Part III, Chapter XIX: "Rogues Are We"
"Season 31 did have a few changes. For starters, they finally let me bring in David Arnold to do the theme. He wasn't up for scoring the season, so we did it all in-house. But we could start to bring in big names. We'd established our place in popular culture, and I made sure we used it. Astute viewers will take notice of a good few actors in this season that became more well known later on. I'm quite proud of the season, as a whole."
- Niel Gaiman on Season 31 of
Doctor Who.
Season 31 would continue many of the themes from the previous one. Gaiman continued to take
Doctor Who in a new direction, what he described as “Gothic aesthetic with modern sensibilities”. Many observers noted the similarities between
Doctor Who and
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, especially as they shared a considerable audience. Much as had been the case with
Star Trek during the Seventh Doctor’s time, actors began to cross over between these two series.
The news that Dante Basco would be joining the cast was met with trepidation by many fans at first, but interviews in the lead-up to the release of the season showed that he fit in well. Basco’s character proved popular when he was introduced later on in the season.
Season 31 of
Doctor Who began airing on Sunday, May 18th 1997. It was the tenth of the revival series.
List of Episodes of Season 31 of Doctor Who:
The Happiness Patrol (Part 1)
The Happiness Patrol (Part 2)
The Last Type 40 (Part 1)
The Last Type 40 (Part 2)
The Offer
The Memory Hole (Part 1)
The Memory Hole (Part 2)
The League of Extraordinary Time Lords (Part 1)
The League of Extraordinary Time Lords (Part 2)
The League of Extraordinary Time Lords (Part 3)
The House Always Wins (Part 1)
The House Always Wins (Part 2)
The Man With All the Toys (Part 1)
The Man With All the Toys (Part 2)
The Backbone of Night (Part 1)
The Backbone of Night (Part 2)
Sins of the Fathers (Part 1)
Sins of the Fathers (Part 2)
Eek! A Spouse!
Crossing Wires (Part 1)
Crossing Wires (Part 2)
Where Time Runs Thin
Just War (Part 1)
Just War (Part 2)
Just War (Part 3)
Bellwether
Bold text indicates a story by @The Chimera Virus, underlined text indicates a story by @tornadobusdriver. Yes, I'm only writing three stories this season.
Cast of Season 31 of Doctor Who:
The Tenth Doctor – Paul McGann
Lucie Miller – Nicole de Boer
Kahn-Tineta – Alex Rice
Malcolm Aguirre– Dante Basco
Apart from a couple of divisive stories, the season was incredibly well reviewed. Of the shows of the revival series, it remains the one with the highest score on review aggregator Metacritic. McGann and de Boer’s performances were praised, as was Alex Rice’s, with many considering it a great improvement over her performance the previous season.
The “Rogues” were also the source of much praise, as while some were concerned by the increasing “Time Lord” focus of the show, the diverse personalities of the group helped to keep the show “fresh” in the minds of many critics.
Doctor Who had not only continued on from the last season’s success, but had improved on it. With a bumper year for the franchise coming up, many fans awaited the next release excitedly.