The Whoniverse is a big place, and it’s loaded with story-telling possibilities! Here are some of the Doctor Who spin offs we’d love to see…
Stallholder
We can’t take credit for this one, but we really want to see it. Back in 2007, when ‘The Fires of Pompeii‘ was being filmed, the actor Phil Cornwell played a particularly colourful stallholder in the Roman city whose scenery-chewing, Cockney wonderfulness brought some much-needed comic relief to a fairly bleak story.
Indeed, Cornwell so enjoyed the role that he mooted the idea of giving the unnamed stallholder his own Doctor Who spin off, simply titled Stallholder. Now, he may have been joking (or was he?) but the idea is so barmy that it might just work – perhaps as a comedy series in the vein of Open All Hours or Acorn Antiques, telling the tales of the hapless stallholder in downtown Pompeii.
Of course, this would all have to take place before the fateful events of ‘The Fires of Pompeii,’ but it could be interesting to foreshadow the devastating events of Vesuvius’ eruption…
Flight Path
Speaking of comedy, how about a Doctor Who spin off in the style of The Office? Except, this time, it would all be set at Heathrow airport in the 1980s, and would take the format of a mockumentary following the lives of its various staff members including, of course, our favourite air hostess Tegan Jovanka.
Admittedly, this could be difficult to achieve given that the actor Janet Fielding is some 40 years older than she was in 1983, but there is no reason why she couldn’t be returned to her 80s incarnation with some Indiana Jones-style CGI. Or, if we were to be really bold, how about a timey wimey subplot in which 2023 Tegan is sent back in time to the Heathrow of 1983, and suddenly finds herself running the whole airport?
And the name of this Doctor Who spin off? Flight Path. Or Time-Flight Path, depending on which version of Tegan Jovanka we go with…
BBC Studios, call us.
The Master’s Apprentice
What if the Master had a companion? This is not a wholly original idea; it has been toyed with in the past, such as with Lucy Saxon in ‘The Sound of Drums’ and even the Rani in ‘The Mark of the Rani,’ but what if we were to devise a Doctor Who spin off around the Master being some kind of mentor? He could be a bit like Emperor Palpatine to Anakin Skywalker (a la Star Wars) or even Anakin Skywalker to Ahsoka.
Admittedly, it would be a fairly dark Doctor Who spin off, but it could be quite thrilling. For example, it needn’t be made obvious that the Master is evil. He could take an innocent young man or woman under his wing, posing as a wise old benefactor who simply wants to help people. He could develop a classic Doctor-companion style relationship, showing his new friend the wonders of the universe, and slowly brainwash them into adopting his evil ways. The series would revolve around the apprentice wrestling with their conscience, trying to come to terms with this strange new relationship they’ve entered.
And if you wanted to add an extra layer of intrigue to this Doctor Who spin off, maybe it could feature the Missy incarnation – arguably the most morally ambiguous of them all. That way, even the viewer would be uncertain as to the character’s true intentions…
The Wheel in Space
What if we were to make a Doctor Who spin off in the style of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine? There are a number of Doctor Who space stations which could fit the bill (such as Nerva Beacon from ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’) but what about the Wheel in Space?
For those of you who don’t know, the Wheel is a space station that was set up to observe deep space phenomenon, and is staffed by a small international crew. One of these crewmembers is Zoe Heriot – a scientific and mathematical genius who could give Adric a run for his money. She first encountered the Doctor during a battle with the Cybermen in 1968’s ‘The Wheel in Space,’ and she joined the TARDIS crew at the story’s conclusion.
But at the end of ‘The War Games,’ Zoe was returned to the space station and she lost all her memories of her TARDIS travels. Thus, this Doctor Who spin off would pick up where ‘The War Games’ left off and follow Zoe’s further adventures on the Wheel. And like Deep Space Nine, it would involve occasional visits to other planets, interplanetary wars, space station invasions, and storylines derived from the complex lives of the station’s crew. The Wheel in Space even be produced as an animated series in the style of Lower Decks.
Would you tune in…?
Terror Alpha
Finally, how about a Doctor Who spin off set on the macabre world of Terra Alpha?
For those of you who don’t know, Terra Alpha was the setting of the Seventh Doctor adventure ‘The Happiness Patrol,’ and told the story of a human colony which executed people for not being happy enough, all of it overseen by the decorous and dictatorial Helen A played by Sheila Hancock.
The series, titled Terror Alpha, would take place before the Seventh Doctor’s arrival, and would follow one of Helen A’s high-up minions whose sights are set on absolute power. They would be plotting a take-over – a coup. This Doctor Who spin off would follow the character’s rise to power as they slowly and mercilessly sweep away all who stand in their path, similar in style to the original House of Cards from the 1990s. The series would even see the character break the fourth wall as they occasionally turn to address the audience directly, smiling surreptitiously as they share their illicit schemes.
Plus, this Doctor Who spin off would provide a great excuse to see the Kandyman back in action (Maynards-permitting…)
So there we are – just a couple of Doctor Who spin offs we’ve love to see on Disney+ and beyond. We’d also love to see a Duggan series, and you can read more about that here.
In the meantime, tell us – what do you think of these Doctor Who spin off ideas? And what kind of Doctor Who spin off would you most like to see? Let us know in the comments below.
Only the last one and only because we need more Kandyman.
I want to see the 8th Doctor in a spin off series.
make The Wheel in Space in a spin off series.
make 8th Doctor in a spin off series.
UNIT SPIN-OFF
make 8th Doctor in a spin off series.
make The Wheel in Space in a spin off series.
UNIT SPIN-OFF