RECAP: Season 1 (2024)

1. DOCTOR: Ha-ha! Space babies!...Hello, space babies.
2. TIMOTHY: There is one thing you might like. It's called The Devil's Chord.
3. DOCTOR: Impact activates the sensors. Now it's confirming if there's a live target on it. One wrong move and, boom! I go all food mixer.
4. RUBY: No, I can't see her, but I know she's there. 73 yards. I have measured it 100 times. I've measured it a thousand times. It's 73 yards.
5. LINDY: Dot. And Bubble.
6. DOCTOR: Does not a lord have a name? ROGUE: Rogue.
7. CARLA: Here it is, safe and sound. That's your story, darling. The legend of Ruby Sunday.
8. SUTEKH: It will stand as my altar, the temple of my Empire of Death.

Doctor Who Equilibrium

Tonight, I hit Doctor Who equilibrium.

I started watching new Doctor Who on December 16, 2012. By that time, 93 episodes (Rose-The Angels Take Manhattan) had already aired since the show returned in March 2005. The Snowmen was the first episode to premiere after I started watching the show, and tonight, The Legend of Ruby Sunday was the 93rd episode to debut after December 16, 2012.

By December 25, 2012, the day The Snowmen was broadcast, I was only up to Rise of the Cybermen, so I didn't get around to watching The Snowmen until March 22, 2013. Maybe my equilibrium should be next week, counting the 94 episodes (Rose-The Snowmen) that I watched during my introductory binge and the 94 episodes since then (The Bells of Saint John-Empire of Death), and I would consider it had I started watching the new episodes after that as they aired. But I didn't have regular access to BBC America until Season 11 in 2018, so I was frequently having to wait for episodes to be released on DVD or added to a streaming service before I was able to watch them. I will just use December 16, 2012 instead of March 22, 2013 as my starting point.

The Doctor's Recording for Martha - Extended

I expanded The Doctor's recording for Martha in Human Nature by integrating two deleted scenes.

The Pros and Cons of Russell T Davies Returning to Doctor Who

 

Photo credit: doctorwho.tv

In shocking news today, the BBC announced that Russell T Davies, the showrunner of Doctor Who from 2004-2009, is returning to be the showrunner again, after the departure of current showrunner Chris Chibnall in 2022. The news was met with strong enthusiasm by Whovians. However, to be honest, I'm not as excited as nearly everybody else is. There are a lot of pros to RTD returning, but there are some cons as well.

Pros:

I think RTD is the best showrunner of the current Doctor Who series. "The Stolen End"/"Journey's End" are my absolute favorite episodes and I've watched them more than any other episodes. Steven Moffat was really good at writing episodes and is the best Doctor Who writer of the modern era, but overall his time as showrunner was not as good as Davies'. Chris Chibnall's era is a lot closer to RTD's, which is why I really like it.

After Jodie and Chibnall announced they were leaving the show in 2022, I had a bad feeling that there would be no 60th anniversary special in 2023, because it would have been on the new showrunner to start out their tenure with it. But with RTD already having five years of experience with the show, it wouldn't be too much for him to do an anniversary special right off the bat.

Interestingly, RTD has possibly given hints towards the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors. In his novelization for the series premiere "Rose", RTD expanded on the scene where Clive explained the Doctor to Rose. Clive showed her more than just photos of the Ninth Doctor. After not paying attention to the Tenth Doctor, she sees the Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Doctors, and then incarnations described as "...a tall, bald black woman..." and "...a young girl or boy in a high-tech wheelchair with what looked like a robot dog at their side...". While the novelization probably isn't "canon" and RTD shouldn't have to be held to what he wrote, it is fascinating that he provided possible descriptions of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors and now he will be in charge of bringing at least one of them to the big screen.

Cons:

While binging all of the Doctor Who Christmas Specials in December 2020, I realized that I liked RTD's specials less than I liked Moffat's specials. So while it's a pro that he's familiar enough with the show that he could handle the 60th anniversary special for one of his first, if not his first, episode back, I don't think he's that great at creating Doctor Who specials.

The biggest con, though, is that RTD coming back feels like surrendering to the angry vocal minority. Like how after the angry vocal minority hated what Rian Johnson did with "Star Wars: The Last Jedi", Disney and Lucasfilm brought back "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" co-writer and director J.J. Abrams to co-write and direct Episode IX, the BBC bringing back RTD to showrun Doctor Who feels like appeasing the angry vocal minority who hate Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker.

I wrote earlier that I think Chibnall is closer to RTD's time as showrunner, but he still brought his unique contributions to the show. He was the first showrunner in the show's history to cast an actress as the Doctor. Jodie Whittaker is tied as my favorite Doctor with David Tennant and I love what she brings to the character of The Doctor. I really feel that The Doctor should still be a woman for at least a couple more incarnations. But even though RTD hinted that the Fourteenth Doctor could be a black woman, rumors from a couple months ago suggested that he might be considering casting an actor from his previous TV series to be the next Doctor. Also, Chibnall completely shook up the show's established history with the Timeless Child twist. While I currently don't think it actually works, I'd like the show to stick with it, at least for a time. It shouldn't immediately be retconned by Chibnall's successor. The next few seasons of Doctor Who shouldn't feel like "course-correcting" after a few controversial changes, like how "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" felt like it was trying to undo the brilliant storytelling of "The Last Jedi".

Like with every time I express a negative dissenting opinion, I hope I am pleasantly proven wrong. I really hope the next few seasons of Doctor Who are the best yet.

Doctor Who is Ruth Clayton?

The latest episode of "Doctor Who" has potentially altered the 56 year history of the show. The episode not only revealed that Ruth Clayton was the titular "Fugitive of the Judoon", but also that she was actually a previously unknown incarnation of The Doctor. Where does Doctor Ruth fit in, and does her reveal retcon established Doctor Who canon?


A Time Lord's regeneration cycle includes twelve regenerations. For The Doctor, their first regeneration cycle included eleven incarnations who called themselves The Doctor, The War Doctor, and the Tenth Doctor's wasted regeneration that he used to heal himself after being shot by a Dalek, and then funneling the rest of the energy into his amputated hand that then grew into a human clone after coming into contact with Donna Noble's DNA. The Eleventh Doctor was then granted a new regeneration cycle, and the current Thirteenth Doctor is the second regeneration into this new cycle of twelve. So if the first regeneration cycle is completely accounted for, where does Doctor Ruth fit?

Before The First Doctor?
It is possible that The Doctor had an entire regeneration cycle before the First Doctor. This possibility was hinted at in the 1976 story arc "The Brain of Morbius", which showed a possible eight incarnations before who we know as the First Doctor. Doctor Ruth could be from this previous cycle.

Why this doesn't work:
Doctor Ruth has a TARDIS that is in the form of the blue police box. The Doctor never had that TARDIS until the First Doctor and his granddaughter Susan stole it and landed on Earth in 1963. Also, did potential previous incarnations refer to themselves as The Doctor? If so, why is the the First Doctor considered the First Doctor? Was his memory altered between regeneration cycles?

Between The Second and Third Doctors?
A case could be made that the Second Doctor never regenerated. The Second Doctor changing was never seen onscreen. Also, his change was forced by the Time Lords as a punishment, instead of to save his life. So there could theoretically be an incarnation of The Doctor between Two and Three that doesn't break canon.

Why this doesn't work:
The Second Doctor's regeneration wasn't the only part of his punishment. He was also stranded on Earth without his TARDIS, which is where the Third Doctor is at the beginning of his adventures. Why would the Time Lords allow Doctor Ruth to have a TARDIS while she is supposed to be punished?

The Fourteenth Doctor?
In 2018, a novelization of the first modern episode, "Rose", written by Russell T Davies, was published. Davies was able to expand on what was shown in the episode that aired. In the scene where Rose meets Clive to learn more about The Doctor, she is shown photographs of fifteen incarnations of The Doctor. The incarnation shown after the photo of the Thirteenth Doctor (presumably the Fourteenth Doctor) is described as "a tall, bald black woman wielding a flaming sword".

Why this doesn't work:
Russell T Davies is no longer the showrunner, so he has no input in who will be cast as The Doctor. Just because he wrote in a novelization of one of his episodes that the Fourteenth Doctor will be a black woman doesn't mean that one will be cast in the role. It is possible that Chris Chibnall read the book and considers casting a black actress, but he's not obligated to.

Doctor Ruth could be a future incarnation of The Doctor, but we know that she was disguised as a human and lived in Gloucester for 20 years. How would that work onscreen? One season before her Ruth Clayton persona, and then two seasons after she got her identity back (for one example)?

The Doctor From An Alternate Reality?
At the beginning of this season when O revealed himself to be The Master, fans hoped that he was potentially from a different reality, so that Missy's character arc wasn't for nothing. Fans are now thinking that Doctor Ruth could also be from another reality. Doctor Ruth believes that Gallifrey still exists, while Master O knew Gallifrey was in a pocket dimension, so if they are from alternate realities, they would be from different realities.

Why this doesn't work:
Chris Chibnall already debunked this theory. "'The important thing to say is – she is definitively the Doctor,' he explained. 'There's not a sort of parallel universe going on, there's no tricks.'"


Hopefully the mystery of Doctor Ruth has a logical explanation when the answer is revealed. The only thing I know about the character is this: If you rearrange the letter of RUTH CLAYTON, you get the phrase "UNHOLY TRACTS", which is obviously a reference to how she stood outside a cathedral and handed out flyers promoting her business instead of pamphlets with a Christian message. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

REVIEW: The Complete David Tennant Collection Blu-rays

Oh how my opinions have changed. Four years and four days ago, I wrote:

I have been a casual fan of “Doctor Who” since I started watching the modern series in December 2012. But I am not so big of a fan that I want to own the series on DVD. Whenever I want to re-watch the show I will either stream episodes from Netflix or Amazon, or check out the DVDs from the public library...

This is what my Doctor Who DVD collection looks like now:

The only thing missing from the photo is "The Complete David Tennant Collection" Blu-ray set, which was released today. This is not going to be a technical review (where I review how the picture looks on Blu-ray vs. on DVD, considering how most of the episodes were shot in SD and up-converted to HD for the Blu-ray (except for the 2009 specials), the packaging, etc.) All of that can be found on other websites.

Unlike last year's basic DVD sets which only feature the episodes, these Blu-ray contain all of the special features from previous DVD and Blu-ray releases. This set also contains a disc which features the animated specials, "The Infinite Quest" and "Dreamland", "The Sarah Jane Adventures" episodes "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith" episodes one and two, and a special interview with David Tennant that was conducted for the recent Fathom Events theatrical broadcast of "The End of Time" Parts 1 & 2.

Some completists will complain that it's not the complete David Tennant collection because he had a small role in the non-canon animated special "Scream of the Shalka", and "The Day of the Doctor" 50th anniversary special is also not included. I'm a completist, but I don't care about "Shalka" and I have "Day" on Blu-ray already (and it fits better with a Complete Matt Smith Collection).

The only thing I'm upset about is that, even though my favorite episodes of "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" are by themselves on a disc, the disc doesn't also include the episodes edited together into a feature-length movie as featured on "The Doctors Revisited 9-11" DVD set. Also, it doesn't include "The Tenth Doctor Revisited" episode either, for that matter. It would be nice to have those on Blu-ray as well, but I'll make due with watching those on DVD.

I watched "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith" episodes. When I originally watched the series three or four years ago, it was on DVD and an analog TV. This time it was on Blu-ray and a 4K UHD TV. The video was crisp and clear. I hope "The Sarah Jane Adventures" gets released on Blu-ray.

Right now I am working through watching The Peter Capaldi Collection DVD set, but once I am done with it I will watch The Complete David Tennant Collection Blu-rays. I will add more thoughts once I do.

Jodie Whittaker is the Thirteenth Doctor

After months of speculation, the Thirteenth Doctor has been cast and the role will be played by Jodie Whittaker ("Broadchurch", "Attack the Block")!!!


I have been open to the idea of a female Doctor, hoping that actresses like Hayley Atwell or Rebecca Mader would get the role. I am happy with the casting of Jodie, because she is 'fantastic' on Broadchurch.

Critics of the casting of a female Doctor will cite "political correctness" or the recent Hollywood trend of gender-bending male roles (e.g. "Ghostbusters" (2016) or "Ocean's Eight"). But the idea of an actress taking the role of the Doctor has been considered since the '70s. I think now is the perfect time for a female take on The Doctor, with the recent trend of female-led sci-fi ("Star Wars: The Force Awakens", "Rogue One", "Wonder Woman", etc.)

There is one problem I have with a woman being The Doctor - I feel weird being attracted to the Doctor.

Who Should Play The Doctor?

BREAKING NEWS!
“It (the new series of Doctor Who) will be my last… I feel it’s time to move on.”
- Peter Capaldi
#DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/4gx9rTShPZ

— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) January 30, 2017

Peter Capaldi is entering his fourth year as The Doctor and has announced it will be his last one. It's time once again to start speculating which actor (or actress) could play the next incarnation of the Time Lord. Here are my picks:

Ioan Gruffudd

Ioan Gruffudd ("Fantastic Four", "Forever") is my first pick. He's from Cardiff, Wales, where "Doctor Who" is produced. Plus, he has experience playing an immortal doctor.

Hayley Atwell

Hayley Atwell ("Captain America: The First Avenger", "Agent Carter") is my and many fans' choice to play the first female incarnation of The Doctor. Plus, she's already stated "I'd like to BE Doctor Who"^[1] (but who doesn't?).

Rebecca Mader

Rebecca Mader ("LOST", "Once Upon A Time") usually plays villains, but I would like to see her play The Doctor.

David Harewood

David Harewood ("Doctor Who: The End of Time", "Supergirl") has previously played a villain on "Doctor Who", but he is currently playing an alien that is the last of his species.

David Tennant

David Tennant ("Doctor Who", "Broadchurch") has already played The Doctor once, but in "The Day of the Doctor" the Curator hinted that The Doctor might revisit a few of his old faces in the future. With "Broadchurch" creator Chris Chibnall taking over as "Doctor Who" showrunner, it is possible that Tennant could be cast in the role again. Since the 10th Doctor is my favorite, I hope to see him in the role once more!!!

Bruce Campbell

Bruce Campbell ("Burn Notice", "Ash vs. the Evil Dead") posted on his Facebook page last April Fool's Day that he was going to be the first American to play The Doctor.

“Harry Potter” Movie Actors Who Appeared On “Doctor Who”

Updated March 2, 2023 and March 6, 2024.

Zoë Wanamaker

Cassandra, the last human (1.02 The End of the World, 2.01 New Earth)

Madame Hooch (...Sorcerer’s Stone)

David Tennant

The Doctor (1.13 The Parting of the Ways-The End of Time, Part 2; The Day of The Doctor; The Power of The Doctor-The Giggle)

Barty Crouch, Jr. (...Goblet of Fire)

Roger Lloyd Pack

John Lumic (2.05 Rise of the Cybermen, 2.06 The Age of Steel)

Barty Crouch, Sr. (...Goblet of Fire)

Shirley Henderson

Ursula Blake (2.10 Love and Monsters)

Moaning Myrtle (...Chamber of Secrets, …Goblet of Fire)

Jessica Hynes

Joan Redfern (3.08 Human Nature, 3.09 The Family of Blood)

Verity Newman (The End of Time, Part Two)

Mafalda Hopkirk (voice) (...Order of the Phoenix)

Adrian Rawlins

Dr. Ryder (4.03 Planet of the Ood)

James Potter (...Sorcerer’s Stone-…Order of the Phoenix, …Deathly Hallows, Part 1-…Deathly Hallows, Part 2)

Helen McCrory

Rosanna (5.06 Vampires of Venice)

Narcissa Malfoy (...Half-Blood Prince-…Deathly Hallows, Part 2)

Toby Jones

Dream Lord (5.07 Amy’s Choice)

Dobby [voice] (...Chamber of Secrets, …Deathly Hallows, Part 1)

Bill Nighy

Dr. Black (5.10 Vincent and The Doctor)

Rufus Scrimgeour (...Deathly Hallows, Part 1)

Daisy Haggard

Sophie (5.11 The Lodger, 6.12 Closing Time)

Ministry Lift (voice) (...Order of the Phoenix, ...Deathly Hallows: Part 1)

Simon Fisher-Becker

Dorium Maldovar (5.12 The Pandorica Opens, 6.07 A Good Man Goes to War, 6.13 The Wedding of River Song)

The Fat Friar (...Sorcerer's Stone)

Michael Gambon

Kazran Sardick/Elliot Sardick (A Christmas Carol)

Albus Dumbledore (...Prisoner of Azkaban-…Deathly Hallows, Part 2)

Imelda Staunton [voice role, no photo]

Interface (6.10 The Girl Who Waited)

Dolores Umbridge (...Order of the Phoenix-...Deathly Hallows, Part 1)

Mark Williams

Brian Williams (7.02 Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, 7.04 The Power of Three)

Arthur Weasley (...Chamber of Secrets-…Deathly Hallows, Part 2)

David Bradley

Solomon (7.02 Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)

The First Doctor (10.12 The Doctor Falls, Twice Upon a Time, The Power of The Doctor)
Argus Filch (...Sorcerer’s Stone-…Half-Blood Prince, …Deathly Hallows, Part 2)

Ellie Darcey-Alden

Francesca (The Snowmen)

Young Lily Potter (...Deathly Hallows, Part 2)

Warwick Davis

Porridge (7.12 Nightmare in Silver)

Goblin Bank Teller/Professor Flitwick/Griphook (...Sorcerer’s Stone-…Deathly Hallows, Part 2)

John Hurt

The War Doctor (7.13 The Name of The Doctor, The Night of The Doctor, The Day of The Doctor)

Mr. Ollivander (...Sorcerer’s Stone, …Deathly Hallows, Part 1-…Deathly Hallows, Part 2)

Charlotte Ritchie

Lin (Resolution)

Student (Uncredited - ...Goblet of Fire)

Lenny Henry

Daniel Barton (12.01 Spyfall, Part One, 12.02 Spyfall: Part Two)

Shrunken Head (voice) (...Prisoner of Azkaban)

Miriam Margolyes

Beep the Meep (voice) (The Star Beast)

Professor Pomona Sprout (...Chamber of Secrets; ...Deathly Hallows – Part 2)

Former “Doctor Who” Guest Stars Who Are Now Movie Stars

This is a look at actors who guest starred on “Doctor Who” (2005-present) and have since become movie stars. This does not include actors who were movie stars before guesting on “Doctor Who”, or lead actors who have since gone into movies.

Andrew Garfield
Garfield played Frank in the Season Three episodes “Daleks in Manhattan” and “Evolution of the Daleks”. He broke into movie stardom in “The Social Network” before getting the lead in “The Amazing Spider-Man” movies. He received Academy award nominations for his roles in "Hacksaw Ridge" and "tick, tick...BOOM!"

Carey Mulligan
Mulligan played Sally Sparrow in the fan favorite Season Three episode “Blink”. She later went on to be in movies such as “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” with Michael Douglas and Shia LaBeouf, and “The Great Gatsby” with Leonardo DiCaprio. She received Academy award nominations for her roles in "An Education" and "Promising Young Woman".

Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Mbatha-Raw played companion Martha’s sister Tish Jones in the Season Three episodes “Smith and Jones”, “The Lazarus Experiment”, “The Sound of Drums”, “Last of the Time Lords”. She is on the brink of movie stardom. In 2014 she led the smaller movies “Belle” and “Beyond the Lights”. In recent years, she was in the movie “Concussion” with Will Smith, appeared along-side Matthew McConaughey in the Civil War drama “The Free State of Jones”, and in Disney’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast” with Emma Watson and Luke Evans.

Felicity Jones
Jones played Robina Redmond (a.k.a. The Unicorn) in the Season Four episode “The Unicorn and the Wasp”. She had a supporting role in the movie “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”, had the lead female role in “The Theory of Everything”, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. In 2016 she co-starred with Tom Hanks in "The Da Vinci Code" sequel "Inferno" and had the lead role in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”.

Daniel Kaluuya
Kaluuya played Barclay in the 2009 special episode "Planet of the Dead". He had the lead role in the 2017 horror movie "Get Out", for which he received an Academy Award nomination, and had a supporting role in Marvel's "Black Panther" as W'Kabi. He won the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for the movie "Judas and the Black Messiah".

Gemma Chan

Chan played Mia Bennett in the 2009 special episode "The Waters of Mars". She played the dual roles of Minn-Erva in "Captain Marvel" and Sersi in "Eternals", and appeared in the movies "Crazy Rich Asians" and "Raya and the Last Dragon".

Olivia Colman

Colman played the mother that Prisoner Zero impersonated in "The Eleventh Hour". She won the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for "The Favourite", and was nominated for her roles in the movies "The Father" and "The Lost Daughter".

Letitia Wright
Wright played Anahson in the Season Nine episode "Face the Raven". She has a supporting role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies "Black Panther", "Avengers: Infinity War", and "Avengers: Endgame" as Shuri, the princess of Wakanda, which became a leading role in the sequel "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever". She also lent her voice to a character in the animated movie "Sing 2".


Honorable Mentions:

Simon Pegg
Pegg played The Editor in the Season One episode “The Long Game”. He had already led movies before his appearance on the episode, but has since become a supporting actor in the “Mission: Impossible” and “Star Trek” franchises.

James Corden
Corden played Craig in the Season Six episode “The Lodger” and the Season Seven episode “Closing Time”. Afterward he appeared in Disney’s movie of the musical “Into the Woods”. He also replaced Craig Ferguson as the host of the CBS talk show “The Late Late Show”.