Tennant is Tenth
Many fans out there may not be all that familiar with the work of the new Tenth Doctor, David Tennant (oh, what an appropriate name!) but I have been lucky enough to see him in a number of roles, including the live broadcast ofQuatermass Experiment and Casanova. I think he’s going to be a fantastic Doctor, as he’s a great actor able to portray a wide variety of characters and moods.
Those people who want to hear what he sounds like in a Doctor Who story can check out the Big Finish Doctor Who audio plays (ordering info at www.doctorwho.co.uk) Colditz, Medicinal Purposes and the Unbound plays Sympathy for the Devil (where he acts alongside Nicholas Courtney, leaving Eccleston as the only actor out of the ten not to have done so in Doctor Who) and Exile.
To misquote the end of Warriors Gate’, will David Tennant be all right?
He’ll be superb.
Posted by John on Wednesday, July 6 at 5:59 pm
11 Comments...
I agree. I think David’s going to do well in the role. I’m eagerly anticipating his first REAL on screen performance as the Doctor, not the least of which because he should get into the Doctor’s new outfit.
I really didn’t like the 9th Doctor’s “U-Boat Captain” thing. I suppose he was supposed to look tough and edgy in line with that aspect of his personality (plus look trendy for the new market) but I felt it just didn’t have enough of the Doctor’s flair for the unusual.
Here’s hoping when we see the 10th Doctor’s outfit that we aren’t disappointed!
Posted by Allan Spears on 07/07 at 04:03 AM
Well said Allan. The “edge” the Doctor needs in his clothes are ones of flair and eccentricity. A few simple additions would have acheived this in the 9th Doctor’s costume. Hopefully this new Doctor as envisioned by the producers will be allowed to go back to that a little now that the show has been established.
In many ways the first series was sort of one long pilot looking to put a new wrapper on something old. The real new series in many ways begins with the 10th-ent Doctor.
Posted by Ryan on 07/07 at 04:11 PM
“The real new series in many ways begins with the 10th-ent Doctor.”
That’s possibly the most dismissive comment I’ve ever heard about a season of television…
Posted by scott on 07/07 at 05:19 PM
“In many ways the first series was sort of one long pilot looking to put a new wrapper on something old”
Whaaaa? Ok. Forget it. I won’t even ask.
-B
Posted by Broton on 07/07 at 05:23 PM
Taking what I said a little too seriously? I said “in many ways’ not that IT WAS.
Is that any different from the original series? In Season 1 they learned from what they did and made changes and adjustments much like after the 2nd Doctor appeared and the 3rd and so on. Everytime the show changed Doctors or had a “re-debut” as it were it but even moreso in this case when you restarting it as a series after 16 years. I think they had a fair amount of trepidation over what they should or shouldn’t do. I hope they will be much more relaxed and not be overly worried or fearful about being perceived as “camp, wobbly or cheap” as the original series now that they have established a base to move forward from. It’s the reason why they feared going to alien worlds this series or giving the Doctor an eccentric style costume but next series they are going to alien worlds.
After the ‘An Unearthly Child’ pilot changes were made. So all I did was compare the first series to a pilot in many ways. It’s only dismissive if you think that a pilot is inherently a bad thing. I don’t. Doctor Who “The TV Movie” was a great pilot for the show and this first series was a good pilot for the future show.
Ryan
Posted by Ryan on 07/07 at 06:15 PM
And you never miss a trick, Ryan. Always find that opportunity to put down the new series. I could probably write a blog entry that simply says “Sarah Jane is the best” and you’d say “And she’s way better than Christopher Eccleston”. I mean, you found it a way to do it in a posting on The Leisure Hive DVD…
There’s a word for this particular habit. It’s called trolling.
For what it’s worth, you might call a single episode a pilot, but to call a whole season a pilot makes you sound disingenous.
Posted by Graeme on 07/07 at 08:10 PM
I don’t think Ryan is WRONG to make the comment about the 2005 season being in many ways one long pilot.
Doctor Who was cancelled. It was cancelled because it didn’t have the ratings, it was expensive to make (relatively), and the executives felt that the resources could be better put elsewhere.
We got Doctor Who back not because it was determined that it was wrong to cancel the show. If anything, we got it back because they had to come up with something to make and a remake of Doctor Who was the best idea at the time. Established cult fan base, name recognition, proven format, etc.
The only reason we have another two seasons to look forward to is because the show was retooled and presented in such a way that it attracted NEW viewers, as much as us faithful would like to believe.
Consider that Eccleston leaving is more likely for the fact that no one really thought there would BE another season. After the great success of the first broadcasts, he probably saw himself getting ‘stuck’ in the role rather than doing a short series and then moving on once it was done. I can’t blame him for departing. I think he’s an actor who should have a lot of varied roles to really showcase his broad talent.
So now we have a Doctor played by an actor who has definitely professed a heartfelt desire for the role. I see David staying for season four and beyond (knock on wood) unless he gets a lot of better offers elsewhere. We have the success of the 2005 season to thank for that.
So, as Ryan says, the 2005 season was basically one big ‘test’ to see if the show was viable again. They didn’t commission one by one, they commissioned all 13. If “Rose” had tanked, we’d still have had “The End of the World” through “The Parting of the Ways”.
And honestly, the ‘deus ex machina’ ending of “Parting” makes me think that they’d written a different ending to that program just in case no second season was commissioned.
Posted by Allan Spears on 07/07 at 10:50 PM
I still think calling it a pilot is way too dismissive. I suppose you could look at it as being a test, but it’s also been hugely popular and has created a new audience and in my opinion is some of the best TV ever.
And I think Eccleston’s outfit was perfect. At the very least, it means some of us can dress up as our favourite Doctor and not look ridiculous.
Posted by John on 07/08 at 04:01 AM
Hmmm, I stand by my comment (which incidentally made no mention of the “pilot” assessment.)
Posted by Scott on 07/08 at 02:51 PM
I agree with the basic sentiment of what Allan says about the new series though not in regard to the original series end.
Once again if you take umbrage at my saying the first series was “pilot” even though I clearly say I do not consider that be to a bad thing (in fact it’s a good thing) but you choose not to believe me then what more can I say?
Doctor Who,“the TV Movie” was a pilot and a very successful one that could have lead to a successful series. Unfortunatly the BBC at the time didn’t have the vision to put their own money into it. All the show needed was a good number of episodes, a good budget that was within the realm to match U.S. shows and proper publicity and promotion. It’s ratings prove that.
Look at the last few years of the show. No publicity or promotion to speak of and stuck against Coronation Street and it still got 4-5 million viewers. In Season 25 with press covering the show for the anniversary(with little thanks to the BBC) the series was starting to build better ratings of over 5 million and even hit 6 million on occasion. Add to that this was before the timeshifting that the new series enjoys where taping a show actually counts to the ratings so add another half million or more to that. Then came S26 where they abandoned the show and didn’t give it ONE trailer before the season started. Result? Worst season opener rating ever.
Waitaminute! Did I just take another shot at the new series? Well no. Not as far as I’m concerned. I was just comparing the two and the different ways they are perceived by looking at the similar circumstances but in this case opposite forces behind them. I think it’s a valid one to look at. Much like when I talked about the DVD extras about the S18 titles and compared that to the new series. That extra shows how that sequence was worked on and thought out for a long time. From what I’ve read it seems to me personally that this was not the case with the new series titles and I think that it does show. You may not agree, you don’t have to agree but that is what I think. I am not saying it for any other reason than I believe it to be true. That said what are we talking about? A TV show. Something that we treat as important, talk and argue about but isn’t that the fun in it? I think so because we all know at the end of the day that it really is inconsequential. It is an entertainment that we treat as important but have to shut off when something really important happens.
So in final when I say something about Doctor Who remember that it’s Doctor Who were talking about. A fun show that we love and spend way too much time talking about, know it but still talk about it anyway.
Man! That post was TOO long! See how seriously I took it all? I really shouldn’t but I felt I had to in this case. In future I will try and be more succinct.
Posted by Ryan on 07/08 at 04:56 PM
Well, Scott, that’s true. You didn’t mention the pilot remark and I don’t necessarily agree that the series ‘starts’ with the 2006 season.
The series definitely did restart with 2005 season. It was great and I’m suffering withdrawl already! But the fact that all 13 were commissioned at once (instead of, say, 1 ‘special’ presentation from which they could get a reaction from the public on and then decide) does sort of make the 2005 season SORT of like a pilot. That’s all I meant
As for why the classic series was cancelled, well, I guess I can’t really say for sure why it happened. I’m really just glad its back.
Fans who have joined Doctor Who beginning with the new series are getting treated to nearly every aspect of the series in pretty quick time. I think the only thing left is a redesigned theme and intro sequence!
Posted by Allan Spears on 07/09 at 01:22 AM
Post a comment