British series Doctor Who has a long history, nearly 52 years of stories and characters. And fortunately for fans, the series has even brought back some of its classic characters for the new series, starting with the ninth Doctor.
The new series reintroduced us to new versions of the Autons, rainbow-colored Daleks, Silurians, Sontarans and even two iterations of the Master, including the latest, Missy, the Master as a woman. We've even seen some of the Doctor's old friends and companions, including Sarah Jane Smith and the Brigadier General.
But with that long history, there are still many characters from the classic Doctor Who seies we've yet seen return on the new series. Some of these characters have appeared in the Big Finish audio adventures, but we'd still like to see them on our TVs. Here's our list of characters we want brought back to Doctor Who.
Susan Foreman
Having Susan on the new series of Doctor Who is a no-brainer, but it still hasn't happened yet. Portrayed by Carole Ann Ford, Susan was the Doctor's granddaughter, and was the first companion the Doctor traveled with in the TARDIS (that we know of). Susan appeared in several Big Finish audio adventures with the 8th Doctor, but we still haven't seen her on the new series, and that's a shame.
Even current 12th Doctor, Peter Capaldi, agrees. In 2014, Ford visited the set of Doctor Who and met Capaldi.
"... he started saying, 'Oh, you should come back!' I said, 'Yeah, I'd love to come back!' " Ford told Doctor Who Magazine. "He was running around the TARDIS saying, 'She's got to come back! She's got to come back!' "
We couldn't agree more. BBC, make this happen.
Ace
We get giddy thinking of Ace in the TARDIS with Capaldi's Doctor, so that's why she's our second pick for characters we'd like to return to the series. When we first met Ace, she was a 16-year-old troubled teen who got expelled from school for blowing up the art room. The Doctor met her working in a frozen food store on the planet Svartos.
Sophie Aldred, the actress who played the character, has done a lot of Big Finish audio adventures with 7th Doctor Sylvester McCoy, but wouldn't it be nice to see her meet the new Doctor? We'd also like to see what Ace is like all grown up, but we can imagine she'd still be up for taking on Daleks with a baseball bat.
In the Doctor Who spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, Ace did receive a mention, though as the head of a charity that raised billions.
Romana
One thing we want to see more of on Doctor Who is female Time Lords, or rather, Time Ladies. Yes, we've got Missy now, but remember Romana? During the classic series, we got two versions of her, because unlike the Doctor, Romana could regenerate at will. Of course, it was likely that Romana died on Gallifrey when the Time War destroyed the planet, but now that the 50th anniversary special has brought Gallifrey back from the dead, she's out there somewhere, isn't she?
It's also likely that Romana is in charge of the Time Lords, at least according to Doctor Who novel Happy Endings by Paul Cornell that has her as president of the planet. This presidency gets mentioned in other media, as well, including the Big Finish audio adventures.
The Valeyard
The Valeyard made his first appearance in 1986 in The Trial of the Time Lord episodes of the classic series. He served as a mysterious court prosecutor for the 6th Doctor, who was facing charges of breaking The First Law of Time. We later learn that the Valeyard is actually a version of the Doctor himself: a living, breathing version of the Doctor's darker sides from his 12th and 13th regeneration.
Wouldn't it be perfect that The Valeyard appear in the new series with the 12th Doctor? Especially with Capaldi's Doctor exploring that dark side and his first season actually questioning if he's a good or bad person, we could imagine facing The Valeyard would make for some major dramatic moments.
Michael Jayston has already appeared as The Valeyard in the Big Finish audio adventures, so having him bring the role to TV wouldn't be too difficult.
The Rani
Although the new Who has gone through a lot of classic villains, there is still one we haven't seen on the new series: The Rani. Like Romana, The Rani is a Time Lady, but she's a renegade mad scientist Gallifreyan, intent on carrying out her experiments, no matter the cost. And many of those experiments happen on Earth, because, unlike the Doctor, she doesn't much care for our planet.
Unfortunately, the actress who originally played the character, Kate O'Mara, passed away last year, but as The Rani is a Time Lady, she can have any face, thanks to regeneration, so this role could be tailor-made for some young actress willing to take it on.
Leela
Leela was one of the 4th Doctor's companions and certainly one of the most interesting, unlike any other companion that came before or after her. Leela was a warrior with a savage tribe who didn't really give the Doctor much choice when she decided to travel with him. However, although she came from a primitive culture, she was also highly intelligent and was good at taking complicated concepts and making them understandable.
After traveling with the Doctor, Leela eventually settled down on Gallifrey (which we know exists out there in some pocket universe). We think she'd make a good addition to the new series with maybe just one more ride in the TARDIS.
Photo credit: BBC
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