Very surprised to see nobody has started a thread about this yet.
Today Peter Capaldi unexpectedly revealed that he has decided this upcoming season of Doctor Whowill be his last. Personally I think it’s too soon and the transition to a new showrunner would have gone smoother without a regeneration, but there you go.
Frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if they just cancelled the series outright this year, as the BBC continues to struggle under cutbacks, but at this stage it’s still scheduled to continue.
I haven’t seen any of the Capaldi episodes but I hear he’s done a fine job as the Doctor. I hope they go off the rails when they pick the next one, tho. In other words, I think it would be fine if the next Doctor wasn’t a white male and I think it would be really cool of they would cast someone against type; for instance, IMO Richard Ayoade or Miranda Hart or even <gasp!> David Mitchell would make an excellent Doctor.
I’m thinking of Nicola Walker or Hermione Norris or Hugh Simon. For me, the Doctor needs to be an older person. Matt Smith was too young, too maniac, for my tastes.
(And before you start saying how the “real” Doctors - meaning the ones in the old series - were all old men, I’m not a fan of their show. I’m a fan of the new show, the one with the young Doctors).
Oh dear god - I have a very low tolerance for Miranda Hart and this would ruin the show for me. And I’m not sure Mitchell has the acting chops to play far enough from type to make it work, and Ayoade’s voice is too thin and reedy to have any gravitas at all. Maybe Omid Djalili?
If we’re going young, let’s have Rupert Grint - the Doctor’s wanted to the ginger for the last few incarnations. If we’re going for older women, how about Joanna Scanlan who is nailing it in No Offence at the moment. And if we’re really going off the rails, let’s have someone like Amara Karan (although in checking I’ve just discovered she’s already been in Doctor Who in that space-hotel-horror-prison one).
If we bother to consider some sort of continuity we might consider what sort of person might follow the Capaldi-Doctor, who went through billions of years of hell and is looking very used-up. Would he reboot and go for a young “look” (e.g. Grint or Karan)? Would he want a fighter (e.g. Idris Elba)? Another mopey Doctor (e.g. Matthew Baynton)?
Eh. Whomever it is, I’m sure there will be plenty of people complaining about them. Doubly so if it’s not a white male.
Another good option, to me, is Colin Salmon, who already had a small part on the show, as Dr. Moon in The Forest of the Dead. He’d be perfect if they want a middle-aged tough-but-smart Doctor.
Actually, it’s been suggested elsewhere (no, I’m not going to link to it) that part of the problem of Doctor Who may be that it’s been too female-oriented. The centre-stage characters have been the female companions, not the Doctor. Rose, Amy, Donna, and Clara were all super-special in some way or another. I’m not sure I agree with the sexist side of the argument, but Captain Jack and Rory were both also super-special in their own ways, so maybe it’s the over-focus on the companion?
I’m really ok with this. I watched the first few episodes, but my blinding hatred of All Things Clever Clara drove me away. When my DVR went on the fritz and deleted all the saved up episodes, I found I didn’t care. I hope they start completely fresh with bang-on writers and showrunners and actors who don’t look like they (rightfully) hate every script, and most of all realize it’s Doctor Who and not Clever Pretty Companion with special guest appearances by The Doctor.
I’m glad. I watched maybe the first 7 Capaldi eps, but found I didn’t like him, and worse, I didn’t like the character of the Doctor as he played him. People have told me that if I pushed on and watched more, I’d get him, but I never did. So I went for a big fan, going back to Tom Baker, to not watching at all. I miss my fandom.
Capaldi’s Doctor seemed eye-rollingly forced in most of the episodes to me. Being saddled with poor edgy props like the sonic sunglasses and guitar solos just made it feel more like Capaldi wasn’t bringing any identity to the character. I found I most enjoyed the time in the episodes when he wasn’t on screen, not because he was bad necessarily, but because he (and his script lines) always felt like obligatory filler.
I hope they don’t go with a woman or minority ethnic actor. Unless it’s Idris Elba of course.
The whole Ghostbusters debacle last year should have taught everyone a lesson; if you are going to change the ethnicity or gender of the main character, then you need an excellent actor/actress to pull it off, otherwise it looks like a gimmick.
Elba could do it in his sleep. Which actress could and is a realistic choice? I mean most top actresses are way busy with other higher prestige. Judi Dench? No way is she going to be available. Might as well hope for Maggie Smith; I can see her McGonagall as a Doctor.
