# What happened to Doctor Who's granddaughter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867 "2003-02-13T17:31:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![G.Cornelius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@G.Cornelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.Cornelius)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/1 "2003-02-13T17:31:58Z")
Prompted by [Cast the “Doctor Who” movie…](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=161566). I was wondering, what happened to Doctor Who’s granddaughter? She must be a time lord too, did she disapear without trace? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/2 "2003-02-13T17:45:00Z")
Nope. She left the show. The plotline was that she fell in love. There usually was an explanation when characters left the show. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/3 "2003-02-13T18:45:23Z")
[http://www.drwhoguide.com/who\_k.htm](http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_k.htm) At the end of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, she stayed behind because she fell in love with David Campbell. The Doctor has a very nice farewell speech to her: “One day, I shall come back. Yes I shall come back. Until then there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.” Incidentally, I always thought Susan was a hottie, and she’s aged well. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/4 "2003-02-13T18:48:46Z")
I believe they reused that clip in “The Five Doctors,” too. It was a nice one. ---
**Author:** ![big\_yellow\_kingswood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@big\_yellow\_kingswood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/big_yellow_kingswood)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/5 "2003-02-13T23:36:53Z")
I believe that she returned for ‘the five doctors’, and for the ‘dimensions in time’ special in the early 90s. I can’t remember if they gave any info about how her life went. She was always dressed nicely though, especially for a woman plucked out of a war-ravaged 22nd century. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/6 "2003-02-13T23:51:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Legomancer \* > \*\*[http://www.drwhoguide.com/who\_k.htm](http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_k.htm) > Incidentally, I always thought Susan was a hottie, and she’s aged well. \*\* Ironically, Carole Ann Ford (the actress who played her) was booted off the show because she was too old! In the series premise of the series, the main characters were Ian & Barbara, the Doctor was more of a mysterious figure (hence the series’ name) and Susan was supposed to be a precocius adolescent youth – basically a character that the target audience for the series could relate to. By the second season, young Ms. Ford had noticeably grown boobies and was thus too old to be playing a child ingenue. Vicky, the companion character who replaced her was a girl just a year younger than Susan, and in every other respect identical to Susan. An oft-overlooked fact about Susan is that she was psychic and could telepathically communicate with her “grandfather”. Sci-fi geek have often debated at times whether Susan was, in fact, the Doctors’ granddaughter. Since no other family members of the Doctors’ have ever been seen or even alluded to aside from Susan, it seems to indicate they were not biologically related. It may have been just a convenient way to explain why this 14 year girl was travelling around the universe with a 740+ year old man. Susan’s last name “Foreman” was actually the name of the Totters’ Lane junkyard the TARDIS landed in in episode one, not her own. And yes, I need a life. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/7 "2003-02-14T01:39:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Art Vandelay, Architect \* > **Sci-fi geek have often debated at times whether Susan was, in fact, the Doctors’ granddaughter. Since no other family members of the Doctors’ have ever been seen or even alluded to aside from Susan, it seems to indicate they were not biologically related. It may have been just a convenient way to explain why this 14 year girl was travelling around the universe with a 740+ year old man. Susan’s last name “Foreman” was actually the name of the Totters’ Lane junkyard the TARDIS landed in in episode one, not her own.** Alternatively, let’s look at evidence from the actual show: 1. She says he’s her grandfather. 2. He says she’s his granddaughter. 3. No one else says otherwise. 4. Nothing else indicates otherwise. Seems a pretty cut-and-dried case to me. Also, his name is “Doctor Who”. How do I know? He’s called “Doctor Who”. ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/8 "2003-02-14T04:53:40Z")
No, no, Legomancer – he’s never addressed as, or referred to as, “Doctor Who”. He’s addressed as just “Doctor,” and referred to as “the Doctor”. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/9 "2003-02-14T10:42:20Z")
Actually, WOTAN, the megalomaniac computer in _The War Machines_, refers to the Doctor as “Doctor Who”. There’s a bit in the very first episode where Ian, wrongly assuming the Doctor has the same surname as his granddaughter, calls him “Doctor Foreman”, to which the Doctor replies “Doctor _who?_” In one of the Troughton historical stories (can’t remember offhand which one), the Doctor adopts the alias “Doktor von Wer”, _wer_ of course being German for “who”. And the full title of the second Jon Pertwee story is _Doctor Who and the Silurians_, as it appears on screen. It is possible that I have too much time on my hands. Oh, and there’s no reason to suppose Susan _isn’t_ his granddaughter. The Doctor refers obliquely to other members of his family, for example in _The Tomb of the Cybermen_. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/10 "2003-02-14T13:34:03Z")
Also, until deep into the Davison years (nearly 20 years into the run of the show) the lead role was listed in the credits as “Doctor Who”. ---
**Author:** ![G.Cornelius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@G.Cornelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.Cornelius)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/11 "2003-02-14T13:43:48Z")
Is Susan a time lord? Is there any reason why Susan should not reapear in any new series/movie - having regenerated of course? ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/12 "2003-02-14T13:48:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by G. Cornelius \* > \*\*Is Susan a time lord? Is there any reason why Susan should not reapear in any new series/movie - having regenerated of course? \*\* If I recall correctly, there is no evidence against or for Susan being a Time Lady. It’s a little sketchy about whether or not every citizen of Gallifrey is a Time Lord/Lady and can regenerate. While it’s true that when she returned for The Five Doctors she had not regenerated, it could easily be argued that her life on earth is rather sedate and not as hazard prone as the Doctor’s, and thus she has had no need to do so. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/13 "2003-02-14T13:59:43Z")
Remember, too, that the first doctor lived over 700 years before regenerating. Seems like his later regenerations weren’t quite so hardy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/14 "2003-02-14T15:05:03Z")
In _Tomb of the Cybermen_, the Doctor claims to be about 450 Earth years old. I think by the Davison era he’s supposed to be about 900. Of course, he leads a much less sedate life than most Time Lords. (Though, as I recall, Cardinal/Chancellor/President Borusa went through rather a lot of regenerations, too). ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c67d28/32.png) [@Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_AL_Einstein)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/15 "2003-02-16T03:23:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Legomancer \* > \*\*Alternatively, let’s look at evidence from the actual show: > > 1. She says he’s her grandfather. > 2. He says she’s his granddaughter. > 3. No one else says otherwise. > 4. Nothing else indicates otherwise. > > Seems a pretty cut-and-dried case to me. > \*\* Yes, but…but…if she is actually, biologically his granddaughter, then logically he must have had a (never ever mentioned) son or daughter at some point. Which would mean, assuming that Time Lords and Time Ladies make…ummm…little Time Babies the same way we do, that The Docter would have had to, at some point in his life…ahhhh…you know. Done the Deed. Thinking about this feels to me essentially like thinking about my parents doing the same thing. Which doesn’t change the fact that they actually did, of course, but when it comes to The Doctor, I think the omission of any reference to his actual child (or children), or of a spouse or any other female…ummm…“companion” of that type, combined with the fact that he was always presented as being entirely asexual despite being surrounded by attractive travelling companions (except for a brief flirtation with an Aztec woman in which he had an ulterior motive) (it was a children’s show after all), lends credence to the theory that she was his _adopted_ “granddaughter”. How we could then explain the psychic link, I don’t know, but if that is a function of biological relation, wouldn’t it be even stronger with a son or daughter? If so, why was such a person never mentioned? ---
**Author:** ![Inky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7feea3/32.png) [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/16 "2003-02-16T03:46:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weird\_AL\_Einstein \***Yes, but if she is actually, biologically his granddaughter, then logically he must have had a (never ever mentioned) son or daughter at some point. Which would mean, assuming that Time Lords and Time Ladies make little Time Babies the same way we do, that The Docter would have had to, at some point in his life, you know – done the Deed.** Eer… Not that I’m any expert on Dr. Who lore, but technically if somebody is a time traveler who regenerates his body occasionally, couldn’t he “do the deed” in some _future_ incarnation, breed a child who, in turn, has his granddaughter whom he runs into in a previous form? At least that made sense at the time I typed it… ---
**Author:** ![Inky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7feea3/32.png) [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-doctor-whos-granddaughter/154867/17 "2003-02-16T03:52:02Z")
Eer… That is to say: he runs into a granddaughter that is the product of a _future_ ‘doing of the deed’ which he has yet to do, but yet he still meets her because he jumps back and forth in time and all? Nevermind, I’ve lost track.