Little Britain? I can't imagine seeing anyone else being able to pull that one off- mind you, that was only audio.

Little Britain is what I was thinking of actually He has a great voice and makes a wonderful voiceover/storyteller- I just can't imagine him acting.

I think he pulls off Sherlock Holmes- although I've only seen a few clips of him in that

The thing is, there is actually some interesting stuff to work with in the role. It's why I prefer Nick Carraway to Gatsby in The Great Gatsby. Withnail and Gatsby are relatively simple characters- they are showmen, blind to their own patheticness. They have a charm but in reality, they are really only concerned with their own delusions. McGann's character can turn on and off various performances. He seems innocent yet is perfectly aware of his beauty. I do find new things in Richard E Grant's portrayal but it's McGann's character that highlights them.

On his portrayal of the Doctor, I haven't heard of anybody who dislikes it. That's not the same as people not being bothered or it not being their cup of tea, but I think it's quite an achievement.

I think subtlety and detail is key to my definition of a strong actor. I think that Eccleston brought that to the role of the Doctor so I'd also class him as a strong actor. David Tennant is a popular actor and is good on that level but I don't think he has the subtlety or eye for detail.



I haven't seen Hartnell in anything but Brighton Rock and the first episode of Doctor Who but I agree with you about the grace. Watching that episode, you'd never have dreamed the role would become what it is now.


He is definitely a personality. I think that's his strength, rather than playing characters.


I'll be interested to see what he does. I can buy him in other roles apart from The Doctor- it'll just be a question of how comfortable he is playing outside of type.

You have made some good points about how the Doctor in the revived series is more modern and portrayed as a romantic hero in that the average viewer would appreciate the character more. I have found that the modern series of Doctor Who doesn't have the "Geeky sci-fi" feel in the way the original series does and there seems to be much more drama and a lot of the "real world" compared to the original series.

The Doctor also seems to come across as more versed in pop culture and how things work on Earth. I suppose he has been there for a while but he assimilates well.

I think the trend now is for mixed genres, such as paranormal romance. Harry Potter had such mainstream appeal because it was a fantasy world but it was also very similar to our world. The characters even had equivilents of GCSEs (OWLs). That was the genius of it- to take the nice old fashioned boarding school trope and add a fantastical element. And with Twilight, the vampires do normal things like go to school- and to the outside world they are an adopted family. So Bella and Edward can go around as girlfriend and boyfriend just as if they were normal- except they're not.

It allows the mainstream audience to experience the fun and imagination of fantasy without feeling like they are geeks. How Capaldi will change the dynamic, I don't know. I think he won't be able to get away with the sort of 'humorous' Casanova-ing that Tennant and Smith did, which will be good because I found that tiresome. I think going for something more Byronic would be a smart move, partly because it adds some sort of dramatic tension, partly because it adds some darkness and because it allows the Doctor to be a romantic hero without coming across as a lech. That's why Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock is so popular with the ladies- because they have the room to fantasise.

By 'romantic hero' I don't mean that there should be a romantic dynamic between him and Clara. Mr and Mrs Mainstream might find that a bit distasteful, given the BBC's history.

To be fair, both Jenna and the character Clara are in their late 20s. There's nothing particularly distasteful about a man of any age (even 1000+) being attracted to a gorgeous 27-year-old woman.

I suppose but the character's meant to be a bit younger, isn't she? I would have put the character in her early twenties.

Personally I wouldn't mind but it's not like Hollywood where Colin Firth can play love interests of women much younger than him.

I believe the character was meant to be 24 when we first saw her but a few years may have gone by since then.

I agree with your points. It would be interesting to see how different Peter Capaldi's Doctor will be when the new series starts.

I hope there is actually a strong enough difference. I have a feeling that they might just continue with the zany hyperactive kid persona of Smith's Doctor.