Doctor WhoSteven Moffat’s 50th anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor” included three main actors as the Doctor, but Steven Moffat’s original BBC pitch surprisingly had Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald as the focus of the episode. All the best Doctor Who the companions have a lasting impact on the program, and Clara fits that description. The Impossible Girl became so intertwined with the Doctor’s timeline that she became one of the most important figures in history. Doctor Who history. If Moffat’s first idea for “The Day of the Doctor” had been put into production, Clara would have become even more legendary.
2013’s “Doctor’s Day” remains one of the biggest Doctor Who stories of all time. The proper introduction of John Hurt’s War Doctor allowed Moffat to make a brilliant addition to the many destructions of Gallifrey and other retcons that have long permeated the franchise. However, Moffat’s original proposal would have resulted in a very different plotand although the Doctor would still have been included, he would have largely haunted the narrative rather than appearing in the starring role.
Steven Moffat originally presented a Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, with Clara Oswald as the main character
Jenna Coleman’s character would be looking for the Doctor
Talking to Digital Spy In 2018, Moffat discussed the creation process for “The Day of the Doctor”, including the need to create the War Doctor to account for Christopher Eccleston’s refusal to return as Nine. Hurt played a vital role in Moffat’s nearly completed script, but before the writer penned his multi-Doctor story, he had to face the challenge of having exactly zero Doctor actors under contract before production. As he prepared for the scenario where he would be left without a recognizable version of the Time Lord, Moffat made an interesting but unorthodox proposal.
“Clara is trying to remember him and the Doctor appears in several different fictional forms… and we have the Doctor played by a succession of very famous people.”
Moffat’s proposal revolved around the Doctor being erased from space and time, as Coleman was the only actor contractually obligated to appear in the special. However, Moffat’s proposal at least showed a willingness to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Matt Smith’s reign as the Eleventh Doctor was almost over, so he could only realistically have returned for his farewell episode on Christmas Day 2013. Fortunately, not only did Moffat get his current Doctor actor back, but the showrunner was also able to remember David Tennant for the role of the Tenth Doctor – as well as Tom Baker as Four.
Moffat’s strange multi-doctor story would have created countless Doctor Who continuity problems
All new Doctors would have to receive a canonical explanation
As compelling as it would have been to see who Moffat would cast to play the various versions of the Doctor in his original idea, the franchise’s canon would have taken a huge hit. The showrunner’s idea of ”have the Doctor played by a succession of very famous people“It implies that the iconic main character would have been portrayed by several new faces, none of whom had played the Doctor before. Thus, once the episode concluded, one question would have eternally hung over the show: What happened to all those new doctors?
Oddly enough, Moffat’s backup idea wouldn’t have been all that different from a previous idea Doctor Who story he had written.
Oddly enough, Moffat’s backup idea wouldn’t have been all that different from a previous idea Doctor Who story he had written. 1999’s “The Curse of Fatal Death”, a non-canon comedy sketch, began with Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor. The Doctor makes a series of fatal mistakes that result in a series of rapid regenerations. All were played by big names in the British TV and film industry, including Richard E. Grant and Hugh Grant. Joanna Lumley also briefly played the Doctor, so Moffat’s pitch for the 2013 special could have beaten Jodie Whittaker as the first female doctor.
Doctor Who Season 14 Kind of Made Moffat’s Idea With Ncuti Gatwa
Fifteen disappears in “73 Yards”
One of the Doctor’s biggest appeals is the fact that the character is practically invincible. The Doctor’s ability to regenerate means that encounters that would otherwise be fatal to other figures simply result in a new face. Then, the Doctor is almost always present in every episode of Doctor Whoand usually in the lead role. This is why Moffat’s original “The Day of the Doctor” perhaps seems so shocking. That said, showrunner Russell T. Davies clearly thought the premise was promising and therefore included a similar story for Doctor Who season 14, episode 4, “73 Yards.”
Ncuti Gatwa’s fifteenth doctor disappears in the opening minutes of “73 Yards,” and Millie Gibson comes into her own as Ruby Sunday, trying to find the Time Lord. Of course, the episode never temporarily recasts the Doctor in “73 Yards,” as Moffat intended to do in 2013, but the phenomenon that causes the Doctor to disappear roughly fits Moffat’s description of what he had in store. Although “73-Yards” ended up being one of the strongest episodes of Doctor Who In season 14, it’s hard to imagine a world where Moffat’s plan took place in 2013 and was so well received.
Source: Digital Spy