Anyone that has been keeping up to date with Doctor Who since Jodie Whittaker stepped into the role will be aware of the troubled run the first female Time Lord has endured. Nothing to do with the actor herself, of course, who has put in an admiral performance from the get-go, No, it's fair to say the writing has been lacklustre since Chris Chibnall took over as showrunner.
That's not a hot take by any stretch of the imagination. Fans globally have regularly voiced their anger with the show's storylines and waste of Whittaker's talents. After debuting to nearly 11 million viewers back in October 2018, the last season of Doctor Who to air ranged between four to six million watchers, including some of the lowest figures since the British sci-fi's revival back in 2005.
All is not lost, though. Doctor Who season 13 – subtitled Flux – is set to return this Halloween and run until December with a six-week epic story, featuring the likes of Cybermen, Weeping Angels, Ood, and one of my favourite monsters, the Sontarans. Bringing back a variety of modern and classic monsters is a smart move that will hopefully engage both new and long-term fans. Naturally, the writing still has to be of a decent quality.
Check out the trailer for Doctor Who: Flux below:
Going into the premiere this Sunday, I do have a rejuvenated (or should I say regenerated) sense of hope that the 13th Doctor will receive the final outing she deserves. If you haven't heard, Jodie Whittaker confirmed in July this year that she will exit the role following season 13 and a trio of feature-length specials in 2022, when the 14th Doctor will be introduced and Russell T. Davies will return as head showrunner.
While I'm not expecting anything on the level of the David Tennant or Matt Smith era, there's a lot of positives to take from the trailers and what we know so far. For one, I love the six-part story idea, harkening back to the classic series where an average story lasted between four to six episodes. This gives the narrative time to breathe. It will also (hopefully) play better to Chibnall's strengths, who best found success with Broadchurch.
Additionally, I'm a big fan of John Bishop, who is set to take up the new companion of Dan. Inarguably, this is Bishop's biggest on-screen role to date but his memorable appearances across Skins and Fearless has me confident he can make the leap. Comedians always tend to do well on Doctor Who too (think Catharine Tate), so he's in good company. With any luck, having one less companion than the last two previous seasons will also mean we get more character development for Dan as well as the all too overlooked Yaz. Fingers crossed!
The first episode of Doctor Who: Flux, named The Halloween Apocalypse, will premiere on BBC One at 6:25PM BST this Halloween.
