A while back, while gathering emails and questions for a previous edition of the DTM Mailbag, someone had inquired about my thoughts on the whole Doctor Boo/Billie Piper conundrum that the BBC placed themselves in. I thought about giving a quick answer before moving on, but as I was conducting my answer, I found out that I actually had some thoughts that expanded beyond the brief period I would dedicate. Eventually, I found myself compelled (for whatever reason) to turn this answer into a more detailed write up and offer some thoughts on the matter.
I wanted to hold this off until the end of the month so that I’d have something to post during that last week, but apparently, Marble Mouth Davies suggests that the BBC might be putting some sort of word regarding the future of who at some point next week or so. So I’m going to share some quick thoughts – based almost purely on speculation – and should BBC offer something substantial (or at least remotely forward moving) in terms of their future plans with the proverbial TARDIS, I’ll probably do a follow up. If not, this is my words on the matter, for better or worse.
For those who missed it, the final episode of Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor had him regenerate into Billie Piper… but the end credits stop short of crediting her as the Doctor. You have the usual “Introducing Billie Piper” credit; standard for anytime they introduce a new Doctor, but stop short of actually calling her the Doctor. Apparently, the word is that nobody has a clue on what the hell happens afterwards and this was something done at the last minute to “get people talking” until the Christmas Special hits.
Well, people were talking. Unfortunately, they were talking about the ratings going south and the Disney deal getting axed. Oh, and they were also talking about how fucking awful these past two seasons have been. But I don’t to retread that old territory; I’ve railed on the creative enough times and that’s another dead horse that I’m no longer content in beating.
What I do want to touch on is the Billie Piper conundrum. Particularly the question heading this post…
That one question that is the kicker for this whole wait. The one sticking point. There’s going to be a lot of needless discussion on how this can be or how this is supposed to work. But really, none of that matters. All of that is needless speculation over something that may or may not matter. The only thing that matters… and quite frankly, the only thing anyone wants to know is the only real question that deserves any answer.
Is she… or isn’t she?
So here’s the deal… if Billie Piper ends up being the next Doctor, then great. Fantastic. Wonderful. Wish her all the best in the new role and hopefully she gets some decent material to play off of. But if she is the next Doctor, then save us all the trouble and just say so. Do not try to be coy. Do not try to be clever. Do not try to pull the wool over us and artificially build a mystery that doesn’t exist. The fact is that you’re simply not any good at it. Stop wasting our time and patience.
Now do I think Billie Piper can be a great Doctor? I don’t know… maybe… Would I be opposed to the idea? Why would I be opposed to the idea? What for? We’ve seen other actors play other roles in Doctor Who before they’re eventually cast as the Doctor. Colin Baker played another character before he became the Sixth. Peter Capaldi, especially, played a couple characters before he became the Twelfth. Why can’t Billie Piper? I’m not opposed to the idea. All I’m saying is that if she is, then just say so. If we’re flirting with the question and she turns out that she is, then this whole thing ends up being a waste of time. I’d like to say that they’d better come up with something that’s worth the wait, but I don’t have faith that they will because they’ve had two seasons to sell people on Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor and the bold new era of whatever the fuck and they failed miserably.
What it basically boils down to is this; there’s no intrigue behind this because this isn’t something that’s carefully planned or thought out. This was something thrown out there at the last minute because the other guy decided he want out and so we had to rush this thing together before the show airs. Typically, when a Doctor ends their run, they usually wait until the holiday specials to do the regeneration, by which point, they will have found their next Doctor and we can move on with our lives. It’s been a thing since David Tennant’s changeover to Matt Smith. The only time the series ended with a regeneration was the first with Christopher Eccleston’s run ending after one series, making way for David Tennant to take over the reigns.
It’s no secret that things have been somewhat turbulent behind the scenes and that’s why we have this rushed regen. RTD figured we’d have a familiar face take over the reigns… at least, for the short term. The problem with that line of thinking is that they already did the familiar face well when they brought back David Tennant to be the 14th Doctor. I mentioned how I thought the whole idea of bigeneration was – for that one moment, at least – a nice way of sort of giving that original Doctor run some closure while kickstarting this new era with a new Doctor who isn’t completely burdened by the past. We’re staring a new era with a clean slate. A soft reboot of sorts. Those who, for whatever reason, were going to go “Not My Doctor” or whatever can jump off the TARDIS, stick with the old stuff or whatever Big Finish has lined up down the road, and let the new kids get on board with the new Doctor and his whacky adventures.
Roughly two years later, the new Doctor wants out and we do a rushed regeneration of sorts in he changed to another familiar face. This time, that of a beloved companion from the early days of New Who. Hooray, new Doctor… except not really? What’s going on? Even the guy in charge hasn’t a clue.
So here’s the deal… at some point in the near future, there’s supposed to be some sort of official update from the BBC, if it hasn’t already dropped. Hopefully, for all invested in this franchise in some form or fashion, something resembling forward motion as to the future of Doctor Who will be revealed. Hopefully, it’ll be good news. More than likely, it’s probably going to suck. At this moment, any bit of significant news is worth diving into.
Is the moment prepared for? Or are we surrounded by pudding brains?
You’d know what I’d go for right now? Change.
Not a moment too soon, either.
Okay, I’m done.
Later.
dtm666 