Understand
Does Chris Chibnall understand how to run Doctor Who? According to this article from ScreenRant, Alex Leadbeater, the Jodie Whitaker era as the Doctor does not understand Doctor Who. Some fans questioned the BBC when they hired Chris Chibnall as the showrunner. Did Chibnall not having old enemies in Whittaker’s first season mean he does not know what he is doing? Was his first season that bad? Does it seem as if there is a disconnect from the Doctor Who canon? There are a lot of questions to ask? How relevant is the article when it comes to criticism of Chibnall?
Anyone who is the showrunner of Doctor Who, or any other television program better know that program. They also need to be sold out to bring the fans the best stories. So, did fans see the best stories last season and this season? That answer depends on who you talk to on the matter. Leadbeater says Chibnall is not using storytelling. Storytelling is something fans see with other eras of Doctor Who. People, in general, love a good story. Stories are what fans look to see. There has to be a beginning and an end, but there must be a good plot.
Has Chibnall been what everyone expected? For some fans, the answer is yes. Then for others, he has not. Of course, there are critics on every side. Some of the stories in Chibnall’s era are interesting, while others miss the mark. His first season for many seemed disjointed because there wasn’t an arc. A good story arc makes things better. Season 11 did not have an arc to connect the stories, so they were flopping in the wind. Most of the stores with Davies and Moffat had a connection with an arc. Admittedly, Moffat’s are complicated at times, but they seem to connect. That is missing now, and it hurts Doctor Who.
The second knock on Chibnall, according to Leadbeater, is he has not defined the Doctor’s character. Yes, Chibnall raises lots of questions. You may ask the question, why? The first place to start is with the Timeless Child. Is the Doctor the original Timelord? Is she the one the whole race is derived from? What about Ruth? How does that all work? To be honest, Chibnall’s efforts raise more questions than answers. Is the Doctor in her third regeneration cycle? Was Hartnell the Thirteenth Doctor and not the first? Yeah, there is a lot of confusion. Who is the Doctor? The name Doctor Who represents not knowing anything about the character, but to be honest, Chibnall seems to have confused things further.
At this point, fans know less about the Doctor than before. Is that good for Doctor Who? That is a matter of opinion. Can Chibnall right the ship? It would nice to have a story arc. It would make the stories more interesting. Hopefully, CHibanll will begin to understand how to run Doctor Who and make things better.
