’s not easy considering crowded TARDISes can be a problem in terms of developing characters. I hope Graham and Ryan will come back into ‘Doctor Who’ to see Jodie’s Doctor off and hopefully we’ll have some nice development of Yaz and Dan in Series 13 and the specials. It’ll interesting how Dan’s character will be introduced in the series.
Many thanks for your comments.
Tim 🙂
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Toxic fandom hasn’t helped Jodies era & Chibnall era i guess that a factor there leaving as the BBC will try revamping the show, it’s a shame because i was very anti female Doctor but Jodie been brilliant in the role & i thought the quality of storys by Chibnall far more engaging than Moffats monotone storytelling.
Change has always been a key factor of Doctor Who so we’ll see what direction the show will take next.
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Hi Simon.
Yeah it upsets me how toxic fandom seems to be a factor in Jodie and Chris’ leaving the show. The Covid-19 pandemic hasn’t helped matters either since it changed Chris’ long-term plan. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the show with Jodie’s Doctor and Chris’ writing considering you were against them before they started.
It’ll be interesting to see where the show will go next. Maybe they might cast a black actor to play the role – male or female. Maybe Nicholas Ralph or Callum Woodhouse from the new ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ show might be considered. Maybe Pete McTighe might be a contender for showrunner. Who knows?
Many thanks for your comments.
Tim. 🙂
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Of course this was bound to happen one day, so I have to say I can’t get too hung up on it. Each to their own!
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Hi Tony
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Unlike others, I suppose I’ve been emotionally invested in this current era of ‘Doctor Who’ that I feel this way that it’s ending too soon for me.
But like you said, each to their own.
Tim. 🙂
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Regarding casting by all means cast a black actor providing he or she is the best actor for the role, i worry they cast actors of race to be diverse which annoys people, if a white male actor tests best for the role then he/ she should be cast it shouldn’t be down to colour or creed but howevers best for the role.
Hayley Atwell be my choice for female Doctor & Damien Maloney Tom Burke for male Doctor, for a black Doctor David Harewood i think would be perfect having seen him as Martian Manhunter in Supergirl.
I feel toxic fandom definitely not helped Jodie & Chibnall also i don’t think they been popular overseas which generates revenue for the BBC.
Don’t think Tom’s 7 year run be broken.
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Yeah 3 seasons plus specials seems to have become the standard and that is probably about the right mark.
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Hi Simon, Hi Daz Voss
When it comes to the reveal of the Fourteenth Doctor, it’s probably bound to be an actor I won’t know much about since Jodie Whittaker was a new face for me when she was announced back in 2017. It’ll be interesting to see who will take over from Chris Chibnall and who the new Doctor will be. Hayley Atwell and David Harewood sound like good contenders to be the new Doctor. David Harewood was of course in ‘The End of Time’ with David Tennant.
I don’t know how things have fared oversees regarding ‘Doctor Who’ lately, but I imagine the toxic fandom is just as bad as it is here in the UK. It’s a shame as I hoped more people would be open to the idea of a female Doctor by this stage. Seems not. I feel Jodie and Chris have provided really decent efforts in their era of the show. It does seem Tom Baker’s seven year run won’t be broken. I know how Colin Baker tried to do it and it didn’t work out well for him in the end.
Yes Daz, I’m very pleased Jodie’s managed to get to do her three seasons in ‘Doctor Who’ as well as have three specials before she bows out. I did hope she would go beyond that, especially for the 60th anniversary. It makes me wonder how the 60th anniversary will turn out in 2023 and whether the Fourteenth Doctor will make his or her debut then or in 2024.
Many thanks for your comments.
Tim. 🙂
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Thanks for sharing you thoughts on Jodie and Chris’s departure.
I enjoyed the 13th Doctor era, but I will admit that it’s one of the lowest eras of Doctor Who. It’s probably not an era I would watch over and over again, but it still has its good points.
I’m not sure who should be the next show runner, but I actuallyg had Nicholas Ralph in mind to play the Doctor in the future, probably not the 14th Doctor.
P.s. I am currently listening the last half-hour of part 2 of Tartarus, so I will share my thoughts on it tomorrow.
Take care, WF92.
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Hi WF92,
Glad you enjoyed my thoughts on Jodie and Chris leaving the show. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the matter too. Interesting how you view the Thirteenth Doctor era differently compared to me.
It’s hard to know what will be coming next for ‘Doctor Who’. I’m not in a rush to find out as I’m looking forward to Series 13 and the upcoming 2022 specials with Jodie first.
Glad you’ve been enjoying ‘Tartarus’. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the story.
Many thanks for your comments.
Tim 🙂
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