Doctor Who Hints The Fourth Doctor’s First Companion After Bi-Generating Was This Classic Character

The Fourth Doctor’s fate seemed to have already been written, but the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials seem to have added to his story.

Doctor Who‘s recent additions to the regeneration process call for a lot of answers, but the story of a Fourth Doctor companion may finally have been resolved by Doctor Who‘s shocking bi-generation twist. Like many versions of the Time Lord, Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor had many companions during his run on the show, but one of them has recently returned to the franchise to potentially resolve her story. Bi-generation is a huge introduction to Doctor Who that has allowed for a fresh take on huge portions of the show’s canon, and one of its most recent beneficiaries may already have been referenced.

Tom Baker played the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who from 1974 to 1981. During his spell in the TARDIS, the concept of bi-generation didn’t exist within the show’s lore. As such, his Doctor Who exit was rather traditional in terms of regeneration scenes. Baker’s transition into Peter Davison lacked the enigmatic process of splitting into two separate Time Lords as shown during the ending of the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials. However, comments from the showrunner suggest that may now have all changed ahead of Doctor Who season 14.

Doctor Who Confirms Leela Returned To The Fourth Doctor After The Time War

Louise Jameson reprises her role from Doctor Who’s classic era

An interesting short uploaded to the official Doctor Who YouTube channel shows Louise Jameson’s return as Leela in Leela vs the Time War. Jameson appeared alongside Baker for 40 episodes from 1977 to 1978. The short in question reveals Leela was present during the Time War and the fall of Gallifrey. Using archival footage, a brief glimpse into Leela’s destiny also reveals that the Fourth Doctor rescued Leela from Gallifrey before the Daleks could end her life. Therefore, the pair now canonically meet again after their final episode together during the classic era of Doctor Who.

During a commentary track for the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials, showrunner Russell T Davies voices his theory regarding the fallout of the bi-generation scene in “The Giggle.” Davies’ view on the matter is that every Doctor throughout the timeline bi-generated at the same time as Tennant and Gatwa. If this is true, then Baker’s Doctor will also have survived the events of his original regeneration scene.

So, Tom Baker’s appearance in the Doctor Who short could actually be a continuation beyond the life of the Fourth Doctor as it is traditionally understood. If not, it becomes difficult to imagine when the short would take place within Baker’s original timeline as the Fourth Doctor. Seeing as the Time War was only introduced for the 2005 Doctor Who revival, it’s something of which the Fourth Doctor should have no knowledge.

What Happened To The Doctor’s Bi-Generations Is Still A Mystery

Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor will also have created a separate version of himself (If RTD is right)

If Davies is correct, then the Fourth Doctor will have bi-generated along with every other variant of the Doctor as a result of the events in “The Giggle.” Just as Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor emerged from David Tennant’s Fourteenth, a new iteration of the Doctor will have been spawned during Baker’s bi-generation process. However, this theoretical new Doctor isn’t shown in the short, and so their fate remains unknown – if they exist at all. While bi-generation is unlikely to change why each Doctor regenerated in Doctor Who, that doesn’t mean it’s incapable of making other alterations.

It’s possible that Tom Baker’s bi-generation continued their exploits while Baker rested, similar to the dynamic that formed between Gatwa and Tennant. However, Baker’s Doctor was relatively young by Time Lord standards, so he wouldn’t have been worn as thin as Tennant’s Fifteenth and therefore in need of a reprieve. Therefore, it’s more likely that both the Fourth Doctor and his new bi-generation parted ways and continued independent of one another. Given Doctor Who‘s nebulous new canon surrounding the results of bi-generation, both scenarios are possible.

Leela’s Time War Escape Is The Perfect Resolution To Her Story

The Fourteenth Doctor also searched for a familiar face following his regeneration process

The story of Louise Jameson’s character was never completely resolved during the classic run of Doctor Who. Her return in Leela vs the Time War is not only a nice piece of fan service for those who followed Baker’s spell as the Doctor, but it also allows her to have a more satisfying ending. As a human on Gallifrey, she was something of an outlier, but Leela’s reunion with the Fourth Doctor in the YouTube short acts as something of a homecoming for her. Her return also sets up possible Doctor Who season 14 companion cameos.