The Doctor could absolutely be played by an American, and I know exactly how you’d do it.
That’s one of eight questions in this round of the Know-It-All Files, which is me proving I know it all by answering yours. I’ve gone into Quora and Reddit and found some really good ones. We’ve done Star Trek, we’ve done Doctor Who, and now we’re doing more Doctor Who.
Could an American Play the Doctor?
The question: could the Doctor ever acceptably be played by an American in new Who, in your opinion? Why or why not?
I hate the new Who thing, but I get it. And truthfully, I think he absolutely could. We’re moving into an era where if he can be a woman, if he can be black, if he can be any mix he’s never been before (which, by the way, he should’ve always been able to be), then yes, he could be, quote unquote, an American.
You do it the same way they did it with Peter Capaldi. He was talking about, “Oh, look at his eyebrows. These are cross eyebrows.” And he was Scottish, very Scottish. So have him be American and have him talk about it. Make fun of it.
Could it be a famous American actor? Absolutely not, any more than it’s ever been a famous British actor. These were British actors who existed and worked, but they were never stars on that level. Idris Elba, I can’t see playing the Doctor, because his star’s too high. You need someone a little more humble and a little more grounded, who can step into the role, really embrace it, and let it be the thing that propels them forward. And don’t get me wrong, Ncuti Gatwa is coming. He’s probably the highest profile actor they’ve had who isn’t predominantly a British actor, meaning he does stuff elsewhere, obviously.
So it’d have to be somebody like John Barrowman, if Captain Jack didn’t exist. John Barrowman is an American actor who does primarily British roles. He’s been in many, many things over there. That’s how it would have to happen. Or you wait a chunk of time, six or seven years, and then you get someone like a Christopher Eccleston but an American version, and then you can have your famous guy who comes in for one season to reboot it.
If he does become American, his adventures don’t suddenly all move to the US. They stay in the UK, and now he’s got to explain where he’s from and why he’s this, that or the other, which I think would be great. Especially if you get him trying to pretend to have a British accent in that form, and he’s bad at it. That’d be so funny. I’d be totally down.
The Doctor’s Wife Is River Song
The question: in the new Doctor Who episode “Legend of the Sea Devils,” Yaz and Thirteen had the chat, which is Yaz’s heartbreaker, as Thirteen mentioned she has a wife, putting Yaz into the “I could, but I can’t” friend zone. So who is the Doctor’s wife?
River Song.
The Doctor’s been married before. There’ve been other wives, I’m sure, and I’m sure we even know some names from the old, old series. But for me, when you talk about the Doctor’s wife, I only think of River Song. Period. That’s why her graveside is so close to his on Trenzalore.
The Doctor’s wife is River. Hello. Come on. I don’t even know if there’s any more to answer there.
That entire storyline is amazing. Me and my wife watched just that story. We started with “Silence in the Library” and went through all the others, all the way up to the very end, when he’s Peter Capaldi and they go to the Singing Towers. It’s a beautiful story, and I don’t know that it’s matched by many things in science fiction.
Jennifer T. Kirk Is the Wrong Comparison
The question: would Star Trek fans react the same way to Jennifer T. Kirk as Doctor Who fans have reacted to Jodie Whittaker being cast as the Thirteenth Doctor?
This is a very good question, and I like that it got asked. First off, I don’t know that Jennifer is the name. Maybe Jamie T. Kirk, any version of James that sounds like James. Jennifer’s usually considered the female version of John. Whatever. Tangent. Sorry. ADD.
I can’t tell from the question whether there was a tone, but to me it sounded snarky. And I don’t know many people who were mad about Jodie Whittaker. There was a small sect of people I heard about. For the most part, all the Doctor Who fans in the circles I travel in were very excited. Heck, I was very excited. So from that perspective the question’s a non-starter.
Take that whole issue off the table and what you’re stuck with is two very different circumstances. The Doctor regenerates all the time. Captain Kirk never did. You’ve never seen Captain Kirk regenerate. So what the question is describing is an actual gender-bending reboot that would require rebooting the entire Star Trek universe, whereas Doctor Who switches Doctors on a regular basis.
They’re apples and grapes. They’re not even in the same ballpark. Matter of fact, they’re apples and tomatoes. Other than the fact that they’re both red, they’re very different fruit.
I feel like it’s a question purposely trying to be inflammatory, and it’s kind of doing it wrong, because the example it’s using doesn’t cut the mustard. It doesn’t hold up.
What I Want From Russell T Davies
The question: now that Russell T Davies is back on Doctor Who, what do you expect to see? What do you wish for him to do?
I’m very much excited for what Russell T Davies is going to do. I think I answered something like this last episode. What I’m excited for comes out of an interview we talked about in that same video, the one where he discusses Marvel and Star Wars, and how by now we should have the adventures of the Rani, or any number of versions of Doctor Who floating around. Specials. A series with two Doctors that runs six episodes, real tight and concise, like Moon Knight was. Jo Martin getting her own Fugitive Doctor series of eight episodes or whatever.
The idea that you could create a cinematic universe, an interconnected Doctor Who-niverse, is absolutely what I’m excited for. I want to see Torchwood back. Give me a series that’s all about the companions and what they’re doing to protect Earth. Or give me UNIT. There’s so much room for UNIT to suddenly get its own procedural, which I think would be great.
Heck, let’s go back, baby. Give me a prequel series to the Doctor.
I wrote a short story I called The First Doctor. The entire premise was him, the Master, and somebody else who maybe ended up becoming the Rani or something. You see them as children first, before the schism, and then as they go up through the academy you get to see them choose their names. The three of them steal a TARDIS first. In my story, that’s what eventually brought the Doctor to be curious later on, as an older man.
It was sort of a prequel idea, and I think you can actually do it: The First Doctor, his adventures as a young man, Smallville style. It doesn’t have to be a matter of “oh, you’re rewriting everything.” You take the opportunity to have some fun with it. Show us the early Time Lord world and really delve into some of that stuff. I think you could Smallville it and it’d be really, really good.
Could the Q Continuum Survive the Last Great Time War?
The question: could the Q Continuum from Star Trek survive the Last Great Time War from Doctor Who?
Wow. That is a very complicated question.
First, we’re assuming Q can hop universes, and I’ve already established in a previous episode of this thing that in my head canon, Q is a lot like the Infinity Gauntlet in Marvel Comics. In the comic books, the Infinity Gauntlet only works in its own native universe. There’s a whole thing where Earths are colliding and the Illuminati tries to use the Infinity Gauntlet to avert a disaster, and ultimately it doesn’t work, because what it’s trying to exert its energy on isn’t from that universe.
Same thing with Q. We’re establishing the rules right here in Know-It-All Nation: Q can’t leave universes. It’s why I took him out of the equation in the Star Wars question a while back.
So take that off the table for a second. We’ve already seen a crossover with Star Trek and the Doctor. Ooh. I should do that. We should do that in the Know-It-All Files. I believe it was an eight-part IDW comic book series, and it featured Matt Smith’s Doctor on The Next Generation. That would be awesome. That’s both my fandoms together. Let’s go.
To the question itself: yes, because Q exists in higher orders. I believe the Q Continuum would be consistent with the ancient species, the old races. The Eternals. The original Time Lords, the old, old Time Lords like Rassilon and that era of Time Lord. Definitely the Eternals. I believe the Q Continuum is at that level.
So yes, I definitely believe they would survive.
Why the Last Few Seasons Didn’t Engage
The question: why are the last few seasons of Doctor Who so non-engaging compared to previous seasons?
I’m going to take this question with validity. I’m going to make the assumption it’s not being asked in malice, because remember, your mileage may vary.
I liked Jodie Whittaker in the role. I did not like the writing, and I did not like most of the episodes. Her interactions with the companions, I could take them or leave them. The will-they-won’t-they with her and Yaz, I never believed. That’s just me. Whereas Rose and the Doctor, for instance, I always believed.
I liked Yaz. I thought she was very nice as a character, cool in and of herself. I don’t think you needed the complexity of a relationship that ultimately ended in nothing, a zero sum.
They weren’t written the best, man. Let’s just be frank. They had problems, very problematic at many points. Dialogue was stiff. The ratings were going down. It tried to chase too many things and be too many things, and as a result, I believe it was nothing.
So I get it. I totally get it, and I feel for you, because I’m in the same position. But I’m not bashing. Hey, if you liked the Jodie Whittaker era, bro, God bless you. Right on. As you should. You have to understand, your fandom is my fandom. Together, we enjoy the things we love. So don’t sweat that nonsense. You love Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor and you love this whole Chibnall era? That’s awesome. I didn’t, but that’s okay. Different strokes for different folks.
The Doctor, Picard, Harry Potter or James Bond
The question: which of the following people would you rather be? The Doctor, Captain Picard, Harry Potter, or James Bond?
Man, you suck.
I don’t want to be Harry Potter, because I’m not a white kid. I’m kidding. I don’t want to be James Bond, because I don’t like getting punched. If I’m Captain Picard, that means I’m on the Enterprise, which means I’m in the Star Trek universe. But as the Doctor, I can go to both.
I’m going to be the Doctor. Let’s do this.
Why the TARDIS Keeps Changing
The question: is there a canon reason why the Doctor’s TARDIS interior changes so drastically from classic to new Who? I’m talking about how it goes from the small, classic, white roundels design to the different modern designs.
I think no. I don’t think there’s a practical reason. There were some little minor changes from here to there, and I know Tom Baker had a few quirky things of his own. But for the most part, you’re right, it holds up until Paul McGann in the 1996 movie. With the Eighth Doctor, it opens on this very Victorian era looking room, almost like a study.
There are some people who say that was actually just a room on the TARDIS. But if you remember, as they’re panning around past the teacup, past the stuff, you get to the center console, and it’s all decked in wood. The entire place looks like a Victorian era library or study. That’s the first time we see such a radical change in the TARDIS, and I think it was a smart move. It was brilliant.
So I definitely have to put the 100 percent fan fiction speculation label up here. Let’s invent a reason, because I feel like there’s enough information for us as sci-fi fans to come up with something logical in universe.
The Doctor got bored.
As you get older, you become, not cranky, but you like things your way. The problem is, when you’re a whole new person, your way changes. Not to mention the Doctor is who he is. He gets bored.
The Fifth Doctor, in the Children in Need special when David Tennant crossed over with him, said, “Oh, you changed the desktop.” So he knows something that we do. And later on, in “The Doctor’s Wife,” the one where the TARDIS is pushed into the body of a person, you find out there are thirty-some-odd control rooms saved. The Doctor’s like, you can’t save control rooms that don’t exist yet. And she’s like, I can, because it’s the TARDIS, folding in time.
So there you go.
We’re going to call it there for now. Now you know, and if knowing is half the battle, you’re halfway to being a know-it-all yourself. I’m really enjoying these questions, and I can’t wait to do these again.
Got a question for the next Know-It-All Files? Doctor Who, Star Trek, anything you think will stump me. Leave it where I’ll find it. The conversation lives in the comments on the video above.
