Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt?

[Bacl]

I just watched a fuller clip of the Children in Need special, and the presenter was going on and on about David leaving and asking "Who will be the next Doctor? Perhaps we'll find out this Christmas..."

Could all this "I'm leaving" be a stunt? He has only done three seasons for crying out loud! I know, I know Christopher E. only did one, but still!

All my love for Tenant aside, it smells a little fishy that one of the most popular Doctors, whose actor has said he dreamed of playing the Doctor all his life, would be suddenly leaving the show just when things started cooking.

 

[CommodoreKong]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

Well it would be nice if he was really returning for another series or two, but I seriously doubt he is.

 

[Demonland]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

I doubt it's a stunt. Wouldn't mind if it was but most likely not.

 

[Starkers]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

If it was going to be s tunt it would have come out pre The Stolen Earth!

Whilst RTD has shown he is not above deception, this would be ridiculous. Besides, I think 3 or 4 years is about right for a Doctor, and if you take into account the specials next year we've had approx 3.5 seasons of Tennant. At the end of the day he isn't the show, anymore than Eccleston, Tom Baker or even Hartnell were.

 

[Winterwind]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

I doubt it's a stunt. I expected DT to stay for Moffat's first season but oh well, fresh start. Starkers is quite right, it's the show, the character, not the actor that is most important.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

If it is a stunt, I don't actually see the potential for an upside to it.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

If it is a stunt, I don't actually see the potential for an upside to it.

Yeah. How would that work?

"Hey, I'm leaving!"
"Just kidding, I'm not!"

Like, I don't see what advantage story telling it would give...now, if there were rumors before Stolen Earth...ok...but...no. There's nothing to gain.

He's gone.

 

[Brendan Moody]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

It's far more likely that "The Next Doctor" is a stunt based on Tennant's long-laid plans to leave after the specials.

When he finishes filming on the last special Tennant will have been in the Doctor Who spotlight for four full years, longer than any Doctor other than Pertwee and Tom Baker and with a production schedule more grueling than either of them had. He's a tremendously popular young actor. It's not surprising that he's leaving behind a role that can't really evolve that much for other projects that can enhance his reputation and guarantee he doesn't become "that guy who was Doctor Who for so long."

 

[Jim Steele]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

When he finishes filming on the last special Tennant will have been in the Doctor Who spotlight for four full years, longer than any Doctor other than Pertwee and Tom Baker and with a production schedule more grueling than either of them had

Exactly.

Bravo, this can't be repeated enough.

 

[wamdue]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

yeah I dont see how this is a stunt either

 

[Meredith]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

yeah I dont see how this is a stunt either

It would be nice if they wrote a "Gap" into the series so that Tennant could come back if he felt like doing so in the future.

 

[Starkers]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

When he finishes filming on the last special Tennant will have been in the Doctor Who spotlight for four full years, longer than any Doctor other than Pertwee and Tom Baker and with a production schedule more grueling than either of them had

Exactly.

Bravo, this can't be repeated enough.

Yeah but I bet he's paid more than Pertwee and Baker put together...and then some.

with regards the schedule, did this change with Pertwee onwards? I only ask becuase I've heard several things alluding to the production schedule during Troughton's era being incredibly intensive and it sounds at least as gruelling as today's.

 

[Starkers]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

yeah I dont see how this is a stunt either

It would be nice if they wrote a "Gap" into the series so that Tennant could come back if he felt like doing so in the future.

The get out for Tennant (and Piper) is now firmly inbuilt after Journey's End I reckon. I won't be at all surprised to see the 10th doc returning, but hopefully they won't do a multi Doctor episode/special for several years. I wouldn't like 10 to turn up until 11 has had at least a season and a half/two seasons to get his feet under the table.

 

[wamdue]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

very true, Tennant could well return as the other 10th Doctor, the question is what would he be like?

 

[Timby]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

The get out for Tennant (and Piper) is now firmly inbuilt after Journey's End I reckon. I won't be at all surprised to see the 10th doc returning, but hopefully they won't do a multi Doctor episode/special for several years. I wouldn't like 10 to turn up until 11 has had at least a season and a half/two seasons to get his feet under the table.

Yep. It would be horribly irresponsible of the staff to do a multi-Doctor installment for quite some time. David Tennant is leaving the show as perhaps the most popular actor to ever play the role, having been the veritable face of the show for more than three years, and establishing himself as one of the most famous actors in all of Britain. For young people, for many new fans of the show, for a lot of Americans -- David Tennant is the Doctor.

To bring him back merely a year, or even two years, after his departure would be terribly unfair to whomever is tapped as his replacement. That actor is already going to have enough trouble in his first season or two with fans and critics shrieking, "He's not Tennant." The last thing the show needs to do is bring Tennant back as his memory is just starting to fade from viewers' minds, reminding everyone that no matter how good this new guy is, he's not their favorite.

 

[Starkers]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

^ All true, however it's equally possible that the new guy will be more popular than Tennant!

Hey anything's possible ;-)

 

[Brendan Moody]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

Yeah but I bet he's paid more than Pertwee and Baker put together...and then some.

Well, sure, because Doctor Who is more of a prestige product now than it was then. But my point was that he would probably be getting tired of the grind, which all the money in the world can't necessarily fix.

with regards the schedule, did this change with Pertwee onwards?

Yeah. The most obvious change is that (based on the regular complaints Troughton had made while he was in the role) there were fewer episodes a series beginning with series seven. It went down from 40+ to ~26, which (adjusting for changes in episode length) has been the standard ever since. Naturally, cutting the amount of material filmed by more than 1/3 ameliorated some of the pressures of the schedule. That being said, episodes of the new series are of course much more elaborate and action-heavy than during the B&W era, with a smaller permanent cast, so the new series schedule is at least as rough as during that time if not more so.

 

[wamdue]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

I agree with what JKTim says about giving the new guy and fans a chance to get used to the 11th Doctor, bringing back Tennant to early would derail that.

 

[Emissary of the Prophets]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

As much as we'd all like to see David/Tenth go on for years & years, it's certain he is moving on.

 

[The]

Re: Is there any chance David Tenant's departure might just be a stunt

^ All true, however it's equally possible that the new guy will be more popular than Tennant!

Hey anything's possible ;-)

Exactly. And I don't mean that with a 'wink', either. The fandom that fell in love with Troughon couldn't imagine anyone else doing it. Fans of Pertwee said there would never be an equal. The masses all hailed Tom Baker as impossible to follow. Back in the 90's, guys like Moffat, RTD, and Cornell all pretty much agreed how impossible it would be to relaunch Doctor Who.

A lot of people are looking at Tennant's departure as the end of the series. Rather, it should be looked at, as with all of Doctor Who, as simply a change. Will the next guy be as popular as Tennant? I don't know. But, ask some people, and he was never as good as Eccleston. So, for the ones that don't like the new guy, there will be another who will...