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Good news: Doctor Who is alive. Bad news: Doctor Who is alive now and probably has to deal with one of these The most bizarre cliffhangers in over 60 years of cliffhanger history.
With yesterday’s news that the BBC would be moving on Doctor WhoAfter ending its partnership with Disney, which begins with a new holiday special in 2026, the series now has an equally important task to attend to, one that goes beyond its continued survival: who the hell? Is Billie Piper should have been in those final moments “The Reality War”Despite it?
Even before the future of the series was stuck in limbo For months, the creatives involved in the series, from Piper herself to showrunner Russell T. Davies, wanted to hint that the returning actress didn’t absolutely stars the 16th incarnation of the Doctor, although she regenerates from outgoing star Ncuti Gatwa. Piper wasn’t given the role of Doctor in Reality War, as is traditionally the case with new Doctors, and there was enough going on in Gatwa’s regeneration and reasoning process to suggest that all was not as it seemed. And since then, any voluntary comment on the decision is purely speculative unless it points out that there was none clear plan in place what the result would be no guaranteed future for the series.
But now that future is at least guaranteed. So while we now have a long wait until Christmas 2026 to actually see who plays Piper, we have a few suggestions…admittedly mostly silly ones.
9) Rose Tyler, again
The climax of The Reality War was supposed to revolve around the use of regenerative energy to circumvent reality itself… but what if it didn’t just have repercussions? Doctor Whois the first reality and has placed well-known reality hopper Rose Tyler in the Doctor’s apartment, and now she has to figure out how to get back whoever they’ve become?
8) The Master
The last time we saw the master we were did Watch as he attempts to forcibly take over the Doctor’s body during the regeneration process. What better way to mess with the mind of your oldest enemy than by forcing him to have the face of one of his closest former companions and be like him at the same time? You?
7) The big bad wolf again
The 15th Doctor’s regeneration has centered the TARDIS in such a way that it feels like it plays an important role in whoever Piper is meant to be (if not the Doctor). The Doctor has bombarded the console with all this energy, we cut to this menacing shot, only darkened and illuminated by the regeneration process itself… and we know that the heart of the ship is already familiar with using Rose Tyler’s face as an agent of its will. What if the TARDIS deems this necessary again?
6) Susan Foreman
It’s probably too late for the show Use all plans This was true for Carole Ann Ford at this point, after everything was cut from The Reality War – and we don’t yet know if Russell T. Davies will continue writing Doctor Who after this 2026 special. Given that Susan was raised multiple times during the 15th Doctor’s era, even before she had these mental appearances (shown in the TARDIS console room; again, for some reason the TARDIS is key!), what if what she was trying to warn the Doctor about was so terrible that this reality shift allowed her to somehow put herself into the Doctor’s being, and we’re tying it all together here?
And now she looks like Billie Piper because she regenerated. For some reason. Time Lord stuff!
5) The moment, again
After all, it was never actually used to destroy Gallifrey. If the veil between the nature of reality itself was so thin after everything the Doctor had done to alter it, then did something activate the moment, a weapon capable of devouring galaxies in its destruction?
Plus, a familiar interface would simply be a logical solution for a giant temporal weapon that now has one much the story with the doctor.
4) Actress Billie Piper
In the “Lux” of the 2025 season One of the many bizarre things that happens to the 15th Doctor and Belinda in their battle against the reality-warping Mr. Ring-A thing is that they are briefly drawn into reality through a television, where the Doctor’s adventures with his many companions are the subject of a long-running hit TV show entitled Doctor Who. Do you see where I’m going with this? You don’t have to think about who Billie is; them simply Is Billie! Who doesn’t love an existential crisis at the holidays?
3) The Heart of the TARDIS (again)
We’ve already had an example of the TARDIS itself embodying a physical form. Considering how important it was to the process of the 15th Doctor’s “death”, perhaps the TARDIS is trying to save its pilot by taking over his body for a while to sustain him until actual regeneration can take place?
And then you can blame Rose Tyler for the Bad Wolf stuff again or something. Hey, I am not the one running the show.
2) The Valeyard
That’s just because whenever something mysterious regeneration happens, everyone just says it must Be the Valeyard, a strangely sinister emanation of the Doctor introduced in The Trial of a Time Lord, meant to reflect a future, evil incarnation that could only be postponed and never truly avoided. Choosing the moment when the Doctor has just sacrificed himself to alter all of reality enough to allow Baby Poppy to exist in some form seems a suitably sinister choice for the Valeyard.
1) Okay, maybe she’s only the 16th Doctor
Or maybe we just leave all this nonsense out and Billie Piper is a one-off Doctor like David Tennant was for the 60th anniversary specials? This era of the show has My main aim was to repeat the old hits – perhaps 2023 by Christmas 2026 is old enough to consider dipping into the same bag of tricks again.
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