These stories *should* have unlimited potential. But the Doctor can only meet the love of their lives and lose them so many times, or deal with the next escalation of big bads or the next twist that upends canon before it all becomes hollow in the eyes of the audience. swing for the fences

You could even have one doctor start on a problem.. and another encounter the consequences of their own actions. You could finally have Sean Pertwee play 3! The idea would be it gives you a vast amount of space to tell stories in. As complex or as simple as you like.

A return to writing strong sci fi stories. I honestly think multi doctor seasons, two part episodes as the default format. The stories mostly stand alone , a bit like Big Finish really. You could cross Doctors over for finales or event episodes. You could do Doctor lites with any companion

And that gets me to the point of all this blusky rambling. Just as the doctor changes the format changes too. It has to change again, it needs a shift as radical as the shift that happened in 2005 with the relaunch. My answer is the show needs Paul McGann, and Jo Martin, and Jodi and…

But even that now feels tired, the Disney seasons have been the same early Nu Who season format with more money and flash. A villain teased and paid off in increasingly less satisfying finales. And this isn’t Ncuti Gatwa’s fault! He is just stuck in the long Season 22 the show has been in.

The Nu Who format made Character writing key. Big season cliff hangers, Easter eggs and fan service call backs. Beside Moffat more heavily leaning into the meta plot elements the format has been pretty consistent since. (Aside from minor deviations, such as Tenant’s specials or Flux)

Besides the Movie (Paul McGann yay) there was no Who until 2005. The show returned with a 45 minute format, with the occasional two parter and a holiday special most years. The new format was fresh, with more meta plot , and snappy writing born in the afterglow of Buffy the Vampire slayer.

This was the status quo until Series 22 and the dread experiment with changing the format to stories with two 45minute episodes each. By the time it was switched back to a four and three episode format in Series 24 the series was on its deathbed.

Series 10 saw the Doctor released from exile and a return to the space hopping format the series originally followed. Pertwee’s stories were often long 6-7 episodes on average. With Tom Baker’s casting to the role in series 12 the 4 parter became king, with the occasional six part epic.

The run on serial format would continue until 1970 and series 7. This series had distinct serials that didn’t directly follow on from each other and the soft meta plot element of the Doctor exiled on Earth and working with UNIT

But format I think is the key. Originally the classic series had a pure serial tv format. One episode followed directly onto the next. In Series 1, there were no Story titles just episode titles. That’s why the first story is alternatively referred to as “An unearthly child” and “The tribe of Gum”

And I’ll back up, besides Peter Cushing, I don’t think there has ever been a bad casting in the role. (And I think that’s more on the character they had him playing in the Dalek movies) Doctor who is usually failed by format, production or writing. Never the lead actor. (Jo Martin is ace too!)

Much like the Classic format getting tired and hitting an identity crisis in the post Star Wars 80s; the New Series format has also found itself floundering post the 2010s. Even bringing David Tennent and RTD back haven’t been able to resuscitate the shows now two decade old format.

A real good example of 90s wild west game design. Was the game good? Probably not? It was basically the same game every time, sometimes with a different explosive ending. It was fun when you were 15-18, doing LARPs for the first time, and the bureaucracy element was novel, and one I want to reuse...

The game play itself was novel but lacking solid play goals. Much of the game was via diegetic components, coloured bibs indicating security clearance, plastic ray gun props, endless forms, queuing and bureaucracy to get anything done.

There were a number , stand alone but sharing structure. You’d start with a rousing chorus of the Alpha Complex anthem, calisthenics and then a dish of cold fun (basically coloured unflavoured jelly)

They were an attempt to focus on immersing the players in the world of Alpha complex, running with as many players as possible and honestly letting the GMs torment a bunch of young gamers.

Babylon 5 has so many "One of the best..in the history of TV" s when it comes to pacing and dialog in general.