And now I'm prepared to talk. Or rather, able to talk.
In many ways, the moment has been prepared for. I've already done sweetholyRassilonTen'sRegenerating! once this year for Stolen Earth. The shock factor, the speculation and some of the blubbing has already been done. I've also done Androzani, a nice recent reminder that sometimes, life does go on after television.
So in answer to a flatmate's question "have you got over the fact David Tennant is leaving yet?",
yes, I'm taking it well. This time next year, I will not be taking it well, but for now I'm really rather philosophic about it.
It's exciting. As a fan of all ten doctors, how nice will it be to be a fan of all eleven instead? I'm assuming I'll like no. 11. I'll hate his damn guts for all of five minutes, the way I do Six, and then I'll get over it. I hope.
For one thing, this is Moff's Doctor. I've never been happy with the way he writes 10. It's different, a bit like 5 in Caves, and I can't quite put my finger on how. So I'm a bit relieved we don't have a whole series of it to come. And it'll be interesting to have him create his own hero from the start, not working with other people's creation.
I wonder how long they've known? Obviously, announcing it after the award was a stunt. But it throws "The Next Doctor" into some interesting light. At the time, I'd assumed it was like The Doctor's Daughter - designed to boil fandom, but actually be rather banal and ordinary. Did they already know when filming it? And if so, are we going to have the first ever multi-Doctor episode with a Doctor from the future showing up?! If so, it'll certainly make the "getting used to the new Doctor" process a lot simpler.
And so the bunfight begins. Female Doctor? Don't make me laugh, this has always been a daft idea. It might have worked in the 80s when the Doc was still defiantly asexual except in the imaginations of some audience members, but now the Rose relationship has been so overtly romantic a gender change is out of the question. Black Doctor? This one always pisses me off, because people make so much of it. The Doctor has always been white not because of Gallifreyan biology, but because of our human social history. Race is, to an extent, irrelevant in my book. I say "to an extent" because Britishness is still a quintessential part of the character. But these days, "British" is a gloriously inclusive term, and as long as this is still so, skin colour matters to me not a jot. All I want is the best actor for the job. The only thing that slightly does put me off this idea is going to be the people outside of the show. He's going to be Joe FirstAsianDoctor Smith for the rest of his life, and it'll be an excuse for people to have this conversation repeatedly for the next three years or so, The Sun will be delighted and I'll have to put up with them all. Inside the show, I don't mind a bit as long as he can act. But outside will get on my nerves.
I'm also 100% against ginger. Given 10's comments on the topic, it'd amuse me if there was never a ginger Doctor.
This social history thing works both ways, y'know - just as its prevented us having a minority Doc up till now, so in the modern world we could never have a Hartnell or a Pertwee. Too old. One thing you can bank on is that Doctor Eleven will be eye candy.
Another personal preference: I'd be happier with a someone unknown, or a relitively small name. They're liklier to stay longer, and can really make the role their own. Which is why I'm not suggesting names, cos if I've heard of them they're unsuitable.
I'm excited to see where the character goes. We've had dark, we've had hyperactive - where next? Maybe we should finally tone down the Time War angst? It has to be different, but not undoctorly.
But think of the things that Tennant had covered - the talking really fast, the switching from a serious subject to a trivial one and back, really quickly, the crazy hair. For a serious contrast, we need an older actor - not gonna happen - or more of a Peter Davison sort, who was the least quirky of the lot, but made the show interesting in other ways. But to be compatible with a modern show preaching to the kids, he still needs to be broadly heroic - whenever the show tries go go in a vastly different moral direction, the character comes under flak. Openly pacifistic 5, borderline murderous 6 and sneaky, backhanded 7 come to mind; and indeed, even I fan of all ten occasionally have problems stomaching the NAs darker moments.
Where I am going tog et excited is the costume. I've been saying for a year now that the 11th Doctor needs a three pointed hat with a feather. We haven't had a hat Doctor yet in the new series. They'll be wary of going too period, a pity; but you could still have a broadly modern outfit with period touches. Like a three pointed hat.
The only online suggestion I've so far liked was a 20's boater and striped blazer, which would be adorable, if a bit too Fivey.
And it's not like it's the end of 10. David Tennant, I'm sure, can be prevailed upon to do audios if that's ever a direction Big Finish are allowed to go in. And they'd be daft not to.
And regenerations! We talking in-TARDIS? Out of TARDIS? Do we get a flashback montage? And there aren't any companions - he'll be on his own, which will change the tone somewhat.
No, that's upsetting. Think about something else.
Because the plain fact of the matter is, all this belies the fact The Christmas Invasion has just made me burst into tears. After The Secret of the Stars flashbacks, I'm in the mood for watching School Reunion again, but I can't because I know it'll make me a complete mess and I'll blub the whole way through. I couldn't even handle Castrovalva last week. I am excited, very excited - but
It does all come back around to Caves, really, which was nasty in a different way. It was something I had to do - I had to pick the time, procrastinated for 264 days, but ultimately chose one that suited me. I stockpiled other 5th Doctor episodes, audios and books. I made sure I was already used to the Sixth Doctor. It wasn't so bad. OK, it was awful for three days, and now it's not so bad - and I've got Snakedance sitting on the shelf behind me, also to watch in my own sweet time. This is a deadline. We have five hours. After Christmas, we'll have four. After the regeneration, that will be it. And it's Ten, it's the guy whose fault it is that I'm running a blog, have over £70 of junk merchandise within eyeline and am planning on blowing as much on Battles in Time cards tomorrow. I still refuse to admit to a favourite Doctor, but Ten is special. They all are. I'm not upset about it all mostly because this paragraph is the bit I'm not thinking about.
Busy life, move on.
If nothing else, does a new doctor mean they'll finally get around to releasing a second series of micro universe figures?
No comments:
Post a Comment