Some interesting news popped up today regarding Paul McGann reprising his role as the Eighth Doctor in a possible spin-off ‘Doctor Who’ series according to reports. Before we go any further, I will stress that this news comes from an article in The Mirror, so I can’t vouch for its accuracy… But I do really hope it’s true!
McGann’s Eighth Doctor has only really had three outings on-screen playing the character. The 1996 television film, the 2013 mini-episode “The Night of the Doctor” where he regenerates into John Hurt’s The War Doctor, and a cameo in Jodie Whittaker’s final outing, ‘The Power of the Doctor’. However, McGann built up a large following due to his many Big Finish audio book adventures. He is technically the actor who was custodian of the role of the Doctor for the longest (1996 to 2005), and was a major asset in keeping the brand alive whilst it was off our TV screens before Russell T Davies brought it back in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston.
Citing ‘a source’, the article says: “Russell likes the idea of bringing back McGann with his own set of episodes in the TARDIS. Disney are on board as they want more original content and want to fully exploit the franchise as they know how big it could become.”
Whilst not confirmed, that does seem entirely consistent with both Disney’s modus operandi, and with what RTD has been saying about growing the ‘Doctor Who’ franchise with more spin-off series. Finally giving McGann a chance to shine on screen with a character he has been honing for years would be a wonderful addition to the line-up of potential spin-offs, and something I think a lot of Whovians would embrace. Plus, Paul himself has been quoted as saying he “would be well up for it!”
We know how much love RTD has for “Classic Who”, and is not afraid to bring back the older cast to the series. Most recently he produced ‘Tales From The TARDIS’, which reunited many classic Doctors and companions for introductions to classic-era stories. He also created ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’, which saw classic companion Elisabeth Sladen reprise her role, and we also know that Bonnie Langford is set to reprise her role as classic companion Mel alongside Fifteenth Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa.
An Eighth Doctor series could also give RTD an interesting opportunity to explore a somewhat darker period in ‘Doctor Who’ mythology. We know the Eighth Doctor’s fate ends during the Last Great Time War between the Time Lords of Gallifrey and the Daleks. Whilst some of the Time War was shown on screen during the 50th anniversary special, ‘The Day of the Doctor’, and some parts have been covered in comicbooks and audio dramas, much of the details are still shrouded in mystery. This could be a wonderful opportunity to give McGann his own series, whilst also exploring a lesser-tapped area of Who mythology, and having something tonally different to the main show.
Again, I stress, this news is not officially confirmed in any way, shape, or form, and the BBC (or Russell T Davies) have not commented. However, I do think it would be a really interesting idea. We’ll let you know if we hear more.
