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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, ass-kicking member of the Torchwood team. She started off as a
00:29police officer and then stumbled across Captain Jack Harkness and his gang and eventually joined
00:34them to fight those alien threats that the Doctor doesn't quite get round to. However, this was not
00:39the first time Whovians had seen her face. In the third episode of New Who, the 9th Doctor and Rose
00:45Tyler travel to Cardiff in 1869 where they encounter ghost-like aliens called the Gelf and Charles
00:51Dickens. They also bump into Gwyneth, a clairvoyant servant played by Eve Miles who also plays Gwen
00:58Cooper in Torchwood. Now, this was actually addressed when the 10th Doctor meets Gwen in
01:03series 4 and he deduces that she is from an old Cardiff family and through something called
01:07spatial genetic multiplicity, she has the same face as her ancestor. Now, while the showrunners
01:13could have done something with this, Gwen's connection to her psychic forebear is never
01:18mentioned again. What could have been an interesting storyline exploring the connection between Gwen and
01:23Gwyneth 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 must
01:39protect from an army of ghosts, and one of the miners is a woman named O'Donnell, who is a big
01:44fan of
01:45the Doctor. She reels off all of his greatest hits, recounting the times that he saved the Earth from
01:50danger. She tells him about Harold Saxon, the moon being an egg, and the Minister of War. But the
01:55Doctor is just as confused by this as we are, and asks O'Donnell who that is. However, he stops himself
02:00realising that this is an adventure that is yet to come. Under the Lake and Before the Flood came out
02:05in 2015, and fans are still waiting to find out who the Minister of War is. Some have theorised that
02:12it
02:12could be the Master, Amiga, or the Warlords, but for now, they are just guesses. At this point,
02:18it does feel unlikely that we'll ever get a follow-up to this, or maybe there were never any
02:22plans for one, and we all just need to get a life.
02:258. Ryan's Dyspraxia
02:27Dyspraxia is a disorder that can affect a person's motor skills and coordination. It's a severely
02:33underrepresented condition in the media, which is what made the announcement of Ryan Sinclair so
02:37exciting. Played by Tosun Cole, Ryan accompanied the 13th Doctor between 2018 and 2021. He lost his
02:44mother at a young age, has a frosty relationship with his father, and he has Dyspraxia.
02:49Now, showrunner Chris Chibnall did everything right when creating the character, and he even
02:54consulted charity the Dyspraxia Foundation on how Ryan should be portrayed. The initial
02:58buzz surrounding the character achieved its goals of drawing attention to the condition,
03:03but as time went on, mentions of it in the show got less and less common. Basically,
03:07Ryan only had Dyspraxia when the plot called for it, and the rest of the time, he acted as
03:11if it didn't affect him at all. Now, this is such a shame, as the show had the opportunity here
03:16to
03:16shed some light on this relatively obscure condition. Now, yes, they did drum up some
03:20initial interest in the subject when Ryan's character was first revealed, but they didn't
03:24really do anything meaningful with it in the actual show, other than trying to portray the
03:28connection between Ryan and Graham as he taught him to ride a bike.
03:327. Jackie Tyler in Survival
03:35Now, this is something that is completely fan-driven, and hasn't actually been explored,
03:40set up, or even hinted at by the show itself. Well, at least not intentionally. Still, it's
03:45such a brilliant idea, so we thought it deserved a bit of a shine. And it revolves around actress
03:50Michelle Martin, who holds a very special distinction in Doctor Who history. Now, obviously
03:54not counting the two leads of Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, her character was the last person
04:00to speak in 1989's Survival, the final serial in Classic Who before it was taken off the air.
04:06But what's extra notable about this is that her nameless neighbour character bears a striking
04:11resemblance, both in appearance and personality, to Jackie Tyler, a character who was introduced in
04:16the next regular episode of Doctor Who in 2005. It's insane to think that someone with such
04:22Jackie Tyler energy was the very last guest character seen in Classic Who, and though the
04:27opportunity was there for the show to confirm that they're the same person, that opportunity has
04:32never been taken. Obviously, this isn't a huge glaring flaw or anything like that, but it would
04:37have been a brilliant way to further strengthen the bridge between the Classic and Modern eras.
04:41Plus, it does actually make sense in-universe. Jackie was born in 1967, putting her in her early
04:4720s during the events of Survival. And the neighbour also lives in Perryvale, London, which isn't
04:53actually that far away from Jackie's Powell estate home in the 2005 revival. But alas, this
04:58is pure headcanon for now.
05:03The finale of Flux saw the 13th Doctor hide a fob watch containing her lost memories deep
05:08within the 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
05:17Chris Chibnall was just saving the watch for a future story, right? Well, no. Eve of the Daleks
05:22and Legend of the Sea Devils came and went without so much as even a mention of it. And with
05:26the 13th
05:27Doctor now having regenerated, it's unlikely that this plot thread will ever be revisited.
05:32And that's so frustrating, and also such a shame. Think of the craziness that could have unfolded
05:37were the Doctor to dive into that watch's secrets. We could learn more about Gallifrey,
05:42the Division, and the Doctor's own history. The watch could have even served as a way to revisit
05:46previous Doctors. Now, Chibnall invented a way to bring back classic Doctors in the power of the
05:52Doctor through the Guardians of the Edge, even though he already had a solution sitting right there.
05:57At the very least, the watch could give us more memories of the Doctor's missions with
06:01Carvanista, and more screen time with that good doggo wouldn't go amiss.
06:06Number 5. The Paternoster Gang
06:08Appearing out of nowhere in the Series 6 episode of Good Man Goes to War, the Paternoster Gang
06:13aided the 11th and 12th Doctors in various quests. Madame 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.
06:29Despite putting minimal effort into explaining where they came from and how they first met the
06:33Doctor, the show gave the gang a decent treatment once they were established. Plans were tentatively
06:38discussed for a spin-off starring the trio, but Stephen Moffat vetoed the idea in fear of
06:43overexposing audiences to Doctor Who content. Haha, how times have changed!
06:47They have lived on in the form of audio stories, novellas, and magazines, but a lot of potential
06:53was left on the table by not giving them their own show. The group was tailor-made for a kid
06:58-friendly
06:58series in the vein of the Sarah Jane Adventures, but it just wasn't meant to be. But maybe times
07:03are changing!
07:04Number 4. The War Doctor
07:06First things first, John Hurt as the War Doctor looks absolutely incredible. Rugged and worn down
07:13by the 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
07:24for his final shootout. The Elephant Man actor played the role as part of the show's 50th
07:28anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, where it's explained that he committed atrocities during
07:34the Time War and that his future incarnations have shunned his memory out of shame. A star like
07:39John Hurt was always going to be hard to tie down, but it would have been fantastic to see
07:43the War Doctor in more than one story. They managed to get him to commit to Merlin. He was used
07:49brilliantly in The Day of the Doctor, so this is more a case of untapped potential rather than a
07:53flat-out wasted idea. But just think how awesome it would have been to explore his days in the
07:58Time War in greater detail. Despite Hurt's passing in 2017, the role could be recast for a spin-off or
08:04standalone episode, like David Bradley as the first Doctor. So come on, Russell.
08:09Another spin-off on the way?
08:113. Captain Jack's Missing Years
08:13Despite 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
08:24immortal conman from many centuries in the future, a Jack appearance alongside the 9th or 10th Doctors
08:29was always a treat, and he even resurfaced during the 13th Doctor's tenure, busting her out of space
08:34prison. As explored in the Torchwood series, Jack is a multi-faceted 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 them.
09:00He doesn't even pursue these memories in the Big Finish audio series, which usually mops up loose
09:05ends 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.
09:182. The Fugitive Doctor
09:20Joan 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
09:31of 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 of the
09:41character is from their very distant past, before their time as the First Doctor. However, as of right
09:47now, we still don't really know an awful lot about this incarnation of the Doctor. The Fugitive Doctor has
09:52mainly appeared in projections and holograms since her first appearance, which has been thoroughly
09:56unhelpful when it comes to learning more about her. Jo Martin is brilliant in the role, and it would be
10:02so great to see more of her. But considering that things like this don't tend to pass from showrunner
10:06to showrunner, it's unlikely that RTD will choose to explore the Fugitive Doctor further. We also want
10:11to know where she got that coat from, because that thing is snazzy.
10:161. The Cartmel Master Plan
10:18Andrew Cartmel was a script editor on Doctor Who between 1987 and 1989, during the seventh Doctor
10:25era of the show. Alongside other writers like Mark Platt, Cartmel devised several plots to help bring
10:31some mystique 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 fathers
10:52alongside Rassilon and Amiga. He also planned to introduce an alter ego called The Other, a shadowy figure
10:58deeply connected to the planet's past. Now, fragments of these ideas made it into episodes of the TV show
11:04pre-cancellation, as well as other media-like books. But this all came too late to save the show, which
11:09was
11:10confined to the television waste bin until 2005. Now, would the Cartmel Master Plan have rescued Doctor
11:15Who? Well, it's impossible to say, but the potential that it had makes it one of the most intriguing
11:21what-ifs in the show's storied history. And that concludes our list. If you think we missed something,
11:26then do let us know in the comments below. And while you're there, don't forget to like and
11:30subscribe, and tap that notification bell so you never miss a Who Culture video again. Also, head over to
11:35Twitter and follow us there, and Instagram as well, and I can be found across various social medias
11:40just by searching Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of Riversong
11:45herself, goodbye, sweeties.
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