Doctor Who: Why the Draconians should return to the TV series

With Frontier in Space included in today’s Doctor Who stories on Twitch, we take a look at the Draconians, and why they should return at some point in the series.

Out of the many one-off alien races to have appeared in Doctor Who over the years, the Draconians have really stood out. In fact, they’re a race that could easily benefit from a return appearance.

It’s not simply that they’re a race that doesn’t want to conquer the universe. After all, many races in Doctor Who are ultimately like that.

But even in just their first story, Frontier in Space, there’s a lot of depth to their race and to their society. Which isn’t surprising, as Malcolm Hulke created them, after all. Creator of the Silurians, Hulke was a writer who already had experience in creating a society with great depth. So it’s not surprising that this is true of the Draconians, too.

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The Draconians are a race that are highly focused on honor and tradition. Even with technology advanced enough to build a huge empire across space, they’re still held back by some of their values, in some aspects.

For example, they have a strict class system. Lower classes or even women are not allowed to speak to the Emperor. So it’s interesting seeing an alien culture with high technology, but were very held back by its traditions

They also have a very distinctive look. In fact, the makeup for the Draconians in Frontier in Space is probably one of the best makeup jobs of the Third Doctor’s era. Their design really does look fantastic, even now.

A Draconian, originally seen in Frontier in Space. Should they return at some point?

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: BBC.)

How could they return?

Their are a couple of clear ways the Draconians could return. We could see exactly what happened to both their culture and the Earth Empire after the events of Frontier in Space.

Have the tensions shown in that story really eased? Or will there always be difficulty between the Draconians and the humans?

The war between the Earth and Draconian Empires could also be examined. This element was a key reason for the tensions between the two, after all.

So if the Doctor and her companions land right in the middle of it, it could present some interesting storytelling. Especially for showing what the Doctor can and can’t stop in her adventures.

Either way, the Draconians are a race that really do stand out. In fact, it’s very surprising that they only had one appearance on television. Particularly as it’s an appearance that really stands out.

The fact that they’ve been covered outside of the TV series at least, including in various books, comics and audios, such as Paper Cuts, really shows how much the race has endured. If they have a rather rich life in expanded media, it wouldn’t take much to bring them back to the screen.

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What do you think? Should the Draconians return at some point? Or are they best left as a one-hit wonder? Let us know in the comments below.

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