- 18 hours ago
With a universe to explore, it can be a LONG wait for Doctor Who to revisit certain faces...
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Although the universe is a vast place, the Doctor seems to bump into the same familiar faces with
00:05alarming regularity, whether it's Captain Jack Harkness or the latest incarnation of the Master.
00:10However, there are other characters who go about their daily lives for decades without ever bumping
00:16into the Doctor. So, with that in mind, I'm Ellie with Who Culture, here with the 10 longest gaps
00:21between Doctor Who character appearances. Number 10, Joe Grant, 13,639 days.
00:30Third Doctor companion Joe Grant was instantly recognisable to Doctor Who fans in The Power of
00:34the Doctor, when actress Katie Manning's laugh could be heard during Graham's speech at the
00:38companion meeting. But of course, this wasn't the first Doctor Who return that Manning had made since
00:43she departed the role in 1973's The Green Death. Joe's departure is one of the most melancholic
00:48exits in all of Doctor Who, and it was only right that she made a return to the show. The long way
00:53round. After Matt Smith's first series, Russell T. Davis wrote what many believed would be his last
00:58script for The Doctor in the Sarah Jane Adventures two-parter Death of the Doctor, which featured
01:03the long-awaited return of Joe. Part 1 aired on the 25th of October 2010, just over 37 years
01:10since Joe got engaged to Professor Clifford Jones in the final episode of The Green Death
01:15on the 23rd of June 1973. Death of the Doctor also updated fans on the whereabouts of Ace,
01:20who missed out on this list by a few thousand days, and Ian, but more on him later.
01:25Number 9. The Mavellons 13,721 Days
01:30In one of those crazy rolls of the dice that only an exiting Doctor Who showrunner would attempt,
01:36The Mavellons made a brief cameo at the start of Peter Capaldi and Stephen Moffat's final series.
01:41Making one appearance in Terry Nation's unloved final Dalek story, Destiny of the Daleks,
01:47the logical androids were pitched as the Daleks' greatest enemies. Not due to their strength,
01:52but due to the stalemate that was caused by the immovable forces of logic and hatred.
01:57They never appeared again, and probably never would have if it weren't for a mischievous aside
02:01from Mark Gatiss. Reading the script for the pilot, Gatiss observed that the Doctor,
02:06Bill and Nardole should arrive during a Dalek skirmish with the Mavellons, just for the sheer
02:11hell of it. It was a fun reference that gave fans a laugh without alienating the casual viewer.
02:16Destiny of the Daleks concluded on the 22nd of September 1979, leaving an almost 38-year gap
02:23before their cameo appearance in the pilot on the 15th of April 2017.
02:28Number 8. The Sisterhood of Khan, 13,810 Days
02:33Stephen Moffat was the king of the deep-cut Doctor Who reference, and so it was that the
02:39Sisterhood of Khan became recurring characters between 2013 and 2015. Originally appearing in
02:451976's The Brain of Morbius, the Sisterhood were the keepers of the Sacred Flame, which created the
02:51much sought-after elixir of life. The fourth Doctor found time during his busy schedule battling the
02:56resurrected Time Lord villain Morbius to reignite the flagging Sacred Flame. 37 years later, our time,
03:03the eighth Doctor was in serious need of the Sacred Flame's healing properties in 2013's
03:08Night of the Doctor, and it was the elixir of life that triggered his eventual regeneration into
03:13the War Doctor. Sisterhood member Ohila would later arrive on Gallifrey in the Series 9 finale
03:19Hellbent to chastise the Twelfth Doctor for his reckless behaviour. To this day, this is the last
03:24time the Sisterhood has been seen in a televised story. Number 7. The Zygons, 13,945 Days
03:33The Zygons were David Tennant's favourite villain growing up, so it was a surprise that they never
03:39appeared during his tenure. Brilliantly designed, they were one of Doctor Who's most iconic one-shot
03:44monsters, until they finally returned in 2013. The inclusion of the Zygons in the 50th anniversary
03:50special The Day of the Doctor may have been an added sweetener to get Tennant back on board,
03:55but recent developments suggest that the actor will take any opportunity to slip back into the role.
03:59Between their first appearance in 1975 and their second appearance over 38 years later,
04:04the Zygons featured in comics, audio dramas and novels, and were even mentioned in 2010's
04:10The Pandorica Opens, but were never actually seen. Their ability to shapeshift would have made them
04:15ideal foes for Aliens of London slash World War 3, but for whatever reason we got the Slothene instead.
04:20Thankfully, there was a much shorter gap between the Zygons' second appearance and their third,
04:25which came in 2015's The Zygon Invasion slash The Zygon Inversion. They're still out there,
04:30among us, so hopefully we won't have to wait until Doctor Who's 90th anniversary in 2053 to see them
04:36again. Number 6, Tegan, 14,101 days. I mean, who can blame Tegan for staying away? Her aunt got shrunk by
04:45the Master, her grandfather got kidnapped, and her cousin was almost killed by the renegade Time Lord
04:50Amiga. Worse still, her travelling companion Adric crashed a freighter into prehistoric Earth, and she
04:55watched countless humans and Silurians die. It feels like over 38 years is a good amount of time to deal
05:01with that trauma. That's how long it was between Tegan's ghostly apparition in the caves of Andrazani's
05:06regeneration scene, and her return in Jedi Whitaker's final story, The Power of the Doctor. Joining Tegan
05:12was Ace, who was last seen in Doctor Who 29 years ago in Dimensions in Time. Yes, it counts. So she doesn't
05:18qualify for this list. Even if you go with Ace's last regular appearance in 1989, Survival, she still
05:24doesn't quite make the cut. Tegan actress Janet Fielding, like many of the show stars do, maintained
05:30a connection with Doctor Who in her time away. Interestingly, she served as Paul McGann's
05:35agent when he was the 8th Doctor in the 1996 TV movie. Number 5, The Ice Warriors, 14,232 days.
05:44The Ice Warriors are one of Doctor Who's most fascinating creatures, because they're not
05:49always villains. Introduced as such in the 1967 serial of the same name, they later became
05:55allies of the 3rd Doctor before falling back on bad habits, with their last appearance in
05:59the classic series coming in 1974's The Monster of Peladon. This wasn't the original intention,
06:05however, and both the 6th and 7th Doctors were supposed to face the Ice Warriors, until Doctor
06:10whose hiatus and cancellation sadly intervened. The Martian Warriors didn't even appear in
06:15the rogues' gallery of foes menacing the Doctors and the cast of EastEnders in Dimensions in Time.
06:20Criminal! Therefore, it took almost 40 years for the Ice Warriors to make their return to televised
06:26Doctor Who in 2013's Cold War. Writer Mark Gatiss had always wanted to bring the creatures back,
06:32but was met with resistance by a sceptical Steven Moffat. Eventually though, Gatiss got his wish,
06:36and would even bring them back again 4 years later in 2017's Empress of Mars.
06:42Number 4. The Macra. 14,624 days.
06:47In a display of how confident Russell T. Davis' Doctor Who was in its 3rd series, it brought
06:52back a classic monster that nobody could have predicted. Mostly because the monsters in question
06:57were from a 1967 Patrick Troughton serial that has been lost from the archives. Thankfully,
07:01the Macra aren't that hard to realise, they're literally just giant crabs. Still, it was an
07:06incredibly ballsy move by RTD to just throw them in the climax of Gridlock. For hardcore fans,
07:12it was a proper drop your bacon sandwich moment, and for the less informed Doctor Who viewers,
07:16they were giant menacing crabs, the best of both worlds. The final episode of The Macra Terror
07:21aired on the 1st of April 1967, making the gap between appearances just over 40 years by the time
07:27Gridlock aired on the 14th of April 2007. Could the gap between their 2nd and 3rd appearances be
07:32even longer, or much shorter? Well, with RTD back at the helm, all bets are off.
07:37Number 3. Alpha Centauri. 15,751 days.
07:43In another cheeky Hail Mary by Mark Gatiss and Stephen Moffat, and once again in their final Doctor
07:48Who series, the duo brought back Alpha Centauri, a niche Doctor Who character who hadn't been seen or
07:54heard from in decades. The memorably designed character was once described by director Lenny
07:59Main as a giant green dick. Alpha Centauri appeared as such in the closing moments of
08:04Empress of Mars, and was again voiced by Issan Churchman, reprising the role after 43 years.
08:09Alpha Centauri wasn't a cheap bit of fan service either, it actually made sense to the context
08:14and themes of Gatiss' story. Airing as Britain made plans to leave the European Union, it portrays
08:19the Great Martian Empire's decision to join the wider galactic community. The first representative
08:24they meet is Alpha Centauri, last seen in 1974's The Monster of Peladon. Aside from the political
08:30parallels, getting a giant green dick back on primetime BBC One was exactly the sort of mischievous
08:36move you'd expect from Moffat and Gatiss.
08:39Number 2. The Great Intelligence. 16,363 days.
08:44In a neat bit of foreshadowing for the return of almost all of the web of fear back to the archives,
08:49the big bad of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary year was revealed to be the Great Intelligence,
08:54Sun's Yeti. The Great Intelligence made two memorable appearances during the Patrick Troughton
08:59era as a malevolent, disembodied force able to influence those in its grasp. The best-loved
09:04Great Intelligence story, The Web of Fear, was top of fan lists of lost stories they wanted to see
09:09return, and they would eventually get their wish in 2013. Before that exciting day though,
09:14the Great Intelligence made its first appearance in 44 years, voiced by Sir Ian McKellen in the 2012
09:20Christmas special The Snowmen. Hilariously, the 11th Doctor has forgotten all about the Great
09:25Intelligence, given how long it's been since they crossed paths. This forgetfulness even leads to
09:30the Doctor accidentally giving the Intelligence the idea to take over the London Underground in the
09:35Web of Fear. It was another of Stephen Moffat's deep-cut Doctor Who references that hinted at the
09:40exciting 50th anniversary year to come. Number 1. Ian Chesterton, 20,939 Days
09:48Ian Chesterton almost returned to Doctor Who for its 20th anniversary season in 1983, but actor
09:54William Russell was unavailable. Aside from a name check in The Sarah Jane Adventures and The Day of
09:59the Doctor, the former Coal Hill teacher and original Doctor Who companion hasn't returned to the show
10:04since he and his colleague Barbara Wright arrived in London 1965 at the end of the chase. After a hell
10:11of a long wait, 57 years, Ian returned to Doctor Who in the power of the Doctor as the elder statesman
10:17of Graham's companion support group. Hilariously, he's flummoxed by the idea of the grumpy old man he met
10:23in 1963 now being a young woman. It was the perfect nod to Doctor Who's enduring legacy and the importance
10:30of both William Russell and Jacqueline Hill to the show. Without Ian and Barbara, we wouldn't have
10:35the Doctor as we've known them in the 57 years since they left the TARDIS. Including Ian's cameo in
10:41a Doctor Who episode that celebrated 100 years of the BBC was doubly brilliant, given that at 97 years
10:47of age, William Russell has been around for almost the same amount of time. And that concludes our list.
10:53If there's some characters that haven't made a return that you would love to see back, then do let
10:57us know in the comments below. And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap
11:02that notification bell so you never miss a Who Culture video ever again. Also, head over to Twitter
11:07and follow us there and Instagram as well. And I can be found across various social medias just by
11:11searching Ellie Littlechild. Don't forget to look for Sean Farrick as well and Dan the Meigs too.
11:16I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties.
Be the first to comment