By Heather Stromski
Everyone has their own opinion of their favorite guest appearances on Doctor Who, and no list will ever match up as the same. From this Whovian’s point of view, these are the ones that rank the highest – the ones that I will pull up on Netflix and watch over and over and over and over again. What are yours?
Everyone has their own opinion of their favorite guest appearances on Doctor Who, and no list will ever match up as the same. From this Whovian’s point of view, these are the ones that rank the highest – the ones that I will pull up on Netflix and watch over and over and over and over again. What are yours?
10. Sir Ian McKellen as the voice of the Great Intelligence (The Snowmen, 2012)
Of course the latest guest star had to make it somewhere on this list, even if all we hear is his very distinctive voice. I get excited for anything Sir Ian does, and from the moment that I could hear his voice, that pretty much started the bouncing. Matching him up with this fierce foe from the Doctor’s past was a stroke of pure genius, and everyone in this house found the matchup between the Doctor and Sir Ian’s Great Intelligence highly entertaining and certainly edge-of-your-seat. We certainly wouldn’t mind seeing more.
Of course the latest guest star had to make it somewhere on this list, even if all we hear is his very distinctive voice. I get excited for anything Sir Ian does, and from the moment that I could hear his voice, that pretty much started the bouncing. Matching him up with this fierce foe from the Doctor’s past was a stroke of pure genius, and everyone in this house found the matchup between the Doctor and Sir Ian’s Great Intelligence highly entertaining and certainly edge-of-your-seat. We certainly wouldn’t mind seeing more.
9. John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness (First Appearance: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, 2005)
Alright, so he became a recurring character and even landed the leading role in the spin-off Torchwood, but who could have known all that would come about in this two-parter? When I first saw it, all I knew was that this handsome, charming, devil-may-care rogue could sweep me off my feet anytime. It was so refreshing to see a character that would do whatever he liked, without much thought to what everyone else might think – and also to see how that perspective began to change, however slightly, once he met the Doctor and Rose. It was a fantastic setup, even if no one could know it was coming about, for the episodes toward the end of that series. John Barrowman was the perfect choice for Captain Jack – it isn’t often that I can’t look at a character and think of someone else that might be able to carry off a key trait better, but this is definitely one of those times.
Alright, so he became a recurring character and even landed the leading role in the spin-off Torchwood, but who could have known all that would come about in this two-parter? When I first saw it, all I knew was that this handsome, charming, devil-may-care rogue could sweep me off my feet anytime. It was so refreshing to see a character that would do whatever he liked, without much thought to what everyone else might think – and also to see how that perspective began to change, however slightly, once he met the Doctor and Rose. It was a fantastic setup, even if no one could know it was coming about, for the episodes toward the end of that series. John Barrowman was the perfect choice for Captain Jack – it isn’t often that I can’t look at a character and think of someone else that might be able to carry off a key trait better, but this is definitely one of those times.
8. Lindsey Duncan as Adelaide Brooke (The Waters of Mars, 2009)
The Waters of Mars wasn’t one of my favorite episodes, but that makes Lindsey Duncan’s turn as the commander of the first colony on Mars, for me, all the more of a standout. I thoroughly enjoyed this character, especially as she was an unyielding rock next to what I saw as the Doctor spiraling out of control. I could appreciate the episode for what it was – a testament to how the tenth Doctor was, to use an American saying, getting far too big for his britches – and I think her character, especially her choice at the end, was the catalyst for telling him that change was coming swiftly, and try as he might, there was nothing he could do to stop it.
The Waters of Mars wasn’t one of my favorite episodes, but that makes Lindsey Duncan’s turn as the commander of the first colony on Mars, for me, all the more of a standout. I thoroughly enjoyed this character, especially as she was an unyielding rock next to what I saw as the Doctor spiraling out of control. I could appreciate the episode for what it was – a testament to how the tenth Doctor was, to use an American saying, getting far too big for his britches – and I think her character, especially her choice at the end, was the catalyst for telling him that change was coming swiftly, and try as he might, there was nothing he could do to stop it.
7. Anthony Stewart Head as Mr. Finch (School Reunion, 2006)
I just can’t help loving it when an actor that I’ve become so used to in one sort of role (in this case, Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer] makes such a wonderfully, entertainingly evil turn. It was so much fun to watch him as this alien who turns a high school upside down for his own thoroughly sinister machinations. It can sometimes be really hard to watch an actor that you’re used to acting one way make a turn in something so completely different from that particular character, but in this case, he made it all too easy to immerse myself into the episode and his villainy, that once I got past the whole ‘OMG it’s Giles!’, I didn’t think about that other character at all for the rest of the episode.
I just can’t help loving it when an actor that I’ve become so used to in one sort of role (in this case, Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer] makes such a wonderfully, entertainingly evil turn. It was so much fun to watch him as this alien who turns a high school upside down for his own thoroughly sinister machinations. It can sometimes be really hard to watch an actor that you’re used to acting one way make a turn in something so completely different from that particular character, but in this case, he made it all too easy to immerse myself into the episode and his villainy, that once I got past the whole ‘OMG it’s Giles!’, I didn’t think about that other character at all for the rest of the episode.
6. Mark Williams as Brian Williams (First Appearance: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, 2012)
I have to confess, I love seeing actors who have portrayed characters that I love in other realms coming into a separate universe that I love just as much. Mark Williams, of course, played the devoted husband, father, and wizard Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter saga, and learning that he would play Rory’s father in this newest series, I was ecstatic. I love his deadpan manner of delivering lines that I know I could never give with a straight face, I love that he always seems so very, very genuine, and, honestly, he is just the sort of person that I wouldn’t mind having for a father.
The appearance of Brian Williams really drove home the message that they were sending with this series: that the Doctor is never forever, or even ever the center, of any of his companions’ lives. They have families, they have friends, they have jobs and bills and hobbies. By the by, did you watch the short storyboard video after The Angels Take Manhattan aired, of the letter being delivered to Brian? Completely heartwrenching, and I had no problem seeing Mark Williams in my mind’s eye, experiencing that.
I have to confess, I love seeing actors who have portrayed characters that I love in other realms coming into a separate universe that I love just as much. Mark Williams, of course, played the devoted husband, father, and wizard Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter saga, and learning that he would play Rory’s father in this newest series, I was ecstatic. I love his deadpan manner of delivering lines that I know I could never give with a straight face, I love that he always seems so very, very genuine, and, honestly, he is just the sort of person that I wouldn’t mind having for a father.
The appearance of Brian Williams really drove home the message that they were sending with this series: that the Doctor is never forever, or even ever the center, of any of his companions’ lives. They have families, they have friends, they have jobs and bills and hobbies. By the by, did you watch the short storyboard video after The Angels Take Manhattan aired, of the letter being delivered to Brian? Completely heartwrenching, and I had no problem seeing Mark Williams in my mind’s eye, experiencing that.
5. Georgia Moffett as Jenny (The Doctor’s Daughter, 2008)
This is probably the character that my fellow Whovian friends and I would most like to see a return of. There’s never even been any whisper of it, but – we can still hope! She was simply a delight to watch, from start to finish, and I’m always a fan of anything that can make the Doctor lose that cool, nothing-gets-to-me demeanor of his. There are times when I’m watching a show where it seems like an interaction or a relationship is moving forward simply because that’s what the storyline is making them do. That wasn’t the case here, at least, not for me. We see Jenny bring the Doctor around from refusing to accept her to feeling an all-consuming grief, all through her own actions and choices. The fact that Georgia Moffett eventually became David Tennant’s wife just seemed to make this particular episode and character all the more entertaining for me.
This is probably the character that my fellow Whovian friends and I would most like to see a return of. There’s never even been any whisper of it, but – we can still hope! She was simply a delight to watch, from start to finish, and I’m always a fan of anything that can make the Doctor lose that cool, nothing-gets-to-me demeanor of his. There are times when I’m watching a show where it seems like an interaction or a relationship is moving forward simply because that’s what the storyline is making them do. That wasn’t the case here, at least, not for me. We see Jenny bring the Doctor around from refusing to accept her to feeling an all-consuming grief, all through her own actions and choices. The fact that Georgia Moffett eventually became David Tennant’s wife just seemed to make this particular episode and character all the more entertaining for me.
4. John Simm as The Master (First Appearance: End of Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Timelords, 2007)
The Master ranks as my favorite villain, hands down, and, in this case, John Simm made the role. I wouldn’t mind the character returning later down the road (don’t tell me he’s dead, like the producers of this show haven’t made stranger things happen!), but the first actor to take the chance on it would have some amazingly huge shoes to fill. I just loved his attitude! In the two-parter that ended the third series, the brilliance shown in bending Earth to his will was astounding, and that brilliance that gave way to madness when he returned in The End of Time was one of the key cogs in the gut-wrenching story that ended the Tenth Doctor’s run. Just the sight of that crooked grin couldn’t fail to leave me wondering just what the Master was cooking up, and to me, that’s one of the biggest signs of a true, successful villain.
The Master ranks as my favorite villain, hands down, and, in this case, John Simm made the role. I wouldn’t mind the character returning later down the road (don’t tell me he’s dead, like the producers of this show haven’t made stranger things happen!), but the first actor to take the chance on it would have some amazingly huge shoes to fill. I just loved his attitude! In the two-parter that ended the third series, the brilliance shown in bending Earth to his will was astounding, and that brilliance that gave way to madness when he returned in The End of Time was one of the key cogs in the gut-wrenching story that ended the Tenth Doctor’s run. Just the sight of that crooked grin couldn’t fail to leave me wondering just what the Master was cooking up, and to me, that’s one of the biggest signs of a true, successful villain.
3. Kylie Minogue as Astrid Peth (Voyage of the Damned, 2008)
I’ll be the first to admit that when I saw that this episode was set aboard the space version of the Titanic, I face-palmed. But once it was done and over with, it easily made its way onto the list of one of my favorites, and that was no small part because of Kylie Minogue’s Astrid Peth, a waitress with a longing to see the universe. On one hand, she would be the least likely choice for someone to run alongside and help the Doctor, but then, he seems to have the ability to take the ordinary and make them extraordinary. What helped in this case was that, waitress though she might have been, Astrid was extraordinary in spite of herself – it may not have ever come out if she hadn’t crossed paths with the Doctor, but Astrid wasn’t one of those people who allowed another to change her. In any case…her name, in the end, was especially accurate.
I’ll be the first to admit that when I saw that this episode was set aboard the space version of the Titanic, I face-palmed. But once it was done and over with, it easily made its way onto the list of one of my favorites, and that was no small part because of Kylie Minogue’s Astrid Peth, a waitress with a longing to see the universe. On one hand, she would be the least likely choice for someone to run alongside and help the Doctor, but then, he seems to have the ability to take the ordinary and make them extraordinary. What helped in this case was that, waitress though she might have been, Astrid was extraordinary in spite of herself – it may not have ever come out if she hadn’t crossed paths with the Doctor, but Astrid wasn’t one of those people who allowed another to change her. In any case…her name, in the end, was especially accurate.
2. Carey Mulligan as Sally Sparrow (Blink, 2007)
Honestly, no list of this nature is complete without Ms. Mulligan’s Sally Sparrow making an appearance. This was perhaps the only episode to be truly carried by someone other than the Doctor, and it is, without a doubt, one of my top three favorites. Sally’s task of outrunning the Weeping Angels and returning the TARDIS to the Doctor was one of the most thrilling, exciting, scary things I have ever watched, and I have longed to see a return of Sally Sparrow in some manner or another. From the moment she uncovered those words at that old house, to that last moment of finally standing in front of the Doctor and putting those very last pieces of the puzzle together, the role of Sally, and Carey Mulligan filling the shoes, simply made this entire episode sing. It came together perfectly, and I am thoroughly convinced that no one else could have pulled it off.
Honestly, no list of this nature is complete without Ms. Mulligan’s Sally Sparrow making an appearance. This was perhaps the only episode to be truly carried by someone other than the Doctor, and it is, without a doubt, one of my top three favorites. Sally’s task of outrunning the Weeping Angels and returning the TARDIS to the Doctor was one of the most thrilling, exciting, scary things I have ever watched, and I have longed to see a return of Sally Sparrow in some manner or another. From the moment she uncovered those words at that old house, to that last moment of finally standing in front of the Doctor and putting those very last pieces of the puzzle together, the role of Sally, and Carey Mulligan filling the shoes, simply made this entire episode sing. It came together perfectly, and I am thoroughly convinced that no one else could have pulled it off.
1. Mark Sheppard as Canton Everett Delaware III (The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, 2011)
Anyone who knows me knows that this would top the list. I have a long-standing love affair with the works of Mark Sheppard, perhaps one of the best genre actors alive today. I could wax poetic about his recurring role as the demon Crowley on Supernatural or his brilliantly devious nature as Badger in the much-loved Firefly, but that wouldn’t be touching on his turn stepping into an amazing character’s shoes on Doctor Who. My view of Doctor Who isn’t that it’s so much the tale of the Doctor – it’s the tale of those the Doctor encounters, surrounds himself with, and how they change him, whether for the better or the worse.
From the first moments of The Impossible Astronaut, we know that this particular story could not have happened without Canton Everett Delaware III, and by the end, we know that that character could not have been as amazing as he was in the hands of anyone other than Mark Sheppard. Some might feel that the opening two-parter of the sixth series was about the Doctor’s death and the beginning of the race to stop it, but underneath that, I feel it was about the redemption of Canton Delaware, a man who found himself on the outside because of a part of himself that he couldn’t change. You feel the seriousness of the issues within the low, calm, gravelly voice of Mark Sheppard, in ways that yelling or overt emotion couldn’t manage. Who knows what would have happened to Canton if the Doctor hadn’t shown up? But one thing is certain – the opening salvo in the quest to save the Doctor could not have begun without him.
Anyone who knows me knows that this would top the list. I have a long-standing love affair with the works of Mark Sheppard, perhaps one of the best genre actors alive today. I could wax poetic about his recurring role as the demon Crowley on Supernatural or his brilliantly devious nature as Badger in the much-loved Firefly, but that wouldn’t be touching on his turn stepping into an amazing character’s shoes on Doctor Who. My view of Doctor Who isn’t that it’s so much the tale of the Doctor – it’s the tale of those the Doctor encounters, surrounds himself with, and how they change him, whether for the better or the worse.
From the first moments of The Impossible Astronaut, we know that this particular story could not have happened without Canton Everett Delaware III, and by the end, we know that that character could not have been as amazing as he was in the hands of anyone other than Mark Sheppard. Some might feel that the opening two-parter of the sixth series was about the Doctor’s death and the beginning of the race to stop it, but underneath that, I feel it was about the redemption of Canton Delaware, a man who found himself on the outside because of a part of himself that he couldn’t change. You feel the seriousness of the issues within the low, calm, gravelly voice of Mark Sheppard, in ways that yelling or overt emotion couldn’t manage. Who knows what would have happened to Canton if the Doctor hadn’t shown up? But one thing is certain – the opening salvo in the quest to save the Doctor could not have begun without him.
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