Doctor Who: Can the Doctor work in a less proactive way?

Sometimes, Doctor Who takes less of a proactive approach with its lead character. But can that approach work with Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor?

One of the main issues I had with Series Eleven was how often the companions could overshadow the Doctor. Graham was a brilliant character. In fact, I’d say he’s the best companion we’ve had in years. But he was also explored in far more depth than the Doctor was.

We got glimpses of how Whittaker’s Doctor thinks and feels. But not quite enough. Certainly not compared to any of the New Series Doctors. We never had the darkness of the character explored, or her self-doubt looked at in a concrete way. We caught glimpses of it, but that’s it. In some ways, the Doctor almost didn’t feel like the main character of her own series.

Perhaps the most frustrating element about that is that, in some ways, a less proactive Doctor doesn’t neccessarily have to be a bad thing. In fact, it can allow for really great storytelling and draw more attention to them as a result.

How can this be achieved? With the addition of two key elements: mystery and presence.

The Seventh Doctor was a man who liked to keep his secrets and had an air of mystery. Could the same approach work with Thirteen?

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who Website.)

Earlier Doctors

Having the Doctor in the background more can work incredibly well if you make that Doctor more of a mystery figure. An alien whom you’re not quite sure what their motivations are. Risky to do, particularly with a character who’s been around for a long time. But not impossible.

The First Doctor was often like this, especially in the first season. Ian and Barbara couldn’t trust him, not at first. (It didn’t help that he had literally kidnapped them.) He was more morally ambiguous. Essentially, while he was the title character, Ian and Barbara were the real leads.

But that worked because of how much presence the character always had. Not to mention that he steadily grew over time into the hero we all know.

Of course, that was then, and this is now, and the Doctor’s more often thought of as your classic hero. But even with later Doctors, making the character more of a mystery still worked.

For example, the Seventh Doctor liked to keep secrets and plans all to himself, without letting his companion Ace know. Even when he first met her, he knew more what she was caught up in than she did.

By this point, we have a really good idea of Thirteen’s character by this point. Should her Doctor be explored in a deeper way?

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

Could Thirteen work as a more “mysterious” Doctor?

These are just some examples of how to portray the Doctor in a less of a proactive role. To give the companions more exploration, while at the same time, keeping the Doctor as the central figure.

More from Winter is Coming

However, neither of which works for Thirteen. We know that she’s pretty much an open book. She shares a lot in common with Five, Eight and Ten: Doctors with very strong morals and keep less secrets from their companions. (Well, generally. In Eight’s case, the one time he did keep a major secret from a friend, it massively backfired.)

Still, I would like to see a deeper exploration of Thirteen next series. Right now, she’s a very watchable Doctor. She’s quirky and fun, and her own set of morals do add some color to her character.

But I want to see those morals challenged. I want to see her emotions explored in a deeper way. Whittaker deserves what Eccleston got with Dalek; Tennant with Human Nature; Smith with The Doctor’s Wife, or Capaldi with Heaven Sent. In short, we need a really amazing episode that really challenges Whittaker and shows us what she can do. I hope we get that next series.

Next. Doctor Who and violence: How much is too much?. dark

Do you think there are ways of making the Doctor less proactive while also being the lead character? Do you think Jodie Whittaker needs stronger scripts that explore her incarnation better? Let us know in the comments below.

Home/Doctor Who