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The Fugitive Doctor? More Captain Jack? These are some of Doctor Who's biggest wasted ideas.
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00:00Do you ever get that feeling when you're watching a great TV show and a storyline starts to unfold
00:08that really does have some great potential and then all of a sudden it gets completely forgotten
00:13about? Well, Doctor Who is no exception. So with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with WhoCulture,
00:19here with 10 great ideas that went absolutely nowhere in Doctor Who.
00:2310. Gwen's Ancestry Gwen Cooper is a no-nonsense,
00:29ass-kicking member of the Torchwood team. She started off as a police officer and then stumbled
00:34across Captain Jack Harkness and his gang and eventually joined them to fight those alien
00:38threats that the Doctor doesn't quite get round to. However, this was not the first time Whovians
00:44had seen her face. In the third episode of New Who, the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler travel to
00:49Cardiff in 1869, where they encounter ghost-like aliens called the Gelf and Charles Dickens.
00:55They also bump into Gwyneth, a clairvoyant servant played by Eve Miles, who also plays
01:01Gwen Cooper in Torchwood. Now, this was actually addressed when the 10th Doctor meets Gwen in
01:06Series 4 and he deduces that she is from an old Cardiff family and through something called
01:11spatial genetic multiplicity, she has the same face as her ancestor. Now, while the showrunners
01:17could have done something with this, Gwen's connection to her psychic forebear is never
01:21mentioned again. What could have been an interesting storyline exploring the connection between Gwen
01:26and Gwyneth was instead a quick line to get around a case of double casting.
01:30Number 9. The Minister of War
01:32Who would have thought that a throwaway line would have caused so much trouble? In the two-part
01:37story Under the Lake and Before the Flood, the Doctor encounters a number of underwater miners
01:42who he must protect from an army of ghosts, and one of the miners is a woman named O'Donnell,
01:47who is a big fan of the Doctor. She reels off all of his greatest hits, recounting the times that
01:52he saved the Earth from danger. She tells him about Harold Saxon, the moon being an egg, and the
01:57Minister of War. But the Doctor is just as confused by this as we are, and asks O'Donnell who that is.
02:03However, he stops himself, realising that this is an adventure that is yet to come.
02:07Under the Lake and Before the Flood came out in 2015, and fans are still waiting to find out who
02:13the Minister of War is. Some have theorised that it could be the Master, Amiga, or the Warlords,
02:18but for now, they are just guesses. At this point, it does feel unlikely that we'll ever get a follow-up
02:23to this, or maybe there were never any plans for one, and we all just need to get a life.
02:28Number 8. Ryan's Dyspraxia
02:30Dyspraxia is a disorder that can affect a person's motor skills and coordination. It's a severely
02:35underrepresented condition in the media, which is what made the announcement of Ryan Sinclair so
02:41exciting. Played by Tosun Cole, Ryan accompanied the 13th Doctor between 2018 and 2021. He lost his
02:48mother at a young age, has a frosty relationship with his father, and he has Dyspraxia. Now,
02:53showrunner Chris Chibnall did everything right when creating the character, and he even consulted
02:57charity The Dyspraxia Foundation on how Ryan should be portrayed. The initial buzz surrounding the
03:03character achieved its goals of drawing attention to the condition, but as time went on, mentions of
03:08it in the show got less and less common. Basically, Ryan only had Dyspraxia when the plot called for
03:13it, and the rest of the time, he acted as if it didn't affect him at all. Now, this is such a shame,
03:18as the show had the opportunity here to shed some light on this relatively obscure condition. Now,
03:22yes, they did drum up some initial interest in the subject when Ryan's character was first revealed,
03:27but they didn't really do anything meaningful with it in the actual show, other than trying to portray the
03:32connection between Ryan and Graham as he taught him to ride a bike.
03:36Number 7. Jackie Tyler in Survival
03:38Now, this is something that is completely fan-driven, and hasn't actually been explored,
03:44set up, or even hinted at by the show itself. Well, at least not intentionally. Still,
03:49it's such a brilliant idea, so we thought it deserved a bit of a shine. And it revolves around
03:53actress Michelle Martin, who holds a very special distinction in Doctor Who history. Now,
03:57obviously not counting the two leads of Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, her character was the
04:02last person to speak in 1989's Survival, the final serial in Classic Who before it was taken off the
04:09air. But what's extra notable about this is that her nameless neighbour character bears a striking
04:14resemblance, both in appearance and personality, to Jackie Tyler, a character who was introduced in the
04:20next regular episode of Doctor Who in 2005. It's insane to think that someone with such Jackie Tyler
04:26energy was the very last guest character seen in Classic Who. And though the opportunity was there
04:32for the show to confirm that they're the same person, that opportunity has never been taken.
04:37Obviously, this isn't a huge glaring flaw or anything like that, but it would have been a
04:41brilliant way to further strengthen the bridge between the classic and modern eras. Plus, it does
04:45actually make sense in-universe. Jackie was born in 1967, putting her in her early 20s during the
04:52events of Survival. And the neighbour also lives in Perryvale, London, which isn't actually that far away
04:57from Jackie's Powell estate home in the 2005 Revival. But alas, this is pure headcanon for now.
05:04Number 6, 13's Fobwatch. The finale of Flux saw the 13th Doctor hide a fobwatch containing her lost
05:11memories deep within the TARDIS, which was a strange decision considering that her whole mission in this
05:16series was to uncover the truth about her past. But okay, fair enough. Clearly, showrunner Chris
05:21Chibnall was just saving the watch for a future story, right? Well, no. Eve of the Daleks and
05:26Legend of the Sea Devils came and went without so much as even a mention of it. And with the 13th
05:31Doctor now having regenerated, it's unlikely that this plot thread will ever be revisited.
05:35And that's so frustrating, and also such a shame. Think of the craziness that could have unfolded were
05:41the Doctor to dive into that watch's secrets. We could learn more about Gallifrey,
05:45the Division, and the Doctor's own history. The watch could have even served as a way to revisit
05:50previous Doctors. Now, Chibnall invented a way to bring back classic Doctors in the power of the
05:55Doctor through the Guardians of the Edge, even though he already had a solution sitting right
06:00there. At the very least, the watch could give us more memories of the Doctor's missions with
06:04Carbonista, and more screen time with that good doggo wouldn't go amiss.
06:09Number 5, The Paternoster Gang. Appearing out of nowhere in the Series 6 episode of Good
06:15Man Goes to War, the Paternoster Gang aided the 11th and 12th Doctors in various quests.
06:20Madame Vastra the Silurian, her human wife Jenny, and their Sontaran butler Strax appeared
06:25five times on television, including a Christmas special, the 100th episode of New Who, and
06:30the 12th Doctor's first adventure. Despite putting minimal effort into explaining where
06:35they came from and how they first met the Doctor, the show gave the gang a decent treatment
06:39once they were established. Plans were tentatively discussed for a spin-off starring the trio,
06:44but Stephen Moffat vetoed the idea in fear of overexposing audiences to Doctor Who content.
06:49Haha, how times have changed! They have lived on in the form of audio stories, novellas,
06:54and magazines, but a lot of potential was left on the table by not giving them their own show.
06:59The group was tailor-made for a kid-friendly series in the vein of the Sarah Jane Adventures,
07:04but it just wasn't meant to be. But maybe times are changing!
07:07Number 4. The War Doctor
07:10First things first, John Hurt as the War Doctor looks absolutely incredible. Rugged and worn
07:16down by the weight of combat, dressed in raggedy clothes and wearing a grizzled expression on his
07:21face, this version of the Time Lord gives off major John Wayne vibes, an old gunslinger back in
07:27town for his final shootout. The Elephant Man actor played the role as part of the show's 50th
07:32anniversary special The Day of the Doctor, where it's explained that he committed atrocities during
07:37the Time War, and that his future incarnations have shunned his memory out of shame. A star like
07:42John Hurt was always going to be hard to tie down, but it would have been fantastic to see the War
07:47Doctor in more than one story. They managed to get him to commit to Merlin. He was used brilliantly in
07:53The Day of the Doctor, so this is more a case of untapped potential rather than a flat-out wasted idea.
07:58But just think how awesome it would have been to explore his days in The Time War in greater detail.
08:03Despite Hurt's passing in 2017, the role could be recast for a spin-off or stand-alone episode,
08:09like David Bradley as the First Doctor. So come on, Russell. Another spin-off on the way?
08:14Number 3. Captain Jack's Missing Years
08:17Despite some negativity that might have been floating around John Barrowman in recent years,
08:22Captain Jack Harkness remains one of the most beloved creations from the New Who era. An
08:27immortal conman from many centuries in the future, a Jack appearance alongside the 9th or 10th Doctors
08:32was always a treat, and he even resurfaced during the 13th Doctor's tenure, busting her out of space
08:38prison. As explored in the Torchwood series, Jack is a multifaceted character who has done and seen a
08:44lot across his never-ending life, but he's actually missing two entire years of his memory, as explained
08:49in the episode The Doctor Dances. Those years were wiped from his mind by the Time Agency, his former
08:55employers, and despite this posing some very intriguing questions about the future face of
08:59Bo, the characters never really seemed very interested in finding out more about them. He
09:04doesn't even pursue these memories in the Big Finish audio series, which usually mops up loose
09:08ends from the TV show like some sort of plot janitor. But with Barrowman sadly seeming out of the picture
09:14when it comes to Doctor Who, those two years might just remain a mystery for the rest of Jack's life.
09:19So basically forever. 2. The Fugitive Doctor
09:23Jo Martin first appeared as Ruth Clayton in the episode Fugitive of the Jadoon. A seemingly normal
09:29woman, Ruth's world is turned upside down when the rhino-headed aliens invade her hometown in search
09:35of her. She eventually discovers that she isn't Ruth Clayton at all, she's actually a version of
09:40the Doctor from some unknown point in their timeline. It's believed that this fugitive version of the
09:45character is from their very distant past, before their time as the first Doctor. However,
09:49as of right now, we still don't really know an awful lot about this incarnation of the Doctor.
09:54The Fugitive Doctor has mainly appeared in projections and holograms since her first appearance,
09:59which has been thoroughly unhelpful when it comes to learning more about her.
10:02Jo Martin is brilliant in the role, and it would be so great to see more of her. But considering that
10:07things like this don't tend to pass from showrunner to showrunner, it's unlikely that RTD will
10:12choose to explore the Fugitive Doctor further. We also want to know where she got that coat from,
10:16because that thing is snazzy. 1. The Cartmel Master Plan
10:22Andrew Cartmel was a script editor on Doctor Who between 1987 and 1989,
10:27during the seventh Doctor era of the show. Alongside other writers like Mark Platt,
10:32Cartmel devised several plots to help bring some mystique back to the show and turn around its falling
10:37ratings. These ideas have been dubbed the Cartmel Master Plan by fans.
10:41Regrettably, the Master Plan never saw the light of day, as Doctor Who was cancelled before the
10:45new storylines were put in place. And this is hugely disappointing, as these plans sounded amazing.
10:51Cartmel planned to make the Doctor a demigod, one of Gallifrey's founding fathers alongside
10:56Rassilon and Amiga. He also planned to introduce an alter ego called The Other,
11:01a shadowy figure deeply connected to the planet's past. Fragments of these ideas made it into episodes
11:07of the TV show pre-cancellation, as well as other media-like books, but this all came too late to
11:12save the show, which was confined to the television waste bin until 2005.
11:16Now, would the Cartmel Master Plan have rescued Doctor Who? Well, it's impossible to say,
11:21but the potential that it had makes it one of the most intriguing what-ifs in the show's storied history.
11:27And that concludes our list. If you think we missed something, then do let us know in the comments
11:31below, and while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe, and tap that notification bell
11:35so you never miss a Who Culture video again. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there,
11:40and Instagram as well, and I can be found across various social medias just by searching
11:44Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of Riversong herself,
11:49goodbye, sweeties.
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