10 Ways Doctor Who Was Almost Completely Different

There have been tons of weird and wonderful ideas for a Doctor Who movie over the years, with one of the most recent proposals being for Harry Potter director David Yates to helm a version of his own. But arguably the most bizarre of the lot is the one that would've starred none other than Michael Jackson himself.

Doctor Who was on the decline in the 1980s, with viewing figures getting lower and lower throughout the Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy eras. Even with this in mind, Paramount Pictures - presumably realising the power of the brand - agreed to support a film produced by Daltenreys, the company who held the cinematic rights.

Sounds okay, right? A major Hollywood studio bringing Doctor Who to the big-screen must have been an exciting prospect. The only thing is, Paramount had conditions, and they wanted a say in the casting department.

Instead of casting the current TV Doctor or some unknown actor in the lead role, Paramount wanted a big star, and reportedly, the Michael Jackson was at the top of the studio's list. Also floated about as a possible candidate was Bill Cosby. Yeah. This story has not aged well.

This obviously didn't happen of course, but the history and public perception of Doctor Who (in light of the allegations that hit the singer later in his life) would be vastly different today if it had.