My Problem With Jo Martin's Doctor

The Fugitive Doctor, at the controls of her TARDIS.

Ever since the airing of Series 12 episode "Fugitive of the Judoon", the vast majority of Doctor Who fans have been talking about that episode's shocking revelation: that the seemingly innocent character of Ruth was, in fact, a secret, hidden incarnation of the Doctor that neither we or the Doctor had seen before. Now, its a conceit that was bound to get people talking: John Hurt's War Doctor had been introduced in a similar way in 2013's "The Name of the Doctor", and so the trick was sure to work again. Or was it? Because, for this viewer (and you'll remember my original opinions if you've read my review of "Fugitive of the Judoon"), I found this trick old, stale, predictable, and indicative of a greater problem with Doctor Who, which came to a head with "The Timeless Children". But, having had more time to think about what "Fugitive of the Judoon" did, and the trick it pulled (and having seen where the rest of the season was heading), I have found myself growing ever more uneasy with Jo Martin's Doctor, and what Chris Chibnall has decided to do with her thus far.

The Thirteenth Doctor, like the audience, tries to
get to grips with the Fugitive Doctor.

Now, of course, none of this is directed towards, or is the fault of, Jo Martin, who I think is a wonderful actress. She brings so much to the part in such a short space of time, to the point where her Doctor felt more fully-formed after 15 minutes of screen-time than Jodie's Doctor did after a whole season. It was clear she had very definite ideas about her Doctor, and where she wanted to take the part. So, before we begin, I want to be absolutely clear about that. None of this is directed towards Jo Martin. She's so good, she should have been cast as the Doctor properly. And that is exactly the point - Jo Martin should have been cast as the Doctor properly. Martin has all the right attributes to play the Doctor: she's a seasoned actress, who has a whole host of credits to her name; she's clearly thought about her approach to the character, and what she wants to bring to it; and she's passionate about the show and the part. So why Chris Chibnall decided to make her incarnation a one-off guest, who is designed purely to create an explosive bomb that shatters cannon open, I will never understand. Jo Martin's Doctor has been designed purely to be clickbait: for people to talk about and speculate possibilities about. Which is fine: until you realise in which direction people are speculating about her Doctor.

The Fugitive Doctor stands dramatically in the
doorway of the TARDIS.

When Chris Chibnall took over Doctor Who in 2017, and Jodie Whittaker was cast as the Doctor, I was under the impression that the show was going to be moving away from focusing on its past and its history. There's no denying that Peter Capaldi's tenure as the Time Lord saw the show looking at its past much more deeply than the show had done since the 2005 revival, and I, along with millions of other Doctor Who fans, was under the impression that the new era of the Thirteenth Doctor would be moving away from that. We would be looking forward to the future, not dwelling on the past. Yet, not even two years after this 'new' era began, we're already deep-diving back into the Doctor's past, in order to dig up so-called 'hidden' incarnations of the Doctor, and pull apart her back-story and history. Now, saving my intense criticism of this angle in and of itself for the time being, this shows a show more concerned with its own history and back-story than looking forward to the future. And the Jo Martin Doctor is the epitome of that approach. If her incarnation was one from the future of the Doctor, I would be much more excited: it would not only be something that the show had never tried before (excluding the Valeyard), but it would also show that Doctor Who is looking towards the future, building an exciting legacy yet to come. As it is, her 'incarnation from the past' just makes me think the show is looking inwards, and back at its past legacy, thinking that what's come before is more interesting than what comes next. And that, for a TV show, is, I'm afraid, never a good look.

The Fugitive Doctor featured on the
cover of Doctor Who Magazine,
which was released soon after "Fugitive
of the Judoon" aired.

There is also another big problem with the Jo Martin Doctor, which, due to recent events, has come to a much greater prominence. Now, at the time of her casting, Martin was, quite rightly, lauded as the show's first Doctor to come from a BAME background. However, the show's first BAME Doctor hasn't been cast in the show properly, she's been cast as a guest lead that's a part of a history we probably won't get to see (at least in the TV show, I'm sure Big Finish have plenty of box-sets already lined up with the character). And, while I'm sure a complete oversight on the part of those involved in the show's production (the current staff are far more diverse than a lot of previous eras of the show's history), it probably isn't the greatest look for Doctor Who at this time. The show should be actively striving to be more diverse, to be more inclusive, and, while stuff like this is good, it can be interpreted as the show doing the bare minimum in order to get attention. Now, of course, I am just a straight white man, so I suppose, on issues like this, my opinion is probably not the best one to seek. I'm fine with that. However, I feel like it should be pointed out, because this is a valid point and one I think we need to talk about if we're ever going to achieve fair representation on TV. 

The Fugitive Doctor and the Thirteenth Doctor stand side by side to face the coming darkness.

I want to love Jo Martin's Doctor - I think there's an awful lot of potential in the idea of her Doctor, and I think Jo herself is perfect casting for the part. But the show needs to get over this self-destroying obsession with its own history, and start casting its net a bit wider for story ideas, if we're ever going to talk about Doctor Who's future. There was plenty of potential in Jo Martin's Doctor, but the fact that she's been pegged as a Doctor from the past means she'll never get the chance to develop as much as she would if she was a Doctor from the future. I do hope Jo gets the chance to prove her worth in the future, however, and that the show will maybe refocus its attention away from its contradictory past, and towards its (hopefully) bright future.

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