My rules for Doctor who if i were the showrunner.

Sharaz of Telos

New member
Hello fellow Whovians. This is my 1st post so hope I've leve a good 1st impression. I've left my psychic paper in my Tardis glove compartment.

I've been thinking a lot about Doctor Who, and as self indulgent as it is. I've made a list of the rules, I would make if I where showrunner. This is in the order I thought of them, not a most to least important list. Feel free to add your own. These are all chsnges/rules I would have to improve the show.

1 we bring back the pure historical. Ie an episode with no aliens or magic outside of the Doctor Tardis etc. This was real common in the black and white era. But was dead by the 70s and had one come back in the 80s. There is no reason why the setting alone can't be exciting enough.

2 we kill off the Master and Davros. Both have been done to death, both desperately need retired. Storywise Davros shdould never have been brought back. It weakens the Daleks. He made them they killed him, that's the daleks in a nutshell. By all means have there be a Supreme Dalek or Dalek Emperor for 1 on 1 confrontatiins with the Dr. And the Master has no real plan outside of being a bad bad. In Pertwee era he was Morriarty. But from the deadly assassin onwards the Master has become Skelator. "Hate is strength" "they'll live long enough to see the end of this accused planet" "so insufferabley good so insufferabley compassionate". The post Pertwee Master makes Dr Robotnik look like the Warden from Shawshank redeption more often than not.

3 we make the sontarons like the samuaria or Spartans ie a warrior race with its own values and customs. Despite being potato heads they could be interesting. As aliens with different ethics and culture to us. But 9/10 they are written as pound shop Daleks, when they ooze potential. They'd be so much better as quasi noble warriors. But most writers just make them into pound shop daleks. When they could be so much more.

4 redesign the daleks give them like metallic colours like metallic blue or green maybe red or black for high ranking ones (I love the idea of daleks having a caste system). I'm bored of the bronze look they've had for nearly 20 years. I actually like the Paradigm look. Plus the daleks having different ranks makes sense. Or if that's to much to ask maybe different coloured eyes and lights??

5 go back the cybermen having names like in The Tenth Planet. There is no reason why they shouldn't have names. They are people in robot bodies people have names..

6 go back to the doctor and companions having a style like in the pre 80s days no more costumes. Ie the characters wearing the same clothes every episode for 3 years. With the Doctor it's tolerable but the companions shouldn't. Prior to JNT the Doctor a had a look/style of clothes, but they didn't wear the exact same clothes every episode. But from 81 onwards he/she had costumes. 1 2 3 and 4 had different outfits each episode. But for some reason from 5 onwards they wear the same outfit every day like a cartoon character.

7 we have one episode that takes place mostly outside like woods hills field corries don't count. Its nice to see some scenery that isn't dark corridors or barren corries. Plants and rivers make the setting look alive. And if nothing it's nicer to look at. Pirate planet 5 doctors robots of sharewood all looked better by having landscape. Rather than some boxy utilitarian wearhouse like most are set.

8 make sure the companions have different relationships with each other than the one they have with the Dr like with the super early days. This is more a problem with the most recent era and only really applies if you have 2+ companions. But if you have the Doctor and multiple companions then they should talk and act differently towards each other. Like Comoanion A should talk differently to Companion B than they do to the doctor. Like you talk to your parents differently from the way you talk to your friends sister cousin ect. This is something RTD and the Hartnel era nailed.

9 create a new recurring villain. The show desperately needs one.

10 make sure there is a mix of serious androzani /dakek 05 episodes with light episodes like partners in crime/City of death and some semi serious ones like poison sky. But don't do both at once. I'm not one of the people who thinks dark=good. But if you are going to go dark go all out. If you are going for fun adventure keep it light. Don't do both at once. And stager them throughout the series.

11 no more baddie team ups eg no daleks meet silurians. It just makes one villain look redundant and pointless and take screen time off the more interesting one. Get one villain flesh them out and make them a threat. Villain team ups snd or fight episodes are just annoying most times. Are the sea devils even in warriors of the deep? Were the cybermen even in the power of the Doctor?

12 no more the dakeks/cybermen ect have been wiped out for good this time it's gratuitous having them go extinct only for "one ship survived". Its really gratuitous to be told that the Daleks/Cybermen are extinct only for them to pop up again next year because one teleported away off screen. RTD was real bad for this. At least in Evil of the daleks the daleks stayed dead for like 5 years. Plus I'm sure the cybermen have become extinct in like ⅓ of their episodes.

13 have more scenes in different rooms in the tardis it's a house treat it as such. There is no reason why we can't have a scene in the Tardis kitchen, every conversation don't have to be in the control room.

14 define and set limits to the sonic screwdriver limit issue to unlocking doors or scanning for data maybe a torch at best. Too many episodes use the sonic screwdriver as a dues ex machina/get out of jail free card, only for the doctor to never use ot that way again.

15 give characters in the future futuristic clothes no more people wearing jeans and marks and Spencers shirts in 2367AD. This is a nitpick and people who aren't me probably don't care. But I do. Especially since the clothes people wear in the future of the rtd era look ridiculously baggy now cause no one dresses like that anymore.

16 in historicals set before let's say 1900 have the Dr and companions wear period dress or some approximation. Again tying into rule 15, if they go to ancient Rome they shouldn't be skiing around in hoodies. If nothing jt be far to hot for it. Historical costumes are the bbc's speciality.

17 bring back the sacrificial lambs they give stakes to the story. From Moffat onwards it seems that the monsters/baddies never seem to kill anyone. Having them kill red shirt mcgee makes them threatening. If they can't kill any of the guest cast (one off characters for the episode) then how can we buy them as a threat to the doctor and companions?

18 make one of the companions into aliens and other planes prior to meeting the doctor its too obvious not to do that. Amazingly this hasn't been done before.

19 have an episode with pirates and make it fun do the dw versions of potc. Who wouldn't love to see doctor who dose treasure Island or Peter pan in space? Maybe JM Barrie or Robert Louis Stevenson could tag along and that becomes the inspiration for their stories? Then you can do the Historical celebrity at the same time..

20 have an episode take place in Mexico Romania or Japan somewhere exotic and base the story around it. Ie the opposite of Praxeus where you have a bit in Peru (ie a ditch) a bit in Hong Kong (some wearhouse) and a beach we are told is Madagascar. Have an episode in Japan were there are samurai or maybe a story in Mexico about its civil war. Or if that's to expensive maybe a Viking story filmed in Sweden or maybe vampires in Bucharest. Just something we're the location plays into the story. I'd love a story that takes place during the Christmas Revolution (granted that might be "too poltical") . Imagine having this baby in the background https://images.app.goo.gl/tSHiD8HyTVya2uM36

21 Bring back the Thals, why have they been forgotten about?

Those are my ideas what do you think?
 
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