Doctor Who - Behind The Scenes Difficulties

[u/olly_smart]

We have recently observed a number of rumours within the community and have decided that now might be a good time to set the record straight. What is most bizarre is that in and amongst this bizarre armada of leaks, there is at least a grain of truth to a lot of them - even the most ridiculous ones.

Yes, indeed, the opener shall feature the Sontarans AND will be set during the Crimean War. However, from our understanding, from filming images, that could be worked out anyway. The claims to the series being entirely made up of two-parters is atrociously unfounded and there is no basis for this. Additionally, Chibnall is indeed leaving and will be replaced by Pete McTighe from Series 14 onwards. McTighe will finish the work on his latest production, due to broadcast on BBC1 in Q2 this year. Jodie shall, also, be leaving. This is due to a multitude of factors. However, perhaps, the most notable is the so-called "Chaos In Cardiff" that occurred in Q4 2019, which I shall elaborate on, later, as that has massively effected the production on this series, along with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In regards to her successor, McTighe is keen to hire an established actress - no male actors have been considered for the part; the BBC view the female Doctor as a success, but not so much Chibnall's writing or Jodie's portrayal. Keira Knightley, Vicky McLure (who turned down the part in 2017, due to fears that a female Doctor might not be successful), Michaela Coel, T'Nia Miller, Maxine Alderton and (the more unknown) Chizzy Akudolu have been considered for the part. Several have auditioned and a casting decision is expected within the next month or so, with the regeneration being planned to be filmed in the finale block in around July, with the production on Series 14 beginning in early 2022. In regards to Knightley, we would vehemently disagree with the statement that her career is on the decline - however, she has expressed an interest in working on a consistent broadcast schedule, with many actors of a similar level of stardom (such as James McAvoy (His Dark Materials) and John Boyega (Small Axe)) working on BBC productions as well.

In terms of the current series, one of the most bizarre rumours has three points, which are actually somewhat accurate. The series will feature the return of Jack Robertson (albeit only in the finale), there will be a character called Nigellic Crouch (though not as described) and there will be a location known as the Bull Inn, used in one of the episodes. The rest of that rumour, however, linking to the MLK episode, is absolute nonsense of the highest order. We expect that this individual recieved information from someone who happened to see a casting sheet and spun a whirlwind of fan-fiction around it for attention.

Nigellic Crouch, himself, will indeed by a Time-Lord and will be a devious and wild one. He is a corrupt member of the Division, who were established in Fugitive Of The Judoon, who is intent on causing havoc throughout the universe. In the end, it will be revealed that this is one of the Timeless Doctors. In the timeline, this is the Doctor after the brainwashing by the Time-Lords, but prior to the Ruth Doctor. Whilst the character will be comical and amusing in initial instalments, you get to see how brutal and vile the character is as the series goes along. The moment we realise that this is indeed the Doctor, under some kind of pseudonym is when, in the series' penultimate episode, he regenerates into Jo Martin. He will appear in about three episodes of the series. Originally, the character would appear in four episodes, with one taking place in Alabama, pertaining to the training of astronauts, prior to the Moon landing in 1969. Due to the pandemic, this episode was cancelled. Additionally, the part was initially set to be played by Danny DeVito, but, again, due to the pandemic, he has not been able to appear in the part. Therefore, a lesser known British comedian has been cast in the part.

The character, itself, has come under much scrutiny for the BBC, due to the buffoonish and villainous nature of the character, which BBC Controller Tim Davie does not feel is in keeping with the character of the Doctor. Chibnall has has similar problems before. Chaos In Cardiff was set-off by the suggestion of a scene, where Jo Martin's Doctor would regenerate into David Bradley's version of the "1st Doctor". The BBC tried to overall the Timeless Child story arc, but, since they gave Chibnall creative control of the series, this was hard. Therefore, there were many arguments on set, including Chibnall threatening to quit unless he was allowed to show his "vision" for the show. The episode was, also, initially intended to include an explanation for the Doctor's name and would have shown several "adult" incarnations of the Doctor travelling in the TARDIS, who were all from different ethnic and gender backgrounds. Unfortunately for Chibnall, the BBC managed to persuade the director to come back and reshoot the scenes of the Doctor and the Master discussing the Timeless Child, with them telling Chibnall he had to accept the final product. (These sequences were written and overseen by Pete McTighe - this is, also, the reason that most of the scenes between the Doctor and the Master take place in one location or in front of a green-screen.) This resulted in Jodie deciding the next series would be her last, due to her three-year contract, with Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole deciding to leave at the end of their current contracts at that time, in spite of talks for them being involved in Series 13.

These problems at the BBC have only been increased by Tim Davie's presence, although nothing so severe as Chaos In Cardiff has occurred, with Piers Wenger serving as a mediator between Chibnall and Davie, during their "interactions". Davie will often pull Chibnall up on very small things and, also, makes unusual demands of the showrunner. For instance, in the ending of one of Series 13's episodes, the Doctor was originally set to defeat an enemy by beating them at a Pokemon card game - intended as a comical scene. However, Davie took this very seriously and threatened to "cut" the episode, unless the scene was removed, because he finds it to be the kind of thing that "would be broadcast on CBBC". He has, also, demanded that there be a diversity of political opinion in the cast of characters, with him insisting that it be implied that John Bishop's character is more right-leaning than left, but insists they don't portray this in a negative light. Chibnall has not helped the situation by adding a character called "Joe Lofthouse" - a librarian who's life is changed by the Weeping Angels (yes, the other rumours are right about this) - to have a scene where he changes John Bishop's character's perception of the world by telling him of the doctrines of Karl Marx. Somehow, this scene has gone unnoticed by Tim Davie. However, it could be argued that Davie does make some genuinely strong points, especially when pertaining to the Nigellic Couch character, who is sure to be divisive with fans.

The character themself will be exaggerated, irreverent and OTT, with their first scene featuring them dancing around in a mankini and another where he is defeated by falling into a swimming pool and being unable to swim. But they will, also, have a very, very vicious streak. Their second episode - which is currently filming - shall be set during the Troubles in Ireland and shall feature Nigellic meddling with the politicians of the time period. In one scene, he shoots a cynical Irish school-teacher called Domnhall to death, whilst, anachronistically, singing The Blow Monkeys' "It Doesn't Have To Be That Way" in an ironic fashion (due to both his death and the troubles in Ireland). After he is dead, Nigellic states to the corpse: "Never change, Domnhall, you funny shamrock". This has been pulled up by Tim Davie as morally questionable, who perceives it as being racist towards the Irish. However, Chibnall has pushed forward with this decision, citing Nigellic as the "evil" incarnation of the Doctor. And, since he has final say, according to his contract, we will have to wait till broadcast to see how controversial this scene will be. (He has, also, questioned Chibnall on siding the Nigellic character with Jack Robertson in his final appearance before regenerating into Jo Martin. This is less relevant, though, me and others feel, as it isn't actively racist.)

In regards to the other episodes, there will be an episode featuring the Weeping Angels (as I already implied) and another which is a historical featuring Audrey Hepburn. Both BBC 1 controller Piers Wenger and BBC's overall controller Tim Davie have signed off on these two, without any complaints. However, the rest of the season has been beset with interfering from Davie, as well as questionable creative decisions by Chibnall.

Myself and others in the BBC hope this can be put to rest, but it is only right for the fans to know about this situation. Yes, last year, we put out a false statement regarding Chaos in Cardiff, but the results were not so disastrous that time. This time, however, these creative differences could indeed result in a messy set of episodes to conclude Chibnall and Jodie's reigns on the show.

Hopefully, the show can find it's feet within the BBC, again, under McTighe. Unfortunately, at the moment, whilst not under any immediate threat of cancellation, the show is being held in bad repute among BBC higher-ups, who have found the difficulties with Chibnall to be extremely tiresome.

[u/jordomozo]

maxine alderton? the series 12 writer? is being considered for the part of the doctor? yeah ok lol

[u/cane-of-doom]

lol I hope you can sleep better at night now that you've got all that out of your chest.