Just reading the discussion on the arc thread and decided to start this thread on whether it is in general a good thing to have a character comeback on Doctor Who or not. My opinion on this is that it depends how well the character is used which makes it a success or not.

It was mentioned on the arc thread about Spike from Buffy and his full appearance in Angel's final Series. I don't think he should ever have been brought back as it sort of devalued his heroic demise in Buffy's final episode and though it provided a few comedic moments between him and Angel it just didn't seem right.

That sort of devaluing of a departure etc has been levelled at Rose in Doctor Who and yes, there is a certain amount of truth in that. On the flipside though, it did provide a very interesting mini-arc in Series 4 where she cropped up unexpectedly in Partners In Crime and then there was the blink and miss her setup for the remainder of the series which led to the finale. I thought that worked superbly. I thought she worked okay in that finale itself but also agree that it did devalue her departure in Doomsday to a degree.

Then there was Donna. I wouldn't go so far as to say that she shouldn't have appeared in The End Of Time but I do think she could have been used a bit more. For me it seemed hardly worth the bother of having Catherine Tate in the show for the small part she actually had, though it was good her story was rounded of in a nice Wedding.

Where it has worked in the past is with The Brigadier in Classic Who. I would say all three of his appearances after his regular stint were worthwhile, they didn't waste the character, though in the case of The Five Doctors it was understandable his appearance was a reduced one but it still worked.

So what are your views on character comebacks?

Loved seeing The Brigadier in 'Mawdryn Undead' even though I'd only seen a couple of Pertwee stories at time of broadcast. Thought it was a *terrific* performance by Nicholas Courtney, so was pleased when we saw him teamed up with the Second Doctor a few months later.

Speaking of...it was nice to see Patrick and Fraser back for one last time, although I'm not keen on 'The Two Doctors'...there's good stuff in it but the tone just seems 'off' to me throughout.

Adored Donna and the end of 'Journey's End' actually made me sad and well p*ssed off at the same time! Got over it quickly (honestly. I know it's not real) but thought 'The End of Time' really didn't do the character justice. (Said before on this forum; She can't remember the Doctor. She'll die!!! Oh, no she wont. Still, at least she's finally bagged herself a bloke, yeah. Yeuch.)

Adric in Time-Flight is the yardstick though, I think.

I do think a character return can work though only when the writer considers how it will redefine their previous exit and whether the character was well-liked enough the first time around to warrant seeing them again.

Rose is the often-used example from Doctor Who, but I think many people greatly exaggerate her return appearances. In truth she has only properly returned once as a character... following her departure in Series 2's Doomsday, her return was a recurring theme across Series 4.
Subsequently, we had a non-chronological cameo from her in The End of Time: Part Two, though coming in at all of sixty seconds I really don't count it as a proper 'comeback'. Since then, Piper has returned to play 'The Moment' in The Day of the Doctor, but the character of Rose only got one name-drop and a few references to Bad Wolf. By these calculations, Rose only ever actually returned once.
I absolutely loved the build-up to her return in Series 4, and it complimented her exit in Series 2. She had been continually referenced across the third series and so was still in some way relevant, and her actual reunion with The Doctor wasn't a quick-fix - we had a very solid series with Donna as a companion, and the consequence of her first exit was that she didn't get an easy ride of it when coming back. I think the greater problem that diminishes the character is that opinions were already mixed about the character across Series 2 - and her Series 4 exit tried to replicate the success of her Series 2 exit (right down to filming on the same beach) and didn't quite pull it off so gracefully. The return itself was fine, but the pay-off wasn't quite worth it for many.

Sarah Jane was wonderfully brought back and well established with the newer generation of Doctor Who. A very different kind of return that worked very well. River Song returned in Series 5 after a two-year gap, and it was a nicely understated comeback. Slightly less successful was the return of Donna in The End of Time which teased plenty and turned out to be a total red herring - a red herring can work at the best of times, but for people who like the character it was a smack in the face when Tate's own leading season was shared with Martha and Rose for half the time.

It is all about execution. A character return can be a wonderful event, just like it is in real life when someone comes back from long ago. But also like real life, it doesn't always work out quite so great. You need to make sure the character has purpose and incentive when they come back, rather than making it feel like they've been on standby since they were last seen - Rose's return teeters on this very closely. You need to know that the return isn't going to diminish or contradict their previous exit, and if it does you'd best have something even better lined up for them...a hard feat to pull off, and one I don't actually recall seeing (RTD didn't succeed with Rose or Donna on that front, and Whedon didn't with Spike or Angel who died at the end of Season 2 only to be back about 5 episodes into Season 3). If Amy's exit in The God Complex had been a genuine exit and then it was a while before we saw her, then she had a second exit in The Angels Take Manhattan I would say that was an example of how a second exit surpassed the first - the problem was that the first exit wasn't really an exit at all.

Yes, I forgot about Second Doctor/Jamie comeback in The Two Doctors. For me that appearance by both actors proved you could come back looking older and still be acceptable and do a decent job. People moaned about older Doctors possibly appearing in the 50th, here was proof it could actually work.

As for Adric, that's one reappearance I could happily forget!


Yes, Sarah was another example of Classic Who bringing a character back and getting it right though to be fair, RTD did write a good story for her in School Reunion and subsequently in her own show. I think her popularity was obviously a factor in her successful return.

You mentioned Martha, I thought her comeback was a waste of time. She was a clone in one story and woefully underused in the other, playing second fiddle to Donna and Jenny in The Doctor's Daughter.

As for River Song, it start get irritating after a while and by the time of Amy and River's departure, I was wishing the Weeping Angels would send her back in time with Amy and Rory.

It depends on the story. The worst case in my opinion is The Stolen Earth 2 parter. The characters returning had a huge focus in that and it made the story unenjoyable for me (one of the few doctor who stories that I don't enjoy). The plot should be the most important part. If you have a decent story with returning characters and that there is a good reason for their return then I have no issue.

Depends on episode and/or character, but usually very good for continuity. Just because some character left TARDIS, doesn't mean he/she doesn't exist.
Also, Doctor shouldn't forget old friends. Have you ever heard of a person who in some points of his life forget all his friends and began to look for new ones just because 'you must keep moving'? Same with the Doctor.
Of course Doctor Who needs changes, but progressively, not 'in some points change everything'!

K9 coming back was momentous.

I think any character can make a comeback if it suits the plot, makes a degree of dramatic sense and doesn't seem self indulgent. Like the Brigadier or Sarah Jane or Captain Jack etc.

I reckon the problem is when you make such a big fuss about the fact the character is leaving and cant return almost to the point that if not the entire finale then a theme of the season is based around it. You then ask the viewers to invest so much into it and its such a big dramatic moment and pay off that when they come back after a few episodes it seems a bit of a cheat. Its like mourning someone at a funeral and saying all these kind words and then they jump out at their own wake blowing a kazoo and firing off party poppers shouting 'Only joking!'. You're happy to see them but also feel a bit fooled and cheated. For me this happened most with Rose, to a lesser extent with Donna. Some might say Rory falls into this category but as one of the primary themes of that season was things coming back, being remembered back into existence then for better or worse it made sense.

After all the 'This is the day I died' and 'she can never remember' and ten minute farewells both Rose and Donna felt a bit like a cheat. And were they really brought back for the good of the story or just for the 'wow' factor? I think the second. And in the case of Rose to bring her back and then spoil the end of her story so terribly made it doubly bad.

I would probably feel the same if River came back. Though up until now she was the perfect example of a character who can return again and again after last seasons finale it felt like a full stop and a wise place to finish the story.

I tend to think I prefer moving on and not having returning characters. I know alot of people feel differently. And i know I'm a hypocrite as I would have Amy and Rory back again in the blink of an eye despite it basically contradicting everything I just said.

I'm gonna totally disagree with you as this two parter is one of my favourites from New Who and it is the concept of all the shows under RTD's umbrella coming together and being as one that makes it as brilliant as it is.

Somehow everyone has a small part and something to contribute to the story and I adore the scene of everyone in the TARDIS at the end(especially The Doctor keeping Jackie away from the controls)

My only gripe is that Martha is kept separately from the main action most of the story and after all her problems being in Rose's shadow, doesn't really interact with her that much but guess timing issues put a stop to that.

I agree, I absolutely loved this story. Journey's End was a bit weak, but The Stolen Earth went by at a mile a minute and it was an utter adrenaline rush of an episode. After the more thought-provoking Turn Left before it, it was the ultimate action episode. I'll never forget watching that 'Next Time' trailer for The Stolen Earth and watching it barely have time to give a glimpse of everyone's faces. I really wish Journey's End had had a better resolution, mind you - it had 75 minutes to play with and didn't really seem to do anywhere near as much as the episode before it.

But I love seeing all the companions gradually come together. Was it overkill? Totally... but it was a testament to the amazing character-power of that particular series.

I do second the opinion on Martha too, and I feel that Donna was also a little bit sidelined in her own series to make way for so many others. Her tragic exit made up for it though and for me remains the most heart-wrenching moment in all of NuWho.

Yes, that was some trailer, the most excited I've ever been about a forthcoming episode. Also agree it was a complete adrenaline rush, don't get episodes like these any more.

I agree Stolen Earth is the better episode and the way the companions react to the Daleks speaking, and especially Sarah's reaction to it, was awesome. In fact, as comebacks go, Sarah's reaction to Davros and the reference to Genesis Of the Daleks makes it all seem worth it and only just beats the moment she sees the TARDIS for the first time in School Reunion.

Great stuff.

Like others say, it all depends on how it's handled. For example, I thought the reappearances of Jack in series 3, Martha in series 4 and Amy in Time of the Doctor were done very well. I imagine for a classic Who fan, the return of Sarah Jane was a triumph. However, Journey's End was IMHO a train wreck, especially Rose's handling. The End of Time was very much a mixed bag. It all depends on why they're brought back. I prefer it when characters are only brought back for a purpose, and have a good storyline behind it. The execution is crucial and also, it'll depend on how much you liked the character first time out. I imagine there are some fans who are so pleased to see their favourite character return, unless the story is truly abysmal they'll be pleased.

Depends on the character and how they're brought back exactly.

Roses' Mom needs to make a cameo one day. She really is a mother from another dimension.

Oh I really LOVED Jackie Tyler!! I liked Donna's mum too - Sylvia!
And a return of Wilfred Mott would be a treat. Alas it wont happen apart from in my dreams!

I enjoyed the return of Sarah Jane in 'School Reunion' and the Brigadier in 'Mawdryn Undead' though.