I thought it might be nice tackle another POINT OF DEBATE essay. I've really enjoyed doing these since I came up with them around this time last year. Which is odd, really. Because, I don't state much of any kind of an opinion in them. I, pretty much, started this blog so that I could tell everyone what I thought about everything!
ORPHAN 55 - A TOUCHY SUBJECT!
Admittedly, I'm taking a bit of a risk by having any kind of an entry that discusses this episode. Seconds after it transmitted, most of fandom decided to hate it. It seems there are two principal reasons for why it has garnered such disdain:
Problem 1) Hyph3n looks too much like Barf from Space Balls
Problem 2) The ending of the episode is just a bit on the preachy side
While this entry isn't really meant to defend the episode, I'm going to take this first section to bother, anyway!
Defense 1) I have seen far sillier-looking aliens on Doctor Who over the years. Not just in the Classic Series, either. Right in the very second episode of Series 1, there's quite a bit of alien silly-lookingness (totally a word) going on.
Defense 2) If you thought the closing speech was preachy, go watch some Pertwee stuff. You'll stop complaining pretty fast. He delivered monologues like Jodie's all over the place. And they were far more sanctimonious. Jodie, at least, talks about humanity's potential to be better. Jon's just told us what to do. Sit through the painful Invasion of the Dinosaurs and watch what he spews out in its last few minutes. Jodie's got nothin' on that speech!
I can still agree that those two problems make it a bit more difficult to take certain aspects of the episode seriously. By no means, however, do I think they spoil the story. Aside from those two elements, I actually find the whole story quite enjoyable. So, in my mind, it is hardly the travesty Fandom makes it out to be.
There. That's off my chest. Let's get to the real debate!
IS ORPHAN 55 OUR FUTURE?
It's entirely possible that, because this episode doesn't send me into mouth-foaming rage, it has enabled me to contemplate some of its deeper implications. In a sequence that ever-so-slightly resembles the "Marble Arch Revelation" from Mysterious Planet, the Doctor, Yaz and Graham realize they're on Earth in the future. They discover that the planet seems to be destined to become a pollution-addled wasteland. Of course, a short while later, Ryan learns the same hideous truth when he sees a Made in China plaque on the side of a vending machine (admittedly, this might also be a slightly silly moment that can hamper one's enjoyment of an episode).
The Doctor briefly mind melds with a sleeping Dreg and there's a very quick montage of scenes that indicates that the devastation of Earth is soon to come. Perhaps only in a matter of decades. A dream that Ryan has in Can You Hear Me? seems to re-enforce this. His friend is now an old man as Dregs prowl around him. Which also implies that the environmental apocalypse is soon to come. It happens within that friend's lifetime.
The Doctor, however, tries to offer hope at the end of the story with her preachiness. The three faithful companions have just dipped into their own future. But the Time Lord alludes to the idea that this might only be a possible future. That, if humanity gets its ass in gear, they can prevent the Earth from becoming the 55th Orphan Planet.
That whole speech, to me, opens up quite the can of worms. Let's take a look at the various concepts that it explores.
GENERAL IMPLICATIONS
What the Doctor says at the end of Orphan 55 is not, necessarily, a new idea the show has never explored before. She is, basically, saying that time is in a state of flux. Aside from the occasional Fixed Point, nothing is written in stone. We can change things.
Oddly enough, this sort of concept is usually only brought up in reference to adventures in the past. During such New Who stories as Unquiet Dead or The Shakespeare Code, the Doctor explains to Rose and Martha, respectively, that the future they come from can be undone. He does an even more detailed explanation of this to Sarah Jane Smith during Pyramids of Mars by actually showing her what Earth will look like if they don't stop Sutehk in 1911.
The concept is, generally, explored in such a fashion to create genuine stakes for the peril the TARDIS crew is facing in Earth's history. Companions caught up in these sort of stories will so, rightfully, point out: "What difference does it make? I'm from the future so we know the Earth will be okay!" The Doctor then responds with his Time is in a State of Flux explanation and the companion (and also audience) must take the danger seriously again.If they don't, the future they come from can be destroyed.
In this sense, the concept presented in Orphan 55 is significantly different from how we usually see it. This time, the Doctor is claiming that the companions can choose a different future from the one they just saw. One might almost say that it resembles more of the Time can be Re-Written notion that Moff so often brought up during the Eleventh Doctor Era. But, even then, the message of Orphan 55 differs quite a bit from this. Stories Stephen Moffat did that dealt with this idea frequently involved characters seeing a certain outcome and then using time travel to change those results. A Christmas Carol is a good example of this. The Doctor needs Kazran to be a different man from the one he's currently dealing with in order to save a nearby passenger ship that is in danger of crashing. He does this by travelling back in time with the TARDIS and giving the old miser a happier childhood. He consciously uses crossing through the fourth dimension to accomplish the task.
The central conceit in the Orphan 55 speech is considerably more abstract than the stuff Moff did. The Doctor is trying to tell Yaz, Ryan and Graham that the future they just saw is just one possible version. When they return to their own time and leave the TARDIS, they must try to invoke an attitude in their own people that will change this outcome. There's no time travel trickery going on, here. They must just be better people and encourage others to do the same. Hopefully, the change in attitude creates a brighter future than the one they just saw.
THE BIG PROBLEM
The message the Doctor delivers during her preachiness has some fairly complicated implications. Some might even say that this particular interpretation of Time is in a State of Flux can have some legitimately negative consequences.
The biggest issue is something that is probably quite fannish. Basically, such an idea really messes with continuity. It implies that any excursion the TARDIS takes into the future can be erased. Which a silly little completist like me can take great offense to. I don't want to believe that certain adventures that we've seen various Doctors have over the years that take place any time after a Contemporary Earth Setting can wink out of existence. Yes, stories have already been done that whole-heartedly claim that this has actually happened (and we'll get into them in a bit) but I'm reluctant to believe that this occurred even more often than I'd care to know. I want to think that a story like The Sensorites - which is, pretty much, the first time we see the TARDIS crew explore the future of humanity - always has and always will happen. But what the Doctor is saying in her speech at the end of Orphan 55 would lead us to believe that The Sensorites - or any other story that is meant to take place in Earth's future, for that matter - may never happen. If certain attitudes are adopted by certain people at just the right time, stories of this nature become glimpses into aborted timelines. The nitpicky fan that rages within my soul does not like the idea of this.
To further aggravate things, we do have any number of stories taking place in the later 21st Century that Orphan 55 would greatly refute. Tales like The Moonbase, Seeds of Death, Warriors of the Deep and Kill the Moon. All of these seem to show a version of Earth that seems to be in half-decent shape. It certainly isn't a barren wasteland devastated by pollution. So how does Orphan 55 fit into this? Could it be that the glimpse Yaz, Ryan and Graham get of their future has already influenced them and caused the necessary changes that were required to save the Earth? That the events of Orphan 55 are, already, an aborted timeline? But that this particular TARDIS crew needed to see it happen to ensure that it wouldn't? This theory further re-enforces the idea that any visit into the future is merely a potential future. That, yes, The Sensorites and other stories like it may never have happened.
Admittedly, the issue is already starting to get cloudy and confusing. So let's try to break things down a bit.
THE SIMPLEST SOLUTION
Before we get into something too convoluted, there is a simple way to solve this. We could just say that Orphan 55 really does happen. This would certainly make it canon and allow us not to get too over-concerned about how excursions into the future work. Unless it's specifically stated that characters in a story have experienced an aborted timeline, the future is set in stone. Any trip the TARDIS makes beyond this current time period is a solid experience that, as a rule, can't be altered.
"But Rob!" some of you might be saying (I can't believe how often some of you say this!), "What about those Late 21st Century stories you just sited in the last section? How do they still happen if Orphan 55 is proper continuity? How Rob?!"
The answer to this problem is also quite simple. Orphan 55 happens, but it doesn't take long. The Earth very quickly goes into a vicious cycle of decline that, maybe, takes about a year. The Rich flee the world and leave it to whoever are stuck there. The strongest survivors quickly evolve into Dregs within another year or two. The heavy radiation causes them to mutate quickly. A resort then sets itself up there to finance mass terraforming. The events of Orphan 55 happen shortly thereafter.
After that particular disaster, however, other affluent eyes take an interest in the planet. It's entirely possible that Earth is in a very prime location in the galaxy and it could be quite profitable to revitalize it. A silent benefactor steps in and gets the planet back on its feet. The Dregs are wiped out, the planet receives a new environment and a whole new civilisation of humans is established. All of this could also be accomplished in a few short years. The entire process of decline to restoration could, if pressed, take less than a decade. It would not be hard to say that all those other stories I mentioned take place either before or after this series of events.
Perhaps the mysterious conglomerate behind the re-establishing of Earth does not even allow its new denizens to remember the Orphan 55 period. Everyone is led to believe that the hiccup in human history never even happened. A return on this investment into humanity will be exacted at some point further down the road. Or something to that effect. It could even be possible that the beings who fix Earth back up are very benevolent and just want to see the planet doing better. Or perhaps they're a highly advanced species similar to Time Lords who understand humanity has a significant role to play in the affairs of the Universe and must be restored.
It could be any number of factors that motivate someone to get Earth back to normal. But it's entirely possible that the Orphan 55 period does happen and is then nullified a short while later. The whole thing is a mere handful of years and we can get back to the sort of civilisation we see in those other Late 21st Century stories with relative ease. This way, the visit the TARDIS makes to this era does actually happen.
There is one fundamental problem with this idea. If a point in the future is always going to happen, why does the Doctor make the speech that she does at the end of the episode? Why does she offer hope to her companions that they can change things? Well, what would you do if you were her? Just say: "Sorry guys, your future is going to suck for, at least, a bit."? Or, tell them a lie?
Just getting Orphan 55 to reconcile with other elements of continuity is the simplest solution to this problem. But, as you know, this is a POINT OF DEBATE essay. So we need to explore other theories.
EVERY FUTURE STORY IS JUST A POSSIBILITY
The Earth Was Just in a Bad Place for a Bit storyline is nothing new to the show. We have seen other tales that have talked about the planet being devastated for a period of time. Adventures like Ark in Space, The Sontaran Experiment and The Beast Below all deal with an Earth that has been devastated by solar flares. In the far-flung future, our planet will be scorched for quite some time by the Andromedans in an effort to conceal themselves after they have stolen secrets from the Matrix on Gallifrey. This is the backstory that fuels Trial of a Time Lord. There even seems to be a period where Earth is ruined by the exploits of the Usurians and they move humanity over to Mars and then Pluto. Which eventually gives us The Sunmakers. There are other more obscure references too. The story Smile implies that the colonists that were having trouble with their emoji-bots were leaving a ruined Earth. We even get told that the Ancient One from Curse of Fenric comes from a future where Earth has been spoiled by chemical pollution. In many of these disasters, Earth does eventually seem to get restored. So the scenario I described in my first theory is more-than-feasible. It's just another rough period for Earth.
But now, we will go to the other extreme. Let's say that every time the TARDIS arrives in the future, it is only a possible future. That, just as the Doctor implies, Yaz, Ryan and Graham have the potential to return to their era and ensure that this cruel destiny doesn't happen. Let's say this actually occurs and Earth is spared from its horrid fate. Is there evidence in the show that such a thing could actually transpire? Can a future that has been experienced by the TARDIS crew then be altered?
I have written two other posts that imply this sort of thing must happen from time-to-time. One is Clara meeting her own descendant in Listen (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/05/fixing-continuity-glitches-quick-fixes.html - it's the first Quick Fix) even though both her and Danny are doomed to die before they can procreate. The other is about how our world in 2017/18 did not resemble the world depicted in Enemy of the World (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/10/fixing-continuity-glitches-quick-fixes-5.html - it's also the first Quick Fix). So this does seem possible. But is that concrete enough evidence? These are just the postulations of a somewhat sad fan. Are there stronger examples within the show, itself?
Stories like The Space Museum certainly help to support this. Through a technical quirk of the TARDIS, its crew sees that they will end up as exhibits in a futuristic museum. With that foreknowledge, they manage to prevent that future from happening. In New Who, we see the Doctor visit his own grave on Trenzalore during Name of the Doctor. But the Time Lords giving him a new regeneration cycle in Time of the Doctor prevents this future. So this does seem like a workable premise.
One might point out, however, that both these instances are about time travellers altering a very specific point in their own future. The prevention of a single event that affects them specifically. The premise in Orphan 55 is a much broader notion. Here, the fate of an entire civilisation must be changed. Are there examples of that?
Last of the Time Lords illustrates this idea quite nicely. An entire year of hard times for the planet Earth suddenly gets erased when the Paradox Machine that the Master fashioned out of the Doctor's TARDIS is destroyed. In this instance, a society becomes radically altered. That's more in line with what is implied in Orphan 55 but it's still not quite the same thing. In the case of Last of Time Lords, it's a specific use of time travel mechanics that fixes things. Not an overall change in the attitudes of humans.
The story that comes closest to displaying the ideas of Orphan 55 would probably be Day of the Daleks. We see a future where Earth is destroyed in a nuclear war and the Daleks have enslaved the survivors. The exact event that causes this terrible future is pinpointed and the outcome is altered. Ironically, of course, we discover that the attempts made by time travellers to change the event for the better causes the nasty result in the first place. That the people trying to create a new version of reality should have just let things be and allowed history to take its natural course.
This is the closest approximation to the process described during the Doctor's moment of preachiness. An entire society does get changed for the better. And it is done, moreso, through a change in peoples' thinking than a conscious attempt to alter time.
Again, there might be some arguing of this notion. Some might be quick to point out that Day of the Daleks involves a lot of specific time travel mechanics like Last of the Time Lords. But the fact that all those excursions back into the past prove to be useless nullifies this idea. It is the Third Doctor having a similar moment of high-handedness with Reginald Styles that really prevents the horrid future we see from ever happening. It is more about improving a society's attitude than messing with time that creates this new outcome. And, if you want to get technical, Orphan 55 also uses some time travel to initiate a change. Yaz, Ryan and Graham need to be transported into the future to see what needs to be prevented. In the same way that Doctor Three needs to see what the Daleks are up to in the aborted timeline before he can go back and preach to Reginald Styles.
So the notion that a nasty future can be prevented just by trying hard to save the world from itself is something we have seen done in the show, before. It hasn't happened often. Usually it's more a case of time travel trickery that accomplishes this. But it's not entirely unheard-of. The notion presented at the end of Orphan 55 is not completely foreign to the history of the show.
TWO SIDES - ONE COIN
As is the case with these sort of posts, I am trying to present all sides of the argument rather than form a pet theory. With this particular case, however, there are really only two ideas that seem all that workable. Either Orphan 55 happens or it doesn't. I do feel that there is enough evidence to support either argument.
Even if this horrible future is, somehow, prevented - the story is still canon. From a certain point of view. We have seen any number of other stories where certain key characters still remember the events of an aborted timeline. Even in really small-scale incidents like the soldiers in Flesh and Stone that get deleted out of existence when they investigate the Crack in Time. Amy and the Doctor still remember them after they're gone because of the unique relationship they have with time now that they travel in the TARDIS. The Eleventh Doctor Era has several other examples of this. Amy forgets Rory only a few episodes later when he suffers a similar fate to those soldiers. But the Doctor still remembers. Clara forgets her adventure in Journey to the Center of the TARDIS when the Doctor presses the Big Red Button. But, again, the Time Lord retains his memories of it. So, in essence, if we are seeing a potential aborted timeline whenever the TARDIS dips into the future, it is still a real experience to some. So that precious continuity is still preserved.
It is usually at this point that I bother to offer, at the very least, a hint of which theory I subscribe to. But, this time, I truly am neutral on the matter. I really can't form a solid opinion on which way things go for the future this story reveals. I really don't know how things will turn out.
The one thing I do know, however, is that this is a far better story than most fans would have you think.
Well, it's done. Let's see if anyone will actually bother to read it. After all, it's a post about Orphan 55!
If, like me, you are tired of all the Chib-bashing, here's a few other entries that I've written that tend to praise the era rather than put it down:
An overall review of Series 11:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/12/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-female.html
Was Tsuranga Conundrum so bad?:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2019/05/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-was-it-so.html
A look at all the mysteries Series 12 has built:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/03/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-series.html
How some of the negative reactions to the Timeless Child don't really make sense:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/05/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-silliness.html
Monday, 24 August 2020
Monday, 3 August 2020
BOOK OF LISTS - 5 THINGS FROM THE CLASSIC SERIES THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE IN NEW WHO
After a nice solid month of deep analysis, I thought it might be nice to go back to an opinion piece. I've noticed you all seem to be enjoying my lists, of late. Any time I post one, it seems to get a high number of hits. I always like to give my audience what they enjoy, so here's a new one:
It's a popular topic in discussion forums with fans who are familiar with New and Old Who: "What's something from the Classic Series that you'd like to see come back in the modern version of the show?" We've gotten a lot of the great stuff back, already, of course. Baddies like: Daleks, Cybermen and the Master. Or old friends like Sarah Jane Smith and K9. Hell, we've even gotten the Macra! Whoever expected them?! But with a range of twenty six seasons, there's still plenty more stuff to draw from if the New Series wanted to.
I don't usually participate in these discussions. I can never settle on just one thing. There's always, at least, four or five elements from Old Who that I'd like to see come back. And I don't want to just itemise briefly what it is I want to see. I want to take some time to explain why I want to see it. But most people on these Fan Pages get turned off by long answers (myself, included). So I don't usually jump into the comments section with my feedback on such a topic.
The nice thing about a blog, of course, is that people that go to them are expecting a bit of wordiness. You're meant to be digging a bit deeper and going into heavier detail. So, rather than blather on in a Fan Group, I'll discuss my feelings on the matter, here:
5: Chancellery Guards In Their Old Uniforms
I totally get why New Who changed the uniforms of the Gallifreyan military. They needed to look bad-ass for the Time Wars. Those bright red uniforms with flowing white capes and ornate helmets just weren't going to cut it.
But the Time Wars are over, now. I would have loved if episodes like Hell Bent had gone back to the old look that we saw all the way through the Classic Series. A bit of an update might have been nice, of course. Nor do they have to go with the ridiculous hat that they made Colin Baker lug around in Arc of Infinity. But it would have been really cool to see that particular style of uniform make a return now that Gallifrey is back in a time of relative peace.
Of course, Gallifrey currently lies in ruins. So we're probably never going to see that. But, as some fans have pointed out, Rassilon and various members of the High Council were banished when the Doctor escaped the torment he went through in his Confession Dial. They could be out in the Universe, somewhere, and could make a return appearance, someday. Might they have taken a few guards with them? And might those guards be decked out in traditional garb?
It would be nice to see...
4. Neomorph Cybermen
Just in case you're not sure what that is, it's a term that was created in a special book that was written about Cybermen way back in the day. It refers to the model we saw in Earthshock, The Five Doctors, Attack of the Cybermen and a slightly "more silvery" version in Silver Nemesis. Essentially, it's my favorite costume they've used for them.
We've seen stories like Asylum of the Daleks and Magician's Apprentice/Witch's Familiar use models of Daleks from the Classic Series. We've even seen Mondasian Cybermen in World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls. So it's not unheard-of to bring back these older versions with a slightly updated look so they don't appear too laughable by modern-day standards. Although, I do think those 80s Cybermen looked pretty damned good and would still stand up well. So let's bring those babies back for a story.
A return appearance of Neomorphic Cybermen could be easily justified. They do seem to be the version of the species that are most adept at time travel. They stole a time machine in Attack of the Cybermen and tried to use it to prevent the destruction of Mondas. While it's not explicitly stated in Earthshock and Silver Nemesis, it's my theory that these were also Cybermen from the future who travelled back into the past to tamper some more with history (I explain this in greater detail in one of my "History of the Cybermen" entries. https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/02/chronologies-and-timelines-history-of_27.html).
So it would be quite easy for the Doctor to detect some sort of temporal disturbance and go investigate it. And up pop those nasty Neomoprhs - out to make more trouble. Maybe she even finds a glitter gun for Yaz and she kicks some Cyber-ass the same way Ace did with her slingshot and gold coins!
3. Ogrons
While we only ever saw them in the Pertwee Era, by no means were the Ogrons an obscure one-time-only monster. They appeared in three different stories (only very briefly in Carnival of Monsters - but it still counts!). Whenever they were included in a story, they were always very interesting. I particularly like that they looked ape-like but the creative team didn't go for something really obvious by getting the artistes to imitate primates in their movements. They were squat and brutish - more like thugs than gorillas. Even when one is given a banana in Frontier In Space he doesn't know what to do with it!
They are another great example of a costume that has stood the test of time. Little would need to be done to upgrade their look. In fact, it would be a shame to change them much. They really are a very convincing-looking alien.
Since they function as "guard dogs" for Daleks, it would not be hard to bring them back. Just re-introduce them in a Dalek story. Having to deal with Daleks and Ogrons in the same story would certainly increase the sense of peril in an adventure. Although, really, the Ogrons are meant to be grunts-for-hire. So they could show up alongside any militant race. Or they could have even evolved to a point where they can fight for themselves and be featured independently. The possibilities are endless.
The Ogrons are more than just scary alien monsters. We do learn a bit about their social order when their homeworld is visited in Frontier In Space. We even see that they seem to have a sort of religion. So there is a three-dimensional quality to them. I think it's especially interesting that they are meant to be very slow-witted but can still accomplish highly technological tasks like flying a spaceship. It's an interesting social dynamic that we need to explore more deeply.
2. Question Marks?
Admittedly, we have gotten this a bit in the New Series. Osgood has been wonderful enough to put question marks on her collar and wear the notorious McCoy Sweater (and/or Jumper) on certain occasions. When she engaged in a discussion with Doctor Twelve about this particular fashion accessory, he claimed that he does still wear them on his underwear. Somehow, I doubt we will ever get this properly validated!
Tom Baker first started wearing question marks on his funky lapel-like shirt collar during Season 18. Davison wore a more traditional dress shirt that also featured them on the collar. As did Colin Baker. Sylvester McCoy, of course, went even crazier with the look. Not only was his torso, more or less, covered with the punctuation mark, but the handle of his umbrella was made to look like one too. The joke was sometimes made that if the progression had been allowed to continue, Doctor Eight would have dressed like the Riddler!
At the time that all of this was going on, many fans complained about this particular fashion choice. They felt that it made things too obvious that the Doctor was meant to be a mysterious character. Or some sort of nonsense like that. I'm not sure. I actually just thought it was cool that he wore question marks. Even in his seventh incarnation when the motif was, pretty much, taken to its ultimate extreme - I still really liked the look. As did other friends who were into the show with me. But this is one of those instances during the ultra-criticism of the 80s where a lot of us just elected to keep our mouths shut about it rather than state an opinion that contradicted the highly-vocal negative fans that were out there. Even now, with quite a bit of water under the bridge, you still tend to get fans calling you stupid for liking the question marks.
But it would seem that quite a few of us did enjoy them. I, for one, would love to see them make a comeback of some sort. Perhaps it could be really understated. Maybe just one question mark pinned to a lapel. It could be quite small and dark in color so that you don't even notice it all that well in most shots. That would be a nice compromise for all those question mark haters. They would only have to acknowledge it if they looked really hard.
1. Ace!!
Admittedly, the return of any Classic Who companion is more-than-welcome. Even Jackie Lane reprising Dodo would be a delight! And we have gotten a few, now, when you think about it. Not just Sarah Jane Smith and K9 (if you consider robots to be an actual companion - that's a debate in itself! https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/05/point-of-debate-should-we-consider.html). We got a really cool flashback sequence in Twice Upon a Time that brought back Ben and Polly, too. It's even heavily implied that Ian Chesterton was still around Coal Hill School during Day of the Doctor. And, of course, the Brigadier does come back - but only as a Cyberman!
For various reasons, I'd love to see Ace come back more than any other companion. Probably the biggest would be that she's an excellent character. She did really cool stuff like blow things up with Nitro-9 and kick the asses of some of the most fearsome aliens in the Universe. On top of that, though, she was magnificently-written. They gave her all kinds of interesting layers and even moved her through a growth process of sorts. Sophie Aldred also did a great job of portraying the character. Making her a tough street kid who still possessed a certain degree of naivete and earnestness. In many ways, she was a perfect storm. They just "got everything right" about her.
But there are other companions who I am deeply fond of for similar reasons. Jamie, Leela and both versions of Romana also received similar treatment by the production teams that created them. I even have some eccentric tastes that go against Popular Fan Opinion (Surprise! Surprise!). I absolutely adore Turlough, for instance. I do actually think he's put through a very good redemption arc throughout the course of his era. Not just in the Guardian Trilogy, but I also like how he finally faces up to his past in Planet of Fire. And, although he's - pretty much - just a generic 60s male companion, I really like Steven, too. Not even entirely sure why. I just think Peter Purves does a really good job with what he's given.
So, there are a lot of other companions that I'm in love with - why does Ace triumph over all of them? Why do I want her to return more than these other ones? Well, that's where my second major reason comes into play. All the other companions I've mentioned were all given decent farewell scenes (well, maybe not the First Romana - but that's the way regeneration goes, sometimes!), but Ace just disappeared into the woodwork during the Wilderness Years. Even Sylvester McCoy got to return briefly in the 96 Telemovie to get a proper send-off. But we never got to know what happened to Ace.
A return appearance for Ace would just be wonderful cause she's an awesome character and it would be great to see her again. But we would also assume that Ace coming back would involve an explanation of what happened to her between Survival and Doctor Who - The Movie. And that inner completist that is always screaming from the back of my head wants to know so badly why she left the TARDIS.
So, between Ace's incredibleness (totally a word) and my insistent need to know her fate, she is the one thing from the Classic Series that I want to see the most in New Who. Which is why she's placed at Number One. Nothing would warm my Hardcore Fan Heart(s) more than for the Doctor to somehow stumble into her and pick things up where they left off for an episode or two. Maybe Ace was returned to Earth where she went on to live a very happy life. Or maybe she's out among the stars, exploring the Universe and righting wrongs when she finds them. Or maybe it's something between these two extremes. Either way, I'd like to know...
Are you reading this, Chibbers? If so, make a fanboy's pipe dream come true.
Bring back Ace.
Another quick easy list complete. Do you like shorter ones like these? Here's a few others:
Five Unpopular Opinions I have about Doctor Who:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/03/book-of-lists-five-unpopular-opinions-i.html
Traits you need to become a Recurring Villainess in Doctor Who
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/08/book-of-lists-traits-you-need-to-become.html
Five "Not as Bad as They Say They Are" stories
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/07/book-of-lists-5-not-as-bad-as-everyone.html
It's a popular topic in discussion forums with fans who are familiar with New and Old Who: "What's something from the Classic Series that you'd like to see come back in the modern version of the show?" We've gotten a lot of the great stuff back, already, of course. Baddies like: Daleks, Cybermen and the Master. Or old friends like Sarah Jane Smith and K9. Hell, we've even gotten the Macra! Whoever expected them?! But with a range of twenty six seasons, there's still plenty more stuff to draw from if the New Series wanted to.
I don't usually participate in these discussions. I can never settle on just one thing. There's always, at least, four or five elements from Old Who that I'd like to see come back. And I don't want to just itemise briefly what it is I want to see. I want to take some time to explain why I want to see it. But most people on these Fan Pages get turned off by long answers (myself, included). So I don't usually jump into the comments section with my feedback on such a topic.
The nice thing about a blog, of course, is that people that go to them are expecting a bit of wordiness. You're meant to be digging a bit deeper and going into heavier detail. So, rather than blather on in a Fan Group, I'll discuss my feelings on the matter, here:
5: Chancellery Guards In Their Old Uniforms
I totally get why New Who changed the uniforms of the Gallifreyan military. They needed to look bad-ass for the Time Wars. Those bright red uniforms with flowing white capes and ornate helmets just weren't going to cut it.
But the Time Wars are over, now. I would have loved if episodes like Hell Bent had gone back to the old look that we saw all the way through the Classic Series. A bit of an update might have been nice, of course. Nor do they have to go with the ridiculous hat that they made Colin Baker lug around in Arc of Infinity. But it would have been really cool to see that particular style of uniform make a return now that Gallifrey is back in a time of relative peace.
Of course, Gallifrey currently lies in ruins. So we're probably never going to see that. But, as some fans have pointed out, Rassilon and various members of the High Council were banished when the Doctor escaped the torment he went through in his Confession Dial. They could be out in the Universe, somewhere, and could make a return appearance, someday. Might they have taken a few guards with them? And might those guards be decked out in traditional garb?
It would be nice to see...
4. Neomorph Cybermen
Just in case you're not sure what that is, it's a term that was created in a special book that was written about Cybermen way back in the day. It refers to the model we saw in Earthshock, The Five Doctors, Attack of the Cybermen and a slightly "more silvery" version in Silver Nemesis. Essentially, it's my favorite costume they've used for them.
We've seen stories like Asylum of the Daleks and Magician's Apprentice/Witch's Familiar use models of Daleks from the Classic Series. We've even seen Mondasian Cybermen in World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls. So it's not unheard-of to bring back these older versions with a slightly updated look so they don't appear too laughable by modern-day standards. Although, I do think those 80s Cybermen looked pretty damned good and would still stand up well. So let's bring those babies back for a story.
A return appearance of Neomorphic Cybermen could be easily justified. They do seem to be the version of the species that are most adept at time travel. They stole a time machine in Attack of the Cybermen and tried to use it to prevent the destruction of Mondas. While it's not explicitly stated in Earthshock and Silver Nemesis, it's my theory that these were also Cybermen from the future who travelled back into the past to tamper some more with history (I explain this in greater detail in one of my "History of the Cybermen" entries. https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/02/chronologies-and-timelines-history-of_27.html).
So it would be quite easy for the Doctor to detect some sort of temporal disturbance and go investigate it. And up pop those nasty Neomoprhs - out to make more trouble. Maybe she even finds a glitter gun for Yaz and she kicks some Cyber-ass the same way Ace did with her slingshot and gold coins!
3. Ogrons
While we only ever saw them in the Pertwee Era, by no means were the Ogrons an obscure one-time-only monster. They appeared in three different stories (only very briefly in Carnival of Monsters - but it still counts!). Whenever they were included in a story, they were always very interesting. I particularly like that they looked ape-like but the creative team didn't go for something really obvious by getting the artistes to imitate primates in their movements. They were squat and brutish - more like thugs than gorillas. Even when one is given a banana in Frontier In Space he doesn't know what to do with it!
They are another great example of a costume that has stood the test of time. Little would need to be done to upgrade their look. In fact, it would be a shame to change them much. They really are a very convincing-looking alien.
Since they function as "guard dogs" for Daleks, it would not be hard to bring them back. Just re-introduce them in a Dalek story. Having to deal with Daleks and Ogrons in the same story would certainly increase the sense of peril in an adventure. Although, really, the Ogrons are meant to be grunts-for-hire. So they could show up alongside any militant race. Or they could have even evolved to a point where they can fight for themselves and be featured independently. The possibilities are endless.
The Ogrons are more than just scary alien monsters. We do learn a bit about their social order when their homeworld is visited in Frontier In Space. We even see that they seem to have a sort of religion. So there is a three-dimensional quality to them. I think it's especially interesting that they are meant to be very slow-witted but can still accomplish highly technological tasks like flying a spaceship. It's an interesting social dynamic that we need to explore more deeply.
2. Question Marks?
Admittedly, we have gotten this a bit in the New Series. Osgood has been wonderful enough to put question marks on her collar and wear the notorious McCoy Sweater (and/or Jumper) on certain occasions. When she engaged in a discussion with Doctor Twelve about this particular fashion accessory, he claimed that he does still wear them on his underwear. Somehow, I doubt we will ever get this properly validated!
Tom Baker first started wearing question marks on his funky lapel-like shirt collar during Season 18. Davison wore a more traditional dress shirt that also featured them on the collar. As did Colin Baker. Sylvester McCoy, of course, went even crazier with the look. Not only was his torso, more or less, covered with the punctuation mark, but the handle of his umbrella was made to look like one too. The joke was sometimes made that if the progression had been allowed to continue, Doctor Eight would have dressed like the Riddler!
At the time that all of this was going on, many fans complained about this particular fashion choice. They felt that it made things too obvious that the Doctor was meant to be a mysterious character. Or some sort of nonsense like that. I'm not sure. I actually just thought it was cool that he wore question marks. Even in his seventh incarnation when the motif was, pretty much, taken to its ultimate extreme - I still really liked the look. As did other friends who were into the show with me. But this is one of those instances during the ultra-criticism of the 80s where a lot of us just elected to keep our mouths shut about it rather than state an opinion that contradicted the highly-vocal negative fans that were out there. Even now, with quite a bit of water under the bridge, you still tend to get fans calling you stupid for liking the question marks.
But it would seem that quite a few of us did enjoy them. I, for one, would love to see them make a comeback of some sort. Perhaps it could be really understated. Maybe just one question mark pinned to a lapel. It could be quite small and dark in color so that you don't even notice it all that well in most shots. That would be a nice compromise for all those question mark haters. They would only have to acknowledge it if they looked really hard.
1. Ace!!
Admittedly, the return of any Classic Who companion is more-than-welcome. Even Jackie Lane reprising Dodo would be a delight! And we have gotten a few, now, when you think about it. Not just Sarah Jane Smith and K9 (if you consider robots to be an actual companion - that's a debate in itself! https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/05/point-of-debate-should-we-consider.html). We got a really cool flashback sequence in Twice Upon a Time that brought back Ben and Polly, too. It's even heavily implied that Ian Chesterton was still around Coal Hill School during Day of the Doctor. And, of course, the Brigadier does come back - but only as a Cyberman!
For various reasons, I'd love to see Ace come back more than any other companion. Probably the biggest would be that she's an excellent character. She did really cool stuff like blow things up with Nitro-9 and kick the asses of some of the most fearsome aliens in the Universe. On top of that, though, she was magnificently-written. They gave her all kinds of interesting layers and even moved her through a growth process of sorts. Sophie Aldred also did a great job of portraying the character. Making her a tough street kid who still possessed a certain degree of naivete and earnestness. In many ways, she was a perfect storm. They just "got everything right" about her.
But there are other companions who I am deeply fond of for similar reasons. Jamie, Leela and both versions of Romana also received similar treatment by the production teams that created them. I even have some eccentric tastes that go against Popular Fan Opinion (Surprise! Surprise!). I absolutely adore Turlough, for instance. I do actually think he's put through a very good redemption arc throughout the course of his era. Not just in the Guardian Trilogy, but I also like how he finally faces up to his past in Planet of Fire. And, although he's - pretty much - just a generic 60s male companion, I really like Steven, too. Not even entirely sure why. I just think Peter Purves does a really good job with what he's given.
So, there are a lot of other companions that I'm in love with - why does Ace triumph over all of them? Why do I want her to return more than these other ones? Well, that's where my second major reason comes into play. All the other companions I've mentioned were all given decent farewell scenes (well, maybe not the First Romana - but that's the way regeneration goes, sometimes!), but Ace just disappeared into the woodwork during the Wilderness Years. Even Sylvester McCoy got to return briefly in the 96 Telemovie to get a proper send-off. But we never got to know what happened to Ace.
A return appearance for Ace would just be wonderful cause she's an awesome character and it would be great to see her again. But we would also assume that Ace coming back would involve an explanation of what happened to her between Survival and Doctor Who - The Movie. And that inner completist that is always screaming from the back of my head wants to know so badly why she left the TARDIS.
So, between Ace's incredibleness (totally a word) and my insistent need to know her fate, she is the one thing from the Classic Series that I want to see the most in New Who. Which is why she's placed at Number One. Nothing would warm my Hardcore Fan Heart(s) more than for the Doctor to somehow stumble into her and pick things up where they left off for an episode or two. Maybe Ace was returned to Earth where she went on to live a very happy life. Or maybe she's out among the stars, exploring the Universe and righting wrongs when she finds them. Or maybe it's something between these two extremes. Either way, I'd like to know...
Are you reading this, Chibbers? If so, make a fanboy's pipe dream come true.
Bring back Ace.
Another quick easy list complete. Do you like shorter ones like these? Here's a few others:
Five Unpopular Opinions I have about Doctor Who:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/03/book-of-lists-five-unpopular-opinions-i.html
Traits you need to become a Recurring Villainess in Doctor Who
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/08/book-of-lists-traits-you-need-to-become.html
Five "Not as Bad as They Say They Are" stories
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/07/book-of-lists-5-not-as-bad-as-everyone.html
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