Although over a month has passed since the announcement was made, it seems that the pieces are still being picked up from the explosive news that Doctor Who had been put out to competitive tender. Despite the now-previous showrunner Russell T. Davies confirming that a Christmas special had been penned for 2026, and strong rumors that the hunt for a new titular Time Lord was underway, the rug was pulled from beneath Whovians’ feet when it was confirmed that not only was Doctor Who not going to return, but neither of those suggestions was true.
“This decision was not taken lightly, and we know it will be disappointing for fans,” read a statement from the BBC at the time of the announcement. “We are choosing to push forward to invest in the long-term future of the show, which ensures that when the TARDIS lands once more, it does so in all its glory.” The dust settling on this has allowed many to realize the benefits of the decision, especially following Davies’ disastrous second stint as showrunner, which included constant backlash, a lackluster partnership with Disney, and the strange early exit of star Ncuti Gatwa.
The time following the announcement has also allowed the incoming Director General of the BBC, Matt Brittin, to prepare his own statement on the show’s future, which was made all the more worrying when the former Google executive confirmed that the entire company would face major cuts under his tenure. “That’s a show that has regenerated multiple times in its 60-plus year history, and we’ll do so again,” Brittin said as the BBC published its annual report. “I think that’s one of the great things about the 100-year history of the BBC. We can do that, and we can creatively renew shows that people love, and we’ll be working hard on that right now.”
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
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🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
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01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
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02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
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03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
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04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
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05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
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06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
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07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
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08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
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Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
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The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
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You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
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You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
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You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
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Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
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You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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Russell T. Davies’ Post-‘Doctor Who’ Project Is Going Stateside
One man definitely looking to move on from the Doctor Who noise is Davies, who recently delivered his first post-Who project in the UK to great acclaim. Titled Tip Toe, the drama starring five-time Emmy winner Alan Cumming earned rave reviews from critics, being called “an urgent state-of-the-nation drama” by Radio Times. Later this year, U.S. fans will have the chance to catch Davies’ new series as it was confirmed recently that it will soon stream on Starz.
You can stream the most recent Doctor Who seasons on Disney+. Stay tuned to Collider for the latest updates.
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Release Date
2024 – 2025-00-00
Network
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BBC One
Directors
Alex Pillai, Peter Hoar, Ben Chessell, Julie Anne Robinson, Jamie Donoughue, Amanda Brotchie, Dylan Holmes Williams
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Writers
Steven Moffat, Pete McTighe, Kate Herron, Inua Ellams, Juno Dawson
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