New Doctor Who Series
By the time the BBC had decided to recommission the
programme, Colin Baker was involved in other projects so we had our first faked
regeneration scene. A regeneration scene that was to mark the beginning of the
end for the series. 
Deliberately
increasingly sub standard scripts eroded the very essence of the programme to
the point where it became more pantomime that science fiction, and with viewers
deserting in their droves, the series was finally "rested" for good.
Looking back at those final years, and the genuine commitment of so many fans, one had to ask why, in an era when the US were producing fine science fiction shows, the BBC allowed it to come to this.
The 1996 one off special, was too US orientated, and failed
to make the grade, though some of the Tardis interior concepts were an
improvement. I had been awaiting that film for so long, but it didn't leave me
gasping for more.
Then came the second generation of Doctor Who with Chris Ecclestone and David Tennant. Better, so much better, yet some how not being quite good enough. The US, when successful, have developed a strategy with films like Finding Nemo, that make them delightful for the younger generation, yet engaging to a more mature audience.
Somehow the new Doctor Who Shows
haven?t found that balance. Watching preview clips of alien space craft
crashing into Big Ben then disappearing into the Thames could have taken the
show to a new level, but then they damaged it by having a pig as a pilot and
the Slitheen with their wind problems. Funny to eight years olds, perhaps, but
somewhat silly and a let-down to the accompanying older audience.
In
the main, the new shows have been about scaring children with monsters, without
the classic cliff hangers (and even when there is a cliff hanger, the next
week's preview shows you everything actually will work out fine) or serious
science fiction plot development and twist.
There are signs, however, that this is beginning to happen in Season 4 and with Russell T Davies gone there is a new opportunity - and less running about unnecessarily. I'm pleased a new generation of fans can witness this classic British television concept, but would invite the writers to revisit some of the earlier themes and combine the quality production of today with classic scripts from the past.
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