Chris Chibnall teased the upcoming series of the sci-fi drama with an unusual word choice \u2013 but is it a returning enemy or something else entirely? <\/p>
Doctor Who\u2019s series 13 Comic-Con@Home panel was full of interesting information about the upcoming episodes, from a short trailer<\/a> and new castings (hi, Jacob Anderson<\/a>!) through to major format changes<\/a> and some fun behind-the-scenes anecdotes from John Bishop.<\/p>\n Still, perhaps the most intriguing hint came at the very end of the panel, when each of the guests were asked to describe series 13 in one word. While the cast went for traditional teasing words \u2013 \u201criveting,\u201d \u201cinspirational\u201d and \u201cmysterious\u201d \u2013 Doctor Who<\/a> showrunner Chris Chibnall went a little off-piste, instead opting to say the word \u201cswarm\u201d as his teaser.<\/p>\n Really, this raises a lot of questions. Given that season 13 has been confirmed as one interconnected, serialised story it seems to be a given that \u201cswarm\u201d in some way relates to the series as a whole, and could end up being a major part of the arc. However, outside of any context it\u2019s utterly baffling \u2013 not that this has stopped fans from trying to decode it.<\/p>\n And already they have one or two good ideas. Many fans were quick to notice that the tease shares a name with 1970s Doctor Who monster The Swarm, a parasitic creature that takes over hosts through their eyes and was embodied by a slightly ropey prawn-like beastie called The Nucleus of the Swarm.<\/p>\n Wait, did Chris Chibnall say \u2018swarm\u2019? OMG it\u2019s finally happening! #doctorwho<\/a> #prawnfromspace<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/euMzxzB87g<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Scott K. Andrews (@ScottKAndrews) July 25, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote> The 1977 story it appeared in marked the debut of K-9, but despite this The Invisible Enemy isn\u2019t remembered as an all-time classic (at least partially because of the creature design), so it seems like an odd choice for a major comeback. Still, it could be that Chibnall has decided to revamp what is at base a good idea (alien body snatchers!) and redeem the Swarm with a more modern story, which sees the Doctor unsure who to trust.<\/p>\n Swarm? Invisible Enemy?? Having a virus as the Big Bad would be topical! #DoctorWho<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Gary Hopkins ???? (@TheGazulator) July 25, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote> With all that said, though, it\u2019s also entirely possible that this name doubling is a coincidence. Given the history of secrecy during Chibnall\u2019s tenure in charge, it seems unlikely he\u2019d just\u2026blurt out the name of a monster that was a part of his big plans. (Picture the scene. \u201cMy one word tease? Voord!\u201d Chibnall says).<\/p> Perhaps instead, the swarm nod is that fans could look for something of the tone of those monsters in series 13 \u2013 a kind of paranoia and lack of trust, possibly evidenced by the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) keeping things from Yaz (Mandip Gill) in the new teaser trailer.<\/p>\n I’m super intrigued by Chibnall’s one word description of S13 being ‘swarm.’ It reminds me of when someone described the 50th in one word as ‘Paintings’ & it made no sense at the time, but on reflection, it was the perfect ‘hint.’ I hope the same will happen here. #DoctorWho<\/a><\/p>\u2014 wiccan in the multiverse of madness \u2764\ufe0f???? (@whoronomy) July 25, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote> Or, as some have pointed out, it could just be an incredibly oblique hint that makes no sense now. The Day of the Doctor\u2019s one-word tease was \u201cpaintings,\u201d and with hindsight that makes perfect sense. Ahead of time? We were trying to look into the past of the show for relevant art-based adventures. It could be that by delving into a world of space-prawns, we\u2019re doing the exact same thing here.<\/p>\n Swarm of enemies? Chibbers said that there were lots of planets and aliens involved in Series 13, so perhaps that was some kind of emphasis??? #DoctorWho<\/a> #Series13<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/niCSxR0J9X<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Olly (@olly_1411) July 25, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote> Maybe Swarm is a character, maybe it\u2019s a characteristic of the threats faced by the TARDIS team (swarming around them) or maybe it\u2019s just the name of the Doctor\u2019s new cat. Maybe it\u2019s a super-group of insect-themed supervillains from across the Who years (The Vespiform, the Wirrn, Chantho and the Zarbi forming their version of the Sinister Six), or a new gadget welded to the TARDIS controls. It could be anything!<\/p>\n Also this might be a bit far fetched, but in the panel Chris Chibs\u2019 one word to describe the series was Swarm?? Vashta Nerada getting a reprise perhaps??? #DoctorWho<\/a><\/p>\u2014 honbon (@honorheward) July 25, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote> Maybe it\u2019s even the hint of a River Song return (pouring one out for the fans hoping Alex Kingston was the \u201cspecial surprise guest\u201d of the panel, or trying to make the tease word \u201criveting\u201d include \u201criver\u201d) \u2013 after all, didn\u2019t the carnivorous Vashta Nerada shadows \u201cswarm\u201d in her very first episode back in 2008?<\/p>\n Frankly, we could theorise about this for days \u2013 and rest assured, behind-the-scenes we probably will \u2013 and we have to tip our digital hat to Chris Chibnall for giving the fans some meaty speculation to tear into as they wait the next few months to actually see what it\u2019s all about.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know about you, but I\u2019m already pretty riveted and inspired by this mystery. And I can\u2019t wait for the next swarm<\/em> of fan theories\u2026<\/p>\n Doctor Who returns to BBC One later this year. Want more? Check out our dedicated Sci-Fi<\/a> page and our full TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Chris Chibnall teased the upcoming series of the sci-fi drama with an unusual word choice \u2013 but is it a returning enemy or something else entirely? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":2166,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/07\/doctor-who-season-13s-swarm-clue-confuses-fans.jpg",1762,1174,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/07\/doctor-who-season-13s-swarm-clue-confuses-fans-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/07\/doctor-who-season-13s-swarm-clue-confuses-fans-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/07\/doctor-who-season-13s-swarm-clue-confuses-fans-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/07\/doctor-who-season-13s-swarm-clue-confuses-fans-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/07\/doctor-who-season-13s-swarm-clue-confuses-fans-1536x1023.jpg",1536,1023,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/07\/doctor-who-season-13s-swarm-clue-confuses-fans.jpg",1762,1174,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Chris Chibnall teased the upcoming series of the sci-fi drama with an unusual word choice \u2013 but is it a returning enemy or something else entirely?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/2165"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"