BBC announced on Jan. 23 that "Doctor Who" Executive Producer and writer Steven Moffat is stepping down after its 10th season to make way for new showrunner, Chris Chibnall. It also announced that, instead of the usual fall screening of the much-beloved franchise, BBC will premiere the full season 10 in the spring of 2017 with fans only having a "Doctor Who" Christmas Special to look forward to in 2016.
BBC definitely pulled the rug from under the feet of Whovians around the world- twice. Steven Moffat has been with the popular science-fiction series since series five when David Tennant's Tenth Doctor regenerated to the more quirky Eleventh Doctor in the person of Matt Smith. He also penned some of the most memorable episodes as well as introduced strong characters so it's definitely sad to see him leave the Time And Relative Dimension in Space (T.A.R.D.I.S.) and hand over the piloting to someone else.
That's not to say Chibnall's work would not compare. After all, he did brilliant work in "Broadchurch," another Tennant-led series, this time focusing on a murder mystery. The episodes he wrote during Smith's time as the Doctor were also brilliant and heart-wrenching considering he was the one who wrote Rory Williams' death and wrote him out of history by being absorbed by the crack. Then again, he also wrote the little bit below after the weeping angels took both Rory and Amy away, which was nice because nobody was prepared for that kind of exit.
"Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I'm just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out. but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British Television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future," Moffat said about his exit.
"Doctor Who is the ultimate BBC programme... So it's a privilege and a joy to be the next curator of this funny, scary and emotional family drama," Chibnall expressed. He also noted that he heard Moffat's plans for season 10 and he's sure that he's going out with a bang.
Season 10 will materialize in spring 2017.
Photo: Gage Skidmore | Flickr
