fajrdrako | David Tennant's Doctor Who news... (Reply)

So now the official announcement has been made: David Tennant is leaving Doctor Who at the end of the 2009 specials. Not surprising, really, but... I can't help agreeing with his assessment: "Better to leave when people will still miss you, than outstay your welcome." Yes. And he no doubt has other things he wants to do, especially after good reviews as Hamlet and Berowne.

Am I disappointed? No. I came into Doctor Who when Eccleston had already left, so I had no chance to be devastated when he quit. I already liked Tennant. Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant have been so good in the role, I can't imagine who will be as good to follow in their footsteps, but at the same time I have enough faith in the people behind the show - well, in Steven Moffat, and is Julie Gardner still around? - to hope that the quality will remain high. This is optimistic; with so many people changing over, is there really much hope that it won't lose it edge and sparkle, that it won't become more like all the mediocre TV shows out there?

Seems to me the quality is more likely to fall when the creators are losing their impetus and enthusiasm - look at the sad case of X-Files. Better to have new and fresh people who love it and won't be doing the same old thing.

And it's great to give Steven Moffat a fresh start with a new Doctor.

So: who do I want as the next Doctor? Russell T Davies said he wanted Russell Tovey, which I think is a terrible idea - I don't like him at all. But I would have said that about Catherine Tate as Donna before series 4, and look how good she turned out to be. On the other hand, I don't trust Russell T Davies' taste or judgement: he thinks Burn Gorman is sexy.

The BBC site mentions possibilities: Paterson Joseph, whom I like a lot, but who has already been on Doctor Who in another role - I don't think the new Doctor should be someone the Doctor has actually met, along with the viewers. The same for their other picks, David Morissey (who will have been seen in the Christmas special in two months) and John Simm. Besides which, I think Simm would be awful - I'm not nearly as impressed with him as everyone else seems to be. Their other suggestion is James Nesbitt, whom I don't think I've ever seen.

My choices for the Eleventh Doctor are:

Robert Carlyle - my first pick. I think he'd be magnificent; he has charm and scope and sexiness and he's a terrific actor in the myriad ways the role calls for. I can believe this man is an alien while simultaneously believing that he is the ultimate in humanity.
Peter Woodward, for all the same reasons as Robert Carlyle.
Eamonn Walker, since they've been talking about making the Doctor black, and he is both talented and attractive.
Shaun Parkes, whom I adore, though be breaks my rule of not using actors who have already been on the show
Michael Praed. He has, among other talents, a great voice.
Sean Pertwee. Added to his considerable abilities, there's something delicious about having the son of one of the actors who played the Doctor take over the role.

But they aren't going to ask me, are they? And what the Doctor will be like is up to Steven Moffatt: he won't be the same as Nine or Ten, though he'll have some elements in common.

We shall see. Meanwhile there's plenty of fodder for speculation.