'Doctor Who Unleashed' to Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Modern Revival

Given that the franchise has been around for over sixty years, Doctor Who has a lot of anniversaries to celebrate. As a general rule, it usually likes to go all out for them, in ways that most frequently involve copious applications of former Tenth Doctor, David Tennant. (See the global cinema screenings for the show's 50th birthday back in 2013, and its month-long celebrations when the series turned sixty in 2023.) But some longtime viewers may have noticed that a fairly significant moment passed recently — the 20th Anniversary of the 2005 revival — which went almost unremarked upon.

After the embarrassing failure of the 1996 Eighth Doctor movie (we love you, Paul McGann!), Doctor Who went on an extended hiatus and didn't return to our screens until nearly a decade later. Starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, the 2005 revival established modern Who as we know it today, yet the 20th Anniversary of that relaunch has been largely ignored by the powers that be. In some ways, this is understandable: It's a nerdy anniversary, and the show's promotional efforts have been primarily focused on the new-new reboot's latest season (which it calls Season 2!) featuring Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor.

But, the importance of the show's modern reboot is finally about to get the recognition it's due, thanks to the behind-the-scenes documentary series Doctor Who: Unleashed. Unleashed is the latest in a long line of companion series meant to give fans an inside look into how the world of Who comes together, and it's continuing that effort with a forthcoming special edition meant to celebrate the modern revival in style and take a look back at how this era came to be.