DOCTOR WHO Showrunner Says Budgetary Constraints Led To Goblin King Fight Being Cut From Christmas Special

DOCTOR WHO Showrunner Says Budgetary Constraints Led To Goblin King Fight Being Cut From Christmas Special

Doctor Who's latest Christmas Special, "The Church on Ruby Road," introduced the grotesque Goblin King, but had budgetary constraints not got in the way, the villain would have taken on a much larger role.

By JoshWilding - Jan 03, 2024 07:01 PM EST
Filed Under: Doctor Who
Source: SFFGazette.com

Last month's Doctor Who Christmas Special, "The Church on Ruby Road," introduced us to the Goblin King. In one of the episode's most memorable moments, the Doctor and Ruby Sunday broke into song to distract the monstrous villain, but there was a version of the story which saw him get a little more hands-on.

Talking on the BBC's Doctor Who: Video Commentaries (via SFFGazette.com), showrunner Russell T Davies revealed that, before the show's heroes used the Goblin King's probability powers against him, the plan had been for the baddie to pursue Ruby through her apartment.

"Originally, they got back to the flat, and everything was fine, and then the Goblin King attacked, and he arrived in the bedroom, and came down the hall, so it was brilliant," he reveals. "Sorry, it was brilliant. He was coming down the hall. But earlier on we’d established that Carla gives everyone a scratchcard for Christmas, like when the social workers say, 'Oh, have a scratchcard, have a scratchcard. Hope you win, blah blah blah.'"

"So, there’s a pile of scratchcards in the kitchen. So Ruby fought off the Goblin King with luck. She kept scratching them until she won," Davies continues. "It was bad luck, bad luck, bad luck. Then she got to like the 15th card and she won £10. And she went 'Good luck!' like that, and the Goblin King vanished. And then what we’ve replaced that with is a crack in the roof."

The writer and producer went on to reveal the sequence had to be cut due to budgetary constraints and, to be honest, we're not sure how the long-running sci-fi series could have pulled this off with the design we saw in the latest special. 

Still, this comes as a surprise, particularly when Doctor Who is thought to have received a budget increase courtesy of Disney+. However, whether it was achieved through practical or visual effects, sending the Goblin King on a rampage in Ruby's home would have been incredibly costly for a single sequence. 

As it was, we didn't get to see the Goblin King in his entirety and it's previously been reported that it took at least five people to operate what we did see. With that in mind, it may well have been for the best the villain remained on his ship...where he was eventually impaled by a church spire in the past.

Finishing him off in such a brutal manner not only shows us exactly what the Doctor is capable of when he's pushed by his enemies but also deepens the mystery of Ruby's adoption by showing more of that mystery figure leaving her at the church as a baby. 

Doctor Who returns to BBC and Disney+ with new episodes this May. 

DOCTOR WHO Star Ncuti Gatwa Is Reportedly Not Long For Doctor Role As Season 3 Plans Remain Up In The Air
Related:

DOCTOR WHO Star Ncuti Gatwa Is Reportedly "Not Long" For Doctor Role As Season 3 Plans Remain Up In The Air

DOCTOR WHO Alum Matt Smith Doesn't Understand Why The Series Faces Backlash From Some Fans
Recommended For You:

DOCTOR WHO Alum Matt Smith Doesn't Understand Why The Series Faces Backlash From Some Fans

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

CyberNigerian
CyberNigerian - 1/3/2024, 7:08 PM
I liked the special, just in case anyone was going to ask me...
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 1/3/2024, 7:16 PM
@CyberNigerian - I was but I lost your number, lol, I liked it too :D Sure there have been bigger threat Christmas specials I would rank higher but they don't all need to be bigger threat ones especialy for the first proper intro of a new Doctor and worked well for me as one of the more fun type seasonal specials.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 1/3/2024, 7:11 PM
Special 1: 5.08m Overnight
Special 2: 4.83m Overnight
Special 3: 4.62m Overnight
Christmas: 4.73m Overnight

First full episode with your new actor and it was the second lowest of the specials, beaten only by the episode that introduced your new actor... OOF.

Then afterwards they whine about not having enough budget despite being funded by Disney and the UK TV license?
marvel72
marvel72 - 1/3/2024, 8:28 PM
@Scarilian -

And according to a certain user in here.


LlamaLord
LlamaLord - 1/3/2024, 8:47 PM
@Scarilian - Is it surprising that the Christmas Day viewership is lower? Grow up.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 1/4/2024, 10:10 AM
@LlamaLord -
The third special, where Tennant regenerated and when they introducing the brand new actor got the lowest viewership of ALL the specials including the Christmas Day special. Even with Tennant, even with Neil Patrick Harris, even with cameos of past companions and wrapping up the 60th anniversary specials, they got the lowest viewership.

The show is going to keep getting lower and lower viewership, as it did during the Jodie Era.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 1/3/2024, 7:13 PM
TBH as good as the scene may have been from a concept POV think what we got was better, one of the concerns some have had with a bigger budget is loosing some of the creative thinking in favour of big budget spectacle and this kinda fits into that less is more charm the show is oft best for when constrained due to budget.
StSteven
StSteven - 1/3/2024, 7:24 PM
So I haven't watched the episode or anything but based on that thumbnail... is the Goblin King really just Chet from "Weird Science" when he's turned into a living pile of shit?
marvel72
marvel72 - 1/3/2024, 8:25 PM
@StSteven -

StSteven
StSteven - 1/3/2024, 8:38 PM
@marvel72 - Yep, that's it. Good thing that I haven't eaten yet (although now I'm not sure that I want to).
marvel72
marvel72 - 1/3/2024, 8:47 PM
@StSteven - When you said it, I thought..



So I had to look for it and...



StSteven
StSteven - 1/3/2024, 9:58 PM
@marvel72 - Glad I wasn't the only one who got that reference (I'm probably starting to date myself with my movie references but damn the classics never get too old 😉).
marvel72
marvel72 - 1/4/2024, 8:40 AM
@StSteven - Nope and Kelly Le Brook was so sexy, especially being a teenage round that time.
StSteven
StSteven - 1/4/2024, 1:49 PM
@marvel72 - Yep same here. Especially in that skimpy workout outfit she starts out in. And that movie is SO quotable:

"What do you little maniacs want to do first?".
"Right in da family jewels!" "The family jewels?!?" "Da family jewels!!"
"How would like a nice greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray?"
"Oh the usual. Chips, dips, chains, whips."

Those are just off the top of my head and I don't remember the last time I actually watched that movie. That's how you know a movie is a classic.
Corruptor
Corruptor - 1/3/2024, 8:02 PM
Will NuWho ever create a decent monster?
dracula
dracula - 1/3/2024, 9:02 PM
@Corruptor - weeping angels and silence

Also some cool one off monsters
Corruptor
Corruptor - 1/10/2024, 3:25 PM
@dracula - Angels should have been a one-off, for an oddball one-off episode they worked. Some great foes get diluted when you bring them back, like Davros (especially when he's walking round creating negative impressions of hunchbacks).
dracula
dracula - 1/3/2024, 9:00 PM
What if they are going back to a series 1 idea

The episode Boom Town, was originally going to be a Pompeii episode. Where it would have been revealed that The Doctor had been manipulating Rose’s life to create a perfect companion

Luckily that was scrapped
Lemons
Lemons - 1/3/2024, 9:16 PM
Bring back the Silence!
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 1/4/2024, 12:31 AM
Pretty enjoyable special.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 1/4/2024, 1:01 AM
No one cares about this series it's been dead for awhile creatively and otherwise
Twenty23Three
Twenty23Three - 1/4/2024, 2:56 AM
The end of the episode did feel a bit rushed, but this ending doesn’t sound much better to be honest
Twenty23Three
Twenty23Three - 1/4/2024, 2:57 AM
The end of the episode did feel a bit rushed, but this ending doesn’t sound much better to be honest. Jury is still out for me after the ‘anniversary’ specials and the Xmas episode but at least Ncuti is already killing it as the Doctor

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

View Recorder