Doctor Who spinoffs are happening (eventually), and here's what we want to see!
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00:00It's been a long time coming, but the Hooniverse is finally here.
00:03Russell T Davies has promised content galore, and there's no doubt that we're entering
00:07another great and bountiful Doctor Who empire.
00:10So, if we were the bigwigs making the important decisions, which shows would get the thumbs
00:15up?
00:16I'm Ellie for WhoCulture, here with 10 Doctor Who spin-offs fans want in the Hooniverse.
00:2010.
00:21The Master Adventures The Master has been a Doctor Who mainstay
00:24since 1971, and has appeared alongside almost every Doctor in that time.
00:29In fact, Master Flea by Sacha Dewan, the latest incarnation, who isn't trapped inside a gold
00:34tooth that is, underwent something of an identity crisis upon learning the Doctor was the progenitor
00:40for the whole Time Lord race.
00:41He even managed to forcibly regenerate her into him.
00:45For a brief moment, the Master was the Doctor.
00:47Were the Master or Missy to have their own show, they would no longer need to play second
00:52fiddle to their bestest enemy.
00:54They could be the main character for a whole series rather than just 25 minutes.
00:57It would also be a chance to plug the gaps in the Master's admittedly rather confusing
01:02timeline.
01:03We could have a series based around Missy charting her descent back to evil following
01:06the Doctor Falls.
01:07It could even end with her regeneration, setting the stage for a second series with then Sacha
01:11Dewan.
01:12Having a more morally dubious character lead a spin-off would be a refreshing change, and
01:16given how many actors have played the part, the possibilities really are endless.
01:209.
01:21Unit One Doctor Who spin-off has been rumoured far
01:24more than any other, and that is Unit.
01:26Even though Russell T. Davis has since indicated that the planned spin-offs aren't necessarily
01:30the ones you read about online, it's still an idea worth discussing, not least because
01:35it's a brilliant one.
01:36The alien fighting, skyscraper building, paramilitary organisation has been around for almost as
01:41long as Doctor Who itself.
01:42It hasn't featured in every single era, but characters like the Brigadier, Benton,
01:46Kate and Osgood have appeared often enough to be considered regulars.
01:50A Unit series would be a budget-conscious choice, as it would be mostly set on Earth.
01:54It could be grittier and allow for different types of invasion stories, properly delving
01:58into the differences in approach between the Doctor and his office buddies.
02:02With Unit playing a prominent role in Doctor Who, and new regulars Shirley and Colonel
02:06Ibrahim being set up alongside old favourites Mel and Kate Stewart, the cast is ready and
02:11waiting, and in today's television landscape, it would fit perfectly alongside popular crime
02:15dramas like Silent Witness and Line of Duty.
02:17Even Stephen Moffat agrees that Unit should be the obvious choice for a spin-off.
02:21The moth has spoken, people.
02:248. Animated Villains Anthology
02:27Unit isn't the only spin-off to have been rumoured in recent months.
02:31Reportedly, the monsters of Doctor Who will also be getting their own show.
02:34The Mirror has since claimed that this project will comprise a number of limited series,
02:39beginning with Sea Devil Saga, The War Between the Land and the Sea.
02:42As epic as this would be, we're going to propose something different.
02:45An animated anthology series, encompassing various animation styles and monsters.
02:50Animation would be the perfect medium for a monster show, because it would immediately
02:54eliminate the need for costly CGI or prosthetics.
02:57It wouldn't just have to be one type of animation, either.
02:59You could have a 2D cartoon run around with the pating one week, and a 3D modelled fleet
03:04of Daleks the next, followed by a creepy stop-motion story with the Silence or the Weeping Angels.
03:09This could also be a perfect spin-off for younger audiences.
03:12It's important for the Whoniverse to appeal to different crowds, and having an animated
03:15show in the roster would be a smart move.
03:187.
03:19Tales of the TARDIS – New Who Tales of the TARDIS wasn't exactly a fully
03:22fledged spin-off like Torchwood, but it was nevertheless a delightful way of incorporating
03:27past Doctor Companion duos.
03:29Oh, and according to Russell T. Davis, it's canon.
03:32The first six instalments starred most of the obvious surviving classic cast members.
03:36Sure, some actors like Paul McGann and Daphne Ashbrook were suspiciously absent, and elsewhere
03:41there are many classic stars who are sadly no longer with us.
03:44Arguably, then, the most obvious direction to go in with a second series would be a collection
03:48of New Who vignettes.
03:49Tales of the TARDIS allowed established fans to reminisce about the Doctor Companion pairings
03:54they grew up with.
03:55Terrifying a thought it might be, but modern Who has now been around long enough for viewers
03:59to get nostalgic about it the same way classic fans feel about older Doctors.
04:02Extending the concept to include companions like Rose, Martha and Amy would literally
04:07open Tales of the TARDIS to a whole new audience.
04:09And why stop there?
04:10We could have recollections from smaller side characters like Jackson Lake, Madame Vastra
04:14or Elton Pope.
04:15And what's Jeff up to these days?
04:17Okay, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea.
04:19Number 6.
04:20The Fugitive Doctor
04:21Jo Martin's Fugitive Doctor was the highlight of the Timeless Child storyline, yet she only
04:25actually made four appearances on screen, three of which were cameos, and she only physically
04:30appeared once in her first story.
04:32Every other iteration we saw was either a vision, a flashback or a hologram.
04:35Now, it is possible that she would have featured more in the original Series 13 before it was
04:40curtailed by Covid.
04:41Others argue that this incarnation was doomed from the start and that it was irresponsible
04:45of the show's writers to sideline her, not least because she was the first person of
04:49colour to play the part.
04:50However, the Fugitive Doctor is starting to find a home in the expanded universe.
04:55Her movements prior to Fugitive of the Jadoon have been detailed in Titan Comics Origins
04:59and she's set to get her own big finish series too.
05:02So why not extend her story to the TV screen?
05:05Series 12 and 13 are bursting with elements that could be spun off into a Fugitive Doctor
05:09show.
05:10Why not pair her up with Carvanista and explore her time in Division?
05:14Or how about her history with Swarm and Desire?
05:16Joe Martin is fantastic in the role, so this would be a canny choice.
05:195.
05:20Sarah Jane Adventures follow-up Each of the TV spin-offs we've had so far
05:24have ended prematurely.
05:25With Torchwood and Class, there simply wasn't enough demand from audiences, but the Sarah
05:29Jane Adventures was different.
05:30That show would have continued had it not been for the untimely passing of Elizabeth
05:34Sladen.
05:35The fifth series was originally planned to be six stories rather than three, culminating
05:40with the Battle of Bannerman Road.
05:41More stories were being planned beyond this, with one suggestion seeing Sarah Jane relocate
05:45to the countryside for a soft reboot in Series 6.
05:48Ultimately, it wasn't to be.
05:50At the time, the production team were quite rightly adamant that the show couldn't go
05:54on without Sarah Jane herself.
05:56Even so, it's a great shame that we never got to see more of her companions Luke, Clyde
06:00and Rani.
06:01The actors who played these characters are now all adults, and Sarah Jane's death has
06:05been addressed in-universe in The Giggle.
06:07So why not pick up from there with a show that centres on the Sarah Jane Adventures
06:11as kids?
06:12A similar concept has been explored on audio, while Clyde has popped up in Tales of the
06:16TARDIS, but a show like this could give the Hooniverse a vital presence on CBBC in the
06:20same way that the Sarah Jane Adventures did.
06:23They could even throw in an experienced mentor character like Mel, Ace or Martha Jones to
06:27lead the change.
06:28Yes please!
06:29Number 4.
06:30The Shadow Proclamation
06:31In simple terms, a unit series would be a police procedural with aliens.
06:36Not unlike Torchwood.
06:37But what about a police procedural in space?
06:39Were such a series to be commissioned, there's an obvious choice for an organisation to base
06:43it around.
06:44The Shadow Proclamation.
06:45Despite only appearing in two TV stories, this extraterrestrial police force has cast
06:50a large shadow over the revived series.
06:52The Doctor has invoked its laws on numerous occasions, as long ago as Rose and as recently
06:57as The Star Beast.
06:58From a production standpoint, a futuristic police procedural wouldn't be as practical
07:02as a contemporary one, but the premise would lend itself well to animation.
07:06This would allow for a more light-hearted approach in the vein of other sci-fi toons
07:09like Rick and Morty and Lower Decks, differentiating this show from the grittier tone of Units.
07:14But the real stars of the show would be the aliens.
07:17Most prominent would be the Jadoon and the Wrath Warriors and Atraxxi could also feature.
07:21Beyond that, there'd be tons of malevolent creatures for the Proclamation to track down,
07:25and plenty of planets, spaceships and adventure.
07:27And why not throw in Alonso Frame as the lead?
07:30Why not?
07:31Number 3.
07:32The River Song Diaries
07:33This is the one I've been waiting for.
07:36There is no character more ripe for a spin-off than River Song.
07:39Alex Kingston's time-travelling archaeologist quickly became a fan favourite following her
07:44debut, and further appearances across the Moffat era cemented her as a force to be reckoned
07:49with.
07:50And yet, the show has barely scratched the surface on her doctorless adventures.
07:53We've had glimpses of what solo River Stories might look like, but there's much more to
07:57explore and given that her diary is already full of spoiler-filled escapades, a River
08:01Song spin-off would basically write itself.
08:04And of course, Big Finish has already explored such a concept in its Diary of River Song
08:08series.
08:09For a River-led TV show, though, we'd like to see River take front and centre without
08:12sharing the spotlight with any of the Doctors.
08:14There would inevitably be the odd reference to her husband slash wife, but ultimately
08:19this would be about River, visiting new worlds and battling new enemies.
08:22I mean, she could even have her own team of companions.
08:25Now, intriguingly, the Diary of River Song did recently come to an end with Big Finish.
08:29Does this mean that River's adventures are finally about to make their move from Expanded
08:33Universe to television?
08:34Watch this space, sweeties, and PLEASE let this happen.
08:372.
08:38The Time War
08:39Poor Paul McGann.
08:40He got just one story on TV as the Eighth Doctor and has, to date, only made two further
08:45appearances on screen.
08:46Well, technically, the power of the Doctor was, in McGann's own words, the only time
08:50the Eighth Doctor got on the telly.
08:52His first outing was a TV movie and his second was a Minnesota.
08:55McGann has reprised the role on audio countless times, but the cries for an Eighth Doctor
08:59TV spin-off have never died down.
09:02With many citing The Night of the Doctor as a proof of concept, and it's not hard
09:06to see why, McGann effortlessly slipped back into the part after 17 years away, proving
09:10that he still has what it takes to play the Doctor on telly.
09:13A gritty Time War series would be particularly exciting, detailing the evolution of the character
09:18from romantic hero to tortured warrior.
09:21Something along the lines of Star Wars spin-off Andor, with the Eighth Doctor leading rebellion
09:25from behind enemy lines, would be amazing.
09:28And hey, according to a recent report from the Mirror, there's hope.
09:31If ever there was a time for McGann to get his own show, it's now.
09:341.
09:35At Home with the Nobles
09:36The Giggle changed the game for spin-offs with the introduction of Bi-Generation.
09:41This trick allows past and future Doctors to exist simultaneously, as demonstrated by
09:45the transition from David Tennant's 14th Doctor to Shutee Gatwa's 15th.
09:49In theory, it means that each of the old Doctors could now have their own show, but as the
09:53first Doctor to experience Bi-Generation, it would only be fair for 14 to get dibs.
09:58The Giggle provided the perfect set-up for a 14th Doctor spin-off, showing us a glimpse
10:03of his new life at home with the Nobles.
10:05The supporting characters are all in place, from best friend Donna to mad auntie Mel.
10:09And how about a cameo from Nerys?
10:11Of course, food would feature heavily too.
10:12I mean, we've already learnt of Sylvia's giant sausage roll and tuna madras, viewers
10:16would literally be on the edge of their seats to see what she's cooked up next.
10:20From a purely practical standpoint, David Tennant and Catherine Tate are an all-time
10:24favourite TARDIS team, and this would be an easy way for them to stay involved without
10:28being committed to the main show.
10:30Having such popular characters would also make the spin-offs feel truly AAA, as opposed
10:34to a lesser side-offering.
10:35We don't doubt that Russell T Davies has at least thought about giving this one a go,
10:39but personally, I think they need to wait a little while.
10:42And there you have it.
10:43Now, as I mentioned, Doctor Who is about to be bigger than ever, so make sure you watch
10:4610 Reasons We're Entering a Doctor Who Golden Age.
10:49In the meantime, I've been Ellie for WhoCulture, and in the words of River Song herself, goodbye
10:53sweeties.