10 Simple Fixes That Would’ve Improved Doctor Who

The final moments of The End of Time saw the Tenth Doctor embarking on a “farewell tour”, revisiting his friends and companions for one last time before he regenerated. Most of the people in that line-up made sense (like his closest friends who had played instrumental roles in his tenth life) but there is one who seemed out of place with the others - the great-granddaughter of Joan Redfern.

Of course, Joan Redfern was an important part of the short-lived human life of John Smith, and it cannot be denied that the Doctor experienced great feelings for her. Whether those final feelings were of continued love, or guilt for breaking her heart, remains to be seen – perhaps it was both.

It does, therefore, make sense that in his final hours he would wish to learn what became of her - whether she was happy, and if she ever remembered the life they once shared. What doesn’t make sense, however, is that he sought those answers by visiting her great-granddaughter, rather than Joan herself.

While there are some who believe that this particular scene should’ve been removed entirely, there are two simple fixes that would’ve at least made more sense. Firstly, the Doctor has a time machine! Why not travel back in time and find those answers out for himself? He needn’t have interfered, simply observed from afar. Or, if the past was too risky, why not visit her as an old lady? We’ve seen a similar concept in a deleted scene from The Unicorn and the Wasp with an elderly Agatha Christie. This would’ve removed the risk of altering her timeline by interfering with her past, while still giving Ten the closure he needed.

Instead, he questions a woman who couldn’t possibly have known how Joan truly felt. Very odd indeed.