Doctor Who Chibnalls Era Proves The Need For A Female Showrunner

Doctor Who: Chibnall’s Era Proves The Need For A Female Showrunner

Chris Chibnall’s failure to evolve the character of the first female Doctor underscores the need for the show to hire a woman as showrunner.

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Doctor Who Chibnalls Era Proves The Need For A Female Showrunner

Now that the Chris Chibnall era of Doctor Who is coming to a close, the need for a female showrunner for the long-running series is clearer than ever. Since taking over the role from Steven Moffat, Chibnall’s time as showrunner of the beloved show has been controversial, to say the least. The past few years under Chibnall’s direction have seen groundbreaking strides, such as Doctor Who casting its first female Doctor in Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor, but also plagued with head-scratching decisions, namely the much-maligned “Timeless Child” arc.

Most disappointing, though, is the way in which Chibnall failed Whittaker’s female Doctor. The previous few Doctors, played by Peter Capaldi (Twelfth Doctor), Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor), David Tennant (Tenth Doctor), have all been well-rounded characters with layers and depth. The Thirteenth Doctor, however, was barely developed beyond being quirky, with Chibnall being so immersed in exploring the history and lore of Classic Doctor Who that he failed to give nearly as much attention to exploring Whittaker’s character. Overall, Chibnall’s era has been marked by poor writing, a weakness particularly exposed in its underdeveloped characters.

It’s a run that only underscores the need for Doctor Who to finally tap a female showrunner. Chris Chibnall took an incredible opportunity and squandered it. Instead of writing the first Doctor who happens to be a woman as a character full of complexity and contradiction, potentially making Whittaker one of the greats, he completely whiffed, alienating longtime audiences and adding fuel to the argument of those who believed a female Doctor would degrade the show. He failed to recognize the moment, treating the character of the Doctor as secondary to exploring the mythology that he remembered from when he was a kid. That’s not ideal regardless of who the Doctor is, but a showrunner who is also a woman would have understood that the first female Doctor was about more than the show itself. In the end, Doctor Who’s Thirteenth Doctor was little more than a sketch of a character and even after two seasons, she still hasn’t had a character-defining moment or given audiences a real sense of who she is. A woman, however, would have had a more intuitive and nuanced understanding of how to write another woman–but also how to move the show forward overall.

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As it stands, previous showrunner Russell T. Davies has already been tapped to return once Chibnall exits after season 13. It makes sense; BBC and the Doctor Who execs ostensibly want a familiar steady hand to right the ship. But Davies’ return as showrunner should be a temporary role held only until the fallout from Chibnall’s semi-disastrous decisions have been addressed. After that, Doctor Who should look to a woman to lead the series.

In their individual Doctor Who eras, Davies and Moffat did a wonderful job of relaunching the series and bringing it into the modern era, expanding its audience and introducing it to a new generation of fans. But if Doctor Who truly wants to evolve, it can’t just show a token shift in front of the camera; the change also has to come from within the writers’ room, as well. The best way to do that is by appointing a female showrunner after Davies leaves, someone who has a deep respect for the show but who will also bring a badly-needed perspective to refresh the beloved but stagnating series. Having a female Doctor is great, but until a woman is also the voice behind the female Doctor – or any Doctor – Doctor Who will continue to whiff on evolving its storytelling.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-chibnall-era-female-showrunner-need-prove/

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