We’re about to reach the end of David Tennant’s brief but welcome return run as the Fourteenth Doctor. So, it’s time to start anticipating which villains the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, will be facing in his upcoming run. Returning showrunner Russell T. Davies has already confirmed that the Fifteenth Doctor won’t be facing off against Daleks or Cybermen. At least not in his first season, anyway. Davies says both of the Doctor’s classic enemies need a “good pause.” As a long-time Whovian, I’d probably add the Master to that pause list as well, as excited as I’d be to see either Michelle Gomez or Sacha Dhawan, or, bless my hearts, both come back. 

Ncuti’s debut season will introduce new enemies. I’m always stoked for new and interesting villains. However, there are Doctor Who villains, fiends, foes, and frenemies from the show’s past and other mediums who can make a long-awaited return or a first-time debut onscreen. “The Star Beast” did excellent work of adapting a classic Doctor Who comic story and the Celestial Toymaker is coming back for the first time in decades in the final anniversary special, so digging into the past seems like a good move. Here are a few baddies we’d love to see face off against Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor in the near future.

The Rutans

One of the major bits of Doctor Who lore focuses on the Sontarans, a stout race of alien clones at constant war with their sworn enemies, the Rutans. We’ve seen the Sontarans make frequent returns to Doctor Who since their first appearance in 1973’s “The Time Warrior.” But the only time we’d ever seen a Rutan on TV was in 1977’s “The Horror of Fang Rock.” The Sontarans might not like to hear me say this, but it’s time for some more Rutans!

The Aggedor of Peladon

The Third Doctor serial “The Monster of Peladon” (1974) is one of the rare times we see the Doctor return to a planet to discover how its culture is progressing. (It takes place 50 years (in the series time, not ours) after the 1972 story “The Curse of Peladon.”) While the Aggedor wasn’t ultimately an antagonist, its role in the superstitions and reverence to the culture of Peladon would make a fun story. The show can revisit in perhaps another generation or two after we last saw them onscreen.

The Selachians

The Selachians are a frequent Big Finish audio antagonist. They are alien sharks who have been awkwardly shoved into big bulky battle-mech suits. They can roam outside the ocean and conquer the universe. I don’t know what else I have to say to convince you this would make an amazing monster to see on TV? You can call the episode “Shark Week.” Please make this Doctor Who villain come to life.

The Ravenous

We see a lot of the Doctor protecting others from their enemies, and we see the Master toy with the Doctor. But we rarely get a monster that exists as a direct threat to the Doctor. The Ravenous are Big Finish monsters and a total trigger warning for those with clown phobias. These killers are from a world inside the time vortex devour the regeneration energy of Time Lords. Given how few Time Lords are left in the universe after the Time War, the Ravenous hunting down Ncuti’s Doctor to feed on his energy could be a delightfully intense story.

Nobody No-One

Look, I like when Doctor Who gets weird. And you can’t get much weirder than this Big Finish foe who comes from an alternate universe where Word Lords exist instead of Time Lords. A being who travels in a CORDIS (Conveyance of Repeating Dialogue in Space-Time) and can manifest the spoken word into great power for himself is wild. Nobody No-One would make a great TV antagonist in this era of grand CGI budgets, and an excellent foe for a character whose primary trait is running his mouth. 

Gangers

One of the biggest themes of Doctor Who is having empathy and understanding the plight of others. But a lot of the villains we run into are fairly black and white as far as being “bad.” The Gangers, introduced in the Eleventh Doctor two-parter “The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People,” were synthetic avatars of humans created to do dangerous tasks. They gained sentience and then resisted the painful deaths they were often subjected to when seen as disposable.

When the Doctor left them, Gangers were starting to push for rights in society, but the episode did reveal that the technology for making them still existed centuries later in the future. Revisiting the Gangers at a later time when their ongoing fight for autonomy is still a struggle would be a great opportunity to show another antagonist with a morality that has to be addressed.

Raxacoricofallapatorians

This one is a stretch, but hear me out. The Slitheen, a family of criminals from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious (good luck, spell check!), appeared in three episodes of Christopher Eccleston’s first and only season in 2005. They were also in the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures. They’re also one of the most quickly mocked aliens in Doctor Who, with good reason. They’re a fart joke… and not a particularly good one.

But they’re also a weird relic of the last time the show was brand new again and struggling to find its voice, tone, and footing. And when Davies brought one back for “Boom Town” towards the end of that season, he still managed to do it in a way that made even these cringey characters interesting and layered. I would love to see him tackle this alien again with his contemporary sensibilities. Perhaps he can take this past punchline and turn it into something amazing.

Other Time Lords

The Master and the Doctor are fun and all, but there are a whole host of antagonistic Time Lords from Doctor Who’s history that could make a welcome appearance. While they’ve shown up in comics and audio dramas, sometimes the continuity for them gets murky and could serve to be solidified a bit more by the TV show. The First and Second Doctor’s time lord antagonists the Monk and the War Chief would be a welcome sight, as well as The Rani who vexed the Sixth and Seventh. 

Big Finish audios feature an interesting take on a Time Lord antagonist with the Renegade, also known as “The Eleven.” This character suffers from a regenerative dissonance. This means all of their previous regenerations still exist as separate, active identities within their mind. Basically, imagine a multi-Doctor episode played by one actor.

And let’s not forget Rassilon himself, who has appeared twice since 2005 played by Timothy Dalton and Donald Sumpter. Even if Gallifrey is still a smoldering ruin, Sumpter’s Rassilon was exiled by the Doctor and could still be out roaming the universe. And maybe he is still a bit annoyed by it all.

There are lots of favorite monsters from the 60 years of this show that would be a welcome sight, will we see any of them, or will a new cadre of baddies make us hide behind the couch? Only time will tell.

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Sixty years after its TV debut, Doctor Who is still going strong and heading into yet another era. The show’s Christmas 2023 special will be the first adventure for Ncuti Gatwa, who will portray the Fifteenth Doctor. Then, he will take over the TARDIS with Russell T Davies leading the way once again as a showrunner in the near future.  This era doesn’t have an official name yet—we are calling it the Bad Wolf era for now—but Davies is setting it apart from the modern era’s 13 seasons by dubbing it season one. (It will not reboot nor ignore previous events.) What can we expect from this fresh slate of stories across time and space? Here’s what we know about Doctor Who season one, which is not season 14 after all.

Doctor Who Season One’s Plot 

Doctor Who always teeters between a season-long arc and weekly adventures. Who knows what will happen in Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as the Doctor?! We know there will be lots of villains, time-traveling, and tough decisions made by The Doctor. This season will have eight episodes and, for now, the titles are unknown. Right now, the main focus is on the 60th anniversary specials with Fourteen and Donna Noble. 

We do know that the Christmas special—which technically counts as a part of season one—is called “The Church on Ruby Road.” And we do have some new information about it! Here’s what Doctor Who‘s website had to say:

The episode sees the Doctor come face-to-face with the mythical and mysterious goblins as his life collides with Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson.

Little is known about Ruby Sunday as she was abandoned on Christmas Eve as a baby. Now living with her mum, Carla and grandmother, Cherry her world is about to be turned upside when she encounters the Doctor and the two set off on their first adventure together…

Davies himself said in an SFX interview that this special will reset the series, which isn’t shocking. “It’s completely a reinvention. Reinvention of the show, brand new, but not a reboot, it’s the same old show, everything starts again, everything’s seen through the eyes of Ruby Sunday and it’s that lovely feeling of here we go, a new era beginning,” said Davies. We wonder what new territory the show will traverse.

It seems that the show is in its cute villain era. We just got Beep the (Homicidal) Meep and now we are getting a goblin creature. Check out his photo along with a few others from the episode.

Click To View Gallery

We haven’t see substantial footage yet but we should be getting it soon.

Behind the Scenes

As previously stated, Russell T Davies is back as the showrunner for Doctor Who. The list of directors include Dylan Holmes Williams, Mark Tonderai, Julie Anne Robinson, Ben Chessell, and Jamie Donoghue. Composer Murray Gold also returns to the show as a composer. Bad Wolf Studios (named after the Rose/Nine story arc) is now a co-producer of the series. Doctor Who season one wrapped filming in July 2023 and is already working on season two.

Doctor Who Season One’s Cast 

Millie Gibson will co-star alongside Gatwa’s Doctor as Ruby Sunday. It will be exciting to see their relationship unfold because they make quite the stylish pair. The Christmas special cast includes Davina McCall, a popular British TV personality who will be playing herself. Michelle Greenidge will play Ruby’s mother Carla, Angela Wynter is Ruby’s grandmother Cherry, and Anita Dobson portrays Mrs. Flood.

Now, for the remainder of the season. Bonnie Langford will reprise her role as Sixth/Seventh Doctor companion Mel Bush and Jemma Redgrave is coming back as UNIT boss Kate Stewart. There are quite a few new faces coming to Doctor Who, including Lenny Rush as Morris, Aneurin Barnard as Roger ap Gwilliam, and Indira Varma as the Duchess. Jonathan Groff and Jinx Monsoon are also joining the cast in roles that have yet to be fully defined. Monsoon will portray “the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet,” while Groff will appear in a historical episode. 

Doctor Who Season One’s Release Date

Doctor Who season one will hit BBC and Disney+ sometime in 2024. The Christmas special will air on Christmas Day 2023.

Originally published November 28, 2023.

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Doctor Who fans are ready to see David Tennant return as the Fourteenth Doctor (seriously, what is going on here?!) alongside the beloved Donna Noble in the 60th anniversary specials. But there’s even more Doctor Who excitement with Ncuti Gatwa taking over as the Fifteenth Doctor in his first season. While many of us will think of it as season 14, the show is officially going into a new era. So it will be season one once again. Gatwa will make his debut when Fourteen regenerates at the end of the final anniversary special before going off on his own adventures. We already know that Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor will travel with Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday. But there are some guest stars that have fans hype for the next chapter of Doctor Who. 

It is not unusual for more than one Doctor to link up. Time-traveling is strange business, after all. And it seems that the latest iteration of The Doctor will meet the original in some way. In his GQ Man of the Year acceptance speech, Gatwa revealed that the Fifteenth Doctor will share a scene with the First Doctor. He doesn’t give any more specifics but we can assume this will happen sometime in the first season. While William Hartnell died nearly 50 years ago, David Bradley has been playing recent portrayals of the First Doctor. However, it seems Doctor Who will use footage of Hartnell alongside Gatwa’s Doctor. Interesting.

Lenny Rush is also joining the cast as Morris. Interestingly, Russell T Davies refers to him as a member of the TARDIS team, a phrase typically associated with companions. It is not fully clear if he will travel with the Doctor for more than an adventure or two versus being a full-time companion like Ruby Sunday. Perhaps he will be more like a Mickey Smith who hangs around for a bit and then decides to do other things. Either way, we are excited to see him!

Doctor Who season 1 (still gotta get used to that) will also bring Bonnie Langford back as Mel Bush. She traveled with the Sixth and Seventh Doctors before returning many years later, making a brief cameo in the Thirteenth Doctor’s final episode. Now, she will come back for a full on adventure.

There are quite a few mysterious new faces to this franchise. Drag Race’s Jinkx Monsoon will portray the Doctor’s “most powerful enemy yet.”

After taking one look at this character, we would let them take complete control of our lives. The statement about Monsoon’s character being a major baddie is very similar to what showrunner Russell T Davies said about Neil Patrick Harris’ character set to appear in the anniversary specials. Could this be the same character after a regeneration? Maybe. Or perhaps it is the Rani coming back to play again. Who knows.

Jonathan Groff will also appear in the upcoming season of Doctor Who. Most of us Americans know him best as Hamilton’s King George III. He certainly can give us a ton of humorous drama. The details about his character are unknown at this time outside of him playing a “key role” in the narrative. But we do know that it will be a historical episode based on this first look photo.

Anita Dobson and Michelle Greenridge will also appear this season as well in undisclosed roles along with Aneurin Barnard as a character named Roger ap Gwilliam. Indira Varma, who made a previous guest appearance in Torchwood, is starring as the Duchess.

We don’t know a lot about those new named characters yet, but the answers will eventually come. It seems this season of Doctor Who is going to be a campy good time based off of these guest stars. 

Another familiar face that we see again is Jemma Redgrave’s Kate Stewart. The leader of the UK’s UNIT branch and daughter of the Brigadier promises some more fun with the Fifteenth Doctor. We cannot wait to get more information about Doctor Who’s fourteenth season. Until then we will patiently wait for a trailer to really see Fifteen and Ruby in action.

Originally published on May 8, 2023.

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Doctor Who’s next era—which we are totally calling the Bad Wolf era—is already setting the stage for something epic. First, there’s the bizarre turn of events that David Tennant will be the Fourteenth Doctor alongside Donna Noble for a bit. But, what’s even more exciting is to see the incredibly delightful Ncuti Gatwa step into the role as the Fifteenth Doctor. He will be joined by Millie Gibson, who will portray his companion Ruby Sunday. (What a fun companion name!) Fans have been very curious about what Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor costume would look like since his announcement. It makes sense, considering he’s a very fashionable guy with eclectic taste. And now we finally know what the Fifteen Doctor will look like with some first-look photos and videos of his costume! 

Surprisingly, Doctor Who‘s Fifteenth Doctor doesn’t have an outfit full of brightness and colors. But, when you think about it, that makes sense considering Thirteen was all about rainbows. Instead, Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor costume is giving stylish and sexy professor with his costume. Love to see it. The brown and black plaid trousers, along with a long coat that will surely flow in the wind while he’s running, are perfect on him. It is virtually law for the Doctor to have an iconic jacket.

If you’re looking to nab the screen-accurate version of this Doctor Who costume, then you may not have luck. It is Nanushka (according to eagle-eyed cosplayers) and sold out on the US website. But, this is a look that can possibly be replicated easily with another brand or, for the intrepid and talented cosplayers among us, made by hand. And Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor costume also includes a very cozy-looking cropped orange sweater, which some fans have IDed as an H&M item. The Fifteen Doctor outfit caps off with Grenson boots that will set you back around $520… if you can find them on the website. Good luck!

Now, for the details that we really love. First, there’s the set of five rings that the Fifteenth Doctor is wearing to complete his outfit. There doesn’t seem to be a significance to wearing five specifically, but they look incredibly cool. It is not the first time we’ve seen the Doctor wear rings as part of their costume. Both Three and Twelve wore them too! What does have more significance is the Gallifreyan artwork on the Fifteenth Doctor’s fingernails. Right now, there is no definitive word on what these symbols mean. A couple of fans speculate that show hints, including something about 13 episodes in Gatwa’s first season, lie hidden in there. But we will have to wait and see if we get further confirmation. 

And, for the greatest part of all. Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor has a mustache. I repeat, there is a Doctor with a mustache. We’ve seen Doctors who don’t fall into the numerical lineup (like the War Doctor) have facial hair; however, this is the first numbered Doctor to have a mustache on Doctor Who. We saw him wearing it in a previous teaser, and, thank the Gallifreyan gods, he kept it. 

Of course, we also love Ruby Sunday’s very cosplayable outfit. From the standout jacket with a fur collar to that sold-out Topshop sweater and those really cute shorts, we can imagine that there will be a lot of Ruby Sundays showing up at conventions in 2023. Costuming is one of the most fun elements of Doctor Who and we can’t wait to see our new Doctor Who and his companion rocking their costumes and running off for wild adventures.

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Doctor Who fans are buzzing about the show’s next moves as the 60th anniversary looms ahead in November 2023. A three-episode special is bringing back David Tennant and Donna Noble with a twist because, well, the Tenth Doctor is somehow the Fourteenth now. (Still can’t believe that is real.) And, Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor will take over after that as the Fifteenth Doctor, with Russell T Davies as the showrunner. And now, Doctor Who is also getting a new home with the BBC partnering with Disney Branded Television to bring the long-running sci-fi show to Disney+. That’s right, this new era of Doctor Who will be available to stream there for audiences outside of the UK. 

This is a pretty big deal because it gives Doctor Who fans—both old and new—easier access to the show. Right now, Doctor Who’s Modern era is on HBO Max, while the available Classic era episodes are on Britbox. However, when episodes drop, it can be hard for those who don’t have BBC America or a BBC streaming service to get them quickly. So the move to Disney+ will bring this beloved British TV show to a global audience. And it is through a service that many already have. Hopefully, this will make Doctor Who much more accessible to audiences in the US and other countries.

A recent press release about the move to Disney+ doesn’t clarify if past Doctor Who episodes will still remain on other streaming services; however, it would make sense to move everything over to one streaming place. But alas, licensing things are in effect. The modern episodes will remain on HBO Max until their contract is up, and then a move to Disney+ could be possible.

In addition to the new episodes of Doctor Who coming to Disney+, there’s also a new logo to go with this era. And, it is one that will give Classic Who fans a smile. It looks a lot like the logo from the Fourth Doctor’s era with a bit of a Disney flare to it. Love the pops of color.

Of course, those new episodes of Doctor Who are coming in November 2023. And we will see Gatwa presumably taking over after Tennant’s Doctor regenerates (again). We will be patiently waiting (as Whovians do well) for more information about Gatwa’s Doctor. But for now, this video of him explaining Doctor Who to newbies and revealing the logo is a pure delight.

We welcome you, Fifteenth Doctor, to Disney+.

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Doctor Who gave Jodie Whittaker, a.k.a. the Thirteenth Doctor, a sendoff full of action and heartwarming cameos from days gone by. While many fans assumed that we would get our first glimpse of Ncuti Gatwa, whom we’ve been mostly calling Fourteen until now, that was not the case. In a surprising yet unsurprising (after seeing the episode) move, Thirteen regenerates into a former version of The Doctor. Now, we have a very confused Tenth Doctor (hello David Tennant) wondering what is going on. It left fans wondering where Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor falls in the lineup.

No worries, Whovians, he is not a rogue version of The Doctor. Ncuti Gatwa will portray the Fifteenth Doctor, with David Tennant officially being the Fourteenth Doctor. It is very wild. 

We got this confirmation from none other than returning showrunner Russell T Davies himself. Here’s what he had to say about Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, David Tennant’s return, and more: 

If you thought the appearance of David Tennant was a shock, we’ve got plenty more surprises on the way! The path to Ncuti’s Fifteenth Doctor is laden with mystery, horror, robots, puppets, danger and fun! And how is it connected to the return of the wonderful Donna Noble? How, what, why? We’re giving you a year to speculate, and then all hell lets loose!

And boy, do Whovians love to speculate. It will be interesting to see what theories people come up with and why. This return to Tennant’s Doctor as Fourteen does make sense in a couple of ways. First, we saw the Master mess with Thirteen’s regeneration cycle, so we knew it would probably affect her in some profound way.

And, with next year being the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who, we can expect lots of wonderful fanservice in those specials. That is a lot to put on a new Doctor while trying to fully establish who they are. It is a nice bridge of sorts that will lead us into what we are calling the Bad Wolf era, giving Ncuti Gatwa a fresh new slate to start on as the Fifteenth Doctor. And we love him already from this very short clip where he, like us, wants to know what the hell is going on.

We cannot wait to see him take over the TARDIS as Doctor Who continues to make history.

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