With the announcement that David Tennant is leaving the title role on Doctor Who after 2009, the producers will have to find a replacement. The rebooted Doctor Who has already shown a willingness to include much more diversity in the race and sexual orientation, etc., in the show’s supporting roles–why not extend that diversity to the casting of the Doctor himself? Here are five totally unsolicited ideas for the Eleventh Doctor.
- Up until now, The Doctor has been played by characters on the thin side, from William Hartnell as the spry First Doctor to the angular Tennant as today’s Tenth Doctor. Why not go large? Possibilities – Robbie Coltrane, Matt Lucas, Mark Addy.
- We’ve seen female Time Lords before, so why not a Lady Doctor? A female doctor also opens up the door for the return of the long-term male companion. Possibilities – Samantha Morton, Helen Mirren.
- If America can elect a black President, then the BBC can cast a black Doctor. Possibilities – Chiwetel Ejiofor, Don Cheadle (reprising his British accent from Ocean’s 11)
- Why does the Doctor always have to be British? The BBC could sell out to world’s most lucrative TV market by going American. Possibilities – Jason Bateman, Neil Patrick Harris
- And why must a regenerated Doctor always mean a brand new actor? With the loss of Tennant in these uncertain and anxious times, the BBC could reassure us by returning to the other Greatest Doctor Of All Time: Tom Baker.
November 25th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
I was thinking the same thing! My recommendation, since the writers have already hinted at a step in that direction: Catherine Tate as the new Dr.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Why not Catherine Tate? She’s already proved she is much, much more than a comedienne, and she is able to reduce Whovians to tears…. I think she’d be great!
November 26th, 2008 at 3:11 am
While I would love to see NPH as the Doctor (I’m laughing just thinking about it), I don’t see how they could pry him off How I Met Your Mother. I’ve been saying for a while now that the Doctor should get an American companion. I can just picture aliens invading Seattle and having the future companion remark that this sort of thing happens in London, not in America
November 27th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Has anyone else noticed that the Doctor Who quiz has the wrong answers?
November 27th, 2008 at 3:20 am
Dear god, that had absolutely never occurred to me.
Helen Mirren. My God – that’s Oscar material. David Tennant’s a good actor, Helen Mirren’s a great actress.
Think of the potential for Doctor Helen meeting the Queen and the companion double taking and blinking between them.
November 27th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
@Ghost
By the Lost Moon of Poosh, you’re right — many a slip ‘twixt cup and lip and all that; some typos must have crept into the answer key. Sorry about that, and we’ll fix as soon as we can.
November 28th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
@Ghost
All fixed — try it now!
November 29th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
My vote is for Peter Wingfield of (the following TVseries) Highlander, Medics, and Holby City. He’s been in a bunch of other one shots and movies too.
December 6th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
An American Doctor Who? Whatever next? An American James Bond? An American Lara Croft… well, scratch that last one.
December 8th, 2008 at 3:12 am
I’m all for Chiwetel Ejiofor as the new Doctor or better yet bring out a woman Doctor and some cute boy-toy companion! Someone sexy like Racheal Weisz, witty like Emma Thompson, or fun like Martine McCutcheon (or Dawn Steele). You could even make the boy-toy American to really toss things up!
December 12th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I for one would love to see a Doctor played by an actor (or actress!) of Eastern ancestry!
December 17th, 2008 at 4:54 am
I think even if only for a one off David bowie would slip into the roll beautifully trying to convince the world :0)
December 17th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
I like the idea of Peter Wingfield as the Doctor or another Highlander alumni, Adrian Paul. What about Buffy’s Anthony Stewart Head or Star Trek Enterprise
Dominic Keating?
December 18th, 2008 at 5:52 am
Stephen Fry would be great.
Or think OFFICE and go with Martin Freeman or Stephen Merchant from The Office – heck – Mackenzie Crook would be the ugliest and perhaps funniest doctor yet.
If you want to go with an older, yet quirky Doctor, I’d suggest Eric Idle or Michael Palin from Python. Billy Connolly would make an excellently eccentric and acerbic Doctor.
Just a few thoughts.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
I said that to myself. Why not American guys do Doctor Who about Buffy’s James Marsters< because I saw him in Torchwood show? I like to see that lol. That will be so cool.;-) Boy, I thinking about cute guys doing the 11th Doctor Who. That was just a few thoughts also. It will be so weird seeing a different Doctor playing Doctor Who without seeing David Tennant in it. I hope that David Tennant is reading these comments. And I hope he will read mine. And I want him to know that he’s my Doctor and he’s mine greatest fan also. I think that was so hard to play a movie called Recovery with David Tennant. I was wondering if they will put it on TV again and also Blackpool so I can tape it off my VCR.
December 25th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Of the ideas in the comments, I think I like Martin Freeman the most. He’d be fantastic, and a bit more understated than Tennant. Could be brilliant.
January 5th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
[...] months of speculation, this weekend the BBC announced who will replace David Tennant as the Doctor: the almost completely [...]
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