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

3. The Valeyard

Why?This compelling concept of a character was never used to his fullest, and the development of the Doctor since begs for his return.Why Not? It'd be easier reintroducing Susan, The Monk, or even Time Lord society at large. So, about this guy. There's the whole case against him, which is actually his parent story - The 14-part "The Trial of a Time Lord" which, well, it's the usual late 80's arguments: Blah blah blah low budget blah blah blah rushed and hackeneyed writing blah blah blah ghastly design and costumes blah blah blah Bonnie Langford. Got that? The concept of the Valeyard though, is an intriguing one. And he ended the Doctor's "Trial" still at large: The Valeyard IS the Doctor. Specifically, his "darker aspects" from "between his 12th and final regeneration". This is left vague, so these rather evocative descriptions could mean anything. Now, in 1986, the only way anyone could see the 6th Doctor's (Colin Baker) future getting decidedly dark was a change of clothes and refusing to seat him at the buffet. But in the years since, we've had a scheming 7th Doctor, and 8th Doctor who (likely) ended the Time War and attempted genocide against the Daleks and his own people, a 9th Doctor who was clearly shell shocked from the affair, a 10th Doctor who had trouble reconciling his power and responsiblity as the sole remaining Time Lord, and an 11th who STILL seems at odds with his reputation as a force to be reckoned with. Seeing things go pear shaped and rather sinister in the near future? It's not that far fetched, is it? And clearly, the Doctor's worst enemy lately has occasionally been himself. He obviously needs something to keep him in touch with less ethereal beings; often in the form of a cute, emotional girl. (If that IS in fact what Clara is - Duh- duh- DAAAH!) He is less human than ever in many ways - 10 seemed to have a grasp on this whole thing, while Matt Smith suddenly seemed to be relearning things from scratch about the "Choomin' Beins!" Tennant enthused about. But even Tennant seemed to struggle with his place in the universe, with every opportunity he had to have more stake in it personally - Rose, Donna, The Master, Jenny (Getting to her!) - torn away from him. It'd only take something particularly dark and devastating to tip him into some place very dark indeed. Perhaps that's waiting at Trenzalore. Perhaps our 12th Doctor is going to go places that the 11th just couldn't fix for himself, and he knows it too - Smith knew the Dream Lord was all his worst tendencies and criticisms, and flipping his trademark scheming and wit on himself left him running desperately to keep up in "Amy's Choice". And that was just a bad dream - Imagine if it was an ongoing reality he had to deal with. That'd be the Valeyard then. Want an example how successful he could be/has been? The Valeyard only failed as a concept because, well, he wasn't done well. His reveal had all the drama of a lunch special discount, and his "conflict" with the Doctor was restricted to a harshly lit courtroom that looked like something "Blue Peter" knocked out earlier. And what did they do there? Bitchily sniped at each other and debated semantics. I've seen more emotional drama on this show from K-9 or in several assorted Cyberman stories.

But if he'd been done WELL - The Valeyard basically would use the Doctor's tactics and rationales against him. And in the new series, that's outright DEVASTATING tricks and advantages that the Doctor would simply have to struggle against - He'd basically need to break his own rules or disregard people to win/keep up. Imagine a villain who... 1. Would gleefully remind someone "Time could be rewritten" and then did it in his favour. 2. Would claim he was taking the "Moral high ground" even if it meant others suffered or had to lose "because history says so - it happens today". 3. Would force the Doctor to face the death of a friend/companion, and trap him in the understanding that it was "a fixed point, and their death is now part of events" (The Valeyard actually did this, but the show chickened out and let the companion live. Cowards.) 4. Would force the Doctor to confront the fact that he, The Valeyard, IS a part of him, and simply a future he cannot deny or stop short of ending his own life and existence. The Valeyard WOULD require either a detailed reboot or a continuity-filled arrival, though. And "Trial" is such rough going that it isn't exactly prime flashback material. But the dramatic possiblities are endless, and the show seems to have arrived in a place where the Valeyard's arrival actually seems inevitable. It could be done right, but would also easily be the darkest series ever. Likelihood we'll ever see him again:4/10