Doctor Who: 10 "Loose End" Characters We Want Tied Up

6. The Meddling Monk

Why? He's a unique loose end, and a return is pretty open in many ways....Why Not? It's a possibility, but maybe not a compelling one. Going WAY back for this one. In 1965, the Doctor encountered a strange man in a monastery.....who had a TARDIS. It was the first time viewers learned the TARDIS was not unique, and that the Doctor had a race of people that shared in his abilities. The Monk was rather conniving, but not particularly villainous - He just liked to muck about with history and bend it to his whim. (Charmingly, he helped build Stonehenge - So clearly he was in on the Pandorica Planning Committee.) The Monk became the first non-alien recurring character in Doctor Who - he returned allied with the Daleks to gang up on the Doctor - But the Doctor burned him pretty badly, leaving him with a malfunctioning TARDIS stranded across time, ruing that one day he'd take his revenge..... The Monk is definitely a Time Lord - so his regenerative abilities leave him able to be recast (Original actor Peter Butterworth left us quite some time ago). Like Susan, it'd be easy to reintroduce him, and it could be done in a number of ways. He could be maddened by his experiences, and now a demented echo of his former self. He could be a sullen exile outside our universe, now beginning his history-mucking anew upon re-entering our universe and finding no Time Lords to restrain him. Or he could be strangely aware of things the Doctor is not, driving a new arc to its beginning or conclusion.

The only thing is.... Susan, our other listed Time Lord, has a compelling history and reason to return even if you've never seen the Classic Series. She's even been seeded in its existence since 2005. The Monk....depends on a reintroduction as dramatic as the Master, but he simply doesn't have the drive or recognition of that character. Mind, this could let a new writer or production team make the Monk their own. But it'd almost demand a greater reason for him to turn up or be along for the ride: He never was an outright "villain" so his activity simply needs more going on to drive a story. The Master showed up from 1971 until the series ended in 1989, and even popped in for the 1996 movie before the New Series headed off to meet him on Malcassairo. He had a pretty easy reputation to recall. The Monk hasn't been seen or heard from for 48 years. He's a trivia question that'd stump any Who fan who's only just started to seek out the Classic Doctors who DIDN'T wear a scarf...... Should the reason fit, it'd be curious to see this other renegade Time Lord catch up with the Doctor - Smith's even a fit match for him, his chaotic manner of "order" is something the Monk could question and consequently enjoy a lighter story against him. But in all likelihood, a returning Time Lord would carry some drama and weight with him story-wise. If they can't give the Monk that, we're not likely to see him soon. And that's a shame. Unless of course, he's Clara (Duh- duh- DAAAHHH!!!) Likelihood We'll See Him Again:3/10