Anyone heard the Doctor Who news?

[The Bronze]

1/ I show up, I get along fine for a while.

2/ I mention my dislike for the way the show is going now and the SJW pandering

Well there you go then. Don't jump into "SJW pandering" and you'll break the cycle and remain at number one. Instantly takes your criticisms of the show and makes it personal about those producing it, viewing it and plays straight into the larger culture war.

 

[Buffy Summers]

Okay, let's go back to the topic now...

 

[DeadlyDuo]

@burrunjor You get people like that in every fandom. Some forums are riddled with it, luckily not here.

I would've quite liked Kris Marshall to take over the role of the Doctor. He was funny in My Family (the best seasons were the Nick seasons) and he's extremely likeable (as seen in Death in Paradise). However, at 48 he might be aging out of the role, given how physical the role can be.

My choices for a potential new Doctor would be:

1. Jack Whitehall
2. Robert James-Collier
3. Dan Stevens (though he might be considered a bit too "Hollywood" now)
4. Colin Morgan
5. Dev Patel

If it had to be a woman, then my choices would be:

1. Tuppence Middleton
2. Natalie Dormer (though she too might be considered too "Hollywood" now)
3. Jo Martin (The Black female Doctor already in existence)

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Natalie Dormer (though she too might be considered too "Hollywood" now)

Oh good god no.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

But- to be generous tot he writers- I think they wanted the focus to be off the Doctor for a while and on 'small stories' with the companions. There would be no large seasons-long character arcs about timewars or the Doctor getting a wife or shadowy forces targeting the Doctor or whatever.

I understand using the companions as a way of getting the audience to accept the new doctor, but they didn't use Capaldi's last companion so...Also, 3 companions at the same time? Especially is these side stories aren't good, then just why?

Ask the majority of classic era fans and they will say she was the worst. Viewers also crashed when she was in the show, though it wasn't just because of her, she was a part of it.

Yes, I have not watched Classic Who, only seen clips and one episode of the First Doctor. However, the Doctor Who franchise was basically dead until the New Who era was revitalized and popularized by the 10th and 11th iterations of the Doctor. So, don't make it sound like fans have to have seen Classic Who to be a DW fan and that our opinions aren't valid. Classic fans, New fans, we're all fans of the franchise as a whole, let's not create division, that's what leads to toxic fandoms. As someone who only knows the Master as John Simm, I thought Missy was fine. They took it a bit too far with the sexual attraction thing though.

The Doctor should be alien, distant, mysterious, and above all else a chance for an unconventional actor to be the leading man. That's what helps him stand out from other heroes.

Well, the 5th Doctor was young and good looking, not unlike the 10th Doctor. Although I don't know the 5th Doctor's traits.

The Doctor just kept on keeping on. Even when 9 regenerated into 10, he had an identity crisis. But he becomes a she and there is no internal conflict about that? And then there's the fact that they didn't actually make the Doctor female. They had a woman playing a man, a bad parody of earlier Doctors. If you're going to make the Doctor female, make her female.

Yes, that is what sounds like the problem with making the Doctor female. They just didn't do it right.

I also find it insulting that they think they needed to make the Doctor female for there to be a female hero on the show. Wasn't Rose a hero? Wasn't Martha? (Even though everyone hates her but me) Clara? Sarah Jane? They are more worthy of hero-worship that the 13th Doctor ever was.

Exactly, it's not like Doctor Who has no strong female characters.

For the record I don't have anything against Michelle Gomez who from I hear is a bit of a Ducky and is good in other things.

I have enjoyed her in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix and The Flight Attendant on HBO Max. She's a bit one not, just the villain type but she's so good at it. I know she is a bit campy with her villainous acting, but I kind of like a little bit of camp. It's why The Master is my favorite Big Bad on Buffy.

As far as a replacement actor, firstly, think the show needs to take a break, regroup and come up with better stories and a clearer vision for what they want the character and show to be going forward. If they want an actor of color, I think Dev Patel would be a good choice, but I'm not sure he would do a show. I say go with an unknown actor, like they did with Matt Smith. He wasn't a name actor until after Doctor Who, and I'm excited to see him in the Game of Thrones spin off show, House of the Dragons.

 

[burrunjor]

I understand using the companions as a way of getting the audience to accept the new doctor, but they didn't use Capaldi's last companion so...Also, 3 companions at the same time? Especially is these side stories aren't good, then just why?
Yes, I have not watched Classic Who, only seen clips and one episode of the First Doctor. However, the Doctor Who franchise was basically dead until the New Who era was revitalized and popularized by the 10th and 11th iterations of the Doctor. So, don't make it sound like fans have to have seen Classic Who to be a DW fan and that our opinions aren't valid. Classic fans, New fans, we're all fans of the franchise as a whole, let's not create division, that's what leads to toxic fandoms. As someone who only knows the Master as John Simm, I thought Missy was fine. They took it a bit too far with the sexual attraction thing though.
Well, the 5th Doctor was young and good looking, not unlike the 10th Doctor. Although I don't know the 5th Doctor's traits.
Yes, that is what sounds like the problem with making the Doctor female. They just didn't do it right.
Exactly, it's not like Doctor Who has no strong female characters.

I have enjoyed her in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix and The Flight Attendant on HBO Max. She's a bit one not, just the villain type but she's so good at it. I know she is a bit campy with her villainous acting, but I kind of like a little bit of camp. It's why The Master is my favorite Big Bad on Buffy.

As far as a replacement actor, firstly, think the show needs to take a break, regroup and come up with better stories and a clearer vision for what they want the character and show to be going forward. If they want an actor of color, I think Dev Patel would be a good choice, but I'm not sure he would do a show. I say go with an unknown actor, like they did with Matt Smith. He wasn't a name actor until after Doctor Who, and I'm excited to see him in the Game of Thrones spin off show, House of the Dragons.

I've never said that you have to watch classic who to be a true fan. Sorry if it came over as that in the previous post.

I've never even said that New Who is completely bad. (Though I do think it got bad from Capaldi's time onwards.)

I have always said that New Who and Classic Who do not work as the same show. They are best split into two different series like the original and remade Battlestar Gallactica series. For the record New Who is far, FAR better than the remake of Battlestar. It was as unfaithful, and boring too. New Who is at least fun and a good watch.

However the problem with New Who is that it tries to latch itself onto the original, and really they are just not compatible. That is what leads to things like "DW has no canon." "The Doctor can be anyone." "Doctor Who itself has no identity." All of these things are bad for the show as they are creating an idea in popular culture that the Doctor can be anything which ultimately eliminates the actual Doctor character.

This is where the show is worse than the Battlestar remake, because at least that show was honest that it was it's own thing. It didn't try and destroy the identity of its predecessor to make it fit.

For me New Who will endure, but it needs to do that as it's own thing than part of the original.

Also quick correction the DW franchise was not completely dead before New Who came along. It hadn't been on the air for a long while, but it still had a massive following and that was why New Who was a sequel rather than a reboot. (Though sadly it was more or less written as a reboot.)

 

[burrunjor]

@burrunjor You get people like that in every fandom. Some forums are riddled with it, luckily not here.

I would've quite liked Kris Marshall to take over the role of the Doctor. He was funny in My Family (the best seasons were the Nick seasons) and he's extremely likeable (as seen in Death in Paradise). However, at 48 he might be aging out of the role, given how physical the role can be.

My choices for a potential new Doctor would be:

1. Jack Whitehall
2. Robert James-Collier
3. Dan Stevens (though he might be considered a bit too "Hollywood" now)
4. Colin Morgan
5. Dev Patel

If it had to be a woman, then my choices would be:

1. Tuppence Middleton
2. Natalie Dormer (though she too might be considered too "Hollywood" now)
3. Jo Martin (The Black female Doctor already in existence)

My choices for the Doctor in a new alternate sequel series, or an animated series are.

1/ Dylan Moran
2/ Julian Barratt
3/ Robert Carlyle
4/ Julian Richings
5/ Bruce Campbell

If I HAD to choose a female Doctor, I'd go for Morgana Robinson, though personally I'd rather cast her as Romana.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

My choices for the Doctor in a new alternate sequel series, or an animated series are.

I don't think they will do an animated series, at least not for the main show because animation is seen as for kids. Although you do get "adult cartoons" eg Family Guy, American Dad, Rick and Morty etc, those cartoons have content in them not suitable for family viewing. Doctor Who would be looking for a family audience to maximise its viewership and revenue. They might do an accompanying show on CBBC which might be animated, similar to how The Sarah Jane Adventures was the kid version of the main show as Torchwood was the adult version of the main show, but they won't do the main show animated.

3/ Robert Carlyle

I don't think he would do it. He wouldn't want to get stuck to a show for years like he did with OUAT, especially if the writing wasn't up to snuff. On OUAT, when the show was looking to make Amy Manson a regular in Season 5, he actually advised her to say no and find work elsewhere. He was contracted for 6 Seasons and I think the only reason he agreed to do Season 7 was because the show promised him a fitting end to Rumple's storyline.

If he was cast as the Doctor, and the writing was as it has been for the Jodie era, and I'd even say the Capaldi era, then Robert Carlyle would probably be itching to jump ship as soon as possible.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

I've never said that you have to watch classic who to be a true fan. Sorry if it came over as that in the previous post.
I've never even said that New Who is completely bad. (Though I do think it got bad from Capaldi's time onwards.)

Ok, no worries, I think we're on the page now. It came across as if you hated New Who and New Who fans. Thank you for clarifying you stance. I understand where you are coming from even if I don't agree. I do separate Classic Who from New Who. It was a sort of a reboot of the show where they wanted to continue on but update the show. I don't have a problem with updating the show as it evolves from Classic Who. I kind of wish they would have started with the eighth Doctor, I liked Paul McGan's version, I like the 9th Doctor too, but in a different way. I think the appeal to the Doctor is that everyone can have a favorite version of the Doctor. I think in order for the actors playing the role, they need to be able to incorporate their own qualities to make the role theirs and memorable separate from other Doctors. So, for me, it's okay if the Doctor isn't exactly like the previous Doctor, but at his core the doctor should be the same. We need to feel like this version of the Doctor was the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. Doctor. But again as a person the Doctor should be allowed to grow as a character.

Also quick correction the DW franchise was not completely dead before New Who came along. It hadn't been on the air for a long while, but it still had a massive following and that was why New Who was a sequel rather than a reboot. (Though sadly it was more or less written as a reboot.)

I just meant "dead" as in off the air and not really gaining NEW fans. They did the TV movie in the 90's but that wasn't well received. It was really conceived asa pilot for a new series in America but no one wanted that. Again, I like Paul McGan's 8th Doctor though. The Master was horrible in that.

While I love Robert Carlyle, my fear is that his version of the Doctor might be too similiar to his Rumplestiltskin on "Once Upon a Time". But to be fair he was one of the best parts of that show, so I could see him working. But they might want to go with a person of color.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

I can think of a couple of good Synths from the TV series Humans.

 

[thetopher]

I understand using the companions as a way of getting the audience to accept the new doctor, but they didn't use Capaldi's last companion so...Also, 3 companions at the same time? Especially is these side stories aren't good, then just why?

Maybe Chib's wanted a different dynamic to the previous showrunners (Doctor + companion) so wanted a big 'fam' (throws up at the term) as a change. But it was artificial and didn't land at al so there really wasn't a change in that respect, instead we got three stock characters standing behind the Doctor in most scenes asking questions simply so the Doctor could exposit to them rather that a companion standing next to the Doctor acting like a fully rounded person in their own right.

I will emphasize that the companions in the most recent run have been the worst ever. I consider utter non-characters like these much harder to watch than irritants like Clara. They took up so much time and there's just...nothing there. They produce no emotion except boredom and growing sense of resentment that becomes overwhelming after a time.
Yaz is the worst of the bunch given that she gets the least to do/least plotlines. She's Adric levels of bad. Yes, I went there.

Overall it was all badly done; really the first episode was too much like previous era's; the companion (s) meets and reacts to newly regenerating Doctor (just like Rose and Amy and Clara) who is all quirky and new.
If they really wanted to be fresh and distinct they could've had the companions meet the Doctor after she's had a bit of time to adjust (like Eccalston and Rose, or Capaldi and Potts). maybe she's trapped on earth looking for her Tardis and they get involved in her adventures that way; make her seem a bit more mysterious to the audience and make us curious and invested, reintroduce her to us all over again, rather than giving us a frantic children's entertainer with space gadgets.

This would've helped with the new Master reveal later on given that we could understand Whitaker-Doctor making new friends and allies 'off-screen' and also why she might be looking for new companions- although making her much less 'socially awkward' would've been great. The Doctor doesn't care what others thing about her; she doesn't care if she's 'being weird' or whatever so why is she being shy and standoffish....*cuts off rant*


@Buffy Summers : I also like Martha. As well as Donna Noble. Although my favorite companions will always be Jaime and Leela from Classic Who.

 

[GreyWalker1958]

My love of Who began slowly dying with the War Doctor's existence. Then it accelerated with the arrival of Missy and how insufferable Clara became (plus the massive insult to the memory and legacy of the late Nicholas Courtney in the form of Cyber!Brig in Death in Heaven). From 2014, I only had Big Finish as my save haven... then the New Who license and the parade of War Doctor, River Song, and Time War box sets officially made me check out altogether.

Didn't think things would get much more worse but damn it did the moment Chibnall was announced and what came next. Based on reception, my worst fears were on point. The very brand I fell for when I was 17 became a part of a long list of shows and films butchered in the name of a faux progressive scam.... As for the Timeless Child crap, everyone who whined and dismissed the Looms and Lungbarrow should reach out to Marc Platt and Andrew Cartmel and apologize.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

My love of Who began slowly dying with the War Doctor's existence.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the idea of the War Doctor. Why add in another regeneration of the Doctor, but then he doesn't go by the name of the Doctor. What? I mean I loved John Hurt in the role, but the character shouldn't have existed to begin with, to me that was the signaling downward spiral for New Who. There are some episodes in Capaldi's era that I really love though and think of as proper Doctor Who stories (at least from my perspective of only watching New Who). I also think they over did the River Song character. She started off great, then they started weaving her into too much of the Doctor's stories.

 

[GreyWalker1958]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the idea of the War Doctor. Why add in another regeneration of the Doctor, but then he doesn't go by the name of the Doctor. What? I mean I loved John Hurt in the role, but the character shouldn't have existed to begin with, to me that was the signaling downward spiral for New Who. There are some episodes in Capaldi's era that I really love though and think of as proper Doctor Who stories (at least from my perspective of only watching New Who). I also think they over did the River Song character. She started off great, then they started weaving her into too much of the Doctor's stories.

Even on first viewing when she first appeared, I never took to River. She's always an inferior product of what came before her, or in this case two (Prof. Bernice Summerfield and Iris Wildthyme)

 

[burrunjor]

I don't think they will do an animated series, at least not for the main show because animation is seen as for kids. Although you do get "adult cartoons" eg Family Guy, American Dad, Rick and Morty etc, those cartoons have content in them not suitable for family viewing. Doctor Who would be looking for a family audience to maximise its viewership and revenue. They might do an accompanying show on CBBC which might be animated, similar to how The Sarah Jane Adventures was the kid version of the main show as Torchwood was the adult version of the main show, but they won't do the main show animated.



I don't think he would do it. He wouldn't want to get stuck to a show for years like he did with OUAT, especially if the writing wasn't up to snuff. On OUAT, when the show was looking to make Amy Manson a regular in Season 5, he actually advised her to say no and find work elsewhere. He was contracted for 6 Seasons and I think the only reason he agreed to do Season 7 was because the show promised him a fitting end to Rumple's storyline.

If he was cast as the Doctor, and the writing was as it has been for the Jodie era, and I'd even say the Capaldi era, then Robert Carlyle would probably be itching to jump ship as soon as possible.

That sadly is true for animated series and it is deeply frustrating. Animation is just a medium. It shouldn't only be geared for children. I'm hoping the the success of the DC movies that are more adult convinces people that there is an adult audience for animation.

I'm hoping for a sophisticated animated series, that features stories that can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.

Robert Carlyle actually expressed interest in the role back in 2008 stating that he'd love to be Doctor Who and that he would treat the role with the respect it deserves. Mind you that was 2008. Given what a sinking ship it is now, you're probably right that he wouldn't want to do anything like it.

Besides he wouldn't be there for 7 years anyway. Probably just 3. I agree he wouldn't want to do any scripts on the level of Jodie or Capaldi (whose era was in many ways just as bad.) Still that would be true of any actor LOL.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I'm hoping for a sophisticated animated series, that features stories that can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.

There are a lot of cartoon movies and shows that I'd like to watch but I just can't. I don't "feel" anything when watching cartoons. None of them feel real, I've no connection to the actors' voices and I don't feel any sense of drama or tension.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

That sadly is true for animated series and it is deeply frustrating. Animation is just a medium. It shouldn't only be geared for children. I'm hoping the the success of the DC movies that are more adult convinces people that there is an adult audience for animation.

There is also the animation style which can put people off.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

Even on first viewing when she first appeared, I never took to River. She's always an inferior product of what came before her, or in this case two (Prof. Bernice Summerfield and Iris Wildthyme)

I thought she was fine when she showed up in Silence of the Library , she was even ok when she first showed up in the 5th season. But then she was popping up too much, then she married the Doctor, then she's Melody Pond. It just became too crazy. I do like the character, I think Alex Kingston does a great job, but I wish the writers didn't over do her character. They basically turned her into the female Doctor, and for me, it didn't work.

There is also the animation style which can put people off.

There is some great adult animation out, DC's "Harley Quinn", "Rick and Morty", "Invincible". The movie "Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse" was really good. I'm hoping Marvel's "What If?" Show is going to be good. I really love the anthology series on Netflix, "Love, Death and Robots". Even some shows aimed at kids can be really enjoyable by adults. Last right I watched "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "The Legend of Korra". Both shows deal with serious issues and have rich mythology. So, you could do an animated Doctor Who and keep it for adults, but I think that animation in general does turn off some older people, but I think that stigma is starting to change.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Avatar: The Last Airbender

That's one I really wish I could watch.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

I also liked Alex Kingston's time on the show, she gave us a lot to enjoy. Fuffy Baith refers to her as a doctor but she couldn't have been a doctor, she married the doctor She was the ' child of the Tardis ' having been conceived on the Tardis.

There was a member who said about the negative reactions to a female doctor, really! When the Doctors daughter showed herself what negative reaction was there, did the lack of negative reaction have anything to do with the persons likeable behaviour or the normal, acceptable clothing?
Remember that long scarf the doctor used to wear ( Tom Baker ) Or the clothing worn by Sara Jane those outfits were a bit out there.