Doctor Who: Russell T Davies 2.0

There are lots of examples across many fields of sports, politics and entertainment where someone has a go at something, captures the proverbial lightning in a bottle and does very well at it and then decides to try it again. 

And the second time around? Not so good. 

So it would seem the announcement that Russell T Davies is coming back to Doctor Who might be more cause for trepidation than celebration. 

But damned if there is not one negative note among the Doctor Who fandom of RTD's impending return. 

Including from this corner. I personally see Russell's return as an extraordinarily good thing. 

Yes, on one level I am concerned.  RTD's initial tenure as showrunner and head writer was of a remarkably consistent high quality.  

What could he possibly gain by engaging in a 2nd act as Doctor Who's head guy?

I think there are several distinctive characteristics at play here that make Russell's return to the show of his greatest achievement cause for hope rather than despair.  

1) Russell T Davies left Doctor Who the first time at the top of his game. A lot of times, people try to engage in a 2nd act to make up for real or perceived shortcomings in their first go around.  While RTD's run as Doctor Who was not completely perfect, on balance his time on the show was pretty solid and he has nothing to atone for. 

2) Russell T Davies did not overstay his welcome the first time on Doctor Who. It is conceivable there were stories still left on the table as it were from his first run. We weren't completely done with RTD when he left the first time and possibly Russell wasn't completely done with us.

3) Russell T Davies has had other successes since leaving Doctor Who. Shows like Years and Years and It's A Sin have garnered RTD good ratings and better reviews. Sometimes returning for a 2nd act in something is because nothing else has clicked for that person.  This is not the case when it comes to Russell and his relationship with Doctor Who.  

4) Russell T Davies's reputation and skills as a great TV writer have only grown since leaving Doctor Who. He doesn't need to return to Doctor Who because he hasn't written anything worth a damn since Doctor Who.

5) The Russell T Davies returning to Doctor Who in 2023 is not the same guy who left in 2009.  There's a very good chance that this "old" writer has learned "new" tricks. A lot of people attempting a 2nd act often have to resort to their bag of greatest hits tricks.  

The upshot is that while Russell T Davies is a known quantity with a proven record as a good writer and the street cred of being a showrunner, I foresee that from the foundation of what we know about Russell, there is a lot of wonderful opportunities for Doctor Who to grow, move forward to the future. 

Russell T Davies 2.0 is going to be good for Doctor Who.