Sometimes it’s better to let go.
There aren’t many comebacks that Doctor Who wouldn’t excite at this point. With Russell T. Davies bringing back the era of NuWho that many current viewers grew up with, every other name popping up in the news about the show automatically makes the experience that much more exciting.
David Tennant, known as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor, returns as the fourteenth for the three specials, as does his companion Donna Noble, portrayed by Catherine Tate.
While her journey won’t last long, it should definitely reignite interest among Doctor Who audiences and set the stage for the arrival of another Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa.
On the other hand, with the overwhelmingly positive fan base response to anything RTD suggests for Series 14, it’s easy to get too carried away and water down the storyline by adding too many comebacks, easter eggs and references.
Some fans feel the showrunner is already walking a fine line between living out nostalgia and desperately trying to bring back a time many years ago.
The last thing anyone wants is to see the Fifteenth Doctor in the shadow of their own past, no matter how fun it was. This applies not only to friends and companions, but also to enemies.
Perhaps the Doctor’s most well-known enemies are the Daleks, the aliens who want the death of all other living things in the universe.
Although they had their brilliant moments during the Classic Who era and the first season of the reboot, they seemed to lose their charm between seasons 5 and 6 and never really got it back.
In the end, the Daleks weren’t funny or really scary in any of the subsequent episodes, leaving fans more disappointed than excited. When the BBC announced the return of another familiar enemy towards the end of Season 14, fans were hoping to see something other than the Daleks.
With an audience so used to epic finales, no one wants to risk screwing it up over something so unnecessary.
Whether or not the Daleks return remains to be seen. Doctor Who will return this November with three 60th anniversary special episodes and then begin airing series 14 at Christmas time. Stay tuned for more updates!