Doctor Who and The Mandalorian: How to tie into a larger universe

The latest episode of The Mandalorian tied into other aspects in a big way. More than that: it showed how to do it right.

Image Courtesy Disney+

This week’s episode of The Mandalorian tied directly into other aspects of the Star Wars universe. Could Doctor Who do the same with its own mythology in future seasons? And if so, how? (Spoilers for The Mandalorian follow.)

The latest episode of The Mandalorian (i.e. Disney+’s biggest incentive to subscribe) was definitely a fantastic one. It was filled with a considerable amount of action, strong characters, and some major ties to the rest of the Star Wars universe. This last point is a particularly exciting one (and keep in mind, I’ll be discussing spoilers, just in case you’ve been managing to avoid all social media after the episode’s release).

A delightful surprise for Star Wars fans was seeing Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze. For fans who’ve only seen the films and The Mandalorian, she was a great guest character, one with an interesting backstory while also being a force to be reckoned with.

But for fans of the expanded universe – particularly the animated series The Clone Wars and Rebels – her inclusion was much more exciting. Not only had Kryze previously been introduced as a key character from those shows. But in The Mandalorian, she had even been played by her original voice actress!

It’s an amazing link between the worlds of live-action and animation, and makes the larger Star Wars universe feel more cohesive. More importantly, her inclusion in this episode had been handled just right – while it was great for fans of the character to see her in non-animated form, the show didn’t make the mistake of assuming that everyone watching the show would know who she is.

This leads me to a key question: could it be possible for Doctor Who to introduce characters from other media into the TV series?

Multi-Master story The Doctor Falls made a key reference to the multiple origins of the Cybermen – including a radically different origin in the comics!

(C) BBC/BBC Worldwide – Photographer: Simon Ridgway

Key allusions

This idea wouldn’t entirely be without precedent. When Paul McGann returned on-screen in The Night of the Doctor, it wasn’t the only surprise that fans got to enjoy – especially fans of Big Finish and their many audios. During his final moments, the Eighth Doctor saluted and named several of his audio companions.

It was the first time that Big Finish’s large volume of work had been acknowledged, thus making it clear that the Eighth Doctor – despite having so little screentime – had not only had a rich and full era. It’s also one that fans could discover for themselves – an era that’s separate from the TV series while remaining canonical to it.

Sadly, that’s also the only time Big Finish has been directly referenced. And the expanded universe is rarely alluded to in general. The most significant nod that we’ve had in recent years is the acknowledgment of the Cybermen’s many origins in The Doctor Falls. While World Enough and Time initially seemed to depict a clear “genesis” for them, the Doctor made it clear that the Cybermen have had several origins on different worlds, including Mondas, Planet 14, and Marinus.

These last two were a clear nod to the Sixth Doctor comic story The World Shapers, so it was a nice touch by former showrunner Steven Moffat. It also allowed for Spare Parts – still the greatest take of the Cybermen’s origins in any media – to fit comfortably in the canon. But is it possible that the expanded universe can get more than just a nod?

With Captain Jack’s return to the world of Doctor Who on-screen, a clear nod to his new team – or even more – would be fantastic.

Photo Courtesy Big Finish Productions

Introducing old as new

The key trick would be to introduce a character or story element that can be enjoyed completely independently of where they were originally introduced. You can’t expect the audience to know who or what this element is, so you’d need to introduce it naturally.

Fortunately, the Doctor does this all the time. Often, they will explain all about a species or a planet to the companions that the audience hasn’t seen before. Even better is that this same approach will be used for many previously established worlds and monsters. This isn’t always the case (for example, in World Enough & Time, the audience is definitely expected to know both what the Cybermen are and who John Simm’s Master is). But usually, the writers do a good job of reintroducing major elements for a new audience.

Theoretically, the same could be done for previously established characters from other media. The trick is to do what The Mandalorian did – avoid any expectation of the audience knowing who that character is and simply introduce them as you would with any brand new character.

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Who to include?

So which characters should appear or be referenced to in the TV series? Well, as I’ve said before, the Eleven – a Time Lord who retains all of his previous personalities – would be great to see in the show. Or perhaps even a brand new incarnation of the villain.

Going beyond Doctor Who, perhaps characters from other spin-offs could make an appearance. Honestly, I’d absolutely love to see Paul Clayton on-screen as Mr. Colchester – arguably one of the best original characters that Torchwood‘s ever given us. If not a full-on appearance, then at least a mention from Captain Jack whenever he next appears in the TV series.

The likelihood of this happening is admittedly pretty slim. Showrunner Chris Chibnall naturally wants to focus on his own era. More than that, the Royal Charter that the BBC has to follow is definitely very strict about continuity from other media merging with one of its TV series. Still, if Big Finish’s companions could get a clear nod in a minisode, then who knows – maybe the success of The Mandalorian‘s handling of continuity could encourage shows like Doctor Who to try something similar.

What do you think? Do you think a character from an audio story or a comic could appear in the TV series if handled right? Should it happen at all? Or could it be too alienating for the casual audience? Let us know in the comments below.