New Doctor Who announced! (Spoiler!)

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**beast_gts**

Ncuti Gatwa: BBC names actor as next Doctor Who star

Spoiler:

BBC wrote:Ncuti Gatwa will take over from Jodie Whittaker as the star of Doctor Who, the BBC has announced.

The 29-year-old will become the 14th Time Lord on the popular science fiction show, and the first non-white actor to play the lead role.

Scottish actor Gatwa, who was born in Rwanda, is best known for starring in Netflix's sitcom Sex Education.

He said he was "deeply honoured, beyond excited and of course a little bit scared".

He added: "This role and show means so much to so many around the world, including myself, and each one of my incredibly talented predecessors has handled that unique responsibility and privilege with the utmost care.

"I will endeavour my upmost to do the same."

Showrunner Russell T Davies said Gatwa "dazzled us" in his audition.

"Sometimes talent walks through the door and it's so bright and bold and brilliant, I just stand back in awe and thank my lucky stars," Davies said.

The Queer As Folk and It's A Sin writer is returning as the programme's showrunner after departing the show in 2009.

Whittaker took over as the Time Lord in 2017 as the first female doctor.

**Turnip Jedi**

Good luck to him

What the show really needs is a writing team capable of nuance, repeatedly being beaten over the head with -ISM/PHOBE of the week is double plus ungood was an insult to the old guard and even spudlings aren't that daft, as Who has always leaned in a certain direction but with it done with subtly wrapped in a solid slice of sci-fi well till the Chumpnell times

And as ever bring back the metal dawg (or Pond, but KG is all Hollywood famous now)

**Crispy78**

With some irony I saw the name and thought... Who?

Good luck to him and all. I was hoping for Kris Marshall.

**bbb**

I stopped watching during Matt Smith's run. Every episode felt to samey-wamey. From what hear it didn't get better.

Best of luck to the new Doctor. Hopefully the writing improves.

**insaniak**

I mean, I've said 'Who?' to every single new Doctor announcement, so this is nothing new.

On the flip side of that, I've enjoyed all of the Doctors from the 'new-Who' run, even if some of them have taken a little while to settle in - Capaldi especially, for me.

The problems with the show have always come more from the inconsistent writing than from the individual in the Tardis.

**BlackoCatto**

Well, he couldn't do any worse than the last one.

**insaniak**

Jodie Whittaker wasn't the problem with the recent few seasons. She was an excellent Doctor, IMO, but had some truly awful writing to deal with.

**Voss**

insaniak wrote:
Jodie Whittaker wasn't the problem with the recent few seasons. She was an excellent Doctor, IMO, but had some truly awful writing to deal with.

Agreed. She seemed interesting (the 'fam' largely did not). But I was struggling with the writing at the end of Smith's run, I could barely tolerate it with Capaldi (and was totally checked out by the end), and Whittaker wasn't enough to drag me back into the mess created in the writer's room (which second hand, sounded like it go soooo much worse as it went along). And the initial teeth aliens were... bad, and completely unsympathetic bad guys, which Daleks aside (and even then), seems like missing the point for Who.

**insaniak**

Yeah, I think Whittaker's run would have been massively improved if she was traveling solely with Yaz or Graham. Or Bill, dammit.

There have still been some interesting ideas in there, and the teeth aliens were at least something new. I'm a big fan of seeing new stuff thrown at the wall to see what sticks over yet another Dalek story.

I'd also love to see more 'whimsical traveler getting by with charm and acting like they belong there' Doctor and less 'Fearsome destroyer of worlds'... I mean, it was a natural progression for the character given how many times they've defeated, well, everyone... but it makes it all more high-stakes will simultaneously removing the sense of intimate danger that was such a part of old-Who. They've downplayed the Cosmic Warlord angle somewhat with Whittaker, but it might have been fun if the short-lived Dalek memory wipe from Asylum of the Daleks had actually deleted the Doctor from everyone's databases...

In short - give me more sci-fi murder mystery and less fate of the galaxy stuff!

**OrlandotheTechnicoloured**

All the best to him,

i guess i'll take a look at the first few shows of his after giving up for most of whittakers run (so many awful companions, such dull stories)

i really hope the writing improves (or even becomes less sledgehammery over the real world issue they're addressing by proxy)

**Olthannon**

I'm stuck with an endless cycle of "Oh cool a new Doctor Who" and then going ah this is crap.

The writing on the show has been awful for a long time unfortunately. It's a real shame because they always have great casting.

**LunarSol**

Not familiar with the actor, but there hasn't been a bad choice in the entire relaunch. The change of showrunner is far more interesting to me. I haven't really clicked with the show since Tennant left despite really liking what Capaldi and Whittaker brought to the role. I just don't care for the amount of recurring plot and characters that crept in during Smith's run.

**MarkNorfolk**

insaniak wrote:
Yeah, I think Whittaker's run would have been massively improved if she was traveling solely with Yaz or Graham. Or Bill, dammit.

Ryan and Graham were definitely the dullest companions to date. Yaz seemed much more interesting, with signs of a hero complex. But apart from Demons of the Punjab didn't seem to be given any real limelight. There was a spark of interest when The Doctor shied away from Graham's sharing that his cancer was back, but that never went any further.

The 'Flux' series was more engaging, particularly at the start. Maybe they should have lead with that. The Timeless Child.... I can appreciate a writer wanting to add to the canon, but it clashes so jarringly with everything else.

But... excited for the future and what the new guy can bring and what new stories we're going to get. I hope Jodie get's to go out on a high and decides to pop back for the 60th anniversary shows.

**Mad Doc Grotsnik**

LunarSol wrote:
Not familiar with the actor, but there hasn't been a bad choice in the entire relaunch. The change of showrunner is far more interesting to me. I haven't really clicked with the show since Tennant left despite really liking what Capaldi and Whittaker brought to the role. I just don't care for the amount of recurring plot and characters that crept in during Smith's run.

See, I’m apprehensive about RTD returning.

Yes he brought it back, and I’ll be forever grateful for that fact. But….psychic paper. Dishy Doctor. The Slitheen. Banakalalfa. Sonicing your way out of trouble every bloody time? He has issues as a show runner.

**StraightSilver**

I will never forgive BBC for turning down J Michael Straczynski's offer.

Imagine what could have been....

**LunarSol**

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
LunarSol wrote:
Not familiar with the actor, but there hasn't been a bad choice in the entire relaunch. The change of showrunner is far more interesting to me. I haven't really clicked with the show since Tennant left despite really liking what Capaldi and Whittaker brought to the role. I just don't care for the amount of recurring plot and characters that crept in during Smith's run.

See, I’m apprehensive about RTD returning.

Yes he brought it back, and I’ll be forever grateful for that fact. But….psychic paper. Dishy Doctor. The Slitheen. Banakalalfa. Sonicing your way out of trouble every bloody time? He has issues as a show runner.

I'd prefer someone completely new for sure, but we'll just have to see how it goes.

**Mad Doc Grotsnik**

Tenant and Tate both return for the 60th Anniversary special in 2023, which is filming now.

**beast_gts**

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Tenant and Tate both return for the 60th Anniversary special in 2023, which is filming now.

Yep, confirmed by the BBC:

Davies has teased fans, saying: "Maybe this is a missing story. Or a parallel world. Or a dream, or a trick, or a flashback. The only thing I can confirm is that it's going to be spectacular, as two of our greatest stars reunite for the battle of a lifetime."

**Mad Doc Grotsnik**

That tease does raise the rather tantalising suggestion of potential one shots featuring former Doctors, not tied to a specific run.

**stonehorse**

Biggest issue with Dr Who is that it has been going for so long. 60 years of the Darleks being this impending Doom... that then get dealt with every single time, and usually by wit. The fan base want to see the original big baddies, new big baddies range from either great or comical, so the writers rely upon the old favourites... and thus the cycle continues. Dr surprised to see Darleks back, Darleks have a super sneaky plan, Dr handy waves a solution.

It is a kids show that has a very large adult following/fan base. So the writers aren't super focused on who they are aiming the show at, so it ends up being a complete mess most of the time.

Shame, as when it is good, it is great. Just a lot of meh to wade through to get to the good stuff.

Oh, and how many times can we travel to Victorian London? Seriously... the Tardis can travel through space and time, yet London in any time period is the most interesting place to go to? Please make it stop.

**insaniak**

stonehorse wrote:
It is a kids show that has a very large adult following/fan base.

Doctor Who is not, and has never been, a 'kid's show'. It's intended as a family show, and for some of its earlier run wasn't considered particularly suitable for kids at all due to the levels of violence and scary themes.

It has a large adult fanbase which by now includes a lot of us who grew up watching it, simply because of how long it's been going. But it's always had a large adult fanbase.

Oh, and how many times can we travel to Victorian London? Seriously... the Tardis can travel through space and time, yet London in any time period is the most interesting place to go to? Please make it stop.

They spend a lot of time on Earth, and particularly in England, because those episodes are generally cheaper to make. I don't recall the formula that the makers have bandied about in the past, but essentially for every outer space or alien planet episode, they need to make a certain number of less effects-intensive episodes. And, again, it's always been that way. Hell, most of the third Doctor's run was spent with him grounded on Earth working for UNIT.

**bbb**

Just give me Doctor Who with rubber suits and quarries.

**AduroT**

Dr Who and Stargate filming in neighboring rock quarries.

**Mad Doc Grotsnik**

Most important new.

Bernard Cribbens is back as Wilf.

**beast_gts**

Yasmin Finney (Netflix series “Heartstopper”) is joining the cast of “Doctor Who” in the role of the Doctor’s companion Rose - but Rose's surname has not been confirmed yet. Initial leak said "Rose Temple Noble" but some sites are now reporting she's "Rose Tyler"...

**beast_gts**

Neil Patrick Harris joins the Doctor Who cast as part of the show’s 60th anniversary

Read more here https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/neil-patrick-harris-joins-doctor-who

Spoiler:

**Overread**

insaniak wrote:
stonehorse wrote:
It is a kids show that has a very large adult following/fan base.

Doctor Who is not, and has never been, a 'kid's show'. It's intended as a family show, and for some of its earlier run wasn't considered particularly suitable for kids at all due to the levels of violence and scary themes.

It has a large adult fanbase which by now includes a lot of us who grew up watching it, simply because of how long it's been going. But it's always had a large adult fanbase.

Oh, and how many times can we travel to Victorian London? Seriously... the Tardis can travel through space and time, yet London in any time period is the most interesting place to go to? Please make it stop.

They spend a lot of time on Earth, and particularly in England, because those episodes are generally cheaper to make. I don't recall the formula that the makers have bandied about in the past, but essentially for every outer space or alien planet episode, they need to make a certain number of less effects-intensive episodes. And, again, it's always been that way. Hell, most of the third Doctor's run was spent with him grounded on Earth working for UNIT.

Yeah back in the day Dr Who had a very tight budget. A lot of the effects and creepy events were done because they really had to work hard with tiny budgets and limited effects. Sometimes this resulted in some very scary episodes through what they didn't show; other times it resulted in monsters where you could clearly see the actor inside the costume. I can't find it but I recall one where there's a monster on all fours with a large head crawling through the caves after them; and you can very clearly see that its a person crawling on all fours even down to their legs sticking out the back.

I think it worked because at the time a lot of TV was also kind of like Pantomime brought onto the TV and Dr Who original had that kind of feel at times.

**insaniak**

Overread wrote:

I think it worked because at the time a lot of TV was also kind of like Pantomime brought onto the TV and Dr Who original had that kind of feel at times.

A lot of that stuff is also far more noticeable on a high definition screen the size of a barn than it was on a 12" black and white TV with rabbit ears for reception...

**Jadenim**

There’s something in there with old school films and TV about it being a performance of a story.

Another example is stuff like the old Harryhausen films; you would never, ever think they were anything but puppets, but it doesn’t matter. If the story is good you get absorbed into it and you don’t need photo-realistic CGI for it to work.

**Olthannon**

I mean Blink was a very good scary episode and it's just some statues standing very still.