As the Whoniverse continues its rapid expansion, we take a look at some of the Doctor Who spin offs which didn’t quite make it into production. But they almost did…
Rose Tyler: Earth Defence
There wasn’t a dry eye left in the house when Rose Tyler and the Doctor were brutally separated in the Series Two finale ‘Doomsday.’ But this wasn’t originally meant to be the end of Rose’s story.
During the production of Series Two, Russell T Davies conceived of a Doctor Who spin off which would pick up on the further adventures of Rose Tyler, trapped in a parallel world. Rose Tyler: Earth Defence would have seen the former companion joining forces with the Torchwood Institute to fight off alien threats. Which would have been awesome to see.
Plans for this Doctor Who spin off were actually quite advanced by the time the plug was pulled. It had been officially commissioned by the BBC, and a production budget had been assigned. However, it was during the filming of Doctor Who Series Two that Russell T Davies changed his mind about the project, dubbing it a Doctor Who spin off too far. He felt that it would spoil the ending of Series Two for the audience to be able to see Rose Tyler thriving in a new world without the Doctor.
But what do you think? Are you disappointed that nothing became of this Doctor Who spin off?
UNIT
Not much is known about this Doctor Who spin off, other than the fact that the producer of Doctor Who in the 70s, Barry Letts, confided in the actor John Levene that the team had come very close to securing a UNIT series. UNIT, for those of you who don’t know, is a military organisation which fights off alien threats on contemporary Earth.
Apparently, this Doctor Who spin off would have starred Nicholas Courteney as the Brigadier, with John Levene in the second lead as Sergeant Benton, followed by Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates. And that’s, really, all we know.
The Daleks
One of the interesting things about Doctor Who is that the writers retain the copyright for the monsters they create. You will notice this on the credits every time the Cybermen / Autons / Ice Warriors turn up. And this was also true for the Daleks‘ creator Terry Nation, who became very wealthy after the astronomical popularity of his sink-plungered pepper pots.
Such was the fame of the metal mutants that Nation put plans in place to develop a Doctor Who spin off which centred around the Daleks. It would have been a co-production with an American company and starred some of the characters from ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan‘ such as Sara Kingdom, one of the space security agents defending the galaxy against the metal mutants.
The project actually reached an advanced stage of development. For many years, the BBC didn’t have permission to use the Daleks owing to Nation’s plans, and in fact ‘The Evil of the Daleks‘ in 1967 was believed for a long time to be the last Dalek story ever. The Doctor even alludes to this when the entire army is wiped out on Skaro, and calls it a “final end.”
The initial 30 minute pilot was called ‘The Destroyers’ but, alas, it was never picked up. The project faded into obscurity until the BBC was finally given permission to use the Daleks again in 1972.
Ultimately, the unmade pilot was adapted by Big Finish in 2010 as part of The Lost Stories range.
Marco Polo
‘Marco Polo‘ is one of the most popular stories of the First Doctor’s era, but did you know that, at one time, Walt Disney was interested in turning it into a movie?
As unlikely as this Doctor Who spin off may sound, the Walt Disney Company reportedly approached the BBC after the serial’s transmission and expressed an interest in turning it into a film. There was a catch, though; they wanted to produce it as a purely historical adventure and lose any reference to the Doctor, the TARDIS or his companions. So it would literally have been a Marco Polo movie, rather than a Doctor Who movie. Regardless, it would have been fascinating to see.
Jago and Litefoot
Nobody writes double acts like Robert Holmes, and one of his most famous is the pairing of Henry Gordon Jago and Professor Litefoot in the 1977 story ‘The Talons of Weng Chiang.’ Jago ran the Palace Theatre in Victorian London, whilst Litefoot was a police pathologist, and together they assisted the Fourth Doctor and Leela in their investigation into the Mystery of the Missing Girls.
The pair proved immensely popular with viewers, so much so that the BBC briefly considered giving the actors their own Doctor Who spin off. Presumably, it would have revolved around Jago and Litefoot teaming up to solve crimes amid the swirling fog of Victorian London. And it would have been a joy to see.
It’s not known if this Doctor Who spin off moved past the pitch stage, or indeed if Robert Holmes ever got round to planning it, or even writing a script.
Of course, sadly, this Doctor Who spin off never made it onto TV, but Big Finish picked up the mantle in 2010 and went on to produce some 14 seasons of Jago and Litefoot, up until the death of Litefoot actor Trevor Baxter in 2017.
The Nyssa Adventures?
Before returning as Doctor Who showrunner, Russell T Davies gave an interview explaining how wonderful it would be to see a Doctor Who expanded universe with multiple characters being afforded their own Doctor Who spin offs.
“There should be a Doctor Who channel now,” he said in 2021. “You look at those Disney announcements, of all those new Star Wars and Marvel shows, you think, we should be sitting here announcing The Nyssa Adventures or The Return of Donna Noble, and you should have the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors together in a 10-part series. Genuinely.”
And with The Tales of the TARDIS and The War Between the Land and Sea already a reality in the Whoniverse, could it be that Davies is forging ahead with this vision for a “Doctor Who channel”? Could we really see The Nyssa Adventures, or The Katarina Chronicles, or Plasmatons: Invasion Earth 2164? The rumours start here.
Personally, I’m holding out for Duggan and Stallholder.
Which of these Doctor Who spin offs would you most like to see? Let me know in the comments below.
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