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The Doctor has a new companion, actress Jenna-Louise Coleman, 25. Replacing current companions "Amy Pond" (Karen Gillan) and "Rory" (Arthur Davill); both of who are leaving the show next year. Details HERE from HollywoodReporter.com

Uh... Karen Gillan who?!?

[I Voted Baltar]

Its hard for me to judge her acting - I've only seen her in a soap before, and those things are produced too quickly to get a handle on someone's performance as they have very little prep time.

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I Voted Baltar, on 22 March 2012 - 06:08 AM, said:

Its hard for me to judge her acting - I've only seen her in a soap before, and those things are produced too quickly to get a handle on someone's performance as they have very little prep time.

You mean she might be able to ACT, too?!?
I'd be content if she could walk and speak English...


Naw, kidding I am. Actually, in truth? I'm a little disappointed that DW casting is playing it so safe these days. I still imagine a mind's eye series where David Tennant took old Wilfred out for a spin in the Tardis (the man who, as you once said Baltar, could've made us cry when he was out of tea). But alas, they're skewing younger and younger everyday (forever chasing that Harry Potter/Twilight base). I wonder if the Doctor's next companion will be a really hot zygote....

[I Voted Baltar]

obsolete toaster, on 22 March 2012 - 07:08 AM, said:

You mean she might be able to ACT, too?!?
I'd be content if she could walk and speak English...


Naw, kidding I am. Actually, in truth? I'm a little disappointed that DW casting is playing it so safe these days. I still imagine a mind's eye series where David Tennant took old Wilfred out for a spin in the Tardis (the man who, as you once said Baltar, could've made us cry when he was out of tea). But alas, they're skewing younger and younger everyday (forever chasing that Harry Potter/Twilight base). I wonder if the Doctor's next companion will be a really hot zygote....

A younger companion just tells a better story. A young, naive, swept away perspective. And the younger they are, the cheaper they'll be to hire... and they can run. Running is important. It might sound silly, but I've been on sets with middle aged (and even younger than that!) actors and they couldn't keep up with the physical demands.

To be fair - I wouldn't have either if I had to run. I got to do all my action in three steps

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I Voted Baltar, on 22 March 2012 - 08:32 AM, said:

A younger companion just tells a better story. A young, naive, swept away perspective. And the younger they are, the cheaper they'll be to hire... and they can run. Running is important. It might sound silly, but I've been on sets with middle aged (and even younger than that!) actors and they couldn't keep up with the physical demands.

To be fair - I wouldn't have either if I had to run. I got to do all my action in three steps

If it were me? All of my running would be done with my face in closeup, then a double for any shot below the waist ( )... now I realize why I never pursued acting; too much work, and I'd be too expensive!

[ensign edwards]

...I think I need to start watching Doctor Who.

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ensign edwards, on 22 March 2012 - 10:41 AM, said:

...I think I need to start watching Doctor Who.

Lots of eye candy there, lad....

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Here's her first 'official' DW photo, from BBC (copied from Trekweb)



Cute, she is. Reminds me a tiny bit of a young Sarah Jane Smith (the late Elizabeth Sladen). From what I understand and have read, her character is supposed to be a little motormouth who can supposedly outtalk the Doctor....

[I Voted Baltar]

That outfit is making me wonder if she's from the 80's...

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I Voted Baltar, on 31 March 2012 - 04:13 AM, said:

That outfit is making me wonder if she's from the 80's...

That would be an interesting twist; remember when the Doctor used to pluck companions from different eras and not just the present? There was Jamie, the 18th century highlander, Zoe the 'future girl', etc. Even Sarah Jane (in 1974) was from the 'future year' of 1980. My guess is they won't do that, though; making Cardiff look vintage (cars, posters, costumes, etc) is an extra expense the show probably doesn't need.

If she were from the '80s, it would be interesting though to see her tackle an i-pad or a cell phone...

[p0is0n0us]

I hope she isn't a motor mouth. At times I can barely keep up with Matt Smith. Although I'm always happy to have the Doctor have a hot babe companion at times I wish they would change things up. Maybe another Romana could be cool, she was just as smart as the doctor and although attractive she wasn't flaunting it like Amy Pond.

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p0is0n0us, on 31 March 2012 - 12:38 PM, said:

I hope she isn't a motor mouth. At times I can barely keep up with Matt Smith. Although I'm always happy to have the Doctor have a hot babe companion at times I wish they would change things up. Maybe another Romana could be cool, she was just as smart as the doctor and although attractive she wasn't flaunting it like Amy Pond.

They're playing it safe; both with companions and Doctors (younger and younger white men and hot white women. Period). They need to shake up the formula again soon. It's getting stale....

And yes, sometimes Matt Smith will make me reach for my headache meds; his motormouthed monologues are a bit much sometimes.....

[I Voted Baltar]

obsolete toaster, on 31 March 2012 - 08:51 AM, said:

That would be an interesting twist; remember when the Doctor used to pluck companions from different eras and not just the present? There was Jamie, the 18th century highlander, Zoe the 'future girl', etc. Even Sarah Jane (in 1974) was from the 'future year' of 1980. My guess is they won't do that, though; making Cardiff look vintage (cars, posters, costumes, etc) is an extra expense the show probably doesn't need.

If she were from the '80s, it would be interesting though to see her tackle an i-pad or a cell phone...

That's one of the things I'd love to see. But, aside form the vintage issue (which might not be too hard - not much of the scenery has changed and it's not that much of a time gap), the show seems to like to mirror our time so the companion is our link to that world so they seem to be modern era for that reason. But it was nice to see Amy wasn't from London and have a small, drab town as her base.

p0is0n0us, on 31 March 2012 - 12:38 PM, said:

I hope she isn't a motor mouth. At times I can barely keep up with Matt Smith. Although I'm always happy to have the Doctor have a hot babe companion at times I wish they would change things up. Maybe another Romana could be cool, she was just as smart as the doctor and although attractive she wasn't flaunting it like Amy Pond.

I quite like the Matt Smith speed when he has his manic genius moments. Much better than Tennant as Smith's seems more of a thought process than shouting for the sake of shouting.

I've kind of liked the variety we've had so far. Rose, the average girl who grew to be more; Martha, the intelligent Doctor; Donna, older, louder and a complete turnaround from the previous two; Amy as a strong and confident companion who became more involved then Rory got thrown into the mix - and having that dymanic was another nice change of pace that took some attention away from the Doctor again.

But at the same time, it's all the same era. I think they could get away with an older actor next time round and maybe throw in a proper intellectual equal as an antagonistic companion. Someone like river on a full time basis would certainly make a nice change of pace.

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I Voted Baltar, on 01 April 2012 - 04:40 AM, said:

I've kind of liked the variety we've had so far. Rose, the average girl who grew to be more; Martha, the intelligent Doctor; Donna, older, louder and a complete turnaround from the previous two; Amy as a strong and confident companion who became more involved then Rory got thrown into the mix - and having that dymanic was another nice change of pace that took some attention away from the Doctor again.

But at the same time, it's all the same era. I think they could get away with an older actor next time round and maybe throw in a proper intellectual equal as an antagonistic companion. Someone like river on a full time basis would certainly make a nice change of pace.

River as a full time companion would be great. However, given her and the Doctor's two decade age gap, it looks a bit creepy; kind of a "Mrs Robinson" vibe to it. Maybe if the Doctor regenerated into a slightly more mature visage (late 30s, early 40s) it wouldn't look so weird? It'd also help bolster that throwaway line in "Silence in the Library" where she said that she needed a spotter's guide to tell which Doctor/era she's dealing with.


But (with the exception of Donna Noble) the new companions have all been perky, sexy, youngish white girls (even Martha was a perky, sexy, youngish black girl). Donna was the only companion in the new series who (despite being a pain in the rump at times) was a 'real' woman. She was one of the few who didn't look like she'd stepped off the pages of a laddie magazine. While I didn't appreciate her in her day, I'm starting to re-think my opinion of her (much as I did with Doctor #6, Colin Baker). Catherine Tate was a real experiment in casting. The show needs MORE of that IMO.


I just think the casting needs to be more across-the-spectrum for the Doctor as well. No offense to Matt, but I really want a different kind of Doctor. Different age, different color, just different. Maybe someone who doesn't require me to hit the TV's subtitles just to catch up with him whenever he speaks. He's a fine actor, but he's never quite fit the bill for me for some reason (I wish I could articulate why a bit better...). I agree that Tennant did tend to emote with his teeth, but I miss his passion as well. And few did anger and wrath like Tennant (except for Eccleston; the most bad-a$$ Doctor EVER).

[p0is0n0us]

I would still love to see Benedict Cumberbatch as the Doctor. Granted it's not going to happen because he's Sherlock but I think he could of done a great job.

I have concerns with this new companion that she's jsut there for the T&A. If she's going to be a motor mouth that can keep up or surpass Matt Smith then its going to get frustrating. I want a character that I can enjoy, not one that I want to "shut up for the love of God!".

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p0is0n0us, on 15 May 2012 - 07:35 AM, said:

I would still love to see Benedict Cumberbatch as the Doctor. Granted it's not going to happen because he's Sherlock but I think he could of done a great job.

I have concerns with this new companion that she's jsut there for the T&A. If she's going to be a motor mouth that can keep up or surpass Matt Smith then its going to get frustrating. I want a character that I can enjoy, not one that I want to "shut up for the love of God!".

BC would have made an INCREDIBLE Doctor.
Blast you for even mentioning that, P ( ).... you just shattered my tenuous, delicate bubble of almost acceptance for Matt Smith! Now it'll NEVER happen.

As for the new companion? I remember similar bad buzz about Rose. I remember reading many unfavorable articles saying words to the effect of 'The UK's answer to Britney Spears joins the Doctor', etc. But IMO, Rose went on to become one of the better companions. Turns out she was an unexpectedly good actress, too (despite being an average pop singer). I'm going to take a 'wait-and-see' attitude with the new companion.

Personally? I wish they'd regenerate the Doctor himself already. I think MS is a fair-enough Doctor (I'd rank him with Davison or Troughton; a perfectly OK Doctor), but (as P just reminded me) I can think of SO MANY actors out there who would be so much more interesting in the role, besides our current spastic, attention-deficit disordered George McFly lookalike (OK, that was just mean; I apologize... I'm such an old b!tch sometimes ). I know a whole new generation of girls simply looooove MS, but I'd take ol' 'teeth gnasher' Tennant (or bad a$$ Eccleston) over MS any day of the week....

And despite a handful of brilliant episodes during the Moffatt/Smith run, I still wish the show would return from Candyland someday and back to the Doctor Who of old...maybe this year?
Oh well; an old man like me can wish anyway, right?

[I Voted Baltar]

obsolete toaster, on 15 May 2012 - 08:18 PM, said:

Personally? I wish they'd regenerate the Doctor himself already. I think MS is a fair-enough Doctor (I'd rank him with Davison or Troughton; a perfectly OK Doctor), but (as P just reminded me) I can think of SO MANY actors out there who would be so much more interesting in the role, besides our current spastic, attention-deficit disordered George McFly lookalike (OK, that was just mean; I apologize... I'm such an old b!tch sometimes ). I know a whole new generation of girls simply looooove MS, but I'd take ol' 'teeth gnasher' Tennant (or bad a$$ Eccleston) over MS any day of the week....

I wouldn't have Tennant back at all. I'm spoiled by Smith's more understated performance, making him more alien than manic. The subdued performance not only shows a man who works on more than one level (with Tennant, mostly Shouting and sticking his jaw out) with becomes more emotional in a Vulcan-ish way and allows other actors not to be shouted down.

Though Billy Piper is not that good an actress, so she should have been shouted down

obsolete toaster, on 15 May 2012 - 08:18 PM, said:

And despite a handful of brilliant episodes during the Moffatt/Smith run, I still wish the show would return from Candyland someday and back to the Doctor Who of old...maybe this year?
Oh well; an old man like me can wish anyway, right?

I'm guessing it will. This run has been about Amy (and Rory) as much as the lead, so the show seems to be themed around her journey which was that initial child in a fairy tale.

I suspect a new sidekick will run a new theme.

[p0is0n0us]

I would like to see a companion that's different.

- How about an older companion that knows martial arts....that's different.

- Or a companion that has their own agenda

- a companion from a different time

- a companion that's actually smarted than the Doctor.

These just came to me, so what are the writing staff doing......"Let's get another hot chick and make her even more mouthy than Amy"

I don't normally slam idea's before I see them but I'm not excited for this new girl.

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p0is0n0us, on 16 May 2012 - 05:12 AM, said:

I would like to see a companion that's different.

- How about an older companion that knows martial arts....that's different.

- Or a companion that has their own agenda

- a companion from a different time

- a companion that's actually smarted than the Doctor.

These just came to me, so what are the writing staff doing......"Let's get another hot chick and make her even more mouthy than Amy"

I don't normally slam idea's before I see them but I'm not excited for this new girl.

"Uh.... a companion with like, bigger thingies."

"Yeah, heh, heh, heh....."



Just kidding, of course.
But yes, something new would be nice. I like the companions from different times; kind of a throwback to the earlier DW days when you had Zoe (space station girl), Steve (astronaut guy) and Jamie (the 18th century highlander). Those were fun. Made the whole prospect of time seem more like a varied landscape of possibilites rather than just 'here' and everywhere else. Perhaps the only reason they tend to stick to current-era companions is to give the audience a surrogate in the adventure, which I can understand I suppose....

Quote

Though Billy Piper is not that good an actress, so she should have been shouted down

I don't know; Mrs T still gets pretty worked up watching "Father's Day" or "Doomsday"....

[I Voted Baltar]

obsolete toaster, on 16 May 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

I don't know; Mrs T still gets pretty worked up watching "Father's Day" or "Doomsday"....

That's down to the writing though, not the acting It was really obvious when Rose came aboard for the big reunion to meet Davros and suddeny she was overshadowed by everyone else.