10 Awesome Doctor Who Ideas That Nearly Happened
There's so much amazing Doctor Who out there, but what about some of the brilliant stuff we didn't get?
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00:00Over the years, we've seen many talented showrunners and writers all bring fresh ideas
00:04to spice up our beloved Doctor Who.
00:07Once upon a time, the Sontarans were a mere thought in Robert Holmes' mind, and now
00:11look at them, obsessed with Mars bars and riding horses.
00:14But for all of the things that have since become staples of the show, there are an equal
00:18amount of interesting concepts that sadly failed to materialise.
00:23And so, with that in mind, I'm Ellie with WhoCulture, here with 10 awesome Doctor Who
00:27ideas that nearly happened.
00:3010.
00:31The Weeping Angel Fact Book
00:33The Weeping Angel's first appearance after Blink revealed quite a bit more about the
00:37species than most fans expected, for better or for worse.
00:41However, one crucial element in The Time of Angels that went unexplained was the origin
00:46of the Weeping Angel book, described by River as the definitive work on the angels written
00:50by a madman that the Doctor then flicks through.
00:54Despite its importance, we never learn where this book came from, and that's because
00:57writer Stephen Moffat removed an entire subplot about its origins.
01:02He intended to reveal that the book had been written by one of Octavian's clerics.
01:06This cleric came on the mission we see in the episode, encountered an angel, got zapped
01:11back in time, and then wrote the book, allowing the Doctor to access it in the future.
01:16However, this plot point was ultimately axed due to a lack of story space.
01:20The angels don't zap anyone back in time in this story, so it would have been cool
01:24to see a subplot revolving around that ability, and learning more about the book, one of the
01:28only known in-universe works about the angels, would have been fascinating to boot.
01:339.
01:34Sibling Rivalry
01:35Without a doubt, the Doctor's deadliest foe is the Master.
01:39First introduced in 1971's Terror of the Autons, he was originally portrayed by Roger
01:44Delgado, who revelled in being John Pertwee's most hated enemy.
01:49The Doctor-Master rivalry was intended to come to a head in the serial The Final Game,
01:53which was also set to be Pertwee's regeneration story.
01:56It would also include the shock revelation that the Master was in fact the Doctor's
02:00brother, before the Master would be killed off for good.
02:03However, this story was never made due to a truly tragic event.
02:07While filming the miniseries Bell of Tibet in Turkey in 1973, Delgado was killed in a
02:13car crash.
02:14This event shook everyone involved with Doctor Who, and as a result, this epic final battle
02:19between the Third Doctor and the Master sadly never got made.
02:23It's a shame, because the brother reveal would have added a very interesting layer
02:26to the Doctor-Master conflict, and getting one more story with Delgado in the role would
02:31have been a real treat as well.
02:338.
02:34The Age of the Tochlophane
02:35For Doctor Who's return in 2005, Russell T. Davis commissioned writer Robert Shearman
02:40to create a story which would see the show's most iconic villains back on our screens.
02:45The eventual episode, Dalek, proved to be a huge hit, and is now regarded as a quintessential
02:51Doctor Who story.
02:52One slight obstacle stood in RTD's way however, as the Daleks were the property of the Terry
02:57Nation estate, with the BBC needing their permission to bring the creatures back.
03:02Just in case he wasn't granted permission, RTD prepared a backup idea, which featured
03:06most of the same elements and plot points, except the Daleks were replaced with what
03:10we would later know as the Tochlophane.
03:13Thankfully, the Terry Nation estate and the BBC eventually reached an agreement, but the
03:17idea of the Tochlophane potentially being this overarching villain of early New Who,
03:22like the Daleks ended up being, is pretty darn intriguing, especially considering their
03:27link to humanity, a species we know the Doctor is rather fond of.
03:317.
03:32An Enterprising Crossover
03:34Doctor Who and Star Trek have crossed paths in comic book form with the 2012 limited series
03:39Assimilation, featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Jean-Luc Picard dealing with a Cybermen
03:44slash Borg alliance.
03:46And seven years previously, these two sci-fi juggernauts almost crossed paths on TV too.
03:52In 2005, the first year of the Doctor Who revival, serious consideration was given to
03:57the idea of the TARDIS zooming over to the Star Trek universe, and we'll presumably
04:02have seen either the Ninth or Tenth Doctor meet Captain Jonathan Archer, the lead of
04:07Star Trek Enterprise, which was the Trek show on TV at the time.
04:11However, when Enterprise was cancelled after its fourth season, any potential crossover
04:15plans were nipped in the bud.
04:16Though it probably wasn't the right timing for a dwindling Star Trek series and a fresh,
04:21full of potential Doctor Who series to combine forces, there's no doubt that this would
04:25have been a pop culture event for the ages, and a real treat for fans of both properties.
04:31And on that note, if you are a fan of Star Trek, then make sure that you're subscribed
04:35to our sister channel, Trek Culture, for all the latest and greatest about Star Trek as
04:40well.
04:416.
04:42Evil Doctor
04:43Like the creation of any new show, the inception of Doctor Who in late 1963 was, to say the
04:48least, a difficult time, and there were many interesting ideas and concepts that were scrapped
04:53along the way.
04:54One of these concepts was put forward by writer C.E.
04:57Webber in the original briefing describing the character of the Doctor.
05:00Webber posited that the Doctor was a sinister character who had an ulterior motive for his
05:05travels in time and space.
05:06This motive was that the Doctor was searching for a perfect society in the past, and would
05:11go so far as destroying the future in order to achieve his goals.
05:15This idea was vetoed by Sidney Newman, who sought to make the Doctor more of a kind figure
05:20rather than an evil genius.
05:22A malicious Doctor is an intriguing concept, and is something we've seen flashes of over
05:26the years.
05:285.
05:32The Raggedy Tenth Doctor
05:34In 2008, Russell T. Davis announced that he was leaving Doctor Who and that he would be
05:38replaced by Stephen Moffat, who had written some of the most iconic episodes of the show
05:42under Davis.
05:43Fans were relieved at the announcement because they knew they were safe in Moffat's hands.
05:48But one unanswered question was the fate of David Tennant, with even Moffat wondering
05:52if he would stay on under a new showrunner.
05:55This was not the case, however, as Tennant announced his departure in October 2008.
05:59But Moffat was not unprepared for the possibility that he would stay, and in fact, he had an
06:04alternative version of the Amy Pond storyline ready to go.
06:08This storyline would see the Tenth Doctor appear to young Amelia Pond, like we saw in
06:12The Eleventh Hour with Matt Smith's Doctor.
06:14But in a typical Moff twist, it would later be revealed that the Tenth Doctor was at the
06:18end of his life here, and had arrived in Amy's garden, dying after travelling with her older
06:23self for an entire series.
06:25There's no doubt that a series of Doctor Who led by Moffat and Tennant would have been
06:29amazing.
06:30And though this would have robbed us of Matt Smith's wonderful incarnation, we wouldn't
06:34have known that at the time.
06:354.
06:36The Martha Jones Adventures
06:38Martha Jones is one of the most underrated companions of the Revival era, likely due
06:43to falling in the middle of much more popular supporting characters like Rose Tyler and
06:47Donna Noble.
06:48However, Martha gets bonus points over those two companions because she's the only one
06:53who appeared in Torchwood, popping up in the second series for a handful of episodes.
06:57And at one point in time, there were even bigger plans for the character too, which
07:01would have almost transformed her into the Nick Fury of the Whoniverse.
07:05After her stint in series 2 of Torchwood, the plan was to bring Martha back for series
07:093 and integrate her closer into that team.
07:12But unfortunately, Freema Agyeman's successful career outside of Doctor Who prevented this
07:16from happening.
07:17Furthermore, Martha was also slated to appear in the second series of the Sarah Jane Adventures,
07:24only for Agyeman's other commitments to again throw a wrench in the works.
07:27On the plus side, this did lead to Martha's role being filled by the marvellous Nicholas
07:30Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, so silver linings.
07:34Giving Martha an even bigger role in the Whoniverse would have been fantastic, so it's a damn
07:39shame these plans fell through.
07:41Let's hope she returns for that rumoured unit spin-off then, eh?
07:453.
07:46Tom Baker and the Talking Cabbage
07:48Starting off in 1963, with Ian, Barbara, and Susan, the Doctor has always had a friendly
07:53and familiar face by their side.
07:55Whether it's a human, an alien, a fellow Time Lord, or a creaky old robot, shout out
08:00to Chameleon, the Companion exists to represent us, the audience, and to ask the Doctor questions
08:06about the plot.
08:07The Companions also introduce human emotion, in contrast to the Doctor's otherworldly
08:11madness.
08:12After the departure of Companion Leela, however, Tom Baker had a slightly different idea for
08:17his next Companion, a Talking Cabbage.
08:19He even pitched this idea to the producers, that this magical cabbage would sit on his
08:24shoulder and play the role of Companion in the next season.
08:27In a somewhat understandable decision, the BBC declined Tom's idea.
08:31Now would this have been a disaster?
08:33Quite possibly.
08:35But would we have given everything we own to see it?
08:38Hell yeah.
08:39Look, Doctor Who thrives on silliness.
08:41Sometimes this doesn't work, the Absorbaloft for example, but sometimes it works brilliantly.
08:46Is this sentient fat taking over London, anyone?
08:48This damn cabbage could have been the next Doctor Who icon.
08:51If anyone could have made it work, it's Tom Baker.
08:54But at least we did get a stick of celery later on down the line, so the vegetables
08:58are represented in some form.
09:002.
09:01The Day of the Ninth Doctor
09:0350th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor was a triumph, and celebrated everything that
09:07made the programme so wonderful and special.
09:10One element that contributed to this was the much-anticipated return of David Tennant as
09:14the Tenth Doctor, alongside John Hurt as a totally new incarnation of the Doctor known
09:19as the War Doctor.
09:21However, the special was originally going to be a very different episode, and would
09:25have seen all of the modern Doctors on screen together.
09:28When writing those early drafts of the story, Stephen Moffat spoke to Christopher Eccleston
09:32about returning as the Ninth Doctor.
09:34Eccleston listened to what Moffat had to say, but upon reading the script, politely said
09:38that it wasn't right for him.
09:39As a result, Moffat created the War Doctor to fill the gap that was intended for Nine.
09:44Eccleston has since admitted that he's not a fan of multi-Doctor stories in general,
09:49so that's probably another reason he was reluctant to join Smith and Tennant in the
09:53episode.
09:54But needless to say, it would have been amazing to see him.
09:571.
09:58The Doctor's Temporary Recast
10:00If you all knew how many times I had to record that because I cannot say the word temporary
10:04you get the gist.
10:08Modern Doctor Who peaked in popularity at the end of the 2000s, and the peak within
10:12that peak was arguably the Stolen Earth and Journey's End.
10:16The end of that first episode, where the Doctor starts to regenerate, is one of the biggest
10:20cliffhangers in Doctor Who history.
10:22And there was genuine uncertainty among fans as to whether or not Tennant would turn into
10:27someone else.
10:28Bookies were even taking bets about which actor would replace him, and while it did
10:31feel like a bit of a cop-out for the cliffhanger to be resolved so easily, there was a chance
10:35we could have had a vastly different and totally brilliant opening scene, as explained by showrunner
10:41Russell T. Davis.
10:42He said,
10:43If I had my time again, I'd have milked that.
10:46I'd have cast a whole new Doctor, a superstar, for one scene.
10:50Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, have them run around the TARDIS, then discover the hand and regenerate
10:55back.
10:56Imagine.
10:57Why didn't I?
10:58As fate would have it, RTD is back at the helm once again, so don't be surprised to
11:01see David Tennant regenerate into a Hollywood A-lister for a scene or two.
11:06What if Neil Patrick Harris is actually the Doctor, and we're all just being tricked?
11:09I mean, stranger things have happened in this show, let's be honest.
11:13And that concludes our list.
11:14If you can think of any other examples, then please do let us know in the comments below.
11:18And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe, and tap that notification
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11:28various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
11:31I've been Ellie with WhoCulture, and in the words of River Song herself, goodbye sweeties.