by Sarabeth Pollock:
I’ve spent a lot of time in the week since Comic Con 2013 ended pondering the Twelfth Doctor. Not only does 2013 mark the 50th anniversary of the show, but this year was Matt Smith’s farewell tour, and of course there were tons of questions about John Hurt’s appearance as The Doctor in the Series 7 finale and what that meant for the future. When Stephen Moffat showed footage from the upcoming 50th anniversary episode featuring David Tennant in his iconic role as the Tenth Doctor, Hall H went absolutely nuts. That’s a lot of pressure to cast this role perfectly. It makes you wonder what the BBC will do with the role of Twelve.
We don’t know who will play the Twelfth Doctor, but speculation has been running rampant since Matt Smith announced that he’s leaving. Ideally, a lesser-known actor makes the most sense. Playing the Doctor is something that takes up a lot of time, and the actor must be able to commit to that. The prospective actor must also understand and accept that playing the Doctor will mean that he will be known as the Doctor for as long as he lives. This is what happens to actors playing iconic roles. Daniel Radcliffe embraced his Harry Potter persona and was also able to successfully separate from it after the role came to an end. Christopher Eccleston does not seem to want anything to do with Doctor Who or his Ninth Doctor persona, and this is difficult for fans who want to celebrate the actor’s work. This is why a lesser-known actor who is willing to take on the superstardom is the best choice.
There is also a group of people who want the next Doctor to be a woman. An equally large group of people want the Doctor to be played by a non-Caucasian actor. In my opinion, the Doctor is a male character. I am not concerned with the Doctor’s appearance so much as I am concerned about his gender. Yes, River Song was a dynamic character who gave Ten and Eleven a run for their money. She was brash and smart and unapologetically badass…but she was her own character. My sister makes a good point that they would never cast a woman as James Bond, and yet he has been replaced over the years by many different actors. Here in the States, when there was a call for female versions of Batman and Superman, writers made a decision to create…you guessed it…Batgirl and Supergirl. The Doctor is the Doctor. Again, it’s just my opinion, but it seems like the Doctor should be a man. If you want a female Doctor, create a brand new female Time Lord character.
In my ultimate fantasy, a whole new series would be created around the alternate universe that contains Ten II and Rose and her family…and that little piece of TARDIS that Ten gave himself. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go to You Tube and check out the alternate ending to “Journey’s End.” It had been written where Ten gives his alternate form a chunk of the TARDIS so that he could grow a TARDIS of his own. It’s an interesting idea. This would also give John Barrowman a great opportunity to return to the Who-Verse as Captain Jack Harkness. The interplay between Jack and Rose and Ten was great (almost as great as it was with Eccleston’s Nine). But that’s just me.
At Comic Con, Matt Smith talked about the difference between British and American Whovians. In the UK, he said, Whovians recognize that Doctor Who is a British creation and it “belongs” to them. They don’t need to go nuts over it. Stiff upper lip and all that. (Though I can tell you that people love their DW over there) However, since Doctor Who has arrived on American airwaves, the fandemonium has gone to a whole other level. He referred to the time when he and Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill arrived in New York for the season premiere. The energy coming from the fans blew them away. Americans take their enthusiasm to the Nth degree and we’re not afraid to show it. That said, he pointed out that there is now a new responsibility to find someone that American audiences will embrace as much as the UK audience. That is a huge challenge.
We’re just five short months away from having to say goodbye to the Eleventh Doctor and embracing the new Doctor. And we will embrace him. Or her.
It is Doctor Who, after all.
Sarabeth Pollock is a contributor for Dark Media. She covers The Walking Dead, True Blood, Doctor Who, Fringe and American Horror Story, as well as the True Blood comics and whatever movies and books happen to catch her fancy. Watch for her coverage of San Diego Comic Con 2013. She’s an avid writer, reader, and pop culture fan, with interest in everything from Star Trek to Anne Rice to Deborah Harkness. Follow her on Twitter at @SarabethPollock and check out her blog at http://sarabethpollock.wordpress.com
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