I think they'll stick with a white male for the role of the Doctor, even if they did change gender or had a black/asian etc.. potray him. It could be seen as pandering to recent reports of sexism/racism in the show. Any change in gender, ethnic background should be story driven. I can see why the BBC might have wanted to keep Matt Smith's depature quiet, as if he is only onboard for the 50th and Christmas stories, that should mean we have a regeneration in the Christmas Day episode.
What I don't get is the need for all the misdirection. Okay, so the BBC's announcement of series 8 only mentioned Moffat, but Matt Smith said several times he was looking forward to another series and Jenna said her contract included series 8. Makes me wonder if Matt wanted to do it but then changed his mind.
Exactly wrong. IF it happens, it should just happen. Pointing it out as abnormal is exactly the sort of soft racism that critics are highlighting. Changing gender is a bit different, but we've already established that some Timelords change gender through their lifespan so really all you need is for The Doctor who have a reasonable response to finding himself as a herself.
Right now Doctor Who needs a popularity boost, an event. Getting a "name" actor to play the role is one way to get that. Now is not the time to find out if the audience will still like the show with a female lead.
Yeah I agree, Elba is fantastic but I've never seen any indication that he could play a character like the Doctor. He just isn't that kind of actor...and you need the right kind of actor, and age, ethnicity and gender are irrelevent if you get the right person, Smitg proved that re age. If the next Doctor is black or a woman I'm fine with this so long as they're the right choice for the role rather than just there to tick a box.
Now here's an idea, how about David Tennant, anyone have any ideas what he's up to for the next 12 months stage and screen wise? I know it is unlikely and I know there are many who'd groan at the suggestion, but it would be a change to bring back a previous Doctor and could fuel some good story ideas. Who knows what consequences would ensue from the Doctor regenerating (or should that be degenerating) into a past incarnation? It could be what sparks the creation of the Valyard. Also the secrecy thing as to the identity of the new Doctor could be maintained, at least until filming on Season 8 starts. The regeneration scene could have been filmed for the Anniversary special and if not, Tennant's presence in costume during the filming of the Xmas episode could be explained away as re-shoots or 'pick-ups' for the Anniversary show. I can just see the scene now as the end of the Xmas special, Matt Smith changes back to David Tennant who staggers over to mirror in the throws of post-regeneration stress looks at a mirror and exclaims "What? WHAT?"
Alexander Siddig is an actor I hadn't considered, but the more I think of it, the more I think he would be ideal. He's not a well-known actor, and he has the acting chops to do the role justice. Idris Elba may be banded about, but honestly I think he has too big a career, he's spent a long time building up his resume, and I don't think the BBC will be able to let him have enough time off to pursue the other roles he would enjoy, and Luther is still very successful. As to a woman, while many of us fans may accept it, we aren't the people the BBC are aiming for. If a woman becomes the Doctor, how many eight year old boys will be running around the playground with the new sonic, shouting "I'm the Doctor?"
Did I say "dumbed down"? Nope. I'm commenting on what network executives (on both sides of the pond) might think a US audience wants to see, and we know how well that's panned out in the past. The BBC has dollar, not pound, signs in their eyes.
I'm opposed to the idea but I guess a way to make it interesting would be to bring Tennant back, but not as the 10th Doctor. He'd be a very different 12th Doctor, one that just happens to look similar to his 10th incarnation.
Yes but you could say instead of 8 year old boys running around the playground shouting "I'm the Doctor", you could have 8 year old girls running around the playground "Shouting I'm the Doctor"
Well then, perhaps you could enlighten us with some of the changes you feel have been done for the sake of the American audience that have contributed to a drop in quality?
I'm very glad he's leaving. I never liked the whole "quirky Mad Hatter" thing. Maybe it was never Smith's fault, maybe he was directed that way, but I've had it up to here with the "Doctor-as-Immature Clown" thing. The man is a thousand year-old scientist. To think that the Doctor is "properly mad", as Moffat once put it, is a misreading of, particularly, Tom Baker's Doctor. Even Baker's Doctor was serious-minded; when he acted like a clown, he did it, generally, to throw off his adversaries. The next Doctor needs to get the character out of the Scooby Doo world. There is absolutely no reason why the Doctor needs to be quirky or muddle-headed or say random juvenile things for no reason. It's not funny, it's not plausible, it's not entertaining. I would love to see a Doctor who is intelligent and wise, who actually acts as experienced as he is. He can have emotional problems, sure, as Peter Davison and David Tennant did, but they should not be an adolescent in an adult's body (like Matt Smith was, and what Tom Baker only became in the weaker second half of his tenure.) There can be comedy in the show, of course, but it should absolutely not try to come from, "Hey, look! Look how crazy and wacky the Doctor is!" Relying on that, as Moffat and Smith have, has really, really, really not worked for me. The character at the centre of the show needs to be taken seriously. With all of that said, I am absolutely ready for a female Doctor. I'm also sick of the whole "male hero with fawning sexy female helper who falls in love with him" thing. It's a male fantasy for teenagers, and it's stale. I'd love to see a smart, powerful female Doctor, maybe even with a male companion always asking, "What do you mean, Doctor?" Turn the tables, finally. They can absolutely find a wonderful actress to play the part, if they so chose.
They might be counting the Christmas special and even possibly the 50th as part of series 8. I just heard about this this morning, I had a feeling he'd announce leaving. My first reaction was a bi of excitement as I do love a good regeneration story, then a bit of sadness as I've only just really jelled with Smiths Doctor and only really just got over Tennant's departure, and the final feeling was a feeling of dread as I realised Moffat is still on board for series 8 meaning the possibilities of a female doctor are higher than ever and possibly the highest they ever will be. I really don't want a female doctor at all. That would just be so awful. If you asked someone in the street what doctor who was about, they'd probably say something like "it's about a man with a young girl or two traveling around time and space in a blue box". Now if we had a female doctor, she'd either be travelling around with a woman still (in this case Jenna Louise Coleman, she's still on for an eighth series), the cast would be to female dominated. If she travelled with a man, he'd most likely be a muscular man or one of these "pretty boys" and elderly relatives would keep getting confused and thinking he was the doctor, and he'd probably even make a better doctor so I'd trick myself into believing he's actually the doctor, and the only other option would be to have a man and woman travelling together as well. That'd mean an awful couple in the TARDIS again most likely like Rose and Mickey, and even worse, Amy and Rory. Families in the TARDIS don't work. And even if a woman was cast right, they'd probably execute her wrong. I can imagine her stealing the sonic lipstick from Sarah Jane. And knowing Steven Moffat, he'll most likely make it corny as hell, he might even decorate the TARDIS effeminately. Diamond studded TARDIS console with pink roundels? I could imagine Moffat doing that. He's already made Smith wear purple after all. No, my first choice for doctor #12 would be Idris Elba. He'd be the first black doctor and would bring a nice dark side to it like Eccleston did, even a bit more humour than him. Would be like Eccleston with a pinch of Tennant and even a hint of T. Baker. My second choice would be Being Human star Damien Molony. He's a relatively unknown and Being human is his only televised role so far, plus that's ended now, so I imagine Damien's schedule is pretty empty right now. He'd be very McGann like , and the humorous thing about him is that he'd be like someone's granddad and know nothing about stuff like modern pop culture. He'd probably think things like yoyos were cool with the kids. Smiths a bit like that too, but he's a bit more of a warm uncle figure. Molony would be utterly clueless about stuff like that and would be like that grandparent who buys their 15 year old grandchild a box or Lego or some other toy when they're already in their teens. My third choice would be Jason Fleyming. He'd be like a hybrid of Tennant and T. baker. He'd be a middle aged doctor like Moffat originally wanted to cast. He'd be humorous and a very warm character. Plus he'd be ginger, finally, a ginger doctor!!!!!!!!
Ubik, Smith isn't a child in a man's body he's an old man in a young man's body and for me he's played that perfectly, far better than Tennant who was not only more manic, but also more forced, he's so obviously trying too hard half the time. Good but Smith's been a far better Doctor for me
Virtually all the interviews I've seen w/ Smith talking about "one more year" and looking forward to another series, date back to before this year's semi-series began. So the "one more year" he was talking about, was likely this year, 2013. Jenna's another matter. She likely will be around for the next season, much as Rose stuck around for the first series of Tennant. Having at least one familiar and friendly face hanging around for a while tends to make the transition from one Doctor to another a bit easier for audiences to make the adjustment.