Doctor Who producer, Matt Strevens, who worked under Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor, says fans will look back kindly on their era.

Doctor Who producer, Matt Strevens, has commented on how fans will look back on Jodie Whittaker’s time as the Doctor. Time is running out for the Thirteenth Doctor as 2022 is set to bring fans her final adventure in a feature-length special coinciding with the BBC’s centenary celebrations in the autumn. This will also mark the end of Chris Chibnall’s tenure as showrunner as he prepares to hand the reins back to the writer who revived Doctor Who back in 2005, Russell T. Davies.

Both actor and showrunner will bow out after 31 episodes across three seasons, the third of which was produced under COVID-19 safety guidelines which limited the episode count and demanded a change of structure to be a more serialized ongoing storyline. The era was notable and somewhat controversial, for Whittaker’s casting as the first female actor to portray the role in the main show, with reactions ranging from vitriolic outrage to joyous celebration. The viewership across the run has also been varied, with Whittaker’s debut episode breaking records on the night while subsequent seasons have faltered in overnight figures and been left to catch up via the BBC’s own streaming options.

In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine (via Radio Times), Strevens reflected on what the era’s legacy will be in the eyes of fans after the final episode airs. Strevens acknowledged that, despite the backlash the series has received online, the majority of Doctor Who fans will look back fondly on the era. The producer brought up the examples of former Doctors and seasons that were perceived negatively when their episodes were airing but have since had a reappreciation within the fandom.

“Every Doctor gets it, every showrunner gets it. I loved Steven Moffat’s reaction when Russell T Davies was announced as coming back recently – writing ‘RTD MUST GO!’ on Instagram. I thought that was so witty, because there’s always someone waiting to have a pop. And that’s good, in a way. The great thing is we have freedom of speech and people are free to say what they want. Every era of Doctor Who has had its massive champions, and every era and every Doctor has had people going ‘It’s not like it used to be…’ And then, afterwards, a lot of the kind of contemporary commentary disappears. With a short distance of time, there is huge affection looking back. I think, when the story is written, Jodie’s Doctor will be thought of, quite rightly, with huge affection. And love, quite frankly.”

Strevens comments are fairly measured and do match up with the history of the show’s fandom. Whittaker’s era, and her Doctor, have received some exceptionally vitriolic outrage from a loud sect of the fandom, the motivation of which primarily seems to be rooted in their belief that a woman should never play the Doctor due to the precedent of exclusively white male actors before her. Most other fans have been frustrated by this backlash either due to their love of the current era or their concern that it has drowned out genuine, good faith criticisms of the writing.

Former Doctors such as Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy were often thought of unfavorably while they were starring in the part, mainly due to poor writing and the show going off the air around their time. Subsequently, fans have not only appreciated their performances and the stories they featured in but the ancillary media that has given new life to their characters, the audio plays from Big Finish being beloved in particular. It has also become quite common in fandoms recently, for particular actors, and the texts they starred in, to be reappraised as time goes on, such as Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the maligned Star Wars prequels or Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man movies. Both of those actors have now returned, or are about to return, to those roles after an extended break and the reception from audiences and fans alike has been overwhelmingly positive. With Doctor Who‘s recurring traditional of bringing back former Doctors in special episodes, perhaps a future reappearance from Whittaker in a multi-Doctor special a few years from now will truly show what an impact her casting had on the fanbase.

Source: Doctor Who Magazine (via Radio Times)

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