The rumour mill seems to be spitting out a fairly uniform product this week: that Paterson Joseph will be the eleventh Doctor.
(If you’re sick of next Doctor speculation, check out io9′s 45 coolest moments in Doctor Who history instead).
If it is going to be Joseph, I’m pleased (although there are other choices who would have pleased me just as much). He’s made some non-obvious choices in the roles he’s taken, he can do fierce/righteous and sweet/vulnerable (Lyndon with Harriet in Green Wing), and he has excellent comic timing. He is also quirky/hawt and can do smug/cocky at least as well as Tennant. As Comic Book Resources‘ Rich Johnston sez:
He does a great line in pompous, mischievous, inspiring, well-presented, well-spoken, with a big cheesey grin.
Photograph: Tristram Kenton, Source: The Guardian’s Theatre Blog
For those who aren’t familiar with his c.v., herewith follows a selection (starting with a Numberwang! skit from Mitchell & Webb, where he plays a gormless quiz contestant):
I couldn’t find a decent clip of him as Lyndon with Harriet, sadly – the stuff on line tends to be him playing the smug/cocky parts, in which he excels, but that’s not all he can do. The National Theatre has an e-trailer (what an excellent use of new media to promote live entertainment) showing teasers for Joseph in Eugene O’Neill’s Emperor Jones, for which he got outstanding crits. Still, for a distillation of smug/cocky, you can’t go past these two parts – Space Marshall Clark in the BBC’s space-comedy Hyperdrive (no embedding on that one) and the Marquis de Carabas in Neverwhere:
He would definitely do, for me. Thoughts?
Yes, he’s been doing an excellent job in the BBC’s new Survivor. I think he’d make an excellent Doctor.
I would be 100% happy with Paterson Joseph as the Eleventh Doctor. I haven’t seen much of his work, aside from a few YouTube clips over the past few days, but from what I have seen, he definitely has the potential to be very Doctor-ish in the tradition of the previous ten Doctors, while bringing his own unique angle to the role (as all new Doctors must do).
Doesn’t bother me, and that’s really probably the best sign, in my mind. Hopefully things will turn out?
Haven’t seen much of him, though Numberwang delights me in ridiculous ways. My sister and I were hoping in futile ways for Geoffrey Rush as the Doctor, but I think we can sacrifice this dream for Paterson.
Thanks to the lovely hoydens’ ravings I bought Green Wing on DVD. I think PJ is an inspired choice. He has a face that tends to smiling in repose, which gets me automatically smiling in return. Charming.
Well the Marquis De Carribas definately feels quite doctor-ish in that clip. I have to say that, at first I was a bit unsure about him being 11 but the more I see and the more I think about it it is growing on me. I suppose it depends on how Survivors is doing and on where his character is on there whether or not he can take the role if it is offered to him. At least we can be fairly sure that they’re not going to mind recycling actors since they cast Freema as two different characters in a short amount of time.
@ NotOverreacting:
The way British TV series are done, he should be able to do both Doctor Who and Survivors in the same year if required (and as Survivors is an ensemble cast, he won’t be needed for all scenes or even most). Besides, even if he is going to be Eleven, there won’t be any Eleven episodes until 2010. It’s all manageable.
I’d forgotten that he was actually on the first season of Who in the Bad Wolf episode, where he was the quiz contest winner against Rose.
I would be all over Paterson Joseph as the 11th Doctor. I’ve only ever seen him in Neverwhere, but he was astoundingly awesome in that. If you haven’t seen the whole miniseries, i highly recommend checking it out.
I’m still a bit sniffly at David Tennant leaving the series, because he was just brilliant in the role. Then again, i’m a recent convert to the niftybits of Dr Who, so that may explain some of my bias.
In other news, Sarah Jane TV is reporting that SJA has been commissioned for a third series (yay!), but also rumours that both spinoffs will come to an end before Series Five of Doctor Who kicks off– meaning that SJA ends after its third series, and Torchwood ends after it’s fourth series (which should mark a return to a 13-episode format).
While a lot of people are upset about this, I think it is the right decision– Rusty won’t want to keep hanging around after he’s handed the reins over to Moffat, and I don’t think that Moffat is particularly interested in either spinoff (although I wouldn’t totally rule out the possibility that he will use Jack in his version of Doctor Who– potentially a Jack from hundreds or thousands of years in the future, but pre-face-of-Boe). And besides, better that the shows finish on a high note, rather than becoming old and crusty.
For those still seeking their Tennant-fix, as well as continuing repeats of Martha series on iPlayer check out the drama “Einstein and Eddington” where David Tenant plays British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington, the first to prove Einstein’s theory of relativity.
The Courier-Mail is pulling out a long bow in this story: Will David Knijnenburg replace David Tennant as Doctor Who?
Not yet a household name is one thing, but no way will an actor totally unknown to the British public ever be cast in the part. He may well have auditioned for the current production team, and if he’s going to be cast in a significant supporting role in one of the 2009 specials then all the best of luck to him, but he’s not going to be Eleven.
He should get points from the Who team for playing the neither-confirm-nor-deny game well though.
Well had YOU ever heard of Sylvester McCoy?
Here in Australia? in 1987? No. But he had been part of a very popular children’s program in the 60s, and been on British TV in several other roles in the meantime. He was a familiar face even if they didn’t know his name.
As far as I can tell this guy from Brisbane hasn’t been in *any* shows produced for British viewers. A Neighbours/Home & Away star might have a shot at the keys to the TARDIS, not this guy.
To be fair, Tom Baker was completely unknown to the British public before he was cast as the Doctor– he was working as a bricklayer before that. I do think, however, that the dynamics are very different now– I doubt that casting a complete unknown would work so well now.
He was only working as a brickie’s labourer while “resting” – he’d been acting for 10 years and been in a handful of films. But I take your point that things were different then – I think the casting directors were much more interested purely in proven repertory theatre experience, which he had in abundance. These days, because of TV forming so much larger a part of the cultural landscape, they really do want to cast moderately familiar faces who already have a bit of a fan-base.
I think David from Brissie would make a better villain than Dr.
He looks like he’d make an excellent villain, or the embattled leader du jour who needs our Doc to tip the balance.
I just discovered that the actor who played Catweazle, Geoffrey Bayldon, turned down opportunities to be Dr number One and then Two. He then had a role in the Creature from the Pit episodes with Four.