Doctor Who: 10 Most Controversial Mythos Changes Of NuWho

2. The War Doctor

Classic serial The Brain of Morbius tried to suggest that William Hartnell wasn't the first incarnation of the Doctor, but the faces shown on screen that were supposed to be other Doctors have since been explained away. So the new series wasn't the first to try to add in a past Doctor. However, it was the first time a past Doctor was inserted into the established pantheon out of nowhere and appeared as a fully-fledged character on screen. And it shocked the fanbase to its very core. The Doctor Who fandom was mixed about the appearance of a new Doctor. Some felt the War Doctor should have been the Eighth. Some just didn't like the writers messing with what they thought they had known about their favourite show. However, other fans were won over by John Hurt's excellent performance, and others still liked the idea of a new incarnation of the Doctor appearing who allowed space for even more spin off stories to explore. The War Doctor also allowed the show to change its past again, altering the destruction of Gallifrey at the end of the Time War. Instead, the moment showing the War Doctor his future selves allowed for a situation where all his incarnations helped to save Gallifrey and hide it in a different dimension. This helped create a new direction for the series, so the War Doctor may end up being beneficial to the series in the long term.