Dr Who - Season 30 (4) [SPOILERS]

[hypatia]

Yes, I recall reading how the first cast of Who thought the series was going to be cancelled. The Dalek episode saved the show, is what I remember reading years ago. The cast couldn't believe it, they thought the Daleks were comical. But they really impressed the audience, it seems.

Odd, I'd think the Cybermen would be scarier. But what do I know?

[A_M_Swallow]

Originally Posted by hypatia

Odd, I'd think the Cybermen would be scarier. But what do I know?

The Cybermen first appeared in 1966 about three years later.

The Daleks were first shown 5 weeks after John Kennedy was assassinated, they caught the mood of fear.

Doctor Who - a father figure who rescues you from the nasty monsters. Being a tv show watched at home with your own family meant the British did not have to keep a stiff upper lip - unlike in the real world. The Cold War was being fought against the Communists, their nuclear weapons were only 4 minutes away.

Doctor Who started 15 months after the Berlin Wall was built and finished the same year it came down. He returned for the War on Terror.

[Jade Jaguar]

Originally Posted by hypatia

And he's so YOUNG. In fact, I blushed a bit when I realized I have a tiny bit of a crush on a man who is... 6 years my junior!!!

I had a crush on a girl 30 years younger than me, and never blushed once...
She was in her late 20s.

[hypatia]

A "father figure"... Actually the first doctor (William Hartnell, right?) was more a grandfatherly figure. Susan even called him "grandfather".



I used to be into older men, JJ. It was a bit of shock to me. But, in fairness, the Doctor has gotten younger and younger and younger... right?

Anyway, it's the acting that I noticed years before the face. I liked him right from the start as the Doctor. but I admit, there hasn't been a doctor I didn't like (just some writing I didn't like).

But he is a cutie, too. I never quite believed him as Barty Crouch Jr., but that could have been the slight overacting he put into that part.

[Jade Jaguar]

Well, at 37, I don't think of Tennant as anything but an adult, and certainly old enough to play the Doctor. But, I do think he often looks about 10 years younger than he is. I find that appropriate, given that he is supposed to be way older than he looks. I guess when it comes down to it, even though I am 20 years older, I don't consider Tennant to be a 'kid.' Perhaps that's because most of the people I spend a lot of time with are his age, or much younger (mostly at work.) Put someone in their 20s in the role, and I don't think I would find it appropriate.

Eccleston, and Colin Baker, were both about 41 when they played the Dr., so, yes, Tennant is younger, but not by a lot.

[hypatia]

I wonder if they ever will stop the trend of the younger Doctor. I think I'd tend to agree: it would at the very least take one hell of an actor to pull off the aged wisdom aspect of the Doctor at the age of 25 or something.

And true, there is a big difference between 37 and 25.

I don't know the name of the actress who plays his current companion, Donna. I wonder how old she is. It would be quite weird to have a companion older than the doctor (referring back to the 'in-his-twenties' thing here).

Anyhow, I wonder if some of the character development we saw in the Pompeii episode will be drawn on in future episodes or not. I know 'Doctor Who' isn't exactly an "arc-based" show, but it would be nice if character progression weren't there for the end of an episode, and gone the next.

Of course, after another regeneration, anything is fair game, I suppose.

Daniel Radcliffe as the Doctor, anyone?

[Jade Jaguar]

I think it is high time there was an American Dr. How about Christopher Walken?

[hypatia]

Oh, dear. What a scary thought.

A female Doctor? In a long charity skit by Rowan Atkinson, Joanna Lumley (of Absolutely Fabulous fame for those of us in the states) made a pretty good Doctor, IIRC.

[Kribu]

Originally Posted by hypatia

I don't know the name of the actress who plays his current companion, Donna. I wonder how old she is. It would be quite weird to have a companion older than the doctor (referring back to the 'in-his-twenties' thing here).

Catherine Tate will be 40 next week. She's born in 1968, David Tennant's born in 1971. So this probably is the first time the companion is (played by an) older (actor) than the Doctor.

Tennant does seem rather young but he's still not the youngest actor who has played the Doctor - Peter Davison was 30 when he started (29 for the regeneration, I think). At least they haven't gone for anyone even younger (yet)!

[hypatia]

Yea, I forget how young Peter Davidson was when he played the Doctor. And yea, I think that's pushing the age envelope a bit. But somehow he seemed older than Tennant seems.

Ah, so she IS older than the Doctor. I was wondering. Personally, that is an age barrier I like seeing broken.