HomeEccleston had gravitas and a very Doctor-ish quality to him compared to that clown McCoy who looked like the Riddler. You guys should seriously see the light on how good New Doctor Who is. 
Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread
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Rob Filth
burrunjor
Ludders
Pepsi Maxil
The Brigade Leader
REDACTED
Fendelman
Tanmann
Bernard Marx
RussellIsLord
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2 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:09 pm
Bernard Marx
I’m not a fan of Eccleston’s Doctor at all these days, I must say. Nothing about his incarnation remotely resembles the original character in any conceivable way (whether it be the character’s dumbed down dialect, costume or general characterisation), and it’s obvious that Eccleston wasn’t keen on the comedy RTD had scripted for him due to his often decidedly awkward performances (key examples being his laughing at the Moxx of Balhoon and gurning to Soft Cell in The End of the World, the awful “I can dance” scene in The Empty Child, and his forced grin just prior to his regeneration- he looks like he’s about to have a shit, quite honestly).
I find Tennant to be more smug at the worst of times, all things considered, but I find Eccleston to be less resembling of the original character, and his clear lack of confidence in the part (and in RTD’s scripts) makes him all the more unbelievable in the role as far as I’m concerned. I also don’t understand the hype series 1 receives in many fan circles- it’s aged appallingly, and most of the stories are either shite or nondescript, and unfortunately largely the former for me.
I find Tennant to be more smug at the worst of times, all things considered, but I find Eccleston to be less resembling of the original character, and his clear lack of confidence in the part (and in RTD’s scripts) makes him all the more unbelievable in the role as far as I’m concerned. I also don’t understand the hype series 1 receives in many fan circles- it’s aged appallingly, and most of the stories are either shite or nondescript, and unfortunately largely the former for me.
3 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:14 pm
Tanmann
Dick Tater
Under a great writer, like Rob Shearman, or a great director like Joe Ahearn he could be brilliant in the role, and deliver the lines with real punch, and convey a sense of a Doctor genuinely haunted by his centuries and alien sights.
When written by RTD however, he just came across as a genuinely unpleasant meathead you'd cross the street to avoid (I still to the life of me don't understand what Russell was thinking there).
And it's a damn shame because I think an actor of Eccleston's passion and commitment deserved more dignity than that.
When written by RTD however, he just came across as a genuinely unpleasant meathead you'd cross the street to avoid (I still to the life of me don't understand what Russell was thinking there).
And it's a damn shame because I think an actor of Eccleston's passion and commitment deserved more dignity than that.
5 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:23 pm
REDACTED
Fendelman wrote:
What is it with you and cat's shitting?
6 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:24 pm
The Brigade Leader
Rani wrote:Eccleston had gravitas and a very Doctor-ish quality to him compared to that clown McCoy who looked like the Riddler. You guys should seriously see the light on how good New Doctor Who is.
You blithering fool Rani, he looked like a common labourer, who took rose down the dog tracks and the bookies.
7 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:27 pm
REDACTED
Tanmann wrote:Under a great writer, like Rob Shearman, or a great director like Joe Ahearn he could be brilliant in the role, and deliver the lines with real punch, and convey a sense of a Doctor genuinely haunted by his centuries and alien sights.
When written by RTD however, he just came across as a genuinely unpleasant meathead you'd cross the street to avoid (I still to the life of me don't understand what Russell was thinking there).
And it's a damn shame because I think an actor of Eccleston's passion and commitment deserved more dignity than that.
I agree here. Under a better writer and director, I could look past his other faults such as his un-Doctorly costume, dialect and so on and believe that there was the odd spark of the old character buried within. Sadly with most of RTD's input dominating the scripts, it felt like we had another actor in the role who was wasted potential.
Tanmann wrote:(I still to the life of me don't understand what Russell was thinking there).
Sums up most of the era really.
8 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:34 pm
Tanmann
Dick Tater
Indrid Mercury wrote:Fendelman wrote:
What is it with you and cat's shitting?
Maybe his cat keeps eating the laxitives, no matter where he hides them.
9 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:35 pm
Pepsi Maxil
The Grand Master
I liked him until he started spouting that "white males should step aside" crap. If you're not going to step aside yourself then I suggest you shut the fuck up.
10 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:36 pm
REDACTED
Pepsi Maxil wrote:I liked him until he started spouting that "white males should step aside" crap. If you're not going to step aside yourself then I suggest you shut the fuck up.
When was this?
11 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:37 pm
Pepsi Maxil
The Grand Master
Indrid Mercury wrote:Pepsi Maxil wrote:I liked him until he started spouting that "white males should step aside" crap. If you're not going to step aside yourself then I suggest you shut the fuck up.
When was this?
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a29116956/doctor-who-christopher-eccleston-ninth-doctor-woman-billie-piper/
12 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:38 pm
Tanmann
Dick Tater
Indrid Mercury wrote:Tanmann wrote:Under a great writer, like Rob Shearman, or a great director like Joe Ahearn he could be brilliant in the role, and deliver the lines with real punch, and convey a sense of a Doctor genuinely haunted by his centuries and alien sights.
When written by RTD however, he just came across as a genuinely unpleasant meathead you'd cross the street to avoid (I still to the life of me don't understand what Russell was thinking there).
And it's a damn shame because I think an actor of Eccleston's passion and commitment deserved more dignity than that.
I agree here. Under a better writer and director, I could look past his other faults such as his un-Doctorly costume, dialect and so on and believe that there was the odd spark of the old character buried within. Sadly with most of RTD's input dominating the scripts, it felt like we had another actor in the role who was wasted potential.Tanmann wrote:(I still to the life of me don't understand what Russell was thinking there).
Sums up most of the era really.
I did genuinely hope that at the end of the season, whatever had been going wrong with his Doctor, and whatever his problem with the world, Eccleston's regeneration would be the point of healing, like a cleansing of all his negative vibes, and Tennant's Doctor would be him back to normal, with all the damage wiped away.
I can't help but think if Russell had stepped down then and left Tennant in his guest writers' hands, that's what we would've got. But he was probably too much of an egotist for that.
13 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:39 pm
Pepsi Maxil
The Grand Master
"I think it's time for white middle-aged males to step aside. And if Billie Piper ever wants to play the Doctor, I'll [be her companion]. Who wouldn't?"
Wasn't that the case anyway?
"Rose should have moved up to become the Doctor... but it was just too early."
He doesn't have a clue, does he?
Wasn't that the case anyway?
"Rose should have moved up to become the Doctor... but it was just too early."
He doesn't have a clue, does he?
14 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:41 pm
REDACTED
Tanmann wrote:Indrid Mercury wrote:Tanmann wrote:Under a great writer, like Rob Shearman, or a great director like Joe Ahearn he could be brilliant in the role, and deliver the lines with real punch, and convey a sense of a Doctor genuinely haunted by his centuries and alien sights.
When written by RTD however, he just came across as a genuinely unpleasant meathead you'd cross the street to avoid (I still to the life of me don't understand what Russell was thinking there).
And it's a damn shame because I think an actor of Eccleston's passion and commitment deserved more dignity than that.
I agree here. Under a better writer and director, I could look past his other faults such as his un-Doctorly costume, dialect and so on and believe that there was the odd spark of the old character buried within. Sadly with most of RTD's input dominating the scripts, it felt like we had another actor in the role who was wasted potential.Tanmann wrote:(I still to the life of me don't understand what Russell was thinking there).
Sums up most of the era really.
I did genuinely hope that at the end of the season, whatever had been going wrong with his Doctor, and whatever his problem with the world, Eccleston's regeneration would be the point of healing, like a cleansing of all his negative vibes, and Tennant's Doctor would be him back to normal, with all the damage wiped away.
I can't help but think if Russell had stepped down then and left Tennant in his guest writers' hands, that's what we would've got. But he was probably too much of an egotist for that.
I felt that myself. Tennant again could have been a great fit for the role had the more competent writers of the era taken over, sadly most the time with him, we were stuck with some smug hipster wannabe. (Not an criticism of Tennant's overall acting skill or his personality, just how he was written).
15 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 6:53 pm
Tanmann
Dick Tater
Indrid Mercury wrote:I felt that myself. Tennant again could have been a great fit for the role had the more competent writers of the era taken over, sadly most the time with him, we were stuck with some smug hipster wannabe. (Not an criticism of Tennant's overall acting skill or his personality, just how he was written).
I really do sense that RTD turned Tennant into his little performing puppy from the start. For much of Series 2 I found his performance too much and incredibly off-putting and lacking in any seeming nuance.
It wasn't until I listened to some of the Dalek Empire audios, in which he stars, that I realized how good he could be under the right writers, and that he could've been a genuinely good, alien Doctor.
16 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 7:00 pm
REDACTED
Tanmann wrote:Indrid Mercury wrote:I felt that myself. Tennant again could have been a great fit for the role had the more competent writers of the era taken over, sadly most the time with him, we were stuck with some smug hipster wannabe. (Not an criticism of Tennant's overall acting skill or his personality, just how he was written).
I really do sense that RTD turned Tennant into his little performing puppy from the start. For much of Series 2 I found his performance too much and incredibly off-putting and lacking in any seeming nuance.
It wasn't until I listened to some of the Dalek Empire audios, in which he stars, that I realized how good he could be under the right writers, and that he could've been a genuinely good, alien Doctor.
Pretty much sums up the first four NuWho Doctors. Matt Smith was the most consistent of the bunch with his first season where he's written in a more alien, almost new age Troughton way. Sadly by the end of his last season, he's regressed into Tennant 2.0.
Capaldi again, written in his first season in a more darker, detached, stern manner similar to Pertwee and Colin Baker. Again, by the end of his last season, he's Tennant 3.0.
17 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 7:05 pm
RussellIsLord
Lord Pertwee's Knob wrote:Rani wrote:Eccleston had gravitas and a very Doctor-ish quality to him compared to that clown McCoy who looked like the Riddler. You guys should seriously see the light on how good New Doctor Who is.
You blithering fool Rani, he looked like a common labourer, who took rose down the dog tracks and the bookies.
I bet you're one of those mugs who though Colin Baker was a better Doctor too. LOL
18 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 8:09 pm
Ludders
Eccleston was excellent in: Our Friends in the North, Cracker, The Second Coming, and worked well in Safe House, and even Thor: The Dark World.
A good drama actor who's very good at certain personality types, who had his moments as the Doctor, but ultimately wasn't suited to the part, on the whole.
A good drama actor who's very good at certain personality types, who had his moments as the Doctor, but ultimately wasn't suited to the part, on the whole.
19 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 8:25 pm
The Brigade Leader
Rani wrote:I bet you're one of those mugs who though Colin Baker was a better Doctor too. LOL
Colin Baker was a better Doctor.
I know, because It says he was in my favourite website:
www.thefuckingobvious.com
20 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 10:25 pm
REDACTED
Lord Pertwee's Knob wrote:Rani wrote:I bet you're one of those mugs who though Colin Baker was a better Doctor too. LOL
Colin Baker was a better Doctor.
I know, because It says he was in my favourite website:
www.thefuckingobvious.com
The link doesn't work.....
21 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 11:07 pm
burrunjor
Indrid Mercury wrote:I felt that myself. Tennant again could have been a great fit for the role had the more competent writers of the era taken over, sadly most the time with him, we were stuck with some smug hipster wannabe. (Not an criticism of Tennant's overall acting skill or his personality, just how he was written).
Sorry I don't agree.
I think Tennant is an excellent actor and a really great guy in real life too.
Still I don't think he would ever have been a born to play it type of guy. IMO the Doctor should always be played by an eccentric character actor, not a conventional leading man.
Tennant definitely falls into the latter too much in every way, his looks, the type of characters he plays etc.
Having said that however Peter Davison was also very much a conventional leading man, and he handled it well.
With good scripts Tennant could have been on Davison's level. A not perfect fit for the role, but gets by on his talents as an actor. Indeed there are episodes where he does fit into that mould, like The Next Doctor. There's no moping in that one (apart from the end.) He's very Doctorish in terms of being proactive, working things out like Sherlock Holmes, and the story is good enough. He's fine in that one.
Still the combination of being too much of a conventional leading man, coupled with the awful decisions RTD made, like the Doctor/Rose romance made his Doctor stand out like a sore thumb in the worst possible way.
When you compare that to Matt Smith you can see the difference. Matt was also given some awful unDoctorish things to do, like slapping Jenna Coleman on the bum! Still as he was a better natural fit, overall you still thought of him as the Doctor (though granted even then it was still hard with Moffat's crap.)
22 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 8th February 2020, 11:13 pm
burrunjor
Pepsi Maxil wrote:"I think it's time for white middle-aged males to step aside. And if Billie Piper ever wants to play the Doctor, I'll [be her companion]. Who wouldn't?"
Wasn't that the case anyway?
"Rose should have moved up to become the Doctor... but it was just too early."
He doesn't have a clue, does he?
God that quote really was pathetic.
Its like I said in the other thread, liking strong women is fine, celebrating female empowerment is fine, but this creepy debasing yourself as a man is another story.
It reminds me of Michael Moore in this video. To be clear I think Bill Maher is a total cunt too, but dear god Michael Moore manages to be the bigger arse.
Michael Moore just looks like he is scared of women, hence why he has to put them on a ridiculous pedastel where they are automatically better than men, and are incapable of being evil and pathetic like men are.
23 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 9th February 2020, 6:43 am
Rob Filth
...with a rolled up copy of The Sun in his back pocket.Lord Pertwee's Knob wrote:Rani wrote:Eccleston had gravitas and a very Doctor-ish quality to him compared to that clown McCoy who looked like the Riddler. You guys should seriously see the light on how good New Doctor Who is.
You blithering fool Rani, he looked like a common labourer, who took rose down the dog tracks and the bookies.
He then took her down the chippy in his white van with St.Georges Crosses draped on both back windows.
24 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 9th February 2020, 8:19 am
Kaijuko
Eccelston: I've never seen an actor more unsuitable, more uncomfortable with the role (with the possible exception of Whittaker). In fact, the various celebs who cropped up in 'The Curse of Fatal Death' were each far more convincing, far more appealing in a mere 23-minute comedy skit, than Eccers was in 13 full episodes. The Doctor as a working-class hero - I really don't think it works - it's painfully un-Doctorish - a gurning, galumphing Northerner ('Shunt off') in a scruffy leather jacket. Some of the ill-suited machismo of Series 1 was also clumsy, grating and completely out of character-" I'm gonna wipe every last stinking Dalek outta the sky!".
No, no.
Regarding his wildly unsuitable appearance:
"Do you feel cheated that your Doctor hasn’t got a trademark scarf or hat?
Totally not. Right from the start, I wanted to take on the challenge of playing an alien character without the benefit of any frills or extravagant costume; I felt I didn’t need Billy Connolly’s banana shoes and a feather boa to make the point. I liked the idea of him having a beaten-up leather jacket. I spotted a line in one of the early scripts that described the jacket as the kind of thing Terence Stamp would wear after a day’s work on a market stall. Well, they didn’t get Terence Stamp they got me–Plug from the Bash Street Kids."
(Radio Times Interview, 2005).
No, no.
Regarding his wildly unsuitable appearance:
"Do you feel cheated that your Doctor hasn’t got a trademark scarf or hat?
Totally not. Right from the start, I wanted to take on the challenge of playing an alien character without the benefit of any frills or extravagant costume; I felt I didn’t need Billy Connolly’s banana shoes and a feather boa to make the point. I liked the idea of him having a beaten-up leather jacket. I spotted a line in one of the early scripts that described the jacket as the kind of thing Terence Stamp would wear after a day’s work on a market stall. Well, they didn’t get Terence Stamp they got me–Plug from the Bash Street Kids."
(Radio Times Interview, 2005).
25 Re: Christopher Eccleston appreciation thread 9th February 2020, 2:51 pm
UncleDeadly
Christopher Eccleston...hmmm, yeah...its complicated. I too initially found the northern accent and colloquialisms jarring but came to warm to him over the course of that first season, although I never accepted the overall tone of the series itself (rather optimistically, I assumed that the series being a hit they would concentrate on the more promising material in series 1 and dial back on the camp stupidity. WRONG) or threw a wobbly when I learned he was leaving; as far as I was concerned, I was ok with him but I didn't see what all the fuss was about as I was sure they could get someone else who was just as good. ( )
Although I do agree that these changes to the Doctor's character were entirely unnecessary and completely due to the contemporary BBC's overweening need to pretend to be something they aren't and pander to what they think a mass audience will accept, as well as Eccleston's own stated prejudices toward the character (the Doctor is white, upper-class, intelligent, well-educated, eloquent and, therefore elitist, patriarchal, patronising and entirely unacceptable) I do think that Eccleston's intensity, conviction and presence carried the day pretty well and his lack of fanboy self-consciousness also meant that he determined to do his own thing rather than force himself into a desperate Tom Baker impersonation. I think I would still maintain that Eccleston is the best actor to have played the part in the revival series.
I would concede, however, that he was not the most natural fit (symptomatic of Davies' frequent obsession with a casting against type to an absurd degree due to a seeming horror of anything "cliched" or "stereotypical" regarding Doctor Who), being more an "Angry Davison" than anything else but I think that his aforementioned qualities helped him sell the characterisation and the material in a way that many others couldn't and, indeed, wouldn't in my opinion.
)Although I do agree that these changes to the Doctor's character were entirely unnecessary and completely due to the contemporary BBC's overweening need to pretend to be something they aren't and pander to what they think a mass audience will accept, as well as Eccleston's own stated prejudices toward the character (the Doctor is white, upper-class, intelligent, well-educated, eloquent and, therefore elitist, patriarchal, patronising and entirely unacceptable) I do think that Eccleston's intensity, conviction and presence carried the day pretty well and his lack of fanboy self-consciousness also meant that he determined to do his own thing rather than force himself into a desperate Tom Baker impersonation. I think I would still maintain that Eccleston is the best actor to have played the part in the revival series.
I would concede, however, that he was not the most natural fit (symptomatic of Davies' frequent obsession with a casting against type to an absurd degree due to a seeming horror of anything "cliched" or "stereotypical" regarding Doctor Who), being more an "Angry Davison" than anything else but I think that his aforementioned qualities helped him sell the characterisation and the material in a way that many others couldn't and, indeed, wouldn't in my opinion.
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