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"Caretaker"-Will a special guest appear? Possible spoilers.

Doctorwhovian

Doctorwhovian

Fleet Captain
Day of the Doctor established that Ian Chesterton-who in Sarah Jane Adventures's Death of the Doctor was said to be immortal or something (Then again this is the same story that had the Doctor state he had 507 regenerations!)-is the headmaster of the Coal Hill School, where Clara now works. Both the school and Ian of course were there in the very first Doctor Who story (Which was revisited in Rememberance of The Daleks, although in the same time frame as the pilot), and Ian would be with the TARDIS crew as a companion (Along with fellow teacher and possible love interest Barbera Wright) for two years until "The Chase"

There were plans to bring William Russel back as the character for the 20th anniversary season in 1983, in "Mawdryn Undead". However due to illness or some other project, Ian couldn't appear and the role was recast with the Brigadier.

William Russel recently had a cameo in the drama Adventures In Time And Space as a security guard, although I'm not sure how his health is now.


So with the next episode, the Caretaker, taking place largely at Coal Hill, is there a chance we'll see Ian again in some capacity? Yeah, there's the immortal/haven't aged a day thing from SJA, but they can always ignore that like they did with the regeneration limit.


Then again there was Janet Felding spotted doing something with Capaldi, and they might not want to put too many former companion cameos in one season, but so far there's been no trace of Tegan in the previews for new episodes.
 
Ha! I know who that is! I just watched "An Unearthly Child" last night! I even looked him up on-line. There is even a comic where he and Barbara have an adventure with the 11th Doctor.
 
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Doctorwhovian said:
So with the next episode, the Caretaker, taking place largely at Coal Hill, is there a chance we'll see Ian again in some capacity? Yeah, there's the immortal/haven't aged a day thing from SJA, but they can always ignore that like they did with the regeneration limit.
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See, here's where I think people get the wrong idea. They remember part of what Sarah says. She doesn't say they ARE immortal. She said that she's heard rumors. There's a word of difference there, don't you think?

How difficult is it to imagine that, at some point, the younger versions of the characters had an adventure in modern times, creating that very rumor? Or perhaps someone saw a photo of them still looking quite young with a modern background? Rumors are ridiculously easy to start. Sarah should know; she's had Mr. Smith start any number of them over the years.
 
i would love for Ian to have a cameo...but i'm not getting my hopes up.
 
The best cameo I've seen evidence of so far would be the Doctor's caretaker coat he's wearing over that weird sweatshirt he has this week.

As for having Ian back, I'm sure William Russel would be up for it, but IMO I'd rather have him given a more central role to the plot rather than just showing up for a quick wave like he had in AAISAT. As the first male companion, and a great character foil to the Doctor in days past, he's more deserving.

Mark
 
SarahJane Adventures, merely said "Rumor has it they haven't aged a day". People say that all the time, when the subject they are speaking of has obviously aged, though possibly not as much as you would expect for how it's been. So, it could mean as Omaha points out they were seen in their future, while still travelling with the Doctor, or it could mean they just haven't aged 50 years worth of wrinkles.

Also, why do people keep saying Ian is Headmaster? He's on the Board of Governors, not Headmaster.

But, yes, an Ian appearance would be great.
 
Like with the Brigadier, I fail to see why hasn't he appeared in NuWho. Would NuWho fangirls not handle the old guys?

Mean, sorry. But what real reason is there? Ian is the prototypical companion, and certainly the most developed character, along with Barbara, in the olden days, certainly pre-color.

So anyway, I'd definitely be up for it. Its bad enough he wasn't on the anniversary...
 
IMO, it would be incredibly great to see Ian Chesterton appear at Coal Hill in this week's episode. As others have said, I am not sure of what William Russell's health is like these days, considering he will be 90 years of age in November. I would love to see him in a genuinely meaningful scene or two (rather than simply a glimpse or brief cameo), as an option if the actor's condition these days would not allow him to play a larger, central role in the action throughout an entire episode. I do hope he is well, in any case! It would be a nice tribute to see him acknowledged in a manner more fitting than his cameo in AAISAT.
 
This episode seems like it has too much of another focus. Perhaps in a future episode, though. It would be nice while they have the school featured.
 
I'll be very surprised if Ian actually appears in the episode, though I am expecting a reference to him. Possibly something like this:

Doctor: "I guess I'll have to have a word with Mr. Chatterton."
Clara: "Don't you mean Mr. Chesterton?"
Doctor: "I know what I said."
 
^:lol:

Or they should have the Doctor do that to Ian, who just wigs out and gives the Doctor a complete b*****king, taking in criticism of the Doctor's current persona and how little he seems to have changed in the intervening centuries. That could mean an episode that's a nice companion piece to School Reunion.
 
Unless the Doctor comes out and tells IAn who he is there's no way Ian wound know anything about regeneration as far as we know. It might be even more interesting to have them meet as strangers again. But in reality if William Russell were cast in an ep. somehow I think we'd know about it ahead of time.
 
I would love it if he appeared! What a great surprise that would be. I'm skeptical that will happen though.

They really need to get this done and soon! Otherwise it'll be another fiasco like with Nicholas Courtney. They kept waiting and waiting, and finally it was too late. Idiots.

Mr Awe
 
DWF said:
Unless the Doctor comes out and tells IAn who he is there's no way Ian wound know anything about regeneration as far as we know. It might be even more interesting to have them meet as strangers again. But in reality if William Russell were cast in an ep. somehow I think we'd know about it ahead of time.
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curator.jpg


Would we...?
 
And in my newbie research I've read that there was a web-isode with Paul McGann and they managed to keep his apperarance a secret until release.

DWF said:
Unless the Doctor comes out and tells IAn who he is there's no way Ian wound know anything about regeneration as far as we know. It might be even more interesting to have them meet as strangers again. But in reality if William Russell were cast in an ep. somehow I think we'd know about it ahead of time.
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Like I said earlier, there is a comic where Ian meets #11. And, indeed, Ian is doubtful about the Doctor's true identity.

ETA: One thing I really like about the Who franchise is the willingness to incorporate supplemental materials (books, audio, comics) into the canon.
 
^ That was a really good comic. And what a surprise that reveal was reading it in DWM for the first time!

An older Ian also met the fifth Doctor in the fun audio drama The Five Companions. (Ian, Steven, Sara, and Polly team up to save the Doctor and Nyssa from Sontarans, Daleks, and dinosaurs!)
 
Mr Awe said:
They really need to get this done and soon! Otherwise it'll be another fiasco like with Nicholas Courtney. They kept waiting and waiting, and finally it was too late. Idiots.
Click to expand...
Those "idiots" gave us an episode with Nicholas Courtney, didn't they? Or are you talking about something else?
 
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