And Relax…
By the time this editorial is out The Bells of St John will have aired in the UK and possibly in parts not terrestrial elsewhere. The series is back, and peace can break out once more.
The weeks leading up to the return of Doctor Who are weird times for fandom, marked by bad behaviour as fears and concerns and values bubble over and manifest themselves in friction across the forums. Outpost Gallifrey, that ring-fenced pen of usual good behaviour, went more than a little feral recently and descened across several boards into its own version of Godwin’s Law, where nearly every thread, no matter how closely related to the new series, decsended into absurd absolute camps of ‘Moff Rules’ and ‘Moff Must Go’. Ridiculous, and yet, it’s just fandom letting off steam. Hopefully nobody got hurt…
For now, then, the anticipation is a different thing. With he first episode hurdle vaulted, those who have started watching the series can look forward to the weeks ahead with some knowledge of wha 2013′s make-up will be like; the rest of us watching terrestrially can fill the gaps in later. Beyond that of course the seri return marks another stepping on point for the 50th Anniversary celebrations – and here the rumours and disclosures are flying, even if one latest weekend announcement was a rush job. (If you don’t what to know about the 50th anniversary episode’s casting then thanks for reading!)
The addition of David Tennant and Billie Piper to the November episode will strike a lot of fans as confirmatio at least that this year’s tentpole episode will be in part looking back, even if this is no more than our years. It needn’t matter, and yet Classic Series fans might well fell aggrieved if this is what the anniversary celebrations amount to – only featuring new series elements for an all-of-series party. I don’t think that’s where we’re headed, and rumours have it that other incarnations and companions may be announced for appearaces later in the season. For what it’s worth re Piper and Tennant we may assume that this pairing will indicate an example of a Doctor and companion taken out of earlier adventures rather than another reunion on Bad Wolf Bay. The year has enough bavkstory to develop and add to without the recent past being invoked as well. Such of course is the dilemma of modern Who and anniversaries.
Buckle up, everyone. And relax – we’re finally in flight!