...and then there were twelve

Again, they did it in "Curse of the Fatal Death."

Not really a Who fan, but I vote for the criminally underused Dean Learner.

FTFY

Pffft! Says you.

There could be some really interesting female choices.

Olivia Williams immediately springs to mind, simply for the gravitas and fap-worthiness she would bring to the role.



Jessica Hynes would be another good choice, and she's already cut her teeth by guest starring in Doctor Who.

The character may arguably have gotten the best stories, but the actress is fucking obnoxious.

Tilda Swinton FTW!

But I think they'll continue to choose a actor who is excellent but nearly unheard of.

Some good points here...

...though I have no opinion on the Troughton/Pertwee point because Baker was my first Doctor and is still THE Doctor in my mind.

With that said, there have been aspects of each of the last three that i REALLY liked, the "young and pretty" trend is a bit of a rut. Give me an actor in his 40's at least, one who's got a lot of Baker both in the eccentricity and in the sometimes angry mode. without being an obvious rip-off.

(and yes, I know I've already affirmed my approval of several relatively "pretty" candidates but I don't expect any known name will actually get the part)

That's from io9, by the way, but i failed to grab the link before I closed it.

Brainstorm.

While it would be tricky (impossible?) to cast him given his current obligation, one guy that i think would be GREAT at embodying the "somewhat older, somewhat eccentric, somewhat darker and angrier Doctor" would be Robert Carlyle.

I'd go so far as to rank him just below the elite (i.e. never going to happen) group (folks like Cumberbatch).


another radical (i.e. never going to happen) idea that would be a hundred kinds of fun:

Michael Caine.

Um, no. Even if it was possible, no.

Oh God yes please. But TRAINSPOTTING crazy Carlyle, not ST:U style Carlyle (I think he was completely wasted in that garbage).

I'd also like to see one of the great British actresses. Tilda Swinton, Maggie Smith or Helen Mirren are great choices. Of course the BBC can't afford them and they'd probably say no anyway. Which is a shame.

Love Maggie and she's an awesome actress, but she's too old and not suitable for the role of Doctor Who.

Aside from a vehicle for annoying other people there is approx. zero point in speculating about this because there is no way anyone is going to get it right. They don't use already significantly famous actors for the Doctor unless it is for re-boot purposes (McGann, Eccleston) with the single exception of Peter Davison.

Your best bet is to go and find a critically-praised but largely unwatched BBC drama from the last 2 years and run through the male leads. Then you might have a fighting chance.

And:
- a black doctor? Yeah, if the actor is the right one for the role? For the sake of it? no thanks.
- a woman? I'd be open minded but my preference is for a man. I'm not sure exactly where the idea that regenerations can cross gender came from but as far as I can see the character of the Doctor has always been male (and by that I mean it isn't just that he's been played by men).

Most of all. Most especially entirely and crucially of all. Whoever is picked needs to be a quite tremendous actor. The thing that has made nu-Who above all other things is that all 3 Doctors have had the chops. And I don't mean in a get-by-on-TV sort of way. I mean they have been extraordinarily good actors in general. And that has at times carried the series. They need to hit that bullseye again.

Even in the, shall we say, less-than-stellar stories, where the concept isn't all that great and the companions get little to do and the plotting is weak, Matt Smith's performance has made the show enjoyable for me.

David Tennant likewise, while I haven't seen any episodes of his I would consider especially weak, gives very convincing, engaging performances.

I don't think that Tennant falls into the 'unknown' category either He comes from the same place many well known British actors - like Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen - come: The Royal Shakespeare Company.

Javier Bardem.

I'd rather it be a man as well, but I do remember Eleven referencing the Corsair, and what a naughty girl one of his regenerations was.

I’ve been a long term viewer of Doctor Who and I also don’t want a female Doctor. The problem is that if you dare say that the usual tedious Islington-ites will come out and say you are sexist. I don’t feel I am. In fact, I much prefer women to men generally in life. Perhaps it is the red blood! But the Doctor has always been a male hero figure for me, ever since I was a young child and first started to watch the show when Peter Davison started. The character was unquestionably and undoubtedly a male action hero. There are opinions on some of the Who forums that he is just about his brain, but one only has to look at the Pertwee years and have a look at all the kung fu kicks, gunshots and chase scenes and see an alpha male in action.

Another boyhood hero of mine, as plenty here know, was Christopher Reeve’s Superman. They tried to copy the success of those films with the Helen Slater Supergirl effort, but it was a flop and for me because, as a viewer, just didn’t hold the same interest. The character was basically Superman in a skirt, but as a young male I just couldn’t look to her as a role model in the same way, nor associate with her as much (although that probably wasn’t helped by the fact that at 10 years old I thought girls were an alien species). For me it is the same with the Doctor. I have associated the character with his male gender identity and the dynamic it presented with those around him. The Doctor is the lead of the show and making him female is the same as making James Bond female. Part of the reason I associate with the character will be removed just as it would if Bond were cast as a woman. You make James Bond a woman and you have to apply a totally different set of gender identifiers, and despite with the PC do-gooders of the world would say, men and women are different, even if they are equal. .

I accept that in the context of the Doctor Who world the regeneration of a male Time Lord into female is possible. I accept that we live in a world where we need more female role models. But Doctor Who is not one of them. I have no problem with a male ethnic minority actor taking the role. as skin colour is just that, colour. The male gender traits would still be there. But, for me, becoming female is just one reinvention too far. It fundamentally changes the portrayal of the part. Would River Song be in a gay marriage? Would Susan now have a grandmother? Would she be a mad woman in a box? Would Rose by a lesbian lover? If you’re going to change it that much then you might as well redesign the outside of the TARDIS to look like an iPad -because, you know, in universe, it's possible - just fix the chameleon circuit!.

If the Doctor becomes female then this long term fan will switch off because the show will become too different – and feeling that way does not a sexist make. In the Superman universe there is no reason whatsoever not to take away his iconic uniform and put him in an all white leotard, but how many people will still like Superman if he wore the latter? It is only because this is an issue of sex that you can't have a reasonable debate without certain elements of the righteous pro-female group portraying you as some sort of old fashioned conservative misogynist.

I say leave the Doctor as a man.

That is my preference as well, but I'm open to other possibilities so long as the actor and stories themselves are good. This series has been very hit-or-miss when compared with previous series, so I'm hoping that Moffat exits along with Matt Smith. Time for new blood.

Also... what's with all the Tom Baker love? Is it because he was the first Doctor to be shown in the States? Not saying I don't like Tom Baker, but the character itself transcends any one particular actor. (Much like James Bond.)

How about there's a problem with the Doctor's regeneration and he spends the next season rotating through different incarnations, each played by a different actor/actress?

A bit like Romana's regeneration, but lasting longer and more serious?

You know, that might just work.

Name me a leading member or indeed any other member of the Royal Shakespeare company. Without google.

I'd like to see a more angry and dark Doctor, and I think Idris Elba from Luther would be absolutely perfect.

I wouldn't say unwatched, but...

Brendan Coyle

He'd be perfect to get out of the "young Doctor" rut.

I think it'll be someone like a Matthew McNulty, Emun Elliot, Tom Hughes sort of age/level. Not saying I'd like any of them, that's just the sort of person I think they'll go for.

If they wanted to finally go ginger (and also older) I think they could do worse that someone like Tom Goodman-Hill.

And a final speculative wild card (which would probably also confirm Moffat's continuance - Andrew Scott?