The new season of Doctor Who is upon us! There’s a lot of excitement going into this season with the arrival of Ncuti Gawa’s Fifteenth Doctor and his new companion Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson. Also this marks the return of Russell T Davies, the man behind the show’s revival in 2005, into the role of show runner. Gatwa, Gibson, and Davies sat down with journalists, including The Beat, to talk what the new season holds, thoughts on the Doctor, and what songs they think is in the TARDIS’ new jukebox.
Out of the gate, Russell T Davies was asked about what themes he wanted to communicate in his second spin writing The Doctor and what themes were important for Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson’s characters. Davies explained “Well, for me, I think if you’re alive and you’re thinking about the world, whatever I write has something to say about the world. The whole point of science fiction is to say something about the modern world. I don’t know what’s gonna happen in the year 50,000. I can’t comment on that. But I think a good script has things to say. It’s not a lesson is what the episode is about. It’s about a bunch of space babies being saved from a monster. So there’s a line. That’s not the theme of the episode, but I’m always happy to keep commenting because there’s no other way to write.” For Gatwa, compassion and curiosity were the keys to his Doctor while adventure and motherhood were for Ruby Sunday said Gibson.
When asked if there were challenges with making a shorter season compared to the longer seasons during his first run, Davies joked to the others if they could imagine that they used to do fourteen episodes. He said making the show though was now more complicated than his earlier run but that you cut your cloth to fit. It was his job to make the eight episodes and Christmas special work and he couldn’t imagine another episode in the season.
Davies gave some insight on whether or not his first tenure helped prepare for his new take on the show. He explained that he wasn’t reinventing the wheel and was happy with what he did back in 2005 when he revived the show. The Doctor by his nature always regenerates and the show was at its essence an anthology series. He spoke with pride how he and his collaborators made that era of Doctor Who, the number one show in Britain. However, he emphasized that he wanted this show to be very 2024 and feel like a show for 2024. Davies pointed to Gatwa and Gibson as prime examples of what 2024 was, praising them both for their youthful energy and optimism. He praised them for both their comedic and dramatic skills and said that having the right cast made his job easier.
Davies also explained a little on how the show balanced the many genres that come up in the series. He mentioned that the more fantastic nature of episodes like “Space Babies” and “The Devil’s Chord” were being followed up by the Steven Moffatt “Boom” which would be a more hard science fiction episode. For him, it was important to keep the show constantly moving. He mentioned the series had a history of fantasy episodes, bringing up the first appearance of the Celestial Toymaker in the sixties and the Patrick Troughton story “The Mind Robbers”. He enjoyed doing those kind of stories but amping it up, especially with a guest star like Jinx Monsoon.
The three were asked when it hit them that they were actually in Doctor Who. For Gibson, it was when her character walked around the TARDIS for the first time and realized it was bigger on the inside. Gatwa said that when they shot their first exterior shot with the TARDIS in episode 5, they thought to themselves “That’s the blue box, that’s my house!” Davies, for whom this isn’t his first ride in the TARDIS, said that he was excited for this series from the get go, especially with the new cast. For him though, there’s nothing like writing the two-part season finales which always provided a unique experience. Neither Gibson or Gatwa had seen the completed two-parter “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” and “Empire of Death” but Davies seemed excited to show them. He talked about the final product which put our heroes in immense danger but highlighted the bravery and friendship between the characters. Per Davies on the finale, “It’s colossal.”
Gatwa discussed crafting the Doctor and how Davies trusted his decisions. He always assumed that there was a right or wrong answer to being the Doctor. However, Davies told him to do his thing. Gatwa also praised his co-star Gibson and how when she arrived in the audition room, he finally determined this Doctor’s vibe. He also talked about how the producers pushed him to be expansive in terms of his outfits for the Doctor and they allowed him to explore this Doctor’s sense of fashion.
One journalist brought up an interview where Gatwa mentioned found family being one of the key tenants of why LGTBQ people gravitate towards The Doctor and how it felt that new queer fans would find that with his Doctor. Gatwa answered that it feels lovely. He pointed out though that the show for a long time made people feel included. It was a show that let people escape. He expressed excitement at being at the helm of that. He also gave a lot of credit to Davies and made a point about Davies’ writing being inclusive. Davies took that as a compliment. He added that the Doctor was there for anyone who felt left out or alone.
The Beat asked the very important question relating to the new addition to the TARDIS; what was in the jukebox? Gibson said that they had seen at least 100 songs and one of them was Brittany Spears’ “Toxic,” a nod to Davies’ first season on the show. Gatwa, once again declaring his love for Beyonce (can we hope the Fifthteen Doctor is in the Beyhive?) said Alien Superstar. Gibson brought up The Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday.” Davies brought up that the upcoming episode “The Devil’s Chord” opened with the Doctor Who theme playing from the jukebox. He said it was up to fans to determine if that was real or not.
With the season premiere “Space Babies”, Gatwa and Gibson talked a little about what was it like to work with so many babies. Ncuti made a joke that the babies were “so cute but such divas!” The babies clearly enjoyed the experience but it was demanding for everyone else. Gibson said, “I remember there was a scene where I had to give them a really sad speech about Ruby’s upbringing and the stage directions are like ‘the babies are so absorbed in what Ruby’s saying.’ Like, the only thing that could get them to listen to me was having a nursery rhyme play on my phone.” Davies may have had the best answer saying that he hopes that at the babies’ 18th birthday parties, this episode plays to their embarrassment.
Asked for their favorite episodes of the season and the show in general, both Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson mentioned Rogue, the “Bridgerton” inspired episode later in the season. Gatwa also mentioned “Boom”, the episode written by Moffatt. While Davies was self-depreciating about his own work on the show, he mentioned how much he loved Moffatt’s episode “Blink”. He also let slip that his one contribution to that episode was making Moffatt decide if it was “blink” and “don’t blink”.
One journalist wanted to know if audiences would once again see The Master, one of the Doctor’s greatest foes. Davies, who brought the Master back in 2007, said there was no room for the character at this time. The Doctor had plenty of new foes that they would tackle this season.
Finally, someone asked Gatwa what he would do if he met either Jo Martin or his Doctor met her character, the Fugitive Doctor. To Ms. Martin, “My God. Honor. Honor to meet you. Thank you for breaking those barriers” and the Fifteenth Doctor to The Fugitive, “How do I work this button on this TARDIS”?
Doctor Who premieres on Disney+ on May 11th.
