If Bill and Ted, the Legends of Tomorrow, and Sam Beckett have taught us anything…
It is that time travel stories are often at their most memorable when the protagonists visit historical figures. With over 50 years of television, audio plays, & books, Doctor Who has featured such varied characters as Marco Polo, HG Wells, & Adolf Hitler.
Since its return in 2005, Doctor Who has also featured strong female historical characters. (Such as Elizabeth I, Agatha Christie, & Madame De Pompadour.) However, there are countless fascinating women throughout history who would be very interesting traveling partners for the Doctor on his adventures throughout time and space.
Here are three historical women who I’d love to see featured in Doctor Who. And the crazy fan ideas of how I’d like to see that play out . . .
HEDY LAMARR
Hedy Lamarr is likely the most famous on this list. But it wasn’t until the recent episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (“Helen Hunt”) and Alexander Dean’s documentary Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story that I learned just how fascinating of a life she lived.
In addition to being one of the biggest movie stars of her time, Lamarr was a brilliant inventor. During World War II, she learned that the signals used launch torpedoes were radio controlled. She hypothesized that the opposition’s torpedos could be jammed or our own torpedos could have their course changed remotely. Hedy Lamarr developed a device that could rapidly switch frequencies that was the basis for spread spectrum technology which the Navy implemented on their ships during the Cuban missile crisis. (Along with her friend, composer George Antheil.) The technology is credited by many to be a large part of the foundation for the Bluetooth technology we use today.
Who?
Tenth Doctor & Sims Master.
Synopsis:
A movie studio is under siege by the Master who is working with the Oxymones. (A race of aliens who release a pheromone that causes all males to fall hopelessly in love with the first woman that they see.) The Master had formed an alliance with the aliens and tracked the Doctor to 1939 where he’d hoped to trap his nemesis in an explosive trap in exchange for helping the Oxymones conquer Earth.
They end up trapped in a studio lot with movie star Hedy Lamarr after the Oxymones double cross the Master. Both he and the Doctor become entangled in a verbal (and occasionally physical) fight for the affections of Hedy. All the while the bomb still needs to be defused. And Hedy is the only one with her wits about her.
Spoiler alert:
After Lamarr defuses the bomb and the Doctor and the Master have retreated to their TARDIS for an “anecdote” to the pheromone, we learn that Time Lord physiology is unaffected by the pheromone and their affections for Ms. Lamarr were entirely natural.
AGENT 355
During the American Revolution, there were many spies serving under General George Washington. Almost all of their identities have been revealed except for a female spy known only as Agent 355. It isn’t exactly clear what parts of her story are legend vs. truth. But, she is widely believed to have been instrumental in many key moments of the Revolutionary War including playing a large role in exposing Benedict Arnold as a traitor. She was said to have vanished some point shortly before the end of the Revolution.
Who?
Sixth Doctor
Synopsis:
The Sixth Doctor finds himself in the middle of the American Revolution where the founding fathers have gone missing thus threatening the formation of the United States. While investigating the disappearance of General George Washington, the Doctor teams up with a mysterious woman in a mask known only as Agent 355. (Which the Doctor finds very tedious despite the fact that he insists to her that he is known simply as the Doctor.) The Agent has an uncanny amount of guile and knowledge. And the Doctor is as interested in solving the mystery of who she is as much what’s happening to the missing leaders.
Spoiler Alert:
Numerology plays a part in this and we learn that 355 broken down to 3+5+5=13. How fun would it be if Agent 355 revealed her identity (only to the audience) to be the Thirteenth Doctor?
FREYA STARK
Freya Stark was many things: Traveler. Explorer. Nurse. Writer. Cartographer. And even more. Despite numerous physical limitations and illnesses, she spent decades traveling through remote areas in Turkey and the Middle East that were rarely visited by Europeans and even less so by women. During World War II she worked in Baghdad and Cairo where she founded the anti-Nazi Brotherhood of Freedom. In 1972 she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. She died at the age of 100–while planning another adventure.
Who?
Eleventh Doctor
Synopsis:
The viewfinder on the TARDIS turns on to show an elderly woman charging down the Euphrates alone on a raft. The Doctor immediately zooms down to help her off the raft only to get a tongue lashing from a more than capable Freya Stark. While he thought he was saving her, Freya points out that he has ruined her surveying of the river and “he should learn some manners”. Their disputes suddenly come to a halt when they look out in front of them and see the terrain of the earth changing before their eyes . . .
Similarly to how the relationship between the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn Smythe, the Eleventh Doctor’s youthful exuberance & demeanour mixed with a confident and experienced feisty lady of a certain age would be an opportunity for a fresh narrative.
There are so many amazing women with stories that would be perfect for Doctor Who. Who would you like to see on an adventure with your favorite Doctor? How would it go? Please post your dream stories in the comments below.
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