Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall confirmed that Jo Martin is “definitively the Doctor.” The latest episode of Doctor Who, “Fugitive of the Judoon,” introduced viewers to a never-before-seen incarnation of the Doctor. Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor and her TARDIS family arrived in Gloucester to investigate an alien invasion, and soon learned that the police/mercenaries were hunting down a mysterious fugitive. The fugitive in question turned out to be a “new” version of the Doctor, played by actress Jo Martin.
The revelation shook Doctor Who fandom to its core. “Fugitive of the Judoon” appeared to suggest this was a past Doctor, but many began to theorize that something a lot more complicated was going on. Doctor Who recently changed its rules of time travel, albeit perhaps unwittingly. It moved to embracing the multiverse model that’s central to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Thus a popular theory posited that Martin’s Doctor actually originated from an alternate timeline.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, showrunner Chris Chibnall has insisted that isn’t the case. “The important thing to say is - she is definitively the Doctor,” he explained. “There’s not a sort of parallel universe going on, there’s no tricks. Jo Martin is the Doctor, that’s why we gave her the credit at the end which all new Doctors have the first time you see them. John Hurt got that credit.”
For now, Chibnall is remaining silent about just how Jo Martin’s Doctor fits into the lore. “There will be answers to some of these mysteries this series,” he added. “But as ever with Doctor Who, answers often reveal new questions. It’s all very deliberate.” Chibnall appears to have multi-season plans, as indicated by the fact he first planted a reference to the mysterious Timeless Child in Doctor Who season 11, episode 2, and that idea is only being explored a year later. It’s entirely possible the same will be true for Martin’s Doctor, that there’ll be a little more development of the character this season, and she’ll only be fully explained in season 13. Martin made a strong impression on viewers in “Fugitive of the Judoon,” and in general the episode was well-received. The problem with this kind of episode, however, is that it largely consists of setup. As such, in hindsight it’s as good as the eventual payoff.
Now that Martin is confirmed to be part of the official Doctor Who timeline, it’s fascinating to speculate just how she fits in. Martin’s Doctor appears to be most similar to William Hartnell’s, with a TARDIS design reminiscent of his and the same habit of calling the TARDIS her “ship.” What’s more, she wasn’t at all familiar with the sonic screwdriver, which was invented by Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor. There’s certainly no way to fit her in between Hartnell and Troughton, so the most likely explanation is that there was at least one incarnation of the Doctor before Hartnell’s, and that this past Doctor (or, indeed, these past Doctors) have quietly been wiped from the Doctor’s memory. Complicating the issue, however, is the fact Martin’s TARDIS had already become stuck in the shape of a police box - which only happened in the first Hartnell story “An Unearthly Child.” It’s going to be fascinating to see this mystery explored down the line in Doctor Who.
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Source: Daily Mirror
