If Doctor Who season 11 is being lauded for its pioneering spirit and female lead (read: Jodie Whittaker), there are a number of signatures being left behind.
Or so says the fresh-faced showrunner Chris Chibnall, who, like Whittaker, climbed aboard last year to help steer the BBC’s fantasy flagship in a totally new direction – presumably at the expense of Daleks and Cybermen, who seemingly won’t feature in the upcoming season whatsoever.
That’s disappointing for Doctor Who purists who consider Daleks (and Cybermen!) to be very much part of the show’s DNA. But then again, this is a whole new era we’re talking about here, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Chibnall and his creative team are wanting to introduce new threats for the Time Lord and her new companions.
Chibnall essentially reaffirmed the lack of Daleks while chatting with The Times, and while the outlet didn’t disclose his exact quote verbatim, this confirmation chimes with the director’s previous revelation to Radio Times, where he even went so far as to suggest that Doctor Who season 11 heralds the “perfect jumping-on point,” even if you’re totally unfamiliar with the series itself.
It’s a lot of new stuff this year. I mean we’ve got ten standalone stories. We’ve got lots of new villains, lots of new monsters, lots of new characters for you to fall in love with. This year is the perfect jumping-on point for that person in your life who has never watched Doctor Who. I want you to go out there and recruit that person.
Doctor Who season 11 makes its long-anticipated debut on Sunday, October 7th, and only then will we be able to judge Jodie Whittaker’s Time Lord for ourselves.
