Peter Capaldi leaving Doctor Who

[TyneTeas]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38805151

[HelenDenver]

"it makes sense that they regenerate from a white male into a white male."

Again, why, re skin colour?

[TheDrsDocMartens]

Ben Whishaw would be good but don't think he will.

[TinselTwins]

it makes sense that they regenerate from a white male into a white male

No it really doesn't!
Not unless they also all had the same eye colour, the same height, the same hair etc
No.

[HelenDenver]

The doctor is always going on about wanting to be ginger.

Julianne Moore FTW!

[CalmItKermitt]

I quite liked Rose. BP is a good actress.

Hated Martha, probably because the actress playing her was TERRIBLE.

[Riversleep]

I liked Clara. I seem to be in a minority though. I think the reason it's gone a bit pearshaped is mainly the writing and a bit of the acting. I got the feeling Moffatt and Capaldi were fanboying together, and forgetting about the casual audience. I also got the feeling, especially with that ott show to announce him that they were saying 'look at last, a proper doctor for the fans!!' Meaning the hard-core middle aged men group. But we watch as a family, but kids are bored by it, my middle aged man wasn't that bothered, so we watched it out of duty at Xhristmas but could take it or leave it really now.

[Riversleep]

Yes to Matthew Baynton!

[HelenDenver]

Also liked Clara (said so on the other thread, I think, losing track)

[TheDrsDocMartens]

Didn't like Clara, Rose yes, Martha was always getting captured and too earnest, Donna fantastic, didn't like Amy , loved Rory, Mickey and River.

[TheDrsDocMartens]

Oh and Jack!

[Riversleep]

Yeah I loved Rose at the beginning, and actually when she was initially in the programme, but all the coming back bored me, and the whining throughout the Martha series was unfair to Martha imo.

[HelenaGWells]

"Again, why, re skin colour?"

The main reasons for me are:

a) If they wanted to go outside of the white male regeneration they should have done it long ago, not when we are into double figures. A couple of doctors into the reboot would have been the time to do it if they wanted to.
b) It could make episodes where they go backwards into earths history very different. A black doctor would struggle in a story set in the past simply because of the privilege a white male doctor has. It would totally change the feel of those kind of episodes.
c) It would end up becoming about the Doctors gender or race and I think it would loose something in that. The writers would have to be really careful not to offend and everything would be scrutinised. Shows and movies that have done the gender swap thing ALWAYS end up being about the gender. I think a different race would be the same. The new Ghostbusters movie was pulled to pieces for it. It's a good movie in it's own right but it became all about the fact that the characters were female. It detracts from the actual movie/show.

[HelenaGWells]

I quite liked Rose. BP is a good actress

She was great at first then they turned her into a sappy love struck teen and I just felt saddened that they seemed to pull out all her sass and just leave her as a boring sappy wuss by the end.

[TinselTwins]

It could make episodes where they go backwards into earths history very different. A black doctor would struggle in a story set in the past simply because of the privilege a white male doctor has

He managed okay in worlds ruled by lizard people etc

[TinselTwins]

It would end up becoming about the Doctors gender or race and I think it would loose something in that.

It already is
but for the wrong reasons

[HelenDenver]

"a) If they wanted to go outside of the white male regeneration they should have done it long ago, not when we are into double figures. A couple of doctors into the reboot would have been the time to do it if they wanted to."

Well, huh.

They can't do it because they haven't already done it is not a strong argument IMO.

They changed the sex of the Master on the character's first regeneration/second body of New Who.

The first non doctor on screen regeneration of New Who was white man to black woman

And the doctor changes his apparent age with nonchalance, the change from Smith to Capaldi being, what, two decades?

[Riversleep]

They are poor reasons to not have a non white actor. To say they didn't do it in the past is nonsense. That would be a reason never to change. I think yet another white male would be a let down. Martha went into the past, as will the new companion. If they look at issues in relation to them and their skin colour, then they can do it with the Doctor. With Martha, they mentioned it in an episode then moved on. Doctor Who does race issues very well. The ghost busters movie was only made into a gender issue by the papers and idiots on the Internet.The movie itself didn't make a point of it at all.

[HelenDenver]

". The ghost busters movie was only made into a gender issue by the papers and idiots on the Internet.The movie itself didn't make a point of it at all."

Yup

[HelenDenver]

All kinds of shit doesn't make sense if you try and tie up classic Who and new Who too closely. For example, as Queen Victoria established Torchwood, why didn't it come up when Three was stuck on earth?

Although the doctor and companion sometimes change clothes to fit in, they often don't bother and that is handwaved.

And there's less travel to Earth past than in early Who, I think, when the premise was the show would educate on history and science.

[HelenDenver]

...and when CGI didn't exist to create living trees or whatever!

[HelenDenver]

clara went during deep breath and the red menace, but Vastra was a lizard with Mr Potato for a butler and he still went out and about!

[bialystockandbloom]

I can't quite reconcile myself to the thought of a female Doctor. Think it would just be done to make a point and as you say, to make it a thing. The stories in each episode should be bigger than that. It went downhill imho as soon as RTD left and every series had a story arc, becoming increasingly complicated and largely pointless with each series. Eg what was all the 'am I a good man?' theme all about? Didn't lead to anything in plot or character, and didn't go anywhere.

Richard Ayoade would be great but doubt he'd do it, he's too well known now. I think a relative newcomer would work best, less expectation - cf Peter Capaldi - think he was never going to live up to the pressure of expectation, especially with the rubbish stories and the supreme attention seeking ego that was Clara.

Oh god yes DoctorDonna the best!

[TinselTwins]

Whether the next doctor is a white man again or not, is making a point either way..

depends on which point you prefer.. there's no neutral action at this point

[HelenDenver]

How true, Tinsel.

Moffat was defensive over PC not being a woman - I get the feeling there was a shortlist of one once PC expressed an interest!

[Astoria7974]

Black and brown people have been around in the past too you know - Othello, Wuthering Heights, Moonstone, The Bible. 'mulatto' in regency fiction was used to describe someone of mixed race.