Looking forward to seeing what Capaldi does with the part. Kinda wish we got a new show runner and head writer while we were at it, but still very interested to see where things go from here.
Doctor Puppet Episode 4 has arrived. If you haven't seen the first three and the original holiday special, I suggest doing so before watching this one (as it's a continuing story arc).
I'm glad I was wrong, and that the BBC was willing to go with an older Doctor. Part of the fun of the classic series was in the drastic shifts in character whenever the Doctor regenerated. I was beginning to fear we were stuck with young, spazzy guys from here on out. I don't know how Capaldi will play the role, but I can't imagine it being anything like what we've had from the Tennant/Smith era.
Glad I was wrong, and that the showrunners and the BBC had more faith in the audience to accept a very different kind of doctor. I'm really looking forward to season 8 now.
Neil Gaiman Says A Black Actor Turned Down The Role Of Doctor Who So, did Paterson Joseph turn down the role of The Doctor? Er… maybe.
In the aftermath of this week’s Peter Capaldi unveiling, Neil Gaiman has been speaking with folk about the casting of Doctor Who via Tumblr. Yesterday morning, I was pointed towards his thinking on why this time wasn’t the time to cast a female actor as the Doctor.
Here are two of his comments, compounded together:
Do I think it’s time to cast a woman as the Doctor? Not yet. Not quite… …if I were show-running (I’m not) I wouldn’t cast a woman as the Doctor yet, and it would absolutely be on my list of things to do in the following regeneration. (I was the one who wrote the line about the Corsair changing gender on regeneration, in “The Doctor’s Wife” after all, and made it canon that Time Lords can absolutely change gender when they regenerate.)
Some of that is stuff I’d find hard to articulate, mostly having to do with what kind of Doctor you follow Matt Smith’s Doctor with: someone harder and much older and more dangerous and, yes, male feels right to me, as a storyteller. Where you go after that, ah, that’s a whole new game…
It doesn’t have to feel like that to you, nor am I telling you what to think. We’re talking stories here, and opinions after all, and your opinions are, obviously, as valid as mine.
Which, if you want to believe, sounds like a tease that, yes, there’s a female regeneration coming, it’s been foreshadowed and it will be tied into explaining the change of how many regenerations the character can experience. If you want to believe.
I think Rich believes. I’m… going to see what happens.
Also in the mix were Gaiman’s comments on the race of the actor playing the role. Again, two comments put end to end, addressing the casting of somebody who isn’t white:
Would I like a person of colour as the Doctor? Absolutely. Paterson Joseph was the Marquis de Carabas in Neverwhere, because he aced the auditions, and beat all the other actors, mostly white, who tried out for the role. I’d want that kind of performance at the audition for the Doctor. And there are certainly actors good enough out there that it feels like a missed opportunity. Does that mean I’m disappointed by Peter? No, just excited to see what kind of Doctor he makes….
(I thought I’d said that I was disappointed that it didn’t happen this time, and that there are some amazing actors out there. I was rather disappointed that Paterson Joseph didn’t get it last time, although I’ve loved Matt’s Eleven) And yes, I have no doubt there will be. (I know one black actor who was already offered the part of the Doctor, and who turned it down.) Just as there will be a female Doctor…
I didn’t read far enough to get to these comments yesterday, but I’m slightly amazed that they hung out there for so long without… well, without Rich posting something.
But here you go. I got there in the end, thanks to a bit of prodding from you guys.
I guess what I’m left curious about is which of the showrunners was it that tried to cast a black doctor? I’d be perhaps more interested in having that confirmed than specifically which actor it was.
In 1972, a young Doctor Who enthusiast by the name of "Peter Capaldi" sent a letter to the BBC. Capaldi's letter contained a request to head the Doctor Who fan club. Here is a copy of the BBC's response:
Actually, you can go inside it. There should be a double arrow that appears on the street view mode. If you click on it, you should be able to enter the TARDIS. For some reason a lot of people are reporting that the double arrow isn't showing up. Clicking on the image of the TARDIS interior that appears on the left hand side of the page will also get you inside.
An appearance by the queen herself! Nice to see you around these parts, @little_witch!
There's a police box out in front of the Glasgow location of Forbidden Planet, or at least there was when I was there in 2003:
There were a few working police boxes around both Glasgow and Edinburgh at the time, but most of them looked a little different. I always figured this particular model's placement just outside a location of one of the UK's most well-known nerd establishments had to be intentional.
Actually, you can go inside it. There should be a double arrow that appears on the street view mode. If you click on it, you should be able to enter the TARDIS. For some reason a lot of people are reporting that the double arrow isn't showing up. Clicking on the image of the TARDIS interior that appears on the left hand side of the page will also get you inside.
You know how we used to get the extended scenes? The Eccelston to Tennant regen is a great example, "Ginger?". I was telling my son that it would be great if, after the regen Dr. Capaldi realizes he's old and lets go with a bleeped out rant that lasts for about a min. He stops, shocked at what just came out of his mouth. Looks to Clara who has a horrified look on her face. I would fall out of my chair if that happened.
For those in the U.S. who can't access the BBC's iPlayer - here's this year's BBC Proms Doctor Who concert in its entirety - note it will only be up for 72 hours.
With all the Doctor Who talk going on, I got back into it, so thank you to all of you fine upstanding geeks. I had not seen any of the Eccleston episodes so I went back and started there. Got through them, driving the rugrats crazy in the proccess. By the end of Christmas Invasion, they were both shouting "THIS WORLD IS DEFENDED!" and "I AM THE DOCTOR!"
With all the CGS Doctor Who talk, I got right back hooked into watching "classic" Doctor Who starting w/ episode 75 Robots the start of the Tom Baker era & I'm already up to 80 Revenge of the Cybermen so far. Great times, Great times!
For those in the U.S. who can't access the BBC's iPlayer - here's this year's BBC Proms Doctor Who concert in its entirety - note it will only be up for 72 hours.
Comments
Looking forward to seeing what Capaldi does with the part. Kinda wish we got a new show runner and head writer while we were at it, but still very interested to see where things go from here.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816711/
This makes me very happy.
If you haven't seen the first three and the original holiday special, I suggest doing so before watching this one (as it's a continuing story arc).
So, did Paterson Joseph turn down the role of The Doctor? Er… maybe.
In the aftermath of this week’s Peter Capaldi unveiling, Neil Gaiman has been speaking with folk about the casting of Doctor Who via Tumblr. Yesterday morning, I was pointed towards his thinking on why this time wasn’t the time to cast a female actor as the Doctor.
Here are two of his comments, compounded together:
Do I think it’s time to cast a woman as the Doctor? Not yet. Not quite…
…if I were show-running (I’m not) I wouldn’t cast a woman as the Doctor yet, and it would absolutely be on my list of things to do in the following regeneration. (I was the one who wrote the line about the Corsair changing gender on regeneration, in “The Doctor’s Wife” after all, and made it canon that Time Lords can absolutely change gender when they regenerate.)
Some of that is stuff I’d find hard to articulate, mostly having to do with what kind of Doctor you follow Matt Smith’s Doctor with: someone harder and much older and more dangerous and, yes, male feels right to me, as a storyteller. Where you go after that, ah, that’s a whole new game…
It doesn’t have to feel like that to you, nor am I telling you what to think. We’re talking stories here, and opinions after all, and your opinions are, obviously, as valid as mine.
Which, if you want to believe, sounds like a tease that, yes, there’s a female regeneration coming, it’s been foreshadowed and it will be tied into explaining the change of how many regenerations the character can experience. If you want to believe.
I think Rich believes. I’m… going to see what happens.
Also in the mix were Gaiman’s comments on the race of the actor playing the role. Again, two comments put end to end, addressing the casting of somebody who isn’t white:
Would I like a person of colour as the Doctor? Absolutely. Paterson Joseph was the Marquis de Carabas in Neverwhere, because he aced the auditions, and beat all the other actors, mostly white, who tried out for the role. I’d want that kind of performance at the audition for the Doctor. And there are certainly actors good enough out there that it feels like a missed opportunity. Does that mean I’m disappointed by Peter? No, just excited to see what kind of Doctor he makes….
(I thought I’d said that I was disappointed that it didn’t happen this time, and that there are some amazing actors out there. I was rather disappointed that Paterson Joseph didn’t get it last time, although I’ve loved Matt’s Eleven) And yes, I have no doubt there will be. (I know one black actor who was already offered the part of the Doctor, and who turned it down.) Just as there will be a female Doctor…
I didn’t read far enough to get to these comments yesterday, but I’m slightly amazed that they hung out there for so long without… well, without Rich posting something.
But here you go. I got there in the end, thanks to a bit of prodding from you guys.
I guess what I’m left curious about is which of the showrunners was it that tried to cast a black doctor? I’d be perhaps more interested in having that confirmed than specifically which actor it was.
bleedingcool.com/2013/08/06/neil-gaiman-says-a-black-actor-turned-down-the-role-of-doctor-who/
Jalopnik has the story of a google map location in London where you can enter a familiar blue police call box and view... THE TARDIS.
> LINK <
There's a police box out in front of the Glasgow location of Forbidden Planet, or at least there was when I was there in 2003:
There were a few working police boxes around both Glasgow and Edinburgh at the time, but most of them looked a little different. I always figured this particular model's placement just outside a location of one of the UK's most well-known nerd establishments had to be intentional.
http://maps.gstatic.com/m/streetview/?hl=en&ll=51.492159,-0.19092&spn=0.005291,0.013937&sll=51.492140,-0.193028&layer=c&cid=12502927659667388442&panoid=c9UMhWP_MWm9U0L48xEjYw&cbp=13,291.8,,0,18.86&gl=US&t=m&cbll=51.492132,-0.192862&z=17
Google Maps Street View
bad link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7li5eZ3JZbA#at=262
Matthew