Doctor Who: The Universally Beloved Wilf

It seems that, no matter what character is discussed, there will be those who dislike that individual. But Doctor Who may well have one universally beloved character in the new incarnation.

On every television show, there will be people that either like or dislike a character. No matter how popular a character is, there will be those who, for whatever reason, dislike them. In fact, it may be much easier to be universally hated than universally loved by a fanbase.

Doctor Who, however, may have one of those rare universally beloved characters in the new incarnation of the show. Wilfred Mott first appeared in the revival of Doctor Who as a newsstand owner in ‘Voyage of the Damned.’ Even though it has been over five years since he left the show, he is still fondly remembered for his time during Season Four as he encouraged his granddaughter, Donna Noble, and when he teamed up with the Doctor to stop the Master from taking over the world.

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Yet, Wilf was more than those two moments. As a recurring character with generally minor roles, he would have been easily overlooked in most instances. The companion’s grandfather is not exactly a role that would normally stand out, and it would not have been a surprise if Wilf had been considered in a neutral light.

Instead, his exuberance and excitement made him stand out more than other minor recurring characters. Wilf was more than a cheerleader for Donna; he was someone who had a genuine love for life and a desire to see her succeed. When he got to see Donna waving to him from the TARDIS through his telescope, his joyful reaction was one of the better moments of the series.

With his love of outer space and his acceptance of alien life forms, one of the great moments would have been to see Wilf travel with the Doctor on a couple of adventures throughout the galaxy. While he did manage to board the TARDIS and go out into space himself, as well as team up with the Doctor, getting to see Wilf actually explore different worlds would have been amazing to witness.

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In a way, it seemed as though Wilf was one of the fans of the show. Although he was a part of the Whoniverse, he felt like one of us, enjoying every moment that he had as a part of Doctor Who. For that reason, Wilf may well be the one universally beloved characters on the new incarnation of the show.