David Tennant stopped beingDoctor Who’s full-time leading man when the Tenth Doctor regenerated at the beginning of 2010, but he almost stayed on for the season that was ultimately led by Matt Smith as Eleven. Ofall the actors to play the Doctor, Tennant has probably returned to the show the most frequently.
However, the gap between his departure and his comeback for 2013’s “Day of the Doctor” was almost even shorter than it ended up being. This would likely have had a knock-on effect when it came to the length of Smith’s tenure and the actors that have succeeded him.
As the second actor to play the Time Lord inDoctor Who’s modern era, Tennant remains beloved among Whovians. Ten was the central figure in some ofDoctor Who’s greatest stories of all time, and if Moffat had his way, Tennant would have been the show’s leading man for longer.
Steven Moffat Approached David Tennant About Staying On For Another Season
The Tenth Doctor could have been season 5’s star
David Tennant and showrunner Russell T. Davies left as a pair in 2010, with Steven Moffat taking over as theDoctor Whoboss. When getting ready to oversee the next era ofDoctor Who,Moffat had a meeting with David Tennant to raise the possibility of the Scottish actor staying onfor one more season as Ten.
Had David stayed for one final year, it would certainly have been his last, so my pitch was that it would start with the TARDIS crashing in Amelia’s back garden – as now – and a terribly battered and bruised Tenth Doctor staggering out.
- Steven Moffat on his original plan forDoctor Whoseason 5 (viaDoctor Who TV)
Moffat’s original idea for season 5 sounds pretty similar to the version that made it into production, but the biggest difference is that Tennant would still have been the Doctor rather than Matt Smith replacing him. Presumably, some sort of collaboration between Davies and Moffat would have been made to accommodate this transition.
Ten fully regenerates into Eleven during the final moments of Tennant’s farewell episode, so it wouldn’t have made sense for Ten to be the version of the Doctor to crash-land in Amelia Pond’s garden without a rewrite. So, I’m sure the transition between eras would have been a little blurrier than it ended up being if Moffat’s idea to keep Tennant had gone to plan.
It’s fascinating to think about David Tennant leadingDoctor Whoseason 5alongside Karen Gillan’s Amy Pond. The show underwent certain aesthetic changes that also separated it from the pre-Smith era. It felt likeDoctor Who’s budget received a bump for season 5, so I’d have loved to see Tennant return for another run of those glossier episodes.
Moffat’s Plan For The Tenth Doctor’s Regeneration Sounds Heartbreaking
Amy would have been aware that Ten’s death was coming
Tennant’s Doctor, if he had appeared in season 5, would have landed in episode 1 while nursing severe injuries. Moffat wanted to imply thatTen was in such a bad way that he was close to death, even if the young Amelia (Caitlin Blackwood) didn’t realize quite how grave the Doctor’s condition was.
However, while Eleven returned to find Amelia as an adult and remembered her, Ten’s version of the episode would have come with a twist. In short, Amy’s next encounter with the Doctor, with Gillan playing her, would have brought her into contact with Ten at a point in his timeline from before he was so close to death.
Gillan’s character would have traveled with the Tenth Doctor while wondering whether to tell him what lay at some point in his future.
In other words, Ten wouldn’t recall that initial encounter because it hadn’t happened for him yet, but Amy would. Therefore, Gillan’s character would have traveled with the Tenth Doctor while wondering whether to tell him what lay at some point in his future. I love this concept, as it puts Amy in a fascinating position.
What makes it especially heartbreaking is thatTen has a strong aversion to the process of regeneration, as proven by his “I don’t wanna go” moment just before he became Eleven. He believes the process is essentially his death, which it sort of is. So, with the audience and Amy both knowing Ten’s death was coming, it would have made season 5 an especially tense experience.
Ten & Amy’s Ditched Storyline Would Have Ruined River Song’s Arc
Moffat knocked it out of the park with River’s timey-wimey storyline
Thetimeline of Alex Kingston’s River Songis one of the best things Steven Moffat introduced toDoctor Who. The timey-wimey concept of River and the Doctor never experiencing a linear relationship is something that can be thought about at length and still never fully comprehended.
Alex Kingston played River Song in 15 episodes ofDoctor Whobetween 2008 and 2015.
While Moffat’s original plan to team Ten up with Amy doesn’t sound identical to the Doctor/River dynamic, it sounds similar enough thatthe impact of what would become River’s larger storyline would have been drastically reduced. So, while it would have been really cool to see more Tenth Doctor episodes, I don’t think it would have been worth it.
How David Tennant Left Doctor Who Was Perfect The Way It Was
I’m sure I’m not alone in the opinion thatDavid Tennant could easily have stayed longer as the Tenth Doctorand very few people would have complained. Despite this, it’s for the best that he leftDoctor Whothe way he did. Davies gave Tennant’s iteration of the Doctor a beautifully-written finale that essentially drew a line under the entire modern era to that point.
Tennant’s theoretical exit at the end ofDoctor Whoseason 5 could also have worked as a suitable stopping point for Ten as well, but there’s no knowing how a longer run would have affected his legacy. Besides,Tennant has enjoyed two comebacks since, and Matt Smith’s time onDoctor Whowas an incredible era that deserved to start when it did.
