Blog on the Lillypad
Saturday, March 20, 2004
 | The New Doctor has been announced: Christopher Eccleston
As some of my readers know, the BBC is putting together a new season of Doctor Who after nearly 20 years of the show being in hiatus in BBC-limbo. They have picked Christopher Eccleston (who has done parts on Poirot, Inspector Morse, and Cracker) as the next Doctor. Eccleston's got some solid acting behind him. I still prefer a grouchy old Doctor to a charming young Doctor, but Eccleston can adopt a variety of looks, so he's probably a good pick for somewhere in the middle. I'm encouraged. I never thought Paul McGann (the most recent Doctor) was a good pick for a Doctor (nor did I like the fifth Doctor, though I think both men are fine actors). I'm encouraged by what I regard as a step away from the teeny-bopper's Doctor to a more classic looking guy who can do the eccentric, intense, brilliant, wily, cold, warm, funny aspects to the Doctor all by turns and make him a believable whole. |
Of course, the newest Doctor and the series will go no where if the scripts aren't pure Doctor Who. That's a hard thing to define, but I think we'll know what it ain't. I hope they stay away from the "tried, true and trite" that Fox injected into the television movie and instead go with bare-bones, simple effects, innovative plots, and genuinely resourceful and strategically brilliant resolutions. I also say away with bearded guys for the Master and have Stephen Frye play him. Frye's got a perfect voice and a beguiling charm. What an excellent villain he would make!
No co-dependent lame chicks! No wounded spirits---PLEASE!
