# New Doctor to be announced on Sunday



## Morrus (Jul 14, 2017)

On BBC1 after Wimbledon finishes. They’re unveiling the new Doctor.

I really thought they’d gotten away with it this time, filmed the regeneration with noisy knowing, and we’d find out at Christmas. I’m disappointed.


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## Tonguez (Jul 14, 2017)

Oh, I was hoping that the Christmas Special was going to be some huge spectacular reveal that none of us expected that would completely blow our minds.

then again, maybe they will announce that David Bradley is set to play the next Doctor...


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## Morrus (Jul 14, 2017)

Nah. It’s set between the last 10 minutes of the Tenth Planet when Hartnell left the Antarctic base and walked alone to the TARDIS to regenerate. 


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## Dannyalcatraz (Jul 15, 2017)

Richard Coyle?  Philip Glenister?  Jimmy Carr?  Billy Connolly?

_Who _ knows...


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## Morrus (Jul 15, 2017)

It’s me!


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## Ryujin (Jul 16, 2017)

Well they did clear the way for Michelle Gomez....


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## Dioltach (Jul 16, 2017)

The timing would seem to idicate that it's going to be the winner of the Wimbledon men's final.


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## Morrus (Jul 16, 2017)

Dioltach said:


> The timing would seem to idicate that it's going to be the winner of the Wimbledon men's final.




That would be a twist!


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## Erekose (Jul 16, 2017)

And it's the super annoying (IMHO) actor from Broadchurch Jodie Whittaker. Here was I hoping it'd be Olivia Colman ...


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## Morrus (Jul 16, 2017)

I was holding out for Michelle Gomez, but I can’t wait to see what Jodie Whittaker does with the role. 


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## RC Hagy (Jul 16, 2017)

Still not a ginger though.


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## SunGold (Jul 16, 2017)

Well, that's a surprise (to me, anyway). If I'd expected any woman from _Broadchurch,_ it would've been Colman.

Got no qualms with this choice though.


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## Tonguez (Jul 16, 2017)

RC Hagy said:


> Still not a ginger though.




It will never be a ginger! we don't want any Doctor race-bending too!!!!


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## trappedslider (Jul 16, 2017)

I'll give it a shot,but it's going to come down to the writing for me.


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## Morrus (Jul 16, 2017)

trappedslider said:


> I'll give it a shot,but it's going to come down to the writing for me.




Obviously.


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## Eltab (Jul 16, 2017)

If they've got a good story to tell, this Doctor can be interesting.*
If they've just done this "because nobody's done it before!" ... then WHY are YOU doing it?  What are you really bringing to the table?

There are so many dangling plot threads from the last few Doctors that they could tug on and see what develops; I hope they work on that a bit.
Ex: where is Gallifrey, what has been going on there, and can it return to "normal space-time" without immediately drawing that battle fleet back to it?

* I said the same thing about Capaldi-as-The-Doctor too, and was disappointed with the material and writing he had to struggle under.


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## Morrus (Jul 16, 2017)

Eltab said:


> Ex: where is Gallifrey, what has been going on there, and can it return to "normal space-time" without immediately drawing that battle fleet back to it?




Gallifrey came back a year or so ago.


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## Hand of Evil (Jul 16, 2017)

Lost interest after Matt Smith, think most of it was the freaking scheduling, long breaks, a whole year without a season.  Could not keep me following it.


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## Morrus (Jul 16, 2017)

Hand of Evil said:


> Lost interest after Matt Smith, think most of it was the freaking scheduling, long breaks, a whole year without a season.  Could not keep me following it.




Fascinating.


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## Ryujin (Jul 16, 2017)

Hand of Evil said:


> Lost interest after Matt Smith, think most of it was the freaking scheduling, long breaks, a whole year without a season.  Could not keep me following it.




You'd have never survived the 15 year hiatus that the rest of us had to endure.


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## Hand of Evil (Jul 17, 2017)

Morrus said:


> Fascinating.



If they continue with the erratic scheduling I don't think the show will make it and that this MAY just be a gimmick to counter issues with the production these last few years.


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## Morrus (Jul 17, 2017)

Hand of Evil said:


> If they continue with the erratic scheduling I don't think the show will make it and that this MAY just be a gimmick to counter issues with the production these last few years.




It's pretty typical British scheduling. Don't worry about it. It's managed 50 years.


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## Hand of Evil (Jul 17, 2017)

Ryujin said:


> You'd have never survived the 15 year hiatus that the rest of us had to endure.



(old fart rant)  Oh, you would be surprised.  Grew up where Dr. Who was on PBS, would skip season and Doctors, would be dropped for years at a time.  Survived them, it is not like it is Game of Thrones.   (end old fart rant)


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## Ryujin (Jul 17, 2017)

Hand of Evil said:


> (old fart rant)  Oh, you would be surprised.  Grew up where Dr. Who was on PBS, would skip season and Doctors, would be dropped for years at a time.  Survived them, it is not like it is Game of Thrones.   (end old fart rant)




Then a year should be a walk in the park 

I had the benefit of picking it up with the Third Doctor (Pertwee) in the mid-'70s, through a combination of OECA (Ontario Educational Communications Authority) and WNED (PBS Channel 17) out of New York State. It carried on virtually uninterrupted until the end of the original run.


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## Obryn (Jul 17, 2017)

Morrus said:


> It's pretty typical British scheduling. Don't worry about it. It's managed 50 years.



Yeah, but we here in 'Murica are used to regular scheduling on our teevee. 

We cut our cable a few years back, so now I need to hunt around and catch up on the past few seasons. I couldn't keep track of the scheduling, either, with the spotty releases and various hiatuses.

I loved Whitaker in Broadchurch. I, too, wish it had been Colman - my wife wishes this even moreso than me - but I can totally get behind her and give the new showrunner a shot, too.  (FYI - Ars Technica is saying, unsourced, that Colman was offered the job first, but declined. There's no corroboration for this, so I'd take that with a grain of salt.)


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## Morrus (Jul 17, 2017)

Obryn said:


> Yeah, but we here in 'Murica are used to regular scheduling on our teevee.




And yet, even so, it's managed 50 years. I'm pretty sure the BBC is mainly concerned about domestic viewing figures, not international (though the latter are nice icing on the cake).


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## Flexor the Mighty! (Jul 17, 2017)

Not familiar with the actress but I figured they were going to make the Doc a woman coming up.  I'll check out the debut episode and give it a shot. This season just fell apart for me.  I love Peter Capaldi's Doctor up until this season but the writing and focus on Bill did little for me.  Moffat  was great with his 1-2 gems a year duign the RTD era but as showrunner he was a letdown overall.  I haven't watched the last 4 episodes yet but I'm sure I'll get around if only for the Cybermen episodes.  I think like all of the revived show episodes it was very hit or miss for me  as I just don't care to have a focus around the companion and their family/love life.  For me they are just there to give the Doctor someone to explain stuff too. 

As much of a Who nut I've been over the past 30 years Its looking like I'll just get my fix from Big Finish. I find their writing and stories more along my lines, along with a lot of really nutty ideas that won't work on a screen.


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## Egg Embry (Jul 18, 2017)

I'm GOOD with the casting! It sparked a thought - What opportunities does Jodie Whittaker's casting offer for the creative side of Cubicle 7's Doctor Who: RPG? I blogged about my thoughts - the potential to bring in some female creators for the 13th Doctor's sourcebook - but I wonder what other opportunities her tenure will offer?   

Thanks 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer
*EN World Gaming at the Kids’ Table review of Little Wizards*


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## Mallus (Jul 18, 2017)

Yet another reason to finally get around to watching Broadchurch...

I admit, I'm a little sad it wasn't Tilda Swinton -- even if it was only for a single episode -- but other than that I say bring on the new Doctor and the post-Moffat era!

(and I say that as someone who still *likes* Moffat a great deal)


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## Morrus (Jul 18, 2017)

Mallus said:


> I admit, I'm a little sad it wasn't Tilda Swinton -- even if it was only for a single episode




It was never going to be a major movie star! She’s not gonna slum it in Cardiff for 9 months on BBC pay.


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## Aedistopholes (Jul 18, 2017)

I'm excited to see what they do with a female Doctor, I just hope they don't slog it down with tense relationships like Tennant and Rose/Martha. I also hope that the writers aren't a bunch of guys because I don't think that men can properly write a female character without some contribution from an actual woman. Just my opinion on that matter. Looking forward to a new adventure.


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## Morrus (Jul 18, 2017)

Aedistopholes said:


> I'm excited to see what they do with a female Doctor, I just hope they don't slog it down with tense relationships like Tennant and Rose/Martha. I also hope that the writers aren't a bunch of guys because I don't think that men can properly write a female character without some contribution from an actual woman. Just my opinion on that matter. Looking forward to a new adventure.




Doctor Who writers are mixed, and on a per-episode basis. The new showrunner is Chris Chibnall who made all three series of Broadchurch. Good writers of either gender can write characters of the opposite gender.


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## billd91 (Jul 18, 2017)

Morrus said:


> It was never going to be a major movie star! She’s not gonna slum it in Cardiff for 9 months on BBC pay.




Notable movie stars have drifted into TV before. Branagh did 4 series of Wallander. So it's definitely not an unheard of thing.


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## Morrus (Jul 18, 2017)

billd91 said:


> Notable movie stars have drifted into TV before. Branagh did 4 series of Wallander. So it's definitely not an unheard of thing.




Sure. And Luther, and Sherlock, etc. 

The difference? They’re super short 3-ep things which don’t take an entire year in Cardiff to film. 

Ask Branagh to move to Cardiff for BBC wages for 3 years, and see how fast he can run.

We’re not talking Hollywood money here. US TV shows can attract movie stars. The BBC can’t.


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## trappedslider (Jul 18, 2017)

Is her natural hair color red? if so a shame they aren't going with that...because then the doctor would have finally be ginger.  One change at a time I guess lol...


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## Morrus (Jul 19, 2017)

billd91 said:


> Notable movie stars have drifted into TV before. Branagh did 4 series of Wallander. So it's definitely not an unheard of thing.




In fact, following up on that, as it's BBC Salary Reveal Day!

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2017/07/peter-capaldis-salary-revealed.html

Capaldi got paid under £250K for the entire season. A similar US show would pay that per episode.


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## Janx (Jul 19, 2017)

Morrus said:


> In fact, following up on that, as it's BBC Salary Reveal Day!
> 
> http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2017/07/peter-capaldis-salary-revealed.html
> 
> Capaldi got paid under £250K for the entire season. A similar US show would pay that per episode.




So Capaldi's not getting rich off Dr. WHo?


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## Morrus (Jul 19, 2017)

Janx said:


> So Capaldi's not getting rich off Dr. WHo?




Well, it's all relative. If I was earning a quarter million quid a year, I'd consider myself rich!


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## RC Hagy (Jul 19, 2017)

trappedslider said:


> Is her natural hair color red? if so a shame they aren't going with that...because then the doctor would have finally be ginger.  One change at a time I guess lol...




Heh, two for ginger!


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## Tonguez (Jul 19, 2017)

Janx said:


> So Capaldi's not getting rich off Dr. WHo?




well  it just goes to show just how bloated and ridiculous the US industry is. iirc 250k is about the average BBC salary for a top rated show, although apparently the star of Casualty earns almost 400K.

Chris Evans who recently hosted Top Gear earns 2mil

easy to see why all those British actors want to work in the US...


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## billd91 (Jul 19, 2017)

Tonguez said:


> well  it just goes to show just how bloated and ridiculous the US industry is. iirc 250k is about the average BBC salary for a top rated show, although apparently the star of Casualty earns almost 400K.
> 
> Chris Evans who recently hosted Top Gear earns 2mil
> 
> easy to see why all those British actors want to work in the US...




Eh, it's a just bigger market, lots more advertising dollars. If the actors on successful prime time shows aren't making the big bucks, the networks and producers are, so I don't begrudge actors demanding more money when contract talks come around.


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## Janx (Jul 19, 2017)

Morrus said:


> Well, it's all relative. If I was earning a quarter million quid a year, I'd consider myself rich!




Good point.  on second thought $250 thousand/year is also very good money (I know quid isn't dollars, but for rough comparison).  

I hadn't counted the trailing zeroes. 

How much work do ex-Doctors get afterwards?  Could be that money has to fill in the gaps.  Though I imagine that playing the Doctor is really a lifetime position.  These people will be signing autographs and inspiring youth for the rest of their lives.


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## Hussar (Jul 20, 2017)

To put the money in perspective, the Netflix Marvel shows clock in at an estimated three million dollars per episode

Now, I don't know what David Tennant made as Kilgrave, but, with that kind of budget, I'm going to take a guess that it was probably more than 250k per year.


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## Jester David (Jul 20, 2017)

Bit of a surprise. Didn't think the BBC would pull the trigger on a woman Doctor. A nice, pleasant surprise.


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## Janx (Jul 20, 2017)

Jester David said:


> Bit of a surprise. Didn't think the BBC would pull the trigger on a woman Doctor. A nice, pleasant surprise.




I dunno, it was kind of obvious when Missy showed up.  They were hinting at changing things up.


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## Morrus (Jul 20, 2017)

Janx said:


> I dunno, it was kind of obvious when Missy showed up.  They were hinting at changing things up.




The Master: Is the future all girl?

The Doctor: One can only hope so. 

Plus Moffat seeded three Time Lord gender changes before The Doctor did it: The Corsair, The General, and The Master.


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## Jester David (Jul 20, 2017)

Janx said:


> I dunno, it was kind of obvious when Missy showed up.  They were hinting at changing things up.




As Morrus says, there were two other on camera gender flips prior, and a reference to one made during the 11th Doctor's time.
But those were done by the previous showrunner who was uninvolved with the hiring of the latest Doctor. 

While the groundwork had been laid, I still didn't think the BBC would let them cast a female Doctor, for a show that really needs a rating boost. Feels like they'd want to play it safe.


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## Morrus (Jul 21, 2017)

billd91 said:


> Eh, it's a just bigger market, lots more advertising dollars. If the actors on successful prime time shows aren't making the big bucks, the networks and producers are, so I don't begrudge actors demanding more money when contract talks come around.




Well, the BBC has zero advertising dollars. It’s not funded that way. And it does a lot more than most other broadcasters, so that funding is stretched very thin. Other UK channels, such as ITV or Sky, pay far more, but obviously not nearly the amount that US TV pays (some of the most successful shows over here pay its actors up to a million per episode!)


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## wicked cool (Jul 24, 2017)

If this doesn't work could we get a 14th Dr within a year. 

 I'm not sure how many new fans this will actually generate. I believe episode 1 and maybe 2 will get a huge boost for the curiosity factor but if you get any people who leave because of the change then financially will the studio panic? 
I'm on the record right now saying that this wont go well. Why

My guess is "new" audience will tune in to see this (probably mostly women) based on the wow factor/history. This will fizzle if stories are slow, special effects are not improved etc. I've stuck to Who for my love of the nostalgia and the universe.  I felt Matt Smith gave the franchise the best possible audience as he was young/charming/charismatic and came off happy (a younger Troughton). Really not seeing Whitaker as this. If you lose any die hards due to a less serious tone such as Sarah Jane adventures or she comes off too harshly then its even possible the 13th could be unlucky


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## Morrus (Jul 24, 2017)

wicked cool said:


> If this doesn't work could we get a 14th Dr within a year.
> 
> I'm not sure how many new fans this will actually generate. I believe episode 1 and maybe 2 will get a huge boost for the curiosity factor but if you get any people who leave because of the change then financially will the studio panic?
> I'm on the record right now saying that this wont go well. Why
> ...




I predict the show will pick up a lot of young girls and secure a few more decades of fans. I also think the crusty male die-hards who can't handle it are no real loss. The show needs to look ahead to new, young fans, not rely on 50+ year olds not to die of old age too soon.

Like D&D, really.

Financially, the BBC doesn't work like that. It won't panic, don't worry. It's not a commercial organisation, and has a charter to do things which commercial studios often can't.


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## Jester David (Jul 24, 2017)

Morrus said:


> I predict the show will pick up a lot of young girls and secure a few more decades of fans. I also think the crusty male die-hards who can't handle it are no real loss. The show needs to look ahead to new, young fans, not rely on 50+ year olds not to die of old age too soon.
> 
> Like D&D, really.
> 
> Financially, the BBC doesn't work like that. It won't panic, don't worry. It's not a commercial organisation, and has a charter to do things which commercial studios often can't.



I was aware of spikes of 12yo girl viewers during the Tennant and Smith years. Less during Capaldi. This might continue that, possibly even getting younger viewers.


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## Wednesday Boy (Jul 25, 2017)

I'm not a fan of Doctor Who but it seems like a jumping on point to give it another try.


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