Doctor Who What If '90: Season 27 (1990).

Hi everyone. Here at last is my long-awaited Season 27 What If video, exploring the idea of What If Doctor Who Hadn't Been Cancelled in 1989?
This video is intended to the first in a new special subseries of What Ifs, which will exclusively explain what I think could've happened had the Classic Series never ended. So please let me know if you enjoyed it and if you want to see this timeline be continued. :)
Timestamps:
00:00-01:43= Intro.
01:43-07:29= Chapter 1: Surviving Cancellation.
07:29-11:42= Chapter 2: A Time of Change.
11:42-23:07= Chapter 3: The Stories Themselves.
23:07-24:29= Chapter 4: Looking to the Future.
24:29-27:16= Chapter 5: Closing Thoughts.
27:16- 27:53= Outro.

[@BillWhovian]

Apologies that some of the pictures I used weren't of the best quality. I just had to make do with what I could find. Hope it doesn't spoil anyone's enjoyment of the video though 😊

[@davidaston5773]

See it as a learning curve. Doctor Who improved and refined it's looks as well a it's titles. DOCTOR WHO SEASON 27 & ONWARDS Big Finish has given us an idea of how the stories might've been. But, personally, I think the show would've continued the style and production identity of "The greatest show in the galaxy", "Survival" and "Curse of Fenric". I suspect we would've had more modern Earth stories and pure science fiction adventures here and there adhering to a lower or more restrictive budget? Once again, Big Finish has shown how the 7th Doctor's era could develop with, after over 20 years, new companions. Not just for McCoy but of course for the 4th, 5th and 6th Doctors. The best expansion of the 7th, which is close to what might've happened, is the character Hex and most recently Naomi Cross. They're very in tune with "Survival" and are the narrative successors to Ace. David

[@paulhunter6742]

I liked idea of new companion cracking open safe. And Doctor appears saying " What kept You?". The safe happen being Doctor's Tardis since camelion circuit finally been replaced.

[@jackmonaghan8477]

Tom Georgeson was also George in 'A Fish Called Wanda'. Also, in this timeline, a 'Withnail and I' cast member becomes the Eighth Doctor, only it's Uncle Monty not I.

[@digipeeper]

Yep, What If. The McCoy era was getting very popular yet the series was going to die ceremonially with the 80s. If it was proposed. I would have love to see it minus McCoy’s decision to leave. When the series was finally AXED. Derrick Sherwin(one episode Executive) actually proposed to buy the series within BBC to attempt to keep the series continue to run. But perhaps it was a much better thing to end it with Survival as it was serendipity for the Wilderness Years until 1996. Here is an idea, What If…… The McGann movie was a success and aired Friday Nights with the X-Files???

[@rayvenkman2087]

We wouldn’t have gotten Big Finish and the Virgin New Adventures out of the series’ end because the BBC wouldn’t have licences out DW to them.

[@BillWhovian]

True, but we might have still got some version of those stories on TV instead. The writers may have still come up with the ideas of them after all :)

[@ChrisMentzer]

Brother, do not apologize for the video length. It was very interesting. Thanks for sharing!!

[@BillWhovian]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@dickiegreenleaf750]

Yeah brother. Haha

[@thekandyman.]

Best series 27 video! Richard Griffith's 😆😆😆 I love him in pie in the sky!

[@timelordmaster1084]

Nice to see somebody else doing their own take on this series: I'm a big fan of WIDWWA and that other video you mentioned. I myself have even done my own take on what might have happened called Beyond 26: An Alternate Doctor Who Timeline. If you're interested in seeing other high quality attempts at this concept, I'd highly recommend Doctor Who: The Cancelled Years, Doctor Who: The Cancelled Chronicles, Beyond 1989. and Doctor Who: Into the 1990s.

[@jnielson1121]

Loved this! Thank you... lots of stuff that I'd read or heard about years back but really nice to have it all presented here in order and with some fun speculation on the fan reactions etc :D

[@michaelwebster8666]

Excellent video, thank you. Powell & Cregeen - architects of the wilderness years!

[@BillWhovian]

Thanks! And indeed they were! :)

[@frontios1014]

I have seen many people cover this particular what if topic for quite a few years now. And I got to say this is probably one of the more unique videos taking this topic on. I didn't know that you would change the names of half of the stories. And I also liked the idea of JNT and Andrew Cartmel leaving halfway through the season and Ian Fraser and Colin Brake would take over for the second half. I genuinely didn't expect any of that coming in to watching this video. And I think this video more than ever inspired me to cover doctor who on my channel again which I haven't done since last year. I'm going to be covering this what if topic in particular when it comes to doctor who content in general. So thank you for inspiring me to make doctor who content again.

[@BillWhovian]

Wow I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed it and that it's inspired you to make more Doctor Who videos again! Good luck in making your own take on this :)

[@travishiltz4750]

Fun video. I'd read a couple articles on what season 27 might have been. This was probably the most in-depth. Some interesting ideas, but I've never been the biggest fan of 'Cartmel masterplan' and the darkening of the 7th Doctor. The trend continued in the New adventure novels, with the Doctor becoming almost unlikable. Richard Griffiths was an interesting choice for the 8th Doctor.

[@BillWhovian]

That's fair. I think some of the stuff the VNA's got up to was trying a bit too hard to be edgy and dark. Yes Griffiths is who they would most likely have gone with at the time. He would've made for a great Doctor based on Withnail and I. :)

[@travishiltz4750]

@@BillWhovian Yes, the VNA's felt like they were trying to see what they could get away with, at the expense of the fun. I like Griffiths as an actor, and could see his Doctor being more Hartnell or Troughton.

[@BillWhovian]

@travishiltz4750 Yes perhaps a mix of Hartnell and McCoy? An even grumpier chess player, but maybe with some of Davison's vulnerability too?

[@travishiltz4750]

@@BillWhovian I could see him having that early Hartnell quality of not being gung-ho to go on an adventure and having the companion have to nudge him a bit.

[@BillWhovian]

Yes possibly :)

[@leebiggs14]

Following on from my what if Peter davison stayed for 4 season's (1982-1985) and Colin Baker stayed for 5 season's (1986-1990) ideas here is my what if idea for Sylvester McCoy staying for 5 season's Season 28(1991) Earth Aid(Sylvester McCoy's first story in this timeline) Illegal alien Crime of the century(Raine Cunningham's first story) Alixion Season 29(1992) Night thoughts Ice time(Aces last story) A school for glory Aviator Season 30(1993) Hostage Love and war( Bernice Summerfields first story) War of the Daleks Blood and iron The dark dimension(30th anniversary special) Season 31(1994) The last of the Daleks Transit Bloodheat Longbarrow(Raines last story) Iceberg Season 32(1995) Legacy of the Daleks Nightshade Shakedown The body snatchers First Frontier(Bernices last story) The next episode would be the 1996 tv movie.

[@gregorypope602]

What I’ve always wondered about is that Terrence Dicks, script-editor on the show during one of its most successful eras, was now working as a producer at the BBC and had told fans he would be happy to produce Dr Who or anything else if he was asked! So why was Dicks, who would’ve been an ideal choice as Dr Who producer, not approached?

[@BillWhovian]

From what Peter Cregeen himself has said, he wasn't aware of anyone being interested in Doctor Who. No one was making themselves known as far as he was concerned. Of course, given what the BBC was like at the time, that might’ve just been used as an excuse to cancel it.

[@BillWhovian]

Just had a quick look at Terrance Dicks' page on Wikipedia, and it says he retired from the BBC in 1988 to continue being a novelist. So he wouldn't have been able to produce the show anyway

[@elseworlds5]

@@BillWhovian That’s rather surprising, as he’d produced several costume dramas for the Beeb quite successfully. Maybe he just got disenchanted with the business!

[@BillWhovian]

@@elseworlds5 Possibly yeah :)

[@twilliamspro]

Richard Griffiths would have been brilliant

[@pal-of-pals]

It is a shame that the Metatraxi didn't get a TV appearance. They're a fun monster from what I heard on Big Finish's Lost Stories adaptations of their stories.

[@louiswindsor7334]

If johnathan Powell was that unprofessional towards a show then he should have resigned from rhe BBC after Colin left

[@mathieuleader8601]

I would have Ian McShane or Michael Hordern or Charles Dance cast as the Abbott

[@BillWhovian]

Good suggestions 🙂👍

[@vinniequick]

I loved this, and to be honest I prefer more in depth reviews and ideas as it really lets me picture how these play out

[@BillWhovian]

Glad you enjoyed it! :)

[@finnsempire5671]

I am currently working on my own version of season 27 but it will be Sticking to our own version of events in the new series of course 😊

[@BillWhovian]

Cool. Good luck with it 😊

[@finnsempire5671]

I would like to use the Richard Griffiths Doctor as the 8.1 Incarnation of the character because Paul McGann is the canon 8th doctor of our timeline and universe but he is going to be now known as the 8.2 and a half doctor because he is going to be after Richard Griffins's doctor because we need an explanation to what happened before the TV movie and the modern revival I am not going with any what if scenarios but instead of doing that approach I am actually trying to do what exactly happened before the doctor ever met Rose Tyler simply because I don’t want to change the way that the timeline went down so I am just going with the 1990s by making brand new episodes to fill in the wilderness years 😊

[@BillWhovian]

@finnsempire5671 7.5 might be a better term for Griffiths in your scenario then, but that sounds great! 🙂

[@finnsempire5671]

@@BillWhovianit should be a better idea 😊

[@finnsempire5671]

@@BillWhoviancould I use Earth aid as an opener for my season 27 The second episode is going to be icebreaker because I don’t want to change anything with the new series so we keep the old series connected along with our modern iteration and incarnation of the new doctor who of course but I am going with ace going to the academy in the season’s finale which will be titled the lords of time in a nod to the doctor’s own race the time lords and I am going to be introducing the new doctor in the series 28 finale to let McCoy have one more season in time and space in the Tardis but it will be love and war as the series closer and the season starter will be called lung-barrow and it will also have somehow a link to the timeless child storyline later on in the new series in our own timeline and universe in our future obviously.

[@mathieuleader8601]

if I could not use the bugs because to create them would be too costly I would make the Abbot an incarnation of the Monk post Butterworth played by Andrew Sachs

[@haileyshannon7548]

Mista Doctah, he crazy!

[@timelordmaster1084]

I hope you don't mind, but I've thought of a few what if suggestions that you could do at some point in the future. What If Jodie Whittaker stayed for the 60th specials and Series 14. What If Elisabeth Sladen had lived and SJA continued. What if Torchwood had continued. What if the original Season 23 had happened. What if any of the unproduced spin-offs had been produced. Another idea I have that's similar to your What if the Doctors had stayed an extra season videos is What if 'insert name of companion here' had stayed an extra season or what if 'insert name of producer here' had stayed on for an extra season. You could even do the opposite and do 'What if 'insert name of companion/producer here' had left earlier. This idea could also be done with the Doctors like your What if the Fourth Doctor had left earlier. Oh by the way just thought that you ought to know that since DaDoctorWhoFan says that he's the first to do an in-depth series on this subject, he has guidelines about what you can and can't do because people have been nicking his stuff and he assumes that if you've used it then you've seen WIDWWA, but I assume you'll be original.

[@BillWhovian]

Good ideas! I will get round to doing them eventually don't worry. :) As for the whole DaDoctorWhoFan thing, I get where he's coming from but I doubt he will have been the first person to have ever made a scenario based on the idea. The first to make videos about it? Possibly yeah. But I don't know if I'd go as far as to make guidelines if I was in his position. But he's well within his right to do so and I understand why he'd do that. If you could perhaps send me a link to said guidelines and I'll read them at some point. His videos are certainly an inspiration on my take, but I 100% won't be going down the exact same path as he did (mainly because I've got my own ideas as to how I think it would’ve unfolded). :)

[@jonathangrindell1335]

Can also produced how Modern Doctor who would change?

[@BillWhovian]

I will come to that once I've figured it out haha 🤣

[@project_boredom2940]

What would the 7th Doctor’s last words be in Alixion and what would the regeneration look like?

[@BillWhovian]

The regeneration was meant to be included in my Season 28 video. But I forgot all about it unfortunately. I might release it as it's own video. It was made by two members of my talented production team. As for 7's last words, I imagine it would be something about him, the self-styled chess master, having lost control. Something like "The easiest way to win a game is to stop your opponent from making a move."

[@Kent933]

I thought there was plans for extending this season

[@BillWhovian]

No, I think you mean Season 28. That What If article in DWM issue 255 had extended it to six stories. But I think that's just something else Dave Owens came up with. :)

[@Kent933]

@@BillWhovian your possibly correct

[@BillWhovian]

If you mean about Dave Owens having potentially made it up, he did change the titles so it's not impossible yes :)

[@lewiskent550]

@@Kent933 ok do you want the rest of the list

[@Kent933]

@@lewiskent550 yes please

[@devranhasan4969]

These what if videos are enjoyable to watch, if I may ask do you take suggestions on what if videos you could possibly make in the future? 🙂

[@BillWhovian]

I'm glad that you enjoy them! Yes of course. I can't promise I'll be able to do them straightaway, as I've got a lot of other suggestions to get through. But I will do them eventually. What did you have in mind? :)

[@devranhasan4969]

@BillWhovian What If Paul McGann returned as The Eighth Doctor in series 1 in the revived series with Russel T Davies Billie Piper, and he regenerated into Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor at the end of the parting of the ways?

[@devranhasan4969]

@BillWhovian and to be honest, I doubt John hurt would play nine since he only became the war doctor when the BBC thought that mcgann wasn't popular enough to be in the 50th and Eccleston didn't want to come back, so I was thinking that during Russel looking for his cast he would have Eccleston on his mind but the idea of McGann would pop into his head and would keep Eccleston in mind for the finale and for series 2

[@devranhasan4969]

@BillWhovian Btw if you need a title sequence, here is one my friend made. m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/b33Pcqajq9x0pNU&pp=ygUTd2hhdCBpZiBwYXVsIG1jZ2Fubg%3D%3D

[@BillWhovian]

McGann wasn't included in the 50th because they thought he wasn't popular enough. it was because Moffat couldn't imagine 8 to be the one who killed all the Daleks and Time Lords. Eccleston was going to be in it, but he then turned it down like you said. But I believe Moffat said that it worked out for the best, as in Rose, 9 comments on his supposed "new appearance", like he's only just regenerated, so it wouldn't make much sense for 9 to be the one that did it either (even though Big Finish would later retcon this to be that he kept smashing mirrors in the TARDIS because he didn't want to look at himself, out of shame). I might include that title sequence one day, but I would need to ask the person who made it themselves if I could do so, if thats okay?

[@David-vd9sb]

List of adventures please And honestly I think the 7th doctor would have Stayed on until 1991

[@BillWhovian]

The list of adventures is in the video. I introduce each one and then go through it. Why would McCoy stay on until 91?

[@David-vd9sb]

@@BillWhovian Do you my take of seaon 27 And aslo Why not

[@BillWhovian]

@@David-vd9sb No, I’m talking about the list of adventures for my take on it. Hence why I said they were in the video. But you must have a specific reason for having McCoy stay on for S28 beyond just "why not?"

[@David-vd9sb]

@@BillWhovian don't know

[@David-vd9sb]

@@BillWhovian and aslo soon I'm going to make a playlsit And in the description It will say what if doctor who started in 2004

[@disneyboy3030]

Want to do What If: Season 28.

[@BillWhovian]

You mean you want me to do it soon?

[@chrisgraham9064]

I wanna know what happened to Raine ?

[@BillWhovian]

You'll find out in the next two videos in this subseries (Seasons 28-29) :)

[@jamestoney6108]

I dont think jnt wanted to stay as producer in the first place, more that he knew it woud have been canceled much earlier without him

[@BillWhovian]

I literally mention how the BBC kept him for the last couple of years by threatening to cancel the show if he left it in the video lol 😆

[@jamestoney6108]

@@BillWhovian yes I just made the comment as I was watching

[@BillWhovian]

@jamestoney6108 Yes I thought so :)

[@Sunsetaren]

I can't find the Doctor Who Fan's series.

[@BillWhovian]

He might’ve made them unlisted or something. Here's the playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLEfK7Qf8yhwwtvwIY3G09-015UqzHXiML&si=PFyH6NWkA2m1GRhg

[@leebiggs14]

What do you think of my latest comment idea.

[@BillWhovian]

Very good 👍

[@stephenreed2093]

I don't think Eric Saward gets enough blame for the demise of the show. While the executives clearly wanted rid of Doctor Who anyway, Saward's grim, mean spirited and brutal vision for the series just played into their hands and the likes of Mary Whitehouse.

[@BillWhovian]

I don't really think Eric Saward wanting to take the show in a darker direction really contributed to the show’s fate. You have to remember that at the time, the BBC was full of people like Michael Grade and Jonathan Powell. People who saw the show as an embarrassment, as a waste of time and money. They would’ve used any excuse to get rid of it. If the show hadn't become so dark, it would’ve made no difference. They would still try to get rid of it anyway