# R.I.P. Doctor Who, thanks for a fun 20 year ride **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [June 18, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001 "2026-06-18T14:43:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/41 "2026-06-20T00:51:46Z")
Davies’ insistence on trying to make the Doctor into Space Jesus is probably my second least favorite aspect of his writing after his complete inability to understand how either British or American politics work. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/42 "2026-06-20T06:12:20Z")
I enjoyed watching the original run of Doctor Who back in the day on PBS. And I watched the new run pretty religiously until part of the way through Peter Capaldi’s run, when I was forced by circumstances to give up cable television. Even after I resumed getting cable a few years later, I just never bothered to jump back on the train. I don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/43 "2026-06-20T12:31:15Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I’m not sure what part of having an alien pull you out of time and bounce you around through a series of interstellar wars and industrial disasters sounds “fun” It’s a matter of how the show treats it. There are lots of adventure films that we think of as “fun”–Star Wars, the James Bond films, some of the Marvel superhero stuff, even classic swashbucklers like Robin Hood or pirate movies–that would probably be terribly frightening if you were really experiencing them. Doctor Who, at its best, was the same way. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/44 "2026-09-17T19:43:08Z")
New tender offer published: > **[New opportunity: Doctor Who invitation to tender](https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/news/doctor-who-invitation-to-tender-september-2026)** > > Deadline for initial submissions: 2 October Ellie from Who Culture reacts (mostly good stuff in her and my opinion) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kLmjgltFwf8/maxresdefault.jpg "Doctor Who: New Series Details & Release Date REVEALED!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLmjgltFwf8) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/45 "2026-09-17T19:48:20Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I salute the hard-core fans that watched all the way to the end. What?! This is truly a sign of the End Times! 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/46 "2026-09-18T02:57:59Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > They also tried to play the game of giving long long time fans stuff that only they would appreciate while also desperately and clumsily trying to give younger newer viewers what they thought would attract them. The result was by the end an incoherent mess that was not effective for either let alone both. That’s always the case for any show, and to me it shows a certain lack of understanding of just why a show is popular (to whatever extent it is popular). In Doctor Who’s case, just keep up the good writing and good casting, and don’t worry about the rest. Trying to appeal to old viewers or youth specifically was never going to work, but just doing it _right_ would have appealed to both I suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/47 "2026-09-18T14:03:41Z")
I missed a number of seasons because my two beautiful daughters took up all of my time, but seeing Billie Piper at the end of the last season made me hope. At the end of the day, I hope the Doctor returns, but if not, we had a wild ride 👍 ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/48 "2026-09-18T22:34:16Z")
Tom Baker is my doctor. One Friday night in the 2000s, I saw a commercial for the NEW Doctor Who. I really thought I was hallucinating. Watched it, and kept watching til halfway through the Matt Smith period. Then I lost interest. It was fun while I watched. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/49 "2026-09-29T03:48:21Z")
I assume the Tardis console went into storage. It’s going to feel strange on Christmas without Doctor Who. > **[R.I.P. The RTD II TARDIS: Jane Tranter Confirms Dismantling](https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2026/09/28/r-i-p-the-rtd-ii-tardis-jane-tranter-confirms-dismantling/)** > > As if the sudden appearance of Billie Piper, the departure of Russell T Davies, and Kate Stewart’s psychotic episode on a beach (you’d forgotten about that, hadn’t you?) werenR… > [@](#): > > The TARDIS interior first unveiled in 2023 has been dismantled. As spotted by [CultBox](https://cultbox.co.uk/general/former-doctor-who-executive-confirms-tardis-set-dismantled), Bad Wolf honcho Jane Tranter (who in 2003 commissioned RTD’s Doctor Who revival) posted on Instagram that the set was taken down in July. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/50 "2026-09-29T05:11:59Z")
Clearly, this calls for a remake of the greatest fan work in Doctor Who history. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ege9lQecazo/hqdefault.jpg "Music Video | Doctor In Distress | Doctor Who") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ege9lQecazo) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/51 "2026-09-29T09:25:34Z")
No, this one! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DsAVx0u9Cw4/maxresdefault.jpg "The Timelords - Doctorin' The Tardis (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsAVx0u9Cw4) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/52 "2026-10-06T19:35:41Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Nothing is final in television. (Finger on monkey’s paw curls) > **[Doctor Who: TARDIS Crew Is a New BBC Spinoff Starring a 'Young Doctor' With...](https://www.ign.com/articles/bbc-reveals-new-doctor-who-spinoff-starring-a-young-doctor-with-blue-hair-and-a-robot-toaster-sidekick)** > > Doctor Who may be on hiatus, but the BBC has just unveiled a new spinoff series. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/53 "2026-10-06T23:03:23Z")
The CBeebies thing was announced quite a while ago, though this is the first I have seen with any details. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001/54 "2026-10-07T13:31:13Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > No, this one! I don’t think anything could top _Doctorin’ the Tardis_ but I nominate this as a close second. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/shJRm4sNuhE/hqdefault.jpg "Doctor Who: The Judoon Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shJRm4sNuhE) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-doctor-who-thanks-for-a-fun-20-year-ride/1031001.md?page=2)