The Dark Side Of Doctor Who From Behind The Scenes

In everything man creates there are two sides. One person will say one thing, another will something to the contrary. It doesn’t matter if you are brother/sister, teacher/student, employer/employee, someone must always be right and the other wrong. It is sad. 

Ever since invention began, humans have debated, “Which is better” instead of caring less about their own inventions and allowing appreciation to overflow for the breath they have been given. Perhaps humans have a built-in glitch – oh wait, we do. If only there was a way to reprogram that glitch and put a halt to its pesky interference with our lives. It turns out there is, and if you continue reading this article you may very well uncover the easter egg within that will show you The Way.

As for human creation within the sphere of television or “tell-a-vision” there have been many disharmonious opinions to one product. In modern history, humans have created “their” vision of reality or fantasy and have aired them on global communication systems for all to see and hear. It is important to dwell upon this point for a moment before we plunge into the wacky universe of our subject matter – Doctor Who, and its thesis – Doctor Who “Dark” Versus Doctor Who “Light”. What we see or hear is always someone else’s vision of either fact or fiction. They share it with you and you blindly share no opinion concerning its trajectory, or its impact upon your mind and soul. 

Some of you may be wondering, “What is the meaning behind” Doctor Who Dark Versus Light?

Over the tenure of Doctor Who’s more recent epoch [2005-present], there have been a mere three persons’ steering the trajectory of the Tardis. This of course excludes big-wig non-creative executives at the BBC.

Russell T. Davis, who reprises his role as the series show runner in November of this year rebooted the Doctor Who franchise in 2005. He was succeeded by Stephen Moffat who took over in 2010 and remained with the series until 2017. Lastly, Chris Chibnall took the reins in 2017 until the year of our Good Lord, 2022. Each of these men has vastly different personalities, interests, and even persuasions.

Let us look at all three and compare how each has either hindered or built upon the product that is Doctor Who since its 1963 inception.

Russell T. Davis:

Davis has quite the resume. Budding his film and television obsession saw Davis engage in a stint at Oxford University. Davis worked on several projects throughout his career before Doctor Who including, The Second Coming, which was a two-part BBC television series special that blasphemously eluded to the true and only Way of Jesus Christ. Russell also spent time reigniting his inner child while working on children’s television for several years. There is no way that anyone would suggest Davis ever sold out to Hollywood during his career because Hollywood never came knocking. In his personal life, Davis is a homosexual, which until now has never played a role in his Doctor Who filmmaking. If anything, Davis penned a love story between the Doctor (Tennant – a man) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper – a woman). Although in the upcoming Doctor Who series premiering this November, Davis has perhaps decided to employ a new trait into his creative narrative. The new actor who portrays “the doctor” [not David Tennant] some believe is LGBTQ.

Stephen Moffat:

By far, Moffat is the eeriest show runner of Doctor Who since its 2005 regeneration. Focusing on the dark, the macabre, the moody, the edgy, the spooky, and the downright strange, Moffat most assuredly plunged Doctor Who and its doctors into outer darkness. All one must do is view one Davis/Tennant episode, and one Moffat/Smith episode to see that Moffat prefers to dwell within the darker side of life, rather than the sunny. There is something to suggest when one sees a man lacking any semblance of a tan, such as Moffat. Unlike his predecessor, Moffat was and has been attempting to woo Hollywood. Within the last ten years, Moffat’s big picture dream was finally realized when he was hired to be involved with the feature length animation film based upon French action-adventure children’s cartoon series, Tin Tin. The film ultimately flopped, but it hasn’t hindered Moffat from continuing his journey. Moffat claimed in a recent interview with Radio Times that he would be “insane” to write another Doctor Who episode. 

Chris Chibnall:

Chibnall is perhaps better known as creator and writer for ITV mystery-crime series, Broadchurch. As for his involvement with Doctor Who, Chibnall began writing for the series under the supervision of Russell T. Davis and Stephen Moffat. Later, he became head writer for the short-lived and less-than-memorable BBC Who spin-off, Torchwood.

Given Chibnall’s background in more drama-based content, it is a safe analysis to conclude that Chibnall’s Who were less about fantasy, color, and wackiness, and more about the seriousness of Doctor Who. His Who incarnation isn’t as dark as Moffat’s, but it doesn’t lag all too far behind it. Chibnall claims he will never return to Doctor Who, as per an article published by Digital Spy. 

In conclusion, all three writers-turned-show runners chipped their teeth’s so-to-speak on the Doctor Who product. As result, we have witnessed Doctor Who “Light” – in terms of overall plots (Davis 2005-2010 era), Doctor Who “Dark” (Moffat era), and we don’t even know what the doctor is anymore (Chibnall era). What lies ahead, perhaps an amalgamation of all three. If agenda is removed from its expression, it might do well.