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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 Skaro, the Doctor's exile on Earth in the War Games, fighting the Time War,
00:34and the fall of the 11th on Trenzalore, all having lasting consequences for the Who-niverse and the
00:39characters within it. But sometimes these huge moments don't stick. We bear witness to so many
00:45revelations 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
01:44responsibility of your great office, you were deposed, resetting this moment once again.
01:50So, whilst this does pop up on and off in the classic era, and is touched on in Hellbent,
01:55the presidency of the Doctor is never actually explored, besides in the odd expanded media story.
02:00Hello, Big Finish. It's a thread which comes and goes when the Doctor revisits Gallifrey,
02:05depending on the story and the writers. The Doctor as Lord President is a big deal,
02:09but never seems to carry any weight or last beyond a story. Surely President Doctor would make a great
02:14storyline if fleshed out beyond one outing. Although, that may be a little tricky now.
02:19Number 9. The Death of the Master Again
02:22We all know the Master is the Moriarty to the Doctor's homes. That was always his intention
02:27during his original conception in the 70s, and like the Doctor, we've had a fair share of
02:32incarnations. But unlike our titular Time Lord, we barely see these regenerations taking place on
02:38screen. Sometimes we are simply left believing the Master is dead. A common thread of the Master's
02:43story in the 1980s especially, their appearance would often end with their death before reappearing a few
02:48stories down the line inexplicably. Looking at you, Planet of Fire, this Season 21 story sees the
02:54Ainley Master literally burning to nothing with the Doctor just watching on. However, the following
03:00season's Mark of the Rani just has the same incarnation turn up with no real explanation.
03:05The trope returned in New Who, with the first three storylines including the Master, Saxon,
03:10End of Time, and Death in Heaven, all ending with the death of the character. However, two of these
03:15occasions, we're actually provided with reasons for the return, through both resurrections and very
03:20handy last-minute teleports. It's an endearing character trait, and we don't always need the
03:25exposition of how the Master survives each encounter, but when death to the character becomes so casual,
03:30you start to wonder why the writers bother, when realistically all major fans know they will not
03:35properly call it quits on such a bankable villain after one appearance, leading to a lack of caring
03:41towards the stakes of their life. Number 8. The Time Lord Victorious
03:462009'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. The end of
03:58The Waters of Mars has the Doctor declare himself the Time Lord Victorious, as the last survivor of his race,
04:04and gaining a god-like complex when it comes to the laws of time. However, after changing time and saving
04:10the
04:10last few residents of Bowie Base 1, one member, Adelaide Brooke, does not believe this is right.
04:16Returning home, Brooke kills herself, setting her timeline back on course, leaving the Doctor to
04:21wonder 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
04:33the moments 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
04:44have
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
04:55and the Time Lords should stand for. Non-interference.
04:59Number 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
05:06to
05:06rectify this. But right now, this is a hugely glossed over plot point from Series 13. For the
05:12first time in New Who, Series 13 embarked on one interconnecting serialised arc, a refreshing change
05:18that updates Who to the style of other modern series. The series focused on the titular Flux,
05:23a huge apocalyptic event in time and space described as a hurricane ripping through the
05:28structure of the universe. Pretty cool, right? Doctor Who is going pretty bold here.
05:32Well, obviously being a show which isn't entirely bleak, the Doctor and co. stop the Flux. After it
05:38wipes out the combined forces of the Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans, and finally when it is
05:43absorbed by a passenger. The passengers were an endless space intended to hold prisoners,
05:48and the vast space within was seemingly enough to extinguish the chaos. Fair enough, but what about
05:53all the destruction? Azure states that the Ravagers would restore the universe after the final Flux
05:58event, but did that happen? The end of Series 13 is a little vague-slash-confusing, and come the next
06:03episode, Eve of the Daleks, the events are barely mentioned. The Daleks know a considerable amount of
06:08their feat was destroyed, not the entirety we're originally led to believe, and Dan mentions how
06:13the Doctors saved the universe, but is that it? We just gloss over the cataclysm that just occurred.
06:18For now, yes.
06:20Number 6. The Doctor is Merlin
06:22Sylvester McCoy's seventh Doctor is renowned from going from a clown-like buffoon in his first
06:27season to 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 the
06:44sorceress Morgaine. As the Doctor had no memory of being Merlin, he assumes that this must be a fate for
06:49him that'll occur later in his life. We've had plots of the Doctor being woven into various histories,
06:54occasionally arriving sometime before this in his timeline, but the legend of Merlin is quite a big
07:00position to fill. Sadly, season 26 is Doctor Who's final classic season, with both the TV movie and
07:06New Who providing reboots, so whether this would develop further if a season 27 happened, we may never
07:11know. Therefore, the idea goes nowhere. The concept has been followed in expanded media in various
07:17differing ways, but on screen, this is simply a loss we have to bear.
07:21Number 5. Daleks without the Doctor
07:23Asylum 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, she reveals
07:40to
07:40him that she removed every trace of him from the Dalek's database, allowing him to escape the asylum.
07:45Upon making it back to the Dalek Parliament, we are left with the final knowledge that all the
07:50Daleks have forgotten him, and not just those in the asylum, leaving them to question Doctor Who.
07:56So with that ending, surely the next appearance of the Doctor versus the Daleks, it's Doctor Who
08:00that's obviously going to happen, is going to be pretty interesting, right? Wrong. The next
08:05appearance of the Daleks, barring their 50th anniversary appearance in the Time War, is in the
08:10time of the Doctor, and once again, the Daleks remember their arch-nemesis. When asked by the
08:15Doctor how they knew who he was, we get the convenient explanation of They Took the Memories
08:20of Tasha Lem, a character we are only just introduced to in this episode, who is apparently
08:25significant enough to provide the Daleks with everything they need to know about the Doctor.
08:30In the end, it feels lazy to write the ending of Asylum, to then simply do a full 180 as
08:35soon
08:35as they reappear for convenience. Why bother in the first place?
08:38Number 4. 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 Paul
08:48McGann as the 8th Doctor. But one major aspect of his character has not ever been taken too
08:54seriously. I'm half-human on my mother's side is a comment made various times throughout the
08:59American-produced special. Now that is pretty huge. Not a lot is ever really discovered about
09:04the Doctor's past in the classic series. The only family member we are introduced to is
09:08granddaughter Susan in the first seasons of the show. But otherwise, it is always just assumed
09:13the Doctor is 100% Time Lord. Of course, once again, the Chibnall era has decided to add its own
09:19spin on the character's origins, and currently seems a lot more concrete of an explanation than
09:24this throwaway line. But even before this retconning in 2020, the half-human comment is never really
09:29taken as gospel. It's a storyline that maybe could have worked properly, but almost feels too
09:34cliché. With no follow-up to the TV movie, we'll maybe never truly know the intentions.
09:39Both RTD and Moffat have mentioned before they don't truly believe into it, with another widely
09:45believed theory of whom the Doctor's mother is being the nameless woman in the end of time.
09:49This could be a monumental moment for the show, but after the TV movie is pushed aside,
09:55many chalk this up to post-regenerative trauma. Maybe lineage should be left alone, keeping the mystery
10:00in Doctor Who.
10:01Number 3. Morbius Doctors
10:03In 1976's The Brain of Morbius, during a mind battle with the titular villain, it is revealed
10:09the Doctor had faces before the Hartnell incarnation. Did the fandom go mental? What did this mean for
10:15the series 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, with
10:34various
10:34contradictions in the original run, some of which we will get into later. The Morbius Doctors are brought
10:40to life on screen by members of the production dressed in classical outfits, meant to boost up the scope
10:45of the Doctor and Morbius' mind battle. These incarnations were portrayed by directors Graham
10:50Harper, Douglas Canfield, and Christopher Barry, as well as writer Robert Holmes and producer Philip
10:55Hinchcliffe. Some fans believe these incarnations were Morbius' rather than the Doctor's, however,
11:01this seems to have been proven wrong since. Yes, we now have the wonderful Joe Martin, who we are
11:06currently led to believe is a pre-Hartnell Doctor, and a very brilliant montage in The Timeless
11:11Children. But before this, these chaps had no acknowledgement in canon, besides maybe being
11:16considered a gag. More Doctors should be huge events, as the War and Fugitive Doctors were,
11:22but it's taken 44 years for this true potential 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 bombshell to
11:33rock the character to their core. The Trial of Time Lord sees the Doctor put on trial for his
11:38exploits through time, and is being prosecuted by a Time Lord referred to as the Valiard.
11:43As the series comes to a head, the Master returns and reveals that he knows the Valiard as the
11:48Doctor. The Valiard is an amalgamation of the darker sides of your nature, somewhere between your
11:54twelfth and final incarnation. So surely something exciting must happen with this character next?
11:59An evil incarnation of the Doctor? Surely a big deal for our hero?
12:02Nope. Whilst he goes on to play various parts in expanded media, the Valiard only appears in
12:08season 23 and is briefly mentioned in Capaldi's final story. As a premise, the Valiard is a really
12:14interesting idea, and has so much potential, especially since after David Tennant's second
12:19incarnation, the Valiard is meant to come about. When written in 1986, obviously the intention of
12:25the Doctor is to have 13 lives, so this fits between Tennant and Smith. However, since the time of the
12:30Doctor,
12:30the Doctor's lifespan has been expanded, and so there is now a full cycle of possibilities.
12:36Hopefully, this is one moment which is eventually addressed, as seeing what happens when all the
12:40darkness of the Doctor takes form would be a real treat. But for now, this is another moment no one
12:46has 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 Gallifrey is gone,
13:00wiped out by the Doctor in the Time War. That, again, is until the 50th anniversary,
13:05where 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 return
13:51if not to be explored. Of course, there is every chance Gallifrey and the Time Lords are restored
13:56once again. That could be useful for the Timeless Child arc, since it is literally its foundation.
14:01But 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 and
14:13subscribe 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 Little Child.
14:22I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties.
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