[dgembadgemba]

Originally Posted by Shevk

Series one was a learning curve. There wasn't really a precedent for mainstream, primetime fantasy drama. The newness of what everybody had to contend with must have been stressful for all involved. I'm sure there was a difference in the working environment for all involved.

I've heard that the Keith Boak episodes caused a bit of a problem. Not sure how accurate that would be.

that is what i heard too. But honestly the entire series was plagued with issues. Didn't help that they ran behind and had to work extra hours to make up for it

[DoctorQui]

Originally Posted by CoalHillJanitor

He's said something about the way Euros Lyn treated the crew IIRC...

I seem remember that too, didn't he say that on a Radio 2 interview with Graham Norton or something?

[codename_47]

I would say its about time he finally lay the ghosts to rest about why he left the series because idle speculation based on half truths and rumours is probably more damaging than what actually happened.

If Chris was so principled about what went on you'd think he'd name names of the people he went up against.
Yeah, that director/producer whatever wouldn't hire him again but he doesn't seem to be a man that cares about this stuff.

From the way he used to talk and still talks about RTD I don't think it's anyone on the highest level of the crew, nor do I think its anyone in front of the camera either.

I guess at some point he'll write the inevitable book and it'll all come out,......after most involved have retired/died perhaps.

[Unicyclatrix]

Well, limited involvement with the show after his contract ended? What an... ...an actor who has moved on to the next job.
He did the business, as others have pointed out, there was no guarantee that a revamped Dr Who would be a success, and he made it work, and he probably even made it a condition of taking the role that he would only do one series.
I'm gonna expect some flak here... bearing in mind how variable in quality Dr Who has been in the new and the old versions... he was often more engaging and edgy in his episodes than was ever explicit in the script. In short, he was brilliant.
I thought it was quite funny that Ecclestone was said to not want to be typecast as as a genre actor, and then went on to appear in Heroes as...an invisible man.

[Face Of Jack]

I enjoyed Chris's role as The Doctor. He was a brilliant character - and put the old series back to No.1 !!
I was a bit disappointed when I read he was leaving (the series hadn't even ended). I thought he was a bit of a tw*t for that! I thought to myself, "Ohhh lord that's the end of yet another comeback for DW (after McGann)".
But no - along came the saviour of the show: and did it for a glorious four years!! And he's still proud of it now to this day!
I'd like to see Chris - the famous film actor - bow down a bit and say how wonderful it was to be The Doctor!

[lach doch mal]

Originally Posted by codename_47

I would say its about time he finally lay the ghosts to rest about why he left the series because idle speculation based on half truths and rumours is probably more damaging than what actually happened.

If Chris was so principled about what went on you'd think he'd name names of the people he went up against.
Yeah, that director/producer whatever wouldn't hire him again but he doesn't seem to be a man that cares about this stuff.

From the way he used to talk and still talks about RTD I don't think it's anyone on the highest level of the crew, nor do I think its anyone in front of the camera either.

I guess at some point he'll write the inevitable book and it'll all come out,......after most involved have retired/died perhaps.

Maybe he just doesn't care. He had zillions of roles, why would Doctor Who be different. Yes it's great for us, and I love it as well. However, it's just a role for him. He did it justice and more importantly, he never used his bad experiences to sell something.

Originally Posted by Unicyclatrix

Well, limited involvement with the show after his contract ended? What an... ...an actor who has moved on to the next job.
He did the business, as others have pointed out, there was no guarantee that a revamped Dr Who would be a success, and he made it work, and he probably even made it a condition of taking the role that he would only do one series.
I'm gonna expect some flak here... bearing in mind how variable in quality Dr Who has been in the new and the old versions... he was often more engaging and edgy in his episodes than was ever explicit in the script. In short, he was brilliant.
I thought it was quite funny that Ecclestone was said to not want to be typecast as as a genre actor, and then went on to appear in Heroes as...an invisible man.

Agree with this.

Originally Posted by Face Of Jack

I enjoyed Chris's role as The Doctor. He was a brilliant character - and put the old series back to No.1 !!
I was a bit disappointed when I read he was leaving (the series hadn't even ended). I thought he was a bit of a tw*t for that! I thought to myself, "Ohhh lord that's the end of yet another comeback for DW (after McGann)".
But no - along came the saviour of the show: and did it for a glorious four years!! And he's still proud of it now to this day!
I'd like to see Chris - the famous film actor - bow down a bit and say how wonderful it was to be The Doctor!

Who says he is not proud of it? Everything I heard so far points to some pride. He had some problems, but he interacts with young fans if the opportunity arises (someone not so long ago shared a lovely story about Chris). He doesn't need to worship Doctor Who. He took his role serious, he was brilliant in it IMO obviously. there is not much more he needed to do. David on the other hand clearly loved being the Doctor (this is the reason why I loved David as the Doctor). However it's not a requirement that every actor should love being the Doctor (it's super lovely if they do, but I'm not naive enough to expect everyone to love it).

[Granny McSmith]

Originally Posted by lach doch mal

. He had zillions of roles,

.

What has he done since DW, just out of interest? Someone mentioned Heroes,(which I didn't watch), and I think he's been in GI Joe (which again I didn't watch)?

If he left at least partly because he didn't want to be typecast, he doesn't seem to have done very well....he had more varied roles before he did DW.

I know David has done several different things, not all successful, but at least he's had the parts. And typecasting seems to have totally passed Matt by as he's had such different roles while still playing The Doctor, in Christopher and His Kind (one of the best dramas I've seen on TV) and Bert and Dickie, coming soon (can't wait).

Perhaps CE has had loads of brilliant roles on stage and screen and I missed them, in which case, please can someone tell me what they were?

[lach doch mal]

Originally Posted by Granny McSmith

What has he done since DW, just out of interest? Someone mentioned Heroes,(which I didn't watch), and I think he's been in GI Joe (which again I didn't watch)?

If he left at least partly because he didn't want to be typecast, he doesn't seem to have done very well....he had more varied roles before he did DW.

I know David has done several different things, not all successful, but at least he's had the parts. And typecasting seems to have totally passed Matt by as he's had such different roles while still playing The Doctor, in Christopher and His Kind (one of the best dramas I've seen on TV) and Bert and Dickie, coming soon (can't wait).

Perhaps CE has had loads of brilliant roles on stage and screen and I missed them, in which case, please can someone tell me what they were?

Granny if you really want to find out, you can always google. Also there was a thread on here not so long ago, where people asked the same question about David. If you are not interested in an actor, you might not be aware what they are doing.

See below for some of the stuff.

Song for Marion (post-production)
James

2012 The Fuse (TV series) (post-production)
Daniel Demoys

2011 The Borrowers (TV movie)
Pod Clock

2011 The Shadow Line (TV series)
Joseph Bede
– Episode #1.7 (2011) … Joseph Bede
– Episode #1.6 (2011) … Joseph Bede
– Episode #1.5 (2011) … Joseph Bede
– Episode #1.4 (2011) … Joseph Bede
– Episode #1.3 (2011) … Joseph Bede
See all 7 episodes »

2010 Accused (TV series)
Willy Houlihan
– Willy's Story (2010) … Willy Houlihan

2010 The Happiness Salesman (short)
Salesman

2010 Lennon Naked (TV movie)
John Lennon

2009 Amelia
Fred Noonan

2009 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
McCullen / Destro

2008 The Sarah Silverman Program. (TV series)
Dr. Lazer Rage
– I Thought My Dad Was Dead, But It Turns Out He's Not (2008) … Dr. Lazer Rage

2008 New Orleans, Mon Amour
Henry

2007 The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising
The Rider

2007 Heroes (TV series)
Claude
– Chapter Seventeen 'Company Man' (2007) … Claude
– Chapter Sixteen 'Unexpected' (2007) … Claude
– Chapter Fourteen 'Distractions' (2007) … Claude
– Chapter Thirteen 'The Fix' (2007) … Claude
– Chapter Twelve 'Godsend' (2007) … Claude

2006 Perfect Parents (TV movie)
Stuart

[lach doch mal]

One other thing, why is everyone so set against Chris because he didn't want to be typecast? It was his decision and compared to David and Matt, he was a better known actor. They weren't IMO (I never heard of Matt before Doctor Who, and the only thing I heard about David was Casanova). It's his decision people, learn to live with it. Also, if you wanted to be critical, David failed in the US and a lot of his stuff is voice overs, and I'm personally disappointed that he is doing more adverts at the moment than anything else (Virgin and other voice overs). That doesn't mean that I now start disliking him as the Doctor.

If you don't like him because of his portrayal, fine, but a lot of people on here seem to create quite artificial reasons for why he shouldn't be liked.

[Tumpy]

He was really good in Shadowline.

[Granny McSmith]

Thank you for your replies. You are right, I could have Googled - it actually didn't occur to me to.

I knew about the Lennon thing, now you mention it, and I did see The Borrowers, and The Dark is Rising, though I thought the latter was pre-DW.

So he has had lots of roles and I did miss them.

[sohoguy]

Originally Posted by daveyboy7472

Though I agree as the First Doctor of the New Who he helped get the series of to a good start, I thoroughly disagree that he was the only actor out there who could have taken on the role at that point and made the same impact. There are dozens of actors out there who could have come in and done the same thing. I even think some of the Classic Doctors in their heyday could have been cast and been just as good. Even Tennant would have had the same impact if he'd been cast from the off.

I also have the same opinion about William Hartnell who started of Classic Who. It's hard to imagine anyone else playing the First Doctor now after all these years and his contribution to the show is enormous and help set down the template for every other Doctor but I still believe whoever Verity Lambert would have cast would have done exactly the same thing.

Also, appearing on Blue Peter isn't exactly exclusive as many of the Classic Doctors did as well.

Just also to point out, this isn't me having a pop at CE because I'm not keen on his Doctor. I have nothing against him, seen him in other roles and he's been superb.

Sorry what I meant was that his casting was part of what made it such a success - not that another actor couldn't have done but he was incredibly powerful and leant a real legitimacy to the series that it hadn't publically had for... gosh... probably since Peter Davison had been in it

[Granny McSmith]

Originally Posted by lach doch mal

One other thing, why is everyone so set against Chris because he didn't want to be typecast? It was his decision and compared to David and Matt, he was a better known actor. They weren't IMO (I never heard of Matt before Doctor Who, and the only thing I heard about David was Casanova). It's his decision people, learn to live with it. Also, if you wanted to be critical, David failed in the US and a lot of his stuff is voice overs, and I'm personally disappointed that he is doing more adverts at the moment than anything else (Virgin and other voice overs). That doesn't mean that I now start disliking him as the Doctor.

If you don't like him because of his portrayal, fine, but a lot of people on here seem to create quite artificial reasons for why he shouldn't be liked.

I don't dislike CE because of his portrayal of The Doctor. I wasn't that keen on a couple of the previous Doctors, and I don't dislike the actors who played them, at all, but there was just something about all the leaving DW after one series, and the different accounts of what went on, that did put me off him afterwards.

I'm sorry, but I do get the impression that he felt he was somehow too good for the programme. I know his fans will disagree.

(I don't watch Tennant stuff much, btw - I wish them all well in their careers, but it's the 10th Doctor I love, not David Tennant, The one I would watch whatever he was in is Matt. He's magic. But he's not my favourite Doctor).

[lach doch mal]

Originally Posted by Granny McSmith

I don't dislike CE because of his portrayal of The Doctor. I wasn't that keen on a couple of the previous Doctors, and I don't dislike the actors who played them, at all, but there was just something about all the leaving DW after one series, and the different accounts of what went on, that did put me off him afterwards.

I'm sorry, but I do get the impression that he felt he was somehow too good for the programme. I know his fans will disagree.

(I don't watch Tennant stuff much, btw - I wish them all well in their careers, but it's the 10th Doctor I love, not David Tennant, The one I would watch whatever he was in is Matt. He's magic. But he's not my favourite Doctor).

Well, I think you are wrong, but I cannot argue with your personal feeling about something.

If possible he has gone up in my opinion, because he stood up for his principles (e.g. people weren't treated well or equal).

He is a socialist and atheist, both of which I find highly commendable and he is also highly intelligent. Add to this that I loved his performance as the Doctor and he will be my hero of New Who.

[dgembadgemba]

Without wanting to escalate this into a DT vs CE vs MS thread but when DW restarted in 2005 I had heard of Chris. I knew him from the brilliant Shallow Grave amongst other things.

I had never heard of DT when he was cast and only watched Casanova after he was announced. Knew even less about Matt Smith

Even though CE's portrayal was my least favourite I have still seen him in more shows/films than the others and personally felt he was the bigger name.

[Granny McSmith]

Originally Posted by lach doch mal

Well, I think you are wrong, but I cannot argue with your personal feeling about something.

If possible he has gone up in my opinion, because he stood up for his principles (e.g. people weren't treated well or equal).

He is a socialist and atheist, both of which I find highly commendable and he is also highly intelligent. Add to this that I loved his performance as the Doctor and he will be my hero of New Who.

Who has said he stood up for people who weren't treated well?

How do we know he is intelligent?

I seem to be getting at him, I know, but it all seems so vague - I would quite like to know what went on backstage. Not just his version.

[lach doch mal]

Originally Posted by Granny McSmith

Who has said he stood up for people who weren't treated well?

How do we know he is intelligent?

I seem to be getting at him, I know, but it all seems so vague - I would quite like to know what went on backstage. Not just his version.

If you don't mind me saying so, you are being obtuse Granny.

I'm saying he is intelligent. It's my personal opinion, based on his roles and listening to him in interviews.

It has been cited that he was not happy with the working condition of some of the people on set (non-actors). Please google, you will find lots of information for it.

It's not his fault that you don't know about what went on backstage. That's the fault of the BBC. The fact that they keep tight lipped about it, but also that they had to retract some of their statements should you tell anything you need to know (google it, you will find the information).

However, and I feel I can say this to you, you have made up your mind and you clearly don't like him (I detect a touch of Tingism), so whatever I will tell you won't be taken serious.

We will have to agree to disagree about this. I will defend him, because I have a lot of respect for him, and I have followed his career.

[daveyboy7472]

Originally Posted by sohoguy

Sorry what I meant was that his casting was part of what made it such a success - not that another actor couldn't have done but he was incredibly powerful and leant a real legitimacy to the series that it hadn't publically had for... gosh... probably since Peter Davison had been in it

Thanks for explaining it! For me, I hadn't heard of him before he was cast so in that respect the show has made me more aware of his other work. I do agree from an acting point of view he was superb, it was just his portrayal that bugged me.

[Rowieboy]

He should have realised that it came with baggage. Miscalculation. Now he seems to want to deny his involvement at all.
A major luvvie who is also a big knob in my opinion!
Yes he got it restarted but had no affinity for the series at all and now doesn't give a stuff for it!
Nice guy!

[finn946]

he was awesome. more of a 'doctor' than an actor such as tennant was in my opinion. seemed to be far more natural. just seemed more natural as an alien compared to 10 and maybe even 11 too

[Granny McSmith]

Originally Posted by lach doch mal

If you don't mind me saying so, you are being obtuse Granny.

I'm saying he is intelligent. It's my personal opinion, based on his roles and listening to him in interviews.

It has been cited that he was not happy with the working condition of some of the people on set (non-actors). Please google, you will find lots of information for it.

It's not his fault that you don't know about what went on backstage. That's the fault of the BBC. The fact that they keep tight lipped about it, but also that they had to retract some of their statements should you tell anything you need to know (google it, you will find the information).

However, and I feel I can say this to you, you have made up your mind and you clearly don't like him (I detect a touch of Tingism), so whatever I will tell you won't be taken serious.

We will have to agree to disagree about this. I will defend him, because I have a lot of respect for him, and I have followed his career.

Sorry to be obtuse!

As far as I am aware, no one but CE himself has said why he left DW after one series. And he hasn't given much detail.

If one of the people who were being treated unfairly stepped up and said "Chris is a great guy - he left to make a point, and stand up for us!" I'd say good on him. Please point me to the article where this has been stated, because I can't find it.

Also, I'm not sure how his leaving would improve conditions? How would that work?

It's easy to leave because you're not getting what you want out of a role, then make it look as if you were doing it from principle, leaving others to clear up.

And, as I said before, he seems to be the only one who found these conditions unacceptable. That can happen, of course.

Anyway, there is nothing more to be said, as we will never agree.

And actually, as I have said before, jokingly, but with some truth, whatever the reason for his leaving, I'm very, very glad he went. So thank you, Christopher.

[Eaglestriker]

Originally Posted by Rowieboy

He should have realised that it came with baggage. Miscalculation. Now he seems to want to deny his involvement at all.

Nope, he hasn't (as of yet) denied that he was in Doctor Who. The evidence is kind of overwhelming, so it would be futile anyway.

A major luvvie who is also a big knob in my opinion!

I disagree, he strikes me as being particularly un-luvvie. As for the 'knob' comment, in his interview on the Jonathan Ross show he admitted he was actually quite small down there.

Yes he got it restarted but had no affinity for the series at all and now doesn't give a stuff for it!
Nice guy!

Doubt many of the previous Doctors had an 'affinity' for the series when joining it...and don't mistake 'not giving a stuff' for 'letting go and moving on', which certain fans have a problem with Who actors doing, for some reason.

I agree he is a nice guy, though.

[sohoguy]

Originally Posted by Rowieboy

He should have realised that it came with baggage. Miscalculation. Now he seems to want to deny his involvement at all.
A major luvvie who is also a big knob in my opinion!
Yes he got it restarted but had no affinity for the series at all and now doesn't give a stuff for it!
Nice guy!

That's extremely unfair and really disrespectful.

He's not a major luvvie, which is actually partly why - I suspect - he left the role as he doesn't court attention.

Amazing how many people seem to think actors should do other things.

What do you want him to do? Turn up at your house dressed as all 11 Doctors and read a Dr Who novel to you?

He's done his bit. Leave him alone.

[sohoguy]

Originally Posted by finn946

he was awesome. more of a 'doctor' than an actor such as tennant was in my opinion. seemed to be far more natural. just seemed more natural as an alien compared to 10 and maybe even 11 too

Totally agree with the alien bit. There was something about his Doctor that was unlikeable, very Tom Baker-like in many respects (well, the Hinchliffe era of T Baker) - something other-worldly in the eyes.

[sohoguy]

Originally Posted by drw1963

I have a complaint about Chris and that is as follows:


Why was he picked to be the 9th Doctor?

Why couldn't someone else play the 9th Doctor?

Reason why I'm asking is as follows:

IMHO. he should have never been picked to be the 9th Doctor. why?

Because he says that he will only sign merchandise and that's it.

No involvement in the show whatsoever.

He should have never been picked, if all he's going to do is screw the show and the fans around.

So what do you make of Pertwee describing the show as "just another acting part" (or words to that effect)?

Or Tom Baker refusing to do the 'Five Doctors'?

Or Peter Davison slating the shows' production values on the DVDs?

Or Colin Baker refusing to do the regeneration?

Come on man, it's an acting job not a life-sentence