If you’re trying to follow the naming convention for individual series of Doctor Who, it’s not about to get easier – all thanks to Disney+…
Already, in the world of Doctor Who, we have two schools of thought when working out what series is what.
For those who have been with the pre-2005 era, there’s still the temptation to categorise it all in one block. Thus, when Ncuti Gatwa takes over the controls of the TARDIS for his first full series of the show in 2024, die hard traditionalists may well refer to it as ‘series 40’.
However! There’s also been a recategorisation of Doctor Who since its 2005 reboot, which means that next year’s series – if you take the 2005 run as series one again – will actually be series 14.
But here comes another however! The new – and previous – boss of the show, Russell T Davies, has now added further confusion, courtesy of a fresh interview with SFX magazine. In its latest issue, which is packed with an awful lot of Doctor Who stuff, Davies has now revealed that when Disney+ starts hosting the show outside of the UK next year, it’s going to start things over again.
As such, the first complete run of Ncuti Gatwa’s adventures will be season one on Disney+. Or, if you like, season one, series 14 and series 40, all at the same time. And that’s if you don’t include the assorted runs of specials as series in their own right, and oh my god, my head is starting to hurt.
The BBC will be showing Doctor Who in the UK, as always. Presumably though, it’ll adopt the new naming convention, too.
For those who collect the show on physical media, it’s going to play havoc with the spines on the discs. Won’t someone think of the completists?
Ncuti Gatwa will debut in the role at Christmas, it’s expected, although who knows, Davies may have another trick up his sleeve. Gatwa will be the 15th Doctor – assuming we’re not going back to first, but can’t see Davies doing that – and he’s already in the midst of filming his second series in the role too.
More as we hear it. In the meantime, there’s more on Doctor Who in the new issue of SFX, here, edited by the brilliant Darren. Hello Darren!
