David Troughton and Sean Pertwee as the second and third Doctors

[Whofan]

Would it work? Although it's not really apparent in his initial WHO appearence (Curse of Peladon) in Midnight David is pretty much a doppelganger of his father. Ditto with Sean Pertwee, he resembles his father a great deal. Question is, would they work in a multi-Doctor story in their father's role, be it audio or live-action?


I don't think it would be disrespectful, really...David Troughton, at one point, was considered the 'cover model' for the Eighth Doctor in the books until the TV movie became a reality and Mcgann became the official one.

 

[JoeZhang]

Would it work?

No - I'd argue that the Doctor is different from other fictional characters like Kirk, Bond or Sherlock Holmes in that the regeneration aspect of the character means that the characteristics and mannerisms of that particular actor are *that* particular version of the Doctor and it's pointless to have someone doing their impression of the second or third Doctor rather than simply create their own version of what the Doctor is and means.

 

[Whofan]

It's kind of worked with Hartnell-we've had two impersonators-Hurdnall in the Five Doctors and that actor in the "Unbound" audios-do a decent job.


Plus if Tom Baker passes away, or refuses to do a multi-Doctor thing, that guy from Dead ringers is a .....dead ringer for Tom

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Tom reminds me a lot more of Jon than Tom these days.

And it's not just the white hair. Facially, he resembles Jon a little bit.

 

[Chaos Descending]

No on David Troughton, as he doesn't really look anything like his Dad, in my opinion, but yes on Sean Pertwee. He does look enough like his Dad that with a wig and makeup he could pass as the Third Doctor.

 

[Peacemaker]

Agree with Sean Pertwee, he is the very image of his father. With a little work, I think he could pull it off.

 

[Samurai8472]

No on David Troughton, as he doesn't really look anything like his Dad.

He does some of his dad's mannerisms though

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

IDK, there's a resemblance there. The most obvious difference is the hairline of course.

 

[Procutus]

Tom reminds me a lot more of Jon than Tom these days.

And it's not just the white hair. Facially, he resembles Jon a little bit.

You're right about that. I was a bit shocked when I saw a recent picture of Tom - the hair really threw me, and it looks as if he's put on some weight since his DW days.

There is more than a passing resemblance to Jon.

 

[Starkers]

I wouldn't want either of them to do it, and I doubt it'd matter anyway as my understanding is neither of them would want to do it. Although I don't think Sean has discounted playing the Doctor, I think he'd want to be his own Doctor.

 

[Rarewolf]

Micheal looks more like his dad, David is taller.

The Troughton family dynasty is colourful, to say the least. Both brothers refused to do a tribute for him on the DVDs.

 

[The Wormhole]

I've heard that Sean Pertwee has stated that he'd refuse to play the Third Doctor. Kind of rules the possibility out.

 

[Dukhat]

It's kind of worked with Hartnell-we've had two impersonators-Hurdnall in the Five Doctors and that actor in the "Unbound" audios-do a decent job.

The problems with the above examples are:

1. Richard Hurndall didn't really give a convincing impersonation of Hartnell at all.

2. While Geoffrey Bayldon does give an spot-on impersonation of Hartnell in the audios, I don't know how well it would work live. I can give a spot-on impersonation of Nixon or Reagan, but I certainly don't look like either one.


I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with anyone impersonating a past Doctor...even their sons. I think there's a good reason why Troughton and Pertwee the Youngers don't want to do that.

 

[arch101]

I thought Hurndall was OK in 5 Docs. After that, I don't have much problem with an actor portraying a deceased Doc, as long as it's an accurate portrayal and not a caricature. Both Pertwee Jr. and Troughton Jr. are professional actors and therefore I have no doubt that their acting ability, along with their physical resemblance, would allow both to passably portray their father's roles for a one-off.

 

[23skidoo]

2. While Geoffrey Bayldon does give an spot-on impersonation of Hartnell in the audios, I don't know how well it would work live. I can give a spot-on impersonation of Nixon or Reagan, but I certainly don't look like either one.

Bayldon wasn't impersonating Hartnell at all. The Unbound audios are "alternate universe" Doctor Who stories. Bayldon was one of the first choices to play the First Doctor before Hartnell was hired, so his stories are a "what if he'd said yes in 1963" scenario.

As for David Troughton, hasn't he recorded some of the Target audio books featuring the Second Doctor? I think it should be easy to tell from that whether he'd pass muster in an audio sense as his dad. I wouldn't support either David or Sean or anyone else impersonating any of the earlier Doctors on screen. I didn't care for Hurndall being brought in either. They barely got away with it back in 1963, and only because they broke the fourth wall with it by including a clip of Hartnell at the beginning and basically saying to the audience "work with us one this".

Jon Culshaw, the Dead Ringers guy, would work well as a stand in for Tom Baker, but there's no point now that Tom Baker himself is doing audios again (and when he's no longer available, I won't want to see or hear from the Fourth Doctor again under any other actor - I don't want anyone impersonating Lis Sladen either). An exception is the Companion Chronicles, in which we get to hear Katy Manning, Nicola Bryant, Mary Tamm and others impersonate their Doctors, but those are special cases since it's usually the companion telling a story. And besides, hearing Nicola Bryant impersonating Peter Davison is actually kind of hot.

I understand it's sad for fans of a particular Doctor to know there won't be any more First, Second or Third Doctor adventures featuring the original actor and let's enjoy the Fourth while we have him. But once the actor is no longer available, then if we want more adventures, we need to rely on original novels. There are tons of books out there featuring all 11 Doctors, and there's every sign BBC Books might be warming up to doing more books featuring the "classic series" Doctors, given the print-on-demand reprints that were supposed to start circulating this summer and the launch of a new series of Target novelisation reprints. I think for the 50th BBC Books is going to do something with all 11.

Alex

 

[Rarewolf]

As for David Troughton, hasn't he recorded some of the Target audio books featuring the Second Doctor?

He has - Fury (due soon) War Games and Abominable Snowmen I belive, as well as reading some of the 2nd Doctor short trips for Big Finish.

But then he's also read talking books for the BBC featuring the 10th and 11th Doctors!

 

[Dukhat]

Bayldon wasn't impersonating Hartnell at all. The Unbound audios are "alternate universe" Doctor Who stories. Bayldon was one of the first choices to play the First Doctor before Hartnell was hired, so his stories are a "what if he'd said yes in 1963" scenario.

Er, yes he was impersonating Hartnell. And he did a fantastic job of it too. The "alternate universe" for this particular audio was "What if the Doctor never left Gallifrey?" Because of that, he never regenerated past his original body. So Bayldon was supposed to be Hartnell.

 

[Tom]

There is the option of casting someone young for the first doctor also. it would be cool becuse we have not seen the first doctor when he was in his 30's. I think fans would like that.

 

[Sindatur]

There is the option of casting someone young for the first doctor also. it would be cool becuse we have not seen the first doctor when he was in his 30's. I think fans would like that.

That could be a really neat concept. Some major event on Gallifrey during the 1st Doctors youth, that crosses all of space and time and gives a reason for numerous prior incarnations to be involved.

Hartnell had such a unique way of speaking though, the casting would have to be impeccable to find someone who could be believably be Hartnell at that age, and get the vocal idiosyncracies correct, without seeming like a parody or a cheap knock. It would have to feel very natural, not forced, or would turn into a fiasco.

 

[Servo]

I would love to see Sean Pertwee as The Doctor. His own Doctor though, not the 3rd incarnation. Too gimmicky.