As this thread demostrates....rumours of / wishes for Damien to play the Doctor have been around for quite sometime.
jennster -
despite all of the recent backtracking which has come out in the last few days, I remember reading an interview with Matt Smith a while ago - when talk of him getting a film role first started - where he said that playing Doctor Who was exhausting and that, much as he loved the part, he'd basically had enough and wanted to move onto other things. I can't find it now of course, but he said something about it not being the same as when Tom Baker did it and now it's an extended filming schedule of long days. I'm sure that he actually said that he wanted to leave after the 50th anniversary and Christmas special - but I may just be making that bit up.
- I think this might be the interview that you are referring to?
Absolutely ages ago I read an interview where he said that he really missed doing theatre, but it was impossible to fit in around the Dr Who filming schedule......
My feelings about Dr Who are ambivalent. Whenever they run a new trailer for it I always get excited....but then when it's on I complain about it endlessly! I could fill pages with what I think of Dr Who and it's development over the years - but my main complaint, in a nutshell, is that the Doctor was a confident, all knowing, immortal who loved humanity and wanted to protect it. He was 'other' - almost god-like. And I loved it for that. Over the last few years (especially the last 5....!) he has degenerated into a character who doubts himself, carries a burden of guilt over his past and wants to be part of humanity.
Ring any bells?
It's not that I don't like it....it's just that I miss what it was.
Rumours of Steve Moffatt's departure are predictable - and I have no idea if that's likely, but I did read an interview where Toby Whitehouse was asked if he would take over if SM left. He basically said he would love to do it, but had no reason to think that the opportunity would arise.
So would I like to see Damien play the Doctor?
Well.....yes! Whatever I feel about the series at the moment, it would mean loads of screen-time for Damien. And it's an iconic, internationally known series. It would be huge for him!! It's a part which has evolved and developed as each actor has bought something different. When Matt Smith took over I remember him saying that he'd had quite a lot of say in his costume, and that he was given the freedom to interpet the character how he wanted to. Obviously Damien would be great!
But only for a couple of series, maybe......
-- Edited by fifi on Sunday 2nd of June 2013 01:51:06 AM
I read some interviews and it was implied that Moffat will step down as a showrunner after this season. I know lots of people who love Toby's writing on the show so I guess there's always the possibility of him being the new showrunner, especially now when BH is over.
Was it confirmed Matt Smith would be back as The Doctor for season 8? Because I think he'll quit the show after this season, he himself said the filming is very tiring and he just got the role in that Ryan Gosling's project so he will probably want to go Hollywood after that.
I'd love Damien to play the Doctor, I think he would play the role so well, the only thing is I want Russell T Davis back as he is such a better writer for the show
yeah fifi, we must talk about the same interview. Filming Doctor Who must be really exhausting. I read somewhere that making 13 episodes takes longer (I think it was 2 months more) than making 22 episodes of usual US tv show.
It's really interesting to read all your views on Doctor Who. Because I'm not English I didn't really have a chance to watch the show when I was a kid or teenager so my first Doctor was Christopher Eccleston (and he's been my favourite since). Until recently I didn't really feel the need to watch the old Doctor Who series but since February I've been attending lectures about theory of fiction in tv shows and our professor is a big fan of Doctor Who so he quite often uses the show as example. He showed us the very first episode of Doctor Who and I loved it. So I decided to watch the early episodes. I'm now on episode 4 and it's something really different from what I know and it's obviously too early for me to make any conclusions but I'm really looking forward to watching more of it :)
Are you watching the original Who or the New Who? It started in 1963 and the 50 year anniversary is in November! If it is the original, it is going to take ages and I am not sure the early ones all survived.
There seems to be too many Troughton episodes missing, but some audio tracks survived and they might be available. My eldest sister is a big fan and sometimes I look for stuff for her.
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Pearl24, I was talking about the original series. I'm just downloading a really huge package of William Hartnell's Doctor and can't wait to watch it :) (I guess it will take me a while to see it all :D)
I would love to see Damien in Doctor Who but in what role, i don't know. I think he's still essentially 'Hal' in my head for now.
Am becoming quietly excited for the new episodes resuming on Saturday. It's a show that i love, not as much as 'Being Human' and i don't get involved with that fandom but i love it all the same.
My big sis is visiting for Easter but for once she didn't bring loads of Dr Who dvds with her. With her here there was no escaping watching the new episode so we settled in after a feast of pancakes ... I was a little disappointed. And suddenly I'm not caring for Clara. Loved her as Dalek girl and in the Christmas ep, but here she seemed a bit too brusque. And it's all beginning to feel a bit same old same old. But I loved Celia Imrie and her two guys. And, hey, what's not to love about The Doctor riding a motorbike up the Shard?
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I couldn't watch the first episode of the news series without seeing Damien in the role! I blame Carmen and her bedazzling Damien is the Doctor photo edits!
I would so love to see Damien as Doctor Who. I think it's possible he would even give David Tennant (my favorite Doctor) some real competition. All of my friends watch Dr Who (few of them watched Being Human). They would all finally see why I'm so enamored with him. He's not just another pretty face.
If something doesn't change next season I'm probably going to stop watching. I'm basically just watching now so I will know what happens if the cast and writers change and I start to like it again. I really want to like it again!
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"I should have left a clue. Like, I don't know, locking him in a cellar and tying him to a fucking radiator!"
I just read an article stating that Matt was denying the rumors that he is leaving the show and has confirmed that he will stay on through Season 8 at least. I was hoping for some new blood, Damien or not.
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"I should have left a clue. Like, I don't know, locking him in a cellar and tying him to a fucking radiator!"
Caught up with Dr Who last night. It was OK! I know I enjoyed watching it, but I'm not sure I've got much to say about it really. In all honesty I'm a bit fed up with the whole 'super-companion' idea. Why can't the Dr be super alien, the companion be normal human? Have to wait and see how it develops.
Random Jane - I sometimes wonder if the whole ' maybe, maybe not' rumours are just hype to keep programmes in the public eye (or am I just a bit too cynical?)
I don't mind Matt Smith at all, but must admit that I'd quite like a change at the end of this series......maybe I want to see Damien as the Dr more that I realised!
The Damo for The Doctor rumour has been circulating for a long old time! read back in this thread and see! For me it is just a bit of fun speculation, a 'what if'....
fifi, I miss the 'normal' companion too. When I first heard the Christmas episode was in Victorian times, I loved the idea that the new companion was going to be a Victorian lass. Her being 'different' was a let down.
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"Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realise you're wrong."
I was not such a fan of yesterday's episode "The Rings Of Akhaten" . I liked the whole section with Clara's parents and the mention of Susan but that was about it.
The 'current actor leaving after this series' rumour has dogged Who for years. It absolutely annoys me that the press take a comment, sometimes an innocuous one and twist it to suit their story. Matt didn't say he'd leave after Christmas, he said he'd keep playing the role, i took that to mean that he'll be the Doctor for a while yet. He seems to be having a blast with it and yes it's opening doors for him but until he actually does come out and say ' well yes, i'm leaving after such and such a time' then i won't believe the rumours.
I have liked the first couple of episodes, Clara is slowly growing on me but it's true that she doesn't have that same immediate charm she had in the 'dalek' episode and the Christmas special. Not just yet.
I have been really trying to get into the new series of Doctor Who! Matt Smith is a great actor and the show has a huge budget thrown at it, but...it lacks something for me, perhaps the large budget takes away from some of its more character based charm?
The producer of the first series (must be getting on a bit!) has said it is too sexual nowadays!
Pearl - That's amusing since I don't remember ever seeing any sex in Dr. Who. It's rare to even see any overt flirtation. I haven't seen the latest episode yet though. I save all my TV watching for Friday night.
Domino - You may have something there with the budget issue. The thing that really struck me with Being Human was realizing how much planning and skill must have had to go into the writing and shooting to tell the story on budget and with such short seasons. They artfully told more in 8 episodes than a US show tells in 30 on a fraction of the budget. And I don't typically notice things like that.
I haven't had much emotional involvement with the characters on Dr. Who over the last couple of season. I have not satisfactorily been able to put my finger on why that is. Maybe that's why.
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"I should have left a clue. Like, I don't know, locking him in a cellar and tying him to a fucking radiator!"
I agree about the budget thing. I think a small budget actually helps a programme like being human.....it makes everything seem more everyday, as well as forcing the producers to think outside the box a bit.
What you can't see can be far more effective than seeing something created (often badly) out of somebody else's imagination. I thought the devil being represented by a fluid cloud (swarm?) of black particles was genius and the bendy-over-backwards possession scene was incredibly effective - anything more elaborate would inevitably be disappointing.
Dr Who had a big enough budget to go with the Statue of Liberty/weeping angel thing - that was almost enough to spoil an entire series! The space/sun/planet effect in 'Rings of Akhaten' was beautiful...but I'm sure that most of the audience are capable of creating such a scene in their own imaginations - and then it's a more personal experience, more intimate. I'd prefer my tv series to concentrate on story-line and character and leave the special effects to proper big budget films. (I have to give a mention to the Balrog in LOTR - the most sublime bit of CGI ever created...a complete joy (yes...I was expecting to be disappointed before I saw it!) but the budget for the Balrog alone probably exceeded an entire Dr Who series!)
And why does the tardis need to be constantly re-designed? Surely the tardis should be a familiar, comforting space; not one that you don't recognise from one series to the next.......
Sorry! I do like Dr Who really - I just have issues with it!
I blame Carmen and her bedazzling Damien is the Doctor photo edits!
