Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary Fan Theory: Mind-Blowing, But with a Few Holes
What if Neil Patrick Harris's role is not the Toymaker but another powerful enemy of the Doctor?
Fans started discussing the events of special episodes celebrating Doctor Who 's 60th anniversary a whole year before their release in November 2023.
Such activity was triggered by the unexpected return of David Tennant's Doctor and recently-published teaser featuring Catherine Tate, Neil Patrick Harris, and Ncuti Gatwa alongside Tennant.
The teaser intrigued many Whovians who expect the plot of the special episodes to be something extraordinary, especially because the show returns with Russell T Davies as a writer.
Since the plot of the 60th-anniversary episodes remains a mystery, fans are left to build theories about what could happen based on a few known facts. Thus, the general consensus is Neil Patrick Harris will play none other than the notorious Celestial Toymaker ensnaring his victims in childish games. However, not all fans agree with this theory. Redditor u/HappyDodge2 came up with a theory built around the question, "What if Neil Patrick Harris portrays the Dream Lord?"
The Dream Lord is a powerful antagonist and could definitely be called the "greatest enemy the Doctor has ever faced" as Russell T Davies described Harris' character. He is a representation of the Doctor's inner darkness that may never be truly defeated. The villain can control the dreams of the Doctor and his companions.
"So basically, David Tennant, as the 14th Doctor, is an illusion," the theory reads.
This theory does answer some questions raised by the teaser. Why does the 10th Doctor become the 14th? How is Donna able to be around the Doctor without dying? Why does Tennant exclaim "I don't know who I am anymore!" in the teaser? The author of the theory thinks he is Gatwa's Doctor tormented by the Dream Lord.
"The 13th doctor actually regenerated into Ncuti Gatwa. But somehow the 13th doctor did something to trigger the Dream Lord," the fan writes.
Though this theory seems quite believable it has several plot holes, the commenters pointed out. In the teaser, we see Ncuti wearing Tennant's Doctor clothes which proves that he is the reincarnation of the 14th Doctor. Besides, the creators are committed to calling Tennant the 14th Doctor and Ncuti the 15th Doctor. If Ncuti was actually the real 14th, it would just confuse people who spent an entire year getting used to calling him the 15th Doctor.