Two days. Two days until the Twelfth Doctor is revealed to us. As other Whovians have been doing, I too, have been speculating over who could possibly take on such an iconic role. So I decided that I would post it on my blog, to give you an insight on who I think should take on the role, as well as my thoughts about the live broadcast and other topics that surround the mystery of the Twelfth Doctor.
First things first, let's take a look at when the theories began to go topsy turvey. Before, we were just perfectly innocent Whovains, enjoying another excellent series of Doctor Who, with no idea Matt was leaving so therefore little speculation on who the next Doctor will be. On 18th May 2013, as the series 7 finale "The Name of the Doctor" drew in ever so closer, fans went crazy whilst constantly speculating over three things: what the Doctor's greatest secret could be, whether his name would be revealed and the answer behind the mystery of the impossible girl. The latter, was the first to be answered; Clara turned out to be echos scattered across the Doctor's timeline, and then later John Hurt was revealed as the Doctor, but was somehow his greatest secret and somehow not the Doctor? "I said he was me, I didn't say he was the Doctor".So it seemed it would be another 50 years until we find out his name. Fans were then left with one of the greatest cliffhangers in Who history. Whovains all over have debated about what Doctor he could be; to this date, his most popular titles are "The Forgotten Doctor", "The Twelfth Doctor" or "The Eight and a half Doctor". In June, after fans speculated plenty on who Hurts Doctor could be , the sad news was released that the wonderful Matt Smith, who took on the role as the Eleventh Doctor for four years, will end his run as the iconic hero on December 25th 2013. Merry Christmas from the BBC. The speculation on who the Twelfth Doctor could be went well over-proportion, leading up to the live broadcast this Sunday.
Before the new Doctor is even revealed to the public, there are a lot of questions about what the new Doctor will be like. What clothes will they where? What changes in personality does the new Doctor have? Will they be tall, short, fat, skinny? Will they have brown hair, blonde hair, or for the sake of The Doctor's sanity, will the last of the timelords finally become... ginger? The list goes on and though these may seem like trivial questions to some people, they are very important questions to us die hard Whovians. Though the greatest question, for this Doctor especially, is whether the Doctor will be male or female? Very early into series 7, there were speculations that after 50 years, the Doctor will become a woman. Many interviews later, it started to sink into fans that Moffat didn't seem fixed on it, but he was open to having the Doctor change his gender. In just two days we will find out, whether this evil genius has decided to play it safe and keep the tradition of the Doctor being male, or if he has taken one of the biggest risks and made one of the biggest changes in Doctor Who history? Then once the secret is out in the open, we will enjoy interviews from some of the beloved actors who have played the timelord, as well as companions, celebrity fans of the show and of course Matt, Jenna and Moffat. Hopefully with some hints about Matt's last two episodes and the Twelfths Doctor's future.
Now we have reached the point where I inform you of my on personal opinion on what path Steven Moffat should have taken when choosing the next incarnation of the Doctor.If I am perfectly honest, I couldn't care less if the Doctor becomes a man or a woman. We live in a day and age where woman are considered as equals to men, more than they ever have before. So why shouldn't a woman take on such an iconic role? Not that women aren't considered equals in Doctor Who, as there are a wide range of important female characters. As long as the person that takes on the role is an excellent actor/actress and that they are well written, that's all that should matter. Well because Moffat is the one in charge of the next Doctor, I think think we can tick off the latter. If he does decide to make such a big change to the Doctor, it is a very big risk as a lot of fans are not supporting the notion of a woman Doctor. To assure that fans continue to love the show as they have previously, if not more, the actress must already have an acting ability up with the standards of David Tenant and Steven should be very careful how he writes her. The reason that I think they should be very cautious, is because this would be the first time they have done this. In the past the showrunners could be more relaxed about it because they already had a system that worked. This system has went on through 50 years, so Wovains have gotten too attached to the notion that the Doctor is a man. So if they do choose to make him a woman and she is a success, then they can be a bit more relaxed when choosing the next female Doctor. Though if they decide to keep him male, I think it would be a good idea to make him black, or even Asian if they found a good actor. So that we may prove to some of those idiotic critics that the show isn't racist.
Many actors and actresses have been rumored to have been offered the role, many of which, I myself was not pleased with. Though there were those few actors that I couldn't resist thinking "what if they were the Doctor"? One of my favorites, was Benedict Cumberbatch; sadly, there is a zero chance that he would want to play the Doctor. After thinking about it for a while, I don't think it would be right anywayy. One actor for two VERY popular shows? Also, seeing as Doctor Who has more episodes and is a bigger show altogether, that would be both Benedict and Moffats main priority. Since Sherlock fans have been waiting for about two years just for a third series of the show (which I understand is in the middle of being filmed) they might have to wait even longer for a fourth series.
Another one which did interest me but wasn't at the top of my favorite list, was Daniel Radcliffe. Starring in the film series that become a world wide phenomenon, as the young wizard Harry Potter for 10 years, probably from the fifth film on wards, I began to notice how talented he was as an actor and how much potential he had. My greatest worry for Daniel, as I'm sure others have felt for him as well as towards Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, is that they might be typecast. For anyone who doesn't know what typecast means, it is when an actor/actress, is assigned to the same type of role. Which makes it difficult for them to get a role in different types of genres, so they don't like to stick to one role for too long. As has been part of the reason for Matt and David's departure of Doctor Who. Daniel, Emma and Rupert are prime examples of this, not to say they haven't had any different roles after Harry Potter, but not a lot to my knowledge. So a big show like Doctor Who, could really help Daniel as an actor.
At the top of my favorite actresses to play the Doctor list (if they have made such a decision) would be Lara Pulver. Despite the fact that I have only seen her in the first episode of Sherlock series 2, "A Scandal in Belgravia", I was stunned and amazed by her performance. Not only was the story magnificently written by Mr Moffat himself, but Lara give a wonderful performance, full of cleverness,, humor and just ticked all the boxes for a strong willed female character. I know that she would be hilarious in Doctor Who, but I also believe she would be excellent at sad moments as well.
If we were to keep the kind of tradition, and the Doctor remains to be male, I think now is the time that he should become black. As I have said before, so we can prove to the critics that show isn't racist (which doesn't really need proving anyway), but there is a black male actor who I would love to play the Doctor and that is Idris Elba. Even though I have only seen series three of the show and not the previous two, the way he portrays the main character Luther in the BBC crime drama "Luther", is absolutely amazing. The type of character itself, I find really interesting; the rough hero who always have the "good cop, bad cop" question weighing on his shoulders. He is very talented and according to some rumors, the Twelfth Doctor is meant to be a very dark Doctor, so I think Idris would be fantastic in that kind of role as he has already proved in Luther.
Finally, if the Twelth Doctor was to continue as a white male. At the top of my list of white male actors, is an actor who as of this week, joined the top of the list for rumored actors to play the Doctor. Peter Capaldi is a brilliant actor, and has shown this talent of his in examples such as the enticing "Torchwood: Children of Earth" as well as in Doctor Who, series four, episode two "Fires of Pompeii". Peter would do well at an angry Doctor and I would be very interested at what kind of Doctor he would be.
There you have it, that's my opinion on everything connected to the Twelfth Doctor. I hope you have been enlightened by this post and maybe it has helped you form your own opinion on who should play the Doctor. Thanks for reading. I anxiously wait for the truth to be revealed and hope that it will be at least a nice surprise.
Geronimo!
Stephen .
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