Russell T. Davies Returns to Doctor Who as New Showrunner

[Starkers]

Would it be inappropriate to point out there was an entire decade in which all four were not involved with the show at all, and that Eccleston was invited back during that timeframe and he refused?

Some people on Twitter have suggested that he was still allegedly blacklisted by the BBC at this point (I have no idea of the truth around that) but I guess it was also still relatively recent and maybe it was all still a tad too raw. I'm still in two minds over this. It obviously had a big impact on him but I do wonder how much of the problem was him, he doesn't always strike me as the easiest person to work with, and yes you could say no one else seems to have had a problem with him but then no one else, so far as I know, has many bad words to say about RTD.

He does need to let it go before we wind up in Shatner/Takei territory and he's still going on about this at conventions in 2045

 

[The Wormhole]

I doubt he was still "blacklisted" in 2013, since we know he did meet with Moffat to discuss the 50th. Were he blacklisted, I doubt there'd be much to discuss at all.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

He does need to let it go before we wind up in Shatner/Takei territory and he's still going on about this at conventions in 2045

That said, people could quit asking him about it...

 

[Starkers]

That said, people could quit asking him about it...

This is true.

 

[Starkers]

Although having said that he wasn't specifically asked about RTD et al, he was asked what it would take for him to come back and he could just answer with a very generic "I don't think anything would make that happen" or even "What I'd want isn't feasible so it isn't going to happen." He can't stop being asked but he can choose how he answers.

 

[Jedman67]

Would it be inappropriate to point out there was an entire decade in which all four were not involved with the show at all, and that Eccleston was invited back during that timeframe and he refused?

I'm super curious to know what transpired to make him so bitter at RTD & co. I know there were "creative differences" mid S1 but to keep holding a grudge for nearly 20 years?

 

[The Wormhole]

IIRC, it has something to do with a sense of betrayal that makes it feel so personal for Eccleston. Prior to Doctor Who Eccleston thought the world of RTD, having worked with him on the series Second Coming. Indeed, the opportunity to work with RTD again was one of the contributing factors that motivated Eccleston to do Doctor Who.

We know the first season was no cakewalk at all. RTD has admitted production was a chaotic mess, we know Eccleston himself had difficulties in his personal life at the time, his father being terminally ill and the filming schedule meant Eccleston was unable to visit. There was of course one of the directors who Eccleston couldn't stand at all, though he hasn't back since either.

Now, obviously I don't know the full version and likely no one besides RTD and Eccleston themselves do. Maybe there were some very legitimate ways in which RTD dropped the ball back then, though I imagine however RTD slighted him is magnified all the more for Eccleston because of the high opinion he had of RTD prior, and that to him makes RTD's mistakes back then seem all the more unforgiveable.

 

[David cgc]

The rumors I've heard is that it had to do with the conditions on set. There were safety issues with stunts and pyrotechnics not being set up properly, poor behavior by other cast members (Barrowman especially, but I've also heard nonspecific suggestions about Clarke since his own bad actions became public), and that RTD et al. were disregarding those issues, catering to the "above-the-line" actors and directors and letting them get away with murder (figuratively, but the near-accident during the shooting of "Rose" could've gotten someone killed if it went a little differently, if the story is even half-right) even if it was at the expense of the well-being of the production crew, who weren't necessarily sanguine about seeing Captain Jack's wang on set or being improvisational about launching a flaming sofa out a window. From all accounts, Eccleston is a pretty unyielding guy, if he thought something harmful or dangerous was happening and was ignored by someone he respected who had the responsibility of ensuring a safe and functional production, I can see why he wouldn't want to put himself back into that situation, and how he'd get frustrated that people on the outside didn't or couldn't take it as seriously as he does and start being much more blunt about his feelings.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

People pushed Eccleston for years to be more forthcoming as to why he left. I think he's obliged as much as he needs to, he's named names, I don't think he owes anyone the particulars. We know it's not seeing the role as beneath him or being bored with it or something like that we know for him it comes down to the working conditions with the people he was working with (even if we'd like the juicy details). He's done Big Finish, he's doing conventions with Billie Piper, I think he's done enough.

 

[Mr Awe]

I met him at a convention. Seemed like a charming guy who was very nice to the fans.

He gave a talk and delved into some personal things. I think he was mentally unwell during filming for various reasons. He also seemed to be a man of principle, and I could see if unsavory things were happening on set, it would be hard for him to forgive and forget.

He didn't go into what happened during DW production, but he talked about some other things on other productions that rubbed him the wrong way. He talked about the mistreatment of people like camera operators, stage hands, etc. I think being raised in a blue collar family might've contributed to that.

In the end, we'll probably never know exactly what happened (although it's a bit more clear). But I was glad to see that he bears no ill will towards the show or the fans. Just particular production personnel.

 

[Brendan Moody]

By RTD’s own account the early days of filming on the 2005 series were a very rough time— they had badly overestimated how much filming they could complete in a day of production— so it’s not surprising that things went down that Eccleston takes issue with. Certainly his past comments have made it clear that he feels senior producers who were not on set day-to-day were not meeting what he saw as their duty of care.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Just give it another 10 years and it will all be water under the bridge as he and the rest of the doctors after him all come back for the 70th in 4d. Ha

 

[Jedman67]

I've heard bits and pieces of all that, as well as BBC playing politics with the cast during the first year.
I can understand the frustration, but I am under the impression that conditions improved after the first series. So I guess I don't get why he still is so upset after nearly 20 years.

 

[matthunter]

So I guess I don't get why he still is so upset after nearly 20 years.

Possibly you have not encountered members of the human race before?

If not, let me tell you some of them can really hold grudges.

Even for things that didn't even happen to them, or in their lifetime!

 

[Jedman67]

Considering what CE has said about working on GI Joe and some other movies he didn't much care for, I do get it. He has a high opinion of himself.

He could have been far more polite, when asked instead of saying that RTD, Gardner etc need to be sacked, he could have simply said "I'm not going back to Doctor Who on TV"

 

[The Wormhole]

Considering what CE has said about working on GI Joe and some other movies he didn't much care for, I do get it. He has a high opinion of himself.

To be fair, GI Joe and Thor The Dark World weren't exactly cinematic masterpieces. And I say that as someone who enjoyed The Dark World more than most.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

To be fair, GI Joe and Thor The Dark World weren't exactly cinematic masterpieces. And I say that as someone who enjoyed The Dark World more than most.

Plus, The Dark World was a bit of a mess production wise. Don't know one way or the other for G.I. Joe.

 

[Saul]

Would it be inappropriate to point out there was an entire decade in which all four were not involved with the show at all, and that Eccleston was invited back during that timeframe and he refused?

He refused because the director of Day of the Doctor was apparently one of the directors he had major issues with during his series. He told Moffat he would come back if they changed director.

After all the things I read over the years about what happened I'm 100% on his side.

 

[David cgc]

He refused because the director of Day of the Doctor was apparently one of the directors he had major issues with during his series. He told Moffat he would come back if they changed director.

That doesn't add up, Nick Hurran's first work on Doctor Who was in season six. According to IMDB, there were a couple other shows they both worked on, but never the same episodes. It's possible they didn't directly work with each other but still had beef through other means, or he objected to someone else on the production team.

 

[Relayer1]

He refused because the director of Day of the Doctor was apparently one of the directors he had major issues with during his series. He told Moffat he would come back if they changed director.

After all the things I read over the years about what happened I'm 100% on his side.

Yeah, from what I've seen of him elsewhere I have to respect Chris. He might be unyielding, but I have no reason to suspect his reasons aren't valid and justified.

I reserve the right to amend my take on it if further information comes to light.