The Doctor may not be such a good guy after all according to former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat.
Perhaps The Doctor is much scarier than fans might realize, as Steven Moffat believes the comedy of Doctor Who obscures just how “terrifying” the titular character really is.
Moffat previously served as showrunner for the popular and long-running sci-fi series from 2009 to 2017. During that time, he worked with the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, respectively played by Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi. Addressing Doctor Who in a new interview with The Times, Moffat shared his theory that The Doctor is actually quite horrifying, but that the comedy elements of the TV show make that less apparent. According to Moffat, taking out the comic relief from Doctor Who might turn the show into a straight-up horror series, as it puts the titular character in a different light.
“If you take the comedy away, the Doctor is terrifying,” Moffat said. “This guy’s running into the middle of every fight he can find and deciding who should win. People get one chance, then he exterminates their species.”
Of course, it’s not just The Doctor who might serve as a source of nightmares for viewers. The show has featured many characters over the years which have been horrifying in their own ways. In particular, one of the most popular episodes written by Moffat is also among the scariest. The 2007 episode “Blink,” which focused on the Weeping Angels, is widely regarded by fans to be one of the best episodes of the series. Maybe bringing in such freaky adversaries from time to time also helps make it less apparent that The Doctor can be seen as pretty spooky.
Steven Moffat Still Hails the Fifteenth Doctor as a “Hero”
The Doctor might be scary in Moffat’s eyes, but that doesn’t mean that the Time Lord can’t be heroic. After the c asting of Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, Moffat shared his thoughts on the latest incarnation. He revealed that he was immediately sold on Gatwa after seeing the actor’s audition tape, going on to praise the new Doctor while teasing how great he will be in the role for fans of the show.
“I’ve seen the new Doctor in action. Russell [T Davies] showed me the audition tape a while back,” Moffat told The Telegraph in 2022. “He is magnificent: all at once a brand new hero and the same wonderful mad old Doctor we’ve always known. Trust me, we are all in for a treat.”
Gatwa has since officially debuted as The Doctor, recently leading his first solo episode with the Christmas special, “The Church on Ruby Road.”
