A camp doctor would probably work okay (Jon Pertwee dressed a little camply so the aesthetic of a camp doctor has already been proven to work) but I wouldn't recommend him showing off his sexuality as kids would probably be a little grossed out (remember young children do this kind of thing plus it would be PC for the sake of PC). But yeah a camp doctor, in fact I would be completely behind that, it would be funny if nothing else and add a great splash of humour to the series without having to resort to other methods of pointless humour like dinosaurs on spaceships. I wouldn't see the point of a transgender doctor, you could argue if the doctor had a female incarnation then that would be transgender, but I am against the idea of a female doctor strongly because yet again it would be PC for the sake of PC, I couldn't envision it working, there would be endless jokes and it really would kill the show or at least cause another early regeneration. The majority if not all the people I have talked about this with in real life agree that a female doctor would be dreadful and it would be pointless to change a successful format. After all, there is a huge difference between changing the age of the actor playing the doctor and changing the gender of the doctor. It would be an unnecessary risk and it would be near impossible or even completely impossible to pull off right. I mean you remember the backlash from the younger fanbase about the doctor being older now, but just imagine a gender change. I don't want to sound ignorant or anything, but it just wouldn't work.
I don't recall any backlash regarding the older doctor. So either it wasn't all that big, or it passed quickly. Sounds inconsequential.
Probably both reasons, but I and others agree that Capaldi could have been better cast. Plus it's not just the fact he's older than most doctors, it's that he oldest have the "look" or the presence. If say John Hurt had been revealed to be the next doctor instead of the war doctor, I would have been quite happy as he played the part so well. So my issue with Capaldi isn't so much about as he's just the wrong person for the role in general.
How on earth can you say that he 'could have been better cast' when you have seen a 20 second clip of his Doctor in action and have no idea how this version of the character is to be portrayed?
Yeah, the regeneration isn't quite enough to judge an actor's portrayal. Also sometimes it takes a while for an actor to get the 'feel' of their Doctor. For instance in Spearhead From Space Pertwee was sort of imitating Troughton but eventually settled into the role by the end of the season. Peter Davison's portrayal of the Doctor in Four To Doomsday and The Visitation[/I-which were filmed earlier-is somewhat different from how his Doctor acts in the rest of the season. Matt Smith also started filming the Weeping Angels story before his 'debut' in Eleventh Hour. Even actors well established in the role of the Doctor can alter their performance based on the producer or head writer. Tom Baker is the best example of this IMO, he started off fairly serious but when he came under a new producer the stories got increasingly camp (with the exception of his final season, which was almost too serious). Another example is Sylvestor McCoy. Although his first season is very campy, that's toned down in his second (Although it's still a bit silly) however his final three stories, Ghost Light, Curse Of Fenric and Survival-seem to be heading in a darker direction and Mccoy's Doctor seems somewhat more distant, somber and manipulative.
Agreed, Capaldi might might be one of the best Doctor's, he might be one of the worst only time will tell, We can't judge him based on less than a minute of footage. I suspect many might have though CE might have been wrong for the role of The Doctor, but to borrow a phrase he was 'fantastic'. There is also of course the fact that every time he regenerates we get a different personality, so sure Capaldi's Doctor personality might not be like more recent ones but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
He doesn't look right and in what else I've seen him in, he just doesn't seems to have the chops for the role. Plus Scottish accents really annoy me. See above. Plus Smith seemed pretty much the same as he ended up being, if anything he was better in the Angels. McCoy is a unique case.
How exactly does one 'look right'? I mean, it's not like Chris Eccleston, Matt Smith and Peter Davison are all from the same mould, is it? As for the second point, I think it's fair to say that no actor, with the possible exception of Eccleston, has ever has the credentials and credibility that PC has when first cast as the Doctor. Over 30 years in the industry, a veteran of stage and screen, Oscar winner as a director, multiple BAFTA winner and nominee, portrayed one of the most talked-about comic characters of the last 15 years of UK TV. No chops at all. Yes, that's a very sensible objection. I'll leave that one to Lone Magpie.
Holding my hands up here, I really don’t. The best I could do is examples where clearly the wrong person was cast and quickly replaced; take Geneviève Bujold as Janeway, or Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly. I think there is a tendency to cast based on fame, which is kinda “Meh they’ll do.” Bujold’s casting was like this I imagine, and though it’s not an opinion shared by everyone I would add Scott Bakula into the mix here. I think it was a case of “We can get Bakula therefore we must” irrespective of whether he was suited to the role (and he wasn’t remotely IMO) And talking of Enterprise, and I know he’s not a lead but he is a main cast member, I refuse to believe that Anthony Montgomery was the best actor they could get to play Mayweather in Enterprise? If ever there was an example of “Meh, he’ll do,” it’s there.
Yeah, Tennant is Scottish but put on a sort of estuary English/mockney accent, while McCoy is Scottish and used his own accent. Looks like PC will also do the latter.
They're so harsh and sound awful. A few extreme northern accents also get on my nerves (Eccleston was alright though, but it's just very strong accents that annoy me.)
Eh...strong or thick accent is relative. Many Americans couldn't understand my mom's British accent, but, I barely heard it in person (only noticed it on the phone) McCoy, took me awhile to train my ear to. Tennant and Smith get talking so fast sometimes, I've had to listen to a scene several times to catch even most of the words. Actors new to me on Britcoms take me awhile to attune my ear to. A California Accent may sound strong or thick to a Bostonian or someone from New Orleans (and Vice versa)
I thought with both it just wasn't working out. That Bujold didn't really jibe with the grind of American TV and Stoltz and Zemekis parted ways because the tone was wrong. According to this, they shot for four weeks, before deciding it wasn't working out. Stoltz was/is a great actor, but, wasn't right for doing a comedy. And they replaced him. That's hardly, a "meh, you'll do" from the director. I think more of a Paris Hilton in whatever horror film that she did as casting based on fame, and might be a good example of "meh, you'll do." Was Bakula, though, their first and only choice? It's not like he's so famous that everyone else fades away. I could believe that argument if it was like, "Hey, we can totally get Vince Vaughn, he's a big Star Trek fan, let's get him." Which would've been a hilarious disaster. Bakula didn't work out, but, I think the scripts were so shitty that I don't know who would've survived. Yeah, this might be a good example. Maybe he had a killer audition, because he displayed the charisma of a console. Oy.
AS you say it's all realtive, but for example would we class Karen Gillian's accent as annoying, harsh or strong? I suspect not.
Annoying? Nah, I don't think I've ever thought an accent was annoying. But, to my ears, actually yea, Amy took some getting used to also, in order for me to attune my ear to understanding her
But that's different we can all struggle with certain accents. For me I had no issues understanding her accent but could that be perhaps I'm somewhat used to hearing a Scottish accent. Having family in Scotland and being a Scot myself.