While the new Doctor Who era is watchable, there are some areas that could be improved. Ncuti Gatwa's portrayal of the Doctor still comes across as more whimsical than a deeply intellectual and ancient being, with showrunner Russell T. Davies leaning heavily into a campy and lighthearted tone. Millie Gibson brings a certain charm as the new companion, though the overall lighthearted approach raises questions about whether she will have opportunities to showcase a broader acting range assuming she is capable. Gatwa and Gibson do have an enjoyable on-screen chemistry that makes the Doctor work better than one might expect given the strange tonal choices.
The new season's shift toward a more supernatural or fantasy-focused storytelling is a departure from previous eras and abstracts the show's connection to exploring our actual universe in favor of a very light fantastical setting.
In casting recent Doctors, there seems to be an emphasis on eccentric personalities over projecting a sense of gravitas befitting an immortal, genius alien. Previous Doctors all balanced eccentricity with an underlying aura of experience and depth that has been lacking. While an improvement over the previous era in terms of maintaining interest, this new season is at least not boring, if odd, it struggles to maintain tonal and thematic continuity with classic and new era Doctor Who.
The season's specials in particular featured heavy-handed moralizing that came across as simplistic rather than cleverly insightful at times, unintentionally veering into parody. I hope that Russell T. Davies can recruit talented writers who can inject more depth, nuance and flair into the stories. This would give Ncuti Gatwa more opportunities to explore the Doctor's ancient, complex character beyond just the eccentric surfaces.
The new season's shift toward a more supernatural or fantasy-focused storytelling is a departure from previous eras and abstracts the show's connection to exploring our actual universe in favor of a very light fantastical setting.
In casting recent Doctors, there seems to be an emphasis on eccentric personalities over projecting a sense of gravitas befitting an immortal, genius alien. Previous Doctors all balanced eccentricity with an underlying aura of experience and depth that has been lacking. While an improvement over the previous era in terms of maintaining interest, this new season is at least not boring, if odd, it struggles to maintain tonal and thematic continuity with classic and new era Doctor Who.
The season's specials in particular featured heavy-handed moralizing that came across as simplistic rather than cleverly insightful at times, unintentionally veering into parody. I hope that Russell T. Davies can recruit talented writers who can inject more depth, nuance and flair into the stories. This would give Ncuti Gatwa more opportunities to explore the Doctor's ancient, complex character beyond just the eccentric surfaces.