News RUMOR: Whittaker potentially leaving

[The Nth Doctor]

...now that's a fascinating prospect.

Putting aside the possibility of an American running the show, I'd be very curious to see what he would bring to the show.

 

[CuriousCaitian]

God, yes.

He's responsible for one of the greatest pieces of sci-fi TV ever made. Why wouldn't the prospect of him running Doctor Who be an exciting one? Heck, Marcus from B5 could be seen as somewhat Doctor-esque, so he even has a little previous with such a character. I don't care one whit that JMS is American, I just care that he's one of the best genre writers out there, knows how to run a show, and really knows his sci-fi.

I think the chances of it actually happening are tiny, but if it did, I'd be over the moon.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I found B5 to be poorly written and the acting was hit or miss. So I repeat my God no.

 

[StarMan]

Fantastic news re: Chibnall.

Surely at this point we've hit bottom (both creatively and the ratings department)?

Eccelston - Solid. Out the door as quick as he came.

Tennant - Pretty solid from start to finish. Represents the peak of nuWho. Had the odd speed wobble here and there, but very little to complain about.

Smith - Good first two season (first especially), but things took a bit of a nose dive as Clara took more of the center stage.

Capaldi - The Clara obsession continued. Some brief high points with Missy. The confessional dial episode is one of the top nuWho episodes IMO. Fairly frustrating given Capaldi's acting chops.

Whittaker - some nice moments here and there, but in all honesty, I struggle to remember a single episode to call out. In fact they're all a bit of a blur. Weak, wishy washy ... Whittaker is a fantastic actress and deserved better than being saddled with piss poor writing.

As for JMS - given the downward spiral post-RTD, I'm game to throw anything at the wall to see what will stick.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

JMS I would hope that is some fantasy casting for showrunner but if it happens I would be optimistic

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

God no.

Curious. Why?

 

[captainkirk]

A guy with a proven history of producing and writing a beloved sci-fi series who would be excited for the opportunity to run Doctor Who? Sounds like a massive step up to me.

 

[Guy Gardener]

But what's he done Lately?

Sense8?

Freema Ageyman is in his tool box?

She can be brought back to tell the endstory of Micky.

Naveen Andrews as the Doctor?

 

[Relayer1]

JMS ? Hell yes.

There were things about B5 that were terrible, but they were mainly how awful a good chunk of the cast were and how the suits ruined the arc/pacing.

I'd love to see him get Who.

 

[Lonemagpie]

I fully expect that the next showrunner is already under contract (given the time needed for preproduction of a new era) and under a gagging order until announced. So, JMS - or anyone else - expressing interest now is doubtless far too late as the job will be filled already.

 

[CuriousCaitian]

Babylon 5 badly written? By what possible metric?

Reading through JMS' Twitter feed, he clearly knows his offbeat British sci-fi - he's a big fan of The Prisoner and Blake's 7, for example - and has no intention of Americanising Who, so all I can see are positives.

I repeat, though, very, very small chance of actually happening, and as @Lonemagpie says, the BBC very likely already have a new showrunner in mind. Fun to imagine, though. :-)

 

[Nerys Myk]

Curious. Why?

See post #363

But what's he done Lately?

Sense8?

Freema Ageyman is in his tool box?

She can be brought back to tell the endstory of Micky.

Naveen Andrews as the Doctor?

If he can bring the The Wachowskis with him, then maybe.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Babylon 5 badly written? By what possible metric?

The dialog was often atrocious and delivered by actors who could not save it. JMS should have stuck to plots and let someone else do the dialog. And hire better actors. More Katsluas, Jurasiks and Furlands, less Biggs, Boxleitners and Christians.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

JMS for next show runner???

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-f...replace-chris-chibnall-doctor-who-newsupdate/

Well, that would certainly be another way to delay The Last Dangerous Visions...

Yes, yes, I know. JMS has just announced he's bought another story from a new writer and he's about to shop the book to publishers, so maybe something will actually happen.

 

[Turtletrekker]

The dialog was often atrocious and delivered by actors who could not save it. JMS should have stuck to plots and let someone else do the dialog. And hire better actors. More Katsluas, Jurasiks and Furlands, less Biggs, Boxleitners and Christians.

This. I binged Babylon 5 once and can't imagine ever wanting to sit through it again.

 

[kirk55555]

I mean, B5 did have flaws (the entire last season was pretty much unnecessary), but its overall a great show. I've watched it all the way through twice, and will certainly do more rewatches in the future. I'd watch even most of its (relatively few) bad episodes over stuff like the Ron Moore Battlestar Galactica or any of Chibnall's Doctor Who run.

Do I think JMS would do well making Doctor Who? I don't know. He hasn't produced anything good in years, but he couldn't do a worse job then Chibnall and would at least bring something different Doctor Who. I could definitely think of people who'd be a lot worse at running Doctor Who, including the current showrunner.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Holy crap, I just noticed JMS quote tweeted me to expand on how he's a big fan of British television beyond Doctor Who.

 

[CuriousCaitian]

The dialog was often atrocious and delivered by actors who could not save it. JMS should have stuck to plots and let someone else do the dialog. And hire better actors. More Katsluas, Jurasiks and Furlands, less Biggs, Boxleitners and Christians.

A prime example of how subjective these things can be. I'll grant you the pilot is stiff and awkward, and there is the odd slip-up in the series proper, but otherwise I think the dialogue is fantastic, and the cast uniformly excellent. It's a series I will happily lose myself in time and again. I struggle to understand why some people would think it bad, but accept they do. You can't please everyone.

Holy crap, I just noticed JMS quote tweeted me to expand on how he's a big fan of British television beyond Doctor Who.

He's also very good at interacting with the fans.

 

[Brendan Moody]

I like his work on B5 a lot in spite of its often atrocious dialogue (an unholy hybrid of Rod Serling and half-hour toy commercial cartoons), but I don’t really see JMS bringing much to the table as a Doctor Who screenwriter. The fact that his big pitch to reinvent Star Trek was “reboot TOS, but with a five-year arc about higher races and mysterious ancient truths” suggests certain limitations in his creative toolset.

 

[Guy Gardener]

See post #363

If he can bring the The Wachowskis with him, then maybe.

First of all Sylvestor McCoy was in Sense8.

Second, I assume they would be thrilled to play with Regeneration as a metaphor for trans issues.