THE FANFICCER'S FRIEND - THE CURATOR

As great as it was to see John Hurt as the War Doctor in the fiftieth anniversary special "The Day Of The Doctor", and to see the Time War depicted onscreen, I think the biggest thrill for me was to see Tom Baker make an unpublicized appearance at the end.  He had been my first Doctor, but he was now showing up as a future incarnation of the Doctor - only this time he was known as the Curator.

Who knows when/where he appears on the Doctor's personal regeneration timeline, but I'm fairly certain that it matters not when dealing with a Time Lord.  With the potential for each new incarnation to live 10,000 years, it could be eons before the Doctor finally regenerated into this familiar old form and settled down to become the Curator of the Under-Gallery.

Alls I know is that it looks like the Fandom for 'Doctor Who' took the Curator to their hearts immediately. Take a gander through these various forums and you'll find the Curator well-represented with all new adventures by adoring fans:

https://www.whofic.com/

https://www.fanfiction.net/tv/Doctor-Who/

https://www.fanfiction.net/crossovers/Doctor-Who/21/

https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Doctor%20Who/works

https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Doctor%20Who%20(1963)/works

https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Doctor%20Who%20(Season%206B)/works

https://www.fanfiction.net/communities/tv/Doctor-Who/

http://fuckyeahdoctorwhofanfic.tumblr.com/

It's a pretty good showing for a character who was only on screen for about five minutes!

I'm quite taken with the Curator, and not just because he is played by the same actor who first introduced me to the Doctor.  I think the possibilities could be endless - save for Baker's age - for a spin-off TV show about him, which could pick up the mantle of 'The Sarah Jane Adventures'.

In this case, it would certainly give 'The Librarians' and 'Warehouse 13' a run for their money.  In fact, as a leading proponent for Television Without Borders, I would love to see a special which brought in characters from both of those shows* to interact with the Curator and his team.

Yes, this would be how a show about the Under-Gallery could work with an elderly Curator at the helm.  As with Sarah Jane Smith, the Curator would also have a team working with him.  But they wouldn't be kids, and definitely not young adults who pass themselves off as kids in high school like in 'Class'.  (For God's sake!  Have you ever checked their IMDb pages?  The stars of 'Class' are all about 25 years old!)  They could still be young adults, but at least they should be playing their real ages!  

They could be in college at least, working on their doctorals in library sciences.  But I think there could be a wide spectrum of ages... and even alien types?  (Hidden away in the crypts of the Under-Gallery, a - let's say, a Menoptera - would go unnoticed as it continued its research.  And dammit - it's high time the Menoptera got an upgrade!!!!)

[Pictured to the right: The Curator with the grandson of Thomas Kinkade Brannigan.]

We don't know from the official canon how long the Curator had been there at the Under-Gallery.  Might have been a century or more!  But for a Crossoverist such as your faithful servant here, think of all the TV show characters one could cross over with him at various stages of his "later years"!  

Most of that would have to remain only seen by the mind's-eye while perusing fanfiction about the Curator.  But there are plenty of photographs out there of Tom Baker from his sixties onward which could inspire new adventures penned by his chroniclers in the fan base.

So that's why I'm here.  Take a gander at some of these pictures and see if they inspire you to come up with a brand-new story about the Curator.

STORY POSSIBILITY:
The Curator tries to broker a truce

between the Daleks and the Cybermen.

STORY POSSIBILITY:
The Curator returns to the era of World War II
And teams up with Captain Arthur Hastings

STORY POSSIBILITY:

Jo Grant visits the National Gallery with some of her grandchildren

She never recognizes the Curator, 

and it's the grandkids who get the adventure

STORY POSSIBILITY:
Widowed by the death of Andred, Leela finds her way to Earth
The Curator isn't sure Earth is the place for her anymore....

STORY POSSIBILITY:

In the Cornwall area, Leela and the Curator meet Joan Norton

STORY POSSIBILITY:

The Curator is reunited with Sarah Jane Smith, just before her passing

STORY POSSIBILITY:
The Curator at ease in his Under-Sanctum

STORY POSSIBILITY:

The Curator investigates when he finds a Gallifreyan 

who claims to be the Fourth Incarnation 

STORY POSSIBILITY:

Perhaps the first appearance of the Curator

STORY POSSIBILITY:
Either the Curator has entered Comix Toobworld
Or he has teamed up with one of his earlier incarnations.

(And remember, it's likely that he still has access to the TARDIS.)

If any of these pictures inspired you to write some Curator fanfic, send me the link.  I'd love to check it out!

BCnU!