The eleventh and latest season of Doctor Who made the somewhat controversial move to refrain from using old and familiar enemies in Jodie Whittaker’s first set of adventures, with showrunner Chris Chibnall previously making the case that he wanted the series to move into new territory instead of falling back on the ideas of the past.
Once those initial ten episodes were out of the way, however, it seems that the time was right for the latest incarnation of the Doctor to have her first encounter with a classic foe, with the New Year’s Day special “Resolution” bringing a Dalek into the action. From here, the question is raised of why Chibnall decided to break his own rule for the latest episode, and in a special preview screening of “Resolution,” the writer explained that the reintroduction of Daleks was the payoff to a long build-up.
“We knew we wanted something big for the end-of-series special, and knowing that we would have no old monsters in the series was really a build-up for the special, so that when the Dalek appears, it’s hopefully exciting and it feels rare and thrilling,” Chibnall said. “It’s the first encounter for Jodie [Whittaker] with that iconic monster and we knew we wanted to do that as the climax of the first series, if you like.”
It must be said, there’s a lot of sense to the strategy. As well as challenging the writers to explore new ideas, withholding the classic monsters also ensures that these characters maintain some of their presence and impact when they do show up. If this is Chibnall’s thinking, then the fans probably shouldn’t expect a surplus of familiar foes once season 12 arrives, though the producer has at least teased that “maybe we’ll do some more… I’ll have a think!”
The fans will have plenty of time to speculate, too, since the next season of Doctor Who is upwards of a year away, though Chibnall has at least teased that the show will be coming back in “very early 2020.” Could another New Year’s Day special be on the way? We’ll just have to wait and see.