The Doctor Who Thread

[K-Box]

WE ALL KNEW THIS WAS COMING



Oh, RTD ... you are so pathological that it's long since stopped being funny.



Source:

As overcrowded as this cast already is - between Rose, Jackie, Sarah Jane, Luke, Donna, Wilf, Sylvia, the Master and Captain Jack all confirmed as returning - I will be pissed if Martha and Mickey get left out, when literally EVERYONE else is being invited back.

That being said, a bit of rumored good news comes from set reports which claim that these versions of Rose and Jackie are from BEFORE the "Rose" episode itself; if I recall correctly, the exchange between Ten and Rose supposedly has him asking her what year it is, and when she tells him it's 2005, he smiles and says, "Oh, you're going to have a great year."

As much as it still makes me cringe, I can get along with it a bit better if it's not OH LOOK ROSE MADE IT BACK FROM THE PARALLEL UNIVERSE WHERE SHE WAS SUPPOSEDLY TRAPPED FOREVER YET THE FUCK AGAIN

[paulpogue]

The styles Rose and Jackie are wearing certainly do seem to indicate a pre-"Rose" setting -- they both ditched those looks by the events of "Doomsday". Although the beach backdrop uncomfortably brings to mind the specter of Bad Wolf Bay, which was a fantastically brilliant little joke already tainted by being stretched out twice as long as it should have been.

[K-Box]

Don't know where you're seeing a beach backdrop - that's snow on a city street.

[paulpogue]

Brown London snow -- gets me every time .

[jessebaker]

May 16, 2009 18:58:40 GMT -8 K-Box said:

As overcrowded as this cast already is - between Rose, Jackie, Sarah Jane, Luke, Donna, Wilf, Sylvia, the Master and Captain Jack all confirmed as returning - I will be pissed if Martha and Mickey get left out, when literally EVERYONE else is being invited back.

To be fair, isn't the actress playing Martha nailed down to a contract with L&O:UK? Maybe that's keeping her from returning to the show for Tennett's last couple of episodes.

That said, at the very least we should get Martha's name dropped in the last couple of episodes, maybe that she's busy with Torchwood while Jack's running around with the Doctor (maybe toss in a line that with Martha in a position of authority within Torchwood, the Doctor has warmed up to the organization since he trusts Martha to an extent that he doesn't trust Jack as far as running a non-corrupt organizatio).

[paulpogue]

All indicators in the British press that I've seen show some bad blood between Freema Agyeman and the BBC over her taking the Law and Order gig over Torchwood. (Not that I blame her -- second banana to a spinoff that's already seen as low-rate or leading role in a respected franchise?) Still doesn't mean they shouldn't bring her back in, though.

That said, all the photos of Tennant and companions have been leaking out at a slow rate, so I wouldn't bet against Martha and Mickey making an appearance before it's over. Hell, I wouldn't entirely rule out ASTRID PETH showing up by the end of this.

[K-Box]

I seem to be saying this a lot lately, but we all saw this coming. The difference is, this nearly inevitable bit of news comes as a welcome sign:

---

Den of Geek: The Doctor Joins The Sarah Jane Adventures

"You'll see the Doctor and Sarah Jane combine forces to battle against their greatest enemy yet!"



Elisabeth Sladen and David Tennant

David Tennant joins the gang on Bannerman Road in an all new adventure and he's joined by K9. But who is getting married...?

This month's Doctor Who Magazine has revealed some details about the upcoming third series of The Sarah Jane Adventures. Executive producer Russell T Davies tells the publication that David Tennant will be starring in a two-part story due to be screened in the Autumn.

Also joining the Tenth Doctor is the robotic mutt, K9 but RTD is keen to stress that this is no fleeting appearance by David Tennant. The writer says, "... it's more than just a cameo from the Tenth Doctor! He's a proper part of the story." He also adds that the two-parter is "extraordinary, wild and powerfully moving," cryptically adding, "let's just say that the wedding of Sarah Jane will be a day for everyone to remember!"

The as yet unnamed tale is written by Gareth Roberts (The Unicorn and the Wasp) who has penned a number of stories for the award-winning show. Other writers for the Series 3 of SJA include Phil Ford (Eye of the Gorgon), Joseph Lidster (The Mark of the Berserker), Brian Dooley (creator of The Smoking Room) and Rupert Laight.

---

Calling it right now:

The wedding is between Chrissie Jackson and her boyfriend Ivan.

But I wouldn't mind seeing it be between Alan Jackson and Sarah Jane Smith instead. Or between Sarah Jane and the Tenth Doctor. Or both.

[K-Box]

New companion announced for S5 ... Meh.



She's a bit ... generic, isn't she?

Granted, I'm basing this purely on her appearance, but her appearance is all I have to go on.

Perhaps more importantly, it's a bit distressing to my inner nerd that both of the leads in S5 will be so ... conventionally attractive.

I never thought I'd be missing Billie Piper, but even her horsey teeth were more appealing than this ... mayonnaise blandness I'm seeing so far.

I watch Doctor Who in no small part to see people like myself - DORKS, to put it bluntly - having the kinds of adventures that are so often reserved for "beautiful people" in action films.

I enjoyed Christopher Eccleston's weirdly Tom-Baker-gone-straight-edge features. I grew less and less fond of Rose as time went on, but I still loved the show for showing Billie's big goofy grin as being a thing of beauty. I appreciated that both Billie and Freema Agyeman were allowed to have nice asses, rather than rail-skinny supermodel flat-butts, and I adored the all-too-brief flashes that we got of Martha's geek knowledge and social awkwardness. I loved that Catherine Tate's full-figured curves were allowed to flow, and I was genuinely surprised and impressed by how much the show managed to make me empathize with Donna, the mouthy temp made of awesome who soldiered on in spite of getting no approval from her mother. Hell, I even found comfort in David Tennant's gawky limbs and cockatiel hairstyle.

They've all been attractive people, of course, but in ways that standard Hollywood fare would deem "unconventional." At this point, all I have to seize upon, aside from Steven Moffat's promises that Matt Smith's performances will be suitably alien, are the little details, like Smith's lack of eyebrows, or his fluttering fingers. I don't watch Doctor Who to see some sort of goddamn Twilight-lite, especially since Russell T. Davies already tried to inject too much of that bullshit into the show.

Which brings me neatly to my second point:

I'm disappointed that she's not older.

Yes, big surprise, I'm sure, to those of you who know me.

And yes, everybody's already all BUT THEN THEY'D THINK THE COMPANION IS ELEVEN'S MOM BECAUSE HE ALREADY LOOKS SO YOUNG, and I'm thinking YES THAT'S THE FUCKING POINT.

If you have an ageless immortal character whose exterior appearance you're going to keep making younger and younger, then PLAY WITH THE IMPLICATIONS AND COMPLICATIONS OF THAT. Pair up the younger-looking Doctor with an older-looking woman (perhaps even *gasp!* romantically), and then, when all the fangirls go EWWW BUT SHE'S TOO OLD FOR HIM, point out that he's MORE THAN 900 FUCKING YEARS OLD IN CURRENT CANON.

Hell, that's what's made Moff's stories about the "timey-wimey ball" so fun, because when you have a central character who TRAVELS THROUGH TIME, you should EXPLORE how that shit would FUCK WITH YOUR HEAD.

That being said, I'll start taking bets now on whether Scottish Alternateen here will be more of a Tegan or a Nyssa, since as we all already know, Moff has a SERIOUS Five Fetish.

[jensaltmann]

I don't share Kirk's... fascination with older women, but I share his sentiments about the new companion.

Wake me when she hits puberty.

[paulpogue]

I'm willing to give her a shot, particularly as she's not a totally unknown quantity. I think she hit the ingenue-who's-deeper-than-we-know notes quite well in "The Fires of Pompeii," and the dueling-oracles scene required her to match up with no less than three actors who had significantly more experience than she.

A lot depends on who she's actually playing (a regenerated Romana would be HILARIOUS, but highly unlikely), but we'll see how it turns out. I'm equally disappointed that it's not Donna or Sarah Jane, but Moff has earned plenty of Writer Trust Points.

If nothing else, it shows they're willing to take SERIOUS risks. Unknown Doctor, unknown companion, new showrunner, almost certainly with a new status quo after a year off? Moffat is definitely playing without a net here.

[K-Box]

Um, Paul? She was in "The Fires of Pompeii," but she WASN'T in the dueling oracles scene, at ALL.

Francesca Fowler was Evelina the soothsayer in that scene. Karen Gillan, who is the new companion, was part of the Sybilline Sisterhood. THIS was her role in that episode:

[paulpogue]

... frak. Nevermind!

[K-Box]

... That being said, I now find myself thinking that Evelina would make a great companion.

[jessebaker]

The more I think about it, the more I think that they DEFINATELY need to make Doctor #11 to be more along the lines of the Colin Baker Doctor in order to make the casting of a same-age companion work. There is a lot of milage to be had, with good writers, of going the "Slap, Slap, Kiss, Slap" route with the Doctor and his companion, since it would be a major difference from Rose, Martha, and Donna pining away for the Doctor. Plus, it would make for a nice way to further explore the Doctor's dark side if they pretty much played him straight as "Destroyer of Worlds" rather than having him dance around the issue of how deadly he can be if pushed.

The idea of an old, cranky, irritable, down to his second to last regeneration, stuck in a young body of a 20 year old could be a load of fun especially if he's paired with a girl who looks to be his age and is utterly repelled at the doctor's unrepentant gruffness, could be fun.

[jensaltmann]

Something old, something new, and a look at the 11th Doctor for those who haven't seen him yet.

www.bleedingcool.com/2009/06/02/matt-smiths-face-to-appear-in-doctor-who-titles/