Is Gatiss Wrong About Doctor Who? Why A Rest Could Be Just What the Doctor Ordered

Feature by Charlie Matteson.

When Mark Gatiss recently said it might be “time for another rest” for Doctor Who, it ruffled a few feathers in the fandom. For many, the thought of another hiatus brings back the horrors of the show’s long silence between 1989 and 2005. But for me? Honestly, I think Gatiss might be onto something.

Hear me out. It’s been twenty years since Doctor Who came back to our screens. That’s two solid decades of new Doctors, monsters, companions and regenerations. For any TV show, that’s a remarkable run. But part of what made the 2005 revival feel so special was that it was a revival. After a 16-year absence (barring the 1996 TV movie), the Doctor’s return felt exciting and fresh again, a reinvention rather than just a continuation.

But here we are in 2025, and if most fans are being honest with themselves, the show doesn’t hit with the same magic it once did. Of course, there are still occasional moments of brilliance, and some episodes that stir the imagination, but the spark that once made the series feel bold and unpredictable has faded. That’s not a criticism, it’s just the reality of any long-running series. The longer something continues, the harder it becomes to surprise us.

There is a natural tendency for long-running shows to stagnate. Familiar patterns begin to repeat, character arcs become more circular than transformative, and the stakes feel increasingly artificial. What once felt daring starts to feel safe. Fans become harder to impress because they have already seen its best tricks many times over. Innovation slows down, not necessarily through lack of effort, but because so many creative paths have already been explored. The very longevity that once seemed like a strength can quietly become a creative trap.

Even die-hard fans can feel worn down by the rhythm of it all. New Doctor, new companion, mysterious overarching plot, familiar monsters and a major villain at the end. The formula repeats, and while it once felt like a comforting cycle, it now risks becoming predictable. Audience fatigue is real, not because the show is bad, but because we have simply seen too much of it without enough variation in tone or direction.

The format that felt fresh in 2005 is also beginning to show its age. Back then, Doctor Who’s blend of weekly standalone adventures with a light overarching plot was a welcome contrast to the heavily serialised dramas of the time. But the television landscape has changed dramatically since then. Prestige TV now favours more focused seasons where each episode contributes meaningfully to a larger, cohesive narrative. It is not just about shorter runs, it is about structure.

Most modern series build tension, character and theme gradually across episodes in a way that rewards patient viewing. Doctor Who, by contrast, still resets each week (aside from the finale). That variety and flexibility have long been part of the show’s appeal, but in today’s viewing culture, they can also make it feel scattershot. When every story starts and ends in 45 minutes, emotional arcs often feel rushed, and major plotlines struggle to land with real weight. The show still tries to do everything, and while that ambition remains admirable, its old storytelling toolbox may no longer be enough.

As a seasoned writer, Gatiss knows all this better than most. He has been part of Doctor Who’s modern history since the beginning, writing nine episodes from “The Unquiet Dead” in 2005 to “Empress of Mars” in 2017. He has seen the evolution of the series from the inside. So when he suggests it is time for a rest, he is not speaking from fatigue or cynicism, but from love.

The show’s creative core also feels stuck. As much as Russell T Davies has done for Doctor Who, two decades on we are still relying on the same generation of writers and producers. Davies remains at the helm, and even Steven Moffat has returned, not once but twice. That continuity may be comforting, but it also raises a question. Where are the prominent new voices? Where is the next Moffat, the next bold visionary with something fresh to say? Maybe they are out there, not quite ready yet. Because right now, that space still belongs to the same people who filled it twenty years ago.

That is why a potential pause does not scare me. Time away might be exactly what is needed for the show to recharge creatively. A few years of quiet could allow new writers, new showrunners and a new generation of fans to rise with their own ideas for where the TARDIS should go next.

As for fears of the show not returning, as Davies himself said, “No good idea ever dies.” He was right. The Doctor will return, one day, no matter what. Doctor Who is not just a TV show. It is part of our cultural mythology, like Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood or James Bond. It always comes back. And maybe the best way to protect its future is not to keep it on life support, but to let it breathe. Let people miss it again. Because right now, despite all the shiny rebrands, new Doctors and streaming deals, the excitement just is not where it used to be. Enthusiasm cannot be forced. It has to build naturally.

Some will argue that the show should never go off air again, that even a struggling Doctor Who is better than none at all. It is an emotional position, and an understandable one. When something has been part of your life for so long, the idea of it disappearing, even temporarily, can feel like a loss. But constant presence is not the same as cultural relevance. If the stories no longer resonate, if they start to feel routine or uninspired, then is that not a greater risk to the show’s legacy than a carefully timed pause? A rest is not abandonment. It is preservation. It is choosing quality over habit, and longevity through renewal rather than repetition.

I get why some fans are hesitant. When you love something, you want to protect it, to keep it close. But if it is not living up to what it once was, sometimes the kindest thing you can do is let go, at least for a while.

So if the show goes quiet for a while, I for one will not be mourning. I will be hopeful, hopeful that, when the time is right, the Doctor will return with new energy and new stories that remind us why we fell in love with the show in the first place.

Until then, maybe Gatiss is right. Maybe the Doctor does deserve a rest. And maybe, just maybe, so do we.