June 15, 2013
In honour of this Sunday being Father’s Day in several countries, we’ve compiled a list of five of our favourite Doctor Who dads:
Brian Williams
The most fatherly of fathers on this list, the ever dependable Brian Williams – father to Rory – is the sort of dad whose life’s mission is to change lightbulbs, water the plants and wash the car. Methodically logging the ‘Slow Invasion of the Cubes’, he first experienced space-time travel when the Doctor accidentally whisked him away to a spaceship in the future. Full of dinosaurs…
Tremas of Traken
A respected and kindly consul of the Traken Union – a place held together by “people just being terribly nice to each other” – was father to Nyssa, who later became a companion of the Doctor. When a baleful statue appears on Traken, Nyssa tends to it – not knowing it is a TARDIS, with the dying Master inside. After his attempt to absorb the Source of Traken to save his wasted life, the Master does the next best thing – he hijacks Tremas’s body…
Wilfred Mott
Father to Sylvia and grandfather of Donna Noble, Wilf met the Doctor on Christmas Eve – fearlessly manning his newsstand despite the possibility of alien attack. Wiling to believe in the Doctor and stories of alien worlds, the redoubtable Wilf helped repel the Sontaran and Dalek invasions. When Donna’s mind was wiped of any recollection of the Doctor, he remained an ally of the Doctor’s – admitting that he’d be proud to have the Doctor for a son. The Doctor replied that he’d be honoured if Wilf was his Dad sob:
The Brigadier
Although never seen together on-screen, the Doctor’s old ally Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart had a daughter, Kate. Dropping her double-barreled surname to avoid favours, she was guided by her father’s belief in science. She now heads up scientific research at UNIT, most recently calling in the Eleventh Doctor to help unravel the mystery of the Shakri cubes:
Pete Tyler
A wheeler-dealer, Rose’s father Pete died in 1987, when Rose was less than a year old. Begging the Doctor to allow her to see the accident that killed him, Rose instinctively saved his life – creating a paradox and an onslaught from the temporal Reapers. Discovering her father to be a different man to the one she believed he was, Pete’s final act was to be a “proper dad” to her. Tissues at the ready:
How well do you know the Dads of Doctor Who? Play our Father's Day mini quiz and find out!
