The Doctor has travelled across time and space and met many historical figures across different incarnations. However, there still exists a great deal of people the Doctor has yet to meet. There are certainly historical figures whose work and contributions have been less celebrated and appreciated and could be highlighted in Doctor Who and others where their lives present an ideal opportunity for a sci-fi adventure. Today I’m going to look at who I would like to see the Doctor have a meeting with next.
10.) Arthur Conan Doyle
If you think back to around ten years when Steven Moffat was running both Doctor Who and Sherlock simultaneously, you might remember that there was a big crossover fanbase for both series. We are now somewhat removed from this years down the line however, I still think an episode where the Doctor meets Arthur Conan Doyle as the creator of Sherlock Holmes has a lot of potential. The Doctor could be used to provide a lot of the inspiration for the character of Sherlock Holmes showing the vast influence of the Doctor on history which would work well. There are also several things throughout Conan Doyle’s life which have a lot of science fiction and Doctor Who potential. He trained as a medical doctor before becoming a writer and believed it was possible to communicate with the dead. He believed his dead brother and son who died during the influenza pandemic reached out to him during seances. He also believed in fairies becoming convinced by a fake photograph of two schoolgirls posing with fairies. He wrote about both of these and either of them could be used in Doctor Who for a science fiction explanation. You could set a story at any part of his life, but I can see a story with the Doctor and Arthur Conan Doyle solving a murder with an alien twist. There have been rumours about Steven Moffat returning to write an episode of Series 14 and if he felt inclined then he would be a good choice for an Arthur Conan Doyle story.
9.) Boudicca
It’s not like you haven’t had Doctor Who stories before set in the Roman era, but I think the figure of Boudicca deserves to be explored as there is a lot of potential from her history. She was a queen of the Iceni tribe and after the death of her husband, she and her daughters had their power stripped with Roman law enforced. I think with Boudicca having lost her husband, the suffering she and her daughters went through and having her place in society stripped from her by the Romans, you have a fascinating character with a damaged self and sense of trauma. It would be interesting to explore, showing the great shame she brought upon the Romans. There is a feminist theme to the story of Boudicca having her power stripped by men, being unwilling to give in and being relentless and brave rebelling against Roman rule and their actions to claim the land of the Iceni. The followers she gained and the amount of Roman soldiers she massacred tells an interesting story. I like the idea of telling her story through Doctor Who, showing the cruelty of history and the way the Romans enforced their way of life upon the unwilling and the consequences of that. The Doctor wouldn’t agree with the violence of Boudicca’s methods, but I can see whatever drama the Doctor would get wrapped up in between the Iceni and the Romans making for a solid pure historical.
8.) Khutulun
Khutulun was the daughter of Kaidu Khan and the cousin of Kublai Khan, and lived at a time when the two were in Civil War with one another during the Mongol Empire. Khutulun is yet another female figure in history who had a certain influence and played a vital role in the history and politics of this era as a warrior. Khutulun received the same war training as all the other boys in the family and her father trusted Khutulun’s counsel in political matters. Khutulun had immense physical strength and was known as a wrestler having mastered the art of war and also having skill in horse riding, sword-fighting and archery. She was a clear asset to her father in battle during the Civil War with Kablai Khan. I’m not sure how appropriate it would be for a family series and the chances of it being covered are slim but her rumoured incestuous relationship with her father adds a different angle to her. Khutulun is part of a very intriguing part of history with a clear role within it that has given her a certain status. Her feelings on the side she was born into and her relationship and place with her father would be very interesting to explore. I think a pure historical where Khutulun finds the Doctor and views them as an enemy to start with, but they slowly have to work together for survival would be a good story to tell. There’s lots of room for character interactions between the two of them and to learn a lot about Khutulun as both a historical figure and a person.
7.) Lewis Latimer
Doctor Who has a long history of tackling inventors and scientists from across history mainly due to the Doctor’s nature as a scientist and an interest in humanity’s history. Indeed, the subject matter and history of electrical current and engineering has already kind of been tackled within the Jodie Whittaker era with Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror but overall, I thought it was rather a weak story. Besides, I think Lewis Latimer has very broad contributions to history that are worth exploring. Lewis Latimer was an incredibly talented man and managed to use his drawing ability to great success. His drawings for Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone helped secure the patent needed. He also invented a process of using carbon filaments on lightbulbs that was an improvement upon Edison’s invention. It’s also worth noting whilst he was working with Hiram Maxim, he did great work in helping install the lighting systems and instructing the workers on the process to great effort. He also worked very closely with Thomas Edison, and his contributions are notable and worth highlighting in Doctor Who. I can see his talent as an inventor and his drawing ability being taken advantage of by an alien presence trying to use him for their perverse and deadly means which has the potential for a great story. His place as a black man in a rather difficult time whilst also being very influential to technology makes him an ideal historical figure to delve into.
6.) Madame Curie
Marie Curie has made great contributions to science, technology and the world and is very key to humanity’s understanding of radiation, and yet she is also a very tragic figure at the same time having died due to her exposure to radiation later in life. Now it was referenced in the TV Movie that the Doctor had already met Madame Curie before but if need be the two could always have a second meeting. There was also a recent Big Finish story featuring Madame Curie as part of Big Finish’s International Women’s Day release, titled: A Ghost of Alchemy. The story featured the Fourth Doctor and Leela running into Marie Curie and was written by Leela actress herself Louise Jameson, and I think it worked very well for the feminist themes that were integrated into the story. However, I think Madame Curie deserves a chance to shine on the main show, it’s not like the TV series before hasn’t taken inspiration from Big Finish stories. Curie is known for her work with her husband Pierre Curie and their discoveries in polonium and radium, finding a means of measuring radioactivity and her work on mobile x-ray units during the first world war. I think her curiosity and want to learn things as a scientist would mean she would get on well with the Doctor with similar mindsets and they would prove to be good allies as they did with the recent Big Finish story with Tom Baker. I think a story about either the Meddling Monk or some kind of time traveller going back in time to take credit for Curie’s discoveries in aiming for fame and recognition would highlight her as a figure very well and her struggles during the period.
5.) Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson greatly influenced music as a blues musician during his incredibly short life and career. He influenced and inspired the likes of Fleetwood Mack, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and many more. He worked with ARC Records and producer Jon Law in 1936 putting his work on tape which was released as 12 double-sided singles between 1937-1939. He is often praised for his emotive voice and guitar delivery which made a great impact. However, there are some very surprising stories around Johnson that feel ideal for Doctor Who. Given his weak early musical career and the references to the devil throughout his music there have been stories for years of Johnson selling his soul to the devil to become a famous blues artist. There is also the mysterious matter of his death, after his last recording session in 1937 he continued to play with collaborator Johnny Shines before he died near Greenwood in August 1938. The nature of his death is very speculative with it being unreported for 30 years with no clear resting spot. Surely some kind of alien presence involving the Doctor could be used to explain his mysterious death and possibly tie it into his deal with the devil leading to his ultimate fate. Robert Johnson is both tragic and mysterious and provides an ideal grey area for Doctor Who. Besides, musical history has been fairly untapped so far and deserves more exploration.
4.) Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker should be explored in Doctor Who just for the pure range of what she achieved and what she did. First of all, you’ve got her career as an entertainer and as a singer and dancer which is noteworthy in and of itself. She demanded her contract contain a non-discrimination clause and also refused to play for segregated audiences and she became well known for dancing across the stage in purely a banana skirt. However, she still played her role in WW2 and against the Nazi’s working alongside the French Resistance helping to smuggle hidden messages and hiding resistance fighters. Even after the war Josephine Baker played her role in the Civil Rights movement boycotting segregated clubs and concerts and was a part of the march on Washington along with Martin Luther King. First of all, I think stars from 1930s-40s entertainment are worth highlighting in Doctor Who because it is an interesting time for art for what’s happening in the world at that period. Yet Josephine Baker has a whole different legacy due to her life as a spy and activist in a struggling and difficult time which makes her an admirable figure to look at. I think the time during WW2 in the French Resistance would be the most interesting period I think for a Doctor Who story, when you look at what she was involved in then it’s simply fascinating. Highlighting her role in that, and maybe getting involved in some alien adventures with the Doctor I think would make for a good story.
3.) Alan Turing
I did question whether to put Alan Turing on this list, he is one of the most well-known historical figures out of everyone on here and clearly has had a remarkable influence. The reason I did question it is because there was a very successful film about Turing in 2013 called the Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch playing the role, which earned him a best actor Academy Award nomination. The film was clearly very popular, and I did question whether enough time has passed, and I’m not totally convinced it has but I think Turing is worth revisiting in the context of Doctor Who. He proved himself by breaking the seemingly unbreakable Enigma Code and several other wartime codes and his efforts saved an estimated 14 million lives. He pioneered computers and electronics and his paper after the war is still important to artificial intelligence research. Turing made an immense contribution to society and with his vast intellect and knowledge I think the Doctor would be fascinated by him. I think Turing would respect the Doctor as a scientist and the two would have a good understanding of one another and be interesting to see together. He also has a rather tragic ending after all he did, being punished by the backwards anti-homosexuality laws of the day with a sad end to his story. If Doctor Who wants to tell more stories about the gay and queer community then with the story device of the Tardis, I think Alan Turing provides a tragic one that is worth telling.
2.) Emily Davison
Emily Davison is a key figure and one of the most famous people involved in the first-wave feminist and suffragette movement. It’s admirable and tragic when you look at Emily Davison and the movement she was a part of. The odds were very much against her and she was willing to go to extreme lengths to shine a light on women’s rights and the issues which she cared about. This is shown throughout her work, activism and what she was involved in as she was a part of the Women’s Social and Political Union and made her voice strongly known. She showed herself very willing to die for the cause going on hunger strike several times whilst imprisoned. She died tragically flinging herself in front of the King’s Horse. I think a good tragic feminist story could be told as her story is both admirable and yet incredibly tragic at the same time. This storyline does have significant risks as it has a very weighty issue behind it with the history of women’s rights and a similar sense of danger to the story of Rosa Parks, which didn’t fully work as it was trying to navigate certain pitfalls. You don’t want to diminish Emily Davison’s impact or what she did but the Doctor being a witness to the history of Emily Davison’s tragic heroic act has great potential. You also have the fact that she didn’t have the impact she intended at the time, and it was only years later after women had obtained the right to vote that her efforts were appreciated which creates a different sort of tragedy to her story.
1.) Olaudah Equiano
The Atlantic Slave Trade is a reprehensible and horrific stain on humanity’s history, and a large amount of Britain has been built upon the evil acts of British imperialism and the slave trade. Yet this is something we have often found very difficult to come to terms with and deal with. It’s often parroted that it was the acts of white people who saw the wrongdoing of the slave trade and brought an end to it. Yet I think figures like Olaudah Equiano show the black community's incredibly hard and dedicated work in standing up against the racism and abhorrent cruelty of slavery. Olaudah Equiano was put into the slave trade at the age of 11, he spent most of his time in servitude aboard slave ships until he managed to buy his freedom. Equiano did incredibly important work with his autobiography detailing his life and experiences as a slave and was the first unfiltered account of the conditions and made people question the morality of the slave trade. He also was a founder of the Sons of Africa which was a black political organisation made up of mostly ex-slaves campaigning for the abolition of slavery. It was the work of Olaudah Equiano and the Sons of Africa that brought the case of the Zong Massacre to abolitionist Granville Sharpe and helped shape views towards the slave trade. I think a good Doctor Who story could be made about the events of the Zong Massacre with the Doctor and companions getting wrapped up in the political conflict. Slavery is a very difficult subject matter to deal with but I think the battle to end it is a history worth shining a light on.
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