The New Doctor Who

northrundicandus · Post by **northrundicandus** » Sun Dec 17, 2006 7:44 pm

I'm finally getting caught up on Season One and Season Two.

For fans of the show, which Doctor do you like better?

Christopher Eccleston

Or

David Tennant?

This BBC story surprised me

David Tennant named 'best Dr Who'

As the wife and I find David Tennant a little annoying as the Doctor. Christoper on the other hand was enjoyable. Neither to me though can live up to John Pertwee or Tom Baker.

JCBoney · Post by **JCBoney** » Sun Dec 17, 2006 7:50 pm

Eccleston is a better actor. Tennant is getting too silly for my taste. However, the Tennant stories tended to be better except for two that were simply unwatchable (Love & Monsters and Fear Her).

JDJarvis · Post by **JDJarvis** » Sun Dec 17, 2006 7:55 pm

I liked Christopher Eccleston . I'd put him #4 for all time doctors for me. But the newest fellow looks like he could grow on me (only seen 3 stories with him so far).

Matthew · Post by **Matthew** » Sun Dec 17, 2006 9:36 pm

I preferred Eccleston to Tennant, but I wouldn't have wanted him to have just cloned him, so I will settle for what's on the table. Tom Baker remains my favourite Doctor.

Ancalagon · Post by **Ancalagon** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 12:31 am

Between the two I'll choose Eccleston since I've not seen much of the new guy.

Pertwee has always been my favorite Doctor. I might be biased since my introduction to the series was with the third doctor but he's my choice and I'm sticking with it.

And Billie Piper is smokin' HOT!

PapersAndPaychecks · Post by **PapersAndPaychecks** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 3:53 am

Billie Piper's replacement is also fairly easy on the eyes.

TRP · Post by **TRP** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 10:55 am

Eccleston, definitely.

And now, for something completely different.

Is it just me?

With the latest incarnation of Dr Who, the posh accent of the older series is noticeably lacking. I find nearly a quarter of the dialogue of the principals incomprehensible. Tennant's a bit better than was Eccleston, but I probably miss half of Piper's dialogue. I do not, usually, have this difficulty with the guest actors. My wife, who has a much keener ear than myself, agrees with me, though she understands the dialogue a little better than I. There's always the possibility she's simply agreeing to be kind.

At first, I thought, "well, maybe they didn't intend this for an American audience." I quickly discarded this, because certainly they had more of an eye for overseas distribution on this one than they did for the original series. The original series didn't begin airing in the States until the very end of the 1970s. It took less than a year for the new series to wade across the pond. I can understand having an eye toward the overseas market, but really filming for your core BBC audience, but why drop the polish? Is that a BBC trend in general? The last British show I watched regulary was the original Absolutely Fabulous (which was!), and I had very little difficulty with the actors' deliveries.

Or, going back to the previous question, "is it just me?"

northrundicandus · Post by **northrundicandus** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 10:59 am

It's not just you. I have to rewind the DVR a LOT to catch some of the dialogue. But I have to do the same with American shows like the new Battlestar Galactica (which is getting crappier every week) and Heroes. I think the English Speaking Peoples have just gotten too lazy with their tongues. Or all the post-production in the world is being handled by the same incompetent crew.

TRP · Post by **TRP** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:09 am

northrundicandus wrote:It's not just you. I have to rewind the DVR a LOT to catch some of the dialogue. But I have to do the same with American shows like the new Battlestar Galactica (which is getting crappier every week) and Heroes. I think the English Speaking Peoples have just gotten too lazy with their tongues. Or all the post-production in the world is being handled by the same incompetent crew.

OT
I noticed that in BSG as well, though for me, that's due more to poor sound quality than accent.

More OT
I haven't seen the latest episode yet, but I've been encouraged by the last few episodes, because I get the sense they're headed back to the show's main premise: cylons want to kill humans, humans run from cylons and humans occassionally kick a little cylon ass. With all the teen angst drama of the previous season, it was nice to see them getting back to a little grit.

EDIT: Less OT
Jamie Bamber is a noticeable exception. His American accent is excellent, and his delivery clear. All English-speaking actors should take note.

Matthew · Post by **Matthew** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:10 am

In my opinion, it's a general trend in cinema and certainly English television, for the dialogue to be increasingly simple. However, it also seems increasingly the case that it is no longer necessarily desirable for actors to give a clear delivery, preference appears to now be given to vocal characterisation.

Mythmere · Post by **Mythmere** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:26 am

Baker and Pertwee were the only true Doctors Who. Baker was the best.

dcs · Post by **dcs** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:58 am

I've never seen Tennant as Dr. Who, but I did see a few minutes of him playing Cassanova in a silly TV movie. His accent was well-nigh incomprehensible.

Allensh · Post by **Allensh** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 12:16 pm

Mythmere wrote:Baker and Pertwee were the only true Doctors Who. Baker was the best.

There are those of course who feel that William Hartnell was the only true Doctor and all those who came after are usurpers <g>. I don't feel that way myself.

I started watching Who during the Peter Davison years so Tom Baker has never been my favorite but he is the one most closely associated with the role in the US owing to the long run on PBS.

Myself, I like Tennant. He has some of the whimsical nature of earlier Doctors and seems to be more "in charge" than Eccelston was, who acted like he was in a WoD LARP much of the time - filled with angst. Makes sense given the backstory of the Time War.

My favorite Doctor however...is Patrick Troughton

Allen

Stormcrow · Post by **Stormcrow** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 12:20 pm

I found Billie Piper difficult to understand for all of two minutes. I've listened to a couple of Doctor Who stories narrated by David Tennant in his natural accent, and found him difficult to understand for all of two minutes.

These people are speaking normally, not in trained, posh accents. If you can't understand them, you just need to get used to it. If you were to go to places where their accents are ordinary, you'd have the same problem.

I find an American Bayou accent more difficult to understand than English Cockney or Scottish.

David Tennant as the Doctor, however, is different, because he talks so fast. That is not Tennant's natural accent, however. (Listen to his Scottish accent in "Tooth and Claw"; that's his real accent.)

AxeMental · Post by **AxeMental** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 12:29 pm

Pertwee all the way.