The Eleven Doctors...

[Iroscato]

For the 50th, I'm expecting nothing short of a clusterfuck, albiet the good kind. If they could get Ecclestone, Tennant and Smith together, I would probably die of happiness. And Thanas, how very dare you suggest the mighty Tennant take a hike. He was the best Doctor I've yet seen, just an inch above Ecclestone and Smith. Although, Smith could soon become my favourite...

[Broomstick]

The only thing that bothers me about Smith is he looks so damn young - when Time Lords are under stress do their regenerations get younger and younger or something?

I do think Smith is doing well with playing a 900+ character when he himself is so young.

Another thing I like is the way they're referring back to prior incarnations and acknowledging that this guy really does change appearance over time. From the Hartnell library card seen in "The Vampires of Venice" to, I think it was "The Time of the Angels" when he asks River Song how she recognizes him and she says she has pictures of all his faces.

[Iroscato]

The only thing that bothers me about Smith is he looks so damn young - when Time Lords are under stress do their regenerations get younger and younger or something?

I do think Smith is doing well with playing a 900+ character when he himself is so young.

Another thing I like is the way they're referring back to prior incarnations and acknowledging that this guy really does change appearance over time. From the Hartnell library card seen in "The Vampires of Venice" to, I think it was "The Time of the Angels" when he asks River Song how she recognizes him and she says she has pictures of all his faces.

I think the sexing up of TV is to partly blame, in a way. But Smith just effortlessly carries it off. You can watch him, and really believe he's 907 years old.
Though at this rate, I'm expecting the 13th Doctor to be 7 years old

[Crazedwraith]

IIRC Moffat was aiming for an older actor but Matt Smith did such a convincing job of portraying on an 'old soul' that he was convinced otherwise.

Tennant on a good day was almost equal to Eccleston. Tennant was enthusiastic but didn't have the same effortless presence and gravitas that Eccleston exhibited.

Eccleston managed to pull of the line 'do you mind not farthing while I'm saving the world?' and make it seem halfway decent. Tennant hasn't topped that.

[Broomstick]

I think the sexing up of TV is to partly blame, in a way.

I understand that, except in my case Smith is like, half my age. I could conceivably have children older than him, if I had had children. I realize he's not in any sense jailbait but it sort of feels like that.

Well, that, and I prefer older men... when I was Smith's age I thought Jon Pertwee was hawt (no, I'm not going to explain that). Tennant and Eccelston were closer to my age, but they still looked a bit young for my tastes. Yes, horrible thought, I lust after men in their 60's and 70's these days. >sigh<

But yes, Smith is doing an excellent job of "my character is WAY older than he looks".

And I can't imagine the Dr. Who of the 1970's or earlier being shown fending off the aggressive advances of Amy Pond ("I'm 907 years old! Do you know what that means?" "It's been awhile?" Dive in for tonsil swabbing)* Or all the other non-subtle sexual references these days which they were oh-so-careful to avoid in the early decades. Personally, I'm enjoying the new series as much as I did the old, but boy has the shown changed over time!




* Do Time Lords have tonsils? Really, sometimes I think way too much about the details.

[Crazedwraith]

H
And - pardon me for asking but as an American who doesn't have cable/satellite TV at the moment my information is uniformly late and piecemeal - what's this I hear about the next series being in the US?

Going back to this, you may be getting confused with Torchwood.

The next series Torchwood - Miracle Day is in the US.

[Broomstick]

Alas, I have even more trouble getting Torchwood than Dr. Who - although if I'm willing to wait two years the DVD's usually show up at my local library. I get 'em eventually.

Back when I had satellite TV I think the delay was 3-6 months most of the time, not too bad, really.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Comcast gives me shows from BBC-America on demand occasionally, which includes Dr. Who.

[Serafina]

And I can't imagine the Dr. Who of the 1970's or earlier being shown fending off the aggressive advances of Amy Pond ("I'm 907 years old! Do you know what that means?" "It's been awhile?" Dive in for tonsil swabbing)* Or all the other non-subtle sexual references these days which they were oh-so-careful to avoid in the early decades. Personally, I'm enjoying the new series as much as I did the old, but boy has the shown changed over time!

I think i am mentioning the fairly obvious when i say that such a long-running show, especially one with such a changing cast, can't POSSIBLY not change over time.

I also think that the oldDoctors lack of romance or sex is not something essential to the show or his character. Changing the very core of a show is obviously bad, but that's not what's happend here IMO.
Also, i like it as a piece of character development - i always think that the oldDoctor was expecting to get together with some Timelady later on, while the newDoctor can no longer do for obvious reasons. Someones own expectations can easily be projected outwardly so that other people will notice, so that might explain why no one made any moves on the oldDoctor - they simply noticed that he is really not interested.

[Broomstick]

Comcast gives me shows from BBC-America on demand occasionally, which includes Dr. Who.

Unfortunately all I have right now is broadcast TV, and in my area that's still largely just Tom Baker-era with a dash of Pertwee and Davison on either side. I've never seen Colin Baker or Sylvester McCoy episodes at all, nor anything with Hartnell or Troughton (outside of "The Three Doctors", and that was at a SciFi convention)

My local library has 113 different Doctor Who DvD's, which for any other TV show would be an enormous and comprehensive collection. But not Doctor Who.... no, that's just a fraction of the opus.

[Themightytom]

Figured I'd post this as I had just proposed including her. What a shame.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/ ... eth_Sladen

Elisabeth Sladen

19th Apr 2011

It is with much sadness that we can announce Elisabeth Sladen, the much-loved actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and CBBC's The Sarah Jane Adventures, passed away this morning. She was 63.

Lis first appeared as Sarah Jane in Doctor Who in 1973 alongside the Third Doctor Jon Pertwee and stayed for three and half seasons working alongside Jon and the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker. She returned to the role on numerous occasions over the years and, in 2007, was given her own spin-off series on CBBC - The Sarah Jane Adventures - where she would appear alongside new Doctors David Tennant and Matt Smith.

The Sarah Jane Adventures brought Lis a whole new generation of fans who grew up to love her alien-busting adventures. The series was hugely popular with fans young and old and won this year's RTS Award for best children's drama.

Controller of CBBC Damian Kavanagh said tonight: "I'm deeply saddened and shocked by the news of Lis' untimely death. Lis brought joy, excitement and a sense of wonder to her many fans in her role as Sarah Jane Smith. She was adored by our young audience and I know all of them will miss her as much as I will."

Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, said: "What struck me about Lis was her grace. She welcomed me, educated me, and delighted me with her tales and adventures on Doctor Who. And she also seemed to have a quality of youth that not many people retain as they go through life. Her grace and kindness will stay with me because she had such qualities in abundance and shared them freely. I will miss her, as will the world of Doctor Who and all the Doctors that had the good pleasure to work with Lis Sladen and travel the universe with Sarah Jane."

The creator of The Sarah Jane Adventures Russell T Davies said: "I absolutely loved Lis. She was funny and cheeky and clever and just simply wonderful. The universe was lucky to have Sarah Jane Smith; the world was lucky to have Lis."

Steven Moffat, Doctor Who's Lead Writer and Executive Producer said: "'Never meet your heroes' wise people say. They weren't thinking of Lis Sladen.

"Sarah Jane Smith was everybody's hero when I was younger, and as brave and funny and brilliant as people only ever are in stories. But many years later, when I met the real Sarah Jane - Lis Sladen herself - she was exactly as any child ever have wanted her to be. Kind and gentle and clever; and a ferociously talented actress, of course, but in that perfectly English unassuming way.

"There are a blessed few who can carry a whole television show on their talent and charisma - but I can't think of one other who's done it quite so politely. I once showed my son Joshua an old episode of Doctor Who, in which Lis appeared. "But that's Sarah Jane," he said, confused "In old Doctor Who. From years ago. How come she always look exactly the same?" It's not a comfort today, of course, but children will still be saying that fifty years from now."

Keith Jones, Director, BBC Cymru Wales, said: "The Sarah Jane Adventures has been one of the most successful children's programmes on television in recent years - and without Elisabeth Sladen it would not have happened. A brilliant presence on screen and on set, she brought the excitement and energy of the Doctor Who family of programmes, of which we are very proud at BBC Wales, to a whole new generation. She will be missed by all at BBC Wales who worked with her."

Roger Carey, who represented Lis for many years, said. "She was not just a client, but a dear friend. She was so positive about life and her natural energy was intoxicating. She couldn't believe her luck when her career was resurrected in her own series."

Tenth Doctor, David Tennant, said: "I just can't believe that Lis is gone. She seemed invincible. The same woman who enchanted my childhood, enchanted my time on Doctor Who and enchanted generations who have watched her and fallen in love with her - just like I did. I feel very honoured to have shared a TARDIS with Sarah Jane Smith, and I feel very lucky to have shared some time with Lis Sladen. She was extraordinary."

Lis had been suffering from cancer. She leaves behind a husband, actor Brian Miller, and her daughter, Sadie.

[Shroom Man 777]

I'm gonna say it again. What Eccelston gave to the Doctor in terms of characterization, depth and sheer gravitas, Tennant and Smith just try and make up with a lot of high caffeine drinks, loud shouting and hyperactive running about. Eccelston's Doctor could be funny, but Tennant and Smith's are jokes compared to him. At least Nine had a dignified death after saving the world and a great one line, rather than dying with some old teary Hobo.

[Big Orange]

NuWho already had a multiple Doctor story and that was "Time Crash", which was short but sweet. David Tennant did good there and he himself has the most plausible chance of coming back in the inevitable next multiple Doctor story and Sylvester McCoy has recently shown interest in reprising his role as the 7th Doctor, with Paul McGann and Christopher Eccleston less likely, but not impossible.

[Thanas]

Eccleston has declined coming back.

[Hillary]

No way could you have all 11 Doctors, sadly. The first three are dead, Tom Baker is rather large and elderly these days. The rest, theoretically, could fill their respective roles (most are still very active in the Who scene) however.

Maybe not - have you seen Colin Baker these days?


Sylvester McCoy will be 70 in 2013.


Only Peter Davison of the original 7 would be in any realistic shape and he's in his 60s.

As for the new lot, Chris Ecclestone won't be interested at all. Which leaves David Tennant, who we've surely seen enough of by now.

Nice idea to have a big celebration, but this isn't it imo.

[mr friendly guy]

If someone really wants to a celebration with past doctors, just do an audio. Colin Baker a few years back still had that distinctive voice, so its quite doable. Or just do an animation, so you can at least have the appearance of the doctors in their respective time as the title role.

[Broomstick]

Make-up, CGI, technobabble aging process technobabble, soft focus...

Maybe they could bring back a mix of former Doctors and companions? Have some of the oldest Doctor actors who can't be made young enough for their role visually just contribute with audio-only voice-overs? it's always been hinted the Doctor can regenerate into a non-human form, maybe have one of the old guys show up as a future version of the Doctor just human enough to recognize but with enough make-up/latex to hide obvious signs of age? Er... maybe not that.

C'mon, if I can think this stuff up so can other people. Wouldn't kill 'em to do something truly unusual. If you go the voice-over route (they can't make face-to-face contact due to technobabble destroy the universe technobabble) with maybe Tennant and Davison showing their faces with Matt Smith plus an old companion or three (maybe the companions are working on behalf of the voice-overs who can't show up due to technobabble) you could get a decent family reunion 50th anniversary special.