Summary
Doctor Whoseason14 hasn’t been short on callbacks to previous eras, with the new run even acknowledging one facet of the Doctor’s character that has been largely absent for the last 60 years. Since Doctor Who started in 1963, the show has undergone numerous transformations. As has the character of the Doctor, who has been played onscreen by no less than sixteen different actors. While core aspects of the Doctor’s personality have been retained over the years, others have fallen away,including one that has been acknowledged twice in recent episodes.
With showrunner Russell T. Davies at the helm,Doctor Whoseason 14has, thus far, seen Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday saving a group of space babies, meeting the Beatles, and landing on a war-torn planet. As well asDoctor Whoseason 14’s many mysteries, the new episodes have also contained several Easter eggs and references to the show’s 60-year history. Among them have beentwo callbacks to a certain part of the Doctor’s characterthat might play a big role in the show going forward.
Doctor Who Season 14’s Jon Pertwee Tease Could Finally Solve A 53-Year-Old Companion Mystery
RTD has teased that Doctor Who’s season 14 finale contains something from the Pertwee era. Could it reveal why one Third Doctor companion left?
Doctor Who Is Finally Remembering The Doctor Is A Parent
Doctor Whoseason 14 is, for the first time in a while,drawing attention to the fact that the Doctor is a parent.In “The Devil’s Chord”, during the scene on the roof, the Doctor pointed in the direction of Shoreditch and told Ruby that he used to live there with his granddaughter, Susan, in a junkyard. When Ruby questioned him, the Doctor confirmed that he had children. Additionally, a less obvious reference to the Doctor’s status as a parent came in “Boom” when the Doctor appealed to the A.I. of John Francis Vater by saying, “dad to dad.”
The first ever episode ofDoctor Whowas titled “An Unearthly Child”, which first aired on July 19, 2025.
Many new and younger viewers ofDoctor Whomight not be aware that, during the very early years of the show, the Doctor traveled through time and space with his granddaughter, a fellow Time Lord named Susan. This is because the show has largely ignored this facet of the Doctor’s character ever since. TheTenth Doctor alluded to the fact that he was a parent in the season 4 episode, “The Doctor’s Daughter”,while the Twelfth Doctor kept a photograph of Susan on his desk. However, neither Susan nor the Doctor’s family have been directly acknowledged for many years.
Being A Parent (& Grandparent) Was Originally A Big Part Of The Doctor’s Persona
William Hartnell’s First Doctor Was The Ultimate Grandfather
WhenDoctor Whofirst began way back in 1963,the original premise involved the Doctor and Susan, a pair of otherworldly beings, going on adventures through time and space with Susan’s teachers, Ian and Barbara. The dynamic between the Doctor and Susan was that of a typical grandfather/granddaughter relationship: the Doctor cared greatly about Susan, who was often caught between wanting greater independence and staying with her grandfather. Older and more curmudgeonly than many of his successors, William Hartnell’s First Doctor very much fit the grandparent archetype.
So paternal in nature was the First Doctor that the BBC, to an extent at least, marketed the character as “Britain’s grandfather”. Indeed, Hartnell’s incarnation was stubborn and forgetful, and at times, rude. However, he could also be gentle and kind and showed a fondness for children. Young viewers at the time would, undoubtedly,have viewed the First Doctor as someone akin to their own grandparents.Doctor Whois a show all about change, which is certainly not a bad thing. Nevertheless, it’s a shame that such a fundamental part of the show’s early days has been largely forgotten about.
New Doctor Who Companion Continues A Casting Trend Dating Back To 2006
Doctor Who’s new companion casting quietly continues a trend that’s been around for much of modern Doctor Who, and it could impact her character.
Doctor Who Season 14’s Parent References Could Be Setting Up Susan’s Return
It Would Be The Character’s First Appearance In Over 40 Years
Russell T. Davies is a showrunner who is a stickler for details and someone who likes to tease his audience. As such, it’s fair to assumethat the references to the Doctor being a parent weren’t included simply for the fun of it but to set up something bigger. The obvious conclusion is that they’re Davies’s way of hinting at Susan’s return. The last time Susan appeared inDoctor Whowas in the twentieth anniversary episode,The Five Doctorsin 1983. Owing to the fact that the Time Lords have effectively been wiped out, Susan’s fate is not currently known.
Season 14 ofDoctor Whohas more than its fair share of mysteries that could be explained by a Susan comeback.
It’s certainly possible that Carol Ann Ford, who has played Susan in all the character’s televisual appearances, would be willing to return to the role. However, being a Time Lord means that, like the Doctor,Susan can regenerate and assume a different appearance. This means that viewers may have already seen Susan onscreen and not even been aware. From the identity of Mrs. Flood to Susan Twist’s cameos to Varada Sethu’s early appearance, season 14 ofDoctor Whohas more than its fair share of mysteries that a Susan comeback could explain.
Doctor Who
Cast
Doctor Who: Released on June 10, 2025, this series follows the Doctor and their companion as they journey across time and space, encountering a range of extraordinary friends and adversaries, expanding the universe of the long-running British science fiction series.
