Doctor Who spin-offs

As is often the case, the idea for this blog came from something I read. It basically details how, at the moment, Steven Moffat has no plans for producing another Doctor Who spin-off (at least not in the near future).

To date, there have been three attempts* (two successful) at a spin-off series. The first was called "K9 and Company" and featured Elisabeth Sladen reprising the role of Sarah Jane Smith. This was the only spin-off attempted during the original run of Doctor Who, and didn't get beyond a pilot.

The second was "Torchwood" starring John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness. Its Fourth Series, entitled "Miracle Day" aired last year, and the series is currently in 'Limbo' (its future remains uncertain).

The third was "The Sarah Jane Adventures", once again starring Elisabeth Sladen as Miss Sarah Jane Smith. Sadly, that series came to an end after its Fifth Series due to her untimely death.

Both of these were made when Russell T Davis was the Executive Producer of "Doctor Who". He contained to remain involved with both after leaving the parent series, although to a lesser extent with the SJA due to being in LA with Torchwood.

So the question I ask now, do we need another spin-off?

Steven Moffat's tenure as Mr Davis' replacement has introduced characters that could carry their own spin-off. After the initial airing of "A Good Man Goes To War", I recall my Twitter feed being filled with requests for Vastra and Jenny to receive their own series (If I remember rightly, I was one of them), and who wouldn't want to see them kicking arse in Victorian times? (Even Steven himself thought so).

However, I think that with both "Doctor Who" and "Sherlock" demanding his attention, he should avoid doing any spin-offs. Managing two shows (especially THOSE shows)  must be hard enough for him. I would rather he focus on producing them two, rather than adding to his workload with a third, and producing sub-par work on all three.

So, in my humble opinion, we should leave any spin-offs for the time being.

So say We All

*Note: The K9 Series produced by Bob Baker does NOT count as far as I am concerned. While it may use K9, the Doctor has yet to be referenced. Until that occurs, it will remain non-canon as far as I'm concerned. (plus I HATE K9's design on it.)