Cool News
The New Season of DOCTOR WHO Is Filming, Bringing About The 11th Doctor & Many More Changes!!
Merrick here...
BBC has released information and images pertaining to new episodes of DOCTOR WHO, which have begun filming. Matt Smith will play The Doctor, to be joined by new companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan).
Smith replaces David Tennant in the role; Tennant is moving on to other things. Incessant chatter pegs him as Bilbo in del Toro's THE HOBBIT - not sure how substantiated this is, though...).
New showrunner and long-running Doctor Who fan Steven Moffat has developed this series and, as Lead Writer and Executive Producer, will be responsible for the overall creative direction of the show, as well as plot and character arcs. His previous episodes of Doctor Who, including the BAFTA-winning episode Blink, have garnered widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike.
[EDIT]
The new series follows on from three Doctor Who specials starring David Tennant which will transmit later this year.
...says BBC on its site HERE.
Follow this pic of Matt Smith's new Doctor for more news regarding the new season/series/whatever you want to call it:
You can find more news about characters and whatnot HERE, and a few more pics of Smith and sidekick Karen Gillan HERE.
In The States, DOCTOR WHO is no longer on the Sci Fi Channel and will return to BBC America instead. The Doctor, it seems, did not want to catch SyFy.
[EDIT]
The new series follows on from three Doctor Who specials starring David Tennant which will transmit later this year.
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Come on...we all know that is crap. So Aint it cool geeks, please lets end this for Forry.
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Hope he can act.
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Innoculate me now against syfy!!!
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HAH! Brilliant! Good for BBCAmerica, now if they'll just publish episodes online like other networks I'll be one happy camper!
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When they rebooted Dr Who, with Eccleston, they could have made the show genuinely something special - serious and well written with touches of humour. They picked the wrong showrunner though, and it was too kiddified to be taken seriously. I know, I know - it was always aimed at the kids somewhat in the good old days - but at least then it assumed the kids were bright enough to understand interesting science fiction ideas and it had more than it's fair share of darkness. They could have capitalised on that and aimed at the more grown up market than the kids - instead, we get this day glo, manicly acted dose of confection for the ADD afflicted youngsters of today's British council estates. Great. In terms of acting, we went from Eccleston - who is a great actor - to Tennant - who is a parody of an actor - to this non-entity. The words 'diminishing returns' come to mind. And don't get me started on the writing.
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Jul 20, 2009 12:21:16 PM CDT
SO THE NEW DOCTOR IS A MONGOLOID? INTERESTING....
by charlesthomasmathews1978
This guy better have megawatt charisma and acting talent that would make Alec Baldwin weep because he looks like a fucking poofter!!!
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Jul 20, 2009 12:25:55 PM CDT
Don't like the look of the new Doctor, but that sidekick is smok
by cyrent
So I'll give it a watch.
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A quick search of google news flashed up a pic of Alex Kingston and Matt Smith on the first day of shooting. The clothes are very different from 'Silence in the Libary' though. Almost victorian looking? Fingers crossed for a return of Sally Sparrow too.
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Jul 20, 2009 12:49:30 PM CDT
The ONLY way Steven Moffatt will fail at writing anything...
by yotzvonfrelnik
...is if he sits down to actually try and write the crappiest script he possibly could. Because at this point that just seems next to impossible, and somehow it'll still turn out, once again, to be some of the best TV ever.
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I hope the picture of The Doctor in the tweed jacket with bowtie is a put-on or something. To got from the basic-T with leather coat to geek-chic suit and Chuck Taylor's to THAT is kind of a let down.
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What is he, 17?
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...make him look VERY weird. He was actually in an episode of Billie Piper's "Diary" and he didn't look anywhere near this gawky.
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Jul 20, 2009 1:04:00 PM CDT
The friendlier the Doctor looks the scarier he gets
by david cloverfield
A goofy kid capable and willing to wipe out civilizations if he deems it necessary. I'm good with that.
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...for this guy to be cast as Doctor Who.
In ten years, maybe. -
http://sporkinthedrawer.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/08/29/tucker_carlson.jpg
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http://tinyurl.com/n65pxu
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I love me my Doctor Who... old and new! Can't wait to see what Moffet brings to the table.
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Jul 20, 2009 1:25:40 PM CDT
Jesus, that guy's haircut makes me want to punch him in the face
by hamster factor
Sorry, that's the automatic reaction I have ever time I see a pic of this dude. I hope he's a kick ass 11th doctor - but that emo hair is going to take some getting used to.
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Is he a vampire now?
On the plus side the new companion is a babe. Love the busty ginger. -
CBC has also dropped Doctor Who. Space picked it up in Canada. Oddly enough, Space is basically the Canadian Sci Fi.
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His pseudo-comic routines ruined several episodes of the show, and when he tried to be emotional he was downright annoying. So while I wanted to vomit all over Tennants face, I just want to punch this new doc real hard. Ergo: improvement.
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Jul 20, 2009 1:32:27 PM CDT
I agree Hamster, its as if his fringe is saying ''right here, c'
by mysterious_volvo
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ill watch that if only to c her in a liplock with reiko aylesworth,
who plays her partner.a show with
2 hot asian women as lesbians cant be all bad other than that no syfy
for me -
Nice try.
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Yup, and the promotional shots so far haven't helped - they look ripped directly from the Twilight marketing department. On the plus side - Karen Gillian who plays the new companion is perhaps the most attractive female they've had on the show (besides Michelle Ryan from the one off). Now, if she can just act, and avoid the curse of horrific British teeth that has haunted the series: great success.
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Jul 20, 2009 1:46:55 PM CDT
Tennant will be too busy filming the DR. WHO movie to play Bilbo
by spyguy
Details this Saturday at the DOCTOR WHO panel at Comic-Con, no doubt.
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Moffat is the most talented writer on Who since Robert Holmes. Nothing to worry about, RTD and his farting aliens and shitty Master and all his big camp excess is gone. The future starts here.
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July 26th, 9:00 p.m. EST on BBC America. DVRing of TRUE BLOOD may be required unless you want to catch the repeat later on or wait the next day for HBO On Demand.
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Regeneration would be so much more dramatic if it weren't plastered all over the place so much that it's not even considered worthy of a spoiler tag. It's like Terminator 2: if all you knew was the movies you were watching, you would not know that Arnie is the good guy nor that the other guy was a terminator until that moment Arnie says "get down!" to John Connor, after having aimed a shotgun directly at him. That would've been a nice bit of drama and shock, completely ruined by the media machine. Back to Doctor Who, my wife is a Doctor Who fan who doesn't read the entertainment media at all, so I'm doing my best to shield her from the surprise. If I can't be surprised myself, I'll get it vicariously through her. (And, I suspect, in this case, it's a mercy that she'll be unaware of this Matt Smith until the last possible moment. I don't think she would have very high expectations. Hopefully he'll redeem himself in action.)
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I think I knew the change from Tom Baker to Peter Davison was coming, but they did a great job of building up the dread of the moment, I thought. It wasn't just that, as a viewer, you knew it was coming. Something just seemed forboding to the characters, too, with the Watcher always lurking about like a nearly-literal Angel of Death.
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They've shown regeneration a couple times now, and it's been the same effect. Too bad. It was part of the lure that the regeneration effect was different every time, having its own personality much as the new Doctor did. It was also supposed to be a quirk that regeneration made the Doctor a little unstable for a while, not as if he'd just paused mid-sentence.
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...that they're running with the idea of an old man in a young man's body - which makes total sense, why regenerate into an old body? Moffat has always stated that he sees the Doctor as a 'tetchy old man', I suspect this will still be part of the rubric here. Alex Kingston is a good sign, lets hope he doesn't overplay and reduce the threat of the Cybermen and Daleks like RJD had a habit of doing. Maybe the Torchwood idea of a real menace unfolding over five episodes like the old 'Who' is the way forward here?
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Strictly speaking (in terms regeneration cycles) couldn't we say David Tennant was the 10th AND 11th Doctor? He did, in fact, go through a regeneration again at the end of last season but then channeled it into that chopped off hand. But still, it is fun to point out semantics.
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Sorry, but nobody is going to be able to adequately fill the role after Tennant, least of all that pedophile-looking goober. The series is now dead to me.
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So, a tall, skinny, angular guy with a lean face to play a pudgy little Hobbit? Perfect.
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Remember when we were all up in arms over Catherine Tate! Were we 'bovered!?!? Hell yeah! And look! She went on to become my - and many others - favourite companion of all time! Truly gutwrenching at the finale! So let's trust Moffat and young Mr. Smith and let's just see what happens. It's so easy to be negative but we haven't seen anything with regards to performance or demeanor or anything yet. A haircut does not a Doctor make. Look at Bakers mad 'fro! I'm looking forward to this!
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Actually, as "real" fans know, the Valeyard was an amalgamation of the Doctors dark side, taken between his 12th and final incarnations. It wasn't an actual incarnation.
If anything, he was sort of like "The Watcher" figure, as seen in Logopolis. Only he happened to be evil, and for some reason had achieved a level of independent sentience. -
You're an idiot. Have you seen Matt Smith act? He's just as good as Tennant was when he started out.
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no bsg no doctor who boy is that channel going to suck
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Jul 20, 2009 3:23:46 PM CDT
I wonder if this will be River and the Doctor's first chronologi
by spyguy
...or will their relationship/marriage/whatever remain an untold tale of the Tenth Doctor's era while this episode will be set somewhere between that untold story and "Silence in the Library"?
Yes, it's all wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey.
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I'm sorry, but for a current show, there is no reason the DVD set for each season of 10-12 episodes to be $85 or more. Get the prices down dammit!
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lack of continuity. changing both the doctor and the companion together is gonna be a big shift. it may break the show, throwing out almost every character anyone recognizes is a dangerous move.
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The new look is a totally modernized version of Patrick Troughton's Doctor right down to the floods and suspenders. Personally, I think he looks great and I'm totally on board with it.
A friend of mine made a great observation that I totally agree with. What with Matt Smith looking so young yet adorning himself in these "old man" clothes, serves to accentuate the extreme age and wisdom of The Doctor.
And the new companion is a lil' hottie. YOW! -
meh.
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She played Sally Sparrow in Season 3's 'Blink' and was great. One of the best episodes of the new series imo. Why they haven't asked her to be the Doctor's companion is beyond me. Great eye candy, an awesome quirky personality and a good actress to boot.
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RELATIONSHIP
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Oh, wait...It already did back when Jon Pertwee took over from Patrick Troughton.
Relax...DOCTOR WHO will be just fine, especially with everyone tuning in to find out what the deal is with River Song.
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Reminds me why I don't watch the series.
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As any fule kno, the logical choice is Martin Freeman.
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If it is any Freeman, it should be Morgan Freeman!
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I can't help myself, sorry Why alll those Daleks, still stranded on those stairs 5 years after the last episode--
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by getting a better actor
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British people are like carnival people.
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Twilit?
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...the reaction the internet would have had if the first look we had of Tom Baker's Doctor had been some online pics of him in his goofy scarf?
The internet would have sucked itself into a hole of its own cynicism and sarcasm.
Give the new guy a chance. Sheesh. -
I was VERY concerned when I first saw a photo of David Tennant. I had grown to really like Christopher Eccleston's take on The Doctor. And look how that turned out. I think he'll be fine. And I actually like the bowtie and tweed. Next look needs to be a bit more quirky.
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or rapist
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Russell T. Davies is owed a great debt for resurrecting our favorite time lord, but w/Steven Moffatt at the helm, the show is in even better hands than before. So let's not judge Matt Smith on the basis of one behind-the-scenes shot - those other pix of him w/the "goth look" are not of him in character as The Doctor. In the words of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, "DON'T PANIC!"
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First ive heard of this and i hope the last. Cmon Jackson/Del Toro it has to be either Martin Freeman or James Mcavoy
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has a Chav personality, dresses like Pete Doherty, has 3274 baby mommas by season end
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Gandalf: "Bilbo, you haven't aged a day... apart from your face changing shape, getting much older and shrinking by 3 feet, you're totally the same!"
If this is true, it's fucking mental. -
He only elect half cast Presidents.
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The article at io9 showed lots of images of the TARDIS exterior, a very old school looking exterior complete with seal on the right door. I wonder if the inside will be like Hartnell's as well?
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It would be to visit the service provider for the popular device called the iPod. Or should I say you know who... the name that must not be uttered here at aintitcool. That "site" sells the the seasons for about 26/series.
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That there is a lack of vitriol surrounding the new Doctor. I guess the fact that the Beeb institutionalized the transition from one Doctor to the other helps.
I write this because the recent selection of the new Green Lantern propagated posts that would cause one to think that the selection one versus the other candidate would mean the end of the world as we know it. But I feel fine. -
Bring it on.
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Jul 20, 2009 9:47:31 PM CDT
@Fareal "We all ready know there will never be a Black King or Q
by kobaal
That's because it's hereditary, you moron. You want to overthrow the royal family, be my guest. But to criticize a family because of their race is, well, racist.
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Jul 20, 2009 10:00:44 PM CDT
Aren't the British Royals Germans & Greeks?
by seth_rogans_hairy_breasts
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Jul 20, 2009 10:08:47 PM CDT
How does this show change? It's an old dude in a box!
by lockesbrokenleg
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..my heart went with her.The new redhead looks totally "snoggable", I must say!!!
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When the hell is it gonna air on SyFy???
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Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead is scheduled for this Sunday evening.
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Sorry, I missed it. The new Doctor Who is not scheduled at this time for SyFy; as far as I know it will only be shown on BBC America (HD).
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SyFubar...
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Do we reckon the new glossy Tardis means this will be filmed in HD at long last, always thought it was such an obvious choice of show for BBC HD
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http://tinyurl.com/nhyyjs
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He has a simian quality to his face, and his expression just looks empty. A long way from the brilliant doctor who. And the costume looks silly. I'd rather see him wearing the dark blazer in the first promo shots.
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Because I am totally not feeling anything from these photos. The companion looks generic, he looks pasty. And is that his "iconic DW outfit?" A bow tie, for God's sake? He looks like one of those legions of interchangeable actors who show up on Poirot and Miss Marple. Not special. Eccleston and Tennant were special. I smell major disappointment in the air.
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from Grange Hill or possibly a pedo.
I'm really, really against this guy as the Doctor.
Looks like the TARDIS is getting a retrofit as well from the pics.
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What the fuck?
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Germans, Russians, Romans, etc. They all descended from the same "Royal" line. Anything but British! There was a documentary that once said the British is a mongrel nation. It's true just look at the Royal Bloodline.
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Anyone else think he has a Indiana Jones on Campus vibe?
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Does anyone know if BBCA has plans to rerun "The Next Doctor" that I missed back in June?
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Yeah, I don't want to rag on Tennant in a talkback about Doctor Who, but I find him grating and annoying and the source of the reason why I find Doctor Who to be impenetrable. So, with that in mind... He CAN'T play Bilbo - he just CAN'T!
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Hasn't Moffat made mention of the fact that fifth Doctor Davison was his favourite of the old school bunch? In that case it's no surprise that this new doctor, under his tenure, has very much of a young, geeky, vulnerability vibe about him. And to the various wank-stains above spouting utter dumb-fuckery about Tennant's acting abilities - I've seen him perform Hamlet live, and hold his own with Patrick Stewart. The man can fucking act.
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The rumor is that BBCA is going to run all four of the Tennant Doctor Who Specials in a marathon at the end of the year to get ready for the new season.
Although, I don't know if the BBCA is going to be running the new season at the same time as it is run in the UK. BBCA and SciFi always ran episodes a couple of months behind, but now, since they are airing the Torchwood miniseries, presumably, at the same time, it means Doctor Who is going to be on track as well.
It looks like a couple of people at the networks realized there are some Who/Torchwood fans alive and well here in the States. -
There is a fairly good chance that there have been at least two Black Queens of England.
Philippa of Hainault (1314-69)
Charlotte (1744-1818) (The US city is named after her.) -
Label me dense, but I can't figure out this "site" you refer to.Does it start with the letter after M? If not, hint please?
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Their latest issue has "Planet of the Dead" as their "Must Watch of the Week." I don't think that's ever happened ever since Sci Fi first aired the Eccleston episodes.
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I hope people don't take EW's advice. Planet of the Dead is one of the very worst episodes of the new series.
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. . . the image of The Doctor in the bow tie. Much better than the "hip doctor" in the t-shirt and jacket.
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Redesign the interior of the Tardis. It really should look more "spaceshippy". The current interior looks like . . . a cheap studio set.
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Stopped watching after Season 3. Couldn't keep track of SciFi's schedule.
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And it was excellent
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And why were you wasting your time with Sci Fi when DVD sets (not to mention YouTube) are available?
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Jul 21, 2009 10:36:15 AM CDT
Royston: The TARDIS is supposedly getting a new "desktop theme"
by spyguy
It would be pretty cool if the TARDIS interior "regenerates" at the same time as The Doctor, but I'm guessing we'll have to wait for Matt Smith's first episode to see the new interior.
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Sorry to break it to you guys, but bowties are VERY on trend. This look is far more high fashion than David Tennant's Jarvis Cocker-lite. Want some spoilers for future of Dr Who?
....
....
Timothy Dalton is playing a timelord, return of the Master for the regeneration, Neil Gaiman is writing an episode of Moffat era Who... -
I plan on checking the rest of the series out on DVD, but I have a Netflix 1 movie at a time plan so it takes forever. Also, hate watching movies and shows on the computer and I have a plasma without a vga/dvi input.
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White and grey with circles in the walls but the same massive scale as The William Hartnell one and updated ala JJ's Enterprise bridge.
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....just said that for old time's sake;-) Seriously I'm glad some who actually RESPECTS this series, reported on this instead of Herc. I get so tired of this "apparently there's this show called Doctor Who in England that's been running for 40 years or something produced by a guy who did Queer as Folk...."
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A quick Google seems to confirm Timothy Dalton and John Simms returning as well as Freema, Billy Piper and Catherine Tate in the final ep.
Not long to wait now ...
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Tom Baker is apparently playing The Doctor in 5 new audio dramas.
The BBC are releasing them one a month starting September.
All hail, the Baker!
http://is.gd/1GIao -
I've seen him on the stage in Hamlet, asshole and he's fucking great. If you're not a thousand monkeys sitting at a keyboard typing random letters (as I suspect) but a real person, then you must be a real fucking idiot. Bad luck for you, eh?
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I've NEVER read so many fucking turncoat comments on one page before... There's been nowhere NEAR this level of hatred for the Tennant on this site before today. Fucking hypocrites. EVERYONE in these parts has been going on about how great the Tennant is since his inception - and now it's all "the new guy looks like a pedo/creep/gay/whatever" (nice, let's label the new guy just 'cos he's a bit strange-looking) and "Tennant can't act". For those mentioning how great HAMLET is - I'm there with you: Tennant is a great actor, sorely under-used by the WHO crew, partly because (a) RTD keeps writing him as a gurning, ranting twat whose personality shifts between extremes every other episodes, and (b) None of the WHO directors seems to want to stretch Tennant as an actor, but use his over-used tics and schtick, such as the "shoot the tonsils at the back of the Doctor's throat" shot or the "David bares his teeth in a Barty Crouch Jr stylee" shot.
Tennant's too good for the level of non-effort being put into his imminent demise. RTD is not interested any more - witness that lazy plagiarise-a-thon "PLANET OF THE DEAD" vs TORCHWOOD: CHILDREN OF EARTH, which is obviously the show RTD REALLY is interested in - and Tennant's Doctor, arguably one of the best if not THE best, is getting very, very short shrift for it. The man fucking deserves better. Show some respect. -
Lord knows I've tried.
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...kinda like the promos for the Eccleston Who turned me off like watching a 7th Heaven promo. But... some times previews give you a misconception and I really wound up liking both of them as I only started watching a year or so. I've seen all eps mutliple times and while trying to turn people onto it and Torchwood, I've had little luck.
Here's a wild thought: Is RTD really leaving because of other opportunities or did the BBC not want to lose Moffat and made the change in order to keep him? Lets see if I got the paragraph action correct in the slightest. -
Jul 21, 2009 6:06:41 PM CDT
David Mitchell is the obvious choice for Bilbo
by kevin_costners_recycled_piss
It's a crime that he wasn't cast as Arthur Dent too.
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Yeah, assuming you want a socially crippled, anally retentive english Woody Allen wannabe whose entire schtick consists of being embarrassed to the point of constipation ALL THE FUCKING TIME. Oh, and having an annoying, overly aggressive social outcast as his constant irritating sidekick.
It's a fucking divine beneficence that David Mitchell hasn't successfully got anywhere other than the two fucking annoying shows he does, and those nasally whiny Strongbow ads he does. No other comedians on UK TV invite as much physical hatred in me as those two do. They have faces you just HAVE to hit with a spade. Repeatedly, and with great gusto. -
You never know, you might like him in a non comedic role.Anyway, I wasn't suggesting that he actually play Bilbo as Mark from Peep Show.
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...return, I'm with you, but don't bet on its ever happening. Carey was the darling of Sundance this year with two award-caliber performances and seems a near lock for an Oscar nom. Unfortunately for us, her career is about to blow up with Hollywood proportions; I doubt she'll have openings in her schedule for Who.
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He would have to avoid the USA for nearly the whole of history ....
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I think it looks very old-school Doctor Who. Very dorky in a cool way.
Wasn't sure about Tennant at first but he quickly went on to become my second fave right behind Davison. Let's give the new guy a chance before crucifying him ok? -
Time for a black Bond too .... AND a black Batman .... AND a black Superman .... AND a black Harry Potter ...... Lets live the dream and MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!
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Jeri Ryan IS Dr. Who.
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what's preventing the members of England's royal family from marrying Black people?
Er, maybe the same thing that prevented me & a lot of other people. I never met a black person I wanted to marry. Simple as that.If I had, I would have. Maybe if one of the royals do, they will.
What's preventing us from electing a black Prime Minister?
None have ever stood for election. & up until recently you couldn't act like you're so special in that depertment. Jeezus. What's stopping you from having a female president? We did that decades ago (admittedly she was fucking terrible).
Ever thought maybe the producers just thought Matt Smith was the best actor for the role?
I get tired of the race shit that's on this site recently. It's like me having a bad traffic accident, losing a leg & asking "Why can't they have a Doctor with a prosthetic limb? It's limbist!"
Crikey. -
Given the Doctor is supposed to be 920 or so years old. He will have used up 11 of his 12 regenerations in the span of roughly 50 years since he left Gallifrey.
Perhaps he should have listened when they told him the universe was a dangerous place and he should stay home. -
Jul 21, 2009 10:58:07 PM CDT
Garth it's actually been 150 years since he left Gallifrey, poss
by thecomedian
Between the season that Tom Baker left Sara Jane on Earth and the next 100 years of The Doctor's time passed. So the 4th Doctor spent 100 years of his time solo hanging out with Leonardo Davinci, The ancient Greeks and a bunch of others. Plus anytime The Doctor is traveling alone there's really no way for the audience to know how many months or even years have passed. Like in "Rose" when Rose Tyler 1st turns down the Doctor's offer and he comes back. 20 years could have passed for him. "Did I mention it also travels through time."
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loss of eyebrows, facial hair, impair your sense of judgement, and saddle you with the worst hairstylist known to man.
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That's just sylly!!
And Jeffwode, don't look for the great Neil Gaiman to write Who anytime soon. He's denied it on his blog.
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Anyone know what the deal is?
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has some of poorest acting I have ever seen. Why is the acting always so poor?
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3 words knob-end.Family. Of. Blood.The scenes opposite Jessica Stevenson (I will never get used to calling her Hynes) were, for me, some of the finest bits of acting ever seen in Doctor Who.The knob-end pop isn't aimed at any knob-end in particular, just the knob-ends who think DT cannot act. Big shout out as well to the others here who saw him in Hamlet (though Patrick Stewart is/was/always will be a better Shakespearian actor)Like previous new Doctors I will wait and see - though Karen Gillan is fit, the new Tardis sounds cool, bowties are for dicks and Matt Smith has a face like a watering can.
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i was heartbroken when eccelston left, then tennant came along and became my second favorite doctor. that'sthe genius of doctor who, i've come to enjoy many actors for their fleshing out of a great character.
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Because he was in a Shakespeare adaptation?? You know who else did some Shakespeare? Keanu fucking Reeves!
Why ist it Brits think so highly of people who have done Shakespeare or been in a successfull BBC series?? Britain ahs some terrific actors, but Tennant isn't one of them.
He was great in an episode of Dr.Who? Nw that's a benchmark, isn't it! Has it ever occured to you that the acting in Dr.Who is not that good overall. Except for Eccleston and (surprisingly!) Billie Piper, there was hardly any real acting talent involved IMHO.
...and yes, that is MY opinion. No need to get a rage-boner because someone's shitting on your beloved Doctor, fag. -
is one of the worst Doctor Who episodes ever. It's just really fucking terrible. As far from being a 'special' as possible. Fuckin' RTD.
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Penelope WiltonBernard CribbinsZoe WanamakerJohn SimmAnnette BadlandColin SalmonAlex KingstonTim McinnernyFelicity KendalYour right - hardly any talent there.Shakespeare is seen as a benchmark of stage acting due to standard set by previous greats as well as the difficulty of the text and the challenge of bringing new aspects to such established characters - I refuse to have a pop at Keanu Reeves however as I have enjoyed way too many of his films.
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I just don't think Tennant deserves to be up there with recent British TV-greats such as Robbie Coltrane, Patrick Stewart, Robert Carlyle etc etc.
I do admit, however, that the fact that the actors I mentioned have all been in quite a few Hollywood productions makes them much more recognizable outside of GB than many of the actors you listed - who might be truly great, I just haven't seen them in enough stuff.
Tennant, though, I have had plenty of. Love him if you like, I just don't think he'll ever be remembered as one of the great British actors of our times. -
Don't forget a little thesp by the name of Sir Derek Jacobi.
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Father's Day
The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
The Girl in the Fireplace
The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit
Human Nature/The Family of Blood
Blink
Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead
Funnily enough none of them were written by RTD. -
..what an oversight.Just realised I made a typo on the list as well. That should have course read;Felicity 'Sex' Kendal
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Yeah, strangely I'm not a fan of the PEEP SHOW duo. It's part of my latest "-ist" on this site: I'm "ACTORIST". Meaning I get a bit pissed off when celebs who are clearly just "stars" go on about being "actors". My definitions:
STAR - Someone who plays him/herself in every role they play, seemingly unable to change their facial expressions / accent / movements / intonation / ability to convey another person convincingly. Sean Connery is a STAR - he always plays a sour old Scottish bastard, regardless of being a secret agent (Bond), a Spanish immortal who lived in Egypt and Japan for hundreds of years (Highlander) or Elliot Ness' mentor (The Untouchables).
ACTOR - A person who can convincingly play a person different to themselves in various ways (accent, movement, intonation, facial expressions etc). Daniel Day Lewis can convincingly play a cerebral palsy sufferer (My Left Foot), a preacher (The Crucible), a badass adopted Mohican (Last of the Mohicans) and a milkshake-obssessed murderous lunatic oil barron (There Will be DRAAAAAINNNNAAAAAGE!!!). He is a proper actor.
To me, David Mitchell will only ever play the same guy - the chronically embarrassed middle-class bumbletwit who never gets anything right. Where's the talent in that?
Just my two cents... -
Are you related in any way to ChoclateWoman? She's batshit insane too!
And if you want anachronistic "positive" discrimination, the UK BBC is your kinda place. In MERLIN, we have a young black woman in the exalted position of handmaiden to the throne of Camelot in the tenth century AD - a time when she's unlikely to just wander around unnoticed as she (and many other black extras) do in that series. Then there's the recent ROBIN HOOD, where a black Friar Tuck (who isn't a Moor saving Robin's butt, as in Morgan Freeman's Azeem) wanders completely unhindered in fifteenth century England, despite the fact that at that time, England was well into the Second Crusade and at war with the Saracens / Moors - who were black. Interestingly, NO-ONE thought Friar Tuck was a Saracen spy! Strange, huh?
I await with bated breath the all-white version of Alex Haley's ROOTS, that will redress the horrible imbalance of historical re-envisioning that is the Beeb's latest PC wheeze to advance the dumbing down of the school-going generation in the UK. Why tell it like it REALLY was, when you can just pretend things like racism and bigotry never existed in the first place (despite constant reminders in REAL LIFE that it does)? THAT'LL REALLY EQUIP THEM FOR LIFE IN THE REAL WORLD, WON'T IT?!?
Have you COMPLETELY lost your mind, you fucking racist? -
Then there's the whole "Martha in Shakespearean England" thing that was just explained away as "oh, just wander round like you own the place". As do many of the anachronistically black people in THAT episode too.
Hey, why keep things historically accurate when you can just ram a politically correct agenda in there and further warp the perceptions of what life was REALLY like back in history? No reason at all why the TRUTH should be more important than YOUR perspective, is there? No value in using Martha's colour - and the realistic reactions that people would have had to her colour - to construct an argument within that episode to show that negative reactions to different races i WRONG and that people should accept people for who and what they are, rather than glossing it over and pretending there were no differences back in the day, when in fact there WERE?
Hey, rewriting history is FUN, people! Well, if you're a bigot who wants it all their own way, anyway... -
What really pisses me off is the smug superiority the leftist fuckers claim when imposing their 'balanced' revisionism on the public. Are they really so ingnorant as to think that those on the opposite side of the fence with abhorrant racist views aren't just as convinced of their own righteousness?Discrimination in ANY direction, positive OR negative, should be treated as unacceptable. As should any attempt to manipulate peoples view of the world.I, on the other hand, would rather people were just told what the fuck actually happened and trust them to make their own minds up. That's the problem with people who have these sort of agendas (on either side) - they think every other person on the planet is too stupid to get it apart from them.
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You have no idea how great it is to hear from someone else who just fucking GETS IT.
One of my problems with RTD's WHO is the way he crowbars gay characters in there whose sole characteristic is that they are GAY. You're less likely to be inclined to accept a gay character written as a two-dimensional cypher, than a gay character that reads as a real person (such as Willow and Tara in BUFFY, or the cowboys in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, one of the great gay relationships ever put on screen). It's painfully obvious when RTD does this, yet he does it repeatedly. TORCHWOOD only improved when RTD stopped pushing his liberalist gay views onto the characters so much, and just let them be what they are: secret agents who save the world from freaky shit. But hey - dare to point out that this is what RTD is doing, and ooh! You're a BIGOT! you're a HOMOPHOBE!! And so on and so forth, from a bunch of blinkered morons who are too dumb to fucking understand what I'm talking about in the first place.
This shit with Fareal is EXACTLY the same. He's obviously a person of colour with racist views on white people, who thinks that - regardless of historical accuracy - we should make every hero in SF black, as well as all the Presidents, all the rulers, EVERYONE. He has no idea that he's being racist - or maybe he does, which is WORSE - but if a white guy turned up on here complaining that there should be NO non-white characters in SF, we'd all tell that dude he was crazy. But for some reason, Fareal can get away with this! Is it 'cos he is BLACK?
Well, whatever the reason, racist is racist, and Fareal is being a racist, just like RTD is occasionally a heterophobe the way he writes some WHO and TORCHWOOD episodes. I just hate political correctness in all its forms - if you tell people they can't express themselves in certain ways, at least verbally, then that expression just goes out of sight, underground - and words turn into actions. PC is making the world a much worse place.
People generally ARE smart enough to make their own minds up, as you say. I use my all-white cast of ROOTS argument to illustrate my point - making a WHO episode where black people are completely ignored in olde England makes as much sense as a white Kunta Kinte. It's fucking stupid, and worse, it's misrepresentative of what life was REALLY like. WHO could be a great educational tool as well as an entertainment programme - but the Beeb are using it as a revisionist agenda-pushing propaganda machine, which is at best misguided, and at worst sinister, worryingly stupid and blatantly obvious social engineering in the worst possible way.
Fuck. GEORGE ORWELL WAS RIGHT. -
Here's the full non-RTD-biased list:
The Unquiet Dead
Dalek
Father's Day
The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
The Parting of the Ways
The Christmas Invasion
The Girl in the Fireplace
The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit
Doomsday
Smith and Jones
The Shakespeare Code
Human Nature/The Family of Blood
Blink
The Unicorn and the Wasp
Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead
Turn Left
The Stolen Earth/Journey's End
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Very true. The argument is that by positively discriminating in favour of ethnic or sexual minorities the program becomes 'inclusive' which is intended to work in two ways;Firstly, people who are made to feel ashamed about who/what they are by ingnorant wankers can feel empowered by depictions of themselves on screen and this will then give them the strength and courage to be proud of who they are.Secondly, by introducing youngsters to a multicultural, sexually liberal world view they will find such attitudes normal and will be less inclined to develop racist/homophobic/sexist attitudes later on in life.Both these arguments sound reasonable enough with very noble intentions but they seem to cloud the rather more important question lingering in the background which is this - since when did it become Ok for the media to deliberately try and control or modify its audiences behavour?No seriously, when?Telivision producers talk about responsibility as if they were ever fucking given it. When did teachers/parents/elders hand over the responsibilty for raising the next generation of human beings to a FUCKING BOX THAT SITS IN THE FUCKING CORNER! 1984 indeed.
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"since when did it become Ok for the media to deliberately try and control or modify its audiences behavour?" Since forever. Why do you think 50s sitcom couples slept in twin beds in an unblemished whiteyverse? Certainly not because it represented reality. Or why all the naughty sexiness in pre-Hays Code films disappeared overnight?And what do you think adverts are?
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Never quite sure on what basis or against which model people call for more realism in historical dramas (fantasy or otherwise). A lot of people's assumptions are based on equally garbage representations in earlier films rather than some detailed statistical or sociological analysis. Or vague imaginings of what it probably was like. Or by myths invented or perpetuated by partis pris focusing on mass migration in the 50s and 60s.Queen Elizabeth 1st issued edicts expelling black people from England Victorian England had a substantial population (particularly around shipping ports) of people from all over the Empire, particularly after the abolition of slavery.May as well complain that an unaccompanied woman is not raising eyebrows, or the Doctor failing to wear a hat in a decent manner is not remarked upon, or people aren't soundly thrashed for addressing their social superiors, or that someone obviously Scottish- or French-looking passes freely, or that characters in Hornblower aren't all buggering each other.
As an aside, I recommend looking at the Hays Code entry on Wikipedia to really appreciate how heavily censored the media were in the US in the name of propriety. -
There is a difference between imposing censorship in recognition of the potential of television to corrupt and the conscious decision of the media to use this potential to influence minds. I don't know when the flip between the two happened but it did.As for advertisments? I would like to think that the power of advertising is overrated but no-one will admit it as the huge gravy train generated off the back of it is so lucrative - but that may be more wishful thinking than anything else.
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I broadly agree. Although I'd see it as a continuity both of presentation of "desirable" ("wholesome", we used to say) images and examples, and suppression of undesirable. I suppose it's the criteria determined for each which have changed.
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The introduction of smoking as something glamorous, for example, was originally a way to portray a couple on screen having had sex - although this was impossible to actually show due to the Hays Code. How to get round it? The couple enter a bedroom. The door closes. Two cigarettes smoulder together in an ashtray. We know what they've just got up to...
This led to smoking being portrayed as being sexy on screen. This is all manipulation, and modification, and ways of showing something you CAN'T show under another guise. All this we know, and understand. TV and movies have always, to an extent, sought to make us feel or believe something in order to enjoy what is unfolding onscreen.
I think Youngdog is pointing out - and this is a VERY important point - that society as a whole has abrogated its responsibility for education and guidance to be taught by themselves, and given this responsibility over to the media - without realising how morally bereft and absolutely ruthless said media personnel actually are. Take advertising: Lynx is now a global brand leader due to one connotation being ceaselessly pushed in every single piece of Lynx advertising you see: WEARING LYNX WILL GET YOU MEN LAID. Is it true? Most likely not. Do people believe it? Hell, yeah!
You'd be insane to think that this is not a BAD thing. I'll take your point about black people in Victorian England: you're right, but how many of those black people were of a high social class? How many were NOT actually slaves? The likelhood of Martha NOT getting herself into serious trouble due to her 21st century confidence, the way she speaks, the way she does not act like someone living on the very margins of society like most black people in England in those times were - this would have been noticed. If the writers of WHO didn't want to turn a witches-and-witchcraft romp into a serious AMISTAD-style rant at the evils of slavery, then what they SHOULD have done is either write some better explanation of why Martha is getting around without any bother (call her a Princess, for exmaple, or whatever) rather than an unconvincing line like "Oh, walk round like you own the place" - or better yet, not have a Companion of colour end up in a time where her colour would have caused so much trouble that it would most likely form the basis of the narrative. It's all very unpleasant and wrong that slavery ever existed, we all agree - but glossing it over and pretending it didn't happen is worse than honestly facing it and dealing with it, especially in such an elastic format as DOCTOR WHO is. What can be gaied from pretending bad things didn't happen? This also applies to the myth that only white people owned or traded slaves - it's not often you see black people on TV trading or owning slaves, though it happened frequently. Interesting how that gets left out in the PC-rush to demonise cruel white folks and sanctify those poor ol' black folks who, of course, NEVER traded their neighbours or family as slaves to make money for themselves...
Political correctness causes inequality in many, many ways. But the worst thing it does is encourage DISHONESTY. And as a wise man once said, "those who forget history are doomed to repeat it". And what is revisionism if not a way of forcing us all to forget what REALLY happened?
As for the influence of the media on the populace at large - the fall of intelligence in the Western world is directly proportionate to the education system being made more of a brainwashing system than a means to awaken young people to question everything and use their minds to their fullest potential, and the use of the media as a subtle means of social conditioning, intended to keep the general population too fucking concerned with whether Spencer and Heidi will procreate (God, what a HORRIFIC thought!) than whether their Government is doing the right thing by them. Whilst you are right that the media HAS always sought to influence us, I (and Youngdog) ask you: Do you think this is a GOOD thing? I suspect Youngdog and I are agreed in saying, it's the beginning of the end for society as a whole, if this worship of dumb (and its soporific effect on the population) continues in the media. What do you think? -
Yeah, you're right - how silly of me to forget Keanu's several months long run of Shakespeare in the theatre. Tit. I didn't say Tennant was great because he did Shakespeare, only that it stands as another example of his range. Oh and before you get a "rage boner" this is all just my opinion. Jesus the hate is flowing round here like a Sith Lord circle jerk...
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Jul 22, 2009 12:01:13 PM CDT
They need to bring Tom Baker back. HOLY F**K they *ARE* bringing
by progrocktv
Tom Baker Returns to Doctor Who after 28 Years!
http://tinyurl.com/mybjvl -
You both hit the nail on the head. Too much PC stuff just for the sake of being PC. My wife watched the Torchwood recap show with me on BBCA the other night and she was disgusted by all the scenes just in the recap of Capt. Jack making out with guys. I had to fast forward past the entire Ianto segment.
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the companion looks like she's 15. I mean, after last season's middle aged lady, I welcome the change, but with the 20-something doctor too?
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Matt Smith is only three years younger than Peter Davison when he took over from Tom Baker. Karen Gillan is 21 yrs old. It has been pointed out that there were actors before her that were a little bit younger when they started playing one of the Doctor's past companions. Sarah Sutton who played Nyssa was 19 when a 29 yr old Davison started playing the 5th Doctor.
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I meant to say in my opening sentence that Peter Davison was three years older than Matt Smith when took over from Tom Baker. Sorry for the awful and confusing grammar.
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Having lived thru a few Doctors, it's hard to convey to anyone not living in the uk just how massive Tennant has been in this role. I do think that he has both risen above some terrible scripts with his engaging personality. By all accounts the man is a Prince in real life too. When given a good script, eg school reunion or Midnight or Human nature he was terrific, Moffat will be a more adventurous story teller than Davies, and Smith is a fine actor, but the general public of this country are, mostly, resistant to change. We will see next year. Having said that as a 40 year old man it would be wrong to comment on the new assistant but forgive me cause I love a red head! Wow! And David Mitchell would be a brilliant choice for Bilbo.
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I've never heard any of those names, and I bet they're all dead now, so it's irrelevant.
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...I have to agree with others here: that Karen Gillan has to be one of the most jaw-dropping women on television. I'm genuinely smitten. Lord help us if she can actually act.
Re: Bilbo: Just get Ian Holm back, per Gandlaf's "You haven't aged a day!" comment in Fellowship of the Ring. No one's going to be going to that movie because to see an A-list star anyway. -
He's a decent guy. Also, it has to be said I'm not a Dr Who fan, but Moffatt's episodes are brilliant, and I think he'll give this show the darker edge it needs.
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I'll take that bet you're offering. How does a million dollars sound?
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Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I happened to see in IMDB.COM for, what I am assuming is the Tennant/Smith passing of the torch show, but it is showing that Captain Jack, Rose, Sarah Jane and John Sim's Master are all in that episode. It also lists Timothy Dalton as "Time Lord". Not sure if this means The Master is going to be regenerating also.
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...Emo bitch hairstyle!
This show is good for a few laughs.
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A two-dimensional boring-as-hell "actor" that resembles a fat Lee Evans with none of the talent or charisma. Joy of joys.
Russell Tovey is to RTD as Shia LeBoeuf is to Spielberg - the actor who that particular writer/director is (for some Godforsaken reason) head-over-heels in love with, and will foist upon their unsuspecting viewers as often as possible. Tovey's character in VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED has to be the most boring one there - do we REALLY need to see him BACK, FFS? Yes, because RTD loves him so much, he ACTUALLY wanted Tovey to be the next Doctor.
FOR FUCK'S SAKE!
Yep, as Mutt is to Indy, so Tovey is the RTD - always there, but to the complete indifference of the fans.
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