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f the Doctor.Chibnall has blown what could have been the chance of a lifetime, writing the first female Doctor. In Jodie Whittaker’s second episode, Chibnall had the Doctor question herself and her ability to get home. I understand that he was trying to make her vulnerable as a character, but did he really have to do this with the first female Doctor?<h1 id="da76">A “sorry” Doctor</h1>Time after time, we see Whittaker’s Doctor apologizing, looking for consensus, and doubting herself. This has never been part of the Doctor’s persona before, and it sure as hell shouldn’t have been developed for the 13th Doctor’s character.Through no fault of the actor, Whittaker has lost the core concept of what it is to be the Doctor. The Doctor has many facets, but always has been:<ul><li>arrogant</li><li>alien</li><li>bigger than life</li><li>unable to see things from other perspectives — until a breakthrough of understanding</li><li>on the run, yet choosing to take responsibility for the situations they find themselves in</li></ul>Where are these essential elements in Whittaker’s Doctor? Largely absent, thanks to the direction Chibnall has taken the show.She is so humble she is practically humiliated, much of the time.She appears no different from her “fam,” as if she were just another human (albeit with a TARDIS).She is sadly, frustratingly, wrongly a stable, unremarkable being. Where’s the quirk? Where’s the flair — of Pertwee, Baker, Tennent, Capaldi? Gone, perhaps never to be seen again.Her aha moments are very minor things. The fate of the planet doesn’t depend on them.Chibnall doesn’t get the equation right of both being on the run and taking responsibility. She does one or the other. It seems like all complexity has been stripped from the Doctor.Perh

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aps there are other circumstances under which Chibnall would make a fine Showrunner for Doctor Who. But here and now, he has failed. With a female Doctor, he has driven the character into the ground and she now is baseless, uninteresting, and common.<h1 id="c77b">Moffat’s Doctors</h1>Consider Stephen Moffat’s Doctors, Eleven and Twelve. Woof! There are some heavy hitters. Even if you don’t like one of their personalities, you can’t deny that they ARE the Doctor, in ever way that matters. Well cast, well played, well written.Matt Smith’s Doctor (11) has often been compared to Patrick Troughton for his clownish mannerisms. He was the epitome of the Doctor, in my opinion. You can’t get any more Doctorish than Smith’s portrayal, from his big heart(s) to his conniving ways to his bigger-than-life personality.And Capaldi’s Doctor (12) was completely different than Smith’s, yet somehow just as much the Doctor.But Whittaker? Poor Whittaker. To be tasked with carrying on a 54 year tradition, but given poor writing to work with . . . how could she succeed?Moffat brought the show to new levels of greatness, largely thanks to his villains. The Weeping Angels, the Silence, even the throw away one-time villains were great.Look at Chibnall’s bad guys. I say bad guys, because they are not on the level of villainy found in Moffat’s creations. All of them, weak and forgettable. He even messed up the Cybermen by making the lead one angry and bullying. Cybermen are scary because they have no emotions. They have been wiped clean of them. A raging Cyberman is an oxymoron.While the petition to get rid of Chibnall is poorly written and won’t gain traction, I still find myself hoping against hope that it would work. We need to do something to keep Doctor Who from collapsing. Chibnall needs to go.</article></body>

Why Chris Chibnall Isn’t Half the Showrunner or Writer Stephen Moffat Was

Doctor Who is past its glory days

Although a bit of a joke, a new petition is circulating, calling for the firing of Chris Chibnall as Showrunner of Doctor Who. I can’t imagine it will take hold, but it’s interesting to see fans react to Chibnall’s hostility towards William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, his inept handling of the female Doctor, and his low ambitions for the show.

What’s not a joke is that viewing rates in the United Kingdom are lower than they’ve been since Part Three of Meglos in the 1980s. We’re down 30% viewership, which is massive.

Is Chibnall killing Doctor Who?

Fans aren’t thrilled with his rewriting of the Doctor’s history. One can add to the mythology, but to delegitimize the entire history of the series with one broad stroke is both too bold and not very smart.

If the Doctor’s life has been a lie, where does that put the Classic Doctors? They exist in a kind of abandoned limbo. This isn’t fair to the show’s fanbase, which has been extraordinarily loyal over the past 58 years, even demanding the return of the series when it was cancelled after Sylvester McCoy’s portrayal of the Doctor.

Chibnall has blown what could have been the chance of a lifetime, writing the first female Doctor. In Jodie Whittaker’s second episode, Chibnall had the Doctor question herself and her ability to get home. I understand that he was trying to make her vulnerable as a character, but did he really have to do this with the first female Doctor?

A “sorry” Doctor

Time after time, we see Whittaker’s Doctor apologizing, looking for consensus, and doubting herself. This has never been part of the Doctor’s persona before, and it sure as hell shouldn’t have been developed for the 13th Doctor’s character.

Through no fault of the actor, Whittaker has lost the core concept of what it is to be the Doctor. The Doctor has many facets, but always has been:

arrogant
alien
bigger than life
unable to see things from other perspectives — until a breakthrough of understanding
on the run, yet choosing to take responsibility for the situations they find themselves in

Where are these essential elements in Whittaker’s Doctor? Largely absent, thanks to the direction Chibnall has taken the show.

She is so humble she is practically humiliated, much of the time.

She appears no different from her “fam,” as if she were just another human (albeit with a TARDIS).

She is sadly, frustratingly, wrongly a stable, unremarkable being. Where’s the quirk? Where’s the flair — of Pertwee, Baker, Tennent, Capaldi? Gone, perhaps never to be seen again.

Her aha moments are very minor things. The fate of the planet doesn’t depend on them.

Chibnall doesn’t get the equation right of both being on the run and taking responsibility. She does one or the other. It seems like all complexity has been stripped from the Doctor.

Perhaps there are other circumstances under which Chibnall would make a fine Showrunner for Doctor Who. But here and now, he has failed. With a female Doctor, he has driven the character into the ground and she now is baseless, uninteresting, and common.

Moffat’s Doctors

Consider Stephen Moffat’s Doctors, Eleven and Twelve. Woof! There are some heavy hitters. Even if you don’t like one of their personalities, you can’t deny that they ARE the Doctor, in ever way that matters. Well cast, well played, well written.

Matt Smith’s Doctor (11) has often been compared to Patrick Troughton for his clownish mannerisms. He was the epitome of the Doctor, in my opinion. You can’t get any more Doctorish than Smith’s portrayal, from his big heart(s) to his conniving ways to his bigger-than-life personality.

And Capaldi’s Doctor (12) was completely different than Smith’s, yet somehow just as much the Doctor.

But Whittaker? Poor Whittaker. To be tasked with carrying on a 54 year tradition, but given poor writing to work with . . . how could she succeed?

Moffat brought the show to new levels of greatness, largely thanks to his villains. The Weeping Angels, the Silence, even the throw away one-time villains were great.

Look at Chibnall’s bad guys. I say bad guys, because they are not on the level of villainy found in Moffat’s creations. All of them, weak and forgettable. He even messed up the Cybermen by making the lead one angry and bullying. Cybermen are scary because they have no emotions. They have been wiped clean of them. A raging Cyberman is an oxymoron.

While the petition to get rid of Chibnall is poorly written and won’t gain traction, I still find myself hoping against hope that it would work. We need to do something to keep Doctor Who from collapsing. Chibnall needs to go.