Doctor Who fans connect David Tennant’s fate to the Curator
BBCDoctor Who’s fanbase is busily connecting the dots between the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) and the Curator (Tom Baker).
The Curator first appeared in 2013’s Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor.” An enigmatic figure, he’s strongly implied to be the Doctor’s retired future self.
This is underscored by Fourth Doctor actor Tom Baker playing the role, although the Curator’s true nature is never explicitly revealed on screen. That said, the special’s tie-in novelization and other licensed media have since cleared up this aspect of the canon.
Even so, gaps still exist in the Curator’s backstory – although many fans think that the Fourteenth Doctor’s fate in Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, “The Giggle,” just provided another piece of the puzzle.
Doctor Who fans connect David Tennant’s fate to the Curator
In “The Giggle,” the Fourteenth Doctor bigenerates, splitting into two separate people: his current self and his next incarnation, the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa). He then settles down to live a quieter life with Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and her family.
In the hours after the special’s release, Doctor Who devotees began hailing the end of the Fourteenth Doctor’s arc as another step towards his eventual evolution into the Curator. Some even theorized that the Fourteenth Doctor was himself the Curator’s first incarnation.
“I did say to a friend of mine that maybe this is the Curator Doctor,” wrote one X user. “The one who revisits a few of the old favorites.” “Maybe David’s doctor will start to go back in time through old faces,” posited a second. “100% convinced this will be confirmed at some point,” added a third.
However, other members of the Doctor Who community disputed this theory, arguing it went against the rules of bigeneration.
“He is [the Curator]… but not in the way you mean,” posted one Redditor. “Fourteen will eventually become Fifteen and Fifteen will eventually become The Curator. But they’re all one person, just at different points in their life.”
“I think a lot of people are looking at it as Fourteen retiring from Doctor life and Fifteen continuing the journey in his stead,” a second elaborated. “But it’s more like, Fourteen took a break, healed, and then continued the journey as Fifteen.
“The explanation behind bigeneration is vague and unclear, but Fourteen, Fifteen, and Donna’s conversation after was very straightforward I felt. They’re not two different doctors on two different journeys, they’re still the same person experiencing events out of order.”
Ncuti Gatwa gears up for his first full Doctor Who Adventure
While fans continue debating the Doctor’s endpoint, the Time Lord’s immediate future is decidedly more concrete. The Fifteenth Doctor’s first full episode, the Christmas special “The Church on Ruby Road,” is already locked in for December 25.
New companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) will also debut in the episode, which pits the Doctor against a swarm of fairytale-like goblins.
Doctor Who: The Giggle is streaming on BBC iPlayer (UK & Ireland) and Disney+ (everywhere else) now. For the latest Doctor Who news and updates, check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.
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