New Doctor this Christmas

[Foxfyre]

Its official, We will have the Twelfth Doctor this christmas. I'm not gonna post the whole story but here is the link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22741493

[Graham Kennedy]

Holy crap!

Seriously wasn't expecting that.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Yeah, completely out of the blue here. So Eleven is leaving! Who will be Twelve and will we see the Valeyard?

[Jim]

Why do British shows and actors seem to cycle so quickly?

[Graham Kennedy]

The recent Who actors don't stay long because they don't want to be typecast, I think.

As for why our seasons are short, a large part of it is that the creative teams tend to be small. Typically an episode will be written by one person, or at most two or three, rather than a big writing team. Some shows, the entire show is written by one person - one guy wrote every episode of Coupling, for instance. Casts also tend to be smaller.

So it's more like a cottage industry than a production line.

[Mikey]

IIRC, Tennant left in part to pursue theater (or theatre, I guess) - he's been doing Shakespeare in Scotland or somesuch.

Believe it or not, Smith was on the show for four years - not a bad run in my estimation.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Not bad, no. An episode less than Tennant, from what I've read.

So, who's next and what causes the regeneration?

[Graham Kennedy]

Not bad, no. An episode less than Tennant, from what I've read.

Funny, it really doesn't seem to be that long. Time flies, I guess.

So, who's next

Well I find it hard to believe the person revealed in the recent cliffhangar (avoiding spoilers if you've not seen it!) will become the new Doctor from now on.

If it's a blank slate... I wonder if it's not time to do something different. A female Doctor?

and what causes the regeneration?

He dies.

[Tyyr]

Is there any reason in the lore the Doctor couldn't regenerate as a woman?

[Jim]

Is there any reason in the lore the Doctor couldn't regenerate as a woman?

Because then all of the episodes would be about shoe shopping or blaming all of the Doctor's problems on ex's... (just a joke... )

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Well I find it hard to believe the person revealed in the recent cliffhangar (avoiding spoilers if you've not seen it!) will become the new Doctor from now on.

I know of the

Hurt Doctor, as he's becoming known as in certain circles.

I don't think it'll be him, either.

and what causes the regeneration?

He dies.

Yeah, but in his first series he eventually survived going into a crack in time and space. Gonna be hard to top that, methinks!

[IanKennedy]

Is there any reason in the lore the Doctor couldn't regenerate as a woman?

No, there was one regeneration that ended with the person involved saying 'ah, still female then'. I think it was River when she went from a from a young black girl to her more recognizable form. It was in the episode "Let's Kill Hitler". That demonstrated that both race and gender differences are possible.

[Jim]

Actually, I would not mind a major change in the Doctor. Either to a woman or to someone that is... physically imposing. I realize that part of the lore of the Doctor is that he appears harmless... but a change would be nice for a while.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

There's also the Corsair, who was a woman a time or two. And judging by Romana's cavalcade of outfits, I'd say a change in gender is small hat at best.

[Mikey]

A female Doctor has been mentioned amid the cyber-rumor mill, as has been the fact that Smith's replacement should be named in under a month or so.