Doctor Who's Key Difference From Star Wars & Star Trek Explained By RTD & Steven Moffat

Summary Death & mortality play a key role in Doctor Who, adding a danger that sets it apart from Star Wars & Star Trek.

The Doctor's approach to adventuring is unprepared & off-the-cuff also makes the protagonist unique.

The Doctor's companions are ordinary individuals who, through extraordinary adventures, emerge changed with a greater understanding.

Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat break down how Doctor Who stands apart from Star Wars and Star Trek, explaining what makes the series unique Davies helmed the revival of the series in 2005 before departing in 2010, but returned to help usher in a new Doctor in 2023. Moffat worked alongside Davies and served as a writer throughout his tenure, but would pick up the baton and act as showrunner across Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi's tenures as the Time Lord from 2010 to 2017.

With Moffat returning to pen Doctor Who season 14, episode 3, "Boom", he and Davies discussed what makes Doctor Who unique among other sci-fi series on Doctor Who: Unleashed. Davies honed in on how death and mortality play a key part in his approach, with Moffat elaborating by explaining that the Doctor's off-the-cuff and unprepared approach to adventuring help it stand out from the methodical, planned approach Star Wars and Star Trek's leads have. Check out the writer's conversations below:

Davies: I think actually, one of my ingredients is death. There should be absolutes danger of death in it. And I think in Doctor Who, if there isn’t, it’s so lacking something. That fear of death is… It doesn’t quite stalk Star Trek, it doesn’t quite stalk Star Wars in the way that it does Doctor Who. Moffat: Not, it’s absolutely true. The proper visceral jeopardy. But that’s partly because, you know, the characters in Star Trek are sensible. They arrive with guns and equipment and a giant space ship and a team that’s how I’d like to arrive on an alien planet. The Doctor put his coat on and you know, forgets his screwdriver because he didn’t… He wasn’t using it recently. So it’s full of that. You’re following a genius idiot into an incredibly dangerous landscape that he has tremendous faith isn’t going to be that dangerous or bad THIS TIME because, presumably, he doesn’t watch the show.

How Death & Mortality Elevates Doctor Who

What The Doctor Has Learned From Their Regenerations

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It can be argued that death has been a core element of the show since the beginning. Though the Doctor's regenerations allow him to cheat death, he nevertheless receives a greater understanding of the concept through this, having a greater perspective on what matters most in life and not to waste it. As such, he tries to impart this knowledge on those around him and who travel with him.

Related Doctor Who Season 14: Release Date, Cast, Trailer & Everything We Know Doctor Who season 14 is arriving after the 60th anniversary special, and with it Ncuti Gatwa's new Doctor. Here's everything we know so far.

The Doctor's companions tend to be relatively ordinary individuals, not gifted with power or higher intelligence, just everyday folks stumbling into an extraordinary adventure. While this may make them perfect audience surrogates for viewers to see the adventure through their eyes, it also provides the series with its highest stakes. Regardless of the odds or whether it's a safe journey, however, the companions of Doctor Who always emerge with their lives changed and a greater understanding of how they'd spend their time in the universe.

While the Doctor and his companions may not have the powers of a Jedi or the resources at the disposal of the crew of the Enterprise, Doctor Who's strong 60-year presence continues to captivate audiences. The series' charm lies in the unorthodox nature of the Doctor's travels as an unlikely hero who does their best and brings out the best in ordinary people, helping them become extraordinary.

Doctor Who season 14 releases every Friday simultaneously on Disney+ for international audiences and BBC iPlayer for UK viewers.

Source: Doctor Who: Unleashed