I know I'm a little late to the party, sharing what 100 years of the BBC means to me, but it took Sunday night's episode of Doctor Who - Jodie Whittaker's last as the Thirteenth Doctor - to prompt me into action.
I have not been a fan of Thirteen's run for one major reason, the poor quality of the writing. There have been some great scenarios, but Chris Chibnall never seemed to make the pay off worthy of the set up. And don't get me started on how he messed with the lore*.
Every series has had its dud episodes and, in my opinion, your typical season is roughly 50% good and 50% bad, apart from a few standout series, notably Season 3. (But more on that later.) However, in the case of Thirteen there were barely any episodes that could be considered good across all three series.
Having slept on it, I think that
The Power of the Doctor was the best Jodie Whittaker episode of them all, with some lovely nods to Classic Who and past companions, as well as past Doctors.
Warning! Some of what comes next could be considered spoilers, so if you've not watched The Power of the Doctor yet and you intend to, best stop reading now...
Still here? Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you.
My favourite bits included:
- The return of Ashad.
- The return of Graham.
- "And if that's not enough, I was an air hostess in the early Eighties."
- "Nitro 999."
- "Tag, you're it!"
- "I know these teeth."
- Durdle Door**
I feel that the most consistently strong series was David Tennant's second as the Tenth Doctor, i.e. Season 3. Which is why I'm excited to see what Russell T Davies comes up with for the 60th anniversary next year.
Season 3 is special to me for another reason - it's when I started writing tie-in fiction for Doctor Who. First was The Horror of Howling Hill, a Decide Your Destiny gamebook featuring the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones, published in 2008.
I wrote the lion's share of The Official Doctor Who Annual 2010, and in 2012 my Eleventh Doctor novel, Terrible Lizards, was published***.
I was back in 2015 with the
Doctor Who: Time Lord Quiz Quest, and 2016 saw publication of my Twelfth Doctor Choose the Future gamebook,
Night of the Kraken.
Who knows whether I will return to Doctor Who in the future, but I would never turn down an opportunity to write for TV's favourite Time Lord.
But the BBC means more to me than just Doctor Who. Its programmes have inspired me over the years and will have inevitably influenced the content of the stories I have told. And to top it all, once I was interviewed about Fighting Fantasy gamebooks for Radio 4.
So thank you, BBC, and here's to the next 100 years!
* I hope not irrevocably.
** Just up the coast from Broadchurch. May Jodie or Chibs have a house down there in Dorest.
*** Originally as part of the Monstrous Missions compendium.
.jpg)
