Warning: spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 14, episode 6, “Rogue.”
Summary
Doctor Wholives up to its title as season 14 sneakily introduces a mystery face into the Doctor’s regeneration line, but this newcomer may actually be a ghost from the franchise’s past.Doctor Whoperiodically likes to remind audiences of old regenerations, whether via the scribbled drawings of John Smith in “Human Nature,” or when the Atraxi examined its records on Earth before promptly running away in “The Eleventh Hour.” The trope resurfaces inDoctor Whoseason 14, episode 6, “Rogue,” as Rogue’s ship scans the Doctor and conjures up a series of holograms depicting past regenerations.
Rogue’s scanner showsevery actor who has played the Doctor inDoctor Who, ranging from William Hartnell’s First Doctor to Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth, as well as John Hurt’s War Doctor and Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor. In a deliberate curveball designed to ignite debate, however, the “Rogue” hologram sequence also includes an extra Doctor not immediately recognizable as any prior regeneration. Despite being a relatively fresh addition toDoctor Who’s official canon, this Doctor may actually predate the entire modern era.
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Doctor Who’s New Canon Doctor Is Richard E. Grant’s Shalka Doctor
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The surprise Doctor nestled between William Hartnell and Tom Baker bears an undeniably strong resemblance to Richard E. Grant. TheWithnail & IandSaltburnstar previously portrayed Walter Simeon before becoming the face of the Great Intelligence in Matt Smith’s era, but also brought the Doctor themselves to life on two separate occasions. In 1999, Grant joined a procession of notable British actors parodying the Doctor in comedy sketch “The Curse of Fatal Death.” Four years later,Grant voiced his own likeness as the Doctor in BBC’s animated “Scream of the Shalka.”
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Since the scene aired, original “Scream of the Shalka” writer, Paul Cornell, has tacitly confirmed thehologram in “Rogue” is intended to be Richard E. Grant’s Shalka Doctorvia his Instagram. This removes any shred of doubt, as, despite looking very strongly like Richard E. Grant, the face could have potentially been an older Valeyard, or a random face intended to throw a spanner into canon without any rhyme or reason.
While the hologram does depict Richard E. Grant’s Shalka Doctor, some alterations have clearly been made. The gothic paleness and razor-sharp sideburns from the animated version have been toned down, and Grant’s Doctor looks visibly older - closer to the actor’s age in 2024 than when he portrayed the Shalka Doctor in 2003. Regardless, it does appear that season 14 has officially inducted the Shalka Doctor into the show’s official line ofDoctor Whoregenerations.
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Written by Paul Cornell, who would later go on to pen episodes ofDoctor Who’s modern series, “Scream of the Shalka” was an official BBC production released in 2003 as an online exclusive - still something of a novelty at the time. Despite being animated, “Scream of the Shalka” was touted as a continuation of the original series and 1996 movie followingDoctor Who’s cancellation in 1989. Richard E. Grant’s Ninth Doctor occupied the darker end of the hero’s personality spectrum and took Sophie Okonedo’s Alison as his companion, but also traveled with a robotic version of the Master played by Derek Jacobi, who would ultimately reprise the role on TV.
Richard E. Grant would not reprise his role on TV, however. Russell T. Davies' plot to bringDoctor Whoback to mainstream prominence immediately outshone “Scream of the Shalka.” There would be no continuation of the online story, andDoctor Who’s 2005 relaunch effectively scrubbed the chapter from canon entirely.
Where Doctor Who’s Shalka Doctor Fits Into The Doctor’s Timeline
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Officially speaking, theShalka Doctor is an unofficial version of the Ninth Doctor. “Scream of the Shalka” debuted long after thefailedDoctor WhoTV moviewith Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, but shortly before Russell T Davies brought the franchise back to prominence and cast Christopher Eccleston as the actual Ninth Doctor for TV. RTD famously criticized Richard E. Grant’s take on the Doctor and confirmed the actor was never considered for playing the role inDoctor Who’s modern era (viaBBC).
It’s feasible that when Paul McGann’s bi-generated Eighth Doctor next died after “The Night of the Doctor,” he regenerated into Richard E. Grant instead of Christopher Eccleston.
This period of the Doctor’s timeline was complicated further by Steven Moffat, who squeezed a totally different Doctor - the War Doctor - between Eight and Nine. Paul McGann regenerated into John Hurt during “The Night of the Doctor,” then Hurt regenerated into Christopher Eccleston in the final moments of “The Day of the Doctor,” filling in any missing gaps fromDoctor Who’s void years between 1990 and 2005. Because of this, the Shalka Doctor does not fit easily intoDoctor Whocanon, but there are other ways of explaining how Richard E. Grant may now be considered a canon Doctor actor after “Rogue.”
Firstly,Doctor Whocould retcon the Shalka Doctor into a pre-Hartnell Doctor, like Jo Martin. The arrival of the Fugitive Doctor andDoctor Who’s subsequent Timeless Child twistconfirmed the existence of an unspecified number of Doctors prior to the First. These regenerations called themselves “the Doctor” and acted like the Doctor, but were forgotten due to a Time Lord memory wipe. Richard E. Grant may now count himself among them.
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On the other hand, Richard E. Grant’s Shalka Doctor could be a parallel universe Ninth Doctor. In 60th anniversary special “The Giggle,” the Toymaker claimed to have made a “jigsaw” out of the Doctor’s history - a line RTD himself described as looseningDoctor Who’s canon rules in the episode’s commentary.The existence of a second Ninth Doctor could be the Toymaker’s fault, like most other strange occurrences in season 14.
Another possible explanation can be found inDoctor Who’s bi-generation scene, also from “The Giggle.” According to RTD during his commentary, the Fourteenth Doctor’s bi-generation rippled through time, bringing all previous Doctors back to life. The Eighth Doctor, therefore, would have awoken on Karn, right as rain, and gotten on with his life. What happens to these bi-generated Doctors when they die is currently not known, so it’s feasible that when Paul McGann’s bi-generated Eighth Doctor next died after “The Night of the Doctor,” he regenerated into Richard E. Grant instead of Christopher Eccleston - an alternate Ninth Doctor.
The Doctor Isn’t Necessarily Aware Of Their New Regeneration
The New Doctor Opens Up An Intriguing Conversation: Does Fifteen Recognize Them?
One of the key questions fromDoctor Whoseason 14’s hologram scene is whether Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor actually knows about this mysterious new face. Since the Division wiped the Doctor’s memory prior to Hartnell,Doctor Who’s protagonist should only know about the regenerations that audiences are also familiar with: the main 15 plus Hurt and Martin. Strangely, however, Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor doesn’t so much as raise an eyebrow when an entirely new holographic face flashes before his eyes in Rogue’s ship.
At first glance, the Fifteenth Doctor’s lack of response might imply that he knows exactly who this mystery regeneration is and remembers the point in time when he looked like Richard E. Grant. On the other hand, the Fifteenth Doctor is somewhat occupied duringDoctor Whoseason 14’s hologram scene, delivering an almighty monologue and trying to convince a bounty hunter not to kill him. One might also accuse the Doctor of being doubly distracted by his not-so-subtle attraction to Rogue. It’s possible, therefore, that the Doctor simply doesn’t notice the impostor among the holograms, nor that the procession contains one more Doctor than there should be.
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