I remember being very moved, years before, by his performance in LET HIM HAVE IT, and - when I heard that he was now the Doctor, there was a moment of head-scratching as it seemed such a left-field choice, but the reasonable, rational part of me thought that this could be an amazing bit of casting, depending on what Chris brought to the role.
Then the first photos appeared in the paper of the buzz cut and - particularly - the leather jacket and - after raising my eyebrows - I thought, well, the classic show ended with a bit of a whimper and the movie got nowhere... Maybe a bold new approach is needed. Maybe it is me that is being too blinkered. Why should the Doctor never have cropped hair and why should he always have to have an Edwardian theme to his clothes?
Then the show aired and, while he came across very well as an ancient being in that first episode, feeling the Earth turning beneath him, his attempts at humour seemed forced. All grinning "Fantastic!" I could see him acting. It didn't seem natural when he felt obligated by the script to go zany. But it was only the first episode. Give the man a chance.
That was on the Saturday.
On the Monday, the shit hit the fan.
DOCTOR WHO QUITS! screamed the front page headline.
Was this a joke?
As the story unfolded, it said that the BBC had stupidly failed to tie Eccleston down to more than a one year contract. It also said that toy manufacturers were furious with him as they had just made the toys ready for sale and the Doctor was going!
It was with a somewhat bewildered feeling that I watched the second episode.
Episode 2 and this guy was already going!
And we thought Colin was short lived!
It felt, to me, at the time, like a waste of a regeneration.
I am very good at denial and I watched the rest of the season still thinking that there were crossed wires somewhere and this guy would surely change his mind or something. But leave he did.
As for the season itself, I hated the fart jokes and that BAD WOLF thing turned out to be, in my opinion, one massive damp squib.
There was a kerfuffle over a false statement the BBC put out about Eccleston not wanting to be typecast, when he had said no such thing.
Then the BBC were spinning that there had been a one season plan for him all along, to allow the concept of regeneration to be introduced to the kids. Pity they hadn't told the furious toy manufacturers that in advance.
The first photo of Tennant appeared in costume and he looked more the Doctor...
I still had hope.
Uncertainty over the series would grow over the years... The RTD era seemed uneven... The only hope for making this an amazing science fiction show seemed to be that writer, Moffat. He wrote the best ones didn't he? Surely the show under his watch would be amazing.
Be careful what you wish for...
And then the Moffat era began. Matt Smith proved me wrong after I dismissed his casting as a mistake... But I hated his scripts and the feel of the show. Capaldi promised a new era. But I felt he was so badly served a Doctor. He could have been the best of the new lot, in my opinion.
And now Chibnall.... But that's a story that is yet to be told...
16K
I like this
9.8K
I dislike this
That is the amount of likes to dislikes as of today on the Jodie Whittaker reveal video. And how many of those clicking like will actually watch the show?
Moffat lied when he said there had been no backlash. RTD too toed that party line.
But if Chibnall could overcome the hurdle of that statistic.... It has been done in the past with Michael Keaton as Batman and Daniel Craig as Bond... From rejection by the fans to almost universal acclaim...
If Chibnall can provide intelligent, powerful scripts that capture the hearts, minds and imaginations of all the boys and girls....
If Jodie can knock it out of the park performance wise and make the above statistic seem foolish, while showing that yes, I am the Doctor! You lot moaning about my gender looks stupid now, doesn't it!!
If the merchandise sales can also do an amazing u-turn and rocket skywards again....
And if Chibnall can, with ease, make the RTD and Moffat eras look like the fumbling attempts of amateurs in comparison to his era, then all will be well and the series future will be assured.
We can only wait and see.
And there's not so long to wait now. The time of truth approaches.
) Nowadays though the annuals have always gone to my son and I've never really even looked at the books while this years annual we decided against buying as my son is not really a Who fan and more a Ninjago and Primeval follower!
