Lucy Lawless Should Guest Star on Doctor Who
By Leah Tedesco
Ever since the end of its production in 2001, fans of the show Xena: Warrior Princess (a spin-off of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys on which the character of Xena originated) have been clamoring for its revival while dealing with the occasional teasing rumor. The show’s title star, Lucy Lawless, remains a geek fan favorite to this day, with a robust resume. I personally also loved her as D’Anna Biers/Number Three on the 2004 reboot of Battlestar Galactica, Paula on Flight of the Conchords, and Diane Lewis on Parks and Recreation.
More from Doctor Who
- Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who Christmas special is a “complete reinvention”
- Ncuti Gatwa is “so nervous” to take on Doctor Who role
- The Doctor and Donna are better than ever in “Wild Blue Yonder”
- Take the Black: House of the Dragon season 2 trailer hints, the Fallout show, and more
- Jodie Whittaker didn’t pick up on any of the hate for her version of the Doctor
Fans of Doctor Who have an empathetic connection to other fandoms who campaign for the return of their respective franchises. The only canon screen time that Doctor Who saw from 1989 until 2005 was a 1996 television movie… and while Paul McGann was fantastic as The Doctor, the movie itself was questionable. As a fan of Xena, myself, I propose that, until the hypothetical return of the show, Lawless’s talents be put to good use by creating something that geeks love: A meeting of geekdoms.
A lesser-known bit of trivia is that Xena was not Lawless’s first role in the Hercules universe. She first appeared as Lysia in the movie/pilot Hercules and the Amazon Women and later as Lyla in the episodes ‘As Darkness Falls’ and ‘Outcast.’ This brings to mind Leela, The Doctor’s warrior companion from the human colony planet Sevateem. (Don’t even pretend that it’s not fun to notice how similar all of these character names are to each other.)
Bringing Lawless onto Doctor Who would be the perfect opportunity to revisit Leela’s character while also giving a nod to Xena. On Doctor Who, Lawless could play a character who is a relative, friend, or even enemy of Leela’s, most likely from Sevateem. Of course, it would be extra awesome if Lawless’s costar Renee O’Connor (Gabrielle) appeared, as well. Too much to ask? Perhaps, but we can dream.
At this point, the only crossover that we have of Doctor Who and Xena: Warrior Princess is a scene from The Simpsons‘ ‘Treehouse of Horror X.’ In this scene, we see that Comic Book Guy has kidnapped and put on display a collection of actors in their iconic costumes, including Lucy Lawless as Xena and Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor.
Of course, Lawless would be fabulous on Doctor Who as something entirely different from what I’ve suggested above. Like I always say in these guest start pitches, the possibilities are virtually endless when you bring in great talent. What do you think of the concept of her appearing on the show? Let us know in the comments.