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William Wallace drops us a line on DR WHO
Sometimes there are cultural icons that I just don't get.... Jerry Lewis, SPICE Girls... and Dr Who. Ya see... As a kid, my Dad and his adult friends used to sit around getting stoned as hell and watching Dr Who. Now I don't know if it was simply the effects of second hand buzz or not, but Dr Who is like my counting sheep exercise... It sends me off to dozeland faster than a traveling red telly box. BUT... I always give Dr Who a chance. And in a strange 'Gorillas in the Mist' anthropology study I always watch it with these.... Dr Who types.... Though I still don't get it. Sigh... But I'm probably gonna be murdered for saying all this though... Enough of me... onto William Wallace..
Harry,
While taking some time out from liberating my homeland the other day, I
read some interesting information in the Glasgow Herald about the
forthcoming Doctor Who film. The main gist of the article was that a
Hollywood SFX company has approached Glasgow City Council to procure a
blue police box, which will be digitally recreated as the Doctor's
famous Tardis (that's short for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space
for non-Who afficionados). The effects will be handled by Arc/Haven
Studios, whose credits include Lost in Space and The Truman Show. The
company's director, Mike Verta said, "It would be horrendously expensive
to use the real thing in a film, especially if it had to appear from the
ocean or drop into a volcano. A computer-generated box would offer more
flexibility, choreography, control and be seamless. But we want it to be
architecturally precise and to capture the authentic textures and
various surface materials, which explains our interest in Glasgow." He
also said: "I understand radical discussions are ongoing about what to
do with Dr Who and the police box. It will be a challenging film. I do
not think that Americans can make Dr Who the way the British did. There
will be an American take on the scenario." The article also stated that
the film is scheduled for a winter 2000 release, repeated the
African-American rumour (naming Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington and Will
Smith as possibles but my money is on the far more suitable Morgan
Freeman) and revealed that BBC Films will be making a formal
announcement about the project soon. Personally, I'm just hoping that
the film will see the return of the Doctor's Highland Jacobite
companion, Jamie McCrimmon. As my old Uncle Argyle used to say,
"Wullie, ma lad, a film's no worth seein' unless somebody's wearing a
kilt in it."
Keep up the good work,
William Wallace
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Sorry. Too god a pun to have just used on that feature a few years ago. Anyway, bring back Paul McGann. Thats what I say. He was pretty good as the doctor, he's a great actor, and this way, there will be a sense of continuity. www.cinemayhem.com
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Morgan Freemen could just carry this off, although the series was so quintessentially British that its likely to end up as another Avengers. What happened to those Eric Idle rumours, he would make a cool Doctor. Daleks, Cybermen Leela in her loin cloth, Harry you surpirse me, would have figured the early series would have been right up your street.
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I remember the original series airing on TV in 1963, as I remember it the same week as the asassination of President Kennedy. The original Doctor was wonderfully gruff and played by an old british character actor, Morgan Freeman would be an excellent choice, a bit gruff and full of gravitas, the later Whos got camper and camper.There was anothe rseries at roughly the same time called Adam Adamant hero from the Victorian past is revived and fights crime, sort of Austin Powers avant la lettre.
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Archie, thats your man from the original series and the pilot "An Unearthly Child"
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Harry, personally Doctor Who was were it all started for me - but each to his own. I just always saw it as the ulitmate adventure series - any place, any time - no need to tie in one actor. I would be more than happy to see a Who film, if they have the guts to do it right. Not a sequel but a re-invention. The Paul McGann pilot showed a good deal of promise in my eyes, but didn't have the guts to be it's own thing. They insisted on keeping strong links to the late BBC series, and wasted the chance to start afresh with a decent budget, good fx and the US backing. Come to think of it, a servicable plot without the cop-out ending would have helped. As for Morgan Freeman... yes please - but please don't let this talkback turn into one of those dull and predictable 'such and such would be great as the Doctor lists' - we can leave that to the tabloid press, can't we?
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I'm looking forward to the movie, although I won't be terribly happy is the good Doctor isn't British. Eric Idle, as mentioned above, would do a bang-up job, I think. The only cause for concern after the non-British issue is whether or not they will revive K-9 for the film (I'm sure they'll find a way to bring him out of the pocket dimension he resides in). I love K-9, but I'm sure they'll give him a "funny" voice and a string of groan-inducing one-liners.
On Harry's drowsiness issue, I have had similar experiences. I LOVE Doctor Who (not in THAT way, you pervs!) and used to watch it every day as it played on our PBS station and could not wait for the next episode. Shortly after I discovered the show, they began splicing the episodes together to show the "Doctor Who Movie" (aka a complete adventure) on Fridays. Needless to say, when you put all the episodes together into a 2-2 1/2-3 hour hunk, it does get a little boring and makes one nod off. Try watching them in half-hour chunks per day, Harry (if you haven't already... and if you HAVE, I have no advice left), you might like it better.
And I believe the first Doctor's last name (as Meat mentioned above) is spelled "Hartnell", but I'm too lazy to go and check ;-) -
Archie, Meat Takeshi... it was William Hartnell actually (sometimes credited as Bill or Billy) - a reasonably famous British film actor of his time.
He was in the original Carry On Film 'Carry on Sergeant', as well as with Peter Sellers in 'The Mouse that Roared', 'Brighton Rock' with Richard Attenborough and a glut of other films.
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I had the fortune to discover Dr. Who when I was about 12 years of age, on a pbs station that was way beyond our reasonable ability to pick it up on the TV antenna. Through the fuzz, I fell in love. You have to remember though, this was before ST TNG, after Battlestar Gallatica, in that nether time when televized SF was rare, and often horrible. Dr. Who actually had interesting writing, and at 12, you don't mind the FX. I look forward to a new movie, but I hope that it is an englishman who portrays the role, and I hope that they let some of the surviving writers of the series advise them. I would rather have no Dr. Who then an "Avengerized" Dr. Who. BTW, Harry, keep trying, maybe someday you will join the ranks of the advanced in our civilization. :-)
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Back in the Tom Baker days my father would walk in while my brother and I would be watching an episode and make obtuse dirty jokes about the Tardis' control panel.
BTW, anyone have a copy of the KLF's "Dr. Who"? -
In case you don't know (and it wasn't mentioned in this report), Paul Anderson (he of Event Horizon) is slated to direct this film. Now, I know that AICN has a special fondness for bashing ANderson around at any given oppertunity, but in this case it may be worth keeping an open mind. I loved Event Horizon, and the way I see it it's only a matter of time before it becomes a cult classic of sorts. And his other films, while not exactly good, nonetheless show that he CAN direct, regardless of the weakness of the material. Given the right property, Anderson could do one hell of a job. And Doctor Who strikes me as something he was born to direct, particularly if it has a slightly creepy tone and keeps the camp to a minimum (or nonexistent) level, Remember the BBC TV-movie from a while back? Not up to much, but the villain had some nice creepy moments. Shows what a new Doctor Who could be - imaginative, weird, slightly creepy fun. Oh, and getting Douglas Adams to help out on the script might be a good move too...
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Actually I thought that Patrick Troughton was the best Doctor - He who played the priest in the Omen - Is he too old for consideration? Or is he dead?
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Just to comment on Patrick Troughton, he is indeed and sadly dead. He was the best Doctor, and was in the best series of Dr Who called the celestial Toymaker, which I think also starred Michael Gough, butler to Batman in the movies.Troughton was a marvellous actor, and the National Film Theatre in London are showing a rarity of his appearance in a version of Robin Hood made in 1953 and previously believed wiped, just a curiosity for those who care.
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Please, not Eddie Murphy. Will Smith'd be lame too. I mean hell, if those guys are in the running, why not Chris Tucker? Morgan Freeman would be interesting, though. But as always I would prefer a smaller name in the role, like the incomparable Don Cheadle. Or how about Courtney Vance?
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When I was 11 or 12, I used to watch Dr Who on PBS on Saturday afternoons. They used to show the Tom Baker Dr. Who's, and that is the image of the Doctor that is stuck permanently in my mind - the eccentric, slightly scattered Time Lord with a big floppy hat and a 12 foot long muffler who flew around the universe in a phone booth and never know exactly where he would land. Anyway, that's the type of character I would like the producers of a new Dr. Who movie stay with. I think Rick Mayall (from the Young Ones) could bring that kind of weirdness to the Doctor that I associate with him.
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Archie.. though you're right about Michael Gough, that was a Willian Hartnell story. Yes, it was pretty good from what I understand, altough I've not seen it myeslf. Repeats are far and few between on terrestrial TV in the UK - and also the BBC junked a lot of the pre 1970 B/W episodes in a archive cull in the earlt 70's. Well before the home video market was thought of!
As for Paul Anderson directing - I think he'd be a very good choice! -
Doctor Who aired for 26 years in Britain and is still alive in video spinoffs, several lines of novels, reruns on PBS, action figures, trading cards, magazines, and a new line of audio dramas. Not bad for a "boring" show. If that's boring, stick with the piles of adolescent trash that is 95% sizzle and special effects and 5% rehashed stories. Me? I'll take the awesome characters, villians (such as Cybermen that were ripped off by a certain Star Trek race called the Borg), and stories! You remember stories, right? Plots, characterizations, subplots, morals, and themes? If not, go to buy.com and buy a Doctor Who video and you will be enlightened. If you are an action or special effects junkie, the Doctor may not be for you, but if you enjoy a well thought out, character driven, thought provoking, sometimes spooky show, you just hit paydirt.
As for the new movie, let's wait and see, as these things tend to fall through. I'm all for it, if it sticks to the "jist" of the show. However, let's hope that it doesn't turn into another regenerated TV show that gets a make up job via big name actors, tons of special effects, and a horrifically shoddy story (anyone see Lost in Space, the Avengers, or Wild Wild West?). Personally, I think that the ultimate format for a new Who is television, complete with a cliffhanger ending, as this allows better fleshing out of characters and development of plot. I mean, it worked for 26 years, so why reinvent the wheel? Long live the Doctor! -
Novarius, old chap, I echo your above post wholeheartedly. :)
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I'm psyched for the movie.While I recognize the advantages for the film to reboot everything, and re-introduce all the villians with a fresh start, I'd like things to stick to continuity, as croweded and as confusing to the non-Whovian it can be.
Remember, this would be the Doctor's 9th Regeneration. Coming up soon is when the Doctor, fearing his own demise, becomes the Valeyard, a man more evil than the Master, for a time. For a fan, the story of the how the Doctor saved and restored himself from that dark period would be of immense interest.
As for favorite Doctor, for me it's Peter Davidson. He was the most fallible, most likeable, and
went through more hell then any other Doctor then I can think of.
As for a black Doctor, as long as he's British, I don't mind in the least. I'd just love to hear the comments he gets when he runs into his earlier selves. -
As usual, we'll screw it up. At least get a Brit writer like Douglas Adams to write the script and a Brit star in the role of the good Doctor. Maybe Malcolm McDowell as "The Master" would be good.
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a hip-hoppped up time lord played by eddie murphy, will smith or such? i have three words for you: "wild wild west".
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Harry,
there are many early Who eps that do indeed take patience to watch, but it did begin as a children's show. and then, as with any TV show there were those that just blew...(The Gunfighters anyone?).
But to point out the strengths of Dr. Who, may i humbly suggest for viewing THE TALONS OF WANG CHIENG and THE HORROR OF FANG ROCK as examples of everything right with dr. who. (i.e. story, characters, fun dialog, and performances)
ttfn
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What's ridiculous is a compnay going all the way to Glasgow for a police box - there's at least one in L.A. - a reproduction of the show's made by several others and myself which has been used for conventions, the Dr. Who TV movie premiere and other events.
We matched it as close as possible to the show, right down to the text on the phone box and the phone inside it. -
Now I'm a great fan of "Hitchhikers" and I really dig the "Dirk Jently's" and his fundemmental interconnectedness of all things but... Douglas Adams to script the new Doctor Who? Whilst he scripted 'City of Death', perhaps one of the funniest and unique example of Who - it's hardly characteristic of the series. He also scripted 'The Pirate Planet' - which frankly isn't that good. Sadly 'Shada' never got finished properly, so it's not fair to judge. Save a couple of years script editing Adams only has minimal series credits. His time on the show took it far too near comedy for my liking - so I wouldn't think he's a good choice.
Also he's legendary for taking years to write anything, so unless he's really got a raft of new ideas...! Now, if someone could coax the final BBC script editor Amdrew Cartmel into putting pen to paper, that's a different matter. What it probably needs is fresh new talent and a modern take on the show - certainly none of the current book writers who spend their lives playing 'fill the gaps' in the continuity of the TV series, much like the Star Trek books do. (NB Fussy Point, but it really gets my goat guys - it's DOCTOR with the 'OCTO' intact not just Dr.!) -
I like Will Smith. He's talented, he's fun to watch. He was the only thing that made Independence Day watchable. He isn't the Doctor, though. Morgan Freeman would be a great choice...a bit too serious, perhaps. Anyway, I'm not sure whether to be excited or scared...given the track record of 'updating' old series of late, I'm leaning toward scared. (Though I think I must be about the only person on the planet that halfway enjoyed The Avengers...) Doctor Who, when it was at its best, is still some of my absolute favorite televised science fiction...the only edge something like Star Trek or Babylon 5 (and I enjoy both series quite a lot, so no accusing me of 'bashing', please :) had over it was in special effects...and special effects are the least important factor in a TV series or a movie. (Something that the latest crop of SF 'blockbusters' should probably learn.) Oh, and for the record, my favorite Doctor was probably Sylvester McCoy (the seventh one), though my favorite episode was a Tom Baker one...City of Death. (Which Douglas Adams wrote, I believe.)
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Blake's Seven. The series was created by the same guy that wrote many of the Dr. Who episodes (whose name escapes me). In any case, it would make for a better movie than Doctor Who(see --->the 2 goofy Daleks movies)
I'd even see Blake's Seven with the paper-cut-out special fx it was famous for! -
Richard E Grant did play the Doctor in the Comic Relief semi-parody shown on British TV a while back - and he was very good at it. He made the Doctor an ego-centric dandy. Rowan Atkinson was also good (better than Hugh Grant who also had a go). I heard a rumour a while back that Eddie Izzard was a contender for the role. Now he would make a great Doctor.
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Sep 02, 1999 8:50:39 AM CDT
Terry Nation directed early Dr. Who episodes and was the creator
by houdini25
I've been a proud Whovian for 14 years and have a few on video. The best thing about Doctor Who is that he rarely, if ever, used a gun or killed anybody. The guy had balls of steel to go against those pesky Daleks and Cyberman without some kind of weapon. Morgan Freeman would bring a gentle and wise persona to the Dr. Who legacy. I have to agree with the poster who recommended "The Talons of Wang Chiang" Great episode. Another favorite is "Terror of the Autons" which was with the 3rd Doctor, Jon Pertwee and Roger Delgado as the Master.
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Actually, Terry Nation never directed an episode. He created the Daleks, wrote a number of those episodes, and a couple of other so-so ones (Keys of Marinus, Android Invasion).
Basically, though, there have been DW movie rumors floating around for over 20 years. As long as the BBC can make money off the subsidiary stuff (novels, audio plays, merchandise) at 10% of what it would cost them to produce actual episodes/movies, you can pretty much forget it.
At best, believe it when you see it. -
If they absolutely have to have a Black actor, then Lenny Henry is the one. He's already made some American movies, and he spoofed Doctor Who in an episode of his comedy series. I just have a feeling an Americanized Doctor Who would degenerate into Macgyver in a blue box.
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Dr Who news always manages to get the most stupifying treatment here on AICN. The currently posted rumor is one that's been in circulation for quite some time, but it's not without foundation. A movie with Paul Anderson at the head is verifiably a consideration at the BBC, but it's in pre-production limbo - where so many projects are. See the Doctor Who News Page for the most objective news about Dr Who:
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/whonews.html
Furthermore, the bit about the lengths the effects company is going to in order to make an authentic CGI Tardis doesn't make sense. A CGI model will be fine for effects, but there's no reason at all a full-size prop would be too expensive. There are even full-size models available to consumers. In fact, a miniature model may prove more realistic than CGI (as we saw in the telefilm with McGann).
If it's a good Dr Who rumor you want, then there's a better one than this movie - how about the possibility of a new series produced by Queer as Folk's own Russel Davies? To many fans, this whets the appetite more than a washed up movie. -
Hey guys, new poster here. I suggest you do some research into the various Dr. Who news sites around the web. the best is www.gallifreyone.com i.e. Ouitpost Gallifrey. They posted news of the black actor casting last month and debunked it. It is FALSE! The item about the TARDIS is true and we'll see what happens. Let's keep some perspective about this and not get worked up. Dr. Who movie rumors have been flying for ten years now and all have petered out barring the extremely disappointing movie with Paul McGann. BTW, Peter Davison was the best Doctor. the most "human" of them all.
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The idea of hollywood makeing a Doctor Who movie is what is enough to put me to sleep, they can never produce a good interpretation of anything ( avengers ). Besides, who ( sorry but I need that word ) can replace Patrick Troughton, Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee or there lovely companions Wendy Padbury ,Elisabeth Sladen or Sophie Aldred. That being said Shirly Manson from Garbage would kick ass as a companion. Anyway I still have 301 episodes from the series to collect, 250 I have never seen, thats plenty of "new" Who for me.
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If they are going to do a movie, they have got to rethink the whole concept. I love the Doctor but only fans care about whether the Master was the Doctor's brother/son/daughter/gimp and all the rest of the BBC mythology. A movie (or even better a new series) will have to grab all the sad unelightened people who either dont get Who or have never seen or heard of it, and not try to appeal to people who spend many happy hours debating the Blinovitch limitation effect. Go for a new mythology and go back to the things that made Who great - charismatic hero (preferably english, but at least some one who can act), travel in space AND time, good scripts, scary monsters (amp the budget and even the pepper pot Daleks will kick ass!) Go for the gothic feel of the best Tom Baker. Start small (haunted house) then expand so that the fate of time itself is under threat. And for God's sake learn the Avengers lesson. Pip pip.
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Can Barry Sonenfeld be far behind? Maybe we'll get the July 4th release complete Jon Lovitz as the voice of K-9, Will rapping over the Main Title Theme as a single, and Courtney Love as The Doctor's assistant. Or we could have another Eddie Murphy/Wes Craven pairing, with Arsinio as the assistant and Vivica A. Fox as The Doc's assistant. The master would, of course, need to be played by Queen Latifah. Or if we REALLY want to play the Hollywood blockbuster game, we'll have Pierce Brosnan as The Doctor, Liv Tyler as his assitant, Quentin Tarantino as the voice of K-9 and Gabriel Byrne as The Master. Note that this last mix combines strong Gen X and Gen Y appeal with traditional elements shown to react positivley with the Boomer paradigm. On the off chance that they actually want to make a GOOD movie, Douglas Adams would be an ideal choice to script it, and I'd like to draw issue with the suggestion that he didn't finish the script for Shada. The script was completed, but production was bogged down by a strike at the Beeb that coincided with their waning support for the series. Liam Neeson would make a terrific Doctor (you can attack me fer that suggestion, but I can see it), and the director should be the only guy with ANY relevant experience, namely Red Dwarf helmsman Ed Bye.
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Well known Afro-American actor PLUS the director of 'Event Horizon' - it's not that hard to work out!!! It's going to be Lawrence "Apocalypse Now" Fishburne. Shesshh.
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Douglas Adams did indeed write it. For reasons which I can't recall at present, it was released under a pseudonym. But every reference work I've ever seen has credited him with the writing. (And it's discussed at some length in "Don't Panic" (Sort of a 'Making of the Hitchhikers Guide' book written by Neil Gaiman). The problem with asking him to script a movie, though...even assuming he'd do it if asked...is his notorious slowness of writing. (I've got visions of them having to broadcast the movie live, with him running onscreen every five minutes or so with the newest pages of the script...)
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Douglas Adams is being bandied about here simply because people have heard of him. He is a comedy writer, and Who is not a comedy. (By the way Dirk Gently was pretty much a novelisation of the Shada script) Let him get on with Hitchhikers. It offends me that every one is going on about Adams - a couple of scripts, script editing some pretty dodgy seasons, and that makes him ideal candidate? Who needs someone young, someone contemporary, who knows enougth to know what makes Who essentially Who, but not so tied to the past that it stops him from taking it forward in a way that could be meaningful to todays audience. Forget the history, lets move on!
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It's The Wild, Wild West all over again. I'm not a prejudiced person and I believe in treating everyone equally. But I draw the line on changing a fictional character's race just for the sake of political correctness. The Doctor is WHITE!! Jim West is WHITE!! What's next? Marvel Comics turn the Black Panther white? Superman becomes a mexican, or Shaft becomes asian?
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HI I AM BACK. HERE'S MY 2 CENTS. IF CASTING AN AMERICAN GO WITH FREEMAN OR LAURENCE FISHBURN. BOTH HAVE DONE FILMS IN BRITAIN AND FISHBURN DID OTHELLO WITH KENNETH BRANAUGH. DOUGLAS ADAMS DID WRITE MOST OF TOM BAKERS LATER EPS, FROM KEY TO TIME SEASON THROUGH BAKERS FINALLY IN DEC. 1980. HE USED A NOM DE PLUM FOR UNION REASONS. IF HOLLYWOOD WANTS THE BAKER STYLE, GO WITH ADAMS, IF NOT HIRE SOMEONE FROM THE PETER DAVIDSON ERA(WHO WROTE THE FIVE DOCTORS?) ON THE BLAKE'S SEVEN FRONT, IT'S BEEN DONE. IT'S CALLED STAR TREK: THE MIRROR, MIRROR EPISODE. ALL B7 WAS WAS A VARIATION. AND TNG'S BEST OF BOTH WORLDS IS A HOMAGE TO B7 SEASON THREE CLIFFHANGER, AND TROI IS AN HOMAGE TO CALLIE(WHY DO YOU THINK RODDENBERRY CAST A BRIT?) FINNALY, DOCTOIN' THE T.A.R.D.I.S. WAS RELEASED IN 1989. THE BOYS CALLED THEMSELVES ON THAT DISC THE TIMELORDS. IN 1991 A 5 TRACK EP WAS RELEASED ON TVT RECORDS, WITH THE CLUB MIXES AND THE SONG WHAT TIME IS LOVE. I HAVE A COPY(WHY DO YOU THINK MY NAME IN MG THE DJ). CHECK AROUND, IN A USED STORE YOU MIGHT FIND IT. THATS ALL FOR NOW, LATER.
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"The Doctor is WHITE"? No, the Doctor is a Time Lord. Race (white, black, Asian, Hispanic, etc.) is a human concept. I'm sure that to an alien (half-human or no) such matters are completely irrelevant. If regeneration can alter the color of Time Lords' eyes and hair, their height, their apparent age and other aspects of their appearance, who's to say that the color of their skin can't alter too?
As an aside, I wonder what you would think of a character, played by a Black actor, who travelled in Time and Space in a box that was bigger on the inside than on the outside, but was not called the Doctor? Aside from the derivative quality of the character, would you have a problem with it? Or is it just the Doctor who must be WHITE? -
Regarding the casting of a black man as the Doctor, remember that with many of the regenerations, the producers and departing Doctors wished the best of luck to their successor "Whoever he or SHE maybe", resulting in immediate uproar and panic among the press and fans.
Hmm.. kind of like this one. -
A little suprised you don't get Doctor Who Harry. It's a little campy and if you watch the half hour episodes lumped together in a movie it does play out a bit tedious. But I still love it because the Doctor is a great character. If they are really serious about making a theater film this time they should re-invent the story. Keep the basic ideal of who the Doctor is and his background and start from there. As much as I like the TV show, trying to keep the continuity in a feature film would disapoint fans(because their favorite villian wasn't used or something in the story conflicts with something from a episode in the fifth season) and leave non-Who watchers confused. Jon Pertwee was my favorite Doctor(even if he was mostly eartbound), and his time as the Doctor introduced my favorite Who villian, the Master. Lastly if they want a black actor as the Doctor why not Bill Cosby. I can just see it, he gets off the TARDIS to meet an alien and instead of offering a jelly baby he offers them some JELLO pudding. mmmmmmmmm
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Because Hollywood, I guarantee, will fuck it up. Why? I mean, I don't generally like comics being turned into flicks, but TV shows? TV shows have an appeal because you get to see a character develop gradually (much like a comic book) and they stick to a certain formula that the audience comes to know and love. Such things are difficult to translate into a 2 hr film. Especially Dr. Who. I liked a couple of the Dr's, but by far the best (and to me at least) most memorable, is Tom Baker. Why not bring him back? Is he too old? Probably not, but he sure isn't well enough known to star in a Hollywood version. As to him being a time lord and all that. Man, don't even go there. He could regenerate as a swizzle stick or an ewok, but that doesn't mean it should be done. Seriously. Instead of making the Dr. American or black or female or whatever, why not just create a NEW character with a new premise and call it something else? I mean, this whole regeneration stuff was great, because it allowed them to phase out an older actor and phase in a younger one, but come on. What's next, 007 Jane Bond? Go write a new and interesting story about an American or black or female time traveller, and create a franchise, but why screw with a formula and a character that has been so successful for so long?
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Dr. Who has always been one of my favorite shows of all time. It was a show you grow up on, learn new theories and original story concepts from (tell me Terminator doesn't borrow from Day of the Daleks). The Doctor always solved his problems with his head not his hands (except for the occasional Venusian karate chops from Jon Pertwee). I have always been Dr. Who's greatest supporter and it pained me to see the Fox Dr. Who movie/pilot not do well. But in truth, it was not as good as it potentially could have been. I hope Paul Anderson doesn't make the mistakes so many TV-based movies fall into- First: Don't put a new SPIN on Dr. Who (like he's half human or the Master's his long-lost father, etc.). A spin only works if the audience knows the show inside out and want something different. Most of the U.S. audience are not familiar with the Doctor at all so it would be in everybody's best interest to have a story that was more along the lines of a typical Dr. Who show just on a grander epic scale and with wonderful special effects, look at Star Trek 2 or Batman. But the story must not deviate from what so many of us found great about Dr. Who. This would ensure loyalty from the fans as well as making new fans. With all due respect to the British audience, Dr. Who has to succeed at the U.S. box office to ensure sequels, new TV spin-off?, merchandising, continuing interest. Second: If a back story must be told to catch people up to speed, so be it. In fact having the first act of the movie be about the Doctor's fall from grace at Gallifrey and being banished might be a good way for non-fans to understand his plight. Third: Casting. When I was dreaming about a Dr. Who movie a few years ago, many names went through my head but the one name that kept coming back and back and the more I thought about it, it was the PERFECT casting choice for a big screen Dr. Who... Anthony Hopkins. Think about it. The Doctor should be British (remember rule #1, no weird spins) and be played by an actor with a name and some box office clout. Anthony Hopkins certainly fits those criterias. He's a distingushed gentleman with an air of curmudgeoness (like the 1st Dr.), he has an underlying comedic sensibility (like 2nd Dr.), he can get physical and intimidating (like 3rd Dr.), he can be eccentric and quirky (like 4th Dr.-my personal favorite), he can be charming (like 5th Dr.), he can be demanding (like 6th Dr.) and finally he can whimsical (like 7th Dr.). In short he's all the regenerations rolled up in one. As far as his companions are concern this is the area where ethnic actors would make great sense. I recommend an Asian male, someone like Robin Shou, Russell Wang, Jason Scott Lee or even Jet Li (if you want to go the HK direction) and an African-American female, like Tyra Banks, Jada Pinkett, Vivica A. Fox or Vanessa Williams. Fourth: Flying or levitating Daleks. This makes them so much more menacing and formidable. With CGI, it's really easy. Fifth: Music. Danny Elfman, Vangelis, Hans Zimmer, Eric Serra, Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams (if you can get him), David Arnold, Alan Silvestri. And under no circumstances change the Dr. Who theme music too much. The Dr. Who theme is so wonderful, tampering with it would result in bad karma. Sixth: The Tardis. Of course the trademark exterior of the BLUE (a-hem, Harry) police box must NEVER be tampered. However the interior is up to a production designers artistic imagination. My biggest recommendation on this is to keep some nostalgic semblence of the tv show interior (round panels, center console that goes up and down) but not to go the pot luck antique approach from the Fox movie/pilot. The interior of the Tardis should look bridge-like, sleek, futuristic and funtional (i.e. Voyager, Death Star). Well that's my rant (as Dennis Miller would say). Paul, if you're reading this, 'Mortal Combat' was mindless fun, 'Event Horizon' had some compelling elements and I will forgive you for 'Soldier' ONLY IF the Dr. Who movie turns out as good as it rightly should be. Please just consider some of my points since I'm not just a fanboy and I do work in the industry (my company is part of the Action Adventure Network, we have projects with John Landis, Francis Ford Coppola, Richard Donner, Roger Donaldson, Steven E. de Souza and Clive Barker). I'm a produced screenwriter and have pitched many ideas to Star Trek: DS9 and Voyager. I have spent many years developing and pondering an epic Dr. Who movie... not the 3 1/2 seconds an executive will spend coming up with an idea that will destroy the franchise. Think about. Fin.
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As a fellow scientist and a doctor, I feel it in poor taste for the Doctor to regenerate as an American. Granted, the good Doctor can do as he pleases, but hitherto he has retained some scrap of loyalty toward our beloved country.
Still ... Morgan Freeman would be a delicious image to recreate one's self in ...
Besides, the Doctor never did care for that call box, did he?
Ah, well ... back to my rocket research! Care to participate in one of my Xperiments? -
Nothing new here. Paul Anderson has a limited option on the rights, nothing more. No studio has picked up the project yet and getting stories about FX houses, etc is only an effort to try and get someone to notice. Personally, I hope it goes back into limbo to wait for such a time as A: someone with a clue wants to direct it and B: the BBC gets it head out of it's arse and starts producing the series on it's own again. KJB http://www.backstage-pass.com
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I been watch the series on and off since 1979 and it high time that the BBC
brought it back. Although it would be nice to have a English actor to play -
Everybody knows who the REAL Doctor Who is. Eric Roberts. Case closed.
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I think it's bad. Whilst I respect and love a lot of American TV and film, the thought of an American Dr Who makes me feel sick. The Paul McGann films was shite, despite Paul's performance. There were a lot of aspects about the original series that were crap, but it's quality was very English, in terms of humour and style. Also, due to this travesty of a film, a new BBC Dr Who series will NOT be made now, which is pissing off every English Dr Who fan.
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If I was to made the new
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...if they also want a black man I nominate Lenny Henry. Why does every film role for a black man have to raise the name Will Smith? What the hell is everyones facination with this talentless unappealing guy? He is a terrible actor, and even worse his rapping is now just a Puff Daddy rip off, which is probably as low as it gets. Anyone can take an old song and rap over parts of it. Hell I used to sing my own lyrics to songs on the radio when I was three. He sure as hell is not a musician since I have never seen him play a note of music or sing one line. He can talk, but tht is hardly singing. Uhgg! Sorry about going off on Will Smith, but I'm sick of hearing people praise him and attach his name to every film with the possibility of a black main character.
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Dr who is dead, and it was a mercy killing. It was crap twenty years ago so why anybody would be interested in ressurecting this old tosh, I'll never know. Will the film have guys in silver wetsuits with buckets on their heads pretending to be cybermen again ?
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I don't mean this in a mean way, but Harry reminds me *so* much of the Comic Book Store Guy from "The Simpsons" that I guess I just always figured he'd be a Who fan.
"Ah, 100 tacos for 100 dollars. This should provide adequate sustenance for the Dr. Who marathon!" -
Roslyn is the last name of "Peggy" in my verison of "Dr. Who". My user iD is Dr. Media.
Sorry about this, be seeing you.
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Every so often, they try and breathe life in to this dead dog !
Even a dip in the Lazarus Pit couldn't revive this.....it's past its sell by date.
I was a toddler when the series started, I have vague memories of William Hartnell, the first appearance of the Cybermen, the first transformation.....I was there, on Saturday nights, I have vivid recollections of the lost episodes, "Evil of the Daleks", Troughton, Pertwee, Baker (in my teens) but EVERY actor who assumed the role since then just reinforced just how stale and outmoded the concept was. The early B& W episodes, still shown on the cable/satellite channel UK Gold still have a certain charm, but the later ones, were pretentious crap !
Why try to revive it ? Let those of us who remember the real glory years revel in our memories.......and leave the show alone.
Unless you can get John Cleese to play the Doctor ! -
I like Richard E. Grant as
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I am an American fan of Doctor WHO and the rumors of a Hollywood movie with no Brit influence potentially terrifies me. It may sound cheesy, but as a youth The Doctor was my hero. He still is actually. I take solace in the fact that an American bastardization of the show (anyone remember Avengers?) is still only rumor. The hype/rumor mill is buzzing even heavier in the past few weeks. My hopes are that if they do anything at all, Paul McGann will be recast. He offered a new vitality and curiousity to the character. If Gary Oldman would get off his high horse he could do it (maybe even as the Master). Richard E. Grant did well in the spoof also. There are SO many great British actors and comedians perfect for the part that I couldn't possibly name them all. So long as (I cant believe I'm saying this) the BBC stays involved and British roots are maintained I think everything will be ok. There's a good thing about Hollywood, though. ANYTHING'S POSSIBLE. With the RIGHT people and writers (ooooo Terry Pratchett...Douglas Adams offering just the appropriate balance of drama and quirkiness)Doctor WHO could be spectacular. If Tinsel-town screws it up as it has SO many other things, one of the greatest contemporary myths of all time could just drop to the next level of Hell. Thank You
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I was a bit of a nerd back in my grade school days. I was smarter than most of the other students in my classes, and I got picked on a lot for it. It was very comforting to watch Doctor Who, the scientist as hero. He was the hero not because he was the strongest or had the best weapons, but because he was the character who was willing to sit down and learn things, figure things out, instead of shooting first and asking questions later. Knowledge is power. THIS is what anybody who tries to revive Doctor Who should keep in mind.
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Actually, I think that's an awesome idea. After enjoying Doctor Who on PBS, especially the episodes featuring Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. Given that they both played the docor with that little bit of strange charm, i think the only possible doctor would be Eddie Izzard. Watch his HBO special to see what I mean. He's f***ing brilliant.
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I find the idea of an american made Doctor Who movie to be, frankly, quite nauseating, especially with the name of Will Smith floated around as a possible actor to fill the Doctor's role. This rumor has all the indications of typical hollywood crap that takes a once good show and bastardizes it, thus completely ruining it for the fans and presenting a perverted version of it for people who are unfamiliar with Doctor Who.
I have serious doubts that Hollywood could ever make a good Doctor Who movie. The reason for this is that Doctor Who was a show for people who actually like good plots that actually take a certain level of intellect and attention span to comprehend. Sure, the special effects were lousy and every now and then there was a cheesy episode, but more often than not it was a great show. The Doctor is everything that Hollywood is not. He is a hero that never kills and never resorts to violence unless he absolutely has to. He is a hero that relies on his intellect rather than sex appeal and brute force. Doctor Who was a show for people with active imagination, which is something that Hollywood and its American audiences, sadly, lack.
If the rumors about a Doctor Who movie are true, then I can only hope beyond hope that it remains faithful to the spirit of the original series during it's Tom Baker years (which was Doctor Who at its best). If the Doctor must be played by an african american actor then please don't let it be a complete idiot like Will Smith. Morgan Freeman might be tolerable, but really the only thing american about a Doctor Who movie should be its special effects and nothing more. -
OK let get the facts straight. The BBC can
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Someone earlier mentioned that Russell Davies, writer of Queer as Folk, might be doing a TV series. Don't know if you've seen Queer as Folk in the US, but it featured K9, the main relationship drama came down to who could name all the Doctors, and you could make a pretty good case for the whole thing being pseudo-Who (right down to picking up a teenage companion in the first episode...) One thing that you might not know is that loads of the people who write or used to write the Doctor Who novels are being really successful in TV here; Emmerdale, Coronation Street, The Grand, The League of Gentlemen, Queer as Folk, and Love in the 21st Century all have ex-Who novelists as contributors, script editors, or creators... my theory is they have an covert masterplan: to slowly amass power, take over British TV, and then force the BBC into making a new Who series! Hope they do, they're all cracking writers, and TV Who was never as good as the novels have been!
I don't care if the actor is black, but I do if someone casts Larry Fishburne or Denzel Washington: Samuel Jackson is the only man for the job! If anyone else says Lenny Henry... jeez, nice guy, but completely wrong for the part.
Re the Avengers... wasn't that written and directed by English guys? I thought it was great and true to the series, but damaged plot-wise by all the last minute panicky cuts. -
C'mon everyone! The Yanks wouldn't be able to do a decent Who film. No offence, but the eccentricities of the Doctor have always been masterfully portrayed by British actors such as Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee and Paul McGann, and they imbue the role with that kind of, absent minded yet amusing yet ibtelligent yet in control thing the Doctor has. Morgan Freeman would only get a bit of that! Most of the best actor in Hollywood would only get a facet, no more. Leave it to someone who can master the role over here! I mean, hey - I though McGann did a great job!
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An American actor to play the Dr??
Can Will Smith actually act? The Dr has to be British, no getting away from that, and if the film is to go ahead (it's more than a mere rumour), Paul McGann is the firm favourite of most fans. He was superb in the so-so 1996 movie which failed when it tried to pander to the US market.
The actor would also dearly love to return the role. There's a thread at the BBC forums supporting the return of McGann. Hit it and pledge your support before the Beeb announce their cast.
Someone mentioned Blake's 7, despite notifying Glenn that two B7 TV movies are planned (and already have financial backing), Glenn failed to post this news.
There you go, we may have lost the promising Crusasde (doing good business over on Sky 1 before it heads to Channel 4), but we have gained two old classics...
Just hope they get BOTH scripts right... -
I think you'll find that the reason Glenn has not posted the news about the Blake's 7 TV movies is that he does not appear to have any interest in any series which is not an American production. (Unless this new Blake's 7 is a co-production like the ill-fated Doctor Who movie) He has shown a similar lack of interest in the BBC's upcoming adaptation of Mervyn Peake's "Gormenghast".
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DrWho is about the story and bugger the effects. Companions also play a crucial role as they are often a pivotal person in many of the stories. I want to see some of the former Tom Baker companions back... namely Leela (not sure how you would explain the passage of years) or Romana. She was lost in E-space with K-9 in one of the weirdest episodes of any incarnation, so how to get her back - dunno, but she was attractive and in many ways smarter than the Dr. As to the whole concept of a movie? If the guys from Lost In Space do the effects, fine. If the guys who produced Lost In Space do it, I'd douse my eyes in lemon juice before watching it. But then, so would we all.
Cheers. -
Okay, apparently I'm in the minority here, but after seeing that awful TV movie with the mediocre Paul McGann I wish Doctor Who would be left alone to die with dignity. You must understand that I am a big fan of Who. A very big fan. To me, Dr. Who was the penultimate sci-fi thing. But come on people! It's bad enough that the McGann movie was even made in the first place, but the fact that it is now an "official" part of Who history is too horrible to contemplate.
The writer of that foul flop (Matthew Jacobs) managed to simultaneously rip off almost every cute Dr. Who idiosynchrosy (jelly babies, thumping the tardis console, sonic screwdriver, reading "The Time Machine", etc.) whilst excercising a grandiose disregard to the show's continuity. Instead of residing on Gallifrey, the Eye of Harmony is now located inside the Doctor's Tardis. The Master is no longer a Timelord, now he's a sort of slimy thing with evil cat's eyes and he can spit acidic slime at people. And what the fuck is up with all that Doctor being half-human and only a human can open the Eye of Harmony malarky? And the list goes on: The Doctor gets shot in the shoulder and he falls unconcious. Upon regenerating however, he has enough strength to punch through solid steel doors. Once regeneration has taken place, the movie becomes a parady of "The Crow" with the Doctor wandering around in a white shroud, seeing his reflection in conveniently arranged shards of mirror while thunder and lightning abound and rain patters on the floor (somewhere in the condemmed section of an otherwise fully functional and expensive hospital).
Pretty soon we're taken on a sophomoric ride through one American crap-TV cliche after another, unlikely screen kisses, car chases and idiotic fist fights. In the end it's just one awful piece of garbage starring an actor who makes a mediocre Doctor. The fact that so many fans consider this drivel to be a step in the right direction makes me shudder. People! It was bad! Let the good Doctor pass away with his dignity intact.
In response to the afore mentioned film rumors: A black doctor? Why? Doctor Who doesn't work the same way that postmodern Shakespeare does. Only a few years ago there was a contingent favoring a female Doctor. Again, I ask "Why?" I suppose one could just as easily ask "why not?" I actually saw a few fan-produced Dr. Who videos that featured a female Doctor and they were quite interesting, so what the hey? Just don't cast Morgan Freeman. Or Will Smith. Or Lawrence Fishburn. Must be British to apply.
On the subject of writers: I could not agree more with the notion that former Who writers should be called upon to work on any DW features that might get made. Many have suggested Douglas Adams. One person suggested Andrew Cartmell. There are many fish in that particular sea, here are some more reccomendable names. Eric Saward, Terrence Dicks, Pip and Jane Baker, Ben Aaronovitch, Chris Boucher, Philip Martin. There are many more. If he were alive today, I would reccomend Robert Holmes, perhaps the most talented storyteller DW ever had.
It's not impossible to make a good Who movie. But so many people liked the show for so many different reasons. It's impossible to make a penultimate film that will please everybody. And the problem is, whoever makes it probably will try to please everybody. Because of that, I stick firmly by my opinion: Doctor Who should die with dignity. We already have twenty-six years of good episodes to enjoy again and again. -
*sigh* I'm not the oldest gen x-er around, but you know, the good Doctor has been around my whole life. I was somewhat dissappointed with the Fox movie, and I'm rather upset that the Doctor lies in jeoparody...but it really irks me to see a movie being done that's going do fuck over the established stuff, and take it from a cheesy effected, plot driven, character based piece of art to a modern, blockbuster aimed, effects ridden piece of crap. I hope that it's still just a rumour, and a film is not in the works-especially not an American produced one. I was at least hoping that nothing would happen until I forced my way through film school to do a film which could please the current fans and introduce it to a new bunch too. Owell. The same thing is happening with Hitchhiker's Guide-apparently, I'm NOT the only person to have read through the book and scripted out how to shoot each scene, make it work, and do it CHEAP.....as for the Doctor's race, I'm no racist, but I'd prefer that the Doctor stay a white guy, middle aged and up-how many of YOU changed race or sex (naturally) through your life? He must also stay European sounding. I would be willing to accept a black or other minority in the role, so long as it was a black playing the Doctor, not a black Doctor...like Wild Wild West. I could have accepted that Smith played West...but instead the character had to revolve around his blackness, everything had to do with race....I'm so sick of the bullshit....why can't people play people instead of colors? (sweet mother of ghandi, I sound like a hippie). For favorite doctors....my fave was Patrick Troughton.
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