We choose our words carefully, as one should, and do not claim that incoming showrunner and Steven Moffat replacement Chris Chibnall actually wrote a script for the show that was produced. However, he did write a new theme song for Doctor Who, which was acknowledged in the old Doctor Who magazine and given a prize.
The contest asked for lyrics, not music, and said the lyrics did not have to match the existing theme music. Why they even thought of replacing that iconic tune for a moment, we couldn’t say. But we do assume young Master Chibnall’s day was made by this:
The Master tries to take him down/Talkin’ ’bout regeneration…
Whoops, got my UK Who’s mixed up for a second.
For those who don’t get the Mary Whitehouse reference, she was the L. Brent Bozell of her day, cataloguing and condemning perceived instances of family-unfriendliness in British media. If the idea nowadays that a show featuring a hero who uses his brain to solve issues as nonviolently as possible and never carries a weapon is inappropriate seems weird now–let me assure you as one who remembers firsthand, it did then too.
Chibnall’s lyrics indicate he is very familiar with the history of the show and has a way with words, two things we’d all hope for in our new Who. It’s a shame he and former fellow fanboy Peter Capaldi probably won’t be working together; then again, maybe Capaldi, who once wanted to take over the Doctor Who fan club, is upset HE didn’t win that contest, and the rivalry persists.
Just for fun, if you had to brainstorm lyrics to a new Doctor Who theme song, what would they be? Give it a shot in comments and maybe decades from now you can run the show too.
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Images and h/t: Radio Times and the BBC