Sunday 4 August 2013

Who knew...?



I'm a life long Doctor Who fan. Like many, I've grown up with the time travelling adventurer and enjoyed most, if not all, of his incarnations.

My first Doctor was Jon Pertwee but my favourite was always Tom Baker. He had power and gravitas and OWNED it. I thought nobody could come close. They didn't for a long time. This didn't affect my enjoyment of the show, though, I simply didn't find the other doctors as strong.

Then it was cancelled. I wonder who was the BBC executive responsible for that one. (Update: thanks to my friend Carol who reminded me it was Michael Grade, the man responsible for bringing us Neighbours... 'Nuff said...)

Saying that, the cancellation could well have been the shows lifeline. It needed a regeneration, of sorts, itself. Russell T. Davies gave it that. And Christopher Eccelston brought the Doctor back to life in a big way!

I was gutted when Eccleston left. He made the show really good again. He was needed. Who was this David Tennant bloke? Casanova? PERLEEZ!
 

Wow. Was I wrong? The answer to that is yes. Hugely. Christopher Eccleston was great. David Tennant, however, was THE Doctor. He had some powerful story lines and equally powerful performances. He also had Rose, one of the best assistants since the show began.
 


Billie Piper was one of a kind, really. She was one of the first assistants to be more than just an assistant. She had a real part to play.

I do really like Jenna Coleman as Clara, the latest companion. The introduction of her as the mind if a Dalek was very clever and she's nose and feisty too. 


Anywho. Then Tennant left and we had Matt Smith. We had now ties and a Fez. But we also had Alex Kingston and Amy. And we had one of my favourite episodes.

'The Doctor's Wife' had the wonderful Suranne Jones playing Idris who was taken over by the core of the Tardis. I bought this storyline was fab. Suranne played the part perfectly and the sentient nature of the Tardis became a former and more integral part of the show after that.


And now we change again. We have a new, twelfth Doctor. Congratulations to Peter Capaldi. The name is one I wasn't familiar with, but the face I certainly was. He's been in many shows I've seen. He was also on World War Z, a film I seriously enjoyed. More of that in a moment. 




How will he do? What sort of Doctor will he play? I don't get the impression he'll be as physical as Matt Smith. He seems more brooding and thoughtful. We shall see. Perhaps, with the advent of the Doctor's great secret (hello John Hurt!) a darker, more dangerous role will ensure. 

We shall see. I look forward to finding out.

Now, back to World War Z. It seems, according to IMDB, the identity of the new Doctor Who was revealed a good while ago. If only we'd known where to look...
 
Speaking of where to look, the Doctor has been captured on Google Maps!



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