The Night Of The Doctor

[Pavonis]

Two shows about the same character (essentially)? I like a good spin-off as much as anyone else, but Torchwood and SJA at least followed new characters that weren't the Doctor. How would a spin-off about the Doctor be different than Doctor Who itself?

The character has the same name, but I've always thought that they were different. Tennant's Doctor is nothing like Eccleston's Doctor, for example. If people are confused by the show that, as you say features the same (but different) characters in different eras of his life, than they don't know much Doctor Who.

So the show would have to be made for dedicated fans? And how long do you think a dedicated super-fan show like the one you describe would last?

I like McGann's Doctor, too, and was there when he debuted on TV, and wanted it to take off. I'm glad his Doctor got a second airing, so that his life is bookended. But I'm not sure that any producers have the interest in running essentially the same show twice. Spin-offs are about broadening the universe, not running the same show in parallel.

 

[Christopher]

Two shows about the same character (essentially)? I like a good spin-off as much as anyone else, but Torchwood and SJA at least followed new characters that weren't the Doctor. How would a spin-off about the Doctor be different than Doctor Who itself?

But different Doctors aren't the same character. They're heavily shaped by the personalities of the actors playing the role. Now, the three modern Doctors have been pretty much just variations on a theme, differently proportioned mixes of brooding, angsty, and exuberantly silly; but in the original series, each Doctor was about as radically different from his predecessor as you could get.

And the producers have a lot to do with it too. The changing producers over the years had as much to do with the many different approaches to the series as the changing actors.

Now, I don't really expect this to be viable as an ongoing series. But I don't see why it couldn't be worth a try as an occasional special or movie or something. Is it so wrong to want to see it attempted, at least?

As far as having competing versions of the same character, we've currently got three ongoing Sherlock Holmes franchises: the Robert Downey, Jr. film series, Sherlock, and Elementary. Granted, they aren't in direct competition, since one's in movies, one's on British TV, and one's on American TV. But I don't think the fanbase feels oversaturated.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I think it could work, but it would work best in "event" movies. I tend to agree with the point that having a full series for McGann running at the same time as Capaldi's Doctor would be a bit odd. But one-off specials would distinguish it enough to avoid brand dilution.

Plus, I like the idea of McGann being a "move Doctor" so we always end up seeing him that way.

 

[Pavonis]

Two shows about the same character (essentially)? I like a good spin-off as much as anyone else, but Torchwood and SJA at least followed new characters that weren't the Doctor. How would a spin-off about the Doctor be different than Doctor Who itself?

But different Doctors aren't the same character.

I know that. But what would be different? One show would be about the Doctor, traveling in time, helping where he could, and the other would be...exactly the same thing. Same character running around in the same TARDIS, except earlier. At least Star Trek: Enterprise had the guts to make the main character Captain Jonathan Archer, instead of going with Captain James T. Kirk but younger.

... Is it so wrong to want to see it attempted, at least?

Wrong? Of course not. Unrealistic. Improbable. Indistinguishable. But not wrong.

As far as having competing versions of the same character, we've currently got three ongoing Sherlock Holmes franchises: the Robert Downey, Jr. film series, Sherlock, and Elementary. Granted, they aren't in direct competition, since one's in movies, one's on British TV, and one's on American TV. But I don't think the fanbase feels oversaturated.

And are those shows run by the same company? Would BBC be interested in doing Sherlock and another Sherlock, but younger? Simultaneously?

I'd like to see more McGann, too, but not another whole series running in parallel to the current show.

 

[Candlelight]

We know from the "Night of the Doctor" credits that Hurt's character is called "The War Doctor."

But we know from The Name of the Doctor is that he is also just 'The Doctor'.

Plus the questions of The Valeyard, The Watcher, The Dream Lord seem to have suddenly and finally answered themselves. They're not incarnations of the Doctor, they're Aspects of the Man who chooses to be The Doctor more times than not.

I find that hard to swallow. The Valeyard was a being forged between the Doctor's 12th and 13th body, while the Watcher was an entity that helped the fourth Doctor regenerate; neither were straight regenerations which we saw in The Night of the Doctor. I've never seen the episode with The Dream Lord but as far as we've seen the Doctor has always been a single physical being going one incarnation to the next. Be interesting to see how Moffat writes Hurt out of the Doctor's life. I'm not gonna buy a straight 'we forgot him' because biologically it shunts all subsequent Doctors down one and makes Capaldi the last.

 

[Pavonis]

Well, Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor may well be the last. That would take Doctor Who to, what? 2016 or 2017? Is it realistic to think that DW can run 27 straight seasons again? A 12 year run is a good long one in this era of television.

But if the Master can survive past a 12 regeneration limit, then the Doctor might be able to do so, too. Depends on the ratings.

Let's not forget that River gave him all her remaining regenerations, so that should give the Doctor at least another 10 past his "limit". And who knows what happened to him during the Last Great Time War. Maybe he really did pick up 500 or so regenerations during the battles. It'd have to be nice to have front line soldiers that can regenerate more than 12 times!

 

[Gov Kodos]

Capaldi the last? They are not going to kill the money making franchise. The regeneration limit is just going to be reset, or ignored, or explained away.

 

[Venardhi]

Two shows about the same character (essentially)? I like a good spin-off as much as anyone else, but Torchwood and SJA at least followed new characters that weren't the Doctor. How would a spin-off about the Doctor be different than Doctor Who itself?

But different Doctors aren't the same character.

I know that. But what would be different? One show would be about the Doctor, traveling in time, helping where he could, and the other would be...exactly the same thing. Same character running around in the same TARDIS, except earlier. At least Star Trek: Enterprise had the guts to make the main character Captain Jonathan Archer, instead of going with Captain James T. Kirk but younger.

That is why it needs to be a special or one off series with some sort of cohesive shared plot with the main series. It makes it important that we see these events because if 8 doesn't achieve his task then the main series Doctor will suffer the consequences. It means that 8 is still fighting for his life, even if it is several hundred/thousand years in the future of his time-stream.

 

[Lonemagpie]

How did Wood argue that McGann didn't count?

Now that I've reread the essay...

Wood's argument is that the BBC Wales series insufficiently embraced the television movie (specifically, the half-human bit), that Death Comes to Time (a pure BBC production rather than the hydra-headed production that was the television movie) ignored it when it killed the seventh Doctor, and that RTD said so in Queer As Folk. No, really, that's Wood's argument. It's an "old man argues with cloud" sort of argument, with Wood as the old man.

I wonder what he thinks of McGann, playing the Doctor in a full BBC production, saying he's a Time Lord and ignoring the half-human thing...

 

[Australis]

The audio stories have helped bring him to the fold unlike any other Doctor, and were it not for those, I doubt he'd have been as effective as he was in the minisode yesterday,

Never listened to the audio shows. Still effective.

 

[Pindar]

The audio stories have helped bring him to the fold unlike any other Doctor, and were it not for those, I doubt he'd have been as effective as he was in the minisode yesterday,

Never listened to the audio shows. Still effective.

8 and Charley are a dream team.

Well worth investing in some. The early ones are dirt cheap now.

 

[Saul]

A one off series would be great. Even if it ran at the same time as the 12th Doctors.
If we can have CSI, CSI New York, CSI Miami running together why not two Doctors on their own adventures whom might bump into each other.
Better than spending that money on another Torchwood series to be honest...

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Capaldi the last? They are not going to kill the money making franchise. The regeneration limit is just going to be reset, or ignored, or explained away.

Given recent comments, I think it's clear they're thinking of the ways to reset or explain it away. I don't think they're going to ignore it, but I agree there's no way they'll honor it.

Hell, it only normally comes up as a plot point for the Master and there's no way in hell he's ever honored it

I wonder what he thinks of McGann, playing the Doctor in a full BBC production, saying he's a Time Lord and ignoring the half-human thing...

For what it's worth (I just watched the movie), I think it's likely that the half-human thing is limited strictly to the Eighth Doctor (hence the Master's seeming surprise when he recognized this).

Weirdly enough, though, it seemed like it was supposed to be a plot point for opening the Eye of Harmony (only humans seemed able), but the Doctor never tried to open it (or close it, that happened automatically). So it never really mattered. I suppose one could argue that the Master was mistaken and the Doctor was joking (which I think he was for the "on my mother's side" part), but it really doesn't affect anything either way.

 

[Venardhi]

Best ignored I think, tossed in the bin alongside the various other bits of non-continuity that have accrued over the years. Trying to explain it away wouldn't serve much point. Have the audios done anything with that particular detail?

 

[maneth]

This one's fantastic! I only hope they broadcast it before the main feature come Nov 23! I want to see it in HD on my 50 in tv...

 

[Sindatur]

Might there be a way for Big Finish and BBCA to get in bed together, to do Specials (Broadcast on BBCA [and perhaps also sold to other Countries for TV Airing] and sold on DVD/downloading on The Big Finish Site?). Would BBCA Co-Funding or paying for airing rights be enough to round out the budget? Since BF already has rights to Audio for him, would there be a licensing issue to do do Video?

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ It might be about "image" copyrights.

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

I'd be happy to see an 8th Doctor series coexisting with a 12th Doctor series, but it would work best with a different production team, coming at the show from another angle. Daft idea, but maybe make it post watershed, adult in tone. (Not adult Torchwood, but adult X Files/Millennium), less runny jumpy and more cerebral.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Might there be a way for Big Finish and BBCA to get in bed together, to do Specials (Broadcast on BBCA [and perhaps also sold to other Countries for TV Airing] and sold on DVD/downloading on The Big Finish Site?). Would BBCA Co-Funding or paying for airing rights be enough to round out the budget? Since BF already has rights to Audio for him, would there be a licensing issue to do do Video?

No, Big Finish wouldn't have a role if the BBC (or one of its subsidiaries) decided to make an eighth Doctor special and/or series. Big Finish is just a licensee (technically, a sub-licensee), and then only for certain audio rights.

One practical question -- who would write and produce a McGann special/series? Moffat is already spread thin between Doctor Who and Sherlock. Perhaps he would be a titular Executive Producer while another production team does the actual heavy lifting, not unlike the way the first two seasons of Torchwood were done.

 

[RoJoHen]

I just found out that my local movie theater is playing "The Day of the Doctor" on the 25th, which is pretty much the best news ever. We never get stuff like that!