Recast Doctors

And this is why I’m undecided. I love Liz as a character and having more stories with her is great. But I’ve only heard Primord so far, so I’m not best to judge really.

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The elephant in the room is Tom. Sadly he is quite old now. Should the 4th Doctor range continue without him? Culshaw again?

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Honestly I wish they retired 4 after Tom passes, there isn’t much more you can explore with that incarnation anyway and well, it’s Tom Baker.

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Given how far in advance his things are recorded, I doubt this’ll be a concern for a long time

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I would like a recast for two on TV. It feels like he and 15 would have a blast!

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But they could also get it wrong. Then I would hate it!

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As pitch perfect as I find Culshaw’s 4 I do agree that 4 should be retired once they eventually run out of Baker stories.

I used to be very morally opposed to recasts and find them poor taste, but as long as the families of the original actors approve (which they seem to), I don’t really mind any more.

I think Carley’s War is amazing from what little I’ve heard but I do admit it felt like he took the role a lot sooner after Hurt’s passing than I necessarily felt comfortable with. Which is maybe a little silly, when there was a 3 year gap between.

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I think that’s the case for most classic Doctors, reason why the 1-3 + War recasts worked are that these Doctors weren’t as well represented on audio, but from 4 on there is plenty so it would feel pointless, even now some stories feel rather aimless considering just how much has already been done with these characters.

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Yeah definitely, I most only mentioned 4 because he was the one mentioned earlier in the thread

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I don’t think we’ll see recasts of any of the still living Doctors for a very long time, if at all. As people said, the main reason for recasting the earlier Doctors was because, otherwise, the story telling options were limited and we wouldn’t have as many adventures with those Doctors on audio. We have tonnes of 4-8 (with plenty more in the bank, it seems) so I don’t think BF will be rushing to recast for the sake of more stories.

I doubt, also, we’ll see any more Jago and Litefoot stories beyond the odd audio novel, either now that both actors have passed.

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Tom Baker can be replaced by a talking cabbage or a mute waxwork model. It’s what he’d want.

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But we have gotten that in for the modern Doctors

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As I’ve said before I just hope if they keep doing 12 stories we either get more Starkey or preferably someone actually Scottish :sweat_smile:

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THISSSSSS my god dudmans 12 personally felt like an insult to me :sob:

I’d rather they did no more with 11/12.

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Again, that was more for either lack of interest or lack of stories - which is why we had the sort of narrated Chronicles range before that wasn’t needed any more.

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Such a shame cause Dudman is an incredible actor and impressionist; just Capaldi is NOT in his range :sweat_smile:

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It always feels a bit weird for me when doctors are recast, because an inherent feature of regeneration is that each incarnation of the doctor is strongly associated with the actor that plays them. It was because Hartnell was unable to continue playing the role that led to regeneration as a concept, so it seems odd that now, when actors are deceased/unwilling to play the role, it is acceptable to recast them instead of utilising new incarnations. I don’t believe it is necessarily unethical or insulting to the original actors, though.

Recast companions I don’t have this type of issue with, because (usually) companions cannot regenerate, although some recastings are better than others.

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The problem with Frazer Hines’ take on the 2nd Doctor was that it always sounded to me like Jamie doing an impersonation of the Doctor (if that makes sense?). There were times when Frazer performed scenes as both characters talking to one another where it really didn’t come off, especially when quickly switching between the two. So I’m pleased Big Finish have brought Michael Troughton in to take over, although, personally, I would have preferred his brother David. I’m a big fan of the audio adaptations of the old Target novels, and I always enjoy listening to David as Doctor Two when he is narrating his father’s old adventures. Michael is good but David is better, I feel.

My favourite recast of the 1st Doctor is Peter Purves (happy birthday to him, btw). It’s not that it’s a pitch perfect impression of Hartnell, it’s really not, but he gets the character. I think people seem to forget that the 1st Doctor had a slightly mischievous streak, but Peter really manages to bring that out. For this old school fan of the classic era, I find the Purves 1st Doctor adventures a real treat to listen to.

I haven’t listened to quite so many of the Tim Trelor 3rd Doctor stories because… well, I don’t have a huge disposable income, and I have to be very strict about which ranges I collect now. But the ones I have listened to are quite superb. I genuinely forget that I’m not listening to Jon Pertwee and that someone else is doing the voice.

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Oh yes, I’d be happy to hear Sylvester’s take on Twelve! BF, make it happen!

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If you ever find some spare change, get Kaleidoscope or The Quintessence, they’re absolutely wonderful showcases of Tim’s chops as 3 :slight_smile:

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