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Sometimes huge things happen in the Whoniverse and end up meaning absolutely nothing.
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00:00As the series tries to progress since its debut in 1963, Doctor Who has had its fair share of
00:05huge moments. With 15 so far actors taking up the mantle of our titular Time Lord, each Doctor goes
00:12through their own adventures, adding to their incarnation's personal stories, as well as the
00:17larger story of the Time Lord and those around them. Everyone has their own personal favourite
00:22moments, but some events are literally entrenched within the DNA of the show. Huge moments in Who
00:28include first landing on Scarrow, the Doctor's exile on Earth in the War Games, fighting the Time
00:33War and the fall of the 11th on Trenzalore, all having lasting consequences for the Hooniverse
00:39and the characters within it. But sometimes these huge moments don't stick. We bear witness to so
00:45many revelations in one story, but by the following week it has meant very little, and any development
00:50is unwritten, forgotten about or simply replaced by something totally different. So with that in
00:56mind then, I'm Ellie with Who Culture, and here are 10 huge moments in Doctor Who that no one cared
01:02about. Number 10. The Doctor, Lord President of Gallifrey. This is a tricky one. Lord President
01:08of Gallifrey is the highest level of office among Time Lord society, and once or twice the Doctor has
01:14found himself raised to that position. In the five classic stories including Gallifrey, starting with
01:19the deadly assassin, the Doctor goes from running for president but declining at the end to coming back
01:24the following season to take the role to defeat a foe, before returning in his next incarnation to
01:29find he is no longer president, to then being offered it again in the 20th anniversary later
01:34that year, but still runs from the responsibility. The Doctor makes one final return to Gallifrey in
01:39season 23, where the sixth Doctor is met by the line, since you willfully neglected the responsibility
01:45of your great office, you were deposed, resetting this moment once again. So whilst this does pop up on
01:52and off in the classic era, and is touched on in Hellbent, the presidency of the Doctor is never
01:56actually explored, besides in the odd expanded media story. Hello big finish. It's a thread which
02:02comes and goes when the Doctor revisits Gallifrey depending on the story and the writers. The Doctor
02:07as Lord President is a big deal, but never seems to carry any weight or last beyond a story. Surely
02:12President Doctor would make a great storyline if fleshed out beyond one outing. Although that may be a
02:18little tricky now. Number 9, the death of the Master again. We all know the Master is the Moriarty to the
02:25Doctor's homes. That was always his intention during his original conception in the 70s, and like the
02:31Doctor, we've had a fair share of incarnations. But unlike our titular Time Lord, we barely see these
02:36regenerations taking place on screen. Sometimes we are simply left believing the Master is dead. A common
02:41thread of the Master's story in the 1980s especially, their appearance would often end with their death
02:47before reappearing a few stories down the line inexplicably. Looking at you, Planet of Fire,
02:52this season 21 story sees the Ang Lee Master literally burning to nothing with the Doctor
02:58just watching on. However, the following season's Mark of the Rani just has the same incarnation turn
03:03up with no real explanation. The trope returned in New Who, with the first three storylines including
03:08the Master, Saxon, End of Time and Death in Heaven, all ending with the death of the character.
03:14However, two of these occasions, we're actually provided with reasons for the return, through both
03:19resurrections and very handy last-minute teleports. It's an endearing character trait, and we don't
03:25always need the exposition of how the Master survives each encounter, but when death to the
03:29character becomes so casual, you start to wonder why the writers bother, when realistically all major
03:34fans know they will not properly call it quits on such a bankable villain after one appearance,
03:39leading to a lack of caring towards the stakes of their life.
03:43Number 8. The Time Lord Victorious
03:452009's Waters of Mars is regarded by many as one of Tennant's finest hours, and the ending of the story
03:52has some major ramifications for the character. But guess what? It doesn't beyond this story.
03:58The end of The Waters of Mars has the Doctor declare himself the Time Lord Victorious as the last survivor
04:03of his race, and gaining a godlike complex when it comes to the laws of time. However, after changing
04:09time and saving the last few residents of Bowie Base 1, one member, Adelaide Brooke, does not believe
04:15this is right. Returning home, Brooke kills herself, setting her timeline back on course, leaving the
04:20Doctor to wonder if he's gone too far. But by the next episode, The End of Time, this seemingly huge
04:26moment is totally forgotten about. Yes, 2020 saw a massive, multi-expanded media storyline exploring the
04:33moments after this, but in the show, the moment the Tenth Doctor almost became comparable to a god
04:38is swiftly moved on from. This entry is a real shame. The fact this is glossed over, as this would have
04:44provided a fascinating new dimension to the show. The Time Lord Victorious is almost like an anti-hero
04:50arc, where Tennant is doing what he believes is right, when it actually goes against everything he and
04:55the Time Lords should stand for. Non-interference.
04:58Number 7. The Flux
05:00Okay, okay, Jodie and Chibnall's tenure in control of the TARDIS is not over yet, so there is still room to
05:06rectify this, but right now, this is a hugely glossed over plot point from Series 13. For the first time
05:12in New Who, Series 13 embarked on one interconnecting serialised arc, a refreshing change that updates
05:18Who to the style of other modern series. The series focused on the titular Flux, a huge apocalyptic
05:24event in time and space, described as a hurricane ripping through the structure of the universe. Pretty cool,
05:30right? Doctor Who is going pretty bold here. Well, obviously being a show which isn't entirely bleak,
05:36the Doctor and co. stop the Flux, after it wipes out the combined forces of the Daleks, Cybermen,
05:41and Sontarans, and finally when it is absorbed by a passenger. The passengers were an endless space
05:46intended to hold prisoners, and the vast space within was seemingly enough to extinguish the chaos.
05:51Fair enough, but what about all the destruction? Azir states that the Ravagers would restore the
05:56universe after the final Flux event, but did that happen? The end of Series 13 is a little vague
06:01slash confusing, and come the next episode, Eve of the Daleks, the events are barely mentioned.
06:06The Daleks know a considerable amount of their fleet was destroyed, not the entirety we're originally
06:11led to believe, and Dan mentions how the Doctor saved the universe, but is that it? We just gloss over
06:17the cataclysm that just occurred. For now, yes. Number 6. The Doctor is Merlin.
06:22Sylvester McCoy's seventh Doctor is renowned from going from a clown-like buffoon in his first season
06:28to becoming the great schemer by his final adventures, using his companion Ace as his pawn.
06:33As a part of this, 1989's Battlefield introduces the idea that the Doctor at some point in his life
06:39will be the man behind the myth of Merlin. As Merlin, the Doctor would help Arthur fight
06:44the Sorceress Morgaine. As the Doctor had no memory of being Merlin, he assumes that this
06:48must be a fate for him that'll occur later in his life. We've had plots of the Doctor being woven
06:53into various histories, occasionally arriving sometime before this in his timeline. But the
06:58legend of Merlin is quite a big position to fill. Sadly, Season 26 is Doctor Who's final classic
07:03season, with both the TV movie and New Who providing reboots, so whether this would develop
07:08further if a Season 27 happened, we may never know. Therefore, the idea goes nowhere. The concept
07:14has been followed in expanded media in various differing ways, but on-screen, this is simply
07:20a loss we have to bear.
07:21Number 5. Daleks without the Doctor.
07:24Asylum of the Daleks gives us our first introduction to Jenna Coleman in Who, playing Oswin Oswald,
07:29who's seemingly connected to our future companion Clara Oswald. However, in the end, it is revealed
07:34poor Oswin has been converted into a Dalek. As a last gift to the 11th Doctor to escape,
07:39she reveals to him that she removed every trace of him from the Dalek's database, allowing
07:44him to escape the asylum. Upon making it back to the Dalek Parliament, we are left with the
07:49final knowledge that all the Daleks have forgotten him, and not just those in the asylum, leaving
07:53them to question Doctor Who. So with that ending, surely the next appearance of the Doctor
07:58versus the Daleks, it's Doctor Who that's obviously going to happen, is going to be pretty
08:03interesting, right? Wrong.
08:05The next appearance of the Daleks, barring their 50th anniversary appearance in the Time
08:09War, is in the time of the Doctor, and once again, the Daleks remember their arch-nemesis.
08:14When asked by the Doctor how they knew who he was, we get the convenient explanation of
08:19they took the memories of Tasha Lem, a character we are only just introduced to in this episode,
08:25who is apparently significant enough to provide the Daleks with everything they need to know
08:29about the Doctor. In the end, it feels lazy to write the ending of Asylum, to then simply
08:33do a full 180 as soon as they reappear for convenience. Why bother in the first place?
08:394. I'm half-human on my mother's side
08:42Love it or hate it, the 1996 TV movie did one thing absolutely perfect, the casting of
08:48Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor. But one major aspect of his character has not ever been taken
08:54too seriously. I'm half-human on my mother's side is a comment made various times throughout
08:59the American-produced special. Now, that is pretty huge. Not a lot is ever really discovered
09:04about the Doctor's past in the classic series. The only family member we are introduced to
09:08is granddaughter Susan in the first seasons of the show. But otherwise, it is always just
09:13assumed the Doctor is 100% Time Lord. Of course, once again, the Chibnall era has decided
09:18to add its own spin on the character's origins, and currently seems a lot more concrete of an
09:23explanation than this throwaway line. But even before this retconning in 2020, the half-human
09:28comment is never really taken as gospel. It's a storyline that maybe could have worked properly,
09:33but almost feels too cliché. With no follow-up to the TV movie, we'll maybe never truly know
09:38the intentions. Both RTD and Moffat have mentioned before they don't truly believe into it, with
09:44another widely believed theory of whom the Doctor's mother is being the nameless woman in
09:48the end of time. This could be a monumental moment for the show, but after the TV movie is pushed
09:54aside, many chalk this up to post-regenerative trauma. Maybe lineage should be left alone,
09:59keeping the mystery in Doctor Who.
10:01Number 3. Morbius Doctors
10:04In 1976's The Brain of Morbius, during a mind battle with the titular villain, it is revealed the
10:10Doctor had faces before the Hartnell incarnation. Did the fandom go mental? What did this mean for the
10:15series going forward after such a shock reveal? Not a lot. Granted, this potentially means more now
10:21in 2022 with the Timeless Child plot, but in 1976, this meant nothing in the show or to fans, really.
10:28It is a widely known fact that New Who is definitely a lot more plot-lore-heavy than classic,
10:34with various contradictions in the original run, some of which we will get into later.
10:39The Morbius Doctors are brought to life on screen by members of the production dressed in classical
10:43outfits, meant to boost up the scope of the Doctor and Morbius' mind battle. These incarnations were
10:49portrayed by directors Graham Harper, Douglas Canfield, and Christopher Barry, as well as
10:53writer Robert Holmes and producer Philip Hinchcliffe. Some fans believe these incarnations were Morbius'
10:59rather than the Doctor's, however this seems to have been proven wrong since.
11:03Yes, we now have the wonderful Joe Martin, who we are currently led to believe is a pre-Hartnell
11:08Doctor, and a very brilliant montage in the Timeless Children, but before this, these chaps
11:13had no acknowledgement in canon besides maybe being considered a gag. More Doctors should
11:18be huge events, as the War and Fugitive Doctors were, but it's taken 44 years for this true
11:24potential meaning to come to screen.
11:262. The Valiard
11:28The Sixth Doctor's era receives mixed reviews from the fans, but his final story drops a
11:33bombshell to rock the character to their core. The Trial of Time Lord sees the Doctor put
11:37on trial for his exploits through time and is being prosecuted by a Time Lord referred
11:42to as the Valiard. As the series comes to a head, the Master returns and reveals that
11:47he knows the Valiard as the Doctor. The Valiard is an amalgamation of the darker sides of your
11:52nature, somewhere between your Twelfth and Final Incarnation. So surely something exciting
11:57must happen with this character next? An evil incarnation of the Doctor? Surely a big deal
12:02for our hero? Nope. Whilst he goes on to play various parts in expanded media, the Valiard
12:07only appears in Season 23 and is briefly mentioned in Capaldi's final story. As a premise, the
12:13Valiard is a really interesting idea and has so much potential, especially since after David
12:19Tennant's second incarnation, the Valiard is meant to come about. When written in 1986,
12:24obviously the intention of the Doctor is to have 13 lives, so this fits between Tennant and
12:28Smith. However, since the time of the Doctor, the Doctor's lifespan has been expanded and so
12:33there is now a full cycle of possibilities. Hopefully, this is one moment which is eventually
12:38addressed, as seeing what happens when all the darkness of the Doctor takes form would be a real
12:43treat. But for now, this is another moment no one has cared about.
12:47Number 1. Gallifrey Returns
12:50The planet of the Time Lords has been a part of the show's history since the late 60s,
12:54with later seasons fleshing out the planet, society and people. But turn to New Who and
12:59Gallifrey is gone, wiped out by the Doctor in the Time War. That again is until the 50th
13:04anniversary where the planet was saved, so surely now Gallifrey is back as a staple of the Hooniverse.
13:10I think again. Series 9's finale Hellbent marks our first proper exploration of the Doctor on
13:15Gallifrey, with the planet being stuck at the end of the universe, but very much there. However,
13:20the next time we see Gallifrey in Series 12's Spyfall, the Master has reduced the planet to a
13:25smouldering wreck. Yes, the shot in Spyfall is beautiful, but after the work of the 50th,
13:31the 11th Doctor's last stand on Trenzalore and the arc of Series 9, Gallifrey and the Time Lords
13:36are once again taken from us. Some may argue that the Time Lords as a species aren't that
13:41interesting. We'll tell them to go check Big Finish's Gallifrey series. But there is so much
13:46potential, and another monumental U-turn makes you question the point of the build-up to its
13:51return if not to be explored. Of course, there is every chance Gallifrey and the Time Lords are
13:56restored once again. That could be useful for the Timeless Child arc, since it is literally its
14:01foundation. But right now, the return of Gallifrey feels like a meaningless waste of time.
14:05And that concludes our list. If you can think of any other huge moments that no one cared about,
14:10then do let us know in the comments below. And while you're there, don't forget to like,
14:13and subscribe, and tap that notification bell. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there,
14:18and I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
14:22I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties.
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