David Dixon as Ford Prefect just absolutely works beautifully. As the Doctor? Yes! I could see him pulling it off. Would the BBC have gone with this idea? Well - they employed an umemployed actor working as a brickie last time...
@@BillWhovian well I had that idea in 1993 when the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy first came out on VHS and I watched that 100 times as I was obsessed with it.
David Dixon would have been a great 5th doctor. I probably prefer your second timeline with the extra story for season 16 to introduce the 5th doctor. I think that era of the show could have been interesting. Especially that in this timeline, the third doctor Jon Pertwee would have been considered the longest running actor to play the doctor for 5 seasons in a row. And Tom Baker would have been second place to that title.
It makes more sense for Tom to depart at the end of Season 16, regenerating after a climactic battle with the Black Guardian over the Key to Time. That would give more importance to the Key to Time story arc, instead of the weak conclusion it currently has. The Doctor dies while preventing the Key from falling into the Black Guardian’s hands, only to be saved by the White Guardian as reward for restoring balance to the cosmos. Romana is also injured during the battle and regenerates in time for Season 17. That also eliminates the silly plot point that Romana regenerated simply because she wanted to.
Don't forget we're talking about the Graham Williams era. That era had a heavy emphasis on humour. What you're describing would be far more in line with the first RTD era's dramatic series finales rather than the Graham Williams era. I'm not saying it's impossible for Season 16 to end like that mind you. Just that it doesn't really fit the direction the show was going in at that time. So I'm very unsure whether a Season 16 that had Tom leaving at the end would have such a dramatic ending like that
@@BillWhovian Well, I assume we're just playing a fun game of hypothetical situations here. Graham Williams introduced the concept of the Guardians in Season 16, it would make sense to have the Doctor battle the Black Guardian as a finale to the season arc. It's more meaningful than dying at the end of a gun for Season 15.
@mjanovec Oh don't get me wrong. It's a great idea, and far far better than what we got. It would make the Key to Time have more stakes. I'm just not sure if I can picture Graham Williams and Anthony Read going with it. I do plan on making a video about what if Tom had left after Season 16 one day though.
Very interesting. I'd go with Scenario 1, although I'd wonder if our Season 17's stories would still be used for the hypothetical Season 18 once JNT took over, however it would work if hypothetically he became Producer 1 year later than usual. Perhaps Graham Williams would have stayed on longer if he found David Dixon to be more agreeable to the direction he wanted to take the show, compared to Tom Baker
I could misremember but I'm pretty sure most of hitchhikers guide to the galaxy is made around abandoned doctor who scripts snd story lines Douglas Adams had before leaving the show
And boy did I LOVE the original televised version of Primary Phase… A shame the BBC didn’t televise the rest of the series…Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent feel like if the Fourth and Fifth Doctors had traveled together simultaneously and I LOVE IT for that! 😅😍🥰😁
I'm glad he didn't otherwise he wouldn't be the iconic Doctor he is today and he helped keep the show going for more years had Tom left sooner i think the series would had ended sooner then you have no 80's Who.
I don't think the show would've ended if Tom had left sooner than he did. It continued without him pretty well for a few years. It was only the likes of Michael Grade hating the show that led to its cancellation in 89.
@@filmunion8194 Russel Tovey I think he’s called the guy that played Allonso was always auditioned and even ready to play the role well that or Peter Capaldi
What would David Dixon’s Fifth Doctor be like in terms of characterisation? Would his Doctor be similar to his character in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy?
Not 100% sure, but I imagine a mix of his Ford Prefect and how the Fourth Doctor was in Seasons 15-17. So quite comical and quirky. But I imagine he would have his more serious moments, like the Fourth Doctor shouting at the Pirate Captain in the Pirate Planet. :)
I thought of going with David Collings, but I wasn't too sure if he would suit the Graham Williams era's more light-hearted approach. Although I only know him from more serious roles, so who knows? Maybe he could've pulled it off 🤔
Colin Baker will be sometime next week (so July). And McCoy will be in early August (it might end up being a very long one, so I'm going to need a while to work on it some more). Any beyond that don't have definite dates yet, although I'm hoping the What If TV Movie Had Been A Success and What If the Revival Didn't Happen will be coming out early September. :)
The Doctor regenerates into David Jason he wears a black pinstripe suit grey trilby and has a red rosette Tearing of the Veil will be the first Christmas Special and features the return of the Mandagora Helix as the poltergeist and Richard Murdoch as Canon Peter Hamilton Pirate Planet features the Masters daughter played by Diana Rigg This alternate version of 5 will unique to most Doctors he will be cowardly at first but overtime grows tactical in his thinking and acts as a mentor figure he uses Cockney rhyming slang he is a mix of the Seventh Doctor and 12
I feel with hindsight he should have left at the end of Season 16. He and Romana had defeated the Black Guardian, and were on the run from him. I see Romana's regeneration as part of this going-on-the-run, as the Black Guardian's followers would know what she and the Doctor looked like. It would then be sensible for the Doctor to also regenerate. And the Doctor and Romana would decide to sort out the chamaeleon circuit, so a visit to Logopolis would be on the cards.
The climax to Armageddon would have the Black Guardian getting angry and zapping the TARDIS. Both the Doctor and Romana are fatally injured and have to regenerate and a damaged K9 has an excuse to sit out Destiny and City of Death instead of laryngitis,
Im glad you brought up david dixon i do agree he had the look for the dr. If not for the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy he might have been considered along richard griffiths for the 5th dr.
Because it took me a while to make this one, the next What If (What If Peter Davison Had Stayed For Season 22?) won't come out until next Tuesday now unfortunately. :)
Nice timeline! I love exploring What If's like that with Who. I've always thought it would have been interesting to have Tom leave two years earlier, cast a slightly younger Colin Baker as a different kind of 5th Doctor. He gets three years, until the 20th when you get maybe Rowan Atkinson (I adore the David Dixon choice, so maybe he would work here?) as the 6th, give him about three or four seasons and THEN you cast Peter Davison as the 7th Doctor. Davison's appearance in DIMENSIONS IN TIME (as rough as that is) showed me a seasoned, slightly-older "Fifth Doctor" in his prime. That's a Peter Davison I would liked to have seen full time. Throw in Richard E Grant as the 8th Doctor, and Paul McGann as the 9th or War Doctor, and proceed on from there. Just some fun what-if headcanon to consider. Great video! :)
I always think of Ford, particularly Dixon’s version, as the Doctor in his student years. It would have been terrible if Baker had gone in “Invasion of Time” it was such a shoddy end to a series. “Armageddon Factor” would have been a better end for an alternate Baker departure. I’ve always been intrigued as to who Graham Williams would have cast had he had to, Dixon wouldnt have been on William’s radar then (I think he was Alan Bell’s find) so I reckon Iain Cuthbertson would be a contender, although his turn in Ribos might have nixed that🤔
Why make Rodan (a proto-Romana) a companion and then have her replacement be Romana? And we are switching to K-9 mark 2? Maybe instead of Romanna, have Rodan regenerate into Mary Tamm and Laila Ward? Also, don't love some of your episode juggling, as it feels random. Might have also wanted to split this into two episodes, as the Peter Davidson stuff feels rushed and leaves me with many questions
@@BillWhovian Just thought you took on a lot of ideas ( most of which I liked. Forgot to mention Dixon was a good choice) just think you had trouble juggling them.
