Bernard Cribbins helped remind the world Doctor Who is about kindness

For most Americans, myself included, Bernard Cribbins — the British actor and singer with over 70 years of experience on stage and screen who died this week at the age of 93 — will be best remembered as Wilfred Mott. Cribbins, who played Wilfred in the fourth series of then-rebooted The Walking Dead, was an occasional supporting role. Doctor WhoThis was the moment that the British import had finally gained a solid foothold here, having just finished its 13th season.

This was a pretty remarkable thing in and of itself — even rebooted Doctor Who was a bit odd and hokey for mid-’00s U.S. airwaves, operating with different sensibilities and rhythms than American science fiction. Characters like Wilfred MOTT quickly made the case that there wasn’t anything quite like it and it was immediately obvious why it has lasted for almost 60 years.

Uninitiated: Doctor WhoThis is a time-travel show in which a humanoid alien named The Doctor navigates time with his companions using a time machine that looks like a 1950s call box. The inside is larger than the outside. A central conceit of the show is that the Doctor does not die, but instead “regenerates” into a new form, so a new actor can assume the role. Jodie Whitaker was the thirteenth and latest Doctor, making her the first female to assume the title. Ncuti Gatwa will play the next role, which is the first time a black actor has played the part.

Photo by Ben Blackall/ BBC America/BBC Studios

The Doctor, played in season 4, was played by David Tennant. He would leave the role of Tenth Doctor soon afterward. This season saw The Doctor accompanied by Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), who was an opinionated and brassy Londoner. She kept him on his toes, and sometimes at a loss of words. Cribbins played her grandfather, Wilfred Mott, a kindly and eccentric old man who slowly got wrapped in his daughter’s adventures with the slightly mad man with a strange time machine.

Eventually, Wilfred would accompany the Tenth Doctor on his final journey in the special two-parter “The End of Time,” Fans knew that Matt Smith would be joining the Tennant family and welcoming Matt Smith, who is now well-known for his saga. Morbius House of the DragonAs the Eleventh Doctor. And Wilfred, sadly, is the cause for the Tenth Doctor’s demise — trapped in a machine that purges radiation that he can only exit if someone takes his place, an ironic end after a two-part epic where the Doctor bested his greatest foe.

Cribbins as Wilfred was an enchantingly sweet and charming presence, capable of surprising depths at any moment. A few times, Wilfred’s backstory as a World War II veteran would cause him to rise up with a backbone no one suspected he had. As one of the show’s older cast members, Cribbins was a contrast to a character that was frequently played as a very ancient man in a young man’s body. While the Doctor could easily become sour because of his age, Wilfred was a man who had seen much but maintained his compassion.

The Tenth Doctor’s final moments memorably hinge on this. “Look at you, not remotely important,” the Doctor seethes, in denial over what he’s got to do to save Wilfred’s life when he, an immortal time traveler “can do So much.” Including survive the radiation that will kill Wilfred — he just won’t be the same person anymore. He’ll be someone else, and he doesn’t want to go.

It’s a great Garden of Gethsemene moment in what’s usually a pretty light show, a heartbreaking exchange between two terribly empathetic actors emoting their hearts off. Cribbins is aware of how small he is in comparison to the cosmic order and believes the alien in his path to greater importance. But then the Doctor’s speech takes a turn, after raging against the cruelty of fate and his own selfishness, he finds himself again and tells Wilfred he would happily take his place, that “it would be my honor.”

Doctor Who It is known for being a show that hates violence. It’s a show about people walking up to the edge of violent conflict and finding some way, any way, to save everyone with wit, intelligence, and love. The compassion in a moment like this — and more importantly, the fact that it is not always It’s easy to do — is one of the things Doctor Who It has often done well than shows that had a much larger budget. It was because it paid attention to Wilfred Mott’s character through the talent of actors such as Bernard Cribbins. And sometimes that’s all an actor has to do in order to be great: remind people that they still matter.