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Eddie Izzard As ... Doctor Who?
cmdr_forge writes "The BBC is reporting that Former Doctor Who Tom Baker says that Eddie Izzard is to be the next doctor for the TV show that starts 2005. How awesome is that!"
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Who cares? He'll be replaced with no explanation anyway.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Bill Nighy is the front runner. Tom Baker was just voicing his opinion. See the Times.
tom's always been noted for leg pulling. richard e grant has the best qualifications, imho!
Nothing - well thats something.
Not going to happen. Tom Baker is pulling your leg. And you fell for it.
So I think this can still be filed under "rumors", same as 4 days ago when this appeared on the bbc.co.uk website. Way to stay on top of late-breaking news, /.
Izzard isn't gay.
http://www.boomspeed.com/kajardine/Tom_Baker-Comme rcial_Voiceover_Outtakes.mp3
As Warren Ellis wrote on his blog (which of course is where I found this, right next to the mind-boggling sci-fi snippets), This Is Essential.
For the curious, take the most regal sounding brit you've ever heard. Now make him sell something utterly absurd -- and give him the cojones to say so.
Repeatedly.
A new classic.
--Dan
--Dan
I think Paul McGann would been cool in the series.
They have just started playing the original Dr Who in Australia again and I am getting a massive kick out of watching my son react the exact same way I did 25 years ago.
If you have never watched Dr Who from behind your dad's back (cowering in fear everytime the cellophane alien or plastic dinosaur lurches into view) the you just haven't watched it right. :)
Q.
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Bill Nighy Movie List
Bill Nighy Interview
Eddie Izzard Home Page
Eddie Izzard Interview
Maybe not, but I can't wait until he offers a Dalek "Cake or Death?"
"Where am I going, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
Dr Heimlich!
Who the frell is Eddie Izzard???! (excuse the cross-series reference).
Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
Tom Baker is just saying that because he's bitter that they told him the only part he'd be getting was that of Davros...
"How awesome is that!"
Doctor who? Doctor WHO?! No, serious, I'm really asking, who's Eddie Izzard?
"Derp de derp."
??? Baby Boomers? What about GenXers? I'm a little too young to be Generation X, but I know a few who are just as into Dr. Who as I am (born circa 1970).
Un-news
...you arn't entitled to an opinion.
Cross-dressing and "homosexual agenda"? Be serious. There is no deterministic relationship between the two outside bad steriotypes.
Izzard is straight and tranvestite. I'm homosexual, dislike "drag shows" and pusshy-queen walking steriotypes, and would go naked before putting on a dress. Getting transvesties onto TV is about as far from my agenda as you can get. I don't want them not-there, but seeing a man in drag is like watching straight people kiss; it does nothing for me at all and generally looks a little creepy. 8-)
Lumping people into broad categories just because you haven't bothered to do any fact-finding, and then claiming they lumped themselves and are now subscribed to a particular "agenda", is tiresome and childish.
On a less-side note, I dislike anybody sexualizing characters that don't need it. It makes for bad literary construction as no mater how you slant sexuality you, by definition, slant it into a niche. Izzard could be a hoot as the doctor if he is capible of playing the character. I've seen him in suit and tie so I think he could pull off a nice excentric personality without injecting sex where it doesn't need to go.
[FURTHER ASIDE]
I once had an over-straight homophobe ask: "What do you mean 'phobia'? Why would I be afraid of some faggot?"
My response: Clearly you are affraid that there are men out in the world who might think about you, and treat you, as badly as you think about and treat women.
I have never met a homophobe, or indeed any man who used the phrase "homosexual agenda" (etc), that didn't also misstreat, marginalize, or rampently objectify every woman foolish enough to approach him.
Innocent people shouldn't be forced to pay for inferior software development.
--"Code Complete" Microsoft Press
News for Nerds, News from Last Week.
Ah, strictly, the news from last week was 'Doctor Who coming back to Saturday nights'. The Eddie Izzard rumour's a smidge more recent (middle of last week rather than 2 fridays back.
About bloody time BBC ! What took you so long to listen to the loyal fanbase?
As part of the loyal fanbase for the last thirty years, I'd say what took so long was for us, the loyal fanbase, to stop pestering them, harassing them, sending hatemail, insulting their intelligence, claiming that we knew better than them what makes good TV, flooding their switchboards with flame-calls every time they mentioned the show... Eventually we calmed down and started acting more like mature adults. These new stories, I sincerely hope, will NOT be for the likes of me. When I was a happy little 8 year of viewer/fan, Doctor Who wasn't made for people in their thirties with an unhealthy interest in vintage TV shows, and I am absolutely confident that Russell Davies won't be making a show for me (and himself for that matter).
Also my personal view on 'what turned it' - the original viewers (not fans, viewers) grew up and created a new generation of potential child viewers. There needed to be a critical mass of 8-14 year olds who'd never seen the show, but with parents who remembered it, and that was always going to take a while. Remember that the key requirement here is for 'family viewing' - they were waiting for those families to be ready. No 8-year-olds? It's not Doctor Who then.
I'm a bit worried BBC Wales is looking after the project tho.
No worries there. The BBC's much more decentralised now than it was when Doctor Who was last made, and a lot of productions are sponsored from one of the regions. The particular production department involved usually doesn't imply location, setting, casting or any of that. BBC Wales films stuff in England, Scotland, Wales, wherever. As does BBC Sctoland, and so on.
tV
Okay, so it's not him, just someone who sounds a heckuva lot like him, pretending to be the Doctor. Doing it for a radio show.
One day, called Tom Baker himself, who took it in stride as only a British Time Lord can.
You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
Eddie Izzard is this hip comedian from England. If you had an ounce of good taste you would know this.
Un-news
Ah, well, us folks in the UK actually know what Izzard has done in the acting department; he was fantastic in 40 and his Imdb entry seems to miss the play screened on BBC4 with Eddie as the father of a special needs child which was just heart breaking.
And the transvestite stuff? Well, Eddie Izzard dropped that from the act years ago. And anyone who can do five minutes on jam and make it hilarious is fine by me. Oh yes, and if you've ever seen him go bilingual in a set, well, then you're lucky to have seen a master of international comedy (who takes the international bit seriously).
If all you can see is a frock on stage, that says more about you than it does of Eddie Izzard.
And, for the record, I think he'll be a superb Doctor.
"You know you want me baby!" - Crow T Robot
the Dr. Who loving baby boomers are toooooo old to be interested.
:-)
Alternatively, the Dr. Who loving baby boomers are now old enough to have kids to watch with,and t oappreciate that the show is primarily for their kids, and only secondarily for them too
Remember that 'family viewing' is the BBC's Holy Grail here. It's not us thirty-year-olds who were viewers first time round the BBC is interested in, it's not 18-25 genre-fans, the idea seems to be to get back to the 1970's when over half the British viewing public used to sit down as a family after the football results and before the big gameshow to watch Doctor Who together, as a family.
'oh no the TARDIS is covered in bee's, run charlie run.....'
ok people, get your quotes out..
Kingdom of Loathing (www.kingdomofloathing.com) Addicted is me
Carlin is very inciteful, Izzard is surreal. How people try and mix the two is beyond me.
All of the rumored guys would be good as the next Doctor..
At least you know it won't be Ben Affleck.....
The revolution will not be televised. It won't be on a friggin blog either
Going even farther off topic, I'd just like to make a comment on your last paragraph. When men are around other men, they play down their attachments and feelings for women. This is psychological fact. Actual poor treatment of women is absolutely wrong, but when women aren't present, men will often talk about them in a more callous manner. I played rugby for a year in college, and some of these guys would say the most sexist, derogatory stuff. Some of them actually were assholes, who ought not to be allowed within 100 feet of another human being. But there were also a good number who weren't that way. Some of them were just acting out a role, in the same way that guys who talk trash (during sports or videogames or whatever) may actually respect or even like their opponents.
I bring this up because I often notice the same phenomena with respect to gay bashing. Yeah, "gay" or "faggot" are often used as insults, but in many cases it has no meaning. Just as calling someone a "bitch" is rarely meant to imply that the person in some way resembles a female dog, gay related insults are often much the same way. I recall reading an article in my freshman year about a gay guy on the soccer (I think it was soccer) team. The article talked about how there was a lot of worry that it would be a bad situation, because the guys on the team tended to use terms for homosexuals as insults. The players were frankly surprised it was even an issue. Basically what they said was "yeah, sure guys would say those things, but no one actually MEANT it." The gay teammember said basically "I do get treated a little differently, but not in a bad way. Most of these guys have never met anyone who was openly gay, so they're a little worried about saying something that will offend me. For the most part though, they're a great group of guys."
Now, I went to a relatively enlightened school and I'm not trying to say that there is no such thing as sexism or homophobia. That is clearly untrue. Indeed, even saying derogatory things about groups of people does reveal prejudices. However, I'm also suggesting that perhaps people aren't always as bad as they seem. Sometimes, the way people act in one context is not a good indicator of their personal morals or deeply held beliefs.
Rational decision making and logical argument has no place here at Slashdot, what you're supposed to write is something unbelievably stupid like:-
"Yay! Edide Izzadr is teh r0xors!!!!"
See?
That was classic intercourse!
Surely this should be modded 'inciteful'?
When creating the first series:
Director: We want to do a space-sci-fi-time-traveling show. We need a big spaceship, with lots of flashing lights, and fins and things.
Props man: This is the BBC, scale it down a bit.
Director: OK, we need a cheep plastic model spaceship that hangs on wires that we can do cheesy fly-by shots with.
Props man: This is the BBC, scale it down a bit.
Director: Well, we need something. What have you got?
Props man: Well, we have this old police phone box from "Dixon of Dock Green.", it needs a lick of paint but...
Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated up.
This story is based solely on some personal thoughts and speculation by legendary eccentric ex-Doctor Tom Baker. Someone has taken certain comments out of context and run with them. Read http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/drwho/2003/10/01/71 26.shtml carefully.
To the best of my knowledge, Tom has no influence on the casting etc. of the new Doctor Who but he often has interesting insights to share (his autobiography is wonderful).
Personally, I know Paul McGann will be excellent if he has the opportunity to continue as The Doctor and I intend to tell/ ask/ beg him to pursue the part whenever I see him or his agent. I don't see any reason why we need to move on to a new Doctor, though some of the rumoured candidates are promising.
And anyone criticising the TV movie is deluded- it was excellent in so many, many ways (the TARDIS! the costumes! the dialogue! Sylvester! Paul!) and it's quite remarkable that so few concessions were made to the absurd desires of the American producers involved.
Tom Baker confirms the story's complete rubbish in conversation with Danny Baker (http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/insideldn/dannybaker/ archive1_clipoftheday_2003.shtml [from 27'19"]). Sue McGregor is a senior BBC journalist.
He was also responsible for the 1980s rumours that a woman was going to get the part.
"And don't try to pretend that anyone under 40 recognizes Carlin as anything but the Seven Words You Can't Say On TV Guy"
Nonsense. As the original post title suggests, we all know him as Rufus from Bill & Ted before we know about Seven Words...
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
Time Lords have 12 regenerations for a total of 13 lives (including the first life). Most Time Lords' lives can last thousands of years before needing a regeneration, but The Doctor leads dangerous lives... I'm also wondering whether these lives are consecutive, or a regeneration could be a shift sideways through 13 concurrent, individual, lives. It would allow for the numerous 'solo' adventures and eliminate certain continuity issues.
Greetings, non-internet person. Allow me to introduce you to Google.
When they came for the communists, I said "He's next door. Take him away. Goddam commies."
As a TV series, Doctor Who ceased regular production in 1989, though a succesful and stunning TV Movie which introduced Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor in 1996. The franchise continues in numerous other media;
Doctor Who showcased ingenious creativity in the face of limited resources. In an era of vacuous movies and series propped up by special effects (Star Trek: Enterprise is a rare exception), Doctor Who will always stand out. Little wonder so many people love the programme.
Tom Baker was a great Dr. Who, but lately it seems he is a loon with moments of lucidity. Have any of you read his interview at the BBC?? It's hard for him to remember SEASONS of Dr Who at this point. Or, he was just pretending. Either way, he was a loon in the interview.
It's much too early methinks (2 years out) for an actor to be chosen for Dr. Who.
When Big Finnish, who does the Dr Who audio adventures, solicits scripts, they say "write it for any Doctor" and then it is customized to a new Doctor's persona after the actor is chosen. What this means, is any time between now and late 2004 a Doctor could be chosen, even with the script fleshed out. Naturally, to generate the most hype, people will be speculating on the actor (or actress!) to play the Doctor. Paul McGann, the 8th doctor who was in the Fox TV movie, has been quoted as saying he wants a FEMALE doctor this time around, or an African American one -- this doesn't mean it's going to happen -- it's just actors voicing their opinions.
For the latest Dr Who news the best place to go, IMHO, is www.gallifreyone.com. It's a well-maintained fansite that seems to be tearing through the flurry of speculation and sticking to official BBC press releases.
I can't wait for the Doctor to be back on TV.
I love Eddy Izzard - but lets face it Its the Dr's assistant that we all care about. She must be hot and able to screem. If she wore short skirts like Teela it would be a real advantage
Which would be all very well if it weren't for the 'how far back can you go, how many lives have you lived' scene in Brain Of Morbius, which suggests that the Tom Baker version was already number 12 (assuming, reasonably enough, that you can ignore Peter Cushing and Trevor Martin) by showing 8 pre-Hartnell Doctors (actually the faces of various members of the production team, for which they then had to compensate Equity). Except that the 'only 13 lives' bit was introduced rather later.
Doctor Who continuity was never much more sturdy than the sets - or, to put it more positively, Doctor Who never let silly continuity niggles get in the way of telling a good story.
Anyhow, if it came to the crunch, it's not as if the BBC would stop the show becasue they'd run out of permissible regenerations, is it?
tV