Ian’s Roving Editorial: I’m Doctor Who. No You’re Not. He Is
Written by Ian Cullen on January 3, 2009 – 1:16 am -
By Ian M. Cullen
Earlier this afternoon, following hot on the heels of the BBC, we posted a press release which stated that the announcement on the identity of the eleventh Doctor Who will be revealed tomorrow at 5:35pm.
As a little add on to that I said that our source Dr Phibes said that his ‘BEST GUESS’ would be Paterson Joseph for the role. We did not say ‘Paterson Joseph is the next Doctor Who.’ No one knows for sure who it will be until tomorrow.
I’ve since spoken again by phone to our source and among many things, which included the weather, our concerns about the credit crunch and other stuff. We discussed the rumours. One name that seems to come up constantly in the newsrooms all around the UK. Whether in Newspaper or Television is Paterson Joseph. When asked how sure he is about Joseph being the next Doctor, Phibes said it’s wishful thinking on his part and added that Joseph is a popular choice in the media because everyone feels he’d make a good Doctor Who.
When we talked about some of the other names like Robson Green, Marc Warren and of course the ever popular Eddie Izzard. We both agreed that each one of those actors would indeed bring something to the role. We also discussed the old rumour of James Nesbitt, but both feel that he would be an unlikely choice based on the fact that he is too much of a household name in UK Television.
Simon Pegg from Shaun Of The Dead
However there is another name that has been brought up as an outside choice, from left field as it were. Meaning that it is rumour, and NOT A SURE THING. That name is Simon Pegg, who is best known internationally for movies like Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, Run Fat Boy Run and the recent How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. Pegg is also Scotty in the J.J. Abrams reboot of Star Trek, so is left field in that he is perhaps too well known internationally.
However James Nesbitt and Paterson Joseph all share something in common, they’ve all worked with Steven Moffat before. Nesbitt along with Joseph worked on Jekyll. Additionally both Pegg and Joseph both appeared as guest stars in the first season of Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor.
If it does wind up being Joseph or Pegg, it will only be the second time that a guest star in any series of Doctor Who has gone on to play the Doctor. Colin Baker guest starred in an episode of Doctor Who, during Peter Davison’s era as a Security Guard on the Doctors home world of Gallifrey, and Baker took over from Peter Davison a matter of 12 to 18 months after that.
If you look at recent history for Doctor Who, you’ll learn that departing producer Russell T. Davies chose both Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant based on the fact that he’d worked with both actors on other projects. So it’s hardly a surprise that Paterson Joseph’s name has continually popped up in recent months, and Joseph did admit back in October that he’d be willing if offered.
Either way shooting of the fifth season of Doctor Who is not expected to begin until September. The only reason the BBC is making the announcement tomorrow is because they had to book this particular actor six months in advance so that he is free to report for work in September. Meaning it will be a well-known name to British Television viewers. It also allows that person to finish work on other projects they maybe involved with leading up to that time. Meaning that they can at the very least do a TV series and a movie in that time, if they’re committed to do so.
My best guess for Doctor Who. It could be you? But I think it will be George W. Bush. I also think that the Daleks will be re-imagined and called the W.A.Y.W.O.M.D. that loosely translates to ‘Where are your weapons of mass destruction.’ To the best of my knowledge George W. Bush has no plans for next September, so is the obvious choice.
In closing no one is going to know for sure who the next Doctor is until 5:35pm tomorrow afternoon. And then we will get all the fans going, ‘Eeew what an awful choice.’ Or, ‘Wow they will be excellent in the part.’ Whoever it is, they have a big pair of shoes to fill, so lets home that the powers that be have chosen well.
Related posts:
- Ian’s Roving Editorial: Some Thoughts On Doctor Who
- Ian’s Roving Editorial: A Woman As Doctor Who?
- Ian’s Roving Editorial: Things To Come In 2009
- Ian’s Roving Editorial: British SciFi & Fantasy Returns
- Ian’s Roving Editorial: Treks Infinite Possibilities
Tags: Doctor Who, Marc Warran, Paterson Joseph, Robson Green, Simon Pegg, The 11th Doctor
Posted in Ian’s Roving Editorial, SF-TV & Movie News | 4 Comments »
By John Freeman on Jan 3, 2009 | Reply
My vote is for Bruce Forsyth, to make up for him not getting a knighthood :’:-P
By Faceman on Jan 3, 2009 | Reply
Oh dear, you were nowhere near the mark. I didn’t see Matt Smith named in your article. Now that is poor journalism which led other websites to publish their opinions on your views. I have done journalism courses and I would have delved deeper into what actors are doing & Patterson Joseph has got a busy schedule ahead. You say you’re on the pulse of sci-fi, well then you’d have missed the heart beat. You missed this one and so did your so called expert Dr Phibes. Never mind, next you’ll be telling us that Star Trek’s out in May. Still we can’t always know everything can we?
See you at the Ball!
By Ian Cullen on Jan 3, 2009 | Reply
Actually Faceman,
I didn’t report Paterson Joseph or any other of those names as factual. Irresponsible journalism is reporting stuff as fact that isn’t. I just reported the names that had been rumoured. Matt Smith wasn’t among them. At least until late last night or earlier this morning, long after I had written and posted the peice.
So yes we got it wrong, our BEST GUESS was wrong. As was the majority of peoples. I doubt even you’d have guessed that it was Matt Smith, when based on reports that were coming from most sources. Phibes best guess was wrong. That said, he admitted himself that it was a guess and wishful thinking based on what he’d heard, read and seen in the media and at the news offices at the BBC.
Interesting how the BBC were still reporting David Morrissey as a favorite shortly before Confidential aired don’t you think.
The only people that knew for sure who it was were the Doctor Who production office, who have got one over on the rest of us. Which I think is absolutely brilliant. And from my point of view. Am glad it wasn’t Patterson Joseph. Not that he would have been bad. But I wanted a 30 something, but Matt Smith is an interesting choice, and has a certain look to him.
But in closing I do take great exception to you accusing me of bad journalism, when the peice you speak about was written as a fluff peice, and was in no way a serious article laying claim to actually know the identity of the 11th Doctor Who. In fact it was written to generate more excitement about the announcement.
You seem to forget sometimes that this site is run out of my own money, time and volinteers who give their time freely, and in my oppinion and many other peoples do a great job. Much like you as a volinteer for SF Ball work hard, so do we, and we all have lives away from this website where we’re worried about other important things such as the credit crunch and how it will affect us. So I heartily resent your smite and the implication that we are doing a bad job.
SciFi Pulse is a NEWS and Rumours site. Take from that what you will. And as to the slogon taking the pulse of Science Fiction. Haven’t you ever heard of advertising mate. It’s a slogon, it isn’t meant to be literal, though we do try to live up to it. And it is something to aspire too.
So if you think you can do as good, if not a better job with your back ground in journalism. Why not volinteer as a writer. Any help is welcomed. Especially from someone as knowladgeable and in the know as you claim to be.
By Peter Noble on Jan 3, 2009 | Reply
It’s not bad journalism. It’s the same sort of story various websites and newspapers have been doing for months – it’s a speculation story that is all.
Peter (a journalist)