Doctor Who: TARDIS Crew Sounds Like a Fantastic Idea (So Back Off)
· BCPosted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: doctor who
Doctor Who: TARDIS Crew Sounds Like a Fantastic Idea (So Back Off)
Whatever issues you might have about the Christmas Special and the tender process, how about we not take it out on Doctor Who: TARDIS Crew?
Published Tue, 20 Oct 2026 07:37:08 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary
- Doctor Who fans are still frustrated by the BBC tender pause, Christmas Special fallout, and unanswered Russell T. Davies-era questions.
- Billie Piper’s return and the lack of a clear endgame left Doctor Who carrying storyline baggage into an uncertain future.
- Doctor Who: TARDIS Crew should not become a target for fandom anger; it’s a fun preschool entry point, not the problem.
- The animated Doctor Who series can welcome a new generation into the Whoniverse without gatekeeping, canon policing, or clickbait outrage.
We would be lying if we said we weren't still quite a bit bitter and unclear about exactly what went down leading up to the BBC's decision to put Doctor Who out to tender. As much as ex-Showrunner Russell T. Davies' recent memoir answered some questions, it also found a way to raise some new ones. Why was it necessary to turn the Christmas Special into some kind of "long con" and not just pull the metaphorical band-aid off right from the start? What was the point of bringing in a big name like Billie Piper – an amazing actress and an icon within the Doctor Who community – when there was no real endgame planned? Was it fair to saddle the new production/creative team with that kind of storyline baggage before they've had a chance to start crafting their own vision? If the show was still on the air, we would at least have that as a distraction. But the dangling questions that may very well go unanswered, combined with a tender "pause" that could keep the show off the air until 2028/2029, have made for a very prickly fanbase. We get it. We really do. But what we're not going to do is take it out on Doctor Who: TARDIS Crew.
It says a lot that we felt the need to write this about an animated series that aimed at the preschool crowd, but that's where we are at this point. How can we put this gently, yet in a way that folks will understand? How about this? Don't come peddling your close-minded, no-fun-having, gatekeeping bullshit around these parts. The Doctor, Hannah, Beastie, and Toast-IE are going to be too busy traveling through time and space to have to deal with you coming up with listicles about "The 10 Ways 'Doctor Who: TARDIS Crew' Breaks Canon," or other third-rate clickbait nonsense like that. This is a show meant to introduce a new generation of viewers to Doctor Who – before some of you corrupt their experience with steaming piles of social media nonsense. This is a good thing. Let me repeat that for the people in the cheap seats. This is a good thing. If you can stop waving your replica Sonic Screwdriver around for a hot second to enjoy some new "Who" that's just fun and doesn't come with strings attached, welcome aboard! But if you can't, then feel free to rewatch hundreds of hours of previous shows and rant about them online. Let kids have the same chance to discover the magic of "The Whoniverse" that we did.
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