Thoughts on the Doctor Who re-numbering

There's been a lot of talk lately on Twitter about the numbering of the upcoming 2010 series of Doctor Who. According to Doctor Who Magazine, the series will be produced and promoted as Series One, which is a surprise as many fans were expecting it to be called Series Five. And there's a minority of fans who would prefer it to be called Season (or series) Thirty-One, continuing the numbering scheme of the classic series. My comment to Chris in a recent videobloggery aside, I'm not one of those who insists on continuing the numbering of the classic series, except in the service of a cheap joke.

It's a brave choice to start the numbering over again, and I think I support it. As I said on Twitter, a while back, I like the way it shatters the dichotomy between the new and the old. It does risk confusing some viewers, but honestly I think we should give the viewers a bit more credit. I think the vast majority of viewers are either (a) so casual that they honestly couldn't care less about numbering or (b) invested in the show enough that they'll understand what's going on with the numbering reset: Russell T Davies' take on the program is over and Steven Moffatt's new direction for the show has begun. And when Moffatt leaves, they may well start back at 1 with someone else.

Perhaps most importantly of all, keeping the numbering in the low single digits has the important effect of welcoming new viewers. While a number like 31 (and even five) is potentially alienating to new viewers, "Series One" makes it clear that new viewers are definitely welcome to start watching the program without worrying about the years and years of continuity they've missed. Keep in mind: Doctor Who is for everyone, not just the hardcore fans.

There is, of course, the danger that some fans will take the reset as an invitation to leave the program, as though the show they loved is over and this is a new one, as Chip mentioned in his recent episode of his Two-Minute Time Lord podcast, but I honestly don't think this is a major issue. Those fans who want to stop watching the show will stop watching it regardless of what the number is. And those fans who have opinions about the numbering will merely call this Series Five, or Season Thirty-One, or the 2010 Season.

Personally, I'll be using the terms "Season x", "Davies Series x", and "Moffatt Series x". But numbering schemes like this are for the existing fans, and this change is for the benefit of potential new fans. And it's always good to have more of those.

Oh, and by the way, the current specials are "Davies Series 4b" for me. Come on, fandom, it's not that hard!