Dr. Who

[Mr Nobody]

The fridge.. or the TARDIS....

Fair one.

At least Moffat's admitted they saddled Jenna Coleman with a storyline that was unfair to her as an actress, and that the character as-written wasn't strong enough to carry. Which really makes me ask 'Why did you bloody do it, then?'
I mean, not every companion has to have some weird stuff going on, so why not drop the 'impossible girl' BS and let her just be Clara?
Yes, she'd appeared in a previous ep and that created a bit of a problem, but it wouldn't really have been that hard to work around to get back to that point. It might have meant that she couldn't originally be from our time, but so what? Past companions haven't even been from Earth, let alone the present time (Susan, Leela, Nyssa, Adric (might have been from Earth, but not the then-present), and iirc Turlough - and there are probably more).
Even if Clara had been from present-day London, however, there's nothing that says she has to return to her own time. She could have got stuck in humanity's far future, or opted to leave the Doctor to live in a future that offered more to her than a return to her own time could (perhaps she could have been 'impossible' in that sense; she'd have been out of her own time, affecting a future that she shouldn't have been a part of - but at the same time, always was and would always have to be, at least to the Doc who has knowledge of what's supposed to happen, where and when, etc). From there, she could have joined some kind of mission, which then crashed and was discovered/was brought down by the Daleks, and away we go. The circle is complete.
But with all that said, Moffat does like a complicated, 'clever' storyline. He's obviously forgotten, or never learnt, that the cleverest stories are actually pretty simple. It's not about twists and turns and micro-hints - or it isn't just about those things (and less is more) - it's about the story and how well you tell it.
(Case in point: the mummy ep was simple, and all the more effective for it. Though Blaine the Mono was perhaps unnecessary and Clara could/should have been sent on her way after her 'Push off' speech at the end of the previous ep.)

 

[Ebdim9th]

Was it an episode of South Park where the government brought in all these Hollywood directors to save the world and in one case, M. Night Shyamalan couldn't come up with a plot to save everyone, only plot-twists?

 

[AnnaMarie]

Maybe this won't make everyone happy. But it made me happy.

'Doctor Who' Showrunner Confirms Peter Capaldi to Return for Season 9

Peter Capaldi’s 12th incarnation of Doctor Who will run at least two seasons, it was confirmed Monday.

 

[AnnaMarie]

Does anyone watch Gotham? Jon Pertwee's son Sean plays Alfred.

 

[Spideyman]

Does anyone watch Gotham? Jon Pertwee's son Sean plays Alfred.

Very interesting!

 

[CriticAndProud]

Maybe this won't make everyone happy. But it made me happy.

'Doctor Who' Showrunner Confirms Peter Capaldi to Return for Season 9

*fist pump*

That's great news.

 

[Mr Nobody]

Good news about Peter Capaldi staying on, though for some reason I get the feeling that he'll be nudged aside after his second year come what may, and the next regeneration will be into a woman. (Please, please let them come up with some mythology that explains it, rather than 'just because', because 'just because' would make no sense.)
Now I'm on the fence when it comes to the whole gender-switching thing. The Doc's an alien, so who knows what goes on? But it does open a bit of a Pandora's Box. If the Doc can be a woman, why not black? Or a dwarf? Or missing a limb (which could regenerate in the next cycle)? And so on. There'd be no reasonable position to take on why not. In fact, if Missy really was a gender-switched Master - and since it was left alone in the story, there's no longer any reason to believe she wasn't or that it was all some kind of bluff - it could be argued that there already isn't. (The same would have been true if the Master had returned as a black man; at that point, if you said he could be black but never a woman, there'd be cries of sexism...and (perhaps) rightly so.)
But anyway, since it seems to be inevitable that we'll have a female doctor pretty soon - perhaps in a special first, to gauge audience reaction (and I'm not looking forward to the backlash against all Whovians if it's not a positive one) - here's a couple of names for discussion: 1) Amanda Tapping, 2) Claudia Black.
Once upon a time, I'd have floated Jennifer Saunders as a potential doc, but I think that time has probably passed. The reasons why I think either of the two I've mentioned would fit the role are a) they're no strangers to SF and have experience of starring in cult shows, b) they're both good actresses (IMO), and c) in different ways, they'd bring the required level of quirkiness and/with gravitas to the character.
Of course, whether either would be willing to decamp to the UK (specifically, Wales) for 7-8 months of the year is another thing entirely.

 

[AnnaMarie]

Now I'm on the fence when it comes to the whole gender-switching thing. The Doc's an alien, so who knows what goes on? But it does open a bit of a Pandora's Box. If the Doc can be a woman, why not black? Or a dwarf? Or missing a limb (which could regenerate in the next cycle)? And so on

Why not a one-armed, black, female dwarf? With a lazy eye.

On a more serious note.....prior to the announcement that Capaldi was the new doctor, I believe there was a black man on the short list.

 

[Mr Nobody]

Why not a one-armed, black, female dwarf? With a lazy eye.

On a more serious note.....prior to the announcement that Capaldi was the new doctor, I believe there was a black man on the short list.

You forgot lesbian, to generate conflict/love interest with Madam Vastra and her SO.
And forgive me, I know you were being light-hearted, but therein lies part of my point: once you pander to one lobby, you must needs pander to them all - especially in the modern world, where acceptance of one thing but reticence with regard to another leads to all kinds of offensive, inaccurate (and probably incorrect) labels being thrown around. It was bad enough when Matt Smith followed David Tennant, who followed Chris Ecclestone - because the Docs were getting progressively younger, there were cries of 'ageism!' from certain quarters...all of which ignored (and ignores) the facts that David Tennant and Matt Smith are excellent actors who performed well in the role, and older actors may not have been interested or available.
Basically, if they wanted to head things off, the producers could have said that, while there are Time Lords and Time Ladies of all colours and (for want of a better summing-up word) configurations, the Doctor is a white male. There'd be lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth, but it's generally best to confine things to a narrow front you can control, rather than wade in and risk getting swamped. Alternatively, they could do as I've suggested before, specifically with the gender switch. The problem there would lie in finding (and keeping the public interested in) 12-13 actresses who wanted the part and were able to make it work (though here I'll freely admit that not every male incarnation has worked, and even Peter Capaldi has split the fan-base to a degree...as Tom Baker did).

Idris Elba was mentioned at one point, but iirc he either said he wasn't interested or that he was unlikely to be available for quite some time.
Personally I think he'd be good in the role, as would Lenny James, Colin Salmon (Arrow, AvP, several Bond films) or Adrian Lester (Hustle (UK)). Fantastic actors, all. Whether they think they'd be able to do it would be up to them. It'd certainly be a brave choice for all concerned - the BBC for wanting it to happen, Moffat for casting, whichever actor for stepping up to be the first (equally so for whichever woman first stepped - or steps - into the breach).

Whatever happens in the future, I'd give it a go and take it all on its relative merits. A change could work, though unfortunately the UK seems intent on going down a rather strange and difficult social path right now, what with the rise of UKIP and the racists that keep trying to jump on board what was originally a party whose sole policy was independence from EU law- and policy-makers, and a parallel but perhaps not entirely unrelated surge in anti-feminism and/or misogyny...but we'll have to wait and see.


EDIT: Blimey. Don't worry, here endeth the lesson.

 

[Mr Nobody]

BTW and FYI, there was supposed to be a smiley at the end of that edit. A nice big . But I couldn't add one in, for some reason.

 

[AnnaMarie]

BTW and FYI, there was supposed to be a smiley at the end of that edit. A nice big . But I couldn't add one in, for some reason.

Don't worry. I don't feel lectured. I enjoy reading your posts although I often have to google names. I'm nobody's biggest fan, and often I don't know who anybody is. Lol

As for the Capaldi haters.....most want young because they equate sexy with young. Guess I'm weird. I think Capaldi is a lot sexier than either Smith or Tennant. Also, the character of The Doctor has changed a lot. He has been referred to as "pissy", and a soldier-hater. Some people with family in the armed forces have really felt offended by how he treated, not just Pink, but the other soldiers in this season.

I personally do not want to see a female doctor, I think it won't work. I don't care what colour he is.

 

[Ebdim9th]

If there has to be a female Doctor, my vote is for Olivia Williams - Biography - IMDb She was excellent on Joss Whedon's sci-fi/fantasy show Dollhouse... short-lived though it was...

 

[Mr Nobody]

If there has to be a female Doctor, my vote is for Olivia Williams - Biography - IMDb She was excellent on Joss Whedon's sci-fi/fantasy show Dollhouse... short-lived though it was...

Excellent shout!
If there has to be a change. (And given the way the BBC is run, plus other things that go on in this country - which these days usually amounts not to what the majority want, but what those who scream loudest demand - I think it inevitable and will come sooner rather than later.)

AnnaMarie: I'm relieved to hear it.
I think the reason why I turned on Clara more than the Doctor this year was to do with her attitude towards (ex-)soldiers, and her assumptions (repeated and negative, if not plain hostile) about modern soldiering were what made the eventual romance seem off, to me. Tbh, most (ex-)soldiers I know would have stood up and walked out of that first date if faced with the attitude she displayed, and there'd have been no coming back from it.
But, now you mention it...yeah, the Doctor himself seemed to look down upon soldiers, implying several times that they were thick - especially NCOs/lower ranks - when in past eps (and in different incarnations) he's often referred to himself as a soldier, not least when the Daleks turn up or the Time Wars get mentioned.
Reminds me of a kind-of expression (which I'm misquoting): You may not agree with the political motivations or objectives, but you should stand behind the troops. If you can't or won't stand behind them, try standing in front of them.

 

[AnnaMarie]

Anyone watch Last Christmas?

I liked it. I love Nick Frost, so that was great casting IMO. Did anyone recognize Professor Albert?

Spoiler

Michael Troughton

.

I still think Clara won't be staying long. Someone else mentioned they may be setting up Shona as the next companion. I like her...I can live with her as the companion.

Unanswered questions:

Why did the Mistress give Clara the doctor's phone number in the first place?

What about Pink's descendants? Is Clara pregnant? Seems he's been dead long enough it would have been showing.

 

[no bounce no play]

I had to stop watching the Capaldi episodes. Hubby decided he wanted to watch ALL the Doctor Who stories in order from the very first Hartnell story through the last Smith story before we watched Capaldi. He's a big fan lol.

I didn't warm up to Capaldi until the last couple episodes. I watched them with captions on so maybe knowing what he was saying helped lol.

Now we're watching The Sarah Jane Adventures

 

[Mr Nobody]

I had to stop watching the Capaldi episodes. Hubby decided he wanted to watch ALL the Doctor Who stories in order from the very first Hartnell story through the last Smith story before we watched Capaldi. He's a big fan lol.

I didn't warm up to Capaldi until the last couple episodes. I watched them with captions on so maybe knowing what he was saying helped lol.

Now we're watching The Sarah Jane Adventures

All the surviving ones, anyway.
Despite their recent show of love for the Doc, the loss of eps and entire stories shows what the Beeb really thought of it, historically.
As for Capaldi's accent...I had no real problem with it, and IMO it's no worse than Sylvester McCoy's (also Scottish but with a slight lisp), though he does do the modern thing of grumbling and growling through the lines on occasion. What I found harder to follow in the past was Tennant and Smith's 100 mph chunks of dialogue/exposition. It was like they were speaking at warp speed.

My nephew used to watch TSJA. They were put out as a kids' show here, though he reckoned some of the stories were better and more grown-up than some of those in DW.

 

[Ebdim9th]

Interestingly, I read an old quote by Billie Piper where she wanted to be, or imagined what she would do as, the first female Doctor...

 

[no bounce no play]

Interestingly, I read an old quote by Billie Piper where she wanted to be, or imagined what she would do as, the first female Doctor...

I cannot imagine a female Doctor. I do not like the idea at all. The Doctor has always been very much male. I would lose interest in a female Doctor... maybe because I'm female

 

[Mr Nobody]

I cannot imagine a female Doctor. I do not like the idea at all. The Doctor has always been very much male. I would lose interest in a female Doctor... maybe because I'm female

It would be weird, but I think it's coming given the Master/Missy thing. But I think I've said before how they could have done that and had it make some sort of proper sense, rather than it be an arbitrary thing and a doff of the cap to the PC brigade and those who scream loudest.

I've nothing against it in principle, as long as it makes sense within the confines of the story, etc, but I'd switch off if they had Billie Piper as the Doc. I really preferred her when she was a singer, not because she was any good, but because she has a face that's perfect for radio (imo).

I also read recently that Jenna Coleman had wanted to be written out, then changed her mind...twice. At least that explains the 'I thought she'd gone...' stuff from last year, but it also shows weakness and/or preferential treatment from the showrunner. I might have allowed her to appear once more for the Xmas special, but after that she'd have been gone no matter how much she 'Charlie X'd it ("I want to stay...stay...stay..." ). The only ways I might have relented are a) if she was exceedingly popular with fans (she wasn't), b) if her story wasn't done (it was...such as it was anyway), and c) if she was a staggering talent (she isn't).
Though I suppose if she'd left Dr Who she'd have turned up on Sherlock as a (semi-)regular, so...silver linings.

 

[Ebdim9th]

Speaking of Piper, then Penny Dreadful, if they're going to have a female Doctor one way or 't'other, how about Eva Green as another option?