{"id":40753,"date":"2024-02-04T00:05:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-04T00:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/?p=40753"},"modified":"2024-02-03T12:42:32","modified_gmt":"2024-02-03T12:42:32","slug":"disneyfication-or-russellfication-why-doctor-who-isnt-being-changed-by-disney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2024\/02\/04\/disneyfication-or-russellfication-why-doctor-who-isnt-being-changed-by-disney\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cDisneyfication\u201d or \u201cRussellfication\u201d? Why Doctor Who Isn’t Being Changed by Disney"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

There\u2019s been a lot of speculation about whether Disney is changing Doctor Who<\/em>. The BBC sold the streaming rights for new Doctor Who <\/em>to Disney, so while the BBC broadcasts the show in the UK, Disney is streaming it everywhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the outset, the main concern was that the House of Mouse would stick its venomous, corporate teeth into the program, take control away from the Beeb, enslave Russell T Davies in their basement, and force him to squeeze out Who<\/em> scripts under the watchful eyes of the frozen, disembodied head of Walt Disney himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not quite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see, the Sony Corporation, who has a friendly relationship with Disney, owns Bad Wolf Studio, who has a friendly relationship with the BBC, and employs Russell. So this hook up was somewhat natural. An alliance that benefits everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

RTD has total creative control of Doctor Who<\/em>, but the show is owned by the BBC, so they\u2019re allowed to have input. Russell works for Bad Wolf and thus Sony, so they, too, have input. Disney owns nothing but the streaming rights for the show, but since it\u2019s streaming on their<\/em> platform, they have the right to have input as well. Here\u2019s where the worry and fear pops up. Constantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fear that somehow, Disney controls everything, and strong arms everything to their liking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not so. It’s very likely they have the same amount of input as Bad Wolf and the Beeb. Maybe a bit less since the Beeb owns the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you\u2019re worried about the Mouse making Who<\/em> all \u201cDisney-ish\u201d, have no fear. Disney won\u2019t be doing that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it happens, Russell will be the one who\u2019s doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent interview in SFX magazine (and shared via Games Radar<\/a>), executive producer Joel Collins refuted the \u201cDisneyfication\u201d claim, saying \u201cthat would only happen if it wasn\u2019t being made by Russell. Or by somebody who wasn\u2019t as big a fan as Russell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But an important point \u2014 Russell is<\/em> a fan of a lot of the work Disney\u2019s Pixar has produced and that might be part of what we\u2019re seeing. Collins explains that RTD has been inspired by some of Disney\u2019s output:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cRussell wanted to bring fun to it, he just wanted to bring joy into the show and challenge people in all the right ways that Russell does. But also make it fun at the right points, make it really fun, take you on a ride. So, I think that\u2019s where the barrier to entry is removed, because adults and children alike enjoy that. And it\u2019s not like, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s just for kids,\u2019 or \u2018It\u2019s just for adults\u2019 or any of this stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It might just be semantics, but even though Disney\u2019s not injecting itself into the programme, Russell is bringing a Disney flavour to the show and shall probably continue to do so. The comments he\u2019s made about adding more fantasy into the show going forward lends itself to this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another possible factor is Bigger Audience Syndrome.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When preparing to accommodate an exponentially larger audience, it sometimes affects how the creator approaches the production of their series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s at this point I have to cite a few entertainment examples from American late night television. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jay Leno was once the most popular and acclaimed stand up comic in the country, revered by all his peers. His act was edgy but he wasn\u2019t foul mouthed or dirty, and mostly suitable for all audiences. But when he was controversially given The Tonight Show<\/em>, he severely watered down his content to homogenize his jokes so grandmothers across the country would like and accept him. This dumbed down, bland approach worked and he received good ratings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When David Letterman moved from the Late Night <\/em>slot at NBC to the hour earlier Late Show <\/em>on CBS, he felt he had to be a bit more responsible with his content, not just playing for the college crowd. So he toned down his material as well, just not anywhere nearly as bland as Leno.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The point is, the much larger audience might be factored in to these new approaches to the writing, the creative in general. Whether that\u2019s a good or bad thing in Who<\/em>\u2019s situation remains to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prevailing thought is that Doctor Who<\/em> has now gone from just<\/em> the UK to worldwide status thanks to Disney, so one can only wonder how much this bigger stage will affect how Davies moves forward with the show.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although, considering that over the past six decades, Who<\/em> has been sold and distributed to dozens of countries, and the 50th anniversary special was simultaneously broadcast in 91<\/em> countries, there\u2019s no question that the world is well aware of Doctor Who<\/em>. Or should be anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet somehow, it being streamed through Disney+ has it allegedly reaching an even bigger audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By all accounts, going forward with \u201cSeason 1\u201d (Series 1\/Series 14\/Season 40 \u2013 your choice), we are going to see this new direction incorporating more fantasy along with our science fiction, as it streams worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it is slated to be lighter and have \u201cmore fun and joy\u201d thrown into it, and it might indeed feel<\/em> more like Disney in some ways. But let\u2019s be clear for the record \u2014 the main force behind that is not going be Disney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That will be Russell T Davies.<\/p>\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is Disney interfering with Doctor Who? Or is Russell T Davies really in complete control?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":36832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"\u201cDisneyfication\u201d or \u201cRussellfication\u201d? 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