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The Doctor remains one of the more enjoyable science fiction characters. I believe one of the reasons why they've avoided having past doctors "guest star" on the new show was because of the fact that all of the actors (with the exception of Eccleston) are looking much, much older now than when they played the part.
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"If Timelords can meet 'themselves' - what is to stop companions meeting themselves - obviously the same person but years down the track."
They do. For one thing, even in the recent seasons, Rose met her baby self. Also, the Brigadier once encountered himself, and Jo (a Third Doctor companion) got to see a future version of herself briefly.
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Quest: The Doctor remains one of the more enjoyable science fiction characters. I believe one of the reasons why they've avoided having past doctors "guest star" on the new show was because of the fact that all of the actors (with the exception of Eccleston) are looking much, much older now than when they played the part.
Even McGann??
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
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McGann could be saved with the use of a wig.
Thing is, some of the Doctors have had an "out" to explain their age. The second Doctor has generally been thought to be extracted from the time after his trial but before his regeneration, where he could have spent centuries working for the Time Lords. This explains his aged appearance in The Five Doctors and then in The Two Doctors. McGann's finale was never seen, so he could easily have lived several centuries after the one time we DID see him, and can see him again at any time or age now in the re-established series.
I'm sure they considered him, but went instead with a Doctor that more people saw back when Doctor Who was more or less at its height in popularity, and who didn't look as old and fat as the other surviving actors have gotten since the original cancellation. Only Jon Pertwee never seemed to age much after his time as the Doctor, a la Dick Clark; unfortunately he's gotten extraordinarily more difficult to cast in gigs nowadays.
Just saw the "Time Crash" minisode, and I *loved* it. Writter Steven Moffatt's favorite Doctor was Peter Davison, and it shows here. Tennant was also watching as a boy at this time, and he gets to interact with another one of his heroes (after Elisabeth Sladen). It was great seeing Davison again, and after the requisite throwaway line to explain the aging, we're on with the show, and the Fifth Doctor was keeping up with the tenth on all th pop culture and everything. One liners abound!
-You're a FAN!
-LINDA!
-Timey wimey!
The ironic bit is, that even with a mere eight minutes to play with, these two Doctors STILL got about as much screen time together as any OTHER two Doctors in the other matchups. In "The Five Doctors" and "The Two Doctors", the various actors only REALLY interacted at the end of the story. In "The Three Doctors", Pertwee and Troughton worked together a fair amount in relatively short scenes, but it was spread across three episodes and they spent most of their time apart. And yet, these Doctors STILL spent most of their time as adversaries of a sort, but this story more than the others shows that under it all, the Doctor has always had respect for his other selves whenever he meets them.
I wonder now if the Fifth Doctor's wheezing was a choice or not... Davison's Doctor almost always seemed out of breath like an old man, even when he was at rest. That was the same here... Granted, I've not seen him in many other roles, but here his laboured breath sounded JUST like it used to. Really sold the portrayal for me!
That was hilarious. I was only half-watching the TV at the time it came on, so I'm not really sure what the plot was, but it seemed like they were having a lot of fun.
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