March 20, 2004

would you like a jelly baby...? the bbc says they've picked the new doctor who - christopher eccleston (from shallow grave & 28 days later). i think he's going to be great, but not as great as tom baker was, of course. feel free to disagree with me while i celebrate by knitting myself a very long scarf.
posted by t r a c y 20 years ago
  • Ah! Excellent. Very good actor. Looks the part, too. Now let us hope that the guy will stay in the role for a decent period and not bail out too quick, like Peter Davison. (although on checking, it seems my memory is at fault, because even Bill Hartnell didn't last very long).
  • I like Christopher Ecclestone, too, and he should be quite a different personality to the other doctors, which is always a good idea. Lets hope the BBC doesn't fuck this up (its a very long time since they did any decent science fiction at all).
  • yah i was worrying on the same point, that he'll just want to do the one season, since he's got a pretty healthy movie career. but i'm still excited, he's such a good actor and is ever so slightly geeky looking but still dashing, perfect for a time lord...! i've been a huge fan since shallow grave, one of my fave films. i just noticed that tom baker site is shut down, sorry about the bad link. i wonder what's up with that...? he's an odd fellow, might have had a dust up with his webmaster or something. here's his brand new official website: tombaker.tv.
  • The pictures of Christopher Eccleston on the BBC site make him look like Zod. * continues waiting for an Avon's 7 revival *
  • Most importantly, I think, he was fantastic working with Russell T Davies' script in The Second Coming (the best TV drama in years, bar none), so they work really well together. I think it's a great bit of casting. Richard E Grant would have been fun, Eddie Izzard would have been... interesting, and Alan Davies would have heralded the coming of the apocalypse. So I think they've done pretty well. The other signs look good; with a team of really good writers, a run of thirteen episodes, and Russell Davies' well-known Buffy obsession, it looks like they're aiming for something that can genuinely compete with the best American series.
  • I was kind of hoping that they'd use two new doctors - he is a time traveller, after all, and they could have used doctors 9 and 10 at the same time.
  • I was kinda hoping for Ainsley Harriott.
  • boo: Are you aware the first season DVDs have finally shipped? *claps and squeals like a schoolgirl*
  • *joins rogerd in clapping and squealing*
  • rodgerd: I gaze longingly at them whenever I'm in Whitcoulls. *sighs*
  • They can pick who they like - Tom Baker will ALWAYS be the Doctor. The rest are just... imitations.
  • ::sigh:: I was really hoping for Eddie Izzard.....
  • Once more, we see evidence that the UberMonkey is, indeed, the perfect woman.
  • Crawler!
  • Nonsense. I would never crawl to the monkeybashi. Genuflect and advance I my knees, perhaps, but I have to much pride for actual crawling.
  • Eddie Izzard seems so wrong as Doctor Who. I can't picture him unless he's wearing something tight and sparkly and a lovely dark red lipstick. Doctor Who would be mortified, especially if he had to forsake The Scarf.
  • I see what you're saying, tracicle, but it was his more masculine look I'd been thinking of.... And we couldn't THINK of forgoing The Scarf!
  • Oh - I missed that mention of Richard E. Grant earlier - he was the voice in a recent flash animation version of Doctor Who.
  • Build your own dalek.
  • Boo on Who!
  • That's terrible! He could have done at least two seasons. He wasn't going to be typecast - Baker already has that all sewn up and will for at least another 20 years. But I was all ready for him to be my favorite Doctor, and now when I see him, I'm just going to be thinking "Ditcher". Sure I know, his career and all that, maybe he has other things he wants to do, but I'm claiming my right to whine about it.
  • Well, shame about Eccleston leaving after just the one season... but David Tennant is a good actor and will make a fine Doctor, I think. Personally I've admired him ever since he was the RSC's weird funny guy a few years back.
  • Spoiler alert! I know they say in the article, but it may be too much to pull your eyes away by then (I have very little self discipline for such things). Why can't reviewers just learn to write without talking about key plot points?