Posted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: doctor who

Doctor Who Crossover Sets Up Fugitive Doctor Getting Sonic Screwdriver

A new entry on the UNIT website for Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker lays the groundwork for the Fugitive Doctor getting her sonic screwdriver.

We're chalking it up to some kind of madness stemming from the Doctor Who Christmas Special never existing, Russell T. Davies and Bad Wolf departing, and the show about to be put out to tender for an extended pause from our screens. Because way too many fans freaked the f**k out over the Fugitive Doctor (Jo Martin) getting a sonic screwdriver during the ongoing "Circuit Breaker" crossover event. Yes, it's true. The Fugitive Doctor will be getting her own sonic screwdriver, and that's resulted in rants ranging from "They don't know basic canon" to "That means the Fugitive Doctor can't be the first," as if this were some kind of "smoking gun" for those who can't wrap their brains around the "Timeless Child" concept. It got so bad that even James Page, Brand Manager of Doctor Who at BBC Studios and producer of "Circuit Breaker," had to offer an extended response.

While we have his response in full below, in a nutshell? The Fugitive Doctor will get one at some point during "Circuit Breaker," so relax, take a deep breath, and touch grass. In case that still wasn't enough for you, we have the latest "Circuit Breaker" update on the UNIT website that starts laying the groundwork for the sonic screwdriver. In the entry "Update for Kate [29.07]," Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) writes regarding Andrew's (Omari Douglas) observation, "One note – Andrew (eye for detail!) has spotted the Fugitive Doctor doesn't have a sonic screwdriver. It seems logical – if she really does predate the other Doctors in their timeline, and we know that the first Doctor seen to have used a sonic screwdriver was Subject Two… I'm wondering if we should give her one as a kind of bootstrap paradox present? Thoughts?"

Speaking with Radio Times, Page clarified the confusion and assumptions being made – while also urging patience, since more answers will be forthcoming as "Circuit Break" plays out.  "Circuit Breaker is set after the Fugitive Doctor's encounter with the Thirteenth Doctor, where she makes it very clear that she has no time for a sonic screwdriver," Page shared, offering some backstory. "In Circuit Breaker, she finds herself working alongside two UNIT scientists, Osgood and Andrew, who idolise the Doctor and encourage her to approach problems more like the incarnations they know. That creates a tension between the three: the Fugitive Doctor is fiercely proud of who she is and doesn't believe she needs to change, but she also begins to see that Osgood and Andrew might have a point. We've already seen just how uncompromising she can be in Titan Comics' Adversary of the Daleks, where her actions lead to [SPOILER] the destruction of the Metiki and the deaths of many humans in Ancient Greece."

It's the divide between the Doctors that Osgood and Andrew have encountered, and Martin's Fugitive Doctor, that's one of the driving narratives throughout the crossover – and will eventually explain why the Fugitive Doctor has her own sonic screwdriver now. "She isn't like the Doctors UNIT is familiar with, and that contrast sits at the heart of Circuit Breaker. How that ultimately leads to her carrying a sonic screwdriver, however, is something readers will have to discover in The Kaleidoscope, written by Jo Martin, releasing on 3 September, and in more detail through the UNIT HQ website throughout the project's duration."

Is the Fugitive Doctor Still Pre-William Hartnell? "Andrew and Osgood call on the Fugitive Doctor because, as far as UNIT knows, she is the earliest known incarnation of the Doctor. They have very little information about her, but that's the understanding they are working from. Her character has so much mystery behind her, and it's fun to speculate where she may fit in. But for Osgood and Andrew, they are firm with the knowledge that she is the earliest incarnation they know, and the more stories we tell with the Fugitive Doctor in the future, the more I am sure we will uncover."

When Does "Circuit Breaker" Take Place? "Circuit Breaker is set after Fugitive of the Judoon. The Fugitive Doctor is constantly on the move, always looking over her shoulder, so she rarely dwells on her past. However, in The Kaleidoscope, she is faced with truths from her past which show a more vulnerable side to the character."

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