The War Doctor

[poliphilo]

I'm guessing that John Hurt's War Doctor was inserted into the timeline because of Christopher Eccleston's refusal to show up for the Anniversary. If Eccleston had been available it seems likely we would have seen him regenerating from Paul McGann, fighting in the Time War and then emerging as the damaged character we encountered in the first season of the revived show. That, anyway, would have been the shortest route from A to B.  If such was the original plan then what we have with the War Doctor is an inspired bodge- a repair to the fabric of the story necessitated by events beyond the show runner's control. Making a creative virtue out of necessity has been an especial glory of Dr Who. You lose the services of William Hartnell so you give the Doctor the power to regenerate- and so create a narrative that need never end and which receives a refreshing infusion of the new and unexpected every two or three years.

It would have been nice to see Eccleston again, but one can't regret the invention of the War Doctor or the casting and performance of John Hurt. They have enriched the mythos. Sometimes- and especially with a show like Dr Who that has a history- even an ethic- of improvisation- accidents turn out to be really lucky. 

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten that. It probably snuffs out my theory. Drat!

[butterscotch711.livejournal.com]

I've read a theory that the Eccleston Doctor does that in the mirror because he's paying attention to his human form for the first time. Perhaps Time Lords don't necessarily have a human appearance, but do to human eyes.

I'm not sure RTD had that in mind at the time, but it does fit with the arc of Rose's re-humanising of the Doctor. (Even with the War Doctor in the timeline, maybe the Eccleston Doctor spent some time mopping up Time War fallout for a while before meeting Rose.)

I also think the War Doctor adds a lot. He's so subdued, but also funny and sweet. I like that he was set up as this menacing figure, but turns out to be approachable and maybe kind of innocent (despite spending so long fighting the Time War - given slow Time Lord aging and how young he is when he first regenerates, it must have been a very long time).

And it would have been nice to see Eccleston Doctor again, but I think it makes sense that it's actually his regeneration which is too raw and menacing to be revisited, and not, it turns out, the War Doctor's.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thank you for saving my theory :)

I imagine RTD wanted to start with as clean a slate as possible. The Time War was his way of drawing a line between classic Who and new Who. He was saying "That was then and this is now and there's a cataclysmic event in between." I don't suppose he had any plans to deal with the War itself.

I thought it was a nice touch that McGann regenerated into a young John Hurt and not into Hurt as he is now.