In the final seasons of the Classic Series, the show began to evolve in key ways. Did this evolution influence the show’s revival over 16 years later?
When editor and fellow writer Leah Tedesco wrote a review on ‘Survival,’ it got me thinking about the Seventh Doctor‘s era. Particularly when it was pointed out that there were a surprising number of similarities with the Russell T. Davies era – a higher focus on the more ordinary life for the Doctor’s companion back home; a story showing ordinary people out of their depth in an alien environment, and at just 3 episodes as opposed to 4, a slightly faster pace than usual for the Classic Series.
But the similarities between the end of the Classic Series and the start of the New go beyond just the former’s final story. It really begins with ‘Dragonfire,’ the final story of Season 24 and the introduction of a companion that pretty much defined the Seventh Doctor’s era: Ace.
Sylvester McCoy’s first season was far from the best we’ve seen of the show; in fact, it’s one of my least favourite seasons ever. It has a very pantomime feel to it which never really worked for me, and it was clear that the production team hadn’t quite “figured out” the Seventh Doctor, with McCoy’s Time Lord coming across as little more than a metaphor-mixing clown a great deal of the time. With ‘Dragonfire,’ however, while the writers were still finding their feet, the introduction of Ace at least shook things up, in two significant ways.
First, there was how her character very noticeably developed, arguably more than any companion had for a very, very long time. Ace goes from being something of a tomboy to someone who gradually matures more and more over the series. A big reason for this is the Doctor’s interest in her, deliberately trying to mentor her and help her to face her demons.
This focus on the relationship between the Doctor and his companion arguably hadn’t been done to such an extent before, and it lead to numerous memorable moments, particularly when they clashed because of the Doctor’s secretive, alien nature. A couple of great examples are 1) the Doctor “surprising” Ace with a visit to a house that virtually traumatised her in ‘Ghost Light,’ and 2) his breaking her faith in him to save her life in ‘The Curse of Fenric.’
Exploring the relationship between the Doctor and his companion, and how they both develop, are common in the New Series, particularly in the Russell T. Davies era with Rose, Martha, and Donna. In the Classic Series, this level of focus was considerably rare. (Having said that, original companions Ian and Barbara arguably had tons of development. This is one of the reasons why they’re two of my favourites, although I’ll save that for another article.)
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There was something else that wasn’t quite as common in the Classic Series that was introduced with Ace – a very subtle arc. In ‘Dragonfire,’ when Ace first meets the Doctor on the planet Svartos, she’s an ordinary girl from 20th century Earth who had somehow arrived there in a “time storm.” The Doctor almost immediately asks her to join him, and while there are hints along the way about what’s really going on and why he took such an interest in her — particularly in ‘Silver Nemesis‘ — it’s not until ‘The Curse of Fenric’ that we find out why. There are numerous reasons why that story is one of my favourites, and how the revelations are handled is a small but very welcome part of it.
In the Moffat era, a sense of mystery around both the companion and the Doctor are rather common, and with the Doctor noticeably lying and keeping secrets from his companions, particularly in the Eleventh Doctor‘s seasons — plus scenes that almost mirror classic Seventh Doctor moments completely (Eleven breaking Amy’s faith in him in ‘The God Complex‘ especially springs to mind) — it’s hard not to see a strong influence from era of the Seventh Doctor.
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Next: Doctor Who: When the Past Did Not Have Alien Threats
It’s ironic that the Classic Series was cancelled when it was, as the final seasons of the show, while over a decade and a half before Eccleston’s season and having a much lower budget, not only left an arguably big impact on the New Series, but also saw the show evolve more than it had in far too long.