A new Doctor Who
So Matt Smith is leaving the show after 4 years of playing the Doctor are over and already the papers have gone into a frenzy of trying to guess who the next one will be. It's a shame that John Hurt is unlikely to play the next one, probably because he is too expensive for the show, but it would be brilliant.
So, anyone any preference as to who the next actor should be?
Does anyone care anymore?
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Is it time for a female Doctor?
Not if Stephen Moffat is still writing for it. He can write two different stereotypes and neither would be good for the Doctor.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
A few thoughts:
Paul Bettany
James McAvoy
Colin Salmon
Laurence Fox
Bill Nighy
Chiwetel Ejiofor
I'm glad Smith is moving on, he is the least of the new Doctors.
Chris O'Dowd might make an interesting Doctor, is he allowed to be Irish? He has a good sense of humor, youngish, and would be a fun fit.
Moffat already likes Jack Davenport so he would be interesting.
On the same note, Benedict Cumberbatch would make an awesome Doctor. Too bad he is probably already associated too closely with Sherlock and of course Star Trek now.
He had at least 3 for Coupling! or was that his wife's influence? A Susan Walkerish character could possibly work but honestly the Doctor is a male and there has been major female time lords in the past. I don't know if I would really like the idea of a female Doctor. Bring his daughter back and then spin her off instead.Originally posted by CatInASuit
Personally, I'm hoping for an older Doctor, 40's, 50's or so, than someone who is there partially to play the role as eye candy.
Other actors: Idris Elba is someone I could consider in the role. If female, probably someone like Jenny Agutter, although if that was the case, expect several scenes of the Doctor with no clothes on.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
I am kind of leaning towards the same, a Doctors in there 40s or 50s.
We know Moffat has a thing for Jenny Agutter, at least based on conversations between Steve and Jeff on Coupling!
Well, there are several rumours that the BBC have asked Rory Kinnear to be the next Doctor Who (who... yeah me neither)
The BBC have have denied and say they are still looking.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
And so its finally announced in a half hour live special. Seriously, has the BBC lost that much faith in the show to sell itself, it has to be glitzed up?
The good news is that Peter Capaldi is an excellent actor. I have no problems with his age and hopefully, he will bring a gravitas to the role that has sorely been lacking. Not to mention hopefully getting rid of the stupid Doctor/Companion romances that have occured in the last few series.
The bad news is that it is still being written by Stephen Moffat, and as such there is nothing a change of actor will do to rescue the dire mess it has become.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Anything I would know him from? I'll check IMDB later but I don't recognize the name.
I remember him from Local Hero. Nothing else though. I've noticed the best Doctors are from the North or Scotland so that bodes well.
For more on the actor:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Capaldi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Doctor
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0134922/?ref_=sr_1
Here he is in his previous DW appearance:
Hope he does well!
Peter Capaldi is currently best known as Malcolm Tucker from "The Thick of It" with a vocabulary that would make Al Swearengen from Deadwood blush. The Thick of It was also responsible for 'omnishambles'.
I never realised he was an Oscar winner, but he's been around for a while.
The problem is, great actor though Capaldi is, Moffat is still in charge of Doctor Who - and as such it will suck.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
The selection of the new Doctor has gotten me a little interested - I've never actually seen an entire episode. How would you compare the various Doctors in terms of personality, style and appeal? Which is your favorite and why? What stands out for you about each of them (going back to 1963, if you've seen 'em all)?
Oh grief - you're asking me to summarise 50 years of a show which has changed an awful lot over time while trying to stay the same. There are hundreds of sites dedicated to the Doctor in terms of personality, episodes style and every piece of minutiae you could possibly think of.
I've seen episodes from all 11 Doctors, although a lot of the earlier episodes no longer exist because the BBC didn't bother to keep the old reels and junked them.
For a list of good Doctor Who episodes: start with this bunch from the Guardian: its not a bad list.
I'd suggest just picking off the episode names and checking on youtube or other sites to see if you can find them.
Oh and don't forget to watch "Remembrance of the Daleks" as well.
Please remember how old they are and the structure of the episodes is completely different to the usual US format. Usually 4, 30 minute episodes with a mini cliffhanger at the end of each, combine to make the whole story.
As for what I think of each Doctor....do you have a couple of days. Personally, my favourite is Sylvester McCoy.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
I only saw a few of the 3rd Doctor and I didn't like it then as a kid. I really enjoyed the 4th Doctor; Tom Baker, the iconic Doctor with the long scarf. He was a bit of a Gandalf like figure and his acting and the writing overcame the sad even for the time Special Effects. I guess I grew out of Doctor Who though and missed the last 3 years of his run. I've watch some again recently and they fell pretty dated. A lot more so than Star Trek: TOS. As an adult I caught the final Doctor (Radagast the Brown oddly enough) and thought he was good but the writing was often bad. I also saw the 5th & 6th Doctor and thought they were terrible.
Then came the new show and Chris Eccleston was awesome. Moody, depressed, lonely and a great actor. He and his companion Rose Tyler won me over and my kids loved the show. I mean really loved it. More than I liked the old show and closer to my love for Star Trek. I thought Eccleston was nearly as good as Tom Baker in factor. He left after only 1 year though and I was worried. Well the show got a bigger budget and David Tennant. David is in my opinion the Best Doctor Ever! He is awesome, his portrayal is awesome and he might have won me over on his first episode when he quipped about saving the earth in a bathrobe as being rather Arthur Dent like. The stories re still uneven but few shows can have claim otherwise (Spock's Brain). But Tennant was awesome. Sadly he left too soon and the latest and now departing Doctor, Matt Smith was not as good and his first pair of companions were only OK. However, in the last half season the added a new companion and 3 semi-regulars that are once again awesome.
Clara Oswald played by Jenna-Louise Coleman has been really good so far and may be the cutest companion as a bonus.
Last edited by What Exit?; 06 Aug 2013 at 06:14 PM.
Clara is yet another in the long list of spunky young females from London that have been in this show for the last few years. She is a terrible companion, especially as Moffat has her as the true one and only companion who travels through space and time to save the Doctor rubbishing 50 years of other companions in one fell swoop. She was better as Oswin Oswald, but Clara - no thanks.
You want a good companion from the new series, try Donna. From the old series, there are a lot more to choose from. Jo Grant, Sarah Jane Smith, Leela, Romana, Barbara, and especially Ace.
As for the three semi-regulars, I believe the BBC was considering the idea of a spin-off but it fell through. Jenny and Vastra I have no problems with, but Strax has become too much of a comedy figure now to be taken seriously.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Donna was excellent but I liked Rose & I very much like Clara. I just re-watched her first official show. The 2012 Xmas special and really enjoyed every aspect of it. I think it may be Smith's best show.
Thanks, folks.
Were any of the previous actors who played Doctors pushed out by the studio, or did they all leave when they wanted to, or when they had to due to age or health?
The first Doctor retired due to health. A few were let go. I think it was 6 & 7. Well 7 actually ended the original run of the show in fact.
A lot of emotion surrounds this topicI'm gonna weigh in and share my thoughts.
Right whenever I think something is starting to go wrong with Dr Who, they manage to fix it. It was no easy thing bringing the Doctor back after the haitus it had, especially since it was always something of a cult classic even among scifi fans. I was skeptical, a bit unsure as to whether they could modernise it while keeping it's charm.
Between 9th Doctor, Rose Tyler and RTD though, they managed to make something incredible. They reworked the format and told very different stories about a very different Doctor... and yet it felt so true to the old show that clearly my concerns were unfounded.
When the 9th swapped out for the 10th I wasn't as concerned as some other people - regeneration is hardly a new concept to me - but everything could have gone wrong. The new series attracted a whole new audience, and a poor choice for the 10th would have killed it stone dead. But David Tennant was brilliant, with a wider range of acting skills than Eccleston (IMHO), so they were able to add more depth and variety to the stories.
Then they turned it into a love story, which I wasn't thrilled with, and swapped Rose out for Martha, which turned into another love story. In retrospect I see what was going on - Rose was the "girl that got away" and Martha was the "rebound", but still, at the time, it was concerning. I was terrified that they were going to do it again. I was hoping that they'd do something different next time. Someone edgier, less intoxicated by his presence, a companion who respected him but didn't see herself as his inferior.
And then Donna came along. Oh how I love Donna. She adored him, yes, but as a close friend. She called him out on his stuff all the time. Brilliant, she was. Right when I thought things were sliding, they fixed it.
But then I started to grow sick of the 10th Doctor. Tennant was legendary about bringing him to life, but let's face it, the 10th is a wanker. Getting so indignant when people turn to violence because they are scared, or in self-defence, and yet dealing out violence on a far greater scale. Refusing to kill objectively evil and dangerous creatures, which of course lead to the deaths of innocent and heroic people again and again and again. Seventeen seconds after being shown how he weaponises normal people, he's getting mad at someone who destroyed the Daleks. Come on.
And then there was RTD's style. I like his style and out of the first four seasons, I rate s4 as the best overall. But it was starting to feel a bit played out. Daleks, Daleks, Daleks, looming in the shadows, clues of their plans permeating time and space - what was necessary to bring life to the new series was now starting to feel... simple. Like the show was capable of so much more.
They fixed both of these issues in one fell swoop - Steven Moffat, author of the best episodes at the time, took over while Tennant stepped down from the role. Everyone was nervous about this - Tennant had been around for three seasons plus all those specials, and had defined the role in a way that would be tough to follow. What's more, Matt Smith was such an unknown - except to me: I'd seen Party Animals, in which he plays a meek loser, and could not see how he would work as the Doctor.
Three minutes in to the first ep of s5, I forgot everything I knew about Matt Smith and just let him win me over. Because fine, me might not be "as good" as Tennant (a lot less able to pull off bad writing, for one), he is exactly what the show needed. Comically dark and generally oblivious about humans, he makes the perfect antidote to the 10th's growing sense of moral wankery. And Moffat shook up the format further, building arcs that transcend the seasonal arcs that RTD so favoured. Suddenly the series became darker, stranger and somehow more substantial.
I started to miss the days of the non-human companions (even if I understood the need to make the companions relatable). River Song became a recurring character. Which was great, because Amy Pond wasn't really cutting it for me (Rory, though... the Last Centurion sends shivers down my spine), so having her around helped a lot.
And then, I started to worry that the Doctors were becoming too young. Now we get to the 12th, a great actor who is old without being ancient and will do amazing things with the role.
What still needs fixing, though? There are so many loose threads now. The multi-seasonal multi-arcs I so desired have a cost, and that cost is time and complexity. Things need to start moving again, swiftly but not rapidly, with a constant building sense of awe. Honestly, it's what Moffat does well. At this point I can't help but be optimistic.
Last edited by AllWalker; 20 Aug 2013 at 11:40 PM.
Something tells me we haven't seen the last of foreshadowing.
Wow, a great overview - thanks!
Regardless of what happens, it will be all about the writing.
If the plots are good, everything else will follow.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
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