10 'What Ifs' That Could Have Changed The Course Of Doctor Who
What if the entire show turned left?
When it comes to real-world history, Doctor Who is always asking the 'what if?' question. What if Winston Churchill approved the use of Daleks during the Second World War? What if Charles Dickens chased gaseous ghosts around 1860 Cardiff? What if the Statue of Liberty was actually a giant Weeping Angel? Too far, Moffat. Too far.
But what about 'what ifs' of Doctor Who history? Moments in time where John Nathan-Turner could have turned left, instead of right? Moments where the show could have changed dramatically if things were even slightly different. Just think, William Hartnell would still be the first Doctor if Chris Chibnall hadn't have signed on the dotted line.
So stick a time beetle on your back, as we're about to jump between alternate timelines, and see what could've been.
10. Robert Holmes Never Worked On It
Apart from his tendency to write stories based on his real-world views (the Fourth Doctor story 'The Sunmakers' is about the evils of the taxman), Robert Holmes was one of Doctor Who's best and brightest contributors. Working on the show between 1968 and his unfortunate death in 1986, Holmes penned some of the most iconic serials, from The Deadly Assassin, to The Caves of Androzani.
He also created iconic recurring villains, such as the Autons and Sontarans. Working alongside the producer of the show, Phillip Hinchcliffe, over the first three seasons of Tom Baker's era, you could arguably say they were responsible for the peak of the show during the classic run. So what if Holmes had never worked on it? We wouldn't have two iconic recurring villains to start, and the eventual downhill the show saw through the eighties might have come sooner.