Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Spoiler alert...









But the group of Whovian fans seemed kind of unreal because they​
were, in fact, not real. Though there's a bit at the end that shows​
that the manipulation that defeated Lux rendered the fans real,​
after all. Which was a bit of a stretch, I'll admit, but fell in​
with the sense of wonder-fulness.
  

    
The Whovian fans did seem to exist in a state of almost​
Heisenbergian uncertainty!

I'm not sure the script of `Lux made an awful lot of logical sense​
at any point, which to be honest is why I struggle with it. I like​
logical stories, not wild wacky surreal ones in which anything can​
happen at any time for any reason. It makes my teeth itch.

Doctor Who used to be firmly science based - no magic, no gods,​
nothing like that. But RTD has shifted that with the introduction of​
the gods of discord (I think that's what they are called? Please do​
feel free to connect me if I'm wrong) to give him more latitude to​
be inventive and creative on the perfectly understandable grounds​
that after nearly 70 years the show needs new, fertile ground to​
inspire brand new stories. But inevitably it means that some fans​
won't feel quite as at home in the new context as they did, and for​
me at the moment I'm one of those.

Which is not to say that I don't appreciate how well the episodes​
are done - the performances are wonderful (I'm particularly enjoying​
Belinda, she's so much more engaging than Ruby so far) and the show​
looks fantastic. Although I did think that Lux has some borrowed​
aesthetics - the robots looked like the ones from The Husbands of​
River Song (2015?) and their emoticon facial expressions were like​
the bots from "Smile". Little things like that distracted me this​
week.
  

    
Apparently the concept of the Gods of Chaos (or Pantheon of Discord)​
originated with the Trickster, which first appeared in "Whatever​
Happened to Sarah Jane" (2007).​
<https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Trickster#Early_life>
  

    
There's a lot of retrofitting going on here! I don't think there was​
any intention to link The Trickster to a wider array of​
pan-dimensional beings originally, but it's become an effective way​
of sweeping up a whole class of alien adversaries into one "all you​
can eat" buffet.

There's no question that in terms of the show, The Toymaker (hen​
known as the Celestial Toymaker, played by Michael Gough in 1966)​
came first when he popped up and was thwarted by William Hartnell's​
first incarnation.

Then there was Sutekh who was in one of the best loved Tom Baker​
stories, Pyramids of Mars, in 1975. There was no suggestion at the​
time that he was a "god", just an advanced alien entity, but Russell​
T Davies decided he worked well alongside the Toymaker and so​
promoted him to godhood to be the season 1 Big Bad. They also seem​
to have swept up the Mara (from Peter Davidson stories Kinda and​
Snakedance) as members of the pantheon. 

But the idea of unifying all this mythology didn't really kick in​
until Wild Blue Yonder (the second of the 2023 David Tennant​
specials) and the moment that the Doctor failed to cast salt along​
the threshold at the edge of the universe, allowing the banished​
gods access to our universe.

I think this is all very untidy, as is inevitably the case trying to​
make sense of 60+ years of television continuity created by dozens​
of different writers, producers and script editors down the decades.​
Other elemental beings in the Whoniverse include The Eternals (from​
Enlightenment) and the Guardians of Time (White and Black varieties)​
and I confess that I'm not remotely sure what links and comparisons​
there are between then all.

The Whoniverse is a big and complicated place sometimes.
  

    
So we're half way through the new season of Doctor Who, and we're​
happily chatting all about it inside the WELL (check out the​
<whovians.> conference and <sftv.> if you're a member and you​
haven't already.)

There's not been a lot of conversation here in the public-facing​
Inkwell but I'd love to hear what people are thinking about the new​
run. If you're not a WELL member then you can still send​
contributions by emailing inkwell[@]well.com.

To recap: I think there were mixed feelings about the first episode,​
"The Robot Revolution", which introduced the new companion of​
Belinda, who is great. I had to watch it twice before I warmed up to​
it. It was a bit too frenetic for me but I think that was​
intentional as it conveyed the sense of disorientation and confusion​
that Belinda was feeling, being swept up in all of this.

The second episode was "Lux" which was a very meta episode in which​
the Doctor confronts a cartoon come to life and even encounters a​
group of Who fans watching the show on TV. Everyone seemed to love​
this, but - while I admired the inventiveness and fresh energy of​
the episode - I didn't warm to it as much as others did. Am I a​
grouch?

The first two episodes had a very vibrant, day-glo sense to them -​
like watching the Batman movies made by Joel Schumacher. I much​
prefer the darker Burton Batman movies and so I was pleased when the​
new Who season returned to that sort of serious fare with the third​
episode, called ... "The Well". Naturally all of us here were rather​
invested in this one being a top episode!

And for me it was, the best of the season so far. Very much like​
classic episodes of old like "Earthshock" or "The Satan Pit". It​
actually turned out to be an unexpected sequel to a past episode​
(but not one of the ones just cited) and I really enjoyed that sort​
of thing. As was the most recent outing, "Lucky Day", which was​
Doctor-lite and concentrated on last year's companion Ruby as she​
attempts to reassimilate back into normal life. The only problem was​
that it felt a bit too similar to least year's "73 Yards" to me and​
as a whole came across more like older vintage Who than the rest of​
the stories so far this season.

Overall, the thing we're all waiting for is the Season Arc to​
emerge. So far it seems that the Earth has ceased to exist, which is​
inconvenient, but where is Russell T Davies doing with that idea?

Anyway, that's enough from me. What does anyone else think? Get in​
touch if you've been following this series or have thoughts about​
any Who-related aspects.
  

    
I liked "Lucky Day" quite a bit, though, because it made an​
important political statement about fascists using social media to​
disrupt real and valuable government operations. 

Meanwhile I'm bummed at reports that Ncuti Gatwa is leaving Dr. Who.​
But I've already thought of a replacement, Chiwetel Ejiofor...!
  

    
I liked "Lucky Day" too but there were definite echoes of past​
Dctor-lite stories going on there as well. No bad thing, those​
stories have generally been pretty good and some of the best Who​
episodes of the last two decades.

The important political statement felt to many that it was an​
uncredited script insertion by showrunner Russell T Davies. I can​
certainly see why people would say that. In addition it was a little​
too obvious and on-the-nose for many which has put some people off​
it. But like you, I thought it was much-needed and clearly something​
the author (whether RTD or not) felt strongly about, and gave a​
proper depth to the episode.

> I'm bummed at reports that Ncuti Gatwa is leaving Dr. Who.

I'm even more bummed by rumours that Disney is pulling the plug on​
its co-production deal and this would mean that the show as a whole​
gets mothballed. 

Given that these episodes were filmed at the start of 2024 before​
the last season aired, and there has been no news of new filming​
since then, it does feel rather like something should be happening​
for 2026 but isn't.
  

    
Though after 62 years of stops and starts, I wouldn't count 'em out.
  

    
It feels strange to talk about a show that stops and starts when the​
first run lasted 26 years and the second has been going for 20 which​
by almost every other show's standards is a model of longevity!

But you're right, it has been stop-start, and always seemingly on​
the edge of being cancelled. When the show began in 1963 it was​
given a 13 week deal. Then the Daleks came along and it became a​
cultural phenomenon and suddenly it was running year round (with a​
brief hiatus for Christmas). 

By the end of the 60s it seemed that the show had run it course. It​
was touch and go whether they carried on after Patrick Troughton​
stood down. Then bizarrely a format revamp and the casting of Jon​
Pertwee made it a huge hit again, and it only got bettr when Tom​
Baker took over. The BBC couldn't cancel if if they wanted to. And​
they did want to, behind the scenes...

TV changed in the 1970s and the series was gradually pruned down to​
26 weeks per year which was standard for the period (most hour-long​
shows only ran to 13 episodes per season in the UK). It jogged along​
pretty well until the infamous 'cancellation' shock where BBC​
controller Michael Grade put it on an 18 month hiatus in 1985 and​
only grudgingly brought it back due to petitions and protests. Even​
so, the break rather killed the show's fan base and when it was​
'rested' again in 1989, this time it didn't come back.

Well, it did - with a TV movie starring Paul McGann in 1996 which​
did well but not well enough to get a series order from Fox in the​
US. Then it was rested again until Russell T Davies came along: the​
BBC wanted to hire him away from independent networks and the only​
thing they had to lure him that no one else had was Doctor Who, so​
they offered him that. And it worked.

The show was pretty regular from then through the​
Eccleston/Tennant/Smith years but then the cost of making it had​
meant it's had a year off every now and then. Slowly it got tired​
and ratings went down: by the end of Jodie Whitaker's tenure the BBC​
plan was to 'rest' the show (translation: another 16 years of​
hibernation) but then RTD declared an interest in returning and the​
Disney co-production deal came along, and suddenly it was hot​
property again.

But I don't think the first Disney Who season delivered the ratings​
that the Mouse House was looking for. There's been something​
luke-warm about the way that the new series has been promoted making​
me wonder if Disney hasn't lost interest and is seeking a back door​
exit. If that happened I'm not sure whether there would be a way​
back for Doctor Who in future, or at least not for some time. 
  

    
So we have only two episodes of this run of "Doctor Who" to go. They​
grow up so fast!

The final episodes are a big two-part finale, just as they were last​
year. But whereas the Big Bad of the season was only unveiled at the​
end of the penultimate episode last year, this time the big reveal​
came at the end of episode 2.6, "The Interstellar Song Contest".

The development could do with come context for newcomers. You may​
want to look away now if you don't want any spoilers, because these​
are some big ones.






<spoiler space>





Original 1963 cast member Carole Ann Ford, who left in 1964,​
returned to the show for the first time since a brief cameo in 1983.​
I'd heard nothing about this in advance and was really quite​
stunned. For those who don't know her significance to the show, I'll​
explain.

When the show started in 1963, it began with two London school​
teachers called Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright doing what we​
would call today a welfare check on one of their teenage pupils,​
Susan Foreman. It's because of some odd behaviour in the classroom​
which these days would probably be put down as a neurodiversity​
trait.

It turned out that Susan liveed in junk yard with her grandfather​
who is known only as the Doctor. When Ian and Barbara follow them​
into a blue police box in the junk yard they find themselves in a​
space/time machine which promptly dematerialises and whisks them​
away: they spend the next two years trying to get home again, as the​
Tardis is not very reliable at this point.

Carole Ann Ford played Susan, the "An Unearthly Child" of the title​
of th first episode. She was the Doctor's granddaughter. This​
technically makes her the first companion, as Ian and Barbara only​
join here. There's been some debate over the years as to whether​
she's truly the Doctor's biological descendent or whether she was a​
'stray' that the Doctor had picked up on his travel and dubbed​
'grand daughter' as a mark of affection. But recent stories such as​
"The Name of the Doctor" in 2013 suggest she really was with the​
Doctor when he stole the Tardis and fled his home world of​
Gallifrey, so these days it's taken as a matter of series lore that​
Susan is indeed truly family. You'll notice she's still calling him​
grandfather in this week's episode.

Susan left the show in 1964 (to settle down with her boyfriend in a​
future London) as Ford felt underused and typecast as a juvenile​
which was holding her back. She returned as a guest star on the 20th​
anniversary episode "The Five Doctors", and ten years later also​
reprised her role for the 1993 charity special "Dimensions in Time"​
during the period when "Doctor Who" itself was no longer in​
production.

Since then she's been involved in some of the audio plays produced​
by Big Finish Media but surprisingly she's never been back in the​
show. Then she ran into Russell T Davies at a launch party for Ncuti​
Gatwa's time as the Doctor and they got on like a house on fire. He​
said "come back and do a guest appearance" and she said yes straight​
away, leading to her cameo in this story.

Is that the end of Susan's story? Maybe. But her holographic avatar​
in this week's show tells the Doctor to "find me" so maybe there is​
more still to come...
  

    
This is a continuation post to <185> about events in the latest May​
2025 episode, "The Interstellar Song Contest" which sets up the two​
part series finale to come. You may want to look away now if you​
don't want any spoilers, because these are some big ones.






<spoiler space>





But Susan's appearance isn't the biggest reveal. We also find out​
who this year's Big Bad is. Midway through the closing credits, we​
get a bit of a bombshell where Mrs Flood shows up again ... and​
promptly bigenerates (in the way that David Tennant's Doctor begat​
Ncuti Gatwa) and is revealed as The Rani.

Hands up those who remembers The Rani? (Not including John!)

To be honest, The Rani was somewhat after my time. She was created​
as a female counterpart to another popular renegade Time Lord, The​
Master, who had been somewhat overused. Also, the showmakers wanted​
a strong recurring female adversary for the Doctor as there hadn't​
been one up to this time.

Her first story was "The Mark of the Rani" in 1985 and she returned​
two years later for "Time and the Rani" which was Seventh Doctor​
Sylvester McCoy's first story. And that was all, unfortunately, as​
the show went off air in 1989. The character did make do a guest​
appearance in the 30th anniversary charity sketch "Dimensions in​
Time" in 1993, along with Susan as mentioned above.

Ever since Doctor Who returned to the screen in 2005, long time fans​
have been clamouring for The Rani to be among the classic characters​
to be revived. When Missy appeared, many fans were sure that this​
was the Rani but it turned out to be a gender-swapped Master nstead​
which worked so much better.

The real coup was the show getting Kate O'Mara to play the role. She​
had been a BIG star of British film ("The Horror of Frankenstein",​
"The Tamarind Seed") and television ("The Brothers", "Triangle" and​
dozens of guest appearances in every show around) for getting on for​
two decades by this point.

Unfortunately her fame was also the reason that she made only those​
two appearances in "Doctor Who": after the first serial she got cast​
to play Joan Collin's sister Caress in "Dynasty" so she relocated to​
the US for a time. When she returned to the UK it was too late to do​
more "Who", so she basically did her own take on the Alexis role for​
popular sailing soap "Howards' Way".

She pretty much semi-retired in the 1990s although continued to find​
frequent roles in stage and television productions and wrote four​
books until her death on 30 March 2014 in a Sussex nursing home,​
aged 74, from ovarian cancer.

It takes pretty big feet to fill Kate O'Mara's shoes. And I would​
suggest that with "Good Wife" star Archie Panjabi they have found​
the perfect person to don the high heels and walk in her footsteps.​
I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with her in this​
weekend's episode "Wish World".

We'll doubtless be talking about it in <whovians.> for anyone who​
wants to sign up and check the place out.
  

    
So we've had the final episode of season 2 of Doctor Who. There is​
certainly plenty to talk about!

I'm avoiding posting spoilers today for those yet to catch up with​
it, but I'd love to know what the general reaction is to Wish​
World/Reality War and indeed to the whole of season 2, if not the​
complete Ncuti Gatwa era as the Doctor.

Let us know what you thought by mailing your comments to ​
inkwell[@]well.com so that they can appear here even if you're not a​
WELL member. Or alternatively you can sign up for a WELL membership​
and post directly, both here and in the exclusive <whovians.>​
conference.

Hope to read your thoughts soon!
  

    
I watched that last, very busy episode last night, and I still don't​
understand the significance or origin of the baby Ruby was holding. ​
But it was hard to keep track...

I thought Ncuti was an excellent Doctor, sad to see his run end​
after only two seasons. But his star is rising, I'm sure he's​
getting compelling offers every day. 

Hearing rumors that Doctor Who might not return, or at least might​
not return to Disney... but I think that's just uncertainty because​
neither BBC nor Disney has committed so far to a season 3/16. 
  

    
Okay, I think I can held you on the subject of the baby.

The baby was another of the pantheon of gods introduced in the Gatwa​
era that also included the Trickster, the Toymaker, Maestro and​
Sutekh. In this case it was the the god of wishes, Desiderium, who​
found physical form after being born on earth as the seventh son of​
a seventh son and hence as lucky as it was possible to get. The Rani​
abducted him at the start of Wish World.

Desiderium's power was that he could grant wishes to anyone who​
asked him for them. Or in this case, by kissing his head and then​
blowing out the wish energy into the air. It was this power that​
allowed the Rani to remake the Earth as Wish World. But it was all a​
bit patchwork and uneven (a bit like the script if we're honest...)​
and was falling apart by the time the Doctor showed up. To put it​
another way, the baby was the ultimate deus ex machina and the way​
to reset the world to how it should be.

I'm sad to see Ncuti move on so soon, too. I wonder if he was always​
short-term and fitting in the production in between other​
commitments? He finished shooting this a year ago after all. But I​
do think it was always in the plans, for whatever reason.

There's certainly a lot of debate about what happens next. Hard to​
imagine that Disney can back out a year early; and if they did, what​
would the BBC do with the show? It's still their intellectual​
property. A lot of the rumours arose because it was reported that we​
wouldn't get to see who the Doctor regenerated into at the end of​
the most recent episode, but that rumour could started because any​
preview copies had that moment removed. Now we know it's ...

Wait. *Do* we know anything? That surprise guest appearance didn't​
say it was the Doctor. 
  

    
Don't we know that it's Rose Tyler (Billie Piper)?
  

    
Ahh, but what part is Billie Piper playing?

Normally when an actor takes over as the Doctor, the end credits​
include the line "and XXX as the Doctor". They did that in​
Interstellar Song Contest for The Rani, too, when Archie Panjabi​
made her bow. But this time? Not a word about who Billie Piper will​
be playing.

Piper has returned in the past in a different role called The Moment​
in 50th anniversary special "Day of the Doctor". She was an imagined​
incarnation of the artificial intelligence behind the device that​
wiped out the Time Lord. So who knows if that has any bearing on​
matters?
  

    
I assumed she was the new Doctor because it appeared Ncuti was​
making the transition, and everything he was saying suggested that​
was what was happening. Good point that we don't know.

(Meanwhile I still have to watch the rest of the Jodie Whittaker​
episodes.)
  

    
Can't take a lot of credit for pointing it out, all the Who feeds​
are buzzing about whether what we saw is what we think we saw or​
whether Russell T Davies is lining up another shock reveal if and​
when the series returns.

It's ironic that Saturday's episode saw some of the best writing for​
Jodie Whittaker's Doctor, given it was from a showrunner who never​
got to work on any of her three seasons in the role.
  

    
So we've reached the end of this season f Doctor Who, and it looks​
like there might be quite a long wait to say the least before the​
next ne. Nothing is in production at this point which makes a 2026​
run feel rather unlikely; and rumours cay the series could be rested​
for rather  longer than that, even.

In all likelihood that means this Inkwell topic will also gracefully​
fade away from this point on. It's actually been one of the longest​
Inkwell topics of recent times (although that did include several​
months of inactivity between seasons, so we cheated a bit) and it's​
been great to have the opportunity to write about the show, bot here​
and in the <whovians.> conference itself.

But before we do bow out, we should probably take one last 'State of​
Whovinerse' stock check about the last two seasons and where we​
stand looking forward. Generally speaking I've enjoyed the two Ncuti​
Gatwa seasons although I do get the feeling that I'm on the cusp of​
ageing out of the audience for the show and getting increasingly​
cranky about certain aspects of the show.

Perhaps the biggest thing on my mind right now is: is there still a​
place for Doctor Who? The last couple of seasons have felt like the​
show is casting around for what it wants to do in future,​
reinventing itself for the 2030s and beyond, and I'm not sure that​
it's found an answer to that question. It's dipped into myths and​
magic, and the influence of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been​
particularly noticeable, but at the same time it's taken a​
sledgehammer to reinventing its own mythos in a way that seems to​
satisfying neither new or old fans. I'm not sure that the mega​
budget stemming from the Disney deal which allowed the MCU touches​
has actually been all that healthy for the show and I worry it's​
taken it in a direction that isn't going to work.

It'll be interesting to see what the spin off mini series "The War​
Between the Land and the Sea". Despite its hi-concept (prehistoric​
Sea Devils from below the surface of the ocean want their planet​
back from the primates that stole it while they were hibernating).​
It looks a lot more serious, darker, more dramatic than the show​
we've just finished watching. How will that influence what happens​
with the Who franchise moving forward?

If you have any thoughts on this - where would you like to see the​
show go from here? - then get in touch. We'll also be talking wbout​
the most recent series of Who and what comes next in the <whovians.>​
conference for WELL members and you're very welcome to join us there​
if you would like to. Look around the site for details for details​
of how to get an introductory WELL membership if that interests you.
  

    
It could be that Dr. Who's mission of saving lives and liberating​
the oppressed is out of style as we turn to leaders who want to do​
the opposite. 
  

    
Given where the show started (with the Daleks as a thin allegory for​
the Nazis and the threat of fascism) that would at least be a neat​
and tidy bookend for 62 years of the show, I suppose. While also​
showing how little things seem to change...
  

    
Maybe we'll get a version where the Daleks are presented as heroes,​
and Dr. Who is the villain trying to stop them.