Let us think back to Christopher Eccleston’s all too brief appearance on Doctor Who. As the Ninth Doctor, he straddled the difficult line of being compassionate, yet not afraid to do what needed to be done in order to ensure that the greater good would be served. He was truly a Doctor at his best when in action, yet had the social skills that the Twelfth Doctor seems to lack. In fact, Eccleston may have had the most balanced Doctor of the new incarnation of Doctor Who.
Yet, the Ninth Doctor as we know him was almost changed. As we travel back through the Doctor’s time line, let us stop again at the 50th Anniversary Special. There, we were introduced to the War Doctor, portrayed by John Hurt, an incarnation of himself that the Doctor had shunned and refused to acknowledge. In the end, as they realized that the War Doctor had actually saved Gallifrey instead of destroying it, that incarnation was accepted as a part of their past.
However, the War Doctor, at least as we know him now, may not have occurred. Originally, Steven Moffat had wanted to bring back Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor for the anniversary, as his incarnation would have been a version of the War Doctor. Considering the reaction towards the War Doctor, and the subsequent Doctor’s feelings towards the events of the Last Great Time War, it certainly would have been an interesting dynamic.
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While the Ninth Doctor would have seemingly filled the role of the War Doctor, or a reasonable facsimile, well enough, it would have been interesting to see if such a return would have changed the way his incarnation is remembered. The Ninth Doctor may have been the most human of the newer Doctors, a being that had his rough edges, but also had a genuine compassion for others. Who among us can forget his true joy when, at the end of ‘The Doctor Dances,’ he was able to announce that everyone would live?
Putting the Ninth Doctor in the midst of the Last Great Time War, where he may have been responsible for the destruction of his home planet, would have cast him in a different light. Instead of being the Doctor that we had come to know, he would have been shifted into a darker being, one whose actions had caused his later incarnations to look back at that time with a loathing and revulsion that could not be imagined.
Yes, Moffat rewrote history, as the War Doctor and the other incarnations, past, present and future, saved Gallifrey. But imagine if he had not, especially since changing the history of the Time War is something that Moffat has stated that he regrets. If the Ninth Doctor had a hand in the destruction of Gallifrey, it would paint his time in a different light.
Had Christopher Eccleston wanted to return to Doctor Who, the Ninth Doctor could have been the War Doctor, or at the very least, some portion thereof. Instead, his refusal to return to the program may have been for the best in this instance, as the Ninth Doctor remains the same as he had been.