Doctor Who 10 Ways Russell T Davies Was The Best Showrunner
Doctor Who: 10 Ways Russell T Davies Was The Best Showrunner
Doctor Who has had several iconic showrunners over the years but Russell T. Davis holds a special place in fans’ hearts. But why is his tenure loved?
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Doctor Who’s longevity as a show stems from its ability to reinvent and regenerate itself. Every few years, the lead actor of the show changes, and the showrunner in charge often changes too. ‘New Who’ has had three showrunners so far and each one has brought something new and different to the show.
The change in showrunners means that each era will attract a different branch of the fandom. The original showrunner, Russell T. Davies was in charge when the show was arguably at its best written and at the height of its popularity.
10 The Story Arcs
When Davies was at the helm, each season had a story arc that connected the episodes. While his successors have also used story arcs, Davies’ were simple but well crafted. Steven Moffat’s arcs were ambitious but overly complex and hard to follow and Chris Chibnall’s attempts at the technique have meddled a little too much with the show’s history.
Often, Davies dropped small clues in a season towards something bigger, whether this is a running theme like the missing planets in season 4 or a recurring phrase like ‘Bad Wolf’ in season 1. Perhaps the most effective use of a story arc in New Who came in season 3, where many of the events of the previous episodes became important in the finale (including The Face of Boe’s dying message, Lazarus’ technology, and The Chameleon Arch). These simple but well-crafted arcs have been sorely missed since Davies left the show.
Long before shared universes had become a trend, Doctor Who gave it a go. When Davies was the showrunner, the main show was airing alongside two spin-offs with Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures. Throughout this era of Doctor Who, many connections and crossovers happened between the three shows. The Doctor’s former companion, Martha Jones appeared in Torchwood, The Doctor guest-starred in The Sarah Jane Adventures, and all three shows collided in the season 4 finale of Doctor Who.
Many storylines from Torchwood remain unresolved so there’s always the potential for more crossovers in the future too. With the three shows airing, there was always something Doctor Who related to watch and the universe felt much larger and more connected than it has in other eras.
8 The Family Focus
One thing that really stands out about Davies’ era is the family focus. The companion’s families were an important part of the story and their journey as characters. While companions’ families have been shown before and after this era, they’ve never been given a focus like in the Davies era.
Some of these family members like Jackie Tyler and Wilfred Mott even got the chance to briefly board The Tardis. The family focus ensured that the companions were always relatable and there was always a reason for them to return home when it was time for an Earth-based story.
7 The New Monsters
Although not all of them were created by him, many exciting and memorable new monsters were introduced under Davies’ tenure. With such a long history behind it, the show struggles to create new threats which are as original or memorable as The Daleks or The Cybermen. However, there were some strong contenders in this era.
Many famous New Who monsters debuted during Davies’ time such as The Weeping Angels, The Ood, and The Judoon. These monsters have gone on to feature in future eras and have a lasting legacy on the show.
6 The Connections To Classic Who
Davies ensured the revived show was new and fresh, ready to welcome in a new audience. That being said, while it could have been tempting to completely reboot the show in 2005, it was very much a continuation of Classic Who. The very first episode of New Who features classic monsters, The Autons and The Daleks also have a prominent role in the first season.
Davies also successfully brought back a Classic fan-favorite companion with Sarah-Jane which is something neither of his successors have attempted. Davies reinvented the show for a modern audience but ensured there were many callbacks and returns for the Classic fans too.
5 The Daleks
One Classic monster still plays a massive part in the show today is The Daleks. These aliens are often considered as one of the most terrifying monsters in Doctor Who and appear often (perhaps a little too often) in the show. Despite the clear misfire of the two-parter in season 3, The New Who Daleks were at their most effective when Davies was at the helm.
The Daleks felt like a genuine threat at this time and were still intimidating which is shown perfectly with the scene when The Doctor’s past companions hear their message of ‘Exterminate.’ For the most part, Davies used the Daleks just enough for them to still be an effective threat.
4 The Experimental Stories
The very concept of Doctor Who means the show can do almost anything but some showrunners have tended to play it safe. After finding a formula that worked with season 1, Davies was never afraid to experiment with the types of stories the show was telling. From season 2 onwards, the show introduced the ‘Doctor-lite’ episodes which took the main focus away from The Timelord.
While the first attempt at this, Love and Monsters is far from a fan favorite, later ones like “Blink” and “Turn Left” fully utilized this story tool and both are standout episodes. Season 4 even flipped this concept around with a ‘companion-lite’ episode; “Midnight” left The Doctor alone and at his most vulnerable. The show has continued to experiment, the upcoming single-story season being a prime example but these kinds of episodes were often the standouts in Davies’ era.
3 The Marketing
Although Davies wouldn’t have had total control over the marketing, this was an area the show really excelled in during his era. Today, the marketing for the show is almost non-existent and the bosses maintain secrecy to a point that it dulls excitement for upcoming seasons. Davies’ era received specially filmed teaser trailers and even cinema trailers which all helped to build excitement for the series.
Even behind-the-scenes shows like Doctor Who Confidential and Totally Doctor Who helped to promote the show and the cast often appeared on talk shows too. During this time, it was difficult to avoid the show as it was constantly being advertised, promoted, and talked about.
2 The Recurring Characters
Each era of the show features supporting characters but the Davies era featured a large range which often popped back up again. The season 4 finale showed a large amount of returning characters, which helps each season feel connected.
Davies’ era had some of the best-supporting characters in Doctor Who and these weren’t just the companions and their families, other characters like Harriet Jones and The Face of Boe made several appearances too. In more recent years, companions are rarely even mentioned after their departures and guest characters have recurred less and less. The characterization and development of recurring characters were arguably much stronger during Davies’ tenure too.
1 The Finales
Every finale of Doctor Who has its merits but each season of the Davies era is always built towards an epic finale. Not only were important parts of the season paid off in the finale, but a change would also come about between The Doctor and his companion(s), which meant there was always an impact. Season 1 saw The Doctor regenerate, season 2 saw Rose become trapped in a parallel universe, season 3 had Martha leave The Tardis and season 4 ended with Donna’s memory being wiped.
Even without these climatic endings, the finales featured historic events like The Daleks taking on the Cybermen, the return of The Master, and a crossover with the show’s two spin-offs. Davies always knew how to build towards a suitably epic finale that paid off many of the things set up within the season.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-russell-t-davies-best-showrunner-reason/
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