Poll: New Doctor Who - what should they change?

Flatfrog

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So as always there's lots of speculation about who should be the next Doctor (for what it's worth, I'm rooting for Brian Blessed) but I thought I'd ask a more abstract question. People are always suggesting that the next Doctor should be a woman, or a non-white actor, and my question is: when choosing their next actor, if they made just one big change, what should it be?

Note that of the four potential changes I'm suggesting, two are dimensions that have already been explored, but not really in New Who - all three of the latest Doctors have been slightly manic, youngish men.

Oh, and my answer is if I had to choose just one that was more important than anything, it's just a change of personality. I'd be happy for any of the rest to change, but I'd really, really like to see a new Doctor that is just a bit different. Grumpy, laconic, camp, anything!
 

TheRightToArmBears

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Make him David Morrissey.

I think the only change that I really like to see would be to make him a bit older. Matt Smith is great, and I love the more loopy side that his Doctor has, but I think it seems like he lacks authority, which can make scenes where he offers ultimatums a bit strange to watch. David Tennant was a better actor (although I don't think he made as good a Doctor) so he could pull these off fairly well.

This is part of why I want David Morrissey as the Doctor- He's a fantastic actor with a deep voice and few more years on him. It would be a lot easier to take him saying 'If you do this, I'm sorry, but I'll be forced to destroy you all' seriously.
 

Durzo_Blint

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Change the show runner. Show's sucked since Steven Moffatt got the top job (which I always felt was a real shame since Matt Smith could have far outshone David Tennant if he'd had better stories)
 

Flatfrog

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Durzo_Blint said:
Change the show runner. Show's sucked since Steven Moffatt got the top job (which I always felt was a real shame since Matt Smith could have far outshone David Tennant if he'd had better stories)
I'd agree with this - while being completely baffled by it, since during the RTD days, Moffat's scripts were uniformly the best. I was totally expecting him to take it over and make it awesome, and instead it's been a total mess. I can scarcely watch it, although I keep hanging in there.

I wonder if Gatiss might do a better job, but I'm nervous that the same thing would happen.

Captcha: "let go". I know, captcha, I know, but I keep hoping.
 

Elementary - Dear Watson

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I saw in the paper that Dame Helen Mirren was after the job... and Frankly... THAT WOUOLD BE FUCKING AWESOME!

If not her then another female. Olivia Colman would be perfect too! Although she would probably make a better supporting role tbh...
 

Quaxar

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This poll is awful. No "make him ginger" option? Booo!

And apart from that, I agree with the general consensus that the only thing that is really in need of change is Moffat's position.
 

the darknees abyss

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I think make him old like when first around but to honest it more about the writes then anything else if they make the scripts better then the show will get better.
 

Mr Cwtchy

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I don't see any reason for the people in charge to go out of their way to make him older, a different skin colour or a female. His personality is going to change anyway, so that's a given.

At the risk of being snarky, I think if they're going to change one single thing it should be the showrunner.
 

Flatfrog

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I guess it was inevitable that this would turn into another list of actual people (and I've got as much of a list as anyone, with Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Patterson Joseph and Sue Perkins all coming up hot behind Blessed) but I guess my question was aimed at trying to pin down 'what is it that you really look for in a new Who' in a more abstract way.

So for instance, I'd love Judi Dench to take on the role, but why? Is it her age, her sex or her personality that particularly makes her a good fit? For me it's her ability to do grumpy, stern and impish that really is what attracts me to the idea. So I don't care one bit what age, race or sex the new Who is, but I really, really want to have someone emotionally distinct. I think any script for the last three Doctors could be played by one of the others with almost no change - all the differences are just superficial (Allons-Y! Bow Ties Are Cool! etc).
 

Mr Cwtchy

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Flatfrog said:
Mr Cwtchy said:
His personality is going to change anyway, so that's a given.
I wish that were true...
Er, what? If anything has been consistent with Doctor Who, it's that each Doctor has had their own mannerisms and attitude. I fail to see any indication that that is going to change.
 

Flatfrog

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Mr Cwtchy said:
Flatfrog said:
Mr Cwtchy said:
His personality is going to change anyway, so that's a given.
I wish that were true...
Er, what? If anything has been consistent with Doctor Who, it's that each Doctor has had their own mannerisms and attitude. I fail to see any indication that that is going to change.
Well, see my previous posts. I just think that really hasn't been the case with New Who. Eccleston was a bit angrier and Smith was a bit sillier but there's very little in it; I'd say they've been remarkably interchangeable, manic, shouty men, leaping about the Tardis and showing off. All that really distinguishes them is a few catchphrases.
 

Thaluikhain

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Flatfrog said:
ell, see my previous posts. I just think that really hasn't been the case with New Who. Eccleston was a bit angrier and Smith was a bit sillier but there's very little in it; I'd say they've been remarkably interchangeable, manic, shouty men, leaping about the Tardis and showing off. All that really distinguishes them is a few catchphrases.
Yeah...the writers can do a crap job of distinguishing the characters. Likewise, you could have swapped Amy and Clara in a few stories and not noticed much difference.
 

Gordon_4_v1legacy

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What's springing to my mind is some serious fucking retcons or ass-pulls are going to need to be made unless they can pin down the next Doctor for like a decade: this will be Regeneration 12, the last one.

I mean when they put this in after William Hartnell left, they probably didn't think they'd get that far.
 

Puck

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Sign me up for a change in personality and maybe an older Doctor again?
 

Silvanus

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If I had to choose just one regard, then I'd choose age. An older doctor again, please, and remove the false-geek sex appeal they've been aiming for.

I'd also welcome a change in gender, to mix things up a bit.


That all said, the direst problem with the show is the writing, not the doctor. It's not Sci-Fi; it's only pretending to be.
 

Durzo_Blint

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Flatfrog said:
Durzo_Blint said:
Change the show runner. Show's sucked since Steven Moffatt got the top job (which I always felt was a real shame since Matt Smith could have far outshone David Tennant if he'd had better stories)
I'd agree with this - while being completely baffled by it, since during the RTD days, Moffat's scripts were uniformly the best. I was totally expecting him to take it over and make it awesome, and instead it's been a total mess. I can scarcely watch it, although I keep hanging in there.

I wonder if Gatiss might do a better job, but I'm nervous that the same thing would happen.

Captcha: "let go". I know, captcha, I know, but I keep hoping.
Yeah, the Moffatt episodes were fantastic, particularly Blink, but it was like as soon as he got the top job he just stopped trying. Which was doubly weird because he'd spend a couple months making Sherlock and THEY were better than anything in Nu-Who, so it's not like he just ran out of talent
 

Thaluikhain

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Durzo_Blint said:
Yeah, the Moffatt episodes were fantastic, particularly Blink, but it was like as soon as he got the top job he just stopped trying. Which was doubly weird because he'd spend a couple months making Sherlock and THEY were better than anything in Nu-Who, so it's not like he just ran out of talent
When he was writing for RTD, RTD was the script editor. Now Moffat is the script editor as well. I guess he need someone to keep him on a leash.
 

Tom_green_day

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Flatfrog said:
Eccleston touched on this. He was my favourite of the new 3, he seemed to have more depth.
I've wondered about the series with a female Doctor, and I think it would be really interesting.
I think they need someone older, but at least someone well-known for a style. My choices would be Rowan Atkinson, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Daniel Craig, Daniel Radcliff or Rupert Grint. Each of those are well-known and have a more prominant style, instead of the almost pantomime child-like acting that is in the series at the moment.
But the thing I think they need to get rid of is Steven Moffat. He was good making the occasional episode, but these newer series are appalling and they need to get rid of him ASAP.
 

Mr Cwtchy

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Flatfrog said:
Mr Cwtchy said:
Flatfrog said:
Mr Cwtchy said:
His personality is going to change anyway, so that's a given.
I wish that were true...
Er, what? If anything has been consistent with Doctor Who, it's that each Doctor has had their own mannerisms and attitude. I fail to see any indication that that is going to change.
Well, see my previous posts. I just think that really hasn't been the case with New Who. Eccleston was a bit angrier and Smith was a bit sillier but there's very little in it; I'd say they've been remarkably interchangeable, manic, shouty men, leaping about the Tardis and showing off. All that really distinguishes them is a few catchphrases.
I can see why you'd think that but I don't really agree. Yes, there are some similarities between them(i.e. the manic-ness), but I'd associate that more with the newer style of the show(more modern and less dry than the Classic series) and for me at least there was enough difference that I couldn't imagine one Doctor doing things that another did. Also, I think if you really look back at the older doctors, they aren't so incomparable either, with elements linking certain ones to each other.