7 Things I Wanted To See In Series 9: A Reprisal
Guest contributor William Atkinson revisits his Series 9 wishlist and looks at how things panned out.
Ladies and gentlemen, don’t worry. My ego has not swollen to such proportion that, in my own big-headed delusion, I have begun to do articles about my own articles out of grotesque fondness for myself. Or at least I hope I haven’t. It would be terribly embarrassing if I had…um… Anyway, the reason why I have decided to write an article as a sequel to my 7 Things I’d Like To See In Series 9 (which Doctor Who TV actually put up on my birthday, mainly because they’re brilliant) is that I thought it would be good to have a look back-and indeed a look ahead – to see how the series developed and if it went the way I though. Don’t worry though – normal service of my usual mix of Ranking the Something or Other Stories and Why I Love… Many Things articles will soon be resumed. And if I can stop talking about myself – and hoping you’ve had a quick glance at last year’s article-then let’s get on with it.
1. Another Companion – Nope, but it wasn’t a problem
Well, hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Looking ahead to Series 10 (whenever it will be) a new companion is on their way. My personal choice, with Osgood off the table it seems, would be Faye Marsay’s Shona. However, as it seems more likely that the Grand Moff will opt to create a new character, I would be happy to another young lady at the Doctor’s side, as per the traditional format, with maybe a male companion joining later to balance them out. After all, that sort of dynamic has produced some of the best TARDIS crews in the past –Jamie and Zoe, Sarah and Harry, Amy and Rory to name but a few. I also believe I speak for a significant section of fandom when I say it would be nice to have a companion who isn’t from contemporary Earth, though (and I whisper this so as not to upset the aforementioned section) I’m less bothered by it that most.
2. More Missy – Yep
Blimey! Did I get this wish fulfilled or what! Missy was straight back in action at the start of this series, and though I was saddened the rumours of her becoming the companion did not come true, it was still great to see her none the less. Now I hope Missy can take on a role similar to the Master’s in the classic series – a regular foe who challenges the Doctor often, rather than just being kept back for special occasions. So, fingers crossed.
3. Same Tone – Yep… ish (but a good ish)
My wish to see Series 9 adopt the same tone as its predecessor was fulfilled on the whole, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. While Capaldi trended lighter, I felt the episodes themselves trended a tad darker, which was fine. Of particular note for me was Heaven Sent, which is now, without a doubt my favourite episode ever, because it was just so blooming marvellous!
I actually preferred the tone of Series 9 to its predecessor, as it felt in many ways more relaxed and far more balanced. It helped that quite a few of my writing wishes were realised, with Jamie Mathieson and Peter Harness returning, though I’m not really a great fan of the Zygon two-parter (sorry!). Mark Gatiss also finally got to pen an episode set in space, and while I didn’t think that Sleep No More was anything to write home about, hopefully the rumours of a sequel means he can have another crack at it next year. Toby Whithouse’s return was certainly a welcome one for me, and I thought his two episodes this year were rather good. Catherine Treganna and Sarah Dollard both did solid jobs with their episodes, and I wouldn’t be opposed to neither of them returning. As for others for Series 10, Tom MacRae, Neil Gaiman and Chris Chibnaill top my list of old favourites, and, as with last year, this list would be incomplete without at least a nod to RTD. Hopefully he can return to the show now he’s finished working on his vegetable programs.
4. Returning Monsters – Neither ‘Yep’ nor ‘Nope’ (your mileage may vary)
In my eyes Series 9 did not do brilliantly on the returning monsters front, and while it did bring some back they were ones we’d seen already. It didn’t go the whole hog and bring back some new classic monsters. While it was nice to see the Daleks back, it was a shame that they didn’t really get to do a lot, but this was at least balanced out by Moffat’s addition to the genre of great Doctor-Davros chats, which I must say has come darned close to winning me round about Julian Bleach as Davros, as I was previously sceptical of his performance.
On the other hand, I was frustrated by this year’s other big returning monster story – The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion- but I see it has its fans, and I concede that it did at least try and do something new with them. It just really didn’t click with me I’m afraid, and I felt it was pretty poorly scripted and directed, though Capaldi did give a magnificent performance. I was also disheartened that Series 9 marked the second series in a row where no classic baddies were revived for the first time. It would be nice to see some more classics give the 21st century treatment, and last year I suggested the Sea Devils, Wirrn and Krynoids as prime candidates. I’d still like to see them again, and I’d also still like to see a story where the Sontarans are used as proper menacing baddies once more, but I guess, with all these demands, I must remember that there are only thirteen episodes in a series!
5. Recurring Characters – Yep
Series 9 certainly delivered on this front. With two appearances for U.N.I.T and the Sisterhood of Karn, as well as cameos by the Shadow Proclamation and the Maldovarium, there was certainly a welcome crop of familiar faces in Series 9. This was added to by Maisie Williams’ (who has apparently been in some program across the pond, not that it’s been mentioned at all) appearances as Ashildr/Me, and she certainly helped give Series 9 its unique flavour. River Song’s appearance was also welcomed by moi, and she made a great partnership with Capaldi. Therefore, in this category at least, I certainly had no qualms for the Twelfth Doctor’s second series.
6. Gallifrey – Yep
I remember that when I mentioned I’d like to see Gallifrey back last year it produced a response that, to me, seemed quite negative, and it appeared to me that I was certainly in the minority of fan opinion on this. The return of Gallifrey seems to have got quite a good response though, and I’m pleased by that. I felt that it was very well-realised by all parties involved, and having seen it in all its glory I certainly look forward to it returning again soon. So, on this front, I was certainly left a happy chap.
7. More McGann – Nope
Ah well, this was always going to be a very long shot. At least we’ve all still got Big Finish, and one of the delights of Series 9 was the progress Big Finish have made and their integration of the revived series into their productions. As always, I implore you to search their audios out if you haven’t already, especially now they’ve started doing stories featuring chaps by the names of Sir John Hurt and David Tennant.
So, overall, I felt Series 9 lived up to what I wanted and in many ways I felt it surpassed it. In addition to this, despite there not being any specific celebration of the revived series’ tenth anniversary tenth anniversary in Series 9, I still felt that it did enough to recognise the achievement. Why? Because it was brilliant, that’s why. And how many shows on TV can you say are just as brilliant, and maybe even more so, after ten years on air, and indeed after 52 years of existence? Not many, I can tell you, and if Series 10 can live up to Series 9 then in my eyes, there’s a whole lot to look forward to.
Don’t forget to share your views in the comments about what you liked about Series 9, and what you’d like to see in Series 10.