The day after the BBC greenlights a Christmas Special and second series, star Christopher Eccleston quits over a fear of being typecast and the gruelling schedules (see here). This is immensely disappointing, and a kick in the teeth for Who fans when things were looking particularly rosy.
Here's how it works: the Doctor has 12 regenerations in him, so can be played by 13 actors in total before they have to start fiddling with continuity and whatever passes for Time Lord physics. Eccleston is Doctor number nine, so there are only four actors who will be able to play the role after him. To abandon his tenure after a single season is - to my mind - irresponsible. He should have known it would be gruelling before he started, and as for fears of typecasting, I thought he took on the role to escape that fear of always being cast as a miserable, intense type. Eccleston is a big enough actor - like Peter Davison was - to not have to worry about being typecast in the role. At the very least he could have committed to a second season and said, we'll leave it there.
Bookies have made Casanova star David Tennant favourite to take the role. Whoever does take the role had better be prepared to commit to more than one season, or they start to devalue the entire franchise.
Do I sound fanboyish enough?
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