# Angsty mopy doctor **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 29, 2004, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763 "2004-04-29T23:36:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sweetums](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Sweetums](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweetums)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/1 "2004-04-29T23:36:42Z")
So “Doctor Who” is comming back. Great, except the decision has been mad to make him a whiny little “girlie time-lord” [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=765&ncid=787&e=9&u=/nm/20040429/people\_nm/people\_drwho\_dc](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=765&ncid=787&e=9&u=/nm/20040429/people_nm/people_drwho_dc) Quote: Cult British sci-fi series “Dr. Who” is to get an edgy new Doctor in Christopher Eccleston (news) who hopes to portray the time-traveler’s “melancholy side” as he drifts through time and space. Yeah, I was a big fan of this show during its first run, and I remember my friends and I sitting arround saying “hey, y’know what’s wrong with this show, the doctor isn’t reflective, or sensitive enough” :dubious: Wow! I thought only George Lucas could suckify something this badly. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/2 "2004-04-30T00:19:42Z")
Damn. Not good. I rather liked the idea of Richard E Grant in the role (he did the voice for a short series of Dr Who flash animations on the Beeb website; I can just imagine him in a long coat, shouting “Fuck you, you Dalek Bastards!” ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/3 "2004-04-30T00:25:16Z")
Angsty? Mopey? English? Why the hell didn’t they tap Morrissey to play this role? Or Eddie Vedder, if having him be English wasn’t that important a requirement. ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/4 "2004-04-30T00:43:35Z")
At least the Doc will know what not to do if he encounters space zom- _err…_ infected. ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/5 "2004-04-30T01:04:34Z")
Oh yeah- what happened to Eddie Izzard? Was that just someone’s wish list, or do I remember him actually being considered? ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/6 "2004-04-30T03:50:36Z")
I’m a huge Dr. Who fan. I’m really looking forward to this new series - I just hope they don’t fuck it up. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/7 "2004-04-30T13:05:05Z")
The show survived Colin Baker, it’ll survive an “angsty mopy” Doctor. (I recall some moments when Tom Baker [the _archetypical_ Doctor] got pretty moody - the first episode of _Pyramids of Mars_, for example.) Ecclestone’s a pretty good actor, and it seems likely he’ll have some decent scripts to work from … as a long-time fan of the show, I’m cautiously optimistic. (Tom Baker suggested Eddie Izzard for the part, and that sparked the rumour that Izzard was seriously being considered … personally, I’ve nothing against the man, but I don’t think that would have worked.) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/8 "2004-04-30T13:07:17Z")
Ecclestone is neither whiny nor girly, nor mopy. He is, however, angsty. And there’s some quality about him (or at least the characters he plays) that is really rather disturbing. Whereas all the other doctors have been faintly ridiculous. Could be interesting, could be disastrous. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/9 "2004-04-30T13:36:20Z")
I don’t care if he’s played by Chelsea Clinton and they do it as a reality sitcom - it’s THE DOCTOR, and he’s BAAAACK! Ahem. Hurrah. (waves small dignified flag) ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/10 "2004-04-30T14:34:22Z")
Everything will be OK as long as the sets are tacky and Daleks look like salt shakers with attitude problems! ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/11 "2004-04-30T15:19:38Z")
Angst I can handle. What worried me is the use of the word [ambiguity](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3668997.stm) . Is there nothing sacred among these liberal, pinko, PC-gone-mad media people? Can they leave no institutions alone??! Dr Who is not ambiguous. It’s quite straight-forward: The Doctor is the goody. Those against him are the baddies. It’s straight-forward, black ‘n’ white, no confusion or doubt about it. You can depend on The Doctor to always be in the right and be a moral example above all those around him. But now they want to take that all away from us. They’ll have him smoking and swearing next! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/12 "2004-04-30T15:38:20Z")
Umm … they already started doing that, **Futile** , with the “dark Doctor” plotlines in the Sylvester McCoy era - showing the Doctor as an offstage manipulator of events, setting long-term booby-traps for the Daleks, the Cybermen, Morgaine, Fenric … definitely more Machiavellian than goody-two-shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/13 "2004-04-30T15:49:32Z")
> [@Steve Wright](#): > > Umm … they already started doing that, **Futile** , with the “dark Doctor” plotlines in the Sylvester McCoy era Rarely watch McCoy’s Doctor. It was just too unbareable. Glad I didn’t now. > [@](#): > > definitely more Machiavellian than goody-two-shoes. That didn’t stop them featuring Ken Dodd in a hat though, did it? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/14 "2004-04-30T16:17:47Z")
Okay, I have long known that there is a website for every weird thing you can imagine, but a website dedicated to Tom Baker as Dr. Who’s _[scarves](http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/3746/Scarf.html)_? ---
**Author:** ![Sweetums](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Sweetums](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweetums)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/15 "2004-04-30T16:26:39Z")
My fear, is that they will be too concerned with being “edgy”, to forget that the show, tackiness and all, had a charm to it. ``` I fear that this new Doctor and the folks behind him, may decide to take themselves too seriously, and forget what the show was all about. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/16 "2004-04-30T16:28:20Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > but a website dedicated to Tom Baker as Dr. Who’s _[scarves](http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/3746/Scarf.html)_? Ugg! Are you supposed to be able to _read_ any of that page??? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/17 "2004-05-01T01:32:18Z")
> [@Steve Wright](#): > > Umm … they already started doing that, **Futile** , with the “dark Doctor” plotlines in the Sylvester McCoy era - showing the Doctor as an offstage manipulator of events, setting long-term booby-traps for the Daleks, the Cybermen, Morgaine, Fenric … definitely more Machiavellian than goody-two-shoes. That was motivated by him being the middle Doctor of the 13 incarnations. It was his role to set things up for all the other 12. What I haven’t heard is if there’ll be a regeneration scene from Paul McGann. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/18 "2004-05-01T03:20:36Z")
Tom Baker did suggest Eddie Izzard, and the rumor went round like wildfire in some places, but according to Eddie’s website, he never seriously considered the role, nor did he audition for it. Tom Baker once lurched over drunk in an elevator at a WhoCon and just about fell on top of me, though. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angsty-mopy-doctor/242763/19 "2004-05-01T06:10:41Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Okay, I have long known that there is a website for every weird thing you can imagine, but a website dedicated to Tom Baker as Dr. Who’s _[scarves](http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/3746/Scarf.html)_? And [this one as well](http://www.brimelow.thinkhost.com/scarf/) - which could be exceptionally useful if you’re willing to make this for someone (says she who spent more time than she’ll admit to trying to count the rows and stitches of Harry Potter’s scarf in the publicity stills from some magazine.)