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3 Things I want to see from Doctor Who Series 10

We’re just a few weeks away from the tenth series of Doctor Who – and, as ever, I’ve got a few thoughts on what I’d like to see from this new series of the show.

Something I’ve never seen before

As far as I’m concerned, Doctor Who should be a show that’s constantly reinventing itself – much as the TARDIS takes its occupants somewhere new each week, so should the show give its audience something new each week. Strange new worlds, exciting characters, innovative stories – Doctor Who should always try to be pushing the boundary of genre television. After having seen a lot of Doctor Who, I’m always on the lookout for something I’ve never seen from the show before.

Admittedly, this can be difficult to quantify – how can you know what you’re looking for, if it’s something you’ve never seen? So certainly, there’s a lot of leeway there for the show to surprise me. But then, that’s what I want – I want Doctor Who to surprise me. That’s when it’s at its best, after all.

Keeping it accessible

Doctor Who series 9 was, in many respects, quite fantastic – I absolutely loved it. It was also, though, the series most entrenched in callbacks and references to the history of the programme that we’ve seen over the last decade, moreso even than the 50th Anniversary. We saw the return of Time Lords, the Shadow Proclamation, Daleks, Davros, Missy, Zygons, a classic TARDIS, and more. The epitome of this, though, was surely the fact that part of the dramatic impact of The Girl Who Died was reliant on a flashback to a seven-year-old David Tennant episode, answering a question that nobody was really asking.

This isn’t, generally speaking, a particular issue for me – I could go on for ages about the show, and give a potted history of most of its obscure quirks and idiosyncrasies. But I can’t help but wonder if all these references back to years past are making the show seem difficult to get into – as though you need to know all fifty years of history to watch Doctor Who. With series 10 bringing back the Ice Warriors, the Movellans, and the Mondasian Cybermen, it looks like we’re in for another continuity heavy year; hopefully, this time around, it’ll be a little more accessible for those who aren’t in the know.

A fantastic send-off for Peter Capaldi

This run of twelve episodes is going to be Peter Capaldi’s last series as the Doctor. He’s always been fantastic in the role, of course – even if, admittedly, the quality of his episodes could be rocky at times. It almost feels as though Doctor Who with Peter Capaldi was only just getting into the swing of things; only really beginning to dig into the reams of potential Capaldi had in the role. Sadly, our time with him has been cut short – meaning this last series will have to be fantastic.

Even though the 2017 Christmas special will be Capaldi’s swansong, it’s series 10 that’s to be his victory lap – our last chance to see his full range and potential as the Doctor. Capaldi is perhaps one of the most accomplished actors ever to have taken on the role of the Doctor; series 10 will surely have to be the best victory lap ever too.

That about concludes what I’d like to see from Doctor Who this year – what about you?

Related:

Doctor Who Explainer – What are the Mondasian Cybermen?

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