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... and it's Catherine Tate

(What a shame!)

Link: It's...

Sorry, didn't see the other thread.

The only surpise is that people are surpised.

    I dont watch the new Dr.Who  but what is Catherine Tate doing in it ?        Is it to up the ratings ?      Is Dr.Who going to turn into a comedy ?       I dont know it just seems to be an odd choice to me.     I may be wrong.     Perhaps she isnt playing for laughs anyway.  I dont find her that funny but she is ok.     Could a not so known actress do a better job ?    Isnt it a bit like having Sacha Baron Cohen as Dr.Who ?         It just seems like a crowd pleaser to me.

WTF??!!

Well, it's not pleasing me, nor anyone else I know who likes the show. "Oh, for fuck's sake," was my wife's response upon hearing the news, for example.

Personally, I don't get this decision. Who's doing fine from a rating's standpoint, and if they wanted someone from a previous episode, Sally Sparrow would have fitted the bill. Tate was just annoying in the Christmas specialâ??a one-note actress who grates. Here's hoping her character has been substantially changed for series 4, or that she gets eaten by a Cyberman in episode 2.

    So it is a crowd pleaser then.       That is a shame but hopefully it wont last long.     Grin and bear it i suppose !     I couldnt resist that one  !

She was OK'ish in the special when she wasn't going over the top.  Still would have liked someone new, and maybe a bloke would have been a nice change.

I'm a Timelord with the power of time and space at my disposal. Hmmm... I think i'll get me a new sidekick...perhaps i'll travel to the farthest reaches of the universe and go to a really interesting point in time. Maybe an alien of some sort. Nah, fuck it, i'm gonna go to contemporary Britain and pick some random scrote with a bit of family trouble. Yes, that's what i'll do. A female one.

I don't care how Welsh you are, RTD, you are a nob.

Another one for the "fuck'ssakes" camp, but to be fair she was nowhere near as bad as I expected in the Christmas thing.  Come to think of it I didn't expect to like Rose much either, so I may yet be pleasantly surprised.

Do have to wonder why, though.  Maybe she genuinely was the best actor they could get, and maybe they've got things planned for her character that would beat any other companion hands-down.  Then again, maybe they just couldn't be arsed.

On a slight tangent, was there any pattern in Old Who for what sort of companions were picked and how they came to be travelling with the Doctor?

This is bad news indeed. I found her really irritating in the one off and she made it a bit of a struggle to watch so god knows how downhill it'll go if she's in every bloody episode. What was wrong with Martha? Aesthetically pleasing and her acting didn't annoy, she was ideal.

...i would say its been done for several reasons, so Martha can cross over into Torchwood land (and confuss the kiddies and make the parents say, 'you cant watch that, your too young' if adults still say that sort of thing???) and up ratings for the show, as series 2 will be the make or break for the series, i also think Donna obviously has a lot to do with a future story arc and maybe, just maybe, now that we have a companion that we'd love to see come back in Martha, Donna maybe the first major companion to be killed of in decades, but Martha is the buffer zone, or something...

...nothing to do with Dr Who but just found this on the internet...

Jesus. James got it spot on. He's got the whole of time and space to play with - he could choose a spanish conquistador, a cyborg, a viking, a knight templar, a squid-man, a big floating brain, a mediaeval witch hunter, a being made out of gas, a victorian music-hall star, a tree-lady, a down-and-out from a far-future dystopia, a 17th-century pirate, an intelligent yeti-type thing, a galactic bounty hunter, an ancient egyptian, a dog-headed man, a cavalier... and that's just off the top of my head, as I write this. Christ, think how interesting some of those would be!

Instead he chooses the silly bint he met last christmas.

You beat me to it.

Doctor who. R.I.P. 2007

It's Bonny Langford all over again... no way I'm gonn listen to that screaching voice for 13 weeks.

Well, that's my Saturday nights free. I wonder what else is on....

A big floating brain... that would be my choice.

Another vote for OMG!

Personally I thought that a year on his own would have been particularly good

We've been introduced to the concept with Martha and Rose - so we don't need someone to "represent" the viewers anymore - so someone "Alien" would also have worked.

I did see the girl from "Blink" suggested as well,she'd have been good.

Arses

Dan

Maybe they're being extremely cunning; after they've announced she'll be the companion for the entire series, nobody will see it coming when she gets spectacularly deaded ten minutes into episode two.

Maybe it was actually Donna who picked up Ming's ring at the end of the last episode, and she'll somehow morph into the Master's next incarnation.  At least that would put a slightly different spin on the inevitable companion's-unrequited-love-for-the-Doctor bit.

Maybe the Beeb have decided that, since the Doctor is a time traveller, they can run April Fool's stories about the series at any time.

Not that I'm clutching at straws or anything.

I did see the girl from "Blink" suggested as well,she'd have been good.

as well as being totty-tastic to boot!

i've been quiet on the who-discussion front because - despite all it's obvious faults - i enjoying watching it with the kids and they enjoy it immensely

however, Catherine Tate and her character aren't my cup of gallifreyan tea, and i feel a sense of impending meh

thinky

I can't really see this as any more objectionable than anything else that's been objected to on the show thus far - and this is from someone usually quite critical of the show who doesn't find Tate in any way funny.  My only real objection would be the rather flat way in which Martha left, but that's hardly Tate's doing.
Did I hear it right that he used to have a cavewoman  on his adventures in the old show?  That sounds like the original double-act - smart, sophisticated college-professor type who uses words as weapons, and deranged savage who caves in people's heads with a brick at random intervals.
I'd watch that show - only a lunatic wouldn't.

Aaaah - Teela, how we miss you. (Somebody make sure they post a pic of her in her prime not from when she was in Eastenders.


I think Tate will be a good companion.  Just so long as they use her sweary Gran character.  That'd be brilliant, that would.

Pehapy Cavey'll get confused and cave the Doctor's head in,as you so eloquenlty put it. Now i'd watch that show.

Normally I'm the most positive person about the new Dr Who around. I liked Rose. I liked Christopher Ecclestone, the flying Daleks, David Tennant, the Absorbaloff, Martha, the Christmas episode.....you name it, I liked it.  
  and I didn't mind Catherine Tate in the one-ff - I thought she suited the character.  However, the prospect of seeing her for an entire season fills me with the same inchoate revulstion I get every time Australia mysteriously re-elects John Howard.  

we'll see

me, I'd have gone with the Conquistador, but the floating brain sounds good

yours trying not to think about Catherine Tate or Bonnie Langford

I did see the girl from "Blink" suggested as well,she'd have been good.

That would be great...

As said before sh'es top totty and a spit of Jo...

(http://photobucket.com"%20target="_blank)

You know the one. End of Judgement Day.

Sorry to bring it up as a post but I've searched in vain for this image, yet I'm sure it's been posted here quite recently?

Anyhows, talking to an old 2000ad fan in da pub last night, my mentioning of the Dredd/Alpha team-up brought forward an incredulous "Fuck off! Really?"
And said mate now wants proof.

Any help gratefully received as usual.

Tulkas.

...will this picture do???...

...or maybe this???...

...and finally...

...or this???...

...or this???...

Pfff... Logan, you know nothing.
If you're talking Who totty, it can ONLY be:

More evidence:

More evidence:

Ooops, double post. Finally:
Case rest m'lud.

I'll give her a chance but as soon as any yelling starts I'm off.

The BBC poll is 70/30 against, but the Outpost Gallifrey is 40/40 with 20% undecided. The nerds like the bigger ladies!

Maybe they can have Blair on so they can reprise their classic sketch.

   Well someone has to have him.      That sketch was definatly a cynical PR move .      

Ak!  Away with the wretched Peri (or whatever her silly name was- I'm with Mangamax all the way on this one...

"Ooops, double post."

No need to apologize ...

Woof.

Cheers!

Jim

RAC you beat me to it. Excellent pic of Perri.

As for Romana (what's her name, isn't it??)

In a toss up between them I'm not sure who's side I'd come down on.

Now where is that photo of Katy Manning and the dalek?

Like this?

In a toss up between them I'm not sure who's side I'd come down on.


I suppose you could take turns with them...

Or how about...
(http://photobucket.com"%20target="_blank)

Goodness me!!

It's getting like the womwns underwear thread!

No, no, no. Katy Manning with the Dalek just is not sexy.
Mary on the other hand. DING DONG! She can even be sexy in a burberry cap:

aieee! Daleks and maps of Tasmania so early in the morning!

I agree about the double post of the Romana I picture.  There's no such thing as too much Mary Tamm

If they can keep her and the Doctor away from Earth I think it could work but really, they can't find anyone else?
But you know it's all going to be filmed in Cardiff and London yet again.

Personally I liked Tate's character in the Christmas Special. And won't mind her back. Plus, having a more "adult" character on the TARDIS crew should make for a different interaction then the usual bunch of 18-20somethings we've had so far.

Ejaculate!!!!!!

Be serious

Link: http://www.shillpages.com/dw/story/d4/st--5h05.jpg

D'oh!

That's it then. Next series I'm going to sellotape a picture of Mary Tamm onto the screen whilst it's on.

The BBC have also confirmed that when Tate leaves, Basil Brush will be taking over

That's it then. Next series I'm going to sellotape a picture of Mary Tamm onto the screen whilst it's on.

It'll probably stick without the sellotape.

Blimey, I'd forgooten how utterly yummy Mary Tamm and Louise Jamieson were.

The BBC have also confirmed that when Tate leaves, Basil Brush will be taking over

Was Ken Dodd unavailable?

I honestly don't know what to make of this announcement - or the Minogue guest role. Tate may be a perfectly fine actress, but I have no faith in the people behind the show to get a great performance out of her - if they can push talented actors like Simm and Tennant into panto, then what hope Tate, especially given her character's previous appearance?

I just wish the same effort went into the writing & reining in the worst excesses of the show that goes into securing yet another high-profile actor for a role, minor or otherwise.

I've just heard that Dennis Hopper may be playing a villain in the next series.

The sudden blissful image of Dennis Hopper slaughtering Catherine Tate has entered my mind.

Aaaah. Lovely.

I'm in despair. Presumably this year's Xmas episode will involve the Tardis jumping over a giant space shark.

::"It's Bonny Langford all over again... no way I'm gonn listen to that screaching voice for 13 weeks."

My exact thoughts.  

"Presumably this year's Xmas episode will involve the Tardis jumping over a giant space shark."

Hmm.  I'm betting a giant space shark would be a million degrees of awesome next to whatever actually features in the Xmas special.

(Technically, though, if it's in space and floating around in zero gravity, could you actually jump over the shark or would you just be drifting around it?)

Link: If you really hate the idea of Tate being in Dr Wh

I thought jumping the shark meant something had to be good in the first place.

All the people who are complaining are the ones who complain about other people complaining about the show, who always say the show is just enjoyable fun and the complainers should just treat it like the junk it is :p  

I mean if you think RTD is the right man for the job, this is just him doing what he does. I'm not sure petitions are the way to go.  It would make anyone dig their heals in.

RTD has for me become the Tony Blair of Doctor Who.  When he came along I was just plain grateful, then his true nature is revealed, he ignores criticism and revels in spin and showmanship with little substance,  the speculation about him leaving becomes more intense, and finally by the time of his going, I'm just desperate to be shot of him so someone else can take charge and do it properly.

"I'm not sure petitions are the way to go. It would make anyone dig their heals in."

I believe he's pretty much said so in as many words.

I think you're all missing the important issue here- Mary Tamm.  How could anyone in their right mind have replaced her with that horrible chipmunk looking Romana?

If it was real, you'd be well pissed off to get regenerated into that.

Bump.

I'm with you there 54 Jones.  I remember a feeling of great disapointment when Ms Tamm regenerated into her annoying successor.  
   Still, better than regenerating into Bonnie Langford or Catherine Tate

You two need to lay off the crack pipe! Lalla Ward is an infinitely (well maybe not infinitely, but at least 2 and a half times) finer specimen than her predecessor.

Bump.

that's a lot of bumping you're doing there ush - is there anything we should know ;)

You two need to lay off the crack pipe! Lalla Ward is an infinitely (well maybe not infinitely, but at least 2 and a half times) finer specimen than her predecessor.

wrong. plain wrong. they may have the crack pipe, but you're intravenous lsd/pcp cocktail is affecting your rational thought

thinky

actually Ush - if i could have been bothered to look down at the rest of the board, i'd have seen it was bloody obvious

good work!

thinky

"Lalla Ward is an infinitely (well maybe not infinitely, but at least 2 and a half times) finer specimen than her predecessor."

If I was a horny chipmunk, I'd probably have to agree with you.  But I'm not and I find your point of view strange and confusing.

It's weird, I don't have much recollection of either of the Romanas, when I watched Who as a kid especially Mary Tamm.

I definitely remember Sarah Jane and Leela, and a few of the first Peter Davision stories, but I just have a blank spot on certain periods of Who.

Maybe I was watching Buck Rogers or Battlestar Galactica instead.

I'm going to be interested to see what effect having Catherine Tate in the next series has on the ratings.

- Steve

- Steve

>>>It's weird, I don't have much recollection of either of the Romanas, when I watched Who as a kid especially Mary Tamm.

probaqbly coz the key to time saga was shit

Bit harsh, PVS. I never complained about the complainers, I complained about the emo (and celebrated the lack of it).

Apparently RTD's off at the end of Season 4, so maybe this is him having a final indulgence. Or maybe the Tate creature scored highly with young kids - can the progenitors of any young kids confirm or deny that?

I'm the progenitor of a young kid.  He liked the Christmas special, but wasn't noticeably impressed with Ms Tate, although he did say "Why did you say 'urgh' Dad?" during a close-up scene

Charles E Hardwidge* speaks:

"RTD is an insecure poof"

Charles E Hardwidge, bringing peace and enlightenment to the internet as only HE can.

He's a Zen Buddhist, you know.








*don't forget the 'E', kids- it's dead important (as is the man himself).

I always prefered Romana II, I think she's just lovely.

Sigh... we'll always have Paris...

Bloody Northerners and their weird ways...

Just saw this on PLay.com, and it's about frickin time too!

Link: Romana-tastic!

More news on the new series.

Link: Story here

As though they needed a time travelling aritocratic crime-solving gardner thrown into the mix. If she starts blubbing, I may do the television set a misservice...

"Catherine Tate said she was "delighted" to be returning to Doctor Who, following her guest appearance as Donna Noble in last year's Christmas special.

She reprises the character in this series - beginning with an episode where she has to track down the Time Lord during an alien emergency in modern-day London."

Which one of the half-dozen alien emergencies in modern-day London (otherwise known as Cardif) that we've already seen in the series would that be then?

Felicity Kendall. Sigh.

Thought that'd make you happy DXB.

I mean, I prefer Penelope Keith but still, sigh!

Ah, But with Richard Briars also confirmed, you can't be hoping for a Good Life full house, surely.

(Rumour mill has Ben Kingsley lined up to play Davros too)

Penelope for Sarah Jane Adventures!

Ben Kingsley as Davros!!!

Only if he plays it like his Don Logan from Sexy Beast...

'Fuckin' cunt!, Fuckin' cunt!, no, no, no, no, Fuckin' cunt!, Fuckin' cunt!, Fuckin' cunt!, yes, yes, yes, yes...' etc...

And she's back!

Link: Because she wants to!

Well that's my Saturday evenings free then.

Maybe I shall take up smoking crack cocaine to fill that hour on a saturday night.

What a load of pish, the worst thing about new who , and it's back.

Piper & Tate on screen at the same time... I may have to murder someone.

"Maybe I shall take up smoking crack cocaine to fill that hour on a saturday night"

Or, you know, you could read a book

Any recommendations, Jon...? :D

I'm always glad to see a bit more of Rose or Billie for that matter but... back from the parallel universe that she can never never never never ever return from?  Doesn't that undermine the overdone sad-Doctor that bedevilled Season Three but at least waved a forehead-glued-hand in the direction of continuity and character development?  Jeez luweeze.

Anyone who doesn't like Billie is a traitor to the Crown, even if they're not British.

Rose was ok. I can believe the possibility of the character returning as I didn't really buy the idea that there was no way back to that universe. The doctor thought that before, yet the cybermen and Micky and co managed it. Whether she should return though after such an emotional finale to that season though is another thing...

Also all three assistants together in next series? Not too sure of that either, but I'll see what we get.

"A separate show based on Rose had been planned by writer and series producer Russell T Davies, but was scrapped when Davies decided the programme was "a spin-off too far"."

I have to say I agree with that last statement... although I'd probably watch it.

Anyone been watching that Sarah Jane adventures by the way? I caught the pilot and I've watched one or two since then but haven't been that impressed (although I didn't mind the pilot.) That being said it seems well suited to target audience (i.e. kids.)

I watched the Sarah Jane stuff for a while and then missed a couple and found I had a life.
It was enjoyable stuff and well suited for it's market audience.

if rose got back what about the daleks and cybermen? maybe they couldnt work out a new "the dalek isnt realyy the last one after all" plot

Some of the Sarah Jane stuff has been better than New Who and it's certainly light years ahead of that bloody Torchwood.

Having abandoned Torchwood to disappointment mid-season, I tripped over a repeat episode on BBC 3 or somesuch with the familiar-but-interesting plot of a disembodied-spirit following the crew around trying to find out what happened, and how to undo it (I've enjoyed many Star Trek episodes with that very plot).  

I decided to watch it, and truth be told it was fairly amusing, and I was looking forward to the solution of the mystery, which I imagined might include time travel or possibly a bleak no-way-out conclusion, either of which would have been good.  I even persuaded the good woman to watch it with me.  

And then we got to the end, and it became obvious that there was no sense, rhyme or reason to the story.  There was the usual new-Who magical gubbins to effectively stop the episode, but it was pretty obvious that soemone had just decided to do a Donnie Darko-esque episode with some heart-warming thoughts about living your life to the fullest, but hadn't bothered to work out the hows or whys.  

Frustrating shite of the shallowest order.  

I've yet to see any of the Sarah Jane adventures (maybe a repeat after normal folk are home from work would be good?), but they just couldn't be worse than this.  I had decided I'd watch some of the new season of Torchwood to see how the pulchritudinous Freeman Agyeman improved things, but I don't think I could face it now.

Some of the Sarah Jane stuff has been better than New Who and it's certainly light years ahead of that bloody Torchwood.

Indeed - I've actually been extremely impressed with the Sarah Jane Adventures and prefer it to some Nu Who and all of Torchwood as it has likable characters (it has a cast of kids that can out act anyone in Torchwood) and stories that you can think about without the whole thing unraveling.  It's also worked out a good balance of being scary and moving without going completely OTT.

Even the Slaveen work better as they seem to be deliberately portrayed as a race of alien twats...

Admittedly, Sarah has a deux ex machina engine living in her attic, but you can't have everything, I suppose.

I've yet to see any of the Sarah Jane adventures (maybe a repeat after normal folk are home from work would be good?)
If you have virgin cable you can get it with catch up on demand. Only the most recent episode though. I took that route and found it was the next episode in a multiparter.

Seeing good things here, I might give it another go though. I don't really care if it's aimed at kids as long as the story is good. And it's not too cute and cheesy.:)

SJ Adventures has been great (and scarier in places than Who).  Mini-WoD declared it better than Dr Who the other day - I think due to the faster pacing, more action for the kids and less exposition.  Forget some of the plot holes (and the over acting from SJ herself - the kids are much better) and you have a good program.  The one where SJ was removed from the time-line not only had the Graske in it, but also one of Who's scariest looking monsters ever - The Trickster - can't find an image though!

Found this one, but it doesn't do it justice

At least this one is lasting longer than the original SJ/K9 spinoff.



V

Only gormless Marias dad referred to yon chappie as The Trickster. It's worth noting that he shares a lot of his M.O., and quotes dialogue, from The Black Guardian. Could they be one and the same?

I enjoyed the SJA stuff over the Dcotor Who, though (especially the last story) it shared a lot of the same faults.  Maybe free of Tennants WACaday routine, and the Rosell T Tyler guff, I could learn to overlook the nonsense bits of the new approach... maybe not, but even so, it did seem less pretentious and/or less smug than the main show...

That said I really cant see how some mad things get through (presumably) numerous drafts of these scripts.... SPOILERS....

What the hell was Mr Smiths plan all about in that last story - letting Luke get captured in order that he'll escape? Hmmmm

Still, the Gorgon one, and the "whatever happened to" were pretty decent for what they were.

As 'kids' shows I thought they were all OK, and better than a lot of the Dr Who stuff.  

Doctor Who would have been a lot better I think if it had gone through the quality control filter that children's drama has to go through. Kids' drama has to stand up well against Box Of Delights, The Machine Gunners et al, or at least be about something. Saturday night entertainment only has to stand up to Noels House Party.

That whole K9 knitting a black hole together with his tail thing was silly though. If they don't want the robot dog as a permanent charcter, surely they could have come up with something better than that.

I'm a traitor to the Crown but like Billie. Where does this leave me?

When is SJA on? I saw the pilot, but wasn't aware the series had actually happened.

Regards

Robin

It just finished!  I think it was on Monday on BBC1 with repeats on CBBC.

It just finished! I think it was on Monday on BBC1 with repeats on CBBC.

BBC1 at 5pm followed by a new episode on CBBC at 5.30 every Monday (which is admittedly a damn inconvenient time for us grown ups).

I strongly suspect that they're going to devote a day on CBBC to repeats over the Christmas Holidays, though.