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River Song? Ignore it altogether? The identity of The Boss?! We asked, you delivered, so here's Ellie's reaction to your Doctor Who Billie Piper theories...
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00:00Who is Billy Piper playing in Doctor Who?
00:04I don't know.
00:05But do you know?
00:06Well, recently we asked you for your theories and ideas,
00:10and of course you responded.
00:12So let's take a look at some of them, shall we?
00:15So let's start off with this theory from at Falcon underscore three underscore fifty.
00:22If I say any of these names wrong, I apologise.
00:25They said she was still mid-regeneration,
00:28so it's possible the face could change again into the regular actor they will eventually use.
00:34And I agree with Ellie that the ending would have been more interesting had it been left ambiguous,
00:39leaving the audience just as clueless as to who the next Doctor would be as they were during production.
00:44First of all, yes, I have said many, many times that personally I feel that it would have been just
00:50as good,
00:50maybe even better, if they had left it ambiguous rather than throwing in what could potentially be some stunt casting
00:57here.
00:57I feel that the absolute content that has sprung from Billy Piper and the mysteries there
01:03could have also been just as strong if it had been speculation over who the next Doctor is going to
01:10be,
01:10rather than what the hell is going on here.
01:12Having said that, if you look at what this theory is saying,
01:15it may well be that Billy Piper doesn't stick around for very long at all.
01:19They're right, we saw mid-regeneration, potentially.
01:23So who's to say that at the opening of whatever next episode we happen to have,
01:28we don't just see the regeneration as Billy Piper for a few seconds,
01:33a minute or so, before then jumping to another face
01:36and settling on the actor that's going to be playing the next incarnation.
01:40A kind of midpoint, a jumping between faces in a moment,
01:45and this isn't the final face of the regeneration.
01:48Is it something we've really seen before in regeneration?
01:50No, but that's not to say that it isn't going to be something here.
01:53What I would say with regards to that though is,
01:56does that then give an air of, well, what was the point of Billy Piper being there?
02:02I've said before, I've said literally in the last two minutes,
02:06that it does feel a little bit like stunt casting.
02:08And if you were to open the next episode with Billy Piper only being there for a few seconds
02:14before it jumping to somebody else,
02:16it very much does feel like there was no point in doing that.
02:19And the only reason they did it was to keep people hooked and to get people to come back.
02:23I don't know about anyone else, but if this was what they ended up doing,
02:26I may feel a little cheated and almost get my back up and go,
02:30well, no, I'm not going to watch anymore
02:31because it's so obvious that you did that just to make me watch.
02:35And it was for nothing. She's not even sticking around.
02:39Okay, so the next theory comes from at Hamish Who 2.
02:43They say,
02:44Arrowverse theory, maybe like the Flash and Green Arrow did that time when they swapped places.
02:49So Rose becomes the Doctor and the Doctor is now human in Rose's parallel universe.
02:55Plus that means that Shooty can come back as the 15th Doctor after they revert back.
03:00So I think if I'm getting this properly, if I'm grasping this concept,
03:04this would mean that this isn't the Doctor,
03:08this is actually Rose now.
03:11And 15 will pop up in the parallel world
03:17and the episodes, series, specials would be focusing on how they can swap back.
03:23Is it like a Freaky Friday situation?
03:26Well, it's not a Freaky Friday situation because the bodies have completely swapped.
03:31They've traded places as opposed to just swapped bodies, right?
03:35Yes, they've swapped places, not just swapped bodies.
03:39Because if they'd swapped bodies, then it would still be Shooty Gatwa with a different personality.
03:45In this instance, the entire person has switched.
03:47So, yeah, I guess that could be something.
03:51If I'm being totally honest, I don't know that that's where they're going to go with it.
03:55Mostly because as much as your optimism here is great and yay, Shooty Gatwa could return,
04:01I don't think he's coming back.
04:03So I don't know that this would have anything to do with 15 necessarily.
04:07But I do like the idea of a body swap situation or trading places sort of situation here.
04:13It certainly could be interesting.
04:16There's another theory a little bit further down this list that maybe does play into this idea a little bit.
04:21So I'll talk more on that when I get to that theory as well.
04:24But it definitely would be interesting.
04:26And as you say, if there wasn't such a sticky situation behind the scenes,
04:31it does offer the potential for Shooty Gatwa to return.
04:34Personally, though, I don't think he will be back.
04:36Not anytime soon, anyway.
04:38This theory is from at Derek P308 and they say
04:43The Doctor goes through another regeneration where his cells can't decide what to become.
04:47Imagine the Doctor going through a number of face changes involving former companions.
04:51Rose is the starter.
04:53Then comes Jamie, the Brigadier, Sarah Jane Smith, Ian, Leela, Adric, Ace, Donna, Amy, Rory, Harry, Romana, Turlough,
05:01maybe even some of his foes like the Master or Davros,
05:04before finally settling to the Doctor's new face.
05:08So this is a bit similar to that first theory that we had about it not necessarily being the final
05:13face of the regeneration
05:14and maybe jumping to the next one.
05:16Whereas this one, unlike the first one, gives us a string of different looks
05:21rather than just jumping from Shooty Gatwa to Billy Piper to whoever the next Doctor would be.
05:26I do like this idea of seeing the Doctor jumping between various different looks before settling on one.
05:35I think that could be a really interesting one.
05:37Personally, I'm not sure how I feel about it being familiar faces.
05:41I certainly think it could be interesting, such as the comic release special that did see the Doctor changing faces
05:48many, many times,
05:50but mostly due to regeneration.
05:51But, you know, we had Rowan Atkinson, we had Jim Brawl-Bent, we had Joanna Lumley.
05:56That was very, very interesting and was quite comical, obviously, for the comic relief aspect of it.
06:01I do think seeing the Doctor jump between different faces and not be able to make their...
06:06Something's going wrong here and jumping between different personalities, that could be very interesting.
06:12Yes, having all the different companions again could be quite fun,
06:16but I do, again, feel like there's just a lot of fan service that's been happening lately.
06:21So personally, I don't know that I'd want to see all those familiar faces back for something serious.
06:26Now, if we were looking at this for a comic relief thing, or for children in need,
06:29absolutely, this sounds like the perfect concept for that.
06:33I don't hate the idea of it jumping from Billy Piper to the next Doctor.
06:39As I said, there are issues with that in the fact that it does feel like maybe wasted potential
06:44why bring Billy Piper back in the first place, but I don't entirely hate that idea.
06:48And I don't entirely hate the idea of it jumping between lots and lots of faces.
06:52Where I have issue with this theory is that I don't know that it would be all the companions.
06:58It's a cool theory. I'd love to see it in some form.
07:01Like I say, comic relief would be a really good example of that.
07:04Um, but in terms of likelihood...
07:10Hmm.
07:11So the next theory, very short and sweet here, from At The DW Show,
07:15and they say it's just a gimmick and will likely be explained away
07:18as just some interim moment between Gatwa and the actual next Doctor.
07:22So again, this kind of plays into some of these other theories
07:25that Billy Piper's not going to be sticking around for very long,
07:28it's just going to be a little gimmick in the middle,
07:30and then we're going to go to the true 16th Doctor.
07:33I do feel as though it could cheapen Billy Piper being there in the first place
07:38at the end of the reality war.
07:39If it is a blink and you'll miss it, what was the point in that?
07:42But I also wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't become as deep
07:45as we are making it out to be.
07:48Um, it's no secret that we feel, or I at least feel,
07:53that they didn't really know what they were doing themselves
07:55when they made this decision.
07:56It did feel like a rushed decision.
07:58We've got to have something wow factor at the end of this episode.
08:02Um, so yes, it is possible that they're just going to explain it away
08:08and we're never going to really get an answer to it,
08:10but I hope we do get an answer to it.
08:12Now this next one did make me laugh, I'm not going to lie.
08:15This is from at jessiehammer123.
08:18They said,
08:19I legit might have preferred if they had just had
08:21Russell T. Davis himself appear and be like,
08:24oh hi, at least there wouldn't be quite so much frustration
08:27in the sense that it's so extremely putting a hat on a hat
08:30that it would feel more honest about having no idea what it's doing.
08:34Could you imagine if Russell T. Davis was who Shooty Gat were regenerated into?
08:40That would be his absolute content.
08:42Could you imagine if it was Russell T. Davis?
08:45That is hilarious.
08:46But I do think it's funny and it is important that this person
08:49has highlighted what a lot of us have been feeling,
08:51that they had no idea what they were doing.
08:54But at least that would have been a little bit more kind of obvious on the nose,
08:58like, we don't know folks.
09:00There would have been complete and utter outrage, I think,
09:03if Russell T. Davis had appeared in the end of the reality war,
09:07but it would have been funny.
09:09Okay, so this next one is quite interesting.
09:11It's from at Trower Barton.
09:14Again, my apologies if I said your name wrong.
09:16They just said,
09:17hear me out, we just skip it and move on.
09:19It is possible.
09:20It is possible.
09:21We may well just skip it and move straight on to a different doctor
09:24and never get an answer to that question.
09:27Would that feel like a bit of a disservice?
09:29Yes.
09:29Would it again, as I've said many times already,
09:32feel a little bit like,
09:33what was the point of having Billy Piper there in the first place?
09:36Yes, it would.
09:36And for that reason,
09:37I hope they do give us at least something to explain why they did it.
09:41But I also do understand why some people would feel like,
09:44right, just stop with the complexities.
09:46Can we go back to Doctor Who being what it used to be?
09:49And Monster of the Week,
09:51here's the doctor, here's the companion,
09:53stop making it so complicated.
09:54I get that as well.
09:56This next one I find very interesting,
09:58and I hadn't thought about this necessarily,
10:00but I think it could be quite, quite fun to see.
10:03It's from at Media Consumer with Opinions.
10:06They say,
10:06I hope maybe she'll be a doctor,
10:08but in the same way the war and fugitive doctor are.
10:11I find it really interesting if they started the new season
10:13with a different doctor,
10:15and the overarching plot would be about the viewers
10:17finding out what happened between the seasons.
10:20Now, I like that idea.
10:22I like the idea of starting the next season
10:25with a completely different face,
10:27in a completely different situation,
10:29and us learning bit by bit what happened,
10:33and us kind of putting all the pieces together
10:35to then finally almost come full circle
10:37to figure out what happened in the meantime.
10:41That would be an interesting way of doing it,
10:42and it would be a different way of doing it,
10:44maybe an unpredictable way of doing it.
10:46Obviously, we don't know what the story would be,
10:49but I really do like this idea.
10:52In fact, I think of all the ideas I've heard so far,
10:55that one feels like one that could potentially happen,
10:58and it also would then give us,
11:01or give Billy Piper an out to not have to do an entire season,
11:04but not feel like it was pointless having her there.
11:08You focus more on the true next Doctor,
11:13but the Billy Piper mystery is still a very big part of that story,
11:18without us having to follow Billy Piper as the Doctor
11:20for the majority of the runtime.
11:21I really like that idea.
11:23It doesn't cheapen her return,
11:25it almost adds to the mystery.
11:28So I think of all of the theories so far,
11:30I think this one's probably the most feasible,
11:31and perhaps the most interesting.
11:33At Paul Bowler 5345 says,
11:37a new incarnation of River Song?
11:40Don't even go there, okay?
11:42We all know my feelings on what would happen
11:44if they recast River Song, okay?
11:46But also, would I be mad?
11:50I don't know.
11:52I honestly don't know.
11:54In my heart, Alex Kingston is the only person
11:57who can play River Song.
11:59Would it complicate things if it was Billy Piper playing River Song?
12:01Well, maybe.
12:02But I have been asking for River Song to return,
12:06so...
12:07Huh.
12:10At DogmanTheHero1117 says,
12:12Probably contrary to popular belief,
12:14I actually do really hope she's the 16th Doctor.
12:16The Doctor regenerating into the face of a former companion
12:19is such a cool idea,
12:20and I do think she could carry the role.
12:22Might be a bit of nostalgia baiting,
12:24but Doctor Who does tend to do that anyway,
12:26and it can sometimes lead to the best moments in the series.
12:30Interesting.
12:31Not sure how I feel about this one.
12:33I think, as per my previous video,
12:36all about my theories and my plan for the future of Doctor Who,
12:40I prefer it when the Doctor is played by a relatively unknown actor.
12:44And I think part of that is because
12:46when they're played by someone familiar,
12:50you have a lot of expectations based on that actor's previous work.
12:53And I wonder or worry that if you had a companion,
12:57an actor that played the companion playing the Doctor,
13:00you'd have a lot of expectations that the Doctor would act as the companion did.
13:05And while it could be interesting as a storyline to figure out
13:08why the Doctor has regenerated into the image of one of their past companions,
13:13I also feel that audience members would struggle to overlook that and see past that.
13:19So I'm not sure how I feel about that.
13:23Yes, it could be interesting.
13:24And you're right,
13:25nostalgia baiting is not new in the show,
13:28and it can produce some of the best moments in the show.
13:30So it's not that the nostalgia baiting is an issue necessarily.
13:34Where I take issue with the nostalgia baiting at the moment
13:37is that it seems to be being used a lot.
13:41And the more you do something,
13:43the less of an impact it has.
13:46So that's where I find it a little bit difficult.
13:49I think if we hadn't had David Tennant returning so recently,
13:52then this situation would be interpreted entirely differently.
13:56But because we did have the whole
13:58David Tennant returning,
13:59Catherine Tate returning not that long ago,
14:02that's why this situation, to me at least,
14:04feels a little bit more like,
14:06what are you doing?
14:08Because it feels a little obvious that you're doing this
14:11for the nostalgia baiting,
14:13to keep people interested,
14:15without really having a plan of what it is that you're doing.
14:17But yes, it certainly could be an interesting storyline
14:20for a Doctor to have the appearance of a companion,
14:23and why is that?
14:24That could tie in nicely to the previous theory
14:27that we had about, you know,
14:29opening the series with a different Doctor
14:31and kind of retroactively figuring out
14:33why they had the face of a past companion previously.
14:37So that could be an interesting storyline.
14:40But at the same time,
14:42I think I would struggle
14:44if we had an extended period of time
14:46with a Doctor having the face of a past companion.
14:49And it would seem that this next person
14:50maybe agrees with me slightly.
14:52This is from
14:52at that guy size 7390.
14:56They say,
14:56honestly, I hope that she isn't the 16th Doctor.
14:59Currently, we're going through Doctors like buses.
15:01I'd like to see the new Doctor have a long reign
15:03for a while to break the mould.
15:06It does feel like we're going through Doctors
15:07quite quickly lately.
15:09Again, I think because we had the 14th Doctor
15:11and he was only around for three specials,
15:14it does feel like we're jumping
15:16from Doctor to Doctor quite quickly.
15:18Obviously, I think we all expected
15:19Shuti Gatwa to stick around for longer than he did.
15:22And I think that's thrown a bit of a spanner in the works.
15:24And we were hoping to have kind of a similar situation
15:27to when David Tennant first was the Doctor
15:30and have, you know,
15:31a good few years of Shuti Gatwa as the Doctor
15:34and, you know, go back to that formula
15:36that we're used to seeing.
15:38Things didn't work out that way
15:40and it does feel a little bit like
15:41that we're getting a lot of whiplash lately,
15:43jumping between new Doctors quite frequently.
15:47So I can see where this person is coming from.
15:51And personally, I agree that I would like to see the show
15:53go back to the structure that it originally had.
15:57Through the 60s, you know,
15:59you had Tom Baker was around for a really long time.
16:01So I think for me as well,
16:03I would like to be able to really get connected to a Doctor
16:06and see them stick around for a long enough period of time
16:09for that to be possible.
16:10I feel like we were only just starting to get to know
16:13the 15th Doctor and really connect with that character
16:17and be interested and invested in that character
16:20and then he was gone.
16:21So I agree that I would like a Doctor to have a long reign,
16:25as this person put it.
16:26Now this next theory
16:29is interesting
16:30and myself and Dani have both been quite impressed with this one.
16:33It's from
16:35AtRainbowBoy94.
16:36I still think my theory fits really well.
16:38When the Bad Wolf was created,
16:40she removed the physical words off the building,
16:43turning Bad Wolf Corporation
16:44into Corporation.
16:46The Corporation has survived over the last few thousand years,
16:50being led by someone called
16:51The Boss,
16:52who may or may not be a member of the Pantheon.
16:55Now the Bad Wolf is back
16:57to deal with a problem she created.
17:00Full circle moment.
17:01First of all, round of applause
17:03because that,
17:04that's a really clever theory
17:06and I like that it ties back to the Bad Wolf situation.
17:10There's been lots of theories
17:11and lots of speculation
17:12that Billy Piper is not the Doctor
17:14but it is the Bad Wolf in some way
17:17and connections to
17:18looking into the heart of the TARDIS.
17:20And I kind of like the idea of this,
17:22that being the case
17:24but I have struggled to get my head around
17:26how?
17:27How is this the Bad Wolf?
17:29How does it all connect?
17:30And this is a really great theory
17:32about how it does all connect
17:33and it would be
17:34one of those things that,
17:36again,
17:36you never really thought about
17:38but once it's explained
17:40and you get those flashbacks
17:41and it all comes full circle,
17:43you go,
17:44oh,
17:45that's really clever.
17:47Again,
17:47something that
17:48I don't know that
17:49the showrunners themselves
17:50would have even thought of
17:51but that is a really,
17:52really clever idea
17:53that it's something to do
17:55with Bad Wolf,
17:58the corporation,
17:59it ties in with the boss.
18:00Again,
18:00another character,
18:01another tease
18:01that was dropped
18:02within these last few seasons
18:05that hasn't gone anywhere.
18:07Another mystery
18:08that hasn't really been answered
18:10and let's hope
18:11that it does get answered
18:12and this is a really great idea
18:14to tie it all together
18:15so, again,
18:16round of applause
18:17because that
18:18is a clever theory.
18:19I really like it.
18:21This person I just had to shout out
18:22because
18:22great minds think alike
18:24and they
18:25went to the same place
18:26that I went
18:27which is from
18:28the lovely
18:29at
18:29lordryan88
18:30who says,
18:32I've got a theory,
18:33it could be bunnies.
18:34Bunnies aren't just cute
18:36like everybody
18:38supposes.
18:39They got them
18:40hoppy legs
18:41and twitchy
18:41little noses
18:43and what's with
18:43all the carrots?
18:45What do they need
18:46such good eyesight
18:47for anyway?
18:49Bunnies,
18:50bunnies,
18:51it must be
18:51bunnies.
18:54Then of course
18:54there is this theory
18:55and I'm not gonna lie
18:57it has crossed my mind
18:58as well
18:58even as we've been
18:59saying this here
19:00we've had a lot of
19:00emphasis on the fact
19:01that they
19:02did they really know
19:03what they were doing
19:03in the first place?
19:04Did they have an idea?
19:05And at
19:08Jazahazza9045
19:08says,
19:09careful folks
19:10RTD doesn't even
19:11have any idea yet
19:12he may steal
19:13one of your ideas.
19:14Look
19:15there are some
19:16brilliant theories
19:17in the comment section
19:18of this post
19:19there are some
19:19brilliant theories
19:20that I have just
19:21spoken about here
19:23I'm just saying
19:24keep your eyes peeled
19:25folks because if
19:26one of these ideas
19:27pops up in the show
19:29first of all
19:30great
19:30the Doctor Who team
19:31are watching our videos
19:32second of all
19:34get those copyright
19:35claims in
19:36honestly I don't know
19:37if they have an idea
19:38I think some of the
19:39more kind of
19:40simple ideas
19:40as we've just said
19:41the idea of it being
19:42Rose because she
19:43looked into the
19:44heart of the TARDIS
19:44is something maybe
19:46they've thought about
19:47some of these are so
19:49deep and
19:49deep cut
19:50and detailed
19:51and
19:53what's the word
19:53I'm looking for
19:56intricate
19:56and complex
19:58that
19:59I kind of
20:00hope that they
20:01are picked up
20:02and taken
20:03the ideas are taken
20:04by the BBC
20:04but at the same time
20:05I don't want them
20:05to steal your ideas
20:07but let's hope
20:08that they've got an idea
20:09now
20:10surely they've got an idea
20:11at this point
20:12and the last theory
20:13I have here
20:14and really
20:14kind of
20:15does make a very big
20:16good point
20:17is from
20:18at night
20:20Akasha
20:20they say
20:21who cares
20:22I'll watch it
20:23regardless of
20:24how we feel
20:25in the positive
20:26or the negative
20:26about this situation
20:28it has got us
20:29talking
20:30and a lot of us
20:32will watch
20:33because we do
20:33want to find out
20:34the answer
20:35and whether that
20:36answer does turn out
20:37to be something
20:38that we really
20:39really like
20:39or something
20:40that is ultimately
20:41a bit of a
20:41disappointment
20:42we are going
20:43to watch it
20:44because we want
20:44to know
20:45what the hell
20:46they were thinking
20:47we want to know
20:48if they've actually
20:49come up with a
20:50really great plan
20:51and storyline
20:52for this situation
20:53or if they
20:55kind of
20:56dug themselves
20:57into a hole
20:58and it's very clear
20:59that they don't know
21:00how to get themselves
21:00out of it
21:01but the point is
21:02they wanted
21:02absolute content
21:03we're all talking
21:04about it
21:05for better or worse
21:06we're all talking
21:07about it
21:07and we will
21:08probably all watch it
21:09because
21:10they've dangled
21:11the carrot
21:12so whether it was
21:13stunt casting
21:14whether it was
21:15nostalgia baiting
21:17unfortunately
21:17it's kind of worked
21:19if you have a theory
21:20and it's different
21:21to any of the ones
21:21you've heard in this video
21:22then drop them
21:23in the comments
21:24down below
21:24and we will keep
21:25monitoring them
21:25because we do find
21:26them genuinely
21:27so interesting
21:28keep them coming folks
21:30in the meantime
21:30I've been Ellie
21:31for Who Culture
21:31and in the words
21:33of Riversong herself
21:34goodbye sweeties
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