:dubious: Ya think? Give me David Duchovny over Tom Baker any day of the week and twice on Sundays!
Jeez-- I kind of lost track after McCoy.
How many regenerations does the good Doctor have left, anyway?
Shows how behind the UK news I am, I didn’t even know there was a new series of Dr Who coming out, heard it was a possibility a while back but didn’t know it was filming sigh There’s a good link on the BBCs webpage about the new series though, with some very cheesy (in fine Dr Who style) pictures from the sets as well.
Good news;
Question: Daleks?
Answer: They will return.
Bad news;
Question: Who is the companion?
Answer: Billie Piper
Billie…Piper…as the Dr’s companion…oh good grief!
[eddie izzard]
“Eh, this is Steve the Dalek; he has two deathrays, he is very dangerous. This is Kev the Dalek; he has two plungers. . . Kev’s not very dangerous, piss off, Kev.”
[/eddie izzard]
grey_ideas
Check out this from the Dr. Who restoration team site.
Read the whole thread.
Obviously until an “official” announcement is made, it’s still rumor.
The TV movie Doctor is canonical and was Doctor #8.
Christopher Eccleston in the new series is #9. Since the good Doctor has 13 lives (12 regenerations), we have 4 left.
Of course, since the last regeneration is the ugly, scabby one. THere are only 3 telegenic ones left.
Will the actor who played the last doctor (in the TV movie, I suppose) be in the new series to regenerate into the new doctor?
The short answer is no. They are just jumping into the 9th Doctor, no info regarding when his regeneration occurred.
This does leave open the possibility for a “flashback” episode where we could see the regeneration happen.
No known reason why they chose not to start with a regeneration. Maybe they’re afraid it would confuse viewers who are unfamiliar with Dr Who lore.
Maybe they’ll drop info on the Time Lords in these newer episodes to “educate” the newer viewers, and then they could tackle the regeneration issue later.
The interveiws I have seen bear out that the producers are going for a start to the series that does not confuse viewers, thus they did not ask Paul McGann to appear for a regeneration. McGann has said that he was/is certainly willing to do a regeneration scene if called.
So, unless they’re lying and McGann flew into Wales under cover of night and filmed a regeneration scene and snuck back out, he will not be appearing… yet. If the show gets picked up beyond its thirteen-episode first season, I’m sure there will be such fannish things as a multi-Doctor story and a Brigadier story down the line. It is expected, almost demanded by fans.
I think, in the UK, it is called by the amusing term “Fanwank.”
Sir Rhosis
I wonder how a Multi-Doctor story would work out, since Doctors 1-3 are dead, Tom Baker is looking worse for wear, I’ve not heard hide nor hair from Peter Davidson, and Colin Baker is persona non grata. I’m sure Sylvester McCoy would jump at the chance to play the Doctor again, but I’m sure the die hards would howl if Peter McGann were to play the Doctor again.
BTW, is the Brigadier still alive?
I’m sure they could devise a suitable explanation for the lack of the first three Doctors (through constant TECHNOBABBLE their time streams are locked off) and the aging of the rest (stresses in the time stream aged them as they were being assembled in the 9th Doctor’s time stream, or some such. Sendng them back to their own time streams at the end of the ep restores their looks).
FTR, Colin Baker has long since been on good terms with the BBC, Dr. Who, and the fans, and seems to be personally highly regarded.
Sir Rhosis
And yes, “The Brig,” Nicholas Courtney is alive, and well as far as I can ascertain, being around 75 or so.
Sir Rhosis
You haven’t been listening very hard in that case; he’s probably the busiest of any of the ex-Doctors, with several full-time TV series under his belt (Campion, At Home with the Braithwaites and The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries to name a few) since leaving the show. And he still plays the Doctor for Big Finish’s audio productions, so I imagine he’d be happy to step into the Tardis once again if asked.
Wasn’t this in the first Tom Baker episode, the one with the giant robot?? I ask because it was basically this line that hooked me on the whole Dr. Who thing. I was in love with Tom Baker for a loooooonnnng time.*
I met Jon Pertwee** at a fan convention in Atlanta long years ago, and he was delightful. If I hadn’t loved Tom Baker first, he would have been my favorite Doctor, just because he was A Genuinely Nice Guy.
And a few years later, I drove to New Orleans to a Dr. Who convention. I met Colin Baker and Nicolas Courtney (the brigadier.) Very fun. And I’m not really a fandom kinda gal. Nothing against it, just usually too much trouble to worry about.
*Not, however, as long as I was in love with Mr. Spock from Star Trek:TOS.
**George Takei was at the same convention, and also impressed me with his humor and good manners.
I think this actually occurs in The Green Death. I remember finding it ironic because whatever menace the Brig was speaking about in that instance was actually from Earth, not from anywhere beyond.
There’s a stone winged-gargoyle in the Jon Pertwee story, The Daemons. It is there that the Brig has his signature line, one that Courtney used for his autobiography.
The Brig calls a UNIT soldier by name and says, “Chap with the wings there, five rounds rapid.”
The bolded portion is the title of the autobio.
Sir Rhosis
I have mixed feelings. As an American, I first caught it on PBS when Peter Davison was the Doctor (and thus, being the first I saw, he’s my favorite) and watched it till the end, and then I bought a bunch of episodes from all of the Doctors.
Although towards the end I thought it got worse (there really aren’t any Sylvester McCoy episodes I really like, sorry :(), over all, I thought it was a great show and I hope, that all though it will be updated, there will be some of the same charm and atmosphere as the previous series.
Although one thing I hope they change, and something I never quiet understood, was the apparently low budget for costumes and props. From everything I heard and read, the role of the Doctor was one of the most sought out roles, yet, a lot of the monsters, aliens, and so on looked awful.
Oh, and do all planets need to be primarily forests, mountains or rocky landscapes? (I heard the BBC rock quarry was used quiet a lot) And do all cities either be primitive or, so advanced they appear primitive? Or, if they are advanced, and show it, they’re almost always deserted? OK, sorry for the rant, but I had to get it out.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing it and hope that it shows on the Sci-fi channel, or some other satellite/cable channel I receive, to see how it turns out.
And I really hope it keeps the spirit of the first series alive.
In England there are three ways to accurately work out a person’s age - ask them who, as far as they are concerned, were the best Blue Peter presenters, what the Blue Peter pets were called and who Doctor Who is. You can get it to about a year from that. Try it - it’s always accurate
Owl:- Val, john and Pete; Petra Patch and Shep (and a tortoise that got put in a box once a year and was never seen again); and John Pertwee.
Jon Pertwee will always be my favourite Doctor. Tom’s a close second, but Jon’s Doctor had so much class.
He kicked ass as Worzel Gummidge, too. I wish they’d run those series’ again, or release them all on DVD, or something. They don’t make TV like that anymore.
AFAICT the BBC took the Doctor Who encyclopedia off their website a few months ago. It contained all sorts of useful entries-a timeline of Dalek history, a revised timeline of Dalek history after it was altered by timetravel, lists of the Doctor’s known relatives, etc. The relevant article here was one on just how many regenerations the Doctor has left. The answer (with cites from episodes) was that the Doctor, like his nemesis the Master, finds ways to exceed the normal limit and regenerates about 40 times. IIRC An incarnation mentioned in Battlefield As going by the name Merlin and involved in events that are recorded as the legends of Camelot, was around his 30th regeneration. I may be mistaken on the details. As I said, that section of the BBC’s Doctor Who website is gone. I do clearly remember it citing numerous episodes supporting 40 regenerations
Re Paul McGann
I had no problem with him as Doctor. I disliked the writing in that movie. His acting was fine. IMO, he didn’t hve nearly enough time to show us what he wanted his version of the Doctor to be like.
BrainGlutton
Many of the Doctors, especially Tom Baker, use the strategy of ‘If I behave like a clown, people will constantly underestimate me’. It isn’t Tom Baker hamming it up and being ridiculous. It’s the Doctor hamming it up and being ridiculous so that Davros, the Master, and the rest get overconfident and drop their defences. When the Dungeons & Dragons film was released (and in our defence, before we had read the reviews), my gaming group rushed out to see it. It was crap. Pages and pages are required to detail exactly how crappy it was. Tom Baker does a cameo of perhaps a minute. The skill and effortlessness with which he plays his part, and gives a sense of being rather than acting, proved just what he was capable of and how truly bad every one else was in comparison.I also found that the supporting players in various episodes were great.
Grey_Ideas Who’s Billie Piper?