Out with the old, in with the slightly older. And as suspected, we haven't seen the last of Martha either! She'll do a three-episode stint on Torchwood (!) before heading back to the TARDIS. I do hope they'll tone those episodes accordingly, as the mature theme of Torchwood was all too often overkill for what it needed to be.
To round it out, Aussie Doctor Who fan Kylie Minogue is confirmed as the one-off guest companion in the next Christmas special. She'll play a waitress aboard the doomed RMS Titanic. Interestingly, Tate and Minogue are both older than David Tennant. This has not happened on the TV Whoniverse, where unto the present the Doctor has always been physically older than his companions... Does this Doctor prefer more mature women?
Mark
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Wow, interesting. I enjoyed her in The Runaway Bride... I had never seen her when I watched that... now after seeing some of the Catherine Tate show, I can see why some people didn't like her. They were probably getting influenced by her show. Not that I didn't like her show.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
I've only seen her "bovvered" character on YouTube, but between that and "The Runaway Bride" she's certainly proved herself capable of the role. I'm willing to be that after the Christmas special, the producers liked her so much that they wanted to bring her back, but had already cast Martha. Now they get both. The Doctor better have a King sized bed in there.
Mark
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I have a bad feeling about this. I try to console myself with the fact that she changed over the course of "Runaway Bride" from default Tate shouty mode to a more mature thoughtful demeanour. But I can't help but feel that this is the coming darkness they keep alluding to in Torchwood. . .
Posted by Not Invented Here (Member # 1606) on :
Bugger. Just, bugger.
Posted by Johnny (Member # 878) on :
Grrrraaaaa!!!
I didn't mind her too much in the Christmas Special, but that was mainly because I knew it'd only be one episode. 12 or so episodes with her?
I'd much prefer to have Martha in all those episodes than an annoying 'star guest'.
Posted by Zipacna (Member # 1881) on :
Oh my. Lets face it, last time we saw her character she was a loud-mouthed common idiot. On the plus it will mean that if they have a Dalek episode, it will definitely be the last...meeting Donna will destroy their will to live!
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
I think that was the point - we were SUPPOSED to hate Donna in "Bride" but I think we can all agree that she grew over the course of the episode to be an acceptable, if not likeable, character.
But more importantly, she (and Minogue) are much older than the company the Doctor tends to keep, who are in their early thirties at the oldest (and even then still many years younger than their Doctor's apparent age). Tate and Minogue are both 39, and Tennant is 36. This has not happened in the original series, even if it's hardly a major age difference these days. In the audio and novel adventures, the Sixth Doctor was actually paired for a time with a Evelyn Smythe, a 55 year-old history professor. She and the Doctor developed a very strong, ALMOST loving releationship that has been otherwise rare in the franchise. I hope something like that can be developed here.
If anything, this maturity in companions will help tone down the romance aspect chracteristic of this series, which has been a common criticism. Age implies wisdom and experience, which was somewhat lacking in Rose and Martha at their outset, but available in spades in other companions like Grace, Liz Shaw or Romana. While wisdom is hardly evident in Donna, the mere physical nature of her character will hopefully dampen the doe-eyed puppy romances we've been given with Rose and Martha. I would expect a different, non-romantic relationship to develop between the Doctor and Donna, without Donna overpowering the Doctor's manic behaviour with her own. Event he Doctor had his limits with her - however they write her, she won't be annoying to the point that he drops her off in the same black hole he left Mother of mine this year.
But what I'm most looking forward to is how Donna will react to Martha when she comes back, really.
Mark
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"But more importantly, she (and Minogue) are much older than the company the Doctor tends to keep, who are in their early thirties at the oldest..."
With one exception. William Russell (who played Ian, one of the original companions) was in his late thirties/early forties when he was on the show.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Checking... You're close. William Russell was 39 when Ian joined the TARDIS crew, while Hartnell was 54 when he originated the role of the Doctor. So, 39 seems to be the tops (Barbara Wright actor Jacqueline Hill was 34) unless you count the Brigadier, which I don't.
Mark
Posted by Mikey T (Member # 144) on :
Kylie Minogue on Doctor Who? Hmm... I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up in the 2009 series or guest stars in Torchwood.
Having older companions will definitely change the dynamics, especially when Martha returns later in the season.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"Checking... You're close."
Well, yeah. If, by "close", you mean "completely correct". He was 39 when he started on the show, and 40 when he left. I checked, too, before I wrote it.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
What I meant was that Russell is technically the oldest, and has only just been matched by Tate and Minogue (who'll likely be a one-off anyway). So Russell is not alone - I did say "tended", not "exclusively". And Russell was still yonks younger than Hartnell.
Mark
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen: Checking... You're close. William Russell was 39 when Ian joined the TARDIS crew, while Hartnell was 54 when he originated the role of the Doctor. So, 39 seems to be the tops (Barbara Wright actor Jacqueline Hill was 34) unless you count the Brigadier, which I don't.
Mark
WOW William Hartnell was 54 in the first season of Dr. Who!?! He played the character like he was 84! I haven't seen much of the First Doctor... did he get around much - or was most of the 'action' left up to Ian??
It would be VERY interesting if we got a visit from Susan Foreman... How weird would it be for her to be calling David Tennet "Grandfather" - unless it's like Trills and one regeneration isn't allowed to interact with the 'relationships' and/or family of an earlier regenerations??
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
I'm really curious why they're treating Martha like this. Her family hardly got any screentime compared to Rose's (or at least, it seems that way), and the Doctor is still not over Rose. And now they're parking her in Torchwood? I hope Torchwood will be better this season. It was pretty unremarkable, I have to admit. I bet she has to snog Jack at least once now, since it's an Edgy ShowTM.
As for Tate and Minogue.. well.. I don't know if Kyly can act. Tate was okay in the Christmas special, I suppose. But... I want to see Martha being developed. On Doctor Who.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
Kyle did start out as an actress on the same show that gave a start to Guy Pearce...ok, I know, that's an extreme example, point is she has acted and to be fair what she dose on stage counts as performing.
As for Martha's family vs Rose's; remember that Rose had two seasons to Martha's one and I suppose Rose's family had a little more character depth, so they left more of an impression.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
1. Little-known fact: The first Doctor wore a wig. There are very rare pictures out there of Hartnell with his usual, very short hair.
2. Everyone criticized all the family episodes with Rose; that Doctor Who shouldn't be about the family as much. So with Martha, not only did they tone down the family involvement, they also made the family much larger, with too much camera-sharing going on, to the point that they ignored Martha's brother and Father's girlfriend in the finale. On the flipside, the family also had a happy ending, accelerating their reunion by giving them a whole year in an alternate timeline to patch things up.
Mark
Posted by Johnny (Member # 878) on :
quote:Originally posted by Harry: I'm really curious why they're treating Martha like this. Her family hardly got any screentime compared to Rose's (or at least, it seems that way), and the Doctor is still not over Rose. And now they're parking her in Torchwood? I hope Torchwood will be better this season. It was pretty unremarkable, I have to admit. I bet she has to snog Jack at least once now, since it's an Edgy ShowTM.
I'd be surprised if Martha doesn't end up kissing Tosh, considering Torchwood... I'm annoyed as well that she's been sent to Coventry(well, Cardiff) and been replaced. There were a lot of rumours about Freema getting sacked, and admittedly I wasn't always convinced by her performance. Maybe this is a way of getting rid of her for a while without anyone getting embarrassed?
I was hoping she'd be back within a few episodes.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Yes, I'd say there's plenty of opportunities for her to rub up against Dr. Rapist. Be interesting to see how her presence plays, given she knows all about Jack, whereas his team are only just coming to terms with the fact he can't die.
And, apparently, some of the criticisms of the first series have been taken onboard. And likely ignored.
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
And as suspected, we haven't seen the last of Martha either! She'll do a three-episode stint on Torchwood (!) before heading back to the TARDIS. I do hope they'll tone those episodes accordingly, as the mature theme of Torchwood was all too often overkill for what it needed to be.![[Smile]](smile.gif)