Doctor Who: Top Five Guest Stars throughout NewWho
BBC
As part of a little experiment I started, I put out the all-call on Twitter. You send me ideas for Top 5s, I’ll give you a shout out on the post, and answer your idea.
This week, it’s Thomas H Streeter 3 (cameraeye_34)’s idea: Top 5 Guest Stars.
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You got it Thomas. There have a number of guest stars on Doctor Who in the New Era in every season. But there’s always some that stick out to the viewer. Whether it’s their status in Doctor Who community, or if they just played the character incredibly well, there are always some that are better.
So, that’s what we’re going to write about this week. Who, in the New Era came onto a single episode of Doctor Who and left their mark? There are many to choose from, and just when I think I have five good options, another one comes up and bumps one off the list.
I’m going to write a disclaimer and say that I’m not going to include Peter Capaldi on this list. Everyone knows that he’s a brilliant actor, and I’d be more than happy to write an entire post about how I fell in love with him in Fires of Pompeii. But, let’s be a little more creative this time.
John Barrowman
Did I say creative? Maybe not the best use of the word. But how can you not talk about the wonderful impact that Captain Jack Harkness had on the show? John Barrowman did was he always does, leave a lasting impact that made the viewers want more.
Captain Jack Harkness was a fan favorite for every episode he appeared on Doctor Who, despite the fact they were spread out thin. He always brought a smile to our faces (whether it’s just because he’s so damn attractive, or because he’s pretty comedic as well), and we knew that it was going to be a fun ride with Jack and Ten.
Also, he and Nine shared some pretty off the cuff banter that made many people ship the two together.
After originally seeing him with Nine for a couple of episodes, and the eventual Doomsday episode. Barrowman was given his own show, Torchwood. The show was a little more risque than Doctor Who, dealing with aliens who take over a body when they orgasm, as well as the sexual escapades of the Torchwood team.
James Corden (Craig Owens)
During the 11th Doctor’s time, we saw him visit an Earth citizen for once, rather than the other way round. James Corden popped up twice in two seasons. First, a bachelor looking for a roommate, and then a man with the girl he’d always loved with a baby.
Not only would Craig Owens become one of the only people Eleven would regularly visit on Earth, but the character also brought a new side to the Doctor.
Corden’s acting quickly made Craig Owens a favorite character, despite only appearing twice on the show. Between funny scenes with Eleven and watching an amazing actor bring dimension to a character that we’ve only seen twice, Corden proved his ability to make a standalone character an unforgettable one.
Unfortunately, we only saw him twice before he moved to America to take Craig Ferguson’s spot on the Late Late Show on CBS.
Tom Baker (the Curator)
It’s weird to see Tom Baker’s name on this list, but his cameo/guest star in the fiftieth Anniversary still has people talking, and easily helped the episode become iconic.
As everyone who likes Doctor Who knows, Tom Baker is anything but just a guest star on Doctor Who. His portrayal of the fourth Doctor is legendary for any fan of the show. He’s been constantly known as The Doctor for most fans, his tenure of Doctor Who spreading out longer than anyone else.
But for the sake of this article, we’ll be talking about him in terms of a guest star, when he made a cameo in the Fiftieth Anniversary episode as the curator of the Museum where Gallifrey Falls No More stood. His appearance in the episode shocked viewers and gave a great classic era feel to the episode as he talked to Eleven about how he wished he was him…or perhaps he was!
This small scene has given many viewers cause to pause on what it might mean for the future when the Curator said: “you may be revisiting familiar faces..but only the favorites!” Though most likely, it was to pave the way for Peter Capaldi.
Even as a small cameo, Tom Baker changed the Anniversary episode for the better, and left a mark that was not forgotten.
Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith)
Another Classic face made their way onto New Who in the beginning of David Tennant’s time as the Doctor. Elisabeth Sladen played Sarah Jane Smith both in 3rd and 4th Doctor’s time and when she came back in School Reunion.
When she came back in 2006, she also brought another friend, K9, the Doctor’s robotic dog from the Classic Era as well. She was pretending to be a journalist, which she often did as a companion, to try to figure out why the school she was investigating had changed so much.
Sladen brought the same characteristics that she brought as a companion, but with the wisdom that came with years of fending for her own without the Doctor. It was easily believable to jump back into Sarah Jane’s life, even years after she and the Doctor parted ways.
Sladen made her mark on the episode in a spectacular fashion, openly judging the Doctor for his younger companions, as well as having a fight with Rose about who had seen more. We saw another person whose life had been touched by the Docter in the same way Rose had, teaching the viewers, as well as the character, that Rose wasn’t the first that had a special connection with the Doctor.
Carey Mulligan (Sally Sparrow)
In one of the highest rated episode of the New Who era, the center of it was Sally Sparrow, played by Carey Mulligan. I don’t think I need to go through the episode, other than to reiterate that this is when the terrifying Weeping Angels were first introduced.
It takes a lot for an episode to get such notoriety from fans and critics, and the heart of it was the brilliant acting that Mulligan brought to the episode. Dealing with the loss of her friend by the Weeping Angels, and then a man she liked in a single day would be difficult for anyone.
The best part of Mulligan’s performance is the love story of her and Detective Shipton, which only lasted a total of five minutes of screen time, but is one that many viewers fell in love with.
Mulligan also did a fantastic job ushering in the new villains and is a huge part of why the episode has gone down in Doctor Who history.
These are only five of the amazing actors that have come on during Doctor Who’s New Who tenure. There are so many to pick from, but these are our favorites. Each of them left their mark on Doctor Who in their own way.
Next: How the BBC could have handled the Doctor Who announcement better