Quick! Name the longest running TV show with original episodes! If you said anything other than Doctor Who or COPS, you were wrong. Starting with season one and counting this current season, Doctor Who has aired 759 episodes and been on TV since 1963 – and, with a 2010 season already slated, Doctor Who shows no signs of slowing down.
In a recent interview, BBC Film entertainment spokeswoman Lizo Mzimba confirmed that “a script is in development” for a Doctor Who movie, but if the project moved into full production, we likely wouldn’t see a release for several years.
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(In that time we could have three or four more “Doctors” because, as sure as I am geeky, the show will still be on the air.)
What makes the Doctor Who show so extraordinary is the fact that the show remains highly popular even though the lead actor has changed not once, twice or even five times but an astonishing ELEVEN times! William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith have all sported the sonic screwdriver and been behind the “wheel” of the Tardis – the Doctor’s time machine shaped like a British police box.
Usually, when a TV show decides to change the actor playing the lead role, it is considered by many to be the “jump the shark” moment. When the person playing that character changes, it forces us to re-bond with them all over again, and many times we simply stop watching the show. Can you imagine someone other than Hugh Laurie playing Dr. House and millions of people still tuning in every week to watch?
The constant character change hasn’t seemed to adversely affect the Doctor Who series. I think it’s because the writers never pigeon hole themselves into one specific story line. Throughout the series they have run 124 different story arcs, each one different and interesting. For that reason, out of all the Sci-Fi shows in existence today, I think Doctor Who makes itself the most adaptable to big screen treatment.
All you need is a Doctor, a time machine shaped like a British police box (which looks to us Americans like some sort of phone booth), a cute girl to travel with and a bad guy to fight. And get this: all three can be different in EVERY SINGLE MOVIE! Heck they’ve been doing it for forty-five years on TV and it seems to work just fine, so why stop now? Fans of the show would be happy because they are used to constant changes and newcomers would be drawn to it as well because a well told sci-fi movie almost always does well at the box office.
There are obviously no rumors about the script at this point but here is my suggestion. Let’s see an origin story of Doctor Who and how he became alone in the universe. Writers have long been mentioning the Time Wars between the Time Lords and the Daleks (think R2D2 with a bad attitude and a toilet plunger for a hand). That would make an epic battle to watch on screen and set up the next series of shows or movies quite nicely.
What do you think about a Doctor Who movie and who would you like to see play him? I’d personally like to see Christopher Eccelston return to the post.
Dr. Who the movie is still in development and has no release date.
Source: BBC
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39 Comments
I would love the see a movie w/ David Tennant as the doctor, but its just a shame that I can’t watch this show as much as I used to.
Tom Baker will always be Dotor Who for me.
An origin movie would be great!!
Doctor Who is cool, but I cannot imagine it on the big screen.
Showing my love of Dr Who: 12 if you count Richard Hurndall.
David Tennant is the man for the job, though I did like Eccelston… sure there could be a movie. Look at Star Trek! They rebooted that one. Tennant has done a great job with the role, though I hear he’s a little tired of the Tardis these days and is leaving the keys for someone else…
This would be so awesome – it’s about time they make another one.
I think an origin story would be fantastic AND they have a brand spankin’ new Doctor for it. None of the guys that have already portrayed him. Make him the ORIGINAL Doctor. My favorite on the more recent series was EASILY David Tennant. I thought he did a fantastic job as The DOctor. I just hope if they go ahead with this, they don’t cast some flavor of the month (i.e. Shia Lebeouf) as the Doctor.
This would be very cool.
A little clarification on your first sentence though – an example that has been on longer and has more original episodes is the longest running production series that started in 1937 on radio and has over 15,600 episodes (Guiding Light)
@ jack Ivy – Good point but I wouldn’t count radio in with the TV show episodes. Two different forms of media as far as I’m concerned. Maybe I should have said Sci-fi shows? Technically the Today show has 20k+ shows on air but I’m pretty sure those aren’t in syndication. Looking into it a bit further if we should pretty much discount anything that doesn’t have a written script to follow, ie WWE Raw, news shows. Soap operas would be a different category because they air 5 times a week and good gravy please don’t bring one of those shows to the movie theaters! Thanks for bringing up a good point though.
David tennant is awesom…best doctor ever!!!! Huge doctor who David tennant fan…would love 2c him play the doc in a movie!!
What sucks about this news is that we should be talking about the third Doctor Who sequel by now. I’ve never seen a studio (BBC) sit on their hands with such an amazing franchise. Ah it makes me so angry!
First they screw up the Red Dwarf film then they take there sweet time on Who!
Idiots!!!!!!!!!!!
^
Anyway, the tv show is better than great its amazing. Tennant is the best, Eccelston was great too but didn’t want to hang around,,,
^
It would be great to see the Time War covered in the film. Keep in mind that the Daleks didn’t always look that way,,, In the origin story we would be seeing how they end up in those suits.
As that’s what they are, space suits.
Oh and that plunger arm is very advanced technologically.
Now I have to sit and wait 2 years for this ??? LAME !!!!
@790 We have the Dalek origin story already. It’s called “Genesis of the Daleks” and aired in 1975.
@Saphira, who was playing the Doctor in that one?
I didn’t see it.
Did that cover the time wars, or was it just basically covering the Daleks?
790, that was Tom Baker. The Time Wars was something only dreamed up for the post-2005 revival. “Genesis Of The Daleks” was a 6-parter and was the first attempt at an origin story for the Daleks. It was set during the cataclysmic war between the Kaleds and the Thals on what was to become the Dalek homeworld Skaro. Davros was a Kaled scientist who’d been mutating members of his own (humanoid) race and sticking them in these armoured transit vehicles as the conscience-free berserk Nazis we all know and love today. It’s a classic!
Paul, you’re right, the Tardis was supposed to look like a police phone booth of the type that went out of service in England in the late-’60s with the advent of personal radios.
As for a movie, many of the diehard fans (post-2005, it’s gotta be said) are busy slagging off Matt Smith on account of his age, fringe and London accent, so to keep everyone happy they could try the old “Three Doctors” shtick of finding some way to write in Smith, Tennant and Eccleston. Of course, if it’s not going to happen for another few years then Smith could have been and gone by then. I wouldn’t mind seeing Paul McGann having another stab at it, even if the 1996 one-off was pretty poor.
Thanks for the info Big D,,, I think I remember those, Tom Baker was one of the best.
I recall in the new series the Doctor mentions in one of the episodes that the Daleks were partly to blame for the destruction of the his home world.
On the topic of a plot for the film, the season finales of the last 3 seasons have been movie caliber. They could do a great film if they don’t go overboard.
I think more people would be into Doctor Who if it was say broadcast on one of the Networks here in the US. It could easily be as popular as Star Trek over here if it got more buzz, The writing is really exceptional.
Next on FOX,,,,
EXTERMINATE !!!! ,
EXTERMINATE !!!!
Well, personally I would like more info on the Time War but mostly, I think it would be brilliant for Eccleston to come back as the Doctor. On average every actor who has played the Doctor normally gets around three to four seasons. The ninith one has only gotten one, it’s not fair!
I would LOVE to see a movie about the Time War featuring Paul McGann, Chris Eccleston & David Tennant’s Doctors, since they were the incarnations involved before, during and after the Time War. I hope this movie happens soon!
I’d love to see Christopher Eccleston in this but I don’t know that he would want to do it. The idea of more than one Doctor is interesting.
David Morrissey, maybe? I thought he was just perfect as the fake Doctor in the Cybermen Christmas special, and apparently he was actually offered the role for real at one point.
the time war would be good but they would need to have the 8th doctor not the 9th like you said,8 died at the end of the time war and became 9 (That will only make sense to fans there is a logic to it) maybe get 9,10,11 together for it? the did that with the other doctor who movie ‘the five doctors with doctors 1-5…well 1,2,3,and 5,4 was indisposed somewhere the whole movie.
I think that a “Doctor Who” origins story has been obviously coming for years. Fortunately, one has already been made – in a parallel Universe.
I think that the kind of “Doctor Who” movies that I would like to see now would involve the Doctor’s life shortly after he left his home planet and his memory was erased. Quite alot like me would he be.
My friend brought up a very good point. Part of what makes Doctor Who so good is that mystery. I mean if we know about the Time War, then it won’t be so interesting. I like how it’s dispenced in little bits.
That sounds good if you do three doctors, but I don’t know if Tennant would want to, since then if he goes back and stuff, he might be typecasted as the Doctor and nothing else.
I still do hope it’s just the ninth Doctor, like I’ve said before. He deserves another movie since he only got one season.
Ah good point Claire…I think your right…
Here’s a thought, they could do a 3 Doctor story involving different timelines. The story could cover the off screen transformation that’s been hinted at with the new Doctor. They could also encounter Eccelston in a alternate timeline with Rose?
Throw in some Capt Jack,,,???
I’m there!
Anything with Ninth, Rose and Jack are excellent. It’s befor erose becomes to lovey dovey, and they play off their chemistry so well. That would be awesome. I would be there too.
That’s true too, but I wonder hwo the’ll do this off screen intro because at the end of each regeneration I’ve ever seen you get to see the new Doctor. I would love to see Matt Smith, too. He was excellent in some Masterpiece Mysteries I watched.
Maybe there thinking the same thing Claire, show the transition in the film ???
Would love to see Mickey in there as well, his alternate reality character was great!!!
Cheers !!!
The reason Eccleston left the show after 1 season was because he suppose to be in the BBC remake of “The Prisoner”. That was back in 2006 and nothing more was done with it, which is ashame. As off 2008 there was confirmation that the BBC was going to redo the show but they wouldn’t confirm that Eccleston was playing Prisoner 6.
Correction: Sky One NOT the BBC is doing the remake.
Well, that makes sense, yuo need to stick to your jobs but if he’s not confirmed maybe BBC should confirm it, so he can stick to it. Get the script written and get Eccleston. Barrowman won’t be toruble because he loves being Capt. Jack soo much. Billie Piper might need convincing, I heard that she’s focusing more on being a mother than acting. And since she’s a mother, is she too old to play a nineteen year old?
well a lot of people who wach this show are high so…
lets see somthing the would make a stoner like this movie would be, oh all of the actors in the same movie trust me this wold make it very popular. “not saying every one is just a lot of them are.”
@ Job, I’m not high and a lot of the people I know that watch this show aren’t either so I am unsure what your information source for this tidbit is.
the comments were definitely tl;dr, so here you go:
In my opinion, there needs to be a movie that does handle the Time War, which isn’t mentioned in the first iteration of the series (as there are trips to Gallifrey) so it has to happen somewhere between the Seventh and Ninth Doctors.
Perhaps this would finally give fans the McGann/Eccleston regeneration sequence? At any rate it would be something fans would want to see because, as you mentioned, the Time War has been hinted at so strongly ever since the show came back.
And here’s my piece of uber-geekitude: The Fifth Doctor did not in fact use the sonic screwdriver – he went “hands-free” as they mention in “Time Crash.”
My final tidbit: In the new Torchwood miniseries, I would LOVE to see Matt Smith show up as the 11th Doctor in a cameo before he actually takes over for Tennant. Given the whole time travel thing, it’s definitely not out of the question.
I think they shouldn’t do anything about the Time War. What they should is make a story(s) of its’ consequences that the Doctor must set right.
And here’s a little nugget, how about Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliff as a future Doctor Who? After all Harry was a little instrumental in bringing back the Doctor.
I so want to see the Last Great Time War! Lets have 10th telling someone about it as a frame story, 8th as the main character, and a regeneration into 9th near the end. That would be simply fantastic.
@Timebender13, I totally agree with you! THAT’s exactly the movie I imagined/wished for all this time. Bring on 8,9 & 10!
I agree with those who want to see a telling of the whole Time War saga.
Personally, I had strong feelings about the Doctor Who movie (”Enemy Within”), both really liking many aspects and really disliking others. I thought McGann was awesome and showed real promise, and felt it tragic we were deprived of seeing more of him on film. The only regeneration sequence viewers have never seen is the one between the 8th and 9th doctors. SO…
Why not make the film a bridge between the old, the ‘attempted’ new, and the new by telling a story that many feel needs to be told anyway AND would fill in a missing piece of Doctor Who tradition!? We could even throw in some Eccleston/Tenant action since, let’s face it, I bet a lot of us are curious to see those two on screen together as Doctors. I say bring in McGann, Eccleston, AND Tenant! Let’s watch the tragedy of the destruction of Gallifrey unfold, give a chance for McGann to shine again, watch him transform into the 9th Doctor, and somewhere along the way watch the 8th, 9th, and 10th Doctors bump into each other!
BTW – I’m pumped that it looks like there’s going to be a Children In Need 15-minute special with all 11 Doctors featured!!!
@ Anthony B, thank you for so clearly expressing my own thoughts and hopes for this rumored movie.:)
I completely agree with you!
As for the Children In Need special,I’m afraid that’s just another recycled rumor.
As much as we all want to see it happen, I’ll believe it when I watch it.
Hey IzzyD,
Thank you! Regarding the Children in Need special, I can understand your skepticism. For some reason (or rather a collective of little reasons), I believe it this time.
(1) Russell T. Davies likes big endings, and a special featuring all 11 Doctors would certainly play into that.
(2) The likelihood of having McGann included, in my opinion, would have been a factor in favor of disbelieving the rumored special, BUT… he has done and is remarkably still doing a boatload of radio programs as the 8th Doctor, and add to that that he recently attended his first ever convention, met with a very overcrowded room of 15,000 people! So McGann is in a better position than ever to make some sort of appearance – his popularity is on the upswing.
(3) The series has been seeded with VISUAL references to past doctors. Davies wanted a break with the old in certain key respects, but he’s very, very loyal to the old shows. So while these can be seen as mere tidbits to please the fans, I think they may be preparing us for something. The show is signaling that it does not want to forget the past. An 11-Doctor special would be a wonderful part of the climax to this.
Some of this doesn’t only speak in favor of the special this time around – it also speaks to a movie which might tie together the old and the new with someone like McGann present.
They should cast an actor to portray The Doctor in a way that only his people saw. Then he should regenerate into a different form, starting a point in which the first episode of the VERY first season could pick up from. That would be great.
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