Former Doctor Who writer Robert Shearman has stated that the beleagured British sci-fi series is now “probably as dead as we’ve ever seen it.”
It’s an eye-opening statement, not least because the show previously suffered a 16-year hiatus between 1989 and 2005 (interupted by a lone TV movie).
Now, however, Shearman has suggested that the series’ current predicament — with production indefinitely paused — is even worse than during the show’s previous hiatus, as the wait for news on Doctor Who’s future is compounded by the fact it has been left without an established lead character.
“It’s weird because the show is probably as dead as we’ve ever known it,” Shearman said, writing in the official Doctor Who Magazine (thanks, Cultbox).
“After 1989 we had, for years, a current Doctor,” he stated, discussing the period in which Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor continued to inhabit the TARDIS in an array of spin-off books and comics. The same situation then occured following the Doctor Who TV Movie’s airing, in which McCoy regenerated into the Eighth Doctor, played by Paul McGann.
“Now, everything that is ever going to be produced in Doctor Who terms is going to feel retrogressive,” he continued. “At least with the New Adventures and then the BBC Books you thought, ‘It’s the current Doctor – McCoy or McGann.'”
Doctor Who’s current situation feels different, Shearman explained, because of the unique circumstance its storyline has been left in. Showrunner Russell T Davies’ decision to add a regeneration sequence for Ncuti Gatwa during reshoots and then a sudden appearance of Billie Piper in an unconfirmed role means the show’s ongoing narrative is also paused, until whatever is going on with Piper’s appearance is officially explained.
“No one’s going to start writing Doctor Who books with a Billie Piper Doctor, because no one knows what that means,” Shearman stated. “In a funny way, the closing moments of [series finale] The Reality War seem to put a full stop on things. We didn’t have that before.”
Back in August, Davies said he did not know what would happen with the future of Doctor Who, and was not a part of ongoing conversations between the BBC and funding partner Disney. Meanwhile, amid criticism of the series’ writing and story arcs, Doctor Who actor and writer Mark Gatiss has suggested the show was in need of a rest.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
