In 2005, "Doctor Who" returned to the BBC after more than a decade off the air and has been met with constant critical success and ratings wins. Now as the series winds down a little to make way for four specials in place of a full season, one could be forgiven for thinking "Doctor Who" fever is gone.
In reality, nothing could be further from the truth and even new showrunner Steven Moffat has admitted that he would not object to seeing the show branch out into feature film territory ... as long as it doesn?t step on the toes of the series that is.
"A movie is one 90 minutes a year," Moffat told the BBC. "So yes, so long as it never gets in the way of the show. If it gets in the way of the show, that's appalling.
"It's been in the cinema, with Peter Cushing. It would be good to see it in the cinema so long as it's great and fantastic."
One of the main concerns for the series, however, isn?t how much creativity the show can pull together, but instead the longevity of David Tennant in the iconic role. Rumors have been circulating for a while that the actor may be preparing to exit from the series and that a new Doctor has already been selected. The reports have been flatly denied by the BBC and Moffat has gone as far as saying that when the time comes to introduce the latest regeneration, he won?t be getting any older.
"It's a practical issue," he explained. "This is a show that's hard for even the young, super-fit David Tennant to keep up with. It might kill someone over 60," he said.
"If the Doctor turned into an old man you would be a bit pissed off. Even William Hartnell [the first doctor] had trouble back then, he was often ill and forgot his lines. I think he'll always probably tend to be around 40."
Louise Jameson -- who played the companion Leela in the original series during Tom Baker?s tenure -- has also discussed the possibility of an older actor playing the part of the infamous Time Lord. Only she believes there is another reason for keeping the Doctor young.
"There?s basically a blanket ban on anyone over the age of 35 playing The Doctor," she told fans at Collectormania Glasgow over the weekend. ?It?s to allow the show to connect to its younger audience."
The actress also said she would love to return to "Doctor Who" for a tie-up role similar to Elisabeth Sladen ... and she also wants to reclaim her loveable tin friend, K-9.
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About the Author:
Alan Stanley Blair is the news editor for Airlock Alpha and assistant news editor for its sister site, Inside Blip. Contributing from his home in Scotland, he is currently studying for a diploma in freelance journalism and feature writing.
