Why Shona McCullough Should Not Return
Guest contributor Alex King looks at the other side of the argument.
Unlike many, I did not warm to the character of Shona McCullough in Last Christmas. I found her to be extremely irritating, and I was quite surprised at the generally positive reception towards her character. However, I was even more surprised that so many fans desperately wanted her as the next companion, especially just after Jenna Coleman had finally been confirmed for Series 9 after months of speculating if she was leaving or not. Even though I didn’t like Shona, I think she’s fine as a one-off character. The point of this article is to explain why I think one episode is all Shona McCullough needs in the Doctor Who universe.
She’s nothing new
To me, Shona felt like a pick and mix of companions we have already seen before. She shares Rose’s basic précis, Donna’s gob and has dreams like Clara. Others have further likened her to Lucie Miller. However, my biggest criticism is that she’s another 21st century English Earth girl. If Shona was going to become the next companion, then it would mean that all of the female companions of New Who, with the exception of Amy Pond, would be members of this category (although she could be counted, since she was based in England). Doctor Who is without a doubt a show about change, something which has definitely been shown with the Doctor. I feel that after ten years of one thing that it’s time for something different. Variety what keeps the show feeling fresh each series, and I feel that the show wouldn’t be benefited in anyway if Clara were to be replaced with Shona.
There’s nothing that can be done with Shona
I strongly feel that Moffat intended for Last Christmas to be the first and last appearance of Shona. It could be argued that Moffat left a teaser for the future with the words ‘Forgive Dave?’ on her piece of paper. However, I feel that we do not need to know who this mysterious ‘Dave’ is, as she has decided to forgive him anyway. Christmas, when the episode is set, is both religiously and commercially a celebration of love. It is most likely that this ‘Dave’ is her ex-boyfriend, her brother, or anyone else along those lines and Shona decided to forgive him as she was in the Christmas spirit. That’s all that I feel Shona could be used for again, and I believe that this was just Moffat being Moffat.
I think Shona is too weak a character to have adventures with the Doctor. I don’t think she has anything which stands out about her, except for the tedious dancing (which isn’t going to be any good if she’s ever up against the Daleks). Episodes based around eating curry and watching television is not something which would fit in Doctor Who, or be enjoyable to watch in my opinion. You could argue that Rose was far too ordinary at the start, but back then this was a new approach to the Doctor Who companion.
Why Shona?
I must ask the question, if you were going to bring back anybody that had appeared as a guest role, then why choose Shona? There are several other one-off characters which would bring something new to the table. For example, Emma Grayling from Neil Cross’ wonderful story ‘Hide’. She’s a character from the past and she’s a psychic, two characteristics we have not seen in Modern Who so far. I really enjoyed Jessica Raine’s performance and I feel that she’s a worthier character to return. Other previous characters that would add something new include Journey Blue, Psi and Saibra, and of course Jenny played by the wonderful Georgia Moffett. All of these people would be able to work well in the Tardis and would be a breath of fresh air for the show. Neither of which I think would happen if Shona took over as companion.
Conclusion
In this article, I have kept coming back to the point that nothing new would be added to the show if Shona became the next companion, something which I feel needs to happen in order for the show to be a success. I also don’t think she’d be able to hold up an entire series, and I personally didn’t feel any chemistry with Capaldi. I have nothing against Faye Marsay and I would be happy to see her back, even as a full time companion, just not as Shona. However, I feel it’s unlikely for Marsay to pull a Freema Agyeman or a Karen Gillan, as her role in ‘Last Christmas’ was far too big. So overall, I would not like to see the character of Shona McCullough return in Doctor Who.
Thank you for reading.
