So.

Woman or man?

Not that they HAVE to be so...binary, nothing wrong with a bit of androgynous fluidity I suppose.

A man would feel like such a retrograde step. (For Fourteen, not at all for Fifteen.) Unless Tom returned as our Curator of course.

I fully expect Chibnal to continue parading his wokeness. He's cast two Doctors--a white woman and a black woman--and one Master--Indian. I think it's safe to say we won't get a white bloke.

You do realise that some people are just NATURALLY not male or white...?

Maybe she'll regenerate as Ruth?

You do realise that some people are just NATURALLY not male or white...?

Sure, and I'm sure you know I support all three casting choices I named. I just don't see Chibnal changing the trend he started.

Take this with as much or as little salt as you want.....

Kevin is right on the money here. Cast a white male and watch the BBC burn by the woke police.

The next Doctor is... also Jodie Whittaker!

Hey, if 10 can regenerate into the same body (according to Moffat's re-writing of RTD's story), then so can 13!

"Woke" is a term I've grown to hate.

I’m not mad in it either but it is appropriate.

Maybe she'll regenerate as Ruth?

As long as she favours the same costume as her previous identical incarnation, why not? The Curator certainly implied he'd chosen 'old favourites' more than once, and we saw Tennant do it in front of our eyes (allegedly). Trouble is, having the kind of Doctor who'd rip Judoon horns off soon as look at 'em didn't go down too well in the Capaldi Era. (Of course, she doesn't have to have exactly the same ruthless streak as her previous identical incarnation but would there be much POINT to a mellowed Ruth?)

The next Doctor is... also Jodie Whittaker!

*Sobs* Wouldn't THAT be the best...

Rodney - watch the BBC burn by the woke police.

The BBC ARE the woke police.

Emily - The Curator certainly implied he'd chosen 'old favourites' more than once

Good news, everyone, Colin Baker is the 14th Doctor!

*KAM is brutally mauled to death by a clowder of cats*

And the next Doctor will be... A cat!

Good news, everyone, Colin Baker is the 14th Doctor!

Say what you like about Colin, at least he had the correct ATTITUDE towards being the Doctor even if his execution lacked a certain...something. (And by 'something' I mean...everything.) He was over the moon, he bragged that he'd be a longer-running Doctor than TOM, he wore his love of cats on his sleeve (lapel. Whatever) and they had to BRUTALLY SACK him to get him outta there. Would that New Who Doctors had a FRACTION of his loyalty.

And the next Doctor will be... A cat!

Look, Fourteen has gotta be Tom, Tennant, JODIE!, Ruth or Thomas Kincade Brannigan, they're the only way I'll stop screaming DON'T LEAVE ME, JODIE! any time soon...

even if his execution lacked a certain...something.

Good writing.

I like Colin, I like his acting/scenery chewing. I even like the coat.

Someone please reset Emily's brain, that last comment probably threw it for a loop.

However even the best actor can only do so much with a bad script and Colin had some of the worst scripts of the classic series.

I like Colin, I like his acting/scenery chewing. I even like the coat.

Never has there been a more painfully obvious example of Stockholm Syndrome. Never mind MY brain, you should definitely donate yours to medical science.

However even the best actor can only do so much with a bad script and Colin had some of the worst scripts of the classic series.

Agreed. But we'll never know what a good Doctor would have done with those scripts because a good Doctor didn't GET those scripts.

(In Tom's case, however, we can be pretty sure he'd've screamed 'Whippet-••••!' before ripping 'em up and just IMPROVISING for a couple of years. Bliss.)

Say what you like about Colin, at least he had the correct ATTITUDE towards being the Doctor even if his execution lacked a certain...something.

To be fair, Colin's performance didn't actually warrant the death penalty.

McCoy's though...

Speculations about who could play the 14th Doctor.

IS Thirteen's moral compass 'a bit wacky throughout her run'?

'She's no stranger to Doctor Who, so she might even be keen' - MIGHT EVEN? (Also, being Prisoner Zero for a few seconds is hardly gonna turn anyone into a Whovian.)

Reluctantly have to admit he has a good point about getting our ratings back by casting a big name...

Great actors of course almost none of them would take the pay cut to play the Doctor. Out of that list I would love to see Hayley Atwell as the next Doctor.

I am totally down for this idea.

I would too.

Besides, it's not like I've ever known the actor beforehand.

If it is Jo Martin, they would almost have to go this route. (I doubt that's what they're planning though.)

'the BBC have instead confirmed that series 13 will kick off in late 2021'

Woo-HOO!

2021 is a GREAT year!

As long as I don't lose my JODIE!

Anyway, fantastic idea (aside from LOSING OUR JODIE!). I've often wondered what would have happened if only they'd managed to keep Ecclestraitor's treachery quiet for just twelve more weeks. I mean, I'd've died, I'd've bloody DIED in the closing moments of Parting of the Ways but what a way to go...

Most of these actually look OK...not that our JODIE! is ever, EVER going to leave us of course...Except for that Rory Kinnear thing (who the hell does he think he IS!) and that Reece Shearsmith thing (his attempt to be a Doctor in An Adventure in Space and Time is literally still making me shudder, eight years later...)

Really don't see Chibnal casting someone white again, but we'll see.

Rumours have the actor already cast and that there'll be no announcement. He's going for a Fugitive-of-the-Jadoon-style surprise regeneration.

It won’t be a white male. I’d lay good money on that. The Woke Brigade have made certain of that.

Yeah, because obviously no one with melanin-rich skin or XX chromosomes could possibly just be THE BEST DOCTOR FOR THE JOB.

Of course they could. All I'm saying is that white males need not apply.

They can certainly apply, especially if they're David Tennant...

Nah he's had his time on-screen. Same with Tom and every other actor who has played the Doctor.

Obviously not, given the existence of

*drumroll*

THE CURATOR!!!

Pfft- 10 seconds onscreen is hardly 3 years worth of episodes.
And honestly, with due respect to Tom, if at 87 he's cast as the Doctor again (onscreen), then I'll do my best Tim impression and never watch the show again.

fft- 10 seconds onscreen is hardly 3 years worth of episodes.

It's a lot longer than ten glorious seconds. More to the point, it's PROOF POSITIVE that Docs WILL revisit some old favourites...(Come to think of it, Tennant has already done it once. Allegedly.)

And honestly, with due respect to Tom, if at 87 he's cast as the Doctor again (onscreen), then I'll do my best Tim impression and never watch the show again.

WHAT!

WHY!

Alright, he won't be able to run down any corridors but running down a corridor is hardly THE quintessential Doctorish trait.

The Woke Brigade have made certain of that.

Damned SJW (Social Justice Warriors) have ruined Star Trek, and Star Wars, and now they've got their claws into Doctor Who.

SJW's are a cancer, a malignant cancer that has spread far and wide throughout the Science Fiction and Fantasy industry.

They must be exterminated.

Um...in what ways is this 'cancer' ruining Doctor Who, exactly?

Three words: The Timeless Child.

What has trying-not-to-be-sexist-and-racist got to do with the Timeless Children? Sure, not all of 'em were white males (which in keeping with the Morbius Faces they probably should have been) but Chibbers could just as easily have produced a ton of unwelcome previous-Docs in an unWoke manner and it would still have been a pretty bad idea.

In fact, the alleged Wokeness of having a black female unexpected-Doctor was the main redeeming feature of this whole ••••-stupid idea...

As I said, I have no problem with a black female Doctor. My issue stems with the fact that the character does not fit into nearly sixty years of continuity.

I have the same issue with Mikey Spock. The fact that she is black and female bears no relevance to my dislike of the character, rather it's the fact that her existence was never ever hinted at in more than fifty years of Trek continuity (she's Spock's human stepsister, Emily).

And that's the problem with SJW's. Rather then create their own heroes and franchises, which I would have no issue with, they have to butcher decades long ones, just to make themselves feel "included".

Never mind that most of their attempts have been huge flops (*cough* Ghostbusters 2016 *cough*), they just won't quit.

These creatures must be stopped.

My issue stems with the fact that the character does not fit into nearly sixty years of continuity.

I quite agree, but I'm just not seeing what it's got to do with 'Wokenesss'.

Because SJW's like to crow about how "woke" they are.

They pat themselves on the back about how "woke" a female Doctor is, like they came up with the idea themselves. Of course, the idea has been floating around since the 1980's. Yes, it was only implemented now, but the SJW's had no hand in its creation.

SJW's are like vampires. They have no creative talent of their own, so they leech off popular franchise and take credit where they don't deserve it. Never mind that, by doing that, they end up destroying the franchise they claim they are saving.

They pat themselves on the back about how "woke" a female Doctor is, like they came up with the idea themselves.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with gloating over a female Doctor, especially given the screaming fits misogynists were having over her existence.

And still not seeing what they've got to do with the Timeless Children.

Maybe they should cast Gina Carano? They'd certainly sell a lot more action figures. ;-)

Mecharandom42 on Youtube had a suggestion that Emily would like. (Language Warning! May not be SFW.)

Gina Carano?! You seriously think that a) Such a blatant transphobe (who self-destructed her own career) would want to have anything to do with a character who is canonically genderfluid/open to all forms of gender expression/beyond human definitions of gender? and b) The BBC/Doctor Who would want anything to do with her?

Mecharandom42 on Youtube had a suggestion that Emily would like

Unfortunately even promises of little Doctor-kitty-cats running round the TARDIS in little coats wasn't enough to make me listen to my JODIE! being dissed.

Russell T God and Captain Jack are treacherously suggesting one of those MAN things to replace our JODIE!, Olly Alexander.

I was amused at the reference to the 'first openly queer actor to play the role', I don't think any of Our Heroes have been in the closet? (Though statistically speaking, a couple of 'em really SHOULD have been...)

Emily, one of those "man things" played the Doctor long before JODIE was even born. In fact, twelve "man things" played the Doctor before JODIE.

And very good most of them were too.

I just...need Fourteen to be female or my JODIE! will be seen as a failed experiment.

Fifteen having XY chromosomes I have absolutely no problem with.

Well, giving the bad ratings that JODIE's been getting, some may see a female Doctor as another failed SJW experiment (see Ghostbusters 2016, for example).

Only time will tell.

Yeah, if only her viewing figures had held up AS SHE DESERVES I wouldn't be remotely worried about the chromosomes of her successor...

Well, now that they have the ability to insert product placements into older movies and create digital actors, it'll just be a matter of time before someone decides to go back and replace all those classic male Doctors with female Doctors... and redecorate the TARDIS to look like a Coke can or something.

Keith, don't even joke about that!

My brain is trying to come to grips with the abomination-concept of a female Sixth Doctor and all I can think of is Troughton saying that some corners of the universe have bred the most terrible things...

Helen Mirren for First?

Lucille Ball for Second?

Diana Rigg for Third?

Dame Edna Everidge for Fourth???

Felicity Kendall for Fifth?

Rosie O'Donnell for Sixth?

Clare Grogan for Seventh?

Isn't Diana Rigg MRS GILLYFLOWER??

Yeah, but she came to fame in the '60s playing Emma Peel on The Avengers and was the closest female I could think of that would work as a Pertwee counterpart.

---

quote:

Clare Grogan for Seventh?

---

I was trying to think of a good Scottish actress who could capture the fun of Sylvester.

yeah some white male or other tipped to be next Doctor

Don't want him WANT JODIE!.

Yeah, if only her viewing figures had held up AS SHE DESERVES I wouldn't be remotely worried about the chromosomes of her successor...

Just a reminder that Jodie's first season rated significantly better than Capaldi's last - and those for her second were roughly equivalent to Capaldi's last.

They've declined over time but so did Capaldi's and (to a lesser extent) Smith's. The idea that she's done some unique damage to the ratings simply isn't true.

How old is he? 17??? He looks totally wrong. I can sense a mix of Emily-esque disgust and Tim-esque "that's it, I'm done!" Growing inside me. The more the BBC try and be woke the more ham fisted they become.....

OK, if only to annoy Rodney, I'm trying some of this 'positive thinking' nonsense:

a) This picture is MUCH better, making him look like an actual alien instead of a spotty teen.

b) He was REALLY GOOD in It's a Sin.

c) I literally recoiled in horror at my first sight of Matt Smith and boy was I wrong.

d) He's thirty, which is several decades older than DARLING Matt when he took on the role VERY SUCCESSFULLY.

e) Russell T God was pushing for him which means Russell T God will be MORALLY OBLIGED to write him some episodes!!!!!

f) He'd be the first openly gay Doctor which is SOMETHING I suppose.

g) FOURTEENTH DOCTOR, people! Do you remember when we thought s/he'd gone and DIED at Seven? And then Eight? We are VERY VERY LUCKY.

Gee a rumor about Jodie being replaced? It must be a day ending in Y.

I literally recoiled in horror at my first sight of Matt Smith and boy was I wrong.

Few of us will be able to forget that episode of 'Secret Diary of a Call Girl' in a hurry.

The track record of those first rumored actors actually getting the role is very very low, so don't hold your breath.

b) He was REALLY GOOD in It's a Sin.
The REAL Emily would never admit to watching another lesser programme....

e) Russell T God was pushing for him which means Russell T God will be MORALLY OBLIGED to write him some episodes!!!!!
There is as much chance of that happening as there is of you buying a puppy...

f) He'd be the first openly gay Doctor which is SOMETHING I suppose.
I knew SOMEBODY would turn this into a gay/non-gay thing even though I didn't even mention it once (because in my view it is a non-issue and one that shouldn't factor into who should play the role).

The track record of those first rumored actors actually getting the role is very very low, so don't hold your breath.
An excellent point and half the time I think they just send these rumours out into the void of the internet so that the REAL person who is cast doesn't get a mention.

I knew SOMEBODY would turn this into a gay/non-gay thing even though I didn't even mention it once

Fair, but you did say, 'The more the BBC try and be woke the more ham fisted they become.....' and it's not clear what else that could refer to. The last two people cast as the Doctor were a white woman and a black woman. Now they've gone back to a white dude. Only his sexuality justifies any mention of wokeness.


Your comment occurs in the context of his age, but he's 30, not the youngest person cast nor even the second, and casting a dashing young person in the role hardly seems like a blow against ageism.


You say your comment had nothing to do with his sexuality, and I believe you, but now I'm confused by what the 'ham-fisted wokeness' comment means.

I didn't know his age and it seemed like the BBC cast him purely BECAUSE he was gay- not on whether he could...y'know....act.... The article linked mentioned he sang in a band. Ok. So if there's a musical episode then he might be great.

My comment about the BBC seeming ham-fisted in its wokeness is that they are not casting on merit but only on whether they will get the plaudits from the SJW's. There are plenty of ways to not only cast the Doctor correctly but cast in a way that placates those that want to see all white men burn in hell.

You are, once again, seeing shadows where there are none....

Incidentally, one area in which Chibnal has been very successful is in keeping secrets. The major news of Whitaker's casting, Captain Jack's return, the introduction of Jo Martin in the title role and a new Master...all major surprises which Chibnal successfully kept out of the press.

Which is why I have little reason to ascribe this rumour with much credibility.

You are, once again, seeing shadows where there are none....

I only asked for clarification.

There was an element of "You may NOT have said it, but I can't see any other way you meant it....". I do realise this may be in my own head but when you pretty much accuse someone of being homophobic because the slots don't quite add up in your opinion, I may just get a little defensive.

That being said, in the absence of Emily, I think enough has been said to clarify everybody's motives so we can now move on to more pointless speculation.....

I literally recoiled in horror at my first sight of Matt Smith and boy was I wrong.

Few of us will be able to forget that episode of 'Secret Diary of a Call Girl' in a hurry.

*Reproachful look* I was referring to his announcement as the new Love Of My Life, but as it happens, his appearance in Secret Diary of a Call Girl was GREAT.

(No, OBVIOUSLY I didn't see it, what I DID see was a photo of him in bed with Billie Piper on Gallifrey Base with the caption 'You know when they call it the little death...')

b) He was REALLY GOOD in It's a Sin.
The REAL Emily would never admit to watching another lesser programme....

Look, it was by RUSSELL T GOD HIMSELF! I NEED to keep an eye on what He's up to!

Plus, it contained a lengthy scene of fake-Who!

(Something referred to as a 'fictional Doctor Who episode' by the media discussing this story, much to my delight. They've just tacitly backed my theory that WHO IS NON-FICTIONAL!)

e) Russell T God was pushing for him which means Russell T God will be MORALLY OBLIGED to write him some episodes!!!!!
There is as much chance of that happening as there is of you buying a puppy...

It's not like He's been able to give Who up, He's done a novelisation and a few internet-extra scenes like Sarah's funeral in the last few years...He is One Of Us, there's no way He can betray n'abandon us FOREVER.

in my view it is a non-issue and one that shouldn't factor into who should play the role

Agreed, it's not like it's visible on-screen like the gender or skin-colour of Our Hero...and hell, even if he plays the Doctor as gay it wouldn't be a great breakthrough, Nine n'Captain Jack were snogging decades ago...

I knew SOMEBODY would turn this into a gay/non-gay thing even though I didn't even mention it once

Fair, but you did say, 'The more the BBC try and be woke the more ham fisted they become.....' and it's not clear what else that could refer to.

Quite.

The last two people cast as the Doctor were a white woman and a black woman

Gods, seeing it just written down in, well, black and white like that still gives me a thrill.

casting a dashing young person in the role hardly seems like a blow against ageism.

Whereas casting Tom Baker as the Curator LIKE WE WERE PROMISED IN DAY OF THE DOCTOR, on the other hand...

it seemed like the BBC cast him purely BECAUSE he was gay- not on whether he could...y'know....act....

He was brilliant in It's a Sin. But then maybe playing a young gay man doesn't require much acting if you ARE a young gay man. Rather like Tom Baker being the Doctor OR CURATOR.

The article linked mentioned he sang in a band. Ok. So if there's a musical episode then he might be great.

I thought the glorious success of Billie Piper had put paid to sneering at pop-stars-appearing-in-Who.

they are not casting on merit but only on whether they will get the plaudits from the SJW's. There are plenty of ways to not only cast the Doctor correctly but cast in a way that placates those that want to see all white men burn in hell.

Um...you do realise we're discussing the (theoretical) casting of a white man here, right...?

And who are these people who want to see all white men burn in hell, exactly...?

Incidentally, one area in which Chibnal has been very successful is in keeping secrets. The major news of Whitaker's casting, Captain Jack's return, the introduction of Jo Martin in the title role and a new Master...all major surprises which Chibnal successfully kept out of the press.

WORSHIP HIM!

I do realise this may be in my own head but when you pretty much accuse someone of being homophobic because the slots don't quite add up in your opinion, I may just get a little defensive.

It's in your head.

Absolutely no one here was accursing you of homophobia.

Though your conviction that he's being cast for being gay instead of being an actor is a bit weird if you haven't taken a few minutes to actually watch a clip of him acting.

It's not like He's been able to give Who up, He's done a novelisation and a few internet-extra scenes like Sarah's funeral in the last few years...He is One Of Us, there's no way He can betray n'abandon us FOREVER.
You're talking about a few little things he did which he had ultimate control over. Writing something now means being at the whim of whoever is showrunner. He would have no control over it whatsoever. Why would he do that to himself?

I knew SOMEBODY would turn this into a gay/non-gay thing even though I didn't even mention it once

Fair, but you did say, 'The more the BBC try and be woke the more ham fisted they become.....' and it's not clear what else that could refer to.

Quite.
I think I've clarified that and I'll thank you not to imply that I'm a homophobe. Again. Next time I'm going to Phil. I've asked nicely.

It's in your head.

Absolutely no one here was accursing you of homophobia.
Yet you (and Kevin) pretty much did just that. You may not have used the word but the implication was very much there.

Are you all just looking for someone to pick on now you've banned Natalie? If so, find another chump. I'm no longer biting.

Aaaaand there goes that rumour

At no point did I ever so much as imply you were a homophobe, and further, I know you aren't. As I stated, I was asking for clarification. You used the word 'woke' without mentioning what aspect of wokeness you were referring to. Nobody had yet mentioned him being gay. The article did, but the word/concept hadn't been used on this page yet. It wasn't clear to me. Jeez, if I make a comment you don't understand, I get a whole new kitchen sink thread with my name in the title. But I can't ask you for classification without you thinking you've been accused of homophobia even when you haven't said anything homophobic.

Nobody accused you being a homophobe. Nobody thinks you are one. You admitted 'I do realise this may be in my own head,' but you're not acting like you're giving that possibility any consideration. You should. It is.

Yeah, HONESTLY Rodney, it really is, and please don't go to Phil to destroy twenty-two years of my life because of, er, a false accusation that there's been a false accusation or, um, something.

Aaaaand there goes that rumour

Pah! I'm now invested in this rumour (not in whatshisname becoming Fourteen so much as having numerous conflicted emotions about whatshisname becoming Fourteen) so I'll believe it when I see the real Fourteen unveiled in all her (his. Their.) glory.

If I get a little sensitive about this issue it is because people assume that because I am Christian I am homophobic. The fact is, the vast majority of Christians are not and believe that their God (and mine) is a God of love and acceptance. Ultra-conservatives like to hijack the debate and that doesn't help this image at all.
I have worked in musical theatre for over 30 years and there are so many gay people I would prefer to spend time with than straight people. It is not for me to judge them on who they love and how they choose to live their life. It never will be.
What bothered me the most about your initial post, Kevin, was that you actually DO know me and yet you still felt the need to ask and the fact that other posters have mentioned "wokeness" and "SJW's" without so much as a peep. Although I cannot for the life of me remember where it was, I seem to recall you taking someone else to task on the Who boards because you thought they were mocking someone with a disability. (I'll freely admit I may have got the detail wrong but it was only a couple of years ago)
On a side note- the thread with your name on it was only created by me so that you would notice my comment and to stop the actual thread from being cluttered. Once you explained yourself I accepted it and moved on.
As for Emily, I know how much she loves digging the boots in to me despite everything I have done for her over the last couple of years so it kind of hurt that she jumped so quickly on what I perceived as the same bandwagon. I also very much doubt that Phil would do anything more than perhaps post a short message telling everyone to play nice.

With all that being said, I accept both of your assurances that you weren't accusing me of being homophobic and apologise for my short temper. I have been feeling very rundown and depressed of late and this site has kept me sane for quite some time (in fact if it weren't for this site and the people here, I may very well have run my car off a cliff last year and unlike the Doctor, I don't get to regenerate). It hurt me to think that people who have actually known me for so long would think those things of me.

I think it's time to move on.

I really don't care what sex the next Doctor will be, as long as the actor is good.

Yeah, you can afford to take that attitude when it's twelve-to-one in YOUR gender's favour.

Thirteen to one. Um, thirteen to two. Er...*glances at all those Timeless Kiddies and just starts whimpering*

We can count Jo Martin in the column marked "The Doctor is, or is played by, a woman"*, because she got to say "I'm the Doctor" and be Doctorish in two episodes. Most of the kiddies (of any gender) don't count, partly because they were just kids, partly because they didn't get to be Doctorish, but mainly because most of them were murdered pretty soon after regenerating. At least, the montage made it look that way.

*I'm going to assume her gender because of the on-screen evidence

Works for me.

I have started watching the tv series Elementary, a modern day take on Sherlock Holmes. Today, I was struck by how perfect the actor playing Sherlock, Jonny Lee Miller, would be in the role of the Doctor. And if you want to keep the Doctor's gender female, then you could do worse than cast Lucy Liu, playing Sherlock's associate Joan Watson, in that role. Just a little bit of musing for your entertainement.

Pah. I've gone off the idea of Sherlocks playing the Doctor since that Cumberbatch thing turned down The Moff's offer on the grounds he didn't want his face on sandwich boxes. Screw them all.

Love Kmorgan's list of female doctors!

Guess the chances of Olly Whatshisface becoming Fourteen have just shot up again, RTG ALWAYS picks Doctors with a starring role in His previous series...

Great. Another musician who can’t act but instead of being paired with two great actors playing the Doctor they’ll actually BE the Doctor…..

Wait, I DO hope you're not referring to musicians like our beloved Rose, Captain Jack, Rory etc...

Lucy Lawless wants to be the next Doctor:
https://www.newsweek.com/lucy-lawless-xena-next-doctor-who-1643083?fbclid=IwAR0OtdoWRAsH-3GxZLcAR4DA8zlBUXnOyjvep-fJivPFsG_ZfYaUAyZFQNA

Well eventually in the 2030's we get to the point we don't need casting and just neural network.

https://www.mycast.io/stories/doctor-who-the-spiral-of-krontep

I fancasted a 14th Doctor Era.

That guy looks NOTHING like Davros!

Hadn't realised Olly Alexander had such magnificently Ecclestonian ears, maybe I wouldn't mind him as the Fourteenth Doctor after all...

So you haven't heard the rumor (and that's probably all it is) that Tennant will be brought back as 14?

I've heard it, it's what I've always wanted, it's no more unlikely than Russell T God returning in glory to save us but I'm TRYING not to get my hopes up...

I've heard it too and hate it. That's really a step backwards. Then we'd have to deal with all the rumours of the Matt Smith era and beyond never happening and being retconned.

RTD does like working with actors he's worked with before, but his tenure on the show was marked by an updating of the Whoniverse, keeping things moving forward, albeit with a few glances at the early Hartnell days. I don't see him going backwards in terms of the narrative.

Now a bonus mini-series with an RTD-helmed Tennant 'untold' story would be another matter entirely...

I've heard it too and hate it. That's really a step backwards.

I know, I know, it would totally be a step backwards BUT I JUST LOVE HIM SO MUCH. (Also, even if I didn't, I'd give anything for Who to regain its popularity and my GOD Tennant would regain it for us.)

Then we'd have to deal with all the rumours of the Matt Smith era and beyond never happening and being retconned.

No we wouldn't. Fourteen would merely be revisiting favourite old faces like we were PROMISED back in 2013...

Now a bonus mini-series with an RTD-helmed Tennant 'untold' story would be another matter entirely...

*Blissful sobbing noises* THAT would do nicely.

Saying again, at this stage the people we hear suggested or rumored to be the next Doctor seldom have anything to do with who actually gets the role.

RTD coming back is one thing, but David Tennant as well!?

I'm sorry, but we're going in the wrong direction. Doctor Who has always moved forwards, not backwards. This isn't 2006 anymore.

I added some more fancasts and characters.

There's no new Tennant Doctor, instead I had his daughter be Susan's regeneration.

In my mind she regenerates near to the grandkids of Ian, Barbara, Ben, and Polly. (Basically, their dad is Johnny Chess, and their mom is the daughter Ben and Polly had together.)

I also like the idea of her regenerating with Vicki, Dodo, Victoria, Zoe, Nyssa, and Ace as Companions.

Ben and Polly have grandkids!?

Did this happen in the EU, or is this your own creation, Gaia.

The EU did'nt even give the two a child together, but they gave Polly a son with another man.

Oh.

Yeah

They seem to have an on-and-off relationship.

Some moron is pretending that Ram off of Class will be the next Doctor...

I don't think he will be. It makes more sense if he returns as Ram who became a Companion.

Oh maybe we should have a Doctor that can sound like Hatsune Miku, because after the Capaldi song I got this song on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awpqIAakDuQ

Some moron is pretending that Ram off of Class will be the next Doctor...

It's more a case of someone on Gallifrey Base thirsting for him, and the press (in lieu of any actual news) picked it up. It's so silly that we're trying to come up with another insane rumour for them to believe. Having already said I'd like RTD to cast for the 'tall, bald, black woman' Doctor he wrote into the Rose novelisation, I've decided to see if I can spread the rumour that he wants to cast the child/teen Doctor.

Yeah propably the next Doctor will be someone who has barely done any acting beside being extras, COTD in series, or minor characters in movies.

Maybe we will get a Doctor who has mostly done voice acting previously, or mostly done stage plays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXs2TYCvzwM

Or, similiar to sounding like Hatsune Miku, how about Saya Scarlet for next Doctor?

Maybe she's more of a next Susan.

OMG!!!!

26th March! is when we find out Who SHE IS!!!!!!!!

(Um, at least I assume that's what this is saying. RTG said He's only just started auditions but He lies, WORSHIP HIM!!)

I am not sure that was for real.

Yeah, sorry to say, that's a fan-made trailer.

Oh!

Ah well, who wants Fourteen anyway, JODIE! FOREVER!

Because David Tennant was trending on Twitter a couple of days ago, Georgia Tennant tweeted:

He’s still ginger. It’s not true. He’ll never have Twitter. He doesn’t know about the foxes. #standdown

People are theorising that the second sentence refers to the rumours that David will be the 14th Doctor. (And the final sentence is Good Omens-related - too complicated and unnecessary to explain here!)

It sounds more like he's staying as Crowley. And that Crowley will "know about the foxes" in the next season of Good Omens. And if it's a busy season and full of spoilers, it's better not to get Twitter right now.

So I don't think he's returning as the Fourteenth Doctor, actually I think he will return as Tenth and\or Metacrisis in anniversary specials, but he might be dying his hair ginger permanently.

I think the Fourteenth Doctor era will be wholly new, IE the Doctor, Companion, and side characters will be people who never appeared in anything Who-related before.

Only returning characters from the past that we will see would be the Doctor and Master but they will both be regenerated into new bodies. Everything else will be brand new. Just like it has always been.

Yes, technically there's nothing to stop the Fourteenth Doctor to have travels involving past Companions, or even a mega party where all previous Companions meet each other. Heck, multi-companion mega parties might be one of the Fourteenth Doctor's quirks. But those mega parties should be unseen, and we should just focus on the newbie.

For example, TARDIS teams like Tenth Doctor\Martha Jones\Riley Vashtee\Tommy Connolly or even Tenth Doctor\Martha Jones\Steven Taylor\talking cabbage from planet Parlachor are not that out of characters and propably HAVE existed, but those stories aren't important to the overall Series 3\Season 29 arc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqRdorCGrGQ

How about Will McDaniel for next Doctor? Maybe in a few years?

Some Nonsense About Hugh Grant

Horribly disappointing if true, it's not the Hugh Grant creature's fault he's a white middle-aged male but didn't RTG offer the •••• job to him when Who first returned in glory and HE TURNED IT DOWN?

No second chances.

And don't think you can appease me with 'Russell is said to have big plans for the series and wants to establish a multiverse for various spin-off projects.'

OK, possibly you can appease me with that...

Yeah Hugh Grant is now elderly. It is possibly too late for him to be the Doctor.

In 1988, Hugh Grant was the star of the cult movie, Lair Of The White Worm, which co-starred future Doctor, Peter Capaldi.

Isn't that the name of a Fourth Doctor audio *checks* Oh, OK, Trail of the White Worm...

I'm willing to bet whoever RTD casts in the title role will be someone he's already worked with.

Does that include Grant?

I know he's famous, but can he actually act?

Hugh has now tweeted that the rumours aren't true. Of course, he could be lying ...

I liked someone's reply to his tweet, saying that the rumours had said that "the star of Paddington 2" was in talks with the BBC. They added that clearly the star of Paddington 2 is Paddington, and that Paddington would make "a wonderful The Doctor."

Paddington, the Doctor:
https://imgur.com/a/zm03cFI

For what it is worth about Hugh Grant, I do revisit certain bits of his movie Sirens although he isn't the reason why I do those revisits.

Paddington would make "a wonderful The Doctor."

It's about time s/he didn't look so boringly human but a BEAR? Hell no. It's obviously gotta be a Cat-Person. Preferably one with an Irish accent.

Yeah, ginger and with cat ears!

Also I realized something maybe the reason we did'nt see Nyssa alongside Tegan in the trailer special is because Sarah Sutton is being the fourteenth doctor instead. Maybe.

Or maybe even get Nicola or even Bonnie as a the Doctor.

Even a freaking talking cabbage would be cool as the Doctor.

Or maybe a former vtuber like gawr gura or even Amelia Watson.

Heck how about a former Eurovision musician as the Doctor?

Heck maybe how about a kpop/jpop Star, like a former idol, like Gackt or some other former idol who now fits western style more.

I realize it propably wouldn’t be someone middle aged it would be another young Peter Davison or Matt Smith type, someone younger than Jodie. Someone new who’s never been cast before in tv roles other as minor characters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsbsqrxueqk

It misspelt the name of our Living God.

Well and Russ(el) Enoch was credited as William Russell, Anna Willis was credited as Anneke Wills, John Pertwee was credited as Jon Pertwee, Sarah Ward was credited as Lalla Ward, Janet Mahoney was credited as Janet Fielding, Peter Moffet was credited as Peter Davison, and Percy Kent-Smith was credited as Sylvester McCoy, which is in itself a misspelling of Sylveste McCoy. David McDonald is credited as David Tennant, Frema Agyeman was credited as Freema Agyeman and Jenna Coleman was credited as Jenna-Louise Coleman but lost the Louise somewhere in her early run. And non-Who stuff spells Jackie Lanes name as Jackie Lenya.

Heck, the credits often call the doctor Doctor Who or Dr. Who, like that’s his surname. And they also tend to forget some Companion surnames. Not only we never actually got Vicki, Polly, Mel, or Aces surnames on screen, but they treat Clara, Jamie, Tegan, Turlough, Zoe, Rory, Bill, Victoria, Ben, Peri, Mel, and Dodo by only one name. Yet freaking Liz and Steven Who seem to only have travelled with the Doctor for like 1 year each, have their surnames on the credits.

So, is Jamie’s surname McCrimmon or MacCrimmon? Zoe Heriot or Herriot? Heck, even Steven is sometimes spelt as Stephen Taylor, and HiFi as Hi-Fi.

Anyways, now I think the new Doctor should be the Academy’s magic nephew, Joihada “Yoi” Marino! With Michela “Michi” di Maria as the Companion!

they treat Clara, Jamie, Tegan, Turlough, Zoe, Rory, Bill, Victoria, Ben, Peri, Mel, and Dodo by only one name.

The hell they do!

Rory's surname is so prominent that Amy even TOOK SAID SURNAME despite the universe's foremost authority declaring at the wedding that Rory was now Mr Pond, despite insisting their DAUGHTER'S surname was Pond...

The credits call him just Rory. The episodes, some may treat him more by both name and surname.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8HU_b-P36o

IIRC Amelia defaulted on taking the Williams surname and calling her daughter Melody Williams, it was the Doctor that insisted on Pond, he even referred to Brian as a Pond.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwjwq97ft_w

IIRC Amelia defaulted on taking the Williams surname and calling her daughter Melody Williams, it was the Doctor that insisted on Pond

What the hell does 'defaulted' mean in these circumstances? And anyway...:

DOCTOR: Melody? Hello, Melody Pond.
RORY: Melody Williams.
AMY: Is a geography teacher. Melody Pond is a superhero.

As in the word "Default". It means that taking his surname would be the default.

Yes, the Doctor's the one still insisting Melody's a Pond, just like he insists Brian's a Pond. But she's a Williams, if she was'nt, Rory would'nt correct him. Basically, they're saying:

Doctor: "So this is Melody Pond!"
Rory: "WTF you're saying she's a Williams!"
Amy: "Actually, if she's a Pond it'd be fine to me!"

Also, I've just realized. Maybe the Doctor instead of regenerating, she's entering a former Companion's body a la Tremas?

As in the word "Default". It means that taking his surname would be the default.

Says who? It's not default for, say, China or Iran. And Amy's a traveller in space and time and even beyond this universe. Her daughter's part-Time-Lord and her son-in-law's a Lonely God. Which particular default should she be sexistly conforming to, exactly?

Yes, the Doctor's the one still insisting Melody's a Pond

No. The Doctor took a bloody month to bother turning up to rescue the baby, and it had a name-plate that clearly said Melody Pond from the start.

But she's a Williams, if she was'nt, Rory would'nt correct him

Rory isn't CORRECTING anyone, he's pathetically attempting to force that boring sexist Williams nonsense on his wife and baby against their wills.

What's really upsetting is that he actually eventually SUCCEEDS with Amy, if mercifully not with their daughter who is absolutely totally not called William Song.

Also, I've just realized. Maybe the Doctor instead of regenerating, she's entering a former Companion's body a la Tremas?

Don't be silly, the Doctor punches diamonds for billions of years for her/his Strays, s/he doesn't steal their bodies.

1) but it's usually still the default for people to have the same surname as their fathers. And thus for their daughter at least to be a Williams. Amy and Rory are still from 21st century Earth and wanted their daughter to be raised on 21st century Earth.

2) The nameplate was from Madame Kovarian, who seemed to have had a plan. It's possible she named Melody as "Melody Pond" because she knew something about Melody's future. Not necessarily that she'd be a Pond were she living in present day.

3) River's name did'nt come from the leaf, she called herself River Song because that's what Amy, Rory, and the Doctor knew that incarnation as.

4) Yeah. Anyways I've heard something about that the Doctor could have picked Anne Chaplet's body instead of Caecilius, how about Annette Robertson as the Doctor? Now that it would perhaps be less awkward for her?

Actually I think the Doctor could end up in a Companion's body, but it will be more like, an accident, or the TARDIS chooses it, or maybe there's a Susan regeneration instead?

Maybe Susan regenerates into Tennant!

but it's usually still the default for people to have the same surname as their fathers. And thus for their daughter at least to be a Williams. Amy and Rory are still from 21st century Earth and wanted their daughter to be raised on 21st century Earth.

When is there ever any sign they wanted their daughter to be raised on 21st century Earth?

And when is there ever any sign (in Seasons Five and Six anyway) that Amy is so downtrodden and anti-feminist that she'd subsume her identity into some MAN'S like she's living in The Handmaid's Tale? And would believe it is IN ANY WAY remotely sane to give a kid the name of the guy who put in a few minutes' effort rather than the woman who went through nine months of hell...(And that nine months BEFORE the months if not years of being fat, incontinent and postnatally depressed...)

The nameplate was from Madame Kovarian, who seemed to have had a plan. It's possible she named Melody as "Melody Pond" because she knew something about Melody's future

Amy made it clear she chose the name. ('You named your daughter...after your daughter' and 'Melody Williams is a geography teacher.') Kovarian obviously didn't know a •••• thing about River's future given River SAVES THE DOCTOR and all...

3) River's name did'nt come from the leaf, she called herself River Song because that's what Amy, Rory, and the Doctor knew that incarnation as.

Yes! And it was RIVER Song cos her original name was Melody POND. And the only water in the forest is the river...

Yes, Amy and Rory each wanted their own surname for their daughter. Which they wanted to raise on their own time period because she has a grandfather there.

Yes, Amy and Rory each wanted their own surname for their daughter. Which they wanted to raise on their own time period because she has a grandfather there.

When was there ever any indication that they wanted to raise the brat in Leadworth rather than the TARDIS? And what has Brian got to do with anything? River had four grandparents as far as we know, not that Amy n'Rory had much to do with any of 'em.

They wanted to raise her in both their home and the TARDIS, they eventually had an home together. And they wanted her to go to school in that neighborhood. Basically they wanted a life that was somewhat like the other kids.

Where is the evidence for this?

The Ponds only eventually acquired a house together cos the Doctor abruptly purchased one for them, ditched 'em and scarpered. And that was mainly to 'save them' because he'd already caused enough harm by, y'know, mislaying their baby and all.

You do know that Amy's Choice was just a bizarre wish-fulfilment dream of Rory's, right?

OK then Rory wanted to raise Melody mostly in that house, and Amy wanted to raise her in the TARDIS. Makes sense with their personalities. (And if it was real there would be a 4-year-old Melody around. Not just her unborn younger sibling that did'nt exist.)

But instead it became a situation similiar to Mulder and Scully's son.

Anyways, back to the 14th Doctor.

I used DALL-E Mini and it turned out like this: https://i.imgur.com/g7XqPhg.jpg

And my dad thought it could be Robert MacNaughton.

OK, I guess IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!:

Russell T God:

'If you thought the appearance of David Tennant was a shock' - well, not really, tbh - 'we’ve got plenty more surprises on the way! The path to Ncuti’s Fifteenth Doctor' - NCUTI'S FIFTEENTH DOCTOR!!! - 'is laden with mystery, horror, robots, puppets, danger and fun! And how is it connected to the return of the wonderful Donna Noble? How, what, why? We’re giving you a year to speculate, and then all hell lets loose!' - A YEAR? I don't want a sodding year! I was kinda hoping you'd rush out one of your Specials for our resurrected Christmas Special tradition...

David Tennant is the 10th Doctor. It was fanwanky when Moffat changed the aborted regen into a full one (just so he could end the regen cycle on his watch) giving us DT as the 11th (and 10.5/hand clone) Doctor, and it's fanwanky for RTD to make this the 3rd, or is it 4th, incarnation played by DT.

The problem with having two David Tennant threads is where I do I post for something he has done outside of Doctor Who or about him as a person in general.

I gave up on the Doctor's numbering system ten years ago, but I didn't throw my hands up into the air until today.

Neatly-ordered, numbered Doctors are just gone for good.

I didn't really expect Chibnall to reverse the Timeless Child storyline, but I did think it would be addressed somehow.

David Tennant is the 10th Doctor.

And now he's the Fourteenth Doctor too.

Worship him! WORSHIP HIM TWICE!!

It was fanwanky when Moffat changed the aborted regen into a full one (just so he could end the regen cycle on his watch) giving us DT as the 11th (and 10.5/hand clone) Doctor, and it's fanwanky for RTD to make this the 3rd, or is it 4th, incarnation played by DT.

Yeah, but THIS time it has a worthy purpose - WE GET HIM BACK WE GET HIM BACK WE GET HIM BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

The problem with having two David Tennant threads is where I do I post for something he has done outside of Doctor Who or about him as a person in general.

A small price to pay for the fact WE GET HIM BACK WE GET HIM BACK WE GET HIM BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

I gave up on the Doctor's numbering system ten years ago, but I didn't throw my hands up into the air until today.

A small price to pay for - oh, you get the picture.

Neatly-ordered, numbered Doctors are just gone for good.

RIP.

I didn't really expect Chibnall to reverse the Timeless Child storyline, but I did think it would be addressed somehow.

Frankly I'm less concerned about the Timeless Children - though a more-than-token appearance by Ruth would have been nice, still *sigh* that's what Big Finish are for I s'pose - and more concerned the DESTRUCTION OF VIRTUALLY THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE has somehow failed to be addressed...

He is absolutely NOT the 14th Doctor.

RTD is lying through his teeth once again.

Also- does Tennant REALLY need two boards??? If you must insist on this ridiculous path you’ve set down then just add 14th to his current board

He is absolutely NOT the 14th Doctor.

Well, we shall see.

In a year.

RTD is lying through his teeth once again.

WORSHIP HIM!

Also- does Tennant REALLY need two boards??? If you must insist on this ridiculous path you’ve set down then just add 14th to his current board

Our beloved Fourteenth Doctor has over 150 posts speculating over his existence already! No need to mix 'em up with Tenth Doctor discussion.

You’ve moved stuff before- move it again….

And I will not worship any man who pens “The End of Time”

You’ve moved stuff before- move it again….

If you're proven right IN A YEAR I'll certainly consider it.

At the moment I'm just basking in the sight of 'Thirteen (Whittaker), Fourteen (Tennant), Fifteen (Gatwa)' in the Last Day list...Remember when Deadly Assassin swore the Doc would die at unlucky Thirteen? Hell, remember when we thought the Doc would die at unlucky Seven, then unlucky Eight...worse, remember when the BBC tried to sell us A CARTOON RICHARD E GRANT as the True Ninth Doctor?

And I will not worship any man who pens “The End of Time”

That's actually...an annoyingly good argument.

Newspapers, 1 January 2022 - 23 October 2022:
AMAZING PICTURES INSIDE OF DAVID TENNANT FILMING DOCTOR WHO 60th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL!

Newspapers, 24 October 2022:
SHOCK AS DAVID TENNANT RETURNS TO DOCTOR WHO!

Such thoughts did blasphemously flit across my mind, but the IMPORTANT thing is, the British press is suddenly and terribly wonderfully obsessed with Who again.

Moreso than your sixth or seventh Prime Minister of 2022?

the IMPORTANT thing is, the British press is suddenly and terribly wonderfully obsessed with Who again

Forgive me for being a little cynical when the renewed interest coincides with a return to a male Doctor. I'd be a lot happier if the excitement was for our first Black lead actor (insert caveat about Jo Martin technically being a surprise guest star rather than a lead)

David Tennant had his time on the show. There is no reason to have him back again.

Moreso than your sixth or seventh Prime Minister of 2022? :-)

A gross exaggeration, it's only our third or fourth...at time of writing, anyway...

Forgive me for being a little cynical when the renewed interest coincides with a return to a male Doctor

I hope and believe...well, hope anyway...that it's more about the Dream Team of Most Popular Ever Writer and Most Popular Ever Doctor* returning Who to its rightful glory.

I'd be a lot happier if the excitement was for our first Black lead actor (insert caveat about Jo Martin technically being a surprise guest star rather than a lead)

To hell with that, RUTH IS OUR FIRST!!

David Tennant had his time on the show. There is no reason to have him back again.

Everything has its time and everything dies.

EXCEPT THE DOCTOR.

NINE YEARS AGO we were promised a return of a few old favourite faces and IT'S ABOUT BLOODY TIME we got them.

*This millennium, at the very least.

I suppose this is as good a place to put this as any but I am genuinely unsure about all of this.
Doctor Who has always worked best when looking forward and not wallowing in the past. One-off specials, returning characters are one thing but to not only bring back the leading man but the guy who produced the series before just seems like a band-aid solution.
Imagine if between Pertwee and Tom, the powers that be had decided to bring back Hartnell with Verity Lambert producing. Would that feel like a bold move? What about bringing back Tom before Sylvester with Philip Hinchcliffe? (Don't bother replying to that comment Emily, we all know what your no doubt utterly predictable response will be).
The point being that this all feels wrong. I fear that it will make people forget about Ncuti taking the mantle and diminish whatever impact he may have had in the role.
Also, has RTD really got the scripts in him that he had back in 2005? I'm not convinced he does. Clearly by season 4 he had run out of ideas resulting in the most laboured and ponderous final stories for a Doctor ever.
I am very frustrated that this is happening to a program that has bought me much joy throughout my life and I HATE sounding like one of those crying idiots on youtube.
I'm sure I will have more to say when I can get my head around things. In the meantime, I'm sure Emily will rip this to shreds...

Some online have suggested (and I'm hoping it's true) that all this 'bringing back the favourite Actor/Doctor/Companion/Logo/etc' is a bait & switch by RTD. Let all the NMDs and Jodie/Chibnall haters think he's pandering to them - seemingly forgetting that many of them were complaining about him being woke (or whatever the term was back then) and his 'gay agenda' - and then pull the rug out somehow. I guess by re-affirming that Jodie 110% counts as a genuine incarnation, no take-backs, and all praise to Ncuti when he arrives?

Now that I'm not so emotional about the regen (until I re-watch, that is) it does seem like the sort of 'up yours' to the bigots RTD might pull.

At the very least I can (begrudgingly) accept that the Diamond-shaped logo fits for the Diamond Anniversary

P.S.
I agree with Rodney's concerns.

Look like Emily has totally ignored Rodney's post. No doubt because he's saying thing she does not want to hear.

Doctor Who has always worked best when looking forward and not wallowing in the past. One-off specials, returning characters are one thing but to not only bring back the leading man but the guy who produced the series before just seems like a band-aid solution.

The Doc's bleeding out. Bring on the band-aids.

That if you're right which obviously you're not. Look how wonderfully well it worked to wheel Terrance Dicks, Troughton, Pertwee, Fake-Hartnell and Waxwork-Tom back for our twentieth...

Imagine if between Pertwee and Tom, the powers that be had decided to bring back Hartnell with Verity Lambert producing. Would that feel like a bold move?

Obviously not, given that Hartnell must have been at death's door at the time. Verity Lambert on the other hand...one of the BBC's manifold life-ruining mistakes was NOT to hand Who over to her production company during TSLABYOD.

What about bringing back Tom before Sylvester with Philip Hinchcliffe? (Don't bother replying to that comment Emily, we all know what your no doubt utterly predictable response will be).

I won't say anything then.

I'll just...cry some happy/wistful/yearning tears.

The point being that this all feels wrong.

Not to me it doesn't.

I fear that it will make people forget about Ncuti taking the mantle and diminish whatever impact he may have had in the role.

Ruth's already destroyed his first-black-Doctor and JODIE! his first-gay-Doctor impact. So he'll just have to make his mark by...being a wonderful Doctor. I really think he's up to it and more to the point, RTG obviously thinks he's up to it.

Also, judging by our brief and glorious glimpse of him, RTG is definitely not gonna let Fifteen be forgotten while we're all drooling over TennantDoc...

Also, has RTD really got the scripts in him that he had back in 2005? I'm not convinced he does.

I'm assuming you haven't seen It's a Sin.

Because if you had you wouldn't be saying that.

I could count on the fingers of, well, let's be generous and say BOTH hands the number of non-Who programmes and films that the human race should have been bothered to make and it's one of 'em.

Our Living God has unexpectedly got BETTER at writing over the last twelve years...

Clearly by season 4 he had run out of ideas resulting in the most laboured and ponderous final stories for a Doctor ever.

Agreed (aside from the stunning Waters of Mars) - that's why He needed a nice long rest. Now HE'S HAD A NICE LONG REST AND HAS RETURNED LIKE KING ARTHUR TO SAVE US IN OUR TIME OF NEED.

I am very frustrated that this is happening to a program that has bought me much joy throughout my life and I HATE sounding like one of those crying idiots on youtube.

You don't, you're entitled to your fears and dammit we've got a year to wallow in every emotion known to humanity and I wouldn't be surprised to find MYSELF having a wobble/full-blown fit of hysterical panic at some point but...have you ever considered the ALTERNATIVE? WAS there even an alternative that didn't involve Who having a 'rest' and we all know what THAT means...

Some online have suggested (and I'm hoping it's true) that all this 'bringing back the favourite Actor/Doctor/Companion/Logo/etc' is a bait & switch by RTD.

Sounds good.

Look like Emily has totally ignored Rodney's post. No doubt because he's saying thing she does not want to hear.

Not getting back to someone within approximately two minutes - unusual as it admittedly is - doesn't mean I'm ignoring 'em, just that I need a bit of time to consider their views. Well, to consider the best way of explaining why their views are wrong, anyway.

Emily - HAS RETURNED LIKE KING ARTHUR TO SAVE US IN OUR TIME OF NEED.

Would that make Chibnall the equivalent of Mordred? ;-)

Hmm. Maybe Guinevere. Great person, very strong on women's rights, just...somehow accidentally didn't leave Camelot in a particularly great state...

The Doc's bleeding out. Bring on the band-aids.
Ah a tacit admission that maybe, just maybe, there's a problem on the show?

That if you're right which obviously you're not. Look how wonderfully well it worked to wheel Terrance Dicks, Troughton, Pertwee, Fake-Hartnell and Waxwork-Tom back for our twentieth...
...or how wonderfully well it worked for the two Doctors and Dimensions in Time maybe?
You also clearly didn't read the bit where I said, "one-off specials... were one thing". I didn't see the season involving all those characters. Weird.

Not to me it doesn't.
Good for you.

Ruth's already destroyed his first-black-Doctor and JODIE! his first-gay-Doctor impact.
Here's a lesson on how internet bigots work. They will twist things to their narrative ("That black chick isn't a REAL Doctor so it's just Chibbers testing the pulse of fandom" or "the character is normally played by a male so it's really a STRAIGHT kiss duh!"). Now we have a POC MALE who identifies as gay, that's going to be a WHOLE new ballgame....

Also, judging by our brief and glorious glimpse of him, RTG is definitely not gonna let Fifteen be forgotten while we're all drooling over TennantDoc...
We will never see figures like we did for Tennant's era simply because television is a very different beast- also, we will NEVER find out the stats because streaming services are very reluctant to release them. But let's humour the old girl by saying there will be a MASSSIVE bump in overnight ratings for the show when the Tennant specials air. Watch those figures drop faster than a man's pants at a brothel when Ncuti takes over.

I'm assuming you haven't seen It's a Sin.

Because if you had you wouldn't be saying that.
This watching lesser programs thing (and even ENJOYING them) is very unnerving. Of course, I'm not saying the man can't write at all- just that Doctor Who is a very particular beast. It's not some gritty urban gay sex show....

Now HE'S HAD A NICE LONG REST AND HAS RETURNED LIKE KING ARTHUR TO SAVE US IN OUR TIME OF NEED.
More like Jar Jar Binks to the Star Wars franchise...

I wouldn't be surprised to find MYSELF having a wobble/full-blown fit of hysterical panic at some point
I will be happy to eat humble pie if I am wrong but I doubt I will be.

Not getting back to someone within approximately two minutes - unusual as it admittedly is - doesn't mean I'm ignoring 'em, just that I need a bit of time to consider their views. Well, to consider the best way of explaining why their views are wrong, anyway.
I knew you would respond but just assumed you had gone to bed early like the rest of us old fogeys....

The Doc's bleeding out. Bring on the band-aids.
Ah a tacit admission that maybe, just maybe, there's a problem on the show?

There's no problem with the show there's a problem with the sodding human race who aren't WATCHING the show. Philistines and morons.

...or how wonderfully well it worked for the two Doctors and Dimensions in Time maybe?

Well, obviously sometimes things go right and sometimes they go so very very wrong that no one should mention words like T** D****** and D********** in T*** in polite company...

You also clearly didn't read the bit where I said, "one-off specials... were one thing"

I probably forgot it in my confusion as Power WAS a one-off special.

Now we have a POC MALE who identifies as gay, that's going to be a WHOLE new ballgame....

Dammit I'm torn between wanting to •••• these people off so much their tiny brains explode and wanting to not •••• them off so much they stop watching, I mean, you'd THINK the number of sexists/racists/homophobes/transphobes devoting themselves to, y'know, A SHAPE-CHANGING ALIEN FROM ANOTHER PLANET would be pretty small, but...

But let's humour the old girl by saying there will be a MASSSIVE bump in overnight ratings for the show when the Tennant specials air. Watch those figures drop faster than a man's pants at a brothel when Ncuti takes over.

Why?

I mean, RUSSELL T GOD is quite a popular writer...

This watching lesser programs thing (and even ENJOYING them) is very unnerving.

TELL me about it.

Doctor Who is a very particular beast. It's not some gritty urban gay sex show....

Um, I think He's probably noticed that, TennantWho and SJA, for example, bore little resemblance to gritty urban gay sex shows...

So is this the 10th Doctor again or a new Doctor who happens to look like the 10th and who will have a different personality and outlook?

I was planning to start watching as of the 14th Doctor’s first episode as it would be Ncuti’s first episode a fresh start. But this all feels like the events of the last season have some way to run, as a result I’m not sure I can be bothered to watch it as I don’t feel like having to catch up with what’s happened to understand what’s going on.

So is this the 10th Doctor again or a new Doctor who happens to look like the 10th and who will have a different personality and outlook?

I suspect he'll be adorably similar to our beloved Tenth Doctor.

I was planning to start watching as of the 14th Doctor’s first episode as it would be Ncuti’s first episode a fresh start. But this all feels like the events of the last season have some way to run, as a result I’m not sure I can be bothered to watch it as I don’t feel like having to catch up with what’s happened to understand what’s going on.

Just watch Doctor Who Daniel.

It's the Celestial Toymaker screwing around with the Doctor's regeneration. I refuse to believe this 14th Doctor cr@p. I've said it before nd I'll say it even louder for the people in the cheap seats....

RTD LIES!!!!

He may lie, worship Him, but He's never screwed around with our Sacred Numbering System...

There’s a first time for everything.

Come to think of it, He never HAS numbered a Doctor, has He...?

Doctor: I am a Time Lord, not a number!

;-)

THERE'S a referene that will fly over Emily's head like a giant white balloon....

Be seeing you!

The proper way to phrase that reference would be "I am not a number, I am a TIME LORD!" Followed by the Master's maniacal laughter.

THERE'S a referene that will fly over Emily's head

Hey, that's what YOU think, actually, I am well aware it's from some Prisoner thing that was filmed where Masque of Mandragora was...or something...

Here is an excellent view on this stunt casting including a reasonably decent name for this “incarnation”

That's been showing up in my feed but I put it off until you posted it.

Very well-argued video with av out of good points.

What I find annoying is that they knew the 60th anniversary was coming years in advance, and yet it feels like they were taken by surprise and went "oh god, 60th is coming, nothings is ready, whatdowedowhadowedowhatdowedo???".

I'm surprised Chibnall called it quits just before the 60th. But I'm not complaining.

'In the circumstances, a return to David Tennant MIGHT be a really good idea'

Screw the circumstances! A return to David Tennant (or indeed Tom Baker) is ALWAYS a really good idea!

Gatwa...was...filming...a...BARBIE...movie...when...he...should...have...been...filming...DOCTOR WHO?!

JUST when I'd actually started FALLING for the guy having been blessed with my first glimpse of him as the Doctor...

'So Davies turns up to, for want of a better word, SAVE the show'

Yeah. I was really, REALLY getting that feeling.

It's a bit depressing cos I want Him back cos He's bursting with new ideas and desperate to be back, not cos it's the only way He'll get to SEE more Who so He's prepared to do His duty and save us all...

Well, WORSHIP HIM!!! anyway.

'The numbering system has always been pretty arbitrary'

Not in the twentieth century it bloody wasn't.

That WAS a nice intelligent look at the subject, albeit from a moron who didn't WANT Ten back.

I'm surprised Chibnall called it quits just before the 60th

He GAVE us his Sixtieth Anniversary Extravaganza.

The fact it was a year early is pretty immaterial, given a) Who is about time-travel and b) wasn't The Three Doctors almost a year early?

Gatwa...was...filming...a...BARBIE...movie...when...he...should...have...been...filming...DOCTOR WHO?!

JUST when I'd actually started FALLING for the guy having been blessed with my first glimpse of him as the Doctor...
AN understandable sentiment but to be fair to him, he probably got THAT role before he got Doctor Who and, as a jobbing actor,he needed the paycheck. Hollywood films pay a LOT better than the BBC....

Well, WORSHIP HIM!!! anyway.
No thanks- the guy who wrote End Of Time deserves no such thing.

That WAS a nice intelligent look at the subject, albeit from a moron who didn't WANT Ten back.
I thought he was articulate, well spoken and made a number of very important points- most importantly I like calling THIS version of TennantDoc as "Bridge Doctor"

We're assuming that Tennant regenerates into Gatwa.

To be clear, I'm assuming that too.

But, what if the clip of Gatwa asking what the hell is going on is because he runs into the bridge Doctor and they both claim to have just regenerated from Whittaker?

I'm not putting money on that, but RTD knows how to run in a different direction than expectations.

(My actual theory is that the clip we've seen is not the physical Gatwa, but one trapped inside the Doctor and unable to get out.)

Also, the Bridge Doctor's final words will be along the line of 'I'm ready to go' or some other riff on his original last line, just as his new first words harkened back to his original teeth comment.

David Tennant is the Doctor (again) on DWM cover:
https://imgur.com/a/zzgQgQu

Gods, he's aged less in the twelve years since he was the Doctor than he did in the four years he WAS the Doctor.

Now here's an interesting thing - the reason why the Fourteenth Doctor clothes regenerated along with him...

www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-david-tennant-regeneration-costume-twist-newsupdate/


' "I was very certain that I didn’t want David to appear in Jodie’s costume. I think the notion of men dressing in ‘women’s clothes’, the notion of drag, is very delicate. I’m a huge fan of that culture and the dignity of that, it’s truly a valuable thing.

"But it has to be done with immense thought and respect. With respect to Jodie and her Doctor, I think it can look like mockery when a straight man wears her clothes. To put a great big six-foot Scotsman into them looks like we’re taking the mickey."

He added that he worried that a scene in which Tennant's Doctor wore Thirteen's outfit would be printed in newspapers "for the rest of time".

"If they can play with gender in a sarcastic or critical way, they will," he added. "We could have the Doctor dressed as a knight, or dressed as God, or dressed as William Hartnell, and the only photo they’d print would be of David in what they considered to be women’s clothes."

The incoming showrunner feared the moment would be "weaponised" and used to mock feminine traits and drag culture.'

An interesting viewpoint, I'd never even thought of it that way. But what it basically boils down to is: 'Tennant would have looked a twit in Jodie's costume.'

And it fits with canon because the first Doctor's clothes changed when he regenerated.

Nick W

'Tennant would have looked a twit in Jodie's costume.'

Yeah, but...so did JODIE!.

All Doctors look like a bit o'twits.

An absolutely dumb reason. The Master wore her clothes without issue apparently. More hamfisted wokeness from the BBC…..

Could have said that to not spoiler something.

David Tennant meeting Star Trek: Voyager's Doctor Bob Picardo recently at the London Comic Con Winter:
https://imgur.com/a/PDFBzj9

Posted by Picardo on facebook:
"This man is quite delusional: he seems to think HE'S The Doctor from the future. [ @StarTrek @bbcdoctorwho @Showmasters #LCCWinter #TheDoctor #davidtennant ]"

Aww, Ten (er, Fourteen) looks precisely as dubious as he SHOULD look, encountering Star Trek...

Doctor Who facebook page posted this picture and says "More like the FourTEETH Doctor" (yes you read that right):
https://imgur.com/a/E53vHLU

Fourteenth Doctor character page:
https://www.doctorwho.tv/characters/fourteenth-doctor?cm_mmc=ExactTarget-_-email-_-DW202_Newsletter_23112022-_-email&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=DW202_Newsletter_23112022

Take THAT, Bob Holmes!

What do you mean that? How did Holmes get into this?

He was the one responsible for making Engin open his big gob and utter the immortal line 'After the twelfth regeneration, there is no plan that will postpone death'...

Oh I see.

There's an interesting fan theory out there that was mentioned in a whoculture.com video; 10 Doctor Who Fan Theories That Make Too Much Sense To Ignore.
When River Song meets the Tenth Doctor in 'Silence in the Library' she says something along the lines of him being 'younger than she's ever seen him'. At that time, it was River's first story (but near the end of her time-line interaction with the Doctor), and nobody expected an even younger actor playing the Doctor (Matt Smith) and many more episodes with River Song to follow. Originally, it was just a reference to how young Ten looked compared to Three, Four, Seven, etc.
So the fan theory is that she recognizes Ten's face, not realizing that FOURTEEN has a very similar, but older face, because she thinks this is the same Doctor (the Fourteenth) that she's met (in an as yet unseen adventure).
I like this idea. And I wonder who else Ten met and knew him, who had actually met Fourteen first.

Originally, it was just a reference to how young Ten looked compared to Three, Four, Seven, etc.

I doubt it, or Tennant would have REMEMBERED her from when he was Three, Four, Seven, etc. I always thought it was a reference to how much younger he was (and looked, in the eyeballs if not necessarily the face) than Eleven, Twelve, etc.

Of course, then Big Finish had River meet EVERY SINGLE PRE-TEN DOCTOR (well, Timeless Children aside) and after the first few stories just stopped bothering having her wipe his/her mind so...what do I know?

Anyway, THIS is a marvellous excuse to bring River back for our Sixtieth without contradicting ANYTHING! (Not that RTG would care... Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre:

'Donna's head will explode and the whole universe will explode if she remembers for even a second.'
'Is that - by any stretch of the imagination - ever so slightly exaggerated?'
'It...may be a bit exaggerated, but if she does remember, then...well...the three people standing near to her will fall over. But really badly, you know - they'll twist their ankles and everything!')

Tennant interview.

'It's a victory lap, in a way – you get to enjoy something that had meant so much to you one last shot before you get too old to do it again.'

What a half-wit, has he not SEEN the Curator?!

He can be the Curator 2.0 in the 80th anniversary episode!

Sadly it would have to be Curator 3.0 as Big Finish committed an unspeakable blasphemy vis-a-vis the Curator in Stranded...

So judging by 'Allons-y!' in the trailer (not to mention 'What what what' in Power) Fourteen doesn't just LOOK like Ten, he's got exactly the same characteristics. Like JODIE! was storing the template in her head and it just EMERGED, so...why Ten? I'm not COMPLAINING but the Docs who were actually sitting around chatting in her head at the time were One, Five, Six, Seven and Eight.

Official portrait of the Fourteenth Doctor:
https://imgur.com/a/PRO91Db

Isn't he ADORABLE!

DON'T LEAVE ME TENANNT!

Please leave, Tennant! This backward naval gazing by RTD needs to be put out of it's misery.
Nearly a year on and I'm still not convinced this is a very good idea.

What I AM excited about is seeing what Ncuti will bring to the show. That looks far more exciting than the wank-fest we'll be getting in November.

Please leave, Tennant! This backward naval gazing by RTD needs to be put out of it's misery.
Nearly a year on and I'm still not convinced this is a very good idea.

Well, obviously a year of waiting for it to bloody happen isn't gonna improve anyone's mood, it's actually WATCHING Star Beast, Giggle n'Blue Yonder that will convert you to the sublime joy of our Fourteenth Doctor...just in time to get your heart broken...well, broken till we see Ncuti in action which as THE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL IS RETURNING!!! won't be long at all...

How can I take an episode called "Giggle'n'Blue" seriously????

Look, I enjoyed most of the Tennant era, I think he was a decent enough Doctor but this pandering to the masses is going to backfire.

I hope I'm proven wrong, and I'll be very happy if I am, but I have rarely been when my instincts have been this strong...

How can I take an episode called "Giggle'n'Blue" seriously????

It's not, they're called The Giggle and Wild Blue Yonder, WORSHIP THEM!!

"Giggle'n'Blue" could also be a good episode!

Giggle and Blue could be the name of, say, two mercenaries from 51st century.

AND THEY COULD BE THE BEST CHARACTERS WE GOT IN 40 YEARS!!!

Or well, 42 years, 6 months, and 12 days. At least.

Please leave, Tennant! This backward naval gazing by RTD needs to be put out of it's misery.

I'm with Rodney. RTD and Tennant had their run on Who. I'm getting a sense of moving backwards, when we should be going forwards.

Once again, this NEVER happened in Classic Who.

The only time a past Doctor returned was in a multi-Doctor special, such as The Five Doctors.

And no Producer ever came back. They did their run on the show, and then passed it on to the next person*. From Verity Lambert right through to JNT always moving forwards.


*yes, Barry Letts came back for JNT's first year, but he was there purely as an advisor. He had no part in the day-to-day running of the sow.

"Giggle'n'Blue" could also be a good episode!

Hear, hear!

Once again, this NEVER happened in Classic Who.

So?

There were no Irish Cat-People with a basketful of kittens in Classic Who either...and Classic Who is all the poorer for it...

The only time a past Doctor returned was in a multi-Doctor special, such as The Five Doctors.

Who didn't survive sixty years by doing the same thing over and over again for every anniversary.

Having said that, Tennant's glorious - if pitifully brief - re-reign will undoubtedly involve multi-Doctor shenanigans, we've definitely got Ncuti wandering around shrieking 'WTF is going on here!' (or words to that effect) and hopefully a few old faces will be showing their, well, faces...

And no Producer ever came back. They did their run on the show, and then passed it on to the next person*. From Verity Lambert right through to JNT always moving forwards.

Actually, Verity Lambert TRIED to come back during The Sixteen Long And Barren Years Of Despair...the only thing stopping me going on a genocidal rampage about her failure to achieve this is that as a result of the unspeakable suffering of TSLABYOD...WE GOT RTG AND TENNANT! TWICE!

Star Beast, The Giggle, and Wild Blue Yonder are episode title?

Has RTD considered hiring someone to make up titles for him?

Plot twist: the titles are the in universe titles being given by someone to the stories/villains. That’s why they sound like that.

Actually NuWho episodes don’t really tend to have classic who sounding titles.

Except maybe series 2/season 28.

Overall I think the fourth doctor era has the best titles. They’ve become more creative from 1963 to 1981, then suddenly JNT took over the reins and Sid Sutton changed the title sequence, which meant that now episode titles needed to snugly fit into a more cramped space. That’s also why that one episode was credited as Paula “Moore” instead of “Wolsey” and nothing to do with relationship drama. So they start to lose in quality.

Then RTD and moffat era had a similiar quality but lost even more ‘Who-ness, and with capaldi it started to look like horror romance titles, and then got worse even again with 13

I miss when we had titles like Nightmare of Eden, City of Death, The Creature from the Pit…

Actually it’s been worse since Season 18.

There are funny potential titles (such as Luvic’s Love Icks instead of Keeper of Traken) but Luvic’s Love Icks is also not… a ‘Who title. Anyways:

The Hive of Argolis
The Dodecahedron
The Starliner of Mist
Blood of the Vampires
The White Void
The Grove of Persuasion
The Chants of Math

Star Beast, The Giggle, and Wild Blue Yonder are episode title?

Has RTD considered hiring someone to make up titles for him?
Hopefully not the guy who did the titles for Voyager like "The Chute", "The Swarm", "The Gift" and "Demon"

And not the one who did Friends titles or we'd have "The One With the Star Beast", "The One With the Giggle", & The One With the Wild Blue Yonder".

Or worse the Giggle is the name of the villain and starts making return appearances in episodes like "Evil of the Giggle", "Power of the Giggle", & "Genesis of the Giggle". *shudder*

Actually, Verity Lambert TRIED to come back during The Sixteen Long And Barren Years Of Despair

That was an entirely different situation, Emily.

First of all, there was no show to come back to.

Second of all, the reason this happened is because, at the time, the BBC was phasing out their in-house made shows (which is why Classic Who ended). The plan was to outsource said shows to independent production companies, and Verity Lambert's was just one such company that wanted Who.

Had Verity Lambert's company gotten Who, she would not have had the same role she'd had in the early 1960's. She would have most likely been a titular head. Someone else, one of her employees, would have handled the actual day-to-day production. Ms. Lambert would not be doing what RTD is doing.

Of course, for various reasons, nothing came of it, so the issue is moot.


WE GOT RTG AND TENNANT! TWICE!

And once was quite enough.

Sorry, but my position stands.

Both men had their runs on Who. Bringing them back is, for me at least, neither required nor desired.

Who d'you THINK would have continued Who, if not RTG? If for some perverse reason you don't believe the return of the Greatest Ever Showrunner and Most Popular Ever Doctor are good, nay, wonderful things in their own right, have you not considered the alternative of Who DEAD at fifty-nine??

What made you think that the show would be cancelled if RTD didn't return?

There are other producers out there. Perhaps it's time a non-fan was put in charge, as Rodney as suggested. Couldn't hurt, IMO.


Greatest Ever Showrunner

Isn't that what they were calling JNT, 40 years ago? At least up until the Colin Baker era.


Most Popular Ever Doctor

Thought Tom Baker had that title.

How about someone who knows doctor who through my little pony like I do. So they’re a fan of reading about the show, but not watching it.

What made you think that the show would be cancelled if RTD didn't return?

Dammit can't remember who/when/where/WHY GODS WHY, but I DID hear/see SOMETHING - and duly had a breakdown somewhere on this board over it - that Power was so full of Old Who-y goodness because it was expected to be the last.

And, let's face it, JODIE! n'Chibnall always planned to betray n'abandon us after a mere three seasons (WIMPS) and ABSOLUTELY NO ONE was lined up to take their places when RTG swept in to SAVE US ALL AGAIN WORSHIP HIM...

(Christ, I hope it's GOOD or I'll be really really embarrassed as well as suicidal...)

There are other producers out there. Perhaps it's time a non-fan was put in charge, as Rodney as suggested. Couldn't hurt, IMO.

Sure, line up a few and give 'em their sixty years of homework and tell 'em to come back in a few years when they feel ready...

Greatest Ever Showrunner

Isn't that what they were calling JNT, 40 years ago?

No.

As far as I know, absolutely no one in ze vorld was saying 'Screw Hinchliffe, worship the Hawaiian Shirted One...'

Most Popular Ever Doctor

Thought Tom Baker had that title.

I have the feeling that for a blissful, extraordinary, not-even-in-my-wildest-dreams year or two under Tennant Who actually surpassed Tom's popularity and indeed Sixties Dalekmania, but it's all rather subjective.

Of course, in a few centuries, if humanity lasts that long, I expect Tom and his Scarf to be the eternal symbol of Whoness...

No that you mention it, Emily, Power Of The Doctor would have been a good episode wrap up Modern Who on.

I wouldn't mind Doctor Who being given another nice long rest.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I think I can hear Emily from Canada.

I wondered what that scream was.

Jeff heard that from his padded cell…..

Its still possible they might cancel and rest down the specials, have an hiatus, and it leads us into NuNuWho.

I think NASA is investigating the source of that scream, mistakenly believing it was a message from space!

Guess I should go into the Witness Relocation Program now

As far as I know, absolutely no one in ze vorld was saying 'Screw Hinchliffe, worship the Hawaiian Shirted One...'

There was a definite vibe of "praise JN-T for delivering us from the awful Graham Williams" for much of the 1980s.

Was it MUCH of the 1980s or just the first five minutes...?

Definitely the first three or four years. After 1985 it was harder to pretend that he could do no wrong.

And let's suppose that JNT had left when he originally wanted to, after the 23rd Season. Who would have replaced him as Producer?

I don't know, but I can bet they would have hired someone new. Not gone crawling back to someone who had left more than a decade before.

Classic Who always moved forwards, not backwards.

Possibly Andrew Cartmel?

Or if not, maybe it could still have been RTD or Moffatt, just young.

Or Mark Gatiss?

After 1985 it was harder to pretend that he could do no wrong.

Surely you mean after 1984. 16th March, to be precise.

I can bet they would have hired someone new. Not gone crawling back to someone who had left more than a decade before.

Classic Who always moved forwards, not backwards.

The BBC bringing Sydney Newman back to tell them to bring Patrick Troughton back has obviously slipped your mind. Been swallowed by a Crack in time. Whatever.

DWM said they had to discount a lot of votes in the poll for best monster (maybe best new monster) because many people had written in 'John Nathan-Turner.'

Even higher than Mary Whitehouse?

The BBC bringing Sydney Newman back to tell them to bring Patrick Troughton back has obviously slipped your mind. Been swallowed by a Crack in time. Whatever.
They asked his advice. He gave it. They ignored it. You’ve kinda proved Tim’s point. Well done.
And blimey, Kate siding with Tim has to be a weird feeling as well.

They asked his advice. He gave it. They ignored it. You’ve kinda proved Tim’s point.

What, aside from his they-never-bring-former-Who-creators-back point, you mean?

Not that I actually CARE whether or not precedent has been broken. Who deserves the best. Russell T God IS the best. I honestly don't understand why anyone should be upset about Him returning to save us all just because He's done it before. (Unless you're a Christian who's jealous cos Baby Jesus's Second Coming is a couple of millennia overdue...?) At least wait an episode or two to see if He's lost His edge before demanding that RTG Must Go!

And as for Tennant's-return being an unprecedented insult...he's returned before without anyone having fits of hysterics over it (Journey's End, Day of the Doctor)* and anyway it's all Gatwa's fault for degrading himself in a Barbie-Doll-movie-thing and FFS we survived TSLABYOD, it's not exactly the end of the universe if we have to hang on an extra MONTH to see a shiny brand-new Doctor...**

*Admittedly none of us bar Moffat even suspected we got ourselves a NEW Tennant in Journey's End...

**Though we don't cos he's obviously gonna pop up in Tennant's episodes, haven't you SEEN the glorious two-Docs trailer...?!

Well SOMEONE got up a little cranky this morning.

The truth hurts.

What truth?

The increasingly fervent lionising of the "sainted" DT/RTD return at the expense of ANY celebration of our departed, beloved, paradigm/glass-ceiling breaker is having the inverse effect on me. I'm happy to see Donna again, I'd be happy with a 10th Doctor adventure filling in the gap like a Big finish. But to see (particularly on GB forums) the returns constantly being used to bash Jodie/Chibnall is just exhausting.

What truth?
The truth that this is a backwards step for the programme and will only hurt it moving forward. I'm excited to see what Ncuti brings to the role, not so excited to see Tennant retread the same old ground he's done for the last 15 years.

The increasingly fervent lionising of the "sainted" DT/RTD return at the expense of ANY celebration of our departed, beloved, paradigm/glass-ceiling breaker is having the inverse effect on me.

Ah. I see it more as holding desperately on to one chunk of future-happiness to get me through the loss TOO SOON WAY WAY TOO SOON of our beloved JODIE!, not to mention of the misery of enduring a whole year hideously devoid of TV-Who...

But to see (particularly on GB forums) the returns constantly being used to bash Jodie/Chibnall is just exhausting.

Ludicrous, why the hell would the existence of Fourteen make 'em bash Thirteen? Either she's a brilliant Doctor or she isn't (NB: SHE IS), if anyone happens to love her next self EVEN MORE that's just a bonus that doesn't affect HER, just mildly adjusts our Top Seventeen (or whatever, depending on how you count 'em) Doctors.

And sure, RTG's a better showrunner than Chibnall cos he's a better showrunner than anyone in human history, doesn't take away from the fact Chibnall massively exceeded all expectations to do astonishingly well.

The truth that this is a backwards step for the programme and will only hurt it moving forward. I'm excited to see what Ncuti brings to the role, not so excited to see Tennant retread the same old ground he's done for the last 15 years.

Three-ish audios a year for the past few years is hardly fifteen solid years of Tenannty goodness. And for heaven's sake, three-ish hours of old Doctor(s) to celebrate an anniversary is not a backwards OR hurtful step. There always has and always will be room for trad-Who (assuming it IS, which I very much doubt) as well as rad-Who.

Who deserves the best. Russell T God IS the best. I honestly don't understand why anyone should be upset about Him returning to save us

Save us from what? Chibnall? Jodie? Isn't that what M* has been complaining about? That by going crawling back to RTD, rather than hiring someone new, they are admitting that the show is in trouble? I can't see any other reason for this.

Once again, Classic Who never went back to a previous Producer (despite your claim about Sydney Newman, that Rodney debunked). The closes they came was when Barry Letts became an Executive Producer during Tom Baker's last season. However, that time he was just an advisor and had no role in the actual day-to-day running of the show, which was handled by JNT.

Now, if RTD had returned in that role, as an advisor, with a new person handling the day-to-day running, I might feel better about this. It would show they are not seemingly trying to turn back the clock.


*you're at Gallifrey Base, M? Guess you use a different name over there, because I don't recall ever seeing you.

Who deserves the best. Russell T God IS the best. I honestly don't understand why anyone should be upset about Him returning to save us

Save us from what? Chibnall? Jodie?

Of course not!!

Chibnall n'JODIE! have betrayed n'abandoned - er, I mean, have LEFT US after many years faithful service. RTG saved us from NO MORE WHO (worst-case scenario) or from not-as-good-as-RTG-Who (best-case scenario).

Isn't that what M* has been complaining about? That by going crawling back to RTD, rather than hiring someone new, they are admitting that the show is in trouble? I can't see any other reason for this.

No one came crawling to RTG. He wanted to come back and He told the appropriate people, who quite rightly stewed palm leaves in His path (and/or handed our Sacred Programme over to Mickey Mouse for, um, some reason).

Who IS in trouble, ratings-wise, has been since the Capaldi Era, it makes sense to bring in someone with a proven record of stunning ratings success, but even if Who's viewing figures were fantastic, bringing back THE BEST would still make perfect sense. And maybe we don't have a late-JNT-Era situation (*Grits teeth* 'I have been persuaded to stay on') but neither do we have any of the OTHER best writer-producers in the world queuing up BEGGING to serve the Lord Doctor...

Once again, Classic Who never went back to a previous Producer (despite your claim about Sydney Newman, that Rodney debunked). The closes they came was when Barry Letts became an Executive Producer during Tom Baker's last season.

So ASIDE from Barry Letts, Sydney Newman, and Verity Lambert, there has never been any question of former Producers returning to stick their oars in...?!

Not that we actually NEED to keep rehashing this particular argument because...why on Earth would the-fact-something-hasn't-happened-before stop it happening NOW? What's so sacred about precedent? You might as well argue that we couldn't have JODIE! cos a Doctor had never been female before*...that we couldn't have Captain Jack cos we'd never had an openly-omnisexual-Companion before...that we couldn't have DARLING Thomas Kincade Brannigan cos we'd never had humans and cats having sex on Who before...

It would show they are not seemingly trying to turn back the clock.

If (and admittedly it's a big 'if') they can actually succeed in turning back the clock to Who RULING THE •••• WORLD...I say, TURN BACK THAT CLOCK!

It's a programme about time-travel for heaven's sake...

*Gazes adoringly at Ruth* SURPRISE!

So ASIDE from Barry Letts, Sydney Newman, and Verity Lambert, there has never been any question of former Producers returning to stick their oars in...
I'm sure they WERE asked but they turned it down and that's whole point. If, as you say, RTD arrogantly swanned up and offered his services then it's more the reason to think this is a backwards step! "Thanks Russell, we'd love to have your scripts but we're going to have another producer step in. If you want to guide him or her a little that would be fine".

Look, we don't all fall down bowing and scraping at RTD like you do- accept that. The incredible arrogance of you thinking that he is somehow a messiah figure in this equation is ludicrous. He won't deliver the ratings (either with the Bridge Doctor or 14th Doctor) that he had with Tennant. People's tastes change, the lustre of Who has worn off- yes yes burn the blasphemers and all that- but it doesn't change the fact that it feels all wrong.

I suspect a lot more people here agree with me than with you.

It's a done deal so I'm trying not to get too worked up about. I could, but it'll still happen, so I choose to accept it and hope for the best.

I also figure it's Disney making it happen more than the BBC.

But yeah, definitely a step backwards. Whether the classic series did that or not has nothing to do with it being an undesirable move.

If, as you say, RTD arrogantly swanned up and offered his services then it's more the reason to think this is a backwards step!

RTG spent TSLABYOD 'arrogantly' demanding that the BBC let Him do Who, this shouldn't come as a surprise to you. Also I'm not quite sure where the arrogance comes in. It's now a PROVEN FACT that He's pretty good at doing Who. (If you have any reason to think He's out of ideas and finished as a writer, do share, cos frankly His recent It's a Sin was...stunning, absolutely stunning.)

"Thanks Russell, we'd love to have your scripts but we're going to have another producer step in. If you want to guide him or her a little that would be fine".

That would be fine (well, presumably except for the 'guided' producer) had the BBC HAD another producer lined up. They didn't.

Look, we don't all fall down bowing and scraping at RTD like you do

I wouldn't HAVE to be worshipping the ground our Living God treads on here on a daily basis if you weren't all inexplicably behaving like Him saving Who is somehow A Bad Thing.

The incredible arrogance of you thinking that he is somehow a messiah figure in this equation is ludicrous

Why?

He's saved Who. Twice.

Me NOT regarding Him as a Messiah would be...weird.

He won't deliver the ratings (either with the Bridge Doctor or 14th Doctor) that he had with Tennant. People's tastes change, the lustre of Who has worn off- yes yes burn the blasphemers and all that-

You may well be right (and DEFINITELY about the necessity of burning the blasphemers) but why don't we just...wait and see? It's not like we were exactly expecting Him to deliver ten mill the FIRST time round. And it's not as if the continuation of Who is entirely dependent on ratings anyway. He just needs to get them up by a few million and everyone'll be happy.

but it doesn't change the fact that it feels all wrong.

No amount of pointless bickering about this pre-Specials will change the fact it feels all wrong to some of us and SO SO RIGHT THANK YOU GODS I'M SO HAPPY WORSHIP HIM WORSHIP HIM to others of us.

I suspect a lot more people here agree with me than with you.

And if so I look forward to you all eating your words.

I also figure it's Disney making it happen more than the BBC.

Now being worried that Mickey Mouse OWNS OUR DOCTOR is something that we could ALL get behind...

But yeah, definitely a step backwards. Whether the classic series did that or not has nothing to do with it being an undesirable move.

Even if for some unexplained reason someone-with-a-track-record-of-brilliantly-producing-Who producing Who IS an undesirable move, there remains the fact it's (allegedly) RTG-or-nothing...so it is REALLY - to anyone bar Tim - better that Who should DIE? (Because THAT'S what a 'nice long rest' IS. Sure, our Doc would probably stage a miraculous resurrection-from-the-dead in a decade or two but we're getting old, we can't bloody AFFORD a decade or two...)

Hoo boy!


It's now a PROVEN FACT that He's pretty good at doing Who.

Yeah, he WAS good at doing Who, in 2005. It ain't 2005 anymore.


had the BBC HAD another producer lined up. They didn't.

Well, that's on them. They knew that Chibnall was leaving, and had ample time to line up a replacement.


if you weren't all inexplicably behaving like Him saving Who is somehow A Bad Thing.

SAVING WHO FROM WHAT??


He's saved Who. Twice.

He got it back on the air in 2005. That's once, not twice.


WORSHIP HIM WORSHIP HIM

Can't do that. Sorry.

Tim - Save us from what? Chibnall? Jodie? Isn't that what M* has been complaining about? That by going crawling back to RTD, rather than hiring someone new, they are admitting that the show is in trouble? I can't see any other reason for this.

I'm not suggesting that's the real reason, rather that it was timely that RTD offered when they needed, and it probably sweetened the Disney deal. It's just that 'Who was failing/dead/etc' is how Jodie/Chibnall haters are choosing (in bad faith) to interpret it... And it seems to be a view (partly) shared by RTD/Tennant superfan Emily*:
He's saved Who. Twice.

Who didn't need saving! (OK, it did in 2005) It was doing so well that Disney wanted in on the party! Do you think they decided to throw money at a sinking ship? Despite their questionable attitude (how many 'first gay characters hidden in the background' have they had now?) they know a good thing when they see it.


*you're at Gallifrey Base, M? Guess you use a different name over there, because I don't recall ever seeing you.

Yeah, I tried signing up here using my (very) long time internet handle but the ageing board software randomly decided to say no to it (or the email address that I used with it, I think) - so I defaulted to (real life!) Initial and surname. I'm Angelus Lupus there (and just about everywhere)



*(and Jodie fan, I'm not suggesting you're a hater)

Emily - Now being worried that Mickey Mouse OWNS OUR DOCTOR is something that we could ALL get behind...

The Doctor: I wear mouse ears now. Mouse ears are cool!

;-)

M Crane - It was doing so well that Disney wanted in on the party! Do you think they decided to throw money at a sinking ship?

*Looks at Disney's success buying the Muppets, Star Was, Fox...*

Yeahhhhhhhh... let's hope Who does better.

*Looks at Disney's success buying the Muppets, Star Was, Fox...*

Yeahhhhhhhh... let's hope Who does better.

The deal with Disney is about distribution not production. Bad Wolf productions are doing that side of it.

He's saved Who. Twice.

He got it back on the air in 2005. That's once, not twice.
I'm guessing the old girl is talking about saving the program NOW (despite her also claiming that THE PROGRAM DIDN'T NEED TO BE SAVED!!!!

WORSHIP HIM WORSHIP HIM
I'm actually starting to get offended at your constant use of this term. Not that you'll care rat's testicle what I think. RTD is a flawed human being. I'm sure It's A Sin was great but it's not Doctor Who. That's like calling True Blood the same as Star Trek.

Emily; ..that we couldn't have DARLING Thomas Kincade Brannigan cos we'd never had humans and cats having sex on Who before..."

Uh...gross. Do you re-read what you write, Emily, before you click on 'preview/post message'?
Because your comment sounds like its normalizing beastiality, that RTD did us a favor by showing animal sex. And that's not what 'Gridlock' was about.

Do you re-read what you write, Emily, before you click on 'preview/post message'?

She had an attack of the Pauls....

It's now a PROVEN FACT that He's pretty good at doing Who.

Yeah, he WAS good at doing Who, in 2005. It ain't 2005 anymore.

That's why I mentioned how brilliant His recent series was, even though it wasn't Who. Any - perfectly understandable - worries that He might be old and tired and exhausted-of-ideas (which DID occur to me after I tried His Cucumber thing) can be laid to rest.

had the BBC HAD another producer lined up. They didn't.

Well, that's on them. They knew that Chibnall was leaving, and had ample time to line up a replacement.

VERY VERY TRUE but if Who died at fifty-nine it wouldn't bring us much joy to know exactly where to put the blame.

if you weren't all inexplicably behaving like Him saving Who is somehow A Bad Thing.

SAVING WHO FROM WHAT??

Saving Doctor Who from cancellation (aka 'a nice rest').

WORSHIP HIM WORSHIP HIM

Can't do that. Sorry.

No apologies necessary, I have to admit, as an atheist He probably doesn't WANT to be worshipped and certainly Moffat looked rather alarmed when I informed him he was my new Living God...

It's just that 'Who was failing/dead/etc' is how Jodie/Chibnall haters are choosing (in bad faith) to interpret it... And it seems to be a view (partly) shared by RTD/Tennant superfan Emily

Two million overnights for Eve of the Daleks isn't something I'm getting over in a hurry (or, y'know...ever). The BBC (apparently) not lining up a Chibnall-replacement despite several years of notice also inclines me to thinking that YEAH Who needed saving, albeit OBVIOUSLY from human stupidity rather than from anything Chibnall or JODIE! did.

It was doing so well that Disney wanted in on the party! Do you think they decided to throw money at a sinking ship?

*Looks at Disney's success buying the Muppets, Star Was, Fox...*

Yeahhhhhhhh... let's hope Who does better.

Yeah, I get the impression Disney is in financial trouble? Dammit WE SHOULD NEVER HAVE SOLD OUR DOCTOR FOR MONEY TO PEOPLE WHO'VE RUN OUT OF MONEY.

(Yes, my actual understanding of this particular situation is extremely lacking mainly because I'm trying to avoid thinking about MICKEY MOUSE OWNING OUR DOCTOR. Zagreus doesn't help.)

The deal with Disney is about distribution not production. Bad Wolf productions are doing that side of it.

But who exactly owns the RIGHTS to Doctor Who? You'll forgive me for being paranoid, looks like TSLABYOD involved a LOT of unnecessary extra years due to no one quite being sure about this...

He's saved Who. Twice.

He got it back on the air in 2005. That's once, not twice.
I'm guessing the old girl is talking about saving the program NOW (despite her also claiming that THE PROGRAM DIDN'T NEED TO BE SAVED!!!!

The EPISODES were wonderful (well...MOST of 'em, mentioning no Orphan 55s), Who's continuing future in spite of this fact...not so much. But as M Crane pointed out, a lot of people are acting like it needed saving from Chibnall and JODIE! whereas I feel like Chibnall and JODIE! should have been the ones to save it by bloody tearing up their stupid three-season plan (•••• THE CAR-PARK GHOST OF PATRICK TROUGHTON!) and at least hanging on for our Sixtieth...Though of course RTG n'Tennant make an even-more-blissfully-wonderful alternative.

WORSHIP HIM WORSHIP HIM
I'm actually starting to get offended at your constant use of this term

I will endeavour to restrain myself A BIT. I'm the first to admit a Catholic-indoctrinated childhood has rather screwed me up on this issue. Though you'll note I wasn't (after the initial burst of joyous joyous JOY to which I was of course entitled) boring Nitcentral with constant exhortations to Russell-worship until He started being slagged-off for, y'know, rescuing humanity's raison d'etre...

RTD is a flawed human being

He absolutely IS. Though I'm trying not to hold Fear Her against Him, He didn't write it and it WAS a last-minute replacement when Stephen Fry let Him down...

I'm sure It's A Sin was great but it's not Doctor Who. That's like calling True Blood the same as Star Trek.

I didn't mean to imply for a moment that it WAS (despite its pleasing episode based around, yup, you've guessed it), just that it was proof RTG is AT LEAST as great a writer now as He's ever been.

Because your comment sounds like its normalizing beastiality

That never even crossed my MIND, which was of course just full of adorable visions of DARLING Thomas Kincaide Brannigan and his DARLING basket full of beribboned kittens...thank gods anyone reading that would be well aware of this but still, apologies for freaking you out and I'll try to be a bit more careful in future...

Can you prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Who would have been cancelled without RTD coming back?

If not, your claims of him rescuing the show have no basis in fact.

Can you prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Who would have been cancelled without RTD coming back?

Of course not. That's why I used the word 'allegedly'.

If not, your claims of him rescuing the show have no basis in fact.

Assuming you mean 'rescuing the show FOR A SECOND TIME'...of course it isn't an established fact cos Who hasn't brilliantly materialised on our screens with excellent viewing figures yet.* When it does (yes, I'm thinking 'when' not 'if') then He WILL have saved the show - from the slow death of rubbish-viewing-figures if not from the sudden death of the BBC 'forgetting' to find a new showrunner.

(Yes I know the BBC takes other things than viewing figures into account but it's not like the Audience Appreciation figures have been any good for the last few years EITHER, curse the philistine ungrateful moronic human race. Obviously I've sod-all idea how our new rodent overlord will judge success or failure...)

*DAMMIT DAMMIT WHEN WILL IT BE NOVEMBER I WANT NOVEMBER NOOOOOOOOOOOOW.

Emily - Yeah, I get the impression Disney is in financial trouble?

Ohhhhhh, yeah. A surprising number of YouTube channels I watch usually bring up Disney's woes at some point. To borrow a phrase from Clownfish TV "A daily dose of dismal Disney". And besides financial there's their legal woes...

I wonder if we'll have an episode where the Doctor ends up on some kind of EntertainmentWorld, that's in trouble because they bought up too many moons, their publicity department are insulting fans by comparing them to Daleks for not liking their latest offerings, and they're under legal attack for trying to interfere in the Solar System's politics? ;-)


But who exactly owns the RIGHTS to Doctor Who?

Good question. When the Bad Wolf deal happened I couldn't make out if it was just a really good licensing deal or something more. Not knowing British law I couldn't say.

Anyone else find themselves panicking about how titchy/non-existent the Fourteenth Doctor's Nitcentral audio and novel sections will be?

(Yes I KNOW I should get a life, obviously it's not gonna happen...Hmm...I guess I could go through his Companionless adventures with a fine-tooth comb and maybe find some that MIGHT be Fourteen when we just ASSUMED it was Ten...?)

There is Liberation of the Daleks comic story from DWM that takes place immediately after The Power of the Doctor.

Perhaps there is still room to maneuver there.

Behind the scenes of David Tennant filming his regeneration into the Fourteenth Doctor:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zpb-L9T_lRw?fbclid=IwAR3cDoi_wuHuQ-3-0-vbij9DWbiMWVdNeeG9JXt79DgxqZBe1Vuz2b1p7ow

David Tennant explains Doctor Who in 30 seconds:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3Qi8hsjU5mA

He somehow omits the whole CHANGING YOUR FACE thing...

So...he truly IS Ten. Allons-y, What what what, I'm so sorry, total obsession with Donna n'Wilf, doing that running-demo to the Meep exactly as he did to Queen Victoria...well, except that he's happy to drop the 'L' word. ('I absolutely love her. Oh. Mmm. Do I say things like that now?' 'I loved that man.')

DOCTOR: Grand Master of the Knowledge.
SHAUN: That says Grand Mistress.
DOCTOR: Oh, catch up - interesting he still thinks of himself as female even though a) JODIE! generally thought of herself as male and b) he's spent BILLIONS OF YEARS male and only a few decades female (excluding those forgotten Timeless Children, of course).

'She's got this beautiful daughter' - gods I miss my 'You're a beautiful woman, probably' Tom...

DOCTOR: Yes. The Meep. I promise I can help him get home and then you'll never see me again.
ROSE: You're assuming "he" as a pronoun?
DOCTOR: True. Yes. Sorry. Good point. Are you he or she or they? - *Sigh* So at some point between waving the psychic paper at Shaun and now, Fourteen has adjusted to be one of those MAN things. And a sexist one to boot.

He hands DONNA the sonic screwdriver? Is he INSANE! She could have pressed something and/or triggered a memory that would prove fatal.

'Either we escaped...or we've got things very, very wrong' - FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE DOC THE MEEP IS EVIL CAN'T YOU REMEMBER GOING THROUGH THIS ADVENTURE TWICE ALREADY!

It's a bit embarrassing that the Meep outfoxes the Doctor to destroy half London, it's not like the guy was suffering from post-regeneration trauma or anything...(Gods I miss my post-regeneration trauma AND CHOOSING COSTUME scenes...)

The Doctor vis-a-vis his face: 'Well, I'm stuck with it now' - OH IF ONLY IF ONLY IF ONLY (no insult to Ncuti but...IF ONLY)...Oh, and also he should have learnt a bit more control over the regeneration process by now, could have fiddled with his new body a la Romana in Destiny...

t's a bit embarrassing that the Meep outfoxes the Doctor to destroy half London, it's not like the guy was suffering from post-regeneration trauma or anything...(Gods I miss my post-regeneration trauma AND CHOOSING COSTUME scenes...)

Well, he's regenerated what? A couple of hours ago? Three maybe? Post-regeneration trauma, or after effects, or whatever, is still a very real possibility.

I hope not (she says, abruptly doing a shameless U-turn), with TWO HOURS LEFT we can't really afford for the Doctor to spend one of 'em asleep. (Of course post-regeneration trauma can come in other forms but THAT seems to be the Tennant-favoured one and anyway, I don't particularly want to watch him attempt to murder his Companion or stick his finger up his nose EITHER.)

Of course, we could have seen him experiment and try on a bunch of different clothes like Four and Seven did, or even wear THAT COAT for about 10 minutes of the episode before deciding to burn it, but I like the long blue coat.
He seems to like pulling it off alot and just showing off his shirt and vest.
But, judging by the promo photos for Fifteen, that Doctor is going to go through different clothes like a chamleon.

Wild Blue Yonder:

Donna's wrong isn't she, this guy can TOTALLY pull off a tight suit after the age of thirty-five. (Interesting that he can finally shed the coat/jacket he was wedded to when he was Ten, even in Planet of the Dead's desert...)

DONNA: Was it me, or was Isaac Newton hot?
DOCTOR: He was, wasn't he? He was so hot. Oh! Is that who I am now?
DONNA: Well, it was never that far from the surface, mate. I always thought... - *Sigh* when are we gonna get back our Old Who asexual Doctor? JODIE! managed THREE YEARS only to fall at the penultimate hurdle, how hard would it have been for Tennant to maintain a bit of decorum for THREE HOURS before dying...?

The Doctor doesn't think to switch himself off to stop himself thinking? (I'm not saying that's a particularly GOOD idea, mind you...but he might at least have CONSIDERED it.)

So there'd've been zero problem if the Doctor hadn't blundered into the wrong place at the wrong time. Just as there'd've been very little problem if he hadn't barged in and stopped the Wrarth taking the Meep last week. If he manages to screw up tonight as well (and I'm assuming he will, what with him being somewhat likely to end up DEAD) then Fourteen will actually have beaten the Thirteenth Doctor's universe-holding record as Least Effective Doctor Ever (But Gods We Love You Both So Much Anyway)...

"Anyone else find themselves panicking about how titchy/non-existent the Fourteenth Doctor's Nitcentral audio and novel sections will be?"

Looks like there is no panic on this given what happened to 14 in The Giggle.

DOCTOR: "...Is that who I am now?"
DONNA: "Well, it was never that far from the surface, mate. I always thought..."

What? Thought *what*?! RTD creates the most heterosexual Doctor, who was 2 seconds from saying "I love you, Rose Tyler', who fools around with Madame Pompadore (whatever her name is, can't be bothered to look it up), kisses one lady after another, and NOW you insinuate he was kinda gay? Go to H*ll, RTD.

"Anyone else find themselves panicking about how titchy/non-existent the Fourteenth Doctor's Nitcentral audio and novel sections will be?"

Looks like there is no panic on this given what happened to 14 in The Giggle.

I dunno, even BIG FINISH might draw the line at Fourteen's adventures with Mad Auntie Mel and the Mole-Killer...

...Oh, who do I think I'm fooling, of course Big Finish don't DRAW LINES...

DOCTOR: "...Is that who I am now?"
DONNA: "Well, it was never that far from the surface, mate. I always thought..."

What? Thought *what*?! RTD creates the most heterosexual Doctor, who was 2 seconds from saying "I love you, Rose Tyler', who fools around with Madame Pompadore (whatever her name is, can't be bothered to look it up), kisses one lady after another, and NOW you insinuate he was kinda gay? Go to H*ll, RTD.

I don't think either of 'em were talking about him being GAY so much as admitting he had ANY sort of sexuality, he never told Rose, Reinette or River he loved 'em after all, whereas as soon as he's Fourteen it's all about the love, hand-kissing and admitting humans can be hot...

The whole numbering system is now messed up.
We can consider Fourteen 14, and Fifteen is 15, because he split off of Fourteen, but what happens when Fourteen actually regenerates and becomes ANOTHER Fifteenth Doctor? The successor of Fourteen can't be Sixteen, so what are we supposed to think?
This 'bi-generation' thing is as wonky as calling that hand-regenerating alternate universe Tennant Doctor the Eleventh, or a clone of any Doctor the next number that follows.
Having two people exist and live on at the same time that call themselves 'The Doctor' is too much to figure out!

I s'pose I just assumed Fourteen CAN'T regenerate, that all that sort of thing went to Fifteen, which makes a BIT more sense of Tennant's 'retirement'. Except, of course, that River-who-was-human-with-a-bit-of-Time-Lord-DNA could regenerate just fine, as could Capaldi-who-was-just-a-teleport-created-copy-of-the-real-thing...

That ship sailed when the Chibmeister inflicted his Timeless Child rubbish on us.

I doubt the Mouse's stooge, RTJ, can do any more damage.

I find those comments ironic, considering that these last few episodes had a more genuine Doctor Who feel than many of the recent past seasons.

The Giggle:

Gods, I love Ten, er, Fourteen with his scary-determined expression...actually I love ALL Tennant's expressions.

'I'm always so certain. I'm all sonic and TARDIS and Time Lord. Take that away...Take away the toys, what am I? What am I now?' - didn't we go through this with Matt? Who concluded he was a madman without a box?

'When I was young, I was so sure of myself I made a terrible mistake. I let the TARDIS fall into another realm, a hollow beneath the Under-Universe, where science is a game and all of us are toys' - it was hardly a terrible mistake, in fact even if the story was bloody terrible the death toll was unusually low...

DONNA: Anyway, you beat him before.
DOCTOR: That's the problem. Odds on I'll lose next time.
DONNA: No. Doesn't work like that. Because my dad used to say, dice don't know what the dice did last time. Games don't have a memory. Every game starts from scratch. - The Doctor really shouldn't have needed Geoff Noble to tell him THAT. And does he honestly think that if you beat someone once it's their turn next? After thousands of years of fighting evil and defeating it 99% of the time?

Why the HELL would the Doctor choose to just CUT CARDS? It shouldn't even count as a game and it gives him no chance to bring his genius-at-beating-the-bad-guys to bear.

DOCTOR: But how many died down there?
DONNA: That's not your fault.
FIFTEENTH DOCTOR: You can't save everyone.
DOCTOR: Why not? - I thought you settled THAT question in Voyage of the Damned.

DONNA: Cos you know what I did when you went flying off in your blue box, Spaceman? I stayed in one place, and I lived day after day after day.
DOCTOR: It would drive me mad. - YES! EXACTLY! IT WILL DRIVE HIM MAD!
DONNA: Yeah. It does. But you keep on going. And that's the adventure. The one adventure you've never had. - How would you know, Donna? You were just whinging about the amount of the Doctor's life he never bothered telling you about. (Also...CENTURIES on Gallifrey, people!) Because I've... I've worked out what happened. You changed your face, and then you found me. Do you know why?
DOCTOR 14: No.
DONNA: To come home. - Um...? SO not convinced. I'm sure Donna would have taken him in even without the face.
DOCTOR: Do you mean... he flies off? But I could never let the TARDIS go. Never. It would hurt. - Yet that's what you condemned your Hand-self to. Still, nice to hear that you DO care about Sexy, the number of times you've hit her with a hammer or begged the Daleks to destroy HER instead of Donna...

'The funny thing is, I fought all those battles for all those years, and now I know what for. This. I've never been so happy in my life' - sure, you've lost the woman you love, your home planet, your wife and half the universe (you know, that was ALL YOUR FAULT and you just SAID you'd take a million years to get over) and you're shacked up with MEL BUSH and SYLVIA NOBLE but you're JUST SO HAPPY for, er, some reason...(Maybe he's just thinking of his FOURTEENTH life? That would be fair enough.)

"Why the HELL would the Doctor choose to just CUT CARDS? It shouldn't even count as a game and it gives him no chance to bring his genius-at-beating-the-bad-guys to bear."

Exactly. Capital 'B', capital 'O', capital 'R', capital 'I', capital 'N', capital 'G', followed by ten '!'s.
What did we see? We saw the Doctor get lucky. He didn't out-wit, out-maneuver, or outlast the Toymaker. He won in a 50/50 chance. Wow. So much effort on his part.
Part of the allure of the Doctor is his ability to turn things around at a moment's notice because of his intellect, and surprise the villain AND the audience.
What we saw was just plain lazy writing and not exciting whatsoever.

What did we see? We saw the Doctor get lucky. He didn't out-wit, out-maneuver, or outlast the Toymaker. He won in a 50/50 chance.

Actually, he LOST in a 50/50 chance, which makes it SO MUCH WORSE.

(Of course, he DID have his 'best of three' card up his sleeve so it wasn't quite as suicidally stupid as it looked, but still...)

Hmm. Would Tennant's rehabilitation include opening that •••• fobwatch?

Assuming it got duplicated along with everything else in Sexy.

Maybe Gatwa knows about all his - hundreds? Thousands? Millions? - of other selves and it's no biggie...

Started the mini-series Litvinenko starring David Tennant as the real-life Alexander Litvinenko.
This series made its debut on December 15 2022, almost two months after Tennant was revealed as the Fourteenth Doctor at the end of The Power of the Doctor on October 23.
Litvinenko also featured Daniel Ryan who had previously worked with Tennant when Tennant was the Tenth Doctor in Midnight in which Ryan played Biff Cane.

Litvinenko Episode 2 marked the first appearances in the series by Rad Kaim and Aleksandar Mikic.
Given David Tennant played the titular Alexander Litvinenko, Kaim and Mikic had been in Doctor Who episodes with Tennant as the Tenth Doctor as Kaim was in The Sontaran Stratagem playing Worker and Mikic was in The Waters of Mars playing Yuri Kerenski.