Doctor Who: Why fans can never have enough of their favorite series
By James Aggas
For over five and a half decades, Doctor Who has existed in some shape or form both on and off the screen. What makes it such an incredibly enduring series?
This month marked thirty years since Doctor Who ended on television. At the time, it was practically hated by some of the senior people in the BBC, some of whom had been trying to end the series for a while. So when it was suddenly cancelled, it probably wasn’t too much of a surprise for fans – despite the fact that the last two seasons featured an exciting new direction for the show.
For almost any other series, twenty-six seasons isn’t a bad number at all. In fact, in the case of some, it can easily be seen as being too many. TV series can easily ran out of ideas, and the cast and crew can get very, very tired after working so hard for so long.
Equally important is the story. There’s never any point in stretching a series out if there’s no more story left to tell. Sometimes, it’s better to go out with a bang, and leave the fans wanting more.
And fans did want more. A lot more. Of course, there was a simple reason for that: for Doctor Who, twenty-six seasons wasn’t too long. In fact, it wasn’t nearly long enough.
Despite ending after twenty-six, fans still wanted more Doctor Who. Much, much more.
(Image Courtesy BBC Studios, BritBox)
Craving stories
What makes Doctor Who so special is that it’s basically free of the traps that restrict so many other shows, or even stories in general. It doesn’t need to worry about feeling tired because it’s designed to refresh itself every few years, anyway.
Even in the New Series, the entire cast has changed since Series 1, or even since a couple of years ago. In other series, that’s a huge risk, but for Doctor Who, it’s a core part of the show’s DNA.
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But more important than that is the fact that the show has very few storytelling limits. Oh, it may have budgetary restrictions, and of course, you want the stories suitable for a family audience. But beyond that? It really can go anywhere in time and space. There are very few shows that have that level of ambition. The TARDIS is such a basic part of the show, but it’s also the key to the show’s longevity.
As a result of these factors, fans will always want more. They’ll always want more stories of the Doctor and their companions. Thanks to books, audios and comics, this isn’t even limited to the current TARDIS team. We can always revisit our favorite Doctors in new adventures, and there are so many new adventures for all of the Doctors out there in some shape or form.
No matter how many stories we’ve been given, fans will always crave more new ones. And that, perhaps more than anything else, will always help Doctor Who to survive, even when it’s off the screen completely.
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What do you think is the most important reason for Doctor Who‘s longevity? Do you crave stories with the current TARDIS team most of all, or do you want stories for earlier Doctors more? Let us know in the comments below.