Every now and again an actor fits a part just perfectly and I think DT fits the Doctor perfectly.

I really enjoyed CE but he always seemed uncomfortable to watch (although this may be because we had to watch the whole first series knowing he was going to leave).

There's just something cool, calm and . . well . . right about DT. It's been a long time since I thought an actor suited a part as well as he seemed to in the Christmas episode. It was nice to see him getting a hug from Rose's mum, for instance. By the end of the episode, I quite wanted to give him a hug too.

Aw, bless - a cuddly Doctor at last!

My preferance is Tennant. For me the Doctor should be quirky and I think the Christmas Ep and Children in Need sketch showed me DT had that. I prefer him as an actor, and you only have to look at Casamova etc to know that he can bring depth to the role too.

Im not saying that I didnt like CE, because I did, but for me it was not quite edgy enough for how I want a Doctor to be.

Xmas story was not that good but I think DT will be as good as CE - bit of a class act to follow. they are both good actors. Tennant will have to go some to beat the last episode with Eccleston. I think that is the best episode I have ever seen.

I really think that it all boils down to what you think the Doctor should be like:

Someone of the calibre and passion that we saw last series

or

A lightweight bumbling buffoon doing panto.

Sadly, the latter one is going to undo all the great work of the earlier one and the show will go back to the joke it was.

Oh well - another 14 year gap to look forward to.

Tennant: Dumbed down Dr Who for Dumb minds that can't handle anything intellectually stimulating.

It does, and I feel the same way.

Chris often came across as 'theatrical'.
He was very good in some of the soulsearching kinds of scenes though.
Sometimes I thought he was perfect. I particularly liked him in some of his less hammy bits. I thought he was outstanding at times, the closing scene at the end of 'Father's Day' was possibly the greatest bit of the series I thought.
Mind you a lot of the drama created by the direction, camera shots and music also lent a hand there.

I've loved David Tennant in what I've seen him in. He seems to do a better job at engaging me as a viewer, and for some reason I get more immersed in the fiction I am watching on my telly. I don't know why, I guess it's just a personal taste.
And as he hasn't messed up any part I've seen him play so far, as soon as he was The Doctor in the last 20 minutes of The Christmas Special....he was The Doctor.

So pound for pound, I think David wins for me. I think right now he has to mess it up rather than worry if he's good enough. If he just does what he does and keeps it up, I can't see him doing much wrong. He hasn't messed up for me in the past, and I have a lot of trust that he is more than capable of delivering the goods.

To me he just has that something that draws you to him in his performances, and makes you forget about your surroundings by drawing you into the story.
A very useful attribute for an actor playing a role in a drama that deals with pure fantasy and make believe.

Mind you, like I say, it's just personal taste.

And I agree with you and Cuilean...I am also amongst the 'We'.

'We' might not all want the same thing, but I believe that a lot of people have something vaguely in mind which they would want from an actor playing 'The Doctor'.

It may not be something clear and tangible, and may be too vague to be attainable...but I think a lot of us have some desire for something from an actor playing the Doctor even if we can't identify exactly what that is.

Yes it was.

I've just gone and replied to your post about 'WE', .....so don't go and make me look silly now.

I thought you said that "WE" don't think like that?


I know what you're saying, but actors bring many different facets to their characters.
Chris Eccleston did have some gravitas, and a lot of that came from his particular presence, diction, and the sound of his voice.

David Tennant will more than likely bring other things, and do the kind of things Chris was very good at differently. Not necessarily worse...just differently.

You can't really rely on an actor bringing one or two things, you'd hope that they can bring a variety of traits to their characters.
And you can't expect an actor to deliver something in exactly the same way as another actor, short from occupying the same body as the original actor it would be impossible.

David Tennant has certainly shown he is more than capable of delivering passion, and is of a high calibre.
David Tennant isn't going to undo the great work of Chris because people will remember Chris's work in it's own right.

And I think it's not accurate to believe that David Tennant is a dumbed down Doctor for dumb minds.

I think it's worth considering that The Christmas Invasion was a Christmas Special, and kind of had it's own objective due to that fact.
To be honest,..I thought The Christmas Invasion was basically crap. Just my opinion though.

But I thought David Tennant was excellent given what he was expected to do for that particular show.
David managed to perform it in a way that might be seen as panto, and might have come across as a bumbling bufoon as you say,...but if you saw what he was doing, a lot of that was down to the character deliberately doing that for bravado and bluff.
Some might even say that Chris was just a stereotype of the type of character he has always played in the past, just as much as someone might say that David Tennant is just a bumbling buffoon. But it would be unfair to reduce either of them to JUST those elements.

Any pantomime elements, which I'd agree were present during that show, were not David's fault as far as I could see. I think what he did with his charcter was admirable given the objective he must have been given to work to, and the framework given to work with for that particular one-off show.
I don't really see how Chris would have done better for that show. One of Chris's weak points, in my opinion, was his handling of some the comedy elements present in certain lighter episodes in the last series. Sometimes I don't think he got it right, and it didn't work for me.
In the lightweight pile of poo which was the Christmas episode (Just my opinion), it might have been a bad episode for Chris...but David coped really well, and gave us glimpses, a few shades, and a taste of what shape this Doctor may take.

Most regenerations cause a lot of controversy in the context of Dr Who. I can remember the change from Bill Hartnell to Pat Troughton. I was 12 at the time and my friends and I were not sure what was going on - there could never be another Doctor. However we got to love the new doctor as I suggested in an earlier posting - he was actually better. So we should give DT a chance - we can't write him off in the way some here have. I am convinced he we be one of the better doctors. After all he has proved himself elsewhere. How many would like it back to 5.15 on Saturday?

I love ecclestone he is gorg.The chemistry between him and Billie Piper is extraordinary.I cannot,honestly see what people see in David Tennant.He looks like H from steps

david tennant has the humour element that CE didnt seem to have, so there is going to be more fun from tennants doctor, he certainly isnt uncapable of giving us the emotion where it counts though. So at this point i prefer CE, but seeing as the series hasnt even begun yet that may well change

That's what I used to think.
I was a naysayer too.
I too had doubts that he didn't look right, he looked too weedy, no presence etc.
But I promised to check David Tennant out and watch 'Casanova'.

And when I did I realised how great an actor he really was. I was seriously impressed with his performance in 'Casonova'.
he was able to convince me and believe in his character. And all those preconceptions about how he looked were overshadowed by his convincing ability as an actor.

Well, I certainly wasn't the only one saying these things during endless discussions last year, hence the use of the "we".

Sorry if you felt left out, I certainly didn't mean to be 100% all-inclusive of the whole of humanity with my sweeping statements.

Anyway, I stand by what I said... I wasn't overly impressed by Ecclestone when the series is taken as a whole. He certainly had some fine moments... his joy at the end of "The Doctor Dances" springs to mind, as does his horror at the end of "Parting of the Ways", but overall, he didn't live up to the promise shown in "Rose".

I personally, along with many others, was gobsmacked by the "rightness" of Tennant in "The Christmas Invasion", how "Doctor-like" . And by that I mean the Doctor I see in my head when I read a novel, not necessarily any of the physical representations seen on screen.

My point was that Tennant, like Ecclestone, may not live up to expectations after (IMHO) a very strong start.


PS - The_Master, my nick is Scottish Gaelic for "cub" - it's a long story, but basically it's an old nickname of mine.

Isn't it great that we can have this sort of discussion (even if it's a little early to be able to assess Tennant's Doctor after less than half and hour's screen time)?

Rewind 2 or 3 years and we couldn't have imagined having a discussion about new Who, let alone about which modern regeneration was better.

*sigh*

Reminds me of the days when Tom Baker left and lots of people argued over whether Peter Davison was a better or worse replacement

Yes, sorry about that. I have re read the original post and can see it now. I must have been having a funny five minutes! Thanks for your support. I think there are alot in the "We" camp that share our concerns.
My original post Stands!!

Definitely worse! Tom was hammy towards the end, but was always better than the wet vet.

eeeee I remember being outraged for all of three weeks that they'd replaced my beloved Pertwee with the boggle eyed Tom Baker...as I say it only lasted three weeks before Tom was perfection and I'd forgotten my objections...

I'd sayChristopher Eccleston though perhaps it's a bit early for judging this one!

It took me a lot longer than three weeks to get over the choice for Tom's replacement - although I have to say I have mellowed a little towards him with age (and I like PD in other things he's done.)

He was good in "All Creatures Great and Small" and "A Very Peculiar Practice", but I have only recently started to think he's not too bad as Doctor Who.

my faith was only really shaken with Colin Baker to be honest

DT will really have to go for it to beat Eccleston, in my eyes, but then I'm a long time Eccleston fan. I'd love for the series to maintain the popularity of 9-10 million viewers, if only because it would prove that enough people love the Doctor as much as me.

The Doctor regenerating is like moving house...

To start off with, you have loads of doubts - you feel as if you don't want to move because you love your current house, and you feel you share a bond with it. Then, the day comes, you move. At first, you feel you don't want to like your new house. But, as time flies, you start to love it - you literally 'make it home'.

And thats what I feel about David Tennant's Doctor. When I heard he was going to be cast as the Doctor waaayyy back in April, I thought 'Nope, he ain't got the charisma - too modern and young to be a Doctor'. But when I watched the Christmas Invasion (well technically, the CiN episode) , I felt as if I stepped into my new house for the first time - I gasped, I cried, I laughed - and I thought to myself - 'I'll give it a few months - it just needs a little love'

I might be talking b***s***, but does anyone see my point?

If you dont, I'll explain simply...just wait until, say, Episode 6 (Rise of the Cybermen) and then make your full judgement of the new Doctor, because, by that episode, he would have cycled through his 'rainbow' of emotions and characteristics.

I quite liked Colin Baker. A little "arch" maybe, and some bad scripts, but the potential was there. He never really got long enough to prove himself.

[quote=Eaglestriker]The Doctor regenerating is like moving house...

To start off with, you have loads of doubts - but then...
I might be talking b***s***, but does anyone see my point?


Yeah - I get that.