When Doctor Who returned in 2005, its first season featured a memorable lineup of villains. The Slitheen were surprisingly complex despite their comical appearance, the Daleks received a modern makeover, and the creepy, gas-masked children asking “Are you my mummy?” were genuinely frightening, even if they weren’t traditional villains.
Despite a strong start, the first season of Doctor Who didn’t introduce any memorable, returning villains like the Weeping Angels from season 3 – creatures that quickly became fan favorites. Interestingly, the show actually created a compelling villain early on, but then surprisingly turned them into a hero instead.
Mickey Smith: The Doctor Who Villain That Never Was
Everything was in place for Mickey Smith to have a dramatic turn after the first season of Doctor Who. From the start, the Doctor dismissed him as an “idiot,” making Mickey an easy target for condescension. Adding to his troubles, Mickey’s girlfriend was drawn away by the excitement of traveling through time and space with the Doctor, leaving him behind.
This was only the beginning of a difficult year for Mickey. He came under suspicion when Rose went missing, and the townspeople turned against him. To make matters worse, he felt like even his enemies wouldn’t give him a decent send-off. Even when he started dating Trisha Delaney, Rob Delaney’s sister, Rose’s lingering jealousy led Mickey to believe there was still a chance they could get back together, preventing him from moving forward.
Mickey handled the situation remarkably well, but he reached his breaking point in “Boom Town.” After a frank conversation with Rose where they found some understanding, he was furious when she silently left him as soon as things started to get strange. He stormed off, yelling, “Oh, go on then, run! It’s him again, isn’t it? It’s the Doctor! It’s always the Doctor! It’s never me!”
This was the perfect time to make Mickey Smith an enemy of the Doctor’s.
However, his next involvement felt surprisingly subdued. Rose persuaded him to assist the Doctor again, and he quickly became an unofficial, yet accepted, part of the TARDIS crew.
Mickey’s resilience in the face of how the Doctor and Rose treated him is admirable. However, it’s also fair to say he was often taken advantage of and never really got a chance to address the situation. Allowing him to become an antagonist after the events of “Boom Town” would have been a satisfying way to give him agency and resolve that imbalance.
How Mickey Smith Could Have Become A Doctor Who Villain
When Rose returned to London in the TARDIS after her first adventure, Mickey told the Doctor he’d spent a year studying the Doctor’s past. Like Clive from season one and the members of the L.I.N.D.A. club, Mickey likely used the internet to learn a lot about the Doctor and other alien phenomena, giving him a good base of knowledge.
Rose frequently shared stories of her adventures with the Doctor with Mickey whenever she returned home during the first season of Doctor Who. Because of this, Mickey would have been well aware of the Doctor’s enemies. Furthermore, the way Mickey’s story ends – becoming a skilled alien fighter alongside Martha Jones – demonstrates that he was capable of becoming much more than just the character known as “Mickey the Idiot.”
After the events of “Boom Town,” Mickey could have joined forces with another alien species. While the Daleks were unlikely allies due to their intolerance, he might have connected with other Slitheen using technology from their previous invasion. Mickey could have become a trained soldier – similar to his future self, but with less concern for right and wrong – and used advanced alien weapons to fight the Doctor.
Mickey Becoming A Villain Would Have Been A Refreshing Change For Doctor Who
Doctor Who has never fully delved into the idea of an ordinary person suffering because of the Doctor’s pride and then seeking payback. Considering how often the Doctor intervenes in history, there must be many innocent lives negatively impacted by their actions, even if a lot of good also comes from them. How many people actually fear the arrival of the TARDIS instead of welcoming it?
Mickey could have symbolized all the ordinary people whose lives were disrupted by the Doctor’s adventures, people the Doctor often ignored or didn’t bother to help. He could have represented the anger and unfairness felt by those who suffered the consequences of the Doctor’s actions – children who lost family, or those simply overlooked. He would have been the embodiment of all that frustration and the cost of the Doctor’s battles.
As a huge Doctor Who fan, I always thought it would be amazing to explore a villain motivated by what happened to Mickey Smith. Honestly, it was tough watching him get treated so poorly in the first season, and even though the show tried to move past it later with the Tenth Doctor, it always felt a bit unresolved. Imagine a villain who genuinely felt wronged by the Doctor, but one we, as the audience, could actually understand and maybe even sympathize with – that would be a really compelling story, don’t you think?
Read More
- Steam RPG From 2023 Being Removed Next Month and PC Users Aren’t Happy: “Huge Potential Wasted”
- Deadlock The Doorman Guide: Big Tips & Tricks
- Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess ‘Mazo Talisman: Yashichi Waves’ update launches in July
- ‘LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight’ Reveals Its 7 Main Batsuits
- Yakuza Maker’s Next PS5 Game Gets a Brief Behind-the-Scenes Video
- ‘My Name Is Jeff’: Channing Tatum Played Another Jeff In Roofman, And Is Considering Legally Changing His Name
- Gears of War: Reloaded is Now Available
- Alabaster Dawn Demo is Now Available on PC
- Preview: Teamwork Is the True Terror of Little Nightmares 3
- No Upgrade Path for the Belated PS5 Version of Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut
2025-11-03 19:01