One of the many reasons why Steven Moffat was a great show-runner for ‘Doctor Who’ was because he was such a fan himself and he wrote as one. He came up with the idea of sonic sunglasses so that little kids with little access to their own funds could still play as the Doctor – cheap sunglasses are easier to get than a fancy toy sonic screwdrivers.
But another facet he utilized was putting in what I call “limbo periods.” In the past, a lot of ‘Doctor Who’ adventures led directly into the next with little room for the fans to imagine their own adventures for the Doctor, with or without their current companions.
Under Moffat’s stewardship, Amy and Rory, followed by Clara, and then Bill, all had time away from the TARDIS. That gave their Doctors the chance to have solo adventures – or picking up new companions for a few spins in the blue box – before reuniting with the current Companion(s).
That’s why this collection of public city pictures are so great. It’s not just Katy Manning visiting the TARDIS with Peter Capaldi as the Doctor’s Twelfth Incarnation; instead of just the usual, bland poses on the set, with a few smiles and waves, but it looks like they were involved in some kind of adventure as the Doctor and Jo Grant.
I could see Capaldi’s Incarnation as enjoying his reunion with Jo. She never saw the Doctor regenerate during her own time as his Companion, but she knows it could happen since she got to meet the Eleventh Incarnation in a two-part story of ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’.
And I’d like to think that she might have truly admired the look of the Twelfth Doctor since he wasn’t too far off the mark from the appearance of her own Doctor as played by Jon Pertwee. (And by “appearance”, let’s just say I mean “distinguished gentleman”.)
Here’s hoping that one day Katy Manning can return to ‘Doctor Who’ proper as Jo Grant Jones.
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