Doctor Who not cancelled?

Suppose that in the eighties, Doctor Who received better ratings or popularity, or the overlords of the BBC decided to excersise mercy--doesn't matter. If the programme was to continue beyond 1989, how would it evolve? What actors would be considered for the next Doctor? Storylines? Writers? Format? Discuss.
 
I don't have the time to go into lots of detail right now, but my main point would be this - the show today (if it was still around) wouldn't be like it is in OTL. The cancellation allowed the 2005 relaunch (not reboot) to take a certain distance from previous production styles and studios that would be much harder during a long continuing series. Depending on where you stand on the new series, perhaps therefore it's a good thing in the long run that the show got cancelled when it did... but I'm sure that's going to be as contentious a statement as saying 'Sealion could have worked if Germany had finished the Graf Zeppelin'.
 
The storylines or the next season in 1990 where already in development.
That 1990 series would have been McCoy's last one, it would have been his 4th season.
Ace would have gone to Gallifrey to become a "Time Lord", he would get an new companion a lady thief, much like the one played by Michelle Ryan "In Planet of the Dead" last year.
The actors that where mentioned as a replacement where Richard Griffiths and Ian Richardson.
 
From what I've read the plan was to try and get some mystery back to the Doctor.
Downplay the Time Lord's power, say the Doctor isn't just another time lord (something about him being the reincarnation of their founder or somesuch) and all that.
My prediction: they jump on the VR craze and we have some absolutely awful early 90s computer graphics cyberpunk flirting episodes.
And then after that computer graphics of a normal sort but of the quality of one of those attrocious made for tv films the Americans knock out.
 
Top