10 Huge Moments In Doctor Who That No One Cared About
Sometimes huge things happen in the Whoniverse and end up meaning absolutely nothing.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00 As the series tries to progress since its debut in 1963, Doctor Who has had its fair
00:05 share of huge moments. With 15, so far, actors taking up the mantle of our titular Time Lord,
00:11 each Doctor goes through their own adventures, adding to their incarnations' personal stories,
00:16 as well as the larger story of the Time Lord and those around them. Everyone has their own
00:21 personal favourite moments, but some events are literally entrenched within the DNA of the show.
00:27 Huge moments in Who include first landing on Skaaro, the Doctor's exile on Earth in the War
00:32 Games, fighting the Time War, and the fall of the Eleventh on Trenzalore, all having lasting
00:37 consequences for the Who-niverse and the characters within it. But sometimes these huge moments don't
00:43 stick. We bear witness to so many revelations in one story, but by the following week it has meant
00:48 very little, and any development is unwritten, forgotten about, or simply replaced by something
00:54 totally different. So, with that in mind, I'm Ellie with Who Culture, and here are 10 huge
00:59 moments in Doctor Who that no one cared about. Number 10, The Doctor, Lord President of Gallifrey.
01:06 This is a tricky one. Lord President of Gallifrey is the highest level of office among Time Lord
01:11 society, and once or twice the Doctor has found himself raised to that position. In the five
01:16 classic stories including Gallifrey, starting with The Deadly Assassin, the Doctor goes from
01:21 running for President but declining at the end, to coming back the following season to take the
01:25 role to defeat a foe, before returning in his next incarnation to find he is no longer President,
01:31 to then being offered it again in the 20th anniversary later that year, but still runs
01:35 from the responsibility. The Doctor makes one final return to Gallifrey in Season 23, where
01:41 the Sixth Doctor is met by the line, "Since you willfully neglected the responsibility of your
01:46 great office, you were deposed," resetting this moment once again. So, whilst this does pop up on
01:51 and off in a classic era and is touched on in Hellbent, the presidency of the Doctor is never
01:56 actually explored, besides in the odd expanded media story. Hello, big finish. It's a thread
02:02 which comes and goes when the Doctor revisits Gallifrey, depending on the story and the writers.
02:07 The Doctor as Lord President is a big deal, but never seems to carry any weight or last
02:11 beyond a story. Surely President Doctor would make a great storyline if fleshed out beyond one outing.
02:17 Although that may be a little tricky now.
02:19 Number 9 - The Death of the Master, Again
02:22 We all know the Master is the Moriarty to the Doctor's homes. That was always his intention
02:27 during his original conception in the 70s, and like the Doctor, we've had a fair share of
02:32 incarnations. But unlike our titular Time Lord, we barely see these regenerations taking place
02:37 on screen. Sometimes we are simply left believing the Master is dead. A common thread of the Master
02:42 story, in the 1980s especially, their appearance would often end with their death before reappearing
02:48 a few stories down the line inexplicably. Looking at you, Planet of Fire. This Season 21 story sees
02:54 the aimly Master literally burning to nothing with the Doctor just watching on. However,
02:59 the following season's Mark of the Rani just has the same incarnation turn up with no real
03:04 explanation. The trope returned in New Who with the first three storylines including the Master,
03:09 Saxon, End of Time, and Death in Heaven all ending with the death of the character. However,
03:14 two of these occasions, we're actually provided with reasons for the return,
03:19 through both resurrections and very handy last minute teleports.
03:22 It's an endearing character trait, and we don't always need the exposition of how the Master
03:27 survives each encounter, but when death to the character becomes so casual, you start to wonder
03:31 why the writers bother when realistically all major fans know they will not properly call it
03:36 quits on such a bankable villain after one appearance, leading to a lack of caring towards
03:41 the stakes of their life. Number 8, The Time Lord Victorious.
03:46 2009's Waters of Mars is regarded by many as one of Tenet's finest hours, and the ending of the
03:52 story has some major ramifications for the character. But guess what? It doesn't be on
03:57 this story. The end of the Waters of Mars has the Doctor declare himself the Time Lord Victorious,
04:02 as the last survivor of his race, and gaining a god-like complex when it comes to the laws of
04:08 time. However, after changing time and saving the last few residents of Bowie Base One,
04:12 one member, Adelaide Brooke, does not believe this is right. Returning home, Brooke kills herself,
04:18 setting her timeline back on course, leaving the Doctor to wonder if he's gone too far.
04:22 But by the next episode, The End of Time, this seemingly huge moment is totally forgotten about.
04:28 Yes, 2020 saw a massive, multi-expanded media storyline exploring the moments after this,
04:34 but in the show, the moment the Tenth Doctor almost became comparable to a god is swiftly
04:38 moved on from. This entry is a real shame. The fact this is glossed over, as this would have
04:44 provided a fascinating new dimension to the show. The Time Lord Victorious is almost like an
04:49 anti-hero arc, where Ten is doing what he believes is right, when it actually goes against everything
04:55 he and the Time Lords should stand for. Non-interference.
04:58 7. The Flux
05:00 Okay, okay, Jodie and Chibnall's tenure in control of the TARDIS is not over yet,
05:05 so there is still room to rectify this, but right now, this is a hugely glossed over plot point
05:10 from Series 13. For the first time in New Who, Series 13 embarked on one interconnecting serialised
05:16 arc, a refreshing change that updates Who to the style of other modern series.
05:21 The series focused on the titular Flux, a huge apocalyptic event in time and space,
05:26 described as a hurricane ripping through the structure of the universe. Pretty cool, right?
05:30 Doctor Who is going pretty bold here. Well, obviously being a show which isn't entirely
05:35 bleak, The Doctor and co stop the Flux, after it wipes out the combined forces of the Daleks,
05:40 Cybermen and Son'tarans, and finally when it is absorbed by a passenger.
05:44 The passengers were an endless space intended to hold prisoners, and the vast space within
05:49 was seemingly enough to extinguish the chaos. Fair enough, but what about all the destruction?
05:54 Azir states that the Ravagers would restore the universe after the final Flux event,
05:58 but did that happen? The end of Series 13 is a little vague/confusing, and come the next episode
06:04 Eve of the Daleks, the events are barely mentioned. The Daleks know a considerable
06:08 amount of their fleet was destroyed, not the entirety we're originally led to believe,
06:12 and Dan mentions how the Doctors saved the universe, but is that it? We just gloss over
06:16 the cataclysm that just occurred? For now, yes. Number 6 - The Doctor is Merlin
06:22 Sylvester McCoy's seventh Doctor is renowned from going from a clown-like buffoon in his first
06:27 season to becoming the great schemer by his final adventures, using his companion Ace as his pawn.
06:33 As a part of this, 1989's Battlefield introduces the idea that the Doctor at some point in his
06:39 life will be the man behind the myth of Merlin. As Merlin, the Doctor would help Arthur fight
06:44 the sorceress Morgaine. As the Doctor had no memory of being Merlin, he assumes that this
06:48 must be a fate for him that'll occur later in his life. We've had plots of the Doctor being
06:52 woven into various histories, occasionally arriving sometime before this in his timeline,
06:58 but the legend of Merlin is quite a big position to fill. Sadly, Season 26 is Doctor Who's final
07:03 classic season, with both the TV movie and New Who providing reboots, so whether this would
07:08 develop further if a Season 27 happened, we may never know. Therefore, the idea goes nowhere.
07:14 The concept has been followed in expanded media in various differing ways, but on screen,
07:19 this is simply a loss we have to bear. Number 5 - Daleks Without the Doctor
07:24 Asylum of the Daleks gives us our first introduction to Jenna Coleman in Who,
07:28 playing Oswin Oswald, who's seemingly connected to our future companion Clara Oswald. However,
07:33 in the end, it is revealed poor Oswin has been converted into a Dalek. As a last gift to the
07:38 Eleventh Doctor to escape, she reveals to him that she removed every trace of him from the Daleks'
07:43 database, allowing him to escape the Asylum. Upon making it back to the Dalek Parliament,
07:48 we are left with the final knowledge that all the Daleks have forgotten him,
07:51 and not just those in the Asylum, leaving them to question Doctor Who.
07:56 So, with that ending, surely the next appearance of the Doctor vs. the Daleks - it's Doctor Who,
08:00 that's obviously going to happen - is going to be pretty interesting, right? Wrong.
08:05 The next appearance of the Daleks, barring their 50th anniversary appearance in the Time War,
08:10 is in the time of the Doctor, and once again, the Daleks remember their arch-nemesis.
08:14 When asked by the Doctor how they knew who he was, we get the convenient explanation of "they
08:19 took the memories of Tasha Lem," a character we are only just introduced to in this episode,
08:24 who is apparently significant enough to provide the Daleks with everything they need to know about
08:29 the Doctor. In the end, it feels lazy to write the ending of Asylum to then simply do a full
08:34 180 as soon as they reappear for convenience. Why bother in the first place?
08:39 4. I'm Half Human on My Mother's Side
08:42 Love it or hate it, the 1996 TV movie did one thing absolutely perfect - the casting of Paul
08:48 McGann as the Eighth Doctor. But one major aspect of his character has not ever been taken too
08:54 seriously. "I'm half human on my mother's side" is a comment made various times throughout the
08:59 American produced special. Now, that is pretty huge. Not a lot is ever really discovered about
09:04 the Doctor's past in the classic series. The only family member we are introduced to is granddaughter
09:09 Susan in the first seasons of the show, but otherwise, it is always just assumed the Doctor
09:13 is 100% Time Lord. Of course, once again, the Chibnall era has decided to add its own spin
09:19 on the character's origins, and currently seems a lot more concrete of an explanation than this
09:24 throwaway line. But even before this retconning in 2020, the half-human comment is never really
09:29 taken as gospel. It's a storyline that maybe could have worked properly, but almost feels
09:34 too cliché. With no follow-up to the TV movie, we'll maybe never truly know the intentions.
09:39 Both RTD and Moffat have mentioned before they don't truly believe into it, with another widely
09:45 believed theory of whom the Doctor's mother is being the nameless woman in The End of Time.
09:49 This could be a monumental moment for the show, but after the TV movie is pushed aside,
09:54 many chalk this up to post-regenerative trauma. Maybe Lineage should be left alone,
09:59 keeping the mystery in Doctor Who.
10:01 3. Morbius Doctors
10:04 In 1976's The Brain of Morbius, during a mind battle with the titular villain,
10:09 it is revealed the Doctor had faces before the Hartnell incarnation. Did the fandom go mental?
10:14 What did this mean for the series going forward after such a shock reveal? Not a lot.
10:19 Granted, this potentially means more now in 2022 with the timeless child plot, but in 1976,
10:25 this meant nothing in the show or to fans, really. It is a widely known fact that New Who is
10:30 definitely a lot more plot-lore-heavy than classic, with various contradictions in the original run,
10:36 some of which we will get into later. The Morbius Doctors are brought to life on screen by members
10:41 of the production dressed in classical outfits, meant to boost up the scope of the Doctor and
10:46 Morbius' mind battle. These incarnations were portrayed by directors Graham Harper,
10:51 Douglas Camfield and Christopher Barry, as well as writer Robert Holmes and producer Philip Hinchcliffe.
10:56 Some fans believe these incarnations were Morbius' rather than the Doctor's, however this
11:01 seems to have been proven wrong since. Yes, we now have the wonderful Joe Martin, who we are
11:06 currently led to believe is a pre-Hartnell Doctor, and a very brilliant montage in the timeless
11:11 children, but before this, these chaps had no acknowledgement in canon besides maybe being
11:16 considered a gag. More Doctors should be huge events, as the War and Fugitive Doctors were,
11:22 but it's taken 44 years for this true potential meaning to come to screen.
11:26 Number 2 - The Valleyard
11:28 The Sixth Doctor's era receives mixed reviews from the fans, but his final story drops a bombshell
11:33 to rock the character to their core. The Trial of Time Lord sees the Doctor put on trial for
11:38 his exploits through time, and is being prosecuted by a Time Lord referred to as the Valleyard. As
11:43 the series comes to a head, the Master returns and reveals that he knows the Valleyard as the Doctor.
11:49 The Valleyard is an amalgamation of the darker sides of your nature, somewhere between your
11:53 twelfth and final incarnation. So surely something exciting must happen with this character next?
11:59 An evil incarnation of the Doctor? Surely a big deal for our hero? Nope. Whilst he goes on to
12:04 play various parts in expanded media, the Valleyard only appears in Season 23 and is briefly mentioned
12:10 in Capaldi's final story. As a premise, the Valleyard is a really interesting idea,
12:15 and has so much potential, especially since after David Tennant's second incarnation,
12:20 the Valleyard is meant to come about. When written in 1986, obviously the intention of the Doctor is
12:26 to have 13 lives, so this fits between Tennant and Smith. However, since the time of the Doctor,
12:30 the Doctor's lifespan has been expanded, and so there is now a full cycle of possibilities.
12:36 Hopefully, this is one moment which is eventually addressed, as seeing what happens when all the
12:40 darkness of the Doctor takes form would be a real treat. But for now, this is another moment
12:46 no one has cared about. Number 1 - Gallifrey Returns
12:50 The planet of the Time Lords has been a part of the show's history since the late 60s,
12:54 with later seasons fleshing out the planet's society and people. But turn to New Who,
12:58 and Gallifrey is gone, wiped out by the Doctor in the Time War. That, again, is until the 50th
13:04 anniversary, where the planet was saved. So surely now, Gallifrey is back as a staple of the Hooniverse.
13:10 I think again. Series 9's finale, Hellbent, marks our first proper exploration of the Doctor on
13:15 Gallifrey, with the planet being stuck at the end of the universe, but very much there. However,
13:20 the next time we see Gallifrey, in Series 12's Spyfall, the Master has reduced the planet to
13:25 a smouldering wreck. Yes, the shot in Spyfall is beautiful, but after the work of the 50th,
13:30 the 11th Doctor's last stand on Trenzalore, and the arc of Series 9, Gallifrey and the Time Lords
13:36 are once again taken from us. Some may argue that the Time Lords as a species aren't that
13:41 interesting. We'll tell them to go check Big Finish's Gallifrey series.
13:44 But there is so much potential, and another monumental U-turn makes you question the point
13:50 of the build-up to its return if not to be explored. Of course, there is every chance
13:54 Gallifrey and the Time Lords are restored once again. That could be useful for the Timeless
13:58 Child arc, since it is literally its foundation. But right now, the return of Gallifrey feels like
14:04 a meaningless waste of time. And that concludes our list. If you can think of any other huge
14:09 moments that no one cared about, then do let us know in the comments below. And while you're there,
14:12 don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell. Also, head over to Twitter
14:17 and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie
14:21 Littlechild. I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of River Song herself, goodbye,
14:26 sweeties.