How many incarnations has experienced Doctor Who ? While in terms of “simplified” continuity, Ncuti Gatwa is generally considered the Fifteenth Doctor, things are actually not that simple. Latest proof to date: the last episode of Doctor Who has just made one of the most unknown incarnations of the famous hero canon.
One more face for Doctor Who
When Russell T Davies revives the series Doctor Who in 2005, he strived to make the continuity, already 42 years old, as simple and readable as possible. Mays the exercise is a real tour de force. Indeed, in just over 40 years, Doctor Who has seen several hundred TV episodes, 2 cinema films which are not considered canon, comics, a play, audio episodes, a spin-off dedicated to his robot dog K9 (yes, yes, it exists) , or even a “semi-official” anniversary episode where Rowan Atkinson, Mister Bean himself, is the Doctor Who. And this is precisely where it gets complicated.
In these many side adventures, Doctor Who has sometimes had incarnations less known to the general public, which expands the already substantial score of the 15 official incarnations of the series. We were also talking to you about two little-known female incarnations recently right here. But the series itself has taken another step forward by allowing the Doctor to suddenly encounter past incarnations, which he had either forgotten about or wanted to keep secret.
The 50th anniversary special episode, Doctor’s Day, introduced a Doctor, the War Doctor, from the middle of the Doctor’s life that the public did not know. Since then, radical changes and additions to the lore have become common. The Fugitive Doctor, along with a series of other incarnations predating the First Doctor, debuted during the period when the Doctor was played by actress Jodie Whittaker. This liberation of the writing of the series finally allows the authors to have a little more fun with the incarnation counter. However, last weekend, the showrunner took the liberty ofadd to the official canon a little-known face of the Doctor played by the great Richard E. Grant!
Who is this new Doctor Who
In the sixth episode of the first season of Disney+, SnapeTHE Doctor is about to be shot by a bounty hunter spatio-temporal who takes him for a being of a species of shape-shifting bird capable of changing appearance. By activating a holographic device, he suddenly makes the different faces appear that he may have had and thus proves that he is in reality a Time Lord. Nostalgic fans and fans then recognize, amused, actors like David Tennant or Matt Smith, but suddenly an unexpected face appears: that of the actor Richard E. Grant.
This British actor is well known for his many cult roles in films like Withnail and me Or Gosford Parkand he has appeared in recent series like Loki, Game of Thrones or Saltburn on Prime. However, the actor also has a very long and very heavy history with the universe of Doctor Who, but which until then was mainly known to the most picky fans of the series.
First of all, Grant was one of the many faces of the Doctor in the anniversary and parody episode Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death alongside Rowan Atkinson, Jim Broadbent, Joanna Lumley and even Hugh Grant (yes, Hugh Grant and Mister Bean were Doctor Who, you read that right). Later, Grant also played an enemy of the Doctor, Doctor Walter Simeon and the Great Intelligence in the Christmas 2012 episode: The Ice Lady. But these are still relatively accessible references. Because in reality, after his brief appearance as Doctor in The Curse of Fatal Death, the actor was once again asked to play the Doctor in two new adventures completely new in France.
The door open to “other” Doctors?
Indeed, in 2003, before Russell T Davies relaunched the series with Christopher Eccleston in the role of the Doctor, the digital media branch of the BBC was preparing animated episodes of the Doctor, The Cry of the Shalka, in which it was Richard E. Grant who played the Doctor and served as a model for the drawings. Due to the arrival of the new live-action episodes, The Scream of the Shalka almost never came out, but it was finally broadcast in late 2003. Finally Grant is the incarnation of the doctor in a game released for the 50th anniversary of the series: A time and a place.
This Doctor was even thought for a time by the BBC as the one who would allow the return of the series, but Davies did not wish engage him for the role. Now things are changing and Grant’s Doctor in the flesh has finally become official in just a matter of seconds. The door is now open for the many other unknown Doctors of the “Who’niverse”, like for example that of the great Peter Cushing.
Keywords :
Doctor WhoDavid Tennantmatt smithDisneyNcuti Gatwaseriesepisodemovieroguetardis
