Can't say I know or have ever recognized this guy, but most everyone in the UK seems happy it's him... As expected, it's a younger guy - though who knows yet if he's going to be the ninth Doctor (invalidating the recent animated show), the tenth, or even the first, thus rebooting the series altogether.
Mark
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
I wonder if they'll give him a weirder hairdo...
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
They gave McGann a wig... The Doctor hasn't really had close-cropped hair since the 80s. They might, though I'd bet on BBC giving the new guy the chance to craft his own identity as they have always done (with the arguable exception of Colin Baker). Wardrobe, on the other hand...
Speaking of which, I'm hoping that they DON'T start the new series with a regeneration story. I'm of the opinion that regeneration stories should be a sendoff to the previous actor rather than an introduction to a new one... If they want to bring McGann back, then do a story sometime later that will fill in the gap between the 1996 movie and this series. The new show needs a fresh start, and there's no need to clutter the pilot with explaining forty years of the franchise.
Mark
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
If they do continue the series, then they're fast running out of regenerations (although that wouldn't be too hard to work around, I suppose).
I wonder too if they'll keep the Police Box completely as is, or whether they'll "fix" the chameleon circuit.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
They've only got the possibility of five more actors, including Eccleston. Unless the Doctor pulls a Master.
And fixing the chameleon circuit would just be wrong.
Too bad no-one was interested when I mentioned this four days ago.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Eep! Sorry, I missed that. Mods may close this thread at their discretion.
Mark
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Don't feel bad, T. Just a timing thing I thought your thread title was better, though.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
quote:Originally posted by TSN: They've only got the possibility of five more actors, including Eccleston. Unless the Doctor pulls a Master.
And fixing the chameleon circuit would just be wrong.
To paraphrase the Discontinuity Guide, the whole point of the Police Box wasn't that the TARDIS should have an achronistic, quirky outer appearence. Rather, it was suppossed to be a common, everyday object. The shock came from something to ordinary doing something extraordinary. In many ways, the use of a modern telephone box in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure was more appropriate than the continued use of the out-of-date police box.
But then, it is iconic.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
As I understand it, they didn't have the budget to build a suitable prop to represent the outside of the TARDIS at the time of the pilot. It sorta stuck, and quickly became a symbol of the show.
They played with fixing the chameleon circuit once in "Attack of the Cybermen", but the results were played mostly for laughs, and were rathhr dumb anyway. Once they went back to the police box, it stuck again.
Mark
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
The Doctor was also trying to fix it during "Logopolis", I think. He then got distracted with saving the universe, dying, and wearing horrible trousers, which I suppose is enough to make anyone forget things.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Makes me think of the daring venture of the Hologram Communicator in late DS9.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Does the TARDIS have it's own personality? Is it a character unto itself? I haven't seen enough Dr. Who over it's entire run to know this. Maybe if the TARDIS does have it's own sort of 'personality' - it deliberatly keeps the chamaeleon circuit stuck on the Police Box? Do they still have Police Boxes? Aren't they like things where you ring the police in an emergency?
I remember the Master having a column.
I sincerely loved the Dr. Who movie. OK I REALLY loved:
1. Paul McGann's Doctor... he was a refreshing new Doctor.
2. The tie over with Sylvester McCoy's Doctor.
3. The interior of the TARDIS - it was so elegant and grand - It was a beautiful set. Please don't have them go back to the tacky room with those circular lights etc.
Anyone got pics of that set? It was quite nice.
I sorta agree - they should leave enough gap between Paul McGann and Christopher Eccelston so there is this unkown period of time where a whole lot of backstories and events could have taken place - sort of like the gap between the end of Star Trek 6 (at the time) and the start of TNG. Things like "Yesterday's Enterprise" and the "Enterprise B" were great to see unveiled over the years.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by AndrewR: Does the TARDIS have it's own sort of personality? Is it a character unto itself? I haven't seen enough Dr. Who over it's entire run to know this. Maybe if the TARDIS does have it's own sort of 'personality' - it deliberatly keeps the chamaeleon circuit stuck on the Police Box? Do they still have Police Boxes? Aren't they like things where you ring the police in an emergency?
I remember the Master having a column.
I sincerely loved the Dr. Who movie. OK I REALLY loved:
1. Paul McGann's Doctor... he was a refreshing new Doctor. (Liked his clothes).
2. The tie over with Sylvester McCoy's Doctor.
3. The interior of the TARDIS - it was so elegant and grand - It was a beautiful set. Please don't have them go back to the tacky room with those circular lights etc.
Anyone got pics of that set? It was quite nice.
I sorta agree - they should leave enough gap between Paul McGann and Christopher Eccelston so there is this unkown period of time where a whole lot of backstories and events could have taken place - sort of like the gap between the end of Star Trek 6 (at the time) and the start of TNG. Things like "Yesterday's Enterprise" and the "Enterprise B" were great to see unveiled over the years.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"Does the TARDIS have it's own personality? Is it a character unto itself?"
Well, it doesn't talk or anything, if that's what you mean. But it is supposed to be "alive" in a way. So, in theory, it could be intentionally keeping the chameleon circuit broken. But, really, I think it's more likely the Doctor has just never gotten around to fixing it (and, for the most part, he doesn't really care about it).
"Do they still have Police Boxes? Aren't they like things where you ring the police in an emergency?"
I think they're phone booths that are directly connected to the police. So, a person could use one in an emergency, or a police officer could use it to report something. I think.
"I remember the Master having a column."
I think that might have been in "Logopolis". He also disguised it as a rocket ship in, I think, "The Colony in Space". And it's been other things. The Meddling Monk disguised his as a church altar in "The Time Meddler". But the Doctor removed some circuit that regulated the dimensional transcendentality (is that a word?). So the whole TARDIS became actually compressed into the space of the altar, and it really was as small on the inside as on the outside.
"Please don't have them go back to the tacky room with those circular lights etc."
Those weren't lights. They were just panels. They had circuitry and such behind them.
"I sorta agree - they should leave enough gap between Paul McGann and Christopher Eccelston so there is this unkown period of time where a whole lot of backstories and events could have taken place..."
Well, I'm sure they won't pick up right at the exact second the movie ended. But they probably won't say how long it's been. The only indicator will be if they ever mention the Doctor's age again. After all, we don't know how long Sylvester McCoy was gallavanting about between "Survival" and the movie.
Posted by Wraith (Member # 779) on :
quote: "Do they still have Police Boxes? Aren't they like things where you ring the police in an emergency?"
I think they're phone booths that are directly connected to the police. So, a person could use one in an emergency, or a police officer could use it to report something. I think.
Yep, I think they were something along those lines, but I'm fairly sure they're all gone now. I've certainly never seen one.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
I think I once heard that a few still exist out in remote locations, but I don't know if that's true.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Maybe. But I don't know anyone who's ever seen one. And remember, "remote" in the UK is completely different from "remote" in the US.
There's no reason not to just have a normal phone booth. And they're becoming more and more useless anyway, what with mobile phones being ubiquitous and all.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
or moreso - "remote" in Australia.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
About his age... The Doctor was supposedly 953 years old at the beginning of his seventh (McCoy) incarnation, and fandom generally accepts he was around 750 at the beginning of his first (no?). The Doc ages much more slowly than humans do, so given the noticable physical difference between the McCoy in the series and the movie, he should be well over a thousand by now.
Mark
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Assuming he measures years in earth terms and not Galifrey's orbit around it's star.
Here's a treat from master craftsma Tim Lindsey: http://www.tmlindsey.com/tardis.htm He built a full size TARDIS prop as a changing room for some rich huy's pool.
Sweet.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"...and fandom generally accepts he was around 750 at the beginning of his first (no?)."
He was 750 during his fourth incarnation. He was 450 at a point during his second incarnation.
And, of course, he would have been 0 at the beginning of his first. Perhaps you meant at his first regeneration?
reference Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
quote:Originally posted by TSN:
" And, of course, he would have been 0 at the beginning of his first. Perhaps you meant at his first regeneration?
That depends on Gallifrey's level of technology and culture: we already know they survive via computer after death, why not learning/living in utero? Probably ex-utero, now that I consider it.
Greg Bear has a series of books wherein advanced humans often combine personality traits via a computer like those shown on Gallifrey- and the child learns, develops mentally and petitions for citizenship. they the child chooses gender and physical apperance and is physically born with several years worth of experiences.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
But can't walk or control their bodily functions?
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Sure they can: a body could be made to any age specification. Read Greg Bear's amazing book Eon sometime. It won the Hugo award.
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I thought your thread title was better, though.
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