Doctor Who 50th Anniversary, 13 Doctors?
24 December 2012
EventHorizon1984
The BBC nonchalantly made this statement about the longest running science fiction television series, Doctor Who:
- “Drama on BBC One takes another big leap in 2013 in the shape of some major event dramas, including The Village, Ripper Street, Luther, The White Queen and the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special. These shows will bring a rich range of tones and worlds to BBC One’s fiction.”
Danny Cohen, Controller of BBC One, 3 December 2012
Despite the lack of empathy, this brief announcement mildly confirms the comments from the current executive producer of Doctor Who. With a twist.
Indeed. Why have one multi-Doctor episode when the entire 2013-2014 season is available?
Technically Steven Moffit did an 11 Doctors episode, “The Eleventh Hour. (3 April 2010)” In a ten second montage, all past ten Doctors and Doctor 11, Matt Smith, were presented to the viewers.
“Is this world protected? Because you’re not the first lot to have come here. Oh, there have been so many. And what you’ve got to ask is, ‘what happened to them?’.
<dead silence from the Atraxi>
Hello. I’m the Doctor. Basically. Run.”
The Doctor, Doctor Who, “The Eleventh Hour”, 3 April 2010
To be off-topic for a moment, we’ll rank this scene up there with a similar scene in a Hugo Award winning science fiction episode.
“This is Ambassador Delenn of the Minbari. Babylon 5 is under our protection. Withdraw .. or be destroyed.”
“Negative. We have authority here. Do not force us to engage your ship.” Captain Drake
“Why not? Only one human captain has ever survived battle with a Minbari fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your lives, Be Somewhere Else.”
Ambassador Delenn, Babylon 5, “Severed Dreams“, 1 April 1996
About those nagging death and age issues or past Doctors? The Tor.com article, Determining Which Doctors Would Return for Doctor Who‘s 50th Anniversary, spoke at length on the availability of past actors. As to the rest, well this is a time travel show.
So here’s our partial fantasy list of the actors for a “Eleven Doctors”. Or should we say “Thirteen Doctors”?
01 The First Doctor
William Hartnel (1908-1975)
- Doctor Who, 1963-1966
- Doctor Who, The Three Doctors, 1972-1973
- Doctor Who, The Five Doctors, 1983*
Richard Hurndall (1910-1984)
- Doctor Who, The Five Doctors, 1983
Peter Cushing (1913-1994) *
- Dr. Who and the Daleks, 1965
- Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., 1966
Being the new first Doctor would be a ‘tough act to follow’. But we’ll take our cue, and suggestion, from Karen Gillan (Amy Pond):
San Diego Comic Con 2011:
- Question – “If you could cross over Doctor Who with any show, except for Torchwood, what would it be and why?“
- Karen Gillan – “Star Trek Next Generation“
#1 Sir Patrick Stewart
This pick would fit in quite nicely with the Doctor Who, Star Trek: The Next Generation crossover comic.
02 The Second Doctor, first regeneration
Patrick Troughton (1920-1987)
- Doctor Who, 1966-1969
- Doctor Who, The Three Doctors, 1972-1973
- Doctor Who, The Five Doctors, 1983
- Doctor Who, The Two Doctors, 1985
Who best to play the second Doctor? Why not an actor who’s already played the Doctor. And played a character with a similar haircut.
#2 Rowan Atkinson
Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death, 1999
03 The Third Doctor, second regeneration
Jon Pertwee (1919-1996)
- Doctor Who, 1970-1974
- Doctor Who, The Five Doctors, 1983
- Dimensions In Time, 1993
We’ll be lazy with this pick and pronounce that Pertwee will play the part of the third Doctor. That is Sean Pertwee, the son of Jon Pertwee.
04 The Fourth Doctor, third regeneration
Tom Baker (1934-
- Doctor Who, 1974-1981
- Doctor Who, The Five Doctors, 1984*
- Dimensions In Time, 1993
This one is easy. First, Tom Baker is still with us. Second, age is not a factor. That is when the Fourth Doctor is pulled from the time stream of the episode “The Leisure Hive.” After the little accident with the rejuvenator, when the Doctor is shown several centuries older.
* The Watcher, fourth regeneration
Adrian Gibbs
- Doctor Who, Logopolis, 1981
A projection of the Fourth Doctor‘s future incarnation.
05 The Fifth Doctor, fourth regeneration
Peter Davison (1951-
- Doctor Who, 1981-1984
- Dimensions In Time, 1993
- Time Crash, 1993
Here the we pull the fifth Doctor out of the time stream, right after the events of “Time Crash.”
06 The Sixth Doctor, fifth regeneration
Colin Baker (1943-
- Doctor Who, 1984-1986
- Doctor Who, The Two Doctors, 1985
- Dimensions In Time, 1993
Take the regeneration scene from the beginning of the episode “Time And The Rani” and reverse the flow of time. Or in the real world, run the film backwards. Conclude the reverse time stream regeneration with the Sixth Doctor. A bit older but no less wiser.
07 The Seventh Doctor, sixth regeneration
Sylvester McCoy (1943-
- Doctor Who, 1987-1989
- Doctor Who, 1996
- Dimensions In Time, 1993
Let’s whisk away the Seventh Doctor from the movie Doctor Who 1996. The beginning of the film during the record playing scene. The one between the Doctor sealing the Master’s remains in a box, and where he sits down in the comfy chair.
08 The Eighth Doctor, seventh regeneration
Paul McGann (1959-
- Doctor Who, 1996
The Eighth Doctor is available anytime after he leaves Earth.
09 The Ninth Doctor, eighth regeneration
Christopher Eccleston (1964-
- Doctor Who, 2005
The Ninth Doctor is available before he is first seen on Earth.
10 The Tenth Doctor, ninth regeneration, tenth regeneration.
David Tennant (1971-
- Doctor Who, 2005-2010
If you’re keeping track, the ninth regeneration is the transformation of the Ninth Doctor into the Tenth Doctor. The tenth regeneration takes place at the end of the episode “The Stolen Earth” and the beginning of “Journey’s End”.
11 The Human Doctor, tenth regeneration
David Tennant (1971-
- Doctor Who, Journey’s End, 2008
Mix hand of The Doctor with Donna Noble and get another Doctor with human psychology.
“I grew, out of you.” The Doctor
12 Doctor-Donna
Catherine Tate ( –
- Doctor Who, Journey’s End, 2008
Donna Nobel mixed with the mind of the tenth Doctor. And one hell of a performance by Catherine Tate.
13 The Eleventh Doctor, eleventh regeneration
Matt Smith (1982-
- Doctor Who, 2010-
Now in the episode “Let’s Kill Hitler” River Song (Alex Kingston) gave up her remaining regenerations to save the Doctor. Bringing up a question important to the last entry, ‘how many regenerations does the Doctor really have left?”.
* The Valeyard
Michael Jayston (1935-
- Doctor Who, The Trial of a Time Lord, 1986
In The Trial of a Time Lord: The Ultimate Foe, the Valeyard is described as being “somewhere between the Doctor’s twelfth and final incarnations” . Vaguely meaning the Valeyard could be a future incarnation of the Doctor, or a projection like the Watcher. Or the Master was lying.
While the Doctor-status of the Valeyard is unknown, nevertheless at the time the Valeyard was a physical entity.
Doctor Who 50th Anniversary 2013
And what will Steven Moffat do for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary? Humanity will find out after the 2012 Christmas Special.
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“What exactly is your beef with humanity?”
Marshall Mann, In Plain Sight
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Musing Bytes 4 – Science Fiction
Published 16 March 2014 Commentary , Fantasy and Science Fiction , History , Space , Television Leave a CommentTags: 1979, 3WA, Adam Warren, Big Finish, Dark Horse Comics, Department Chief Soranaka, Dirty Pair, Doctor Who, Haruka Takachiho, Hisao Tamaki, Jettison Scrap and Salvage Company, Kei, Lovely Angel, Lovely Angels, Mughi, Mugi, Salvage, Salvage 2, Savage 1, Scavenger, Science Fiction, The Dirty Pair's Great Adventures, The Light At The End, The Vulture, World Welfare Work Association, WWWA, Yuri
Musing Bytes 4 – Science Fiction
EventHorizon1984
16 March 2014
“Is this Doctor the sort who needs flattery? Or can I leave him to it?” Jyoti Cutler
“I just let him talk.” Flip Jackson
“I am still here you know.” The Doctor
“You are so brilliant. I don’t know what I’d have done without you.” Jyoti Cutler
“Hmmm” The Doctor
Doctor Who, “Scavenger“
Big Finish, 14 March 2014
On 14 March 2014 Big Finish released the Doctor Who audio adventure “Scavenger” featuring The 6th Doctor, Colin Baker. The synopsis reads:
“Thursday 28 May 2071: the day the Anglo-Indian Salvage 2 rocket launches. Its mission: to clean up space; to remove from Earth’s orbit over a century’s worth of man-made junk…
From the viewing window of a nearby space station, the Doctor and Flip have a unique view of Salvage 2 as it sets about its essential task – and of the disaster that unfolds when Salvage 2 encounters something it’s not been programmed to deal with. Something not of human manufacture…
Back on Earth, the Doctor fights to save Flip from becoming part of a 500-year tragedy being played out in orbit, hundreds of miles above. And millions will die if he fails.”
Big Finish is known for “producing high-quality audio drama” “based on popular TV series such as Doctor Who” and others.
Now that is the public relations view. (Ed.) In my opinion, that view is rather understated.
If you’re a Doctor Who fan, “Scavenger” is an excellent ‘listen’. As are other Big Finish products.
If you’re another type of fan, there is a nice Easter egg included in the audio drama. Salvage 2???
“I’ve been wondering. What happened to Salvage 1?” The Doctor
“Some Moon project from a hundred years ago. Nothing to do with us.” Jyoti Cutler
Well.
“Jettison Control this is Salvage 1. The Vulture has landed!”
Melanie “Mel” Slozar from the Lunar surface, Salvage (January 1979)
A very nice tribute to the 35th anniversary of the TV movie Salvage and the TV series that followed.
Thank you Big Finish.
“… Jettison Salvage …” “… Jettison Salvage …”
Harry Broderick (Andy Griffith), Salvage (1979)
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“So are you seriously telling me. All those blokes. Old man white hair, Beetle’s haircut, frilly shirt, long scarf big eyes, cricket boy, Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Lord Byron. Are all of them? They were you?”
“ah Yes.” The Doctor
“Wicked.” Ace
Doctor Who, The Light At The End
Big Finish, October 2013
And speaking of Big Finish.
The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary show, “The Day Of The Doctor” was not the only official multi-Doctor show. In October 2013 Big Finish released their 50th Anniversary audio adventure “The Light At The End.” Featuring the voice talents of Doctor Who original (20th Century) cast members:
Tom Baker (The Fourth Doctor)
Peter Davison (The Fifth Doctor)
Colin Baker (The Sixth Doctor)
Sylvester McCoy (The Seventh Doctor)
Paul McGann (The Eighth Doctor)
Louise Jameson (Leela)
Sarah Sutton (Nyssa)
Nicola Bryant (Perpugilliam “Peri” Brown)
Sophie Aldred (Dorothy Gale “Ace” McShane)
Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford)
Vicki (Maureen O’Brien)
Steven Taylor (Peter Purves)
Sara Kingdom (Jean Marsh)
Polly Wright (Anneke Wills)
Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines)
Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)
Jo Grant (Katy Manning)
Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding)
Vislor Turlough (Mark Strickson)
Geoffrey Beevers (The Master)
And many more.
Buy it.
Two Doctors observing The Sixth Doctor.
“Do I really end up with such a terrible sense of fashion?” The Doctor (Tom Baker)
“Says the man in the impractical scarf. It’s all a question of taste I suppose.” The Doctor (Paul McGann)
“Well I suppose that would explain your Wild Bill Hickok costume?”
“Most people think it has something to do with Byron.”
Doctor Who: The Light At The End (2013)
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“… Code name Lovely Angel?! Dirty Pair!”
The soon to be ex-object of Yuri’s affection.
“LOVELY ANGELS!”
Yuri and Kei, The Dirty Pair (1979- )
Meanwhile in Japan, SF Magajin published a story by Haruka Takachiho. It was titled “Daatipea no Diabouken”, or known in English as “The Dirty Pair’s Great Adventures“. Featuring The Dirty Pair Lovely Angels, Trouble Consultants Yuri and Kei of the World Welfare Work Association (3WA)
From then to now, the 1979 serialized book would spawn anime, manga, and comics of their adventures.
The Dirty Pair
Top Left, Clockwise
Happy Birthday Dirty P Lovely Angels.
“What happened? Or should I ask, what disaster have you initiated?”
3WA Department Chief Soranaka to Kei and Yuri … after devastating the WWWA home city.
The Dirty Pair Strike Again (2008)
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“It’s no secret that Japanese science fiction was greatly influenced by the Western sci-fi authors of the ’50s. That became the foundation of Japanese sci-fi. All science-fiction writers were influenced by the “Big Three”: Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Robert A. Heinlein. That started with my generation. You won’t find an author who wasn’t touched by Clarke, Asimov, and Heinlein.”
Haruka Takachiiho
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