Feminist Doctor Who Spin-Off Rumored

Television

The rumored spin-offs to Doctor Who have begun to come into focus as several mainstream publications, such as Deadline, have reported that they have insider information about these spin-offs. According to Deadline, the “Whoniverse” will begin with two spin-offs, one featuring classic Doctor Who villains as the main characters and the other with Kate Stewart and her U.N.I.T. team. This spin-off will likely follow a similar template to the early seasons of Torchwood, at least at first. The villains’ spin-off has been rumored for some time, and the U.N.I.T. spin-off has been speculated as an obvious choice.

The troubling thing about this announcement comes from the Daily Mail’s accounting of their insider information. Their insider says, “Doctor Who has always featured strong women in positions of authority.” That infers that the “female lead” will be the priority of the spin-off because that statement is a third of the information that was deemed worthy of release. We know that Kate will be the protagonist, that U.N.I.T. will be involved, and that the production wanted to highlight its strong female lead.

It is entirely possible that both of these spin-offs will be good; they’re both based on interesting ideas worthy of exploration. However, the current stain on the franchise and the bad taste left in audiences’ mouths after the disastrous Chris Chibnall run, as well as concerning revelations about Russel T. Davies and his plans for the series, is a hard thing to overcome. The fanbase that has largely abandoned Doctor Who needs to be wooed back and treated right before any other discussion can be had. Do these spin-offs woo the audience back? Not in the least. In a perfect world with a healthier franchise, this announcement would reasonably inspire a degree of excitement. But in the current landscape at the BBC, Disney, Sony, and Hollywood as a whole, and with the current state of the franchise, it is unlikely that this news will move the needle whatsoever.