8 Ways Doctor Who Could Actually End
Even a show as big as Doctor Who isn't invincible.
Transcript
00:00 Like Harry Potter, Star Trek, and Star Wars, Doctor Who is one of those evergreen franchises
00:05 that feels like it'll be around forever.
00:07 It's impossible to imagine the pop culture landscape without Wizards, Lightsabers, Patrick
00:12 Stewart's beautiful bald head, and the TARDIS.
00:14 And though there was a substantial period of time when the show was off the air, its
00:18 fanbase stuck around, and the 2005 revival made Doctor Who the biggest it's ever been.
00:23 That said, the fact that TV shows and movie franchises end all the time does raise an
00:28 interesting question, one that many Whovians have pondered over the years.
00:32 What if the same thing happened to Doctor Who?
00:35 Hypothetically, what if Doctor Who did come to an end one day?
00:38 An actual, definitive, permanent end?
00:40 What would that look like, and how might such a finale be executed?
00:43 It's a big question, so naturally, we decided to try and answer it.
00:48 While we're praying to the Time Lord Council that none of the following options actually
00:52 happen, each is a potential avenue the showrunners could go down if, God forbid, they do decide
00:58 to end Doctor Who one day.
01:00 With that in mind, I'm Ellie with Who Culture, and here are 8 ways Doctor Who could actually
01:04 end.
01:05 8.
01:06 Cancellation, Again Cancelling Doctor Who is one of those extreme
01:09 outcomes that seems way too outlandish to even consider, until you remember that it's
01:14 actually happened before.
01:15 Doctor Who might be one of the most popular and famous brands in entertainment, but that
01:20 was also true in the 80s, and yet, the plug was still pulled.
01:24 Now sure, it was a completely different time back then, with completely different people
01:28 in charge, people who didn't treat the show with the respect it deserves.
01:32 But still, considering that Doctor Who has been cancelled once before, there's always
01:36 going to be that lingering thought at the back of fans' minds.
01:39 Could it happen again?
01:40 Well, sure it could.
01:42 But not in the immediate future.
01:44 Though a certain vocal minority would have you believe that Doctor Who is pretty much
01:48 dead right now, it isn't.
01:49 It still gets more viewers than most shows can dream of, and the impending return of
01:53 RTD means that the show's future is the brightest it's been for years.
01:58 And even way in the future, there isn't going to be an abrupt cancellation that we
02:02 see so many other shows suffer, with the creatives not being given the time or the space to work
02:07 out a satisfying, definitive conclusion.
02:09 Rather, if Doctor Who is put to rest one day, it'll be a more gradual, well-planned retirement.
02:15 7.
02:16 A TARDIS and a Sunset Funnily enough, this one also happened in
02:21 the 80s.
02:22 Almost literally.
02:23 When the classic series was cancelled, it finished its run with the 1989 serial Survival,
02:28 which concludes with the Seventh Doctor and Ace walking off into the distance, discussing
02:32 their next adventure with great hope and excitement.
02:35 Obviously, we didn't get to see that adventure, but all things considered, this would actually
02:39 be a great way to end the show permanently.
02:42 Picture this.
02:43 The Doctor steps into the TARDIS, having saved a world from an alien menace.
02:47 That iconic whirring sound begins, and the machine dematerialises, flying off into the
02:52 sunset to seek out new planets, new creatures, and new adventure.
02:56 After all, the sentiment that's expressed in the closing seconds of Survival is what
03:00 Doctor Who is all about.
03:01 The universe is a vast place, full of wonder and joy and good people, and we're going
03:06 to head out there and explore it.
03:08 An optimistic ending like this would allow the show to continue on in our minds, implying
03:12 that the Doctor will always be out there, helping innocents and vanquishing monsters.
03:16 6.
03:17 The Doctor Lives a John Smith Life
03:19 This is another ending that sort of happened in the show before, and it would definitely
03:23 be an interesting way for Doctor Who to sign off for good.
03:26 In the 2007 10th Doctor story, Human Nature and the Family of Blood, the Doctor lives
03:31 a normal, human life after stripping himself of his Time Lord biology.
03:34 In a vision, we see him settle down and get married and have kids with Joan Redfern, before
03:39 growing old and dying, having lived a life the Doctor never could.
03:43 Throughout the show's entire run, but particularly during the 10th Doctor's era, we've seen
03:47 flashes of the Doctor yearning for that normalcy, that family life.
03:52 Like Steve Rogers in the MCU, this is a character who's constantly at war, and just wants
03:56 the fighting to stop.
03:58 The 12th Doctor expresses this in Twice Upon a Time, calling his entire life a battlefield,
04:03 and musing "Can't I ever have peace?
04:05 Can't I rest?"
04:06 Now, sure, by rest he's talking about dying, but just like Rogers settling down with Peggy
04:11 Carter in Avengers Endgame, what if we saw the Doctor exit the battlefield by finding
04:15 someone they can share a life with?
04:17 This also happened in the recent video game Doctor Who The Edge of Reality, with the 10th
04:22 Doctor marrying Madame de Pompadour in an alternate reality.
04:25 It's indicative of the fact that the Doctor has become a more emotional and romantic hero
04:30 over the last 15 years or so, and as such, it wouldn't be completely out of left field
04:34 for the main show to end in a similar manner.
04:37 5.
04:38 An Open-Ended Regeneration
04:40 In much the same way that a flying off into the sunset ending would be a fittingly optimistic
04:44 way to wrap up Doctor Who, an alternative approach here would be to show the start of
04:49 a regeneration, but cut away just before the end.
04:52 Circling back to Twice Upon a Time, and there's a shot at the end of that episode where the
04:56 camera pulls back on the 12th Doctor's regeneration before cutting to an extreme close up of his
05:01 eyes.
05:02 We linger here for a moment until the screen is consumed by a burst of white, and the 13th
05:07 Doctor is revealed, standing in front of the TARDIS console.
05:10 Okay, now picture this exact ending, only without the reveal of the next Doctor.
05:14 That burst of white holds, the theme tune starts up, and the credits begin to roll.
05:19 Like the sunset ending, this allows the legend of the Doctor to live on, letting us know
05:23 that they'll always be out there, making the universe a better place.
05:27 Even if Doctor Who does have to end, why shouldn't the legacy continue on?
05:32 4.
05:33 Timeless Child Time Loop
05:34 So far, we've mostly discussed endings that people would be happy with, but here's one
05:39 that would certainly prove a divisive way to cap things off.
05:42 Though plenty of fans expected Series 13 Flux to provide more answers about the Timeless
05:47 Child story, or maybe even wrap it up for good, it really didn't.
05:50 All we got was a mention that the Timeless Child might have been from a parallel universe,
05:55 and even that wasn't a concrete revelation, or even a surprising one.
05:59 With so much wriggle room then, and with current showrunner Chris Chibnall having just two
06:03 episodes left before departing, giving him very little time to flesh everything out,
06:07 there's an opportunity to use the Timeless Child as a way to bring the show full circle.
06:12 Basically, what if the final Doctor regenerates before falling through a purple wormhole,
06:17 revealing that this is where the original Timeless Child came from?
06:21 This would essentially make the entirety of Doctor Who one massive time loop, and though
06:25 it's unlikely that a future showrunner would want to revisit such a divisive storyline,
06:29 especially if they're bringing Doctor Who to an end and one of the goals is to keep
06:33 fans happy, it would be perfectly on-brand for such a timey-wimey show.
06:38 Alternatively, we could even circle back to the official first Doctor, William Hartnell,
06:43 as a way to honour the incredible history of the show.
06:46 3.
06:47 The Curator Speaking of keeping fans happy, it's hard
06:50 to think of a better ending than this one.
06:53 50th Anniversary Special The Day of the Doctor introduced a character called The Curator,
06:57 played by Tom Baker.
06:59 The Curator is heavily implied to be a future, elderly incarnation of the Doctor, one who
07:04 is revisiting some of his old favourite faces and has retired from a life of adventure to
07:08 become the humble steward of the Undergallery.
07:11 As we mentioned, there have been flashes of the Doctor yearning for a normal, adventure-free
07:16 life, and this is an example of him actually doing it.
07:19 If The Curator is indeed in the Doctor's future, then this could be right at the end
07:23 of his life, and in turn, right at the end of the show, with the character running out
07:27 of regenerations or simply not needing to regenerate and finally growing old.
07:32 No matter how The Doctor ends up becoming The Curator, ending things here would simply
07:36 be perfect.
07:37 Imagine the scene.
07:38 We pick up with The Curator walking away after finishing his conversation with Eleven, as
07:43 seen in The Day of the Doctor.
07:45 The camera then follows him.
07:46 If Baker isn't around, then a body double can be slotted in, as he walks out of the
07:50 gallery into that white light.
07:52 The white consumes the screen, and the show ends.
07:55 In many ways, Baker is the Doctor, so having him bring the show home would be truly poetic
08:00 and highly emotional for long-time fans.
08:03 2.
08:04 A Full-On Reboot
08:05 Though the 2005 revival did feel like a reboot in certain ways, it was still a continuation
08:11 of the Doctor Who story that began with the first Doctor in 1963.
08:15 However, for this entry, we're suggesting a reboot in every sense of the word.
08:20 A fresh start for the show that ends the current iteration and starts a new one.
08:24 The overall premise would stay the same, but the story and characters would be entirely
08:28 different.
08:29 While you could argue that there's no need for this to happen, since each regeneration
08:32 is its own mini-reboot anyway, there's no denying that it's a possibility, especially
08:37 as the show gets older and less accessible for newcomers.
08:40 The sticker shock of having to catch up on 12 series was surely why the BBC opted to
08:45 call series 13 "Flux" instead of giving it a number, with the goal being to rope in
08:49 casual viewers.
08:51 So what about in 15 or 20 years' time?
08:53 When the modern episode count is double what it is now.
08:56 What if the show's lore is so convoluted, long-lasting, and inside baseball that it's
09:01 impossible for newbies to catch up?
09:03 And what if, hypothetically, the show's ratings have completely flatlined, and only
09:07 the hardcore fans have stuck around?
09:10 Well, that reboot button might start to look enticing to the BBC.
09:14 And hey, if it's a choice between that or outright permanent cancellation, we take a
09:18 reboot every single time.
09:21 1.
09:22 The Doctor Actually Dies On numerous occasions, it's been established
09:26 that it is possible to kill the Doctor outright.
09:28 As in, kill them permanently, leaving them without the ability to regenerate.
09:33 Laser screwdrivers, drowning, and running out of regenerations are all potential options
09:37 here, but let's face it, the writers can think up any random method they like, and
09:41 it doesn't have to make a lick of sense.
09:43 Why?
09:44 Because it's Doctor Who, that's why.
09:45 In all seriousness, though, the fact that the Doctor isn't invincible means that one
09:49 day they could kill him off.
09:51 Sure, it wouldn't feel right to end the show on such a miserable note, but bowing
09:55 out on a heroic death would give Doctor Who a real sense of finality.
09:59 And hey, if a certain British super-spy can bite the dust in his own franchise, then there's
10:03 no reason the Doctor can't do the same in theirs.
10:06 In fact, over the last few years, many fans have suggested that the Twelfth Doctor's
10:10 death in The Doctor Falls would have been a fitting final stand for the character, with
10:14 him dying while trying to protect innocent people from the Cybermen.
10:18 While the BBC probably wouldn't want to end the show on such a downer, there's no
10:21 doubt that killing the Doctor off would be a bold move, and would make for one of the
10:25 most emotional, iconic moments in the history of television.
10:29 And that concludes our list of ways Doctor Who could actually end.
10:33 If you can think of some other interesting ways, then do let us know in the comments
10:36 below, and while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification
10:40 bell.
10:41 Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias
10:45 just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
10:47 I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of River Song herself, goodbye,