Ex-Doctor Who Writer Warns the TARDIS Is Running Out of Time

Well, here is a curveball for your Sunday: one of the writers who helped bring Doctor Who roaring back in 2005 thinks the show has never felt deader. That is not me being dramatic; that is Robert Shearman, the guy who wrote 'Dalek,' looking at the current state of play and sounding pretty bleak about it.

Shearman is not feeling the vibe right now

Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine, Shearman said he goes through phases with this show, and right now he is firmly in the 'pulling away' camp. In his view, the series does not feel like a living, forward-moving thing at the moment.

'The show is probably as dead as we have ever known it.'

His reasoning is very specific, and very franchise-brain: after the original run ended in 1989, there was still always a 'current Doctor' in the books and audios. You could handwave continuity and say, yep, that is McCoy or McGann, and press on. Now, he argues, anything new risks feeling backward-looking. He even points to the recent finale tease and says no one is about to start cranking out novels for a 'Billie Piper Doctor' because no one knows what that actually is yet.

He also name-checks something called 'The Reality War' as feeling like a hard stop for the lore. If you are not neck-deep in the tie-ins, the gist is this: Shearman thinks the story ecosystem has an endpoint vibe right now instead of a present-tense momentum.

About that finale twist

You did not misread that 'Billie Piper Doctor' bit. The Season 15 finale ends with Ncuti Gatwa regenerating into Billie Piper, who, of course, played Rose back in the Eccleston/Tennant era. It is a big swing, and it has set the fandom on fire. Shearman clearly is not sold on it. Sixth Doctor alum Colin Baker weighed in too, basically saying he has no idea what is going on but suspects the whole thing is, to put it politely, nonsense.

Is the show actually paused? Here is where the decision-making stands

Last September, showrunner Russell T Davies said the plan was always to make a call on the show’s future after Season 2 airs. The BBC has repeated that line since: no decision on Season 3 until Season 2 is out, and anything else you hear in the meantime is just speculation. They also flagged that the Disney Plus deal covers 26 episodes in total, and there is still a whole spin-off yet to roll out.

Spin-off incoming: The War Between the Land and the Sea

That spin-off arrives next year and centers on UNIT dealing with a global disaster without the Doctor riding to the rescue. The setup: an ancient ocean species reveals itself, panic ensues, and as tensions between land and sea escalate, UNIT tries to keep humanity alive. It is very 'what happens when the Doctor does not pick up the phone' energy.

• Robert Shearman (writer of 2005’s 'Dalek' with Eccleston and Piper) says he is in a 'pull' phase with the show and feels it is as dead as it has ever been.
• His gripe: without a clear 'current Doctor,' new stories feel retro, and tie-ins cannot easily define something like a 'Billie Piper Doctor.'
• Season 15 ends with Ncuti Gatwa regenerating into Billie Piper, a bold cliffhanger that Shearman seems to dislike; Colin Baker thinks the idea is probably nonsense.
• Russell T Davies previously said a decision on the show’s future comes after Season 2 airs; the BBC has reiterated that and called any other claims speculation.
• The Disney Plus deal covers 26 episodes total, with a spin-off still to come.
• The spin-off, 'The War Between the Land and the Sea,' hits next year and follows UNIT tackling a worldwide crisis when an ancient ocean species emerges.

So, is Doctor Who 'dead'? That feels overstated. But the vibes are undeniably weird: a wild finale twist, an industry waiting game, and a writer who helped reboot the thing wondering what the present tense of the franchise even is. Until Season 2 lands and the BBC makes the Season 3 call, expect plenty more theorizing and a lot of squinting at that Billie Piper cliffhanger.