Posted in: BBC, Disney+, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: doctor who

Doctor Who: Billie Piper's The New Doctor (For Now) So Deal With It

There's a simple, obvious reason for Billie Piper to be the new Doctor on Doctor Who, and it's been in front of our noses the entire time.

How long ago was it already that season 2 of the Disney+ era of Doctor Who ended? May 31st? That's a whole three months now, and fans are still wringing their hands over Ncuti Gatwa regenerating into Billie Piper. Is she really the new Doctor? Is it a total fake-out with some ridiculously convoluted technobabble nonsense explanation for her showing up? Is Russell T. Davies just trolling everyone? Almost certainly the latter, and he almost certainly knew fans would freak the hell out and endlessly argue and speculate about it, and almost certainly rubbing his hands with glee at all the fan angst, since the more fan chatter and arguments are online, the more that keeps Doctor Who alive, ironically.

Fan freakouts are great for any business that involves a popular franchise. It's as if fans can't bring their heads around the idea of Piper, who played Rose, the most beloved of the modern era companions, and keep trying to find an explanation for why she can't be the new Doctor, or how she could possibly be the new Doctor when the explanation is very obvious and staring us in the face all along.

Billie Piper has since admitted that the regeneration scene wasn't planned in advance but a late addition, filmed in secret as late as February when they snuck her into the studio and shot her in front of a green screen. Russell T. Davies decided on it at the last moment while the second season was gearing up for its premiere. Did he have a plan? We don't know. It seems unlikely that he wouldn't have at least an inkling of a plan. Is it a bit of sensationalism, of showmanship, a bit of a gimmick? Of course it is. That's always been part of Doctor Who. Does it make sense? Yes, and there are canonical, thematic, and emotional reasons to justify it.

Doctor Who: A Regeneration Borne of Joy and Love – and Clickbait!

The clues were there in the moments before he regenerated. The Doctor was encouraged to see his regeneration not as a death but a continuation, to be greeted with joy. To him, being The Doctor has been "an absolute joy" as a bit of meta reference to Gatwa's own performance. Then he regenerates into Billie Piper. Regenerations are fraught with emotion, and this one is borne from joy and love. Why wouldn't The Doctor, perhaps unconsciously, take on the face of one companion who brought him joy at one of the darkest periods of his life? Rose is one of the people he loved most, and Billie Piper is the most beloved companion of the modern era.

Who wouldn't want to see her back? And why shouldn't she get to be the new Doctor? Has everyone forgotten she already played a mischievous sentient cosmic time bomb called The Moment in the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor"? The Moment had a different personality from Rose: all-knowing, funny, cheeky, flirtatious, and compassionate – it was a bomb that actively tried to convince whoever switched it on not to push the button. Any hint of how Billie Piper might play The Doctor is in that story already. Who wouldn't want to see Piper as commanding, funny, yet with a steely core? That's already The Doctor.

Was Russell T. Davies fan-baiting? Absolutely! But pop culture is always about fan-baiting, and there are worse ways to do it. The Doctor loved Rose, and fans love Rose and Billie Piper. It makes sense for the story and the business. So why not? Why are we still talking about this? Clickbait! That's the game after all, so we might as well enjoy it while we're here. If we get new episodes with Piper as The Doctor, everyone will shut up and enjoy her doing it. That's how it is with every Doctor. It's Doctor Who Business as usual. We're all for Billie Piper as the New Doctor, especially since it's pissing off all the right people.

Doctor Who is streaming on Disney+ outside the UK.

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