RTD on The Next Doctor in DWM (spoilers)

[denmaroca]

RTD has been penning an article in the latest Doctor Who Monthly and has come out with a couple of very interesting comments:

This new Doctor is absolutely NOT a conman. I had to wrestle for a long time with bringing these two characters together. Specifically - why don't they recognise each other? The Doctor has clearly said in the past that he can sense other Time Lords, so that even the Master had to be hidden in human form. But then "Time Crash" came to my rescue - thank you, Steven Moffat! Because in that, the Fifth Doctor very clearly doesn't recognise the Tenth Doctor, even when he's standing in the TARDIS.

Which then suggested to me that Time Lords are now very good at spotting each other....except for future versions of themselves! There's obviously some sort of Blinovitch Effect at work, or something. And that simple idea of Steven's opened up this whole plot for me and allowed me to write it.

Of course, there's then the mystery of why David Morrissey's Doctor doesn't recognise the Tenth, but *that's* the point - as you'll see, the whole story focuses on that. What terrible things have happened, to make him forget?

RTD also mentions that filming is scheduled to begin on Monday 19th January; that passports will be needed for 4.15 (i.e. the 2nd special, this Xmas being 4.14), and that the title of 4.15 will be four words, one of them beginning with D.

 

[Mr Light]

So its going to show a future incarnation of the Doctor? Wouldn't that lock in this actor to be play the Doctor in the future?

 

[denmaroca]

^ Not if it's not stated which future incarnation it is - could be the 295th!

 

[Kelso]

Oh, great. So, for the next 40 years DW forums will be filled with "Cast xxxxx as the Morissey Doctor!", "Which incarnation was Morrisey??", "When will David Morrossey take over??", "Is Morrissey too old??", etc.


Thanks, RTD.

 

[Kelthaz]

^ Unless Morrissey is the eleventh doctor in which case there will be no problems. A little introduction to our next Doctor before he officially takes over the show.

 

[denmaroca]

^ Although Morrissey could be the Eleventh Doctor with someone else taking over as the Twelth for Series 5.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

Davies has screwed with our brains before - he just wants to keep us guessing. I'm figuring that he's just what we think he is: someone who found out about THE Doctor, and has used the stories to create an adventuresome persona for a guy who needed it.

Mark

 

[Brendan Moody]

Looks like the rumors of 4.15 involving filming in Tunisia may be correct, then.

I still don't think Morrissey's character will be straightforwardly a future Doctor, and RTD's not above fibbing (look closely at his wording and you'll see he says less than you might have first thought), but it sounds like whatever does happen will be more interesting than I'd expected. Only 15 days now...

 

[diankra]

Think through the wording of the last paragraph: clearly, Morrissey is, or believes himself to be, the Doctor, but has no memory of these events happening to Tennant.
That could mean that Morrissey is a future Doctor who's amnesiac about parts of his past (including being the 10th Doctor); it could mean he genuinely believes he's the Doctor, but isn't, which is why he doesn't remember being Tennant; it could mean that he's the Doctor from an alternate universe (hence he doesn't recognise Tennant as he became other actors), it could mean... add your alternatives here!

 

[Brendan Moody]

My new theory based on these comments is that Morrissey is a human who genuinely believes he's the Doctor ("absolutely NOT a conman") due to some repressed personal trauma in which some version of the Doctor played a role. An indirect role, obviously, or Tennant would remember him, unless the trauma involved an actual future Doctor. Morrissey's character used the idea of being the Doctor as a refuge from his losses ("terrible things have happened, to make him forget").

Laid out like this, it sounds a bit complicated, but I think it could be done onscreen in a clear manner, and it continues RTD's theme of the very idea of the Doctor being powerful. Well, we'll see, anyway.

 

[Bacl]

Davies has screwed with our brains before - he just wants to keep us guessing. I'm figuring that he's just what we think he is: someone who found out about THE Doctor, and has used the stories to create an adventuresome persona for a guy who needed it.

Mark

Agreed. I don't believe a word of what RTD said. Sounds very forced to redirect us because everyone already figured out the guy is a con man.

 

[Brendan Moody]

Agreed. I don't believe a word of what RTD said.

Well, every word of it is almost certainly true. He's not a con man, there's a reason the Doctor wouldn't immediately recognize him as a future self, there's something terrible in his past that he has forgotten. The truths are just arranged to create a misleading impression. With the exception of "Rose is never coming back," RTD has generally used misleading truths rather than outright lies.

 

[Lonemagpie]

So its going to show a future incarnation of the Doctor? Wouldn't that lock in this actor to be play the Doctor in the future?

Actually all it says is that the other Doctor isn't deliberately faking it (But therefore could genuinely believe it for some other reason) and that TenDoc will have a reason not to twig straight off that this isn't his future self.

 

[The]

...the title of 4.15 will be four words, one of them beginning with D.

Death of the Doctor ?

And yeah, RTD's full of it. This guy isn't a future Doctor. And per the little snippet I've seen of this Morrisey guy, I'd hope not. His acting was pretty weak in those scenes...

 

[Sci]

RTD says many things. RTD also said that he would never, ever, under any circumstances bring back Rose after "Doomsday" and that the Master didn't really interest him as a character.

RTD lies, on occasion, when it suits his purposes.

 

[Brendan Moody]

RTD also said ... that the Master didn't really interest him as a character.

I'm not sure he ever said quite that, actually. When asked he said "Well, it could happen but it would take the right story," which sounds unenthusiastic but doesn't actually mean anything.

I know RTD twists the truth on very rare occasions, and outright lies even more rarely (I count twice, maybe three times), but (speaking generally rather than to this specific instance) that's no reason to say "But OMG RTD lies!" every time one of his statements is referenced. He lies to protect big character or monster returns and stunt casting, none of which really apply in this case. He's clearly interested in keeping people guessing about the Morrissey "Doctor," but I doubt he's needed to lie to do so.

 

[The Wormhole]

RTD also said ... that the Master didn't really interest him as a character.

I'm not sure he ever said quite that, actually. When asked he said "Well, it could happen but it would take the right story," which sounds unenthusiastic but doesn't actually mean anything.

No, I actually remember RTD saying once that he never cared for the Master and had no intention of ever bringing him back. Then after Utopia aired someone brought this up to him, and he admitted that he lied when he said that.

 

[Sci]

RTD also said ... that the Master didn't really interest him as a character.

I'm not sure he ever said quite that, actually. When asked he said "Well, it could happen but it would take the right story," which sounds unenthusiastic but doesn't actually mean anything.

No, I actually remember RTD saying once that he never cared for the Master and had no intention of ever bringing him back. Then after Utopia aired someone brought this up to him, and he admitted that he lied when he said that.

Which, by the way, is Just Fine by me. If RTD wants to lie so that we'll have as great a surprise as Professor Yana turning out to be the Master, then I'm all for it.

 

[Bacl]

Instead of lying, and instead of revealing secrets, I wish these show producers would just keep their mouths shut and leave it at, "We'll have to wait and see."

Blah, blah, blah, blah...

 

[Brendan Moody]

No, I actually remember RTD saying once that he never cared for the Master and had no intention of ever bringing him back.

Do you happen to remember where that was? In DWM 384 (I think this is what you're recalling elsewhere in your post) RTD himself said unprompted "Did you hear me say that I didn't like the Master, and didn't want him back? Well, I was lying!", so I assume he had done so before, but despite the fact that every fan seems to remember it I can never seem to find out where. The Doctor Who Confidential for "Dalek" has the softer "well, with the right story..." formulation I mentioned, and that's the only pre-"Utopia" quote on the Master I've found.