By Gregor Stratford (he/him)

Doctor Who marks its 60th anniversary with a three-part special, starting 25 November, featuring landmark reprisals of cast and producers, leaving fans champing at the bit to see the Gallifreyans return.

Back behind the TARDIS controls in his signature Converse trainers is David Tennant, now officially the 10th and 14th regenerations of the Doctor. Joining him will be the man responsible for Tennant’s first tenure as the timelord, showrunner Russell T. Davies, after leaving the show with Tennant in 2010. But why the blast from the past?

Well, it’s now almost expected to welcome familiar faces come the anniversary specials. Previous instalments, like 50th anniversary’s ‘Day of the Doctor’, saw no less than the three previous Doctors on screen in addition to the late John Hurt, who became a previously unseen ‘War Doctor’ (the regeneration prior to Christopher Eccleston’s 9th). However, this time it feels different… this time it’s the show that needs saved.

If we rewind to 2005: Davies is largely held responsible for the show’s successful return after a 16-year hiatus. Along with fellow super fan Tennant, the sci-fi hit record viewership in the fourth series. Here we also met companion Donna Noble, played by comedian Catherine Tate (also appearing in the specials). The fanbase had only expanded as those who grew up with the older Doctors were joined by a whole new generation of viewers. Achieved with the help of a terrific soundtrack from Murray Gold (yes, also returning!) it was clear that Davies had found a bedrock for the show’s modern appeal: its humanity.

The Doctor had always been the good guy, battling evil across the universe, but with the advent of the time war during the period between old and new ‘Who’, the Doctor gained a dark side – often manifesting in exclamations that displayed a newly acquired God complex and only the perspective of his fellow travellers to reign him in. This deepened the relationship between the Doctor and his companions, creating a give and take relationship that helped the characters develop. This is highlighted in ‘Turn Left’: an episode showing the Doctor would have died had Donna Noble not called for mercy as he drowned the Empress of the Racnoss in ‘The Runaway Bride’.

But eventually this nuance faded again. When the 13th Doctor arrived, Jodie Whittaker took up the role, the first woman to do so. But unfortunately, new showrunner Chris Chibnall joined too. Thus began a surprisingly quick descent in popularity as Chibnall’s direction for the Doctor began to ring alarm bells. Lacklustre plots which lumbered along in a TARDIS full of superfluous, one note companions culminated in retcon level 5; resulting in flatlining ratings that had prompted another bout of cancellation calls.

So, these specials really feel like a last-ditched effort to claw back some viewers before Ncuti Gatwa takes up the reins in his own fully fledged series. Helping Davies with the task of pulling of this second revival is a joint bid from Disney: injecting cash into the next special and coming series, streaming it on Disney+. Although beautiful monster effects and crisp digital details will be nice, they’ve never been the focus. However, if it sweetened the deal that brought Davies back on board, we can hope his previous show running skills have come along with him. And all of this will be needed for a successful resuscitation of the timelord.

Gatwa will no doubt bring some vigour and fun to the role, but this character will be made in the writing room once again, so we can only hope Davies really can turn back time.