Doctor Who: What New Series Doctors could Davros meet?

We last saw Davros meet the Doctor on-screen in The Magician’s Apprentice. But could other New Series Doctors have met their old enemy?

Image Courtesy Simon Ridgway/BBC

Since Doctor Who came back in 2005, we’ve only seen Davros meet the Tenth and Twelfth Doctors. But could the Daleks’ creator have met other New Series Doctors in off-screen encounters…?

One thing that Doctor Who‘s expanded universe is very good at – whether it’s in books, comics, or audios – is exploring little gaps in the TV show’s vast mythology, particularly when it comes to previous Doctors. After all, the Doctor has lived for hundreds of years, and it’s extremely clear that we don’t always see their adventures on-screen. Even ones that feature major villains.

After both watching and listening to Davros’s stories in chronological order, one thing that stood out is how good Big Finish is at telling brand new stories for the Daleks’ creator with classic Doctors. We’ve seen (or rather, heard) Davros encounter the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Doctors several times, away from the TV screen.

It’s easy to see why these particular Doctors have been focused on. We know from Genesis of the Daleks that the Doctor had never met Davros before. (In fact, it’s a rare example of a major villain being established that the Doctor isn’t already aware of!) We also know that, from Davros’s perspective, the stories Genesis, Destiny, and Resurrection of the Daleks are more or less consecutive.

The fourth volume of The Eighth Doctor: Time War 4 explored how Davros was resurrected for the Time War. Could Davros have met another Doctor during that time?

Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions

The Time War

There are clearer gaps for adventures to take place in between his later stories, at least. Especially for the Eighth Doctor – not only is he a Doctor that we saw very little of on-screen, but it was established in The Stolen Earth that there are significant events featuring the two enemies that we know nothing about. Considering these encounters clearly happened in the Time War – a huge event that at the time was shrouded in mystery – this isn’t surprising.

Just a few months ago, Big Finish had begun exploring Davros’s involvement in the war, starting with his resurrection in the story Palindrome. Once again, the story involved him meeting the Eighth Doctor.

The ending of Time War: Volume 4 made it very clear that Davros’s role in the war isn’t done just yet. With The War Doctor Begins starting next year, it’s very possible that we’ll hear him encounter the War Doctor. But are there other Doctors that he could meet? Particularly from the New Series?

Due to Ten’s reaction in The Stolen Earth, we shouldn’t expect a Ninth Doctor story with Davros any time soon. After all, it was clear that the Doctor and Davros hadn’t seen each other since the Time War in that episode.

The Twelfth Doctor encountered Davros in The Magician’s Apprentice. But is it the first time they’ve met since Journey’s End?

Leaving a clear gap

But, at the same time, there is definitely potential for more Davros stories. Especially since there’s no acknowledgment of the events of Journey’s End in the Twelfth Doctor story The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar. The last time the Doctor had seen Davros, he was at the heart of a new Dalek empire that was being completely destroyed. The next time the Doctor sees him, he’s not remotely surprised to have discovered that Davros had survived.

This is an interesting choice that Steven Moffat made with his story. Yet at the same time, there are two good reasons for it. The first is that, when The Magician’s Apprentice was broadcast back in 2015, it had already been over seven years since we had last seen Davros on-screen. For relatively new viewers of Doctor Who, trying to tie up a story that was seven years old might have been a little too much to ask for.

However, there’s a second and arguably better reason why Moffat gave us such a clear gap. If The Night of the Doctor proved anything, it’s that he has at least some respect for the expanded universe, especially the work of Big Finish. With Moffat fully acknowledging their take on the Eighth Doctor with his minisode, it’s entirely possible that he’d leave some clear gaps in the series for them to explore later.

Whether intentional or not, the gap between Journey’s End and The Magician’s Apprentice is certainly a large one. It’s very possible that the Doctor could have met Davros again during that time and found out that he was still alive, but when?

The Tenth Doctor met Davros for the first time since the Time War in The Stolen Earth. Could he have met him a second time?

Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: BBC Press.

Possible meetings

One possibility is another encounter with the Tenth Doctor. Maybe not immediately after Journey’s End, but at least at some point during the final days of his life. Perhaps as a neat way of dealing with the aftermath of their earlier encounter before he faced his final battle with the Master.

However, that might be a little too soon for these two to meet, at least after Journey’s End. Especially when you take into account Victory of the Daleks. Considering the pepper pots had been at their weakest during that story, it’s unlikely that they wouldn’t have used Davros as a means of restoring themselves to full power. Unless, of course, the fact that they had done that already and still been almost entirely wiped out put them off from such an option.

Another unlikely placement is any time after The Day of the Doctor, at least until The Magician’s Apprentice. Davros had no idea that Gallifrey had returned in The Witch’s Familiar, and it’s very unlikely that the Doctor would’ve avoided mentioning it before then. Especially since he brought it up himself during that episode.

More from Winter is Coming

So the best placement for another meeting between Davros and the Doctor? At some point during the era of Matt Smith’s Doctor. Most likely after Victory of the Daleks, but after that, anything goes. So here’s hoping that – eventually – Matt Smith joins Big Finish and we get to hear such a key meeting.

The future

Of course, there is one more Doctor that Davros could meet – the current Doctor, Jodie Whittaker. Again, it’s been a long time since we last saw him. Should we be expecting him on-screen anytime soon? There are absolutely no hints of this. But then again, there were also no hints of Captain Jack’s return in Series 12, either. So Chibnall surprising us with Davros returning out of the blue doesn’t sound too unlikely.

Having said that, there’s no guarantee that Davros will show up in the next couple of years, or even meet the Thirteenth Doctor at all. After all, as we’ve already established, not every Doctor gets to meet the classic villain, at least on-screen. But one thing’s for sure – no matter how long it takes, Davros always comes back…

dark. Next. How everyone forgot the Daleks

What do you think? Could Davros and the Doctor have met each other in the gap between Journey’s End and The Magician’s Apprentice? Perhaps they’ve met each other already since then? Let us know in the comments below.

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Doctor Who: The Davros gap – What New Series Doctors could the villain meet?

By James Aggas | Dec 24, 2020