There's so much amazing Doctor Who out there, but what about some of the brilliant stuff we didn't get?
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00:00 Over the years, we've seen many talented showrunners and writers all bring fresh ideas
00:04 to spice up our beloved Doctor Who.
00:07 Once upon a time, the Sontarans were a mere thought in Robert Holmes' mind, and now
00:11 look at them, obsessed with Mars bars and riding horses.
00:14 But for all of the things that have since become staples of the show, there are an equal
00:18 amount of interesting concepts that sadly failed to materialise.
00:23 And so, with that in mind, I'm Ellie with WhoCulture, here with 10 awesome Doctor Who
00:27 ideas that nearly happened.
00:30 10.
00:31 The Weeping Angel Fact Book
00:33 The Weeping Angel's first appearance after Blink revealed quite a bit more about the
00:37 species than most fans expected, for better or for worse.
00:41 However, one crucial element in The Time of Angels that went unexplained was the origin
00:46 of the Weeping Angel book, described by River as the definitive work on the Angels written
00:50 by a madman that the Doctor then flicks through.
00:54 Despite its importance, we never learn where this book came from, and that's because
00:57 writer Stephen Moffat removed an entire subplot about its origins.
01:02 He intended to reveal that the book had been written by one of Octavian's clerics.
01:06 This cleric came on the mission we see in the episode, encountered an angel, got zapped
01:11 back in time, and then wrote the book, allowing the Doctor to access it in the future.
01:16 However, this plot point was ultimately axed due to a lack of story space.
01:20 The Angels don't zap anyone back in time in the story, so it would have been cool to
01:24 see a subplot revolving around that ability.
01:27 And learning more about the book, one of the only known in-universe works about the Angels,
01:31 would have been fascinating to boot.
01:33 9.
01:34 Sibling Rivalry
01:35 Without a doubt, the Doctor's deadliest foe is the Master.
01:39 First introduced in 1971's Terror of the Autons, he was originally portrayed by Roger
01:44 Delgado, who revelled in being John Pertwee's most hated enemy.
01:49 The Doctor-Master rivalry was intended to come to a head in the serial The Final Game,
01:53 which was also set to be Pertwee's regeneration story.
01:56 It would also include the shock revelation that the Master was in fact the Doctor's
02:00 brother, before the Master would be killed off for good.
02:03 However, this story was never made due to a truly tragic event.
02:07 While filming the miniseries Bell of Tibet in Turkey in 1973, Delgado was killed in a
02:13 car crash.
02:14 This event shook everyone involved with Doctor Who, and as a result, this epic final battle
02:19 between the Third Doctor and the Master sadly never got made.
02:23 It's a shame, because the brother reveal would have added a very interesting layer
02:26 to the Doctor-Master conflict, and getting one more story with Delgado in the role would
02:31 have been a real treat as well.
02:33 8.
02:34 The Age of the Tochlefane
02:35 For Doctor Who's return in 2005, Russell T. Davis commissioned writer Robert Shearman
02:40 to create a story which would see the show's most iconic villains back on our screens.
02:45 The eventual episode, "Dalek", proved to be a huge hit, and is now regarded as a quintessential
02:51 Doctor Who story.
02:52 One slight obstacle stood in RTD's way, however, as the Daleks were the property of
02:57 the Terry Nation estate, with the BBC needing their permission to bring the creatures back.
03:02 Just in case he wasn't granted permission, RTD prepared a backup idea, which featured
03:06 most of the same elements and plot points, except the Daleks were replaced with what
03:10 we would later know as the Tochlefane.
03:13 Thankfully, the Terry Nation estate and the BBC eventually reached an agreement, but the
03:17 idea of the Tochlefane potentially being this overarching villain of early New Who, like
03:22 the Daleks ended up being, is pretty darn intriguing, especially considering their link
03:27 to humanity, a species we know the Doctor is rather fond of.
03:31 7.
03:32 An Enterprising Crossover
03:34 Doctor Who and Star Trek have crossed paths in comic book form with the 2012 limited series
03:39 Assimilation, featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Jean-Luc Picard dealing with a Cybermen/Borg
03:45 alliance.
03:46 And seven years previously, these two sci-fi juggernauts almost crossed paths on TV, too.
03:52 In 2005, the first year of the Doctor Who revival, serious consideration was given to
03:57 the idea of the TARDIS zooming over to the Star Trek universe, and we'll presumably
04:02 have seen either the Ninth or Tenth Doctor meet Captain Jonathan Archer, the lead of
04:07 Star Trek Enterprise, which was the Trek show on TV at the time.
04:11 However, when Enterprise was cancelled after its fourth season, any potential crossover
04:15 plans were nipped in the bud.
04:16 Though it probably wasn't the right timing for a dwindling Star Trek series and a fresh,
04:21 full of potential Doctor Who series to combine forces, there's no doubt that this would
04:25 have been a pop culture event for the ages, and a real treat for fans of both properties.
04:31 And on that note, if you are a fan of Star Trek, then make sure that you're subscribed
04:35 to our sister channel, Trek Culture, for all the latest and greatest about Star Trek as
04:40 well.
04:41 Number 6.
04:42 Evil Doctor
04:43 Like the creation of any new show, the inception of Doctor Who in late 1963 was, to say the
04:48 least, a difficult time, and there were many interesting ideas and concepts that were scrapped
04:53 along the way.
04:54 One of these concepts was put forward by writer C.E.
04:57 Webber in the original briefing describing the character of the Doctor.
05:00 It posited that the Doctor was a sinister character who had an ulterior motive for his
05:05 travels in time and space.
05:06 This motive was that the Doctor was searching for a perfect society in the past, and would
05:11 go so far as destroying the future in order to achieve his goals.
05:15 This idea was vetoed by Sidney Newman, who sought to make the Doctor more of a kind figure
05:20 rather than an evil genius.
05:22 A malicious Doctor is an intriguing concept, and is something we've seen flashes of over
05:26 the years.
05:27 It would have definitely been an intriguing way to kickstart the show, that's for sure.
05:31 Number 5.
05:32 The Raggedy Tenth Doctor
05:34 In 2008, Russell T. Davis announced that he was leaving Doctor Who and that he would be
05:38 replaced by Stephen Moffat, who had written some of the most iconic episodes of the show
05:42 under Davis.
05:43 Fans were relieved at the announcement because they knew they were safe in Moffat's hands.
05:48 But one unanswered question was the fate of David Tennant, with even Moffat wondering
05:52 if he would stay on under a new showrunner.
05:55 This was not the case, however, as Tennant announced his departure in October 2008.
05:59 But Moffat was not unprepared for the possibility that he would stay, and in fact, he had an
06:04 alternative version of the Amy Pond storyline ready to go.
06:08 This storyline would see the Tenth Doctor appear to young Amelia Pond, like we saw in
06:12 The Eleventh Hour with Matt Smith's Doctor.
06:14 But in a typical Moff twist, it would later be revealed that the Tenth Doctor was at the
06:18 end of his life here, and had arrived in Amy's garden, dying after travelling with her older
06:23 self for an entire series.
06:25 There's no doubt that a series of Doctor Who led by Moffat and Tennant would have been
06:29 amazing.
06:30 And though this would have robbed us of Matt Smith's wonderful incarnation, we wouldn't
06:34 have known that at the time.
06:35 4.
06:36 Martha Jones Adventures Martha Jones is one of the most underrated
06:40 companions of the Revival era, likely due to falling in the middle of much more popular
06:45 supporting characters like Rose Tyler and Donna Noble.
06:48 However, Martha gets bonus points over those two companions because she's the only one
06:53 who appeared in Torchwood, popping up in the second series for a handful of episodes.
06:57 And at one point in time, there were even bigger plans for the character too, which
07:01 would have almost transformed her into the Nick Fury of the Whoniverse.
07:05 After her stint in series 2 of Torchwood, the plan was to bring Martha back for series
07:09 3 and integrate her closer into that team.
07:12 But unfortunately, Freema Agyeman's successful career outside of Doctor Who prevented this
07:16 from happening.
07:17 Furthermore, Martha was also slated to appear in the second series of the Sarah Jane Adventures,
07:23 only for Agyeman's other commitments to again throw a wrench in the works.
07:27 On the plus side, this did lead to Martha's role being filled by the marvellous Nicholas
07:30 Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, so silver linings.
07:34 Giving Martha an even bigger role in the Whoniverse would have been fantastic, so it's a damn
07:39 shame these plans fell through.
07:41 Let's hope she returns for that rumoured unit spin-off then, eh?
07:45 3.
07:46 Tom Baker and the Talking Cabbage Starting off in 1963 with Ian, Barbara, and
07:51 Susan, the Doctor has always had a friendly and familiar face by their side.
07:55 Whether it's a human, an alien, a fellow Time Lord, or a creaky old robot, shout out
08:00 to Chameleon, the companion exists to represent us, the audience, and to ask the Doctor questions
08:06 about the plot.
08:07 The companions also introduce human emotion, in contrast to the Doctor's otherworldly
08:11 madness.
08:12 After the departure of companion Leela, however, Tom Baker had a slightly different idea for
08:17 his next companion, a talking cabbage.
08:19 He even pitched this idea to the producers, that this magical cabbage would sit on his
08:24 shoulder and play the role of companion in the next season.
08:27 In a somewhat understandable decision, the BBC declined Tom's idea.
08:31 Now would this have been a disaster?
08:33 Quite possibly.
08:34 But would we have given everything we own to see it?
08:38 Hell yeah.
08:39 Look, Doctor Who thrives on silliness.
08:41 Sometimes this doesn't work, the Absorbaloft for example, but sometimes it works brilliantly.
08:46 Sentient fat taking over London, anyone?
08:48 This damn cabbage could have been the next Doctor Who icon.
08:51 If anyone could have made it work, it's Tom Baker.
08:54 But at least we did get a stick of celery later on down the line, so the vegetables
08:58 are represented in some form.
09:00 2.
09:01 The Day of the Ninth Doctor
09:03 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor was a triumph, and celebrated everything that
09:07 made the programme so wonderful and special.
09:10 One element that contributed to this was the much anticipated return of David Tennant as
09:14 the Tenth Doctor, alongside John Hurt as a totally new incarnation of the Doctor known
09:19 as the War Doctor.
09:21 However, the special was originally going to be a very different episode, and would
09:25 have seen all of the modern Doctors on screen together.
09:28 When writing those early drafts of the story, Stephen Moffat spoke to Christopher Eccleston
09:32 about returning as the Ninth Doctor.
09:34 Eccleston listened to what Moffat had to say, but upon reading the script, politely said
09:38 that it wasn't right for him.
09:39 As a result, Moffat created the War Doctor to fill the gap that was intended for Nine.
09:44 Eccleston has since admitted that he's not a fan of multi-Doctor stories in general,
09:49 so that's probably another reason he was reluctant to join Smith and Tennant in the
09:53 episode.
09:54 But needless to say, it would have been amazing to see him.
09:57 1.
09:58 The Doctor's Temporary Recast
10:00 If you all knew how many times I had to record that because I cannot say the word "temporary",
10:07 you get the gist.
10:08 Modern Doctor Who peaked in popularity at the end of the 2000s, and the peak within
10:12 that peak was arguably the Stolen Earth and Journey's End.
10:16 The end of that first episode, where the Doctor starts to regenerate, is one of the biggest
10:20 cliffhangers in Doctor Who history, and there was genuine uncertainty among fans as to whether
10:25 or not Tennant would turn into someone else.
10:27 Bookies were even taking bets about which actor would replace him.
10:31 And while it did feel like a bit of a cop-out for the cliffhanger to be resolved so easily,
10:34 there was a chance we could have had a vastly different and totally brilliant opening scene,
10:40 as explained by showrunner Russell T. Davis.
10:42 He said "If I had my time again, I'd have milked that.
10:46 I'd have cast a whole new Doctor, a superstar, for one scene.
10:50 Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, have them run around the TARDIS, then discover the hand and regenerate
10:55 back.
10:56 Imagine.
10:57 Why didn't I?"
10:58 As fate would have it, RTD is back at the helm once again, so don't be surprised to
11:01 see David Tennant regenerate into a Hollywood A-lister for a scene or two.
11:06 What if Neil Patrick Harris is actually the Doctor and we're all just being tricked?
11:09 I mean, stranger things have happened in this show, let's be honest.
11:13 And that concludes our list.
11:14 If you can think of any other examples, then please do let us know in the comments below.
11:18 And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification
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11:30 I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of River Song herself, goodbye,