7) It’s Pretty Much A Reboot
Television rules tell us that when a series is drawing to a close – or, in this case, the end of an era – things are meant to get heavy-going and likely a bit darker as the plot wraps up. Instead, season 10 of Doctor Who has decided “to hell with that!” and has unexpectedly hit the reboot button a year early.
With Jenna Coleman’s long-running companion having left at the end of season 9, season 10 had to introduce a new companion anyway, which always gives the show a fresher feel. However, Coleman herself had joined Matt Smith in his last season in the role and that didn’t mean it felt like a reboot.
Instead, the whole tone of the show was reset. Clearly echoing the 2005 season with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, the focal point for this season switched back to the companion, as we followed Bill’s point of view as she got to know the Doctor and jumped into his crazy life of time travel and monsters.
The fact that Doctor Who reboots itself every few years is the key to its incredibly long lifespan, so it’s always welcome when the show decides its time to freshen up both its cast and its tone. It also allows new viewers to hop in and lets us old hats feel like we’re watching the series for the first time all over again.
