The BBC officially announced today that David Tennant has quit Doctor Who:
Tennant stepped into the Tardis in 2005, and will leave the role after four special episodes are broadcast next year.
He made the announcement after winning the outstanding drama performance prize at the National Television Awards.
“When Doctor Who returns in 2010 it won’t be with me,” he said.
For those of you coping with his loss, a Support Group has already been started, thanks to RichR. Who would you like to see as the next doctor? Money seems to be on Paterson Joseph, who would be the first black Doctor.
Growing up, I was never a Doctor Who fan. The current series, with two excellent actors in the lead role, got me hooked. I love the show. And just as I was beginning to cope with the idea that I wouldn’t be seeing a full season until 2010…now I find out the incredibly talented Tennant won’t be part of it?
This is almost more than my poor, nerdy soul can take.
Paterson Joseph would be good, but what about Shaun Parks?
He was in Casanova with David Tennant and is another Doctor Who alum (Satan Pit).
I think he’d be great!
I’m not familiar enough with British actors to make a choice for the next Dr. Who. Couldn’t it be a woman though? Catherine Tate would make a great Doctor and Donna already has a bit of experience.
The papers and bookies don’t normally have a good track record when backing actors for the next Doctor.
Although Paddy Power seems to have Paterson Joseph as the favourite most other bookmakers have David Morrissey at 1/6 favourite. Morrissey is appearing in this year’s Christmas special.
My suggestions are –
Julian Rhind Tutt
Philip Glenister
If an older Doctor is on the cards (it all depends on Moffat) maybe
Bill Nighy
Roger Allam
David Troughton.
Bill Nighy completely stole Love Actually playing an ex-drug addicted rock star desperate for a comeback. In case you didn’t see it, here are links to Nighy’s two best clips:
Swearing during a recording session
and the radio interview you wish Mick Jagger would give.
After the climax to the last season, I don’t trust Russell Davies not to throw all his toys out of the pram.
Hear hear DaveBell. Morrisey does seem most likely. It’s funny – I’ve gone from calling Tennant Womanhead (the first time I saw him i thought he was a woman) to not actually minding him.
I still don’t find him sexy. I must be the only female in the world not to.
I like the idea of Glenister. That would be interesting, as would a black Who. After that parody last year, I’m also dying to see a Lumley Who, especially making out with Pryce as the Master. At base, though, I’m one of those old fogeys who’s still pining for Baker and Davison, so maybe I should simply be taken out and shot.
In terms of current US interest in DW, there’s an interesting sidebar in next week’s print edition of TV Guide, but apparently not online. In an article titled “Viewers Vote on Top TV Shows,” the editors list the results of a Nielsen study of what cable programs are favored by those respondents who self-identify as Democratic or Republican. The results (including those labelled as “Bipartisan”) are suggestive: South Park skews Republican while The Colbert Report skews Democratic, which doesn’t exactly match with my own data collection among people I know.
In terms of scifi, however,–as well as SciFi–last year’s Oz remake Tin Man skews Democratic while the current Doctor Who series skews Republican. No mention of Torchwood, and thank God they didn’t slot BSG in any particular column. On this site or io9, I have a feeling we might have a riot on our hands.
Given the assembled root knowledge, however, I put it to my fellow geeks: when transplanted into American political culture, is Doctor Who a “Republican” show?
i was making lists of potential actors for the part with my roommate the other day and neither of us thought of bill nighy!
i still would like to see anthony stewart head at least in the running — i know he was under consideration before eccleston was hired — but i doubt he’d do it.
how about barbara flynn, too, if we’re going to start brainstorming for women to take over the role? the doctor hasn’t been older in awhile now — might be nice to see a bit of a switch.
and @lupusdeusest: no, you’re not. i think he’s charming and a little overmanic, but not sexy.
-k.c.
I WANT BILL NIGHY.
I want the wackness that back in the day was Tom Baker’s signature. I want drollness and irony and viciousness (viz. UNDERWORLD, y’all) and slyness.
Paterson Joseph’s choice would eliminate all those DW scripts set during the British Empire during the age of UK slavery, since every single episode would have a bit of racism to be dealt with. The Doctor can change history, all right, but he can’t change that, and I don’t think any DW writer would be up to the task of making that added weight of institutional prejudice a compelling overarching narrative. I sure as hell know US writers can’t, not yet….
A black Doctor in historical England cannot be dealt with in a color-blind way — not after HUMAN NATURE showed the Doctor to be just as susceptible to prejudice as negative background radiation, in his amnesiac treatment of Martha.
On the next Doctor:
I have to say my money is on David Morrisey. I’m guessing the plot of “The Next Doctor” revolves around a meeting the Tenth Doctor has with a future version of himself.
It would, however, be fantastic to see a black Doctor (or a female Doctor, though that his been nixed by RTD.) It would lead to a lot of great opportunities, I think, if written well.
On Doctor Who as a Republican show:
I don’t know. There are very obviously strong religious overtones in Doctor Who. The best example of this is “Human Nature”/”The Family of Blood” which is, essentially, a rewriting of The Last Temptation of Christ. Of course, the show also has a lot of humanist themes as well. Still, the Doctor is a major God/Christ figure. Even at the end of the third season when the united minds of the people of the world save the day, they do so by empowering the Doctor.
There are also strong themes around mistrust of government. Again, I think of The Master and of Torchwood. But there was also the Slitheen, who frequently ended up in government posts, and Harriet Jones who, despite being the Prime Minister during Britain’s golden age, was a figure who was not to be trusted.
I would guess that both of these things draw Republicans to the show.
Sadly, I can see that the right-wing/father-knows-best crowd would find much to confirm their worldview in Doctor Who. Near-omnipotent male swans in at the last minute to set someone else’s house to rights.
Doubt the NRA wing of the Republicans find much to cherish in his “not carrying arms makes me the better man” posture, though.
I know this is a bit sexist, but I wouldn’t want to see a female Doctor.
I feel that the series has established that there are two genders of time lord whose regenerations do not cross that line. Yes, yes, I know it’s all a TV show, and that a plausible explanation could be made. But it still wouldn’t sit right with me. A better idea would be to bring back Romana in some form. She was a great companion in the original series, and if the Master can survive the Time War, why not her?
I do think a black Doctor would be great, though cdthomas makes some good points that I didn’t think of……
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STEPHEN FRY! STEPHEN FRY! STEPHEN FRY!
if you don’t know him youtube him! SERIOUSLY!
To top that off, he REALLY want to be the Doctor and I think wrote a letter to either a newspaper or maybe moffat, I can’t remember, explaining why he wants to be the Doctor. It’s a story from when he was a kid, but if I was him I would be like “hey you want to know why I should be the Doctor…
CAUSE I’M STEPHEN F’IN FRY! THAT’S WHY!”
… sorry I have a way special place in my heart for that man… and his sometimes mustache…
As a fan since the Pertwee days..I have to say my first reaction to a black Doctor. was “What??”..then my second was..”Why not??” As long as he is “The Doctor” not “The Black Doctor” I think it would be cool..But, even though I am a woman…I find the idea of a female Doctor…offish…Wouldn’t sit the same..Sure am gonna miss Davis though..the best in the vein of Tom Baker ….