Fix Doctor Who Season 41

The finale of Doctor Who Season 41 (Series 15) was… odd.

Wish World worked. That was a very solid episode. We had Mel, Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, with the Rani and Conrad as the villains. It’s an excellent episode. It ends with the Doctor falling in a very climatic and emotional way.

I’m not a fan of teasing the return of Susan and then not bringing her back properly. What a missed opportunity.

The finale The Reality War is rushed. They tried to stick too much in one episode and the exposition/action didn’t really work in my opinion. It could have been done better. Here’s what I would have done:

Wish World is the first episode of the arc. It’s excellent. No changes.

Second episode should be a throwback exploring the beginning of how this occurred. More exploration of this world would have been helpful, 20 minutes leading into the throwback, 20 minutes in the new world starting their life together. 10 minutes with the aftermath of the Doctor falling from the tower in London. Ends with Belinda remembering who she is at the Time Hotel. Susan joins through the Time Hotel.

Third episode is the first half of The Reality War. A lot of the dialogue needed more editing. Spend a full hour ­exploring the finale of that episode. This delves into the actions into the Rani and Conrad. More time with Unit. Susan is part of the action.

Fourth and final episode ties up the story of the Doctor and Belinda’s relationship. I assume the child of the Doctor and Belinda is from the world being rewritten? It’s ok to leave that part as a mystery. But they deserved a proper sendoff. Susan is in the story as well.

That would have given enough time to explore the main threads of the story:

• The Doctor and Belinda’s relationship
• The Rani
• The Doctor and Belinda’s child

Story list:

1. The Robot Revolution
2. Lux
3. The Well
4. Lucky Day
5. The Story & The Engine
6. Ruby and Belinda travel with the Doctor vs the Daleks
7. Ruby, Anita, and Belinda travel with the Doctor vs the Daleks
8. Ruby, Anita, and Belinda travel with the Doctor story involving Conrad and the Daleks
9. The Interstellar Song Contest
10. Wish World
11. Reality War Part 1: Belinda’s Husband, Susan enters
12. Reality War Part 2: Rani and Conrad, Susan exits
13. Reality War Part 3: The Story of Poppy

I think the last season was a good season overall, but it was too short and often rushed.

This is how you fix Season 41.