Yesterday, I blogged about the BBC’s “resting” of Doctor Who. Someone rightfully called me out on Threads that it’s the TV series that’s resting. Not only do we have ongoing Big Finish stories coming, the BBC actually launches a multi-media event in two weeks with a Doctor I overlooked.
During Jodie Whittaker’s tenure as the 13th Doctor, then-showrunner Chris Chibnall introduced a real curveball. On the run from the low IQ rhino-like Judoon, the 13th Doctor encountered a woman who revealed herself to be… the Doctor. Just as in the 50th anniversary when John Hurt appeared as the forgotten “War Doctor,” actor Jo Martin introduced us to “The Fugitive Doctor.” No number, because Chibnall’s biggest twist was that the 1st Doctor (William Hartnell/David Bradley) wasn’t really the first. He was just the first the Doctor could remember being.
If you’re not already a fan, that bit of continuity is confusing, and some fans were outraged at the twist. Not by Jo Martin as The Doctor; she’s great. Clearly, the BBC listens to those who love her, because on June 25, she’s featured in Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker.
To wit:
In the depths of UNIT’s most secure facility, the Black Archive, familiar objects have been pulled through time and space surrounded with a dangerous energy signature threatening to tear reality apart. With time running out, newly appointed Head of the Black Archive, Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) and her assistant Andrew (Omari Douglas) turn to the only person who can help… the Doctor (Jo Martin).
This is no ordinary crisis, and not the Time Lord they are familiar with. As the Doctor confronts her most infamous enemies such as the Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans and a rogue Weeping Angel, she is forced to complete a mission with an insidious presence lurking in the shadows.
Secrets begin to surface, and trust between UNIT and the Doctor begins to erode as those who idolise her start to question if she really is the Time Lord they thought they knew…
Why did I forget this? Because stories that require jumping around from platform to platform raise my hackles. I know I’ll miss something. I like the simplicity of setting aside an hour each week to watch a show. But this comes with a guide on “how to follow the story.” I’ll probably buy the comics from Titan. I might buy the blu-ray though I have no idea what’s on it. But once you get into games–I’m infamously a lame gamer before Conan O’Brien made it cool. Books? Take a number.
Yet I also think the Fugitive Doctor is perfect to build such an event around. We really don’t know much about her at all. The pandemic scuttled some plans for Chibnall’s era, so she was introduced in a great story, then relegated to the edges as other plotlines and mysteries had to be wrapped up. Titan has done a comic or two, and Martin has done at least one Big Finish story. (See? I don’t have time to keep up.)
So why not have someone produce a series of specials with Jo Martin at the center? (Or centre.) One thing that fans expected out of Russell T. Davies’ return to what he called the Whoniverse was specials with at least one other Doctor–Paul McGann. Though extremely popular through Big Finish, he only had one live-action story to himself: the infamous TV movie done for Fox Television. He’s said he would return to the role in a heartbeat if the BBC asked.
Take advantage of the fact that the Doctor functions as their own super team and tell separate stories. Introduce more than one new actor in the role–but give the Fugitive Doctor her due.
