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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
00:05that really does have some great potential and then all of a sudden it gets completely forgotten
00:09about? Well, Doctor Who is no exception. So, with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with Who Culture,
00:15here with 10 great ideas that went absolutely nowhere in Doctor Who.
00:21Number 10. Gwen's Ancestry
00:23Gwen Cooper is a no-nonsense, arse-kicking member of the Torchwood team. She started
00:28off as a police officer and then stumbled across Captain Jack Harkness and his gang and eventually
00:33joined them to fight those alien threats that the Doctor doesn't quite get round to. However,
00:38this was not the first time Whovians had seen her face. In the third episode of New Who,
00:43the ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler travel to Cardiff in 1869 where they encounter ghost-like aliens
00:49called the Gelf and Charles Dickens. They also bump into Gwyneth, a clairvoyant servant played
00:55by Eve Miles who also plays Gwen Cooper in Torchwood. Now, this was actually addressed when
01:01the tenth Doctor meets Gwen in series four and he deduces that she is from an old Cardiff family
01:06and through something called spatial genetic multiplicity, she has the same face as her
01:11ancestor. Now, while the showrunners could have done something with this, Gwen's connection to her
01:16psychic forebear is never mentioned again. What could have been an interesting storyline exploring the
01:22connection between Gwen and Gwyneth was instead a quick line to get around a case of double casting?
01:27Number 9. The Minister of War
01:29Who would have thought that a throwaway line would have caused so much trouble? In the two-part story
01:34Under the Lake and Before the Flood, the Doctor encounters a number of underwater miners who he
01:39must protect from an army of ghosts. And one of the miners is a woman named O'Donnell, who is a big fan
01:44of the Doctor. She reels off all of his greatest hits, recounting the times that he saved the Earth
01:49from danger. She tells him about Harold Saxon, the moon being an egg, and the Minister of War.
01:55But the Doctor is just as confused by this as we are, and asks O'Donnell who that is. However,
02:00he stops himself, realising that this is an adventure that is yet to come.
02:03Under the Lake and Before the Flood came out in 2015, and fans are still waiting to find out who
02:09the Minister of War is. Some have theorised that it could be the Master, Amiga, or the Warlords,
02:15but for now, they are just guesses. At this point, it does feel unlikely that we'll ever get a follow-up
02:20to this, or maybe there were never any plans for one, and we all just need to get a life.
02:24Number 8, Ryan's Dyspraxia. Dyspraxia is a disorder that can affect a person's motor skills
02:30and coordination. It's a severely underrepresented condition in the media, which is what made the
02:35announcement of Ryan Sinclair so exciting. Played by Tosun Cole, Ryan accompanied the 13th Doctor
02:41between 2018 and 2021. He lost his mother at a young age, has a frosty relationship with his
02:47father, and he has Dyspraxia. Now, showrunner Chris Chibnall did everything right when creating
02:52the character, and he even consulted charity The Dyspraxia Foundation on how Ryan should be
02:57portrayed. The initial buzz surrounding the character achieved its goals of drawing attention
03:02to the condition, but as time went on, mentions of it in the show got less and less common.
03:07Basically, Ryan only had Dyspraxia when the plot called for it, and the rest of the time,
03:11he acted as if it didn't affect him at all. Now, this is such a shame, as the show had
03:15the opportunity here to shed some light on this relatively obscure condition. Now, yes,
03:19they did drum up some initial interest in the subject when Ryan's character was first
03:23revealed, but they didn't really do anything meaningful with it in the actual show, other
03:27than trying to portray the connection between Ryan and Graham as he taught him to ride a bike.
03:32Number 7, Jackie Tyler in Survival. Now, this is something that is completely fan-driven,
03:39and hasn't actually been explored, set up, or even hinted at by the show itself. Well,
03:43at least not intentionally. Still, it's such a brilliant idea, so we thought it deserved a bit
03:48of a shine. And it revolves around actress Michelle Martin, who holds a very special distinction in
03:53Doctor Who history. Now, obviously not counting the two leads of Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred,
03:58her character was the last person to speak in 1989's Survival, the final serial in Classic Who
04:04before it was taken off the air. But what's extra notable about this is that her nameless
04:09neighbour character bears a striking resemblance, both in appearance and personality, to Jackie
04:14Tyler, a character who was introduced in the next regular episode of Doctor Who in 2005.
04:20It's insane to think that someone with such Jackie Tyler energy was the very last guest
04:25character seen in Classic Who. And though the opportunity was there for the show to confirm
04:29that they're the same person, that opportunity has never been taken. Obviously, this isn't a huge
04:35glaring flaw or anything like that, but it would have been a brilliant way to further strengthen the
04:39bridge between the Classic and Modern eras. Plus, it does actually make sense in-universe. Jackie was
04:44born in 1967, putting her in her early 20s during the events of Survival. And the neighbour also lives
04:51in Perryvale, London, which isn't actually that far away from Jackie's Powell estate home in the 2005
04:57Revival. But alas, this is pure headcanon for now.
05:01Number 6. Thirteen's Fobwatch
05:03The finale of Flux saw the 13th Doctor hide a fobwatch containing her lost memories deep within
05:09the TARDIS. Which was a strange decision, considering that her whole mission in this
05:13series was to uncover the truth about her past. But okay, fair enough. Clearly, showrunner Chris
05:17Chibnall was just saving the watch for a future story, right? Well, no.
05:21Eve of the Daleks and Legend of the Sea Devils came and went without so much as even a mention
05:26of it. And with the 13th Doctor now having regenerated, it's unlikely that this plot thread
05:30will ever be revisited. And that's so frustrating, and also such a shame. Think of the craziness that
05:36could have unfolded were the Doctor to dive into that watch's secrets. We could learn more about
05:41Gallifrey, the Division, and the Doctor's own history. The watch could have even served as a
05:46way to revisit previous Doctors. Now, Chibnall invented a way to bring back classic Doctors in the
05:51power of the Doctor through the Guardians of the Edge, even though he already had a solution
05:56sitting right there. At the very least, the watch could give us more memories of the Doctor's
06:00missions with Carbonista, and more screen time with that good doggo wouldn't go amiss.
06:05Number 5. The Paternoster Gang
06:08Appearing out of nowhere in the Series 6 episode of Good Man Goes to War, the Paternoster Gang aided the
06:1411th and 12th Doctors in various quests. Madam Vastra the Silurian, her human wife Jenny,
06:19and their Sontaran butler Strax appeared five times on television, including a Christmas special,
06:25the 100th episode of New Who, and the 12th Doctor's first adventure. Despite putting minimal effort into
06:30explaining where they came from and how they first met the Doctor, the show gave the gang a decent
06:35treatment once they were established. Plans were tentatively discussed for a spin-off starring the
06:40trio, but Steven Moffat vetoed the idea in fear of overexposing audiences to Doctor Who content.
06:45Haha, how times have changed! They have lived on in the form of audio stories, novellas,
06:51and magazines, but a lot of potential was left on the table by not giving them their own show.
06:56The group was tailor-made for a kid-friendly series in the vein of the Sarah Jane Adventures,
07:01but it just wasn't meant to be. But maybe times are changing!
07:04Number 4. The War Doctor
07:06First things first, John Hurt as the War Doctor looks absolutely incredible. Rugged and worn down by
07:13the weight of combat, dressed in raggedy clothes, and wearing a grizzled expression on his face,
07:18this version of the Time Lord gives off major John Wayne vibes, an old gunslinger back in town for his
07:24final shootout. The Elephant Man actor played the role as part of the show's 50th anniversary special,
07:29The Day of the Doctor, where it's explained that he committed atrocities during the Time War,
07:34and that his future incarnations have shunned his memory out of shame. A star like John Hurt was always
07:40going to be hard to tie down, but it would have been fantastic to see the War Doctor in more than
07:45one story. They managed to get him to commit to Merlin. He was used brilliantly in The Day of the
07:50Doctor, so this is more a case of untapped potential rather than a flat-out wasted idea. But just think
07:55how awesome it would have been to explore his days in the Time War in greater detail. Despite Hurt's
08:00passing in 2017, the role could be recast for a spin-off or standalone episode, like David Bradley
08:06as the First Doctor. So come on, Russell. Another spin-off on the way?
08:11Number 3. Captain Jack's Missing Years
08:14Despite some negativity that might have been floating around John Barrowman in recent years,
08:18Captain Jack Harkness remains one of the most beloved creations from the New Who era. An immortal
08:24conman from many centuries in the future, a Jack appearance alongside the 9th or 10th Doctors was
08:29always a treat, and he even resurfaced during the 13th Doctor's tenure, busting her out of space
08:35prison. As explored in the Torchwood series, Jack is a multifaceted character who has done and seen
08:40a lot across his never-ending life, but he's actually missing two entire years of his memory,
08:46as explained in the episode The Doctor Dances. Those years were wiped from his mind by the Time
08:50Agency, his former employers, and despite this posing some very intriguing questions about the
08:55future face of Bo, the characters never really seemed very interested in finding out more about
09:00them. He doesn't even pursue these memories in the Big Finish audio series, which usually mops up
09:04loose ends from the TV show like some sort of plot janitor. But with Barrowman sadly seeming out of
09:10the picture when it comes to Doctor Who, those two years might just remain a mystery for the rest of
09:15Jack's life. So basically forever. Number 2, The Fugitive Doctor
09:20Jo Martin first appeared as Ruth Clayton in the episode Fugitive of the Jadoon. A seemingly normal
09:26woman, Ruth's world is turned upside down when the rhino-headed aliens invade her hometown in search
09:32of her. She eventually discovers that she isn't Ruth Clayton at all, she's actually a version of
09:36the Doctor from some unknown point in their timeline. It's believed that this fugitive version
09:41of the character is from their very distant past, before their time as the First Doctor. However,
09:46as of right now, we still don't really know an awful lot about this incarnation of the Doctor.
09:51The Fugitive Doctor has mainly appeared in projections and holograms since her first appearance,
09:55which has been thoroughly unhelpful when it comes to learning more about her.
09:59Jo Martin is brilliant in the role, and it would be so great to see more of her. But considering
10:04that things like this don't tend to pass from showrunner to showrunner, it's unlikely that
10:08RTD will choose to explore the Fugitive Doctor further. We also want to know where she got that
10:12coat from, because that thing is snazzy. Number 1, The Cartmel Master Plan
10:18Andrew Cartmel was a script editor on Doctor Who between 1987 and 1989, during the 7th Doctor era of
10:26the show. Alongside other writers like Mark Platt, Cartmel devised several plots to help bring some
10:31mystique back to the show and turn around its falling ratings. These ideas have been dubbed the
10:36Cartmel Master Plan by fans. Regrettably, the Master Plan never saw the light of day, as Doctor Who
10:41was cancelled before the new storylines were put in place. And this is hugely disappointing, as these
10:46plans sounded amazing. Cartmel planned to make the Doctor a demigod, one of Gallifrey's founding
10:52fathers alongside Rassilon and Amiga. He also planned to introduce an alter ego called The Other,
10:57a shadowy figure deeply connected to the planet's past. Now, fragments of these ideas made it into
11:03episodes of the TV show Pre-Cancellation, as well as other media-like books. But this all came too
11:08late to save the show, which was confined to the television waste bin until 2005. Now, would the
11:14Cartmel Master Plan have rescued Doctor Who? Well, it's impossible to say, but the potential that it had
11:19makes it one of the most intriguing what-ifs in the show's storied history.
11:23And that concludes our list. If you think we missed something, then do let us know in the
11:27comments below. And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe, and tap that
11:31notification bell so you never miss a Who Culture video again. Also, head over to Twitter and follow
11:36us there, and Instagram as well, and I can be found across various social medias just by searching
11:41Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties.
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