A non white male middle class British Doctor?

Morrus · Oct 10, 2012

Moffat famously wrote the hilarious Curse of the Fatal Death, which starred Rowan Atkinson, Richard E Grant, Hugh Grant, Jonathan Pryce and Joanna Lumley. If you're a Who fan and you've never seen this, you should - technically it was Moffat's first Who script!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-wDPoC6GM"]Rowan Atkinson is Doctor Who - Classic Comic Relief - YouTube[/ame]

One thing that's been fairly constant about The Doctor is that he's always been:

White
Male
Middle-class*
British
Interestingly his age has been all over the place; I prefer him a bit older than Matt Smith

*Note that this is just an adjective encompassing mannerisms, accent, dress, and behaviour - I don't mean it to describe an actual class system.

The middle-class bit might be slightly arguable (Eccleston played him slightly working-class, although the actor himself is pretty middle-class despite his accent).

So which of these aspects would you be willing to change?

For me:

White - don't care either way. I was hoping Patterson Joseph would get the role before we found out Matt Smith got it.
Male - I think changing his gender might be a little too much of a stretch for me.
Middle-class - images of Ray Winstone playing The Doctor fill me with joy. Now THAT would be fun! "Put yer traahsers on sunshine; yer nicked! Oh, and I'm The Doctor!"
British - I couldn't compromise on that one. I know Batman and Superman are British, Robin Hood's been American and Australian, Bond has been Australian and Irish, and so on and so on. So I know it can happen and sometimes it can work, but I'm still completely against the idea of a non-British Doctor.

sabrinathecat · Oct 10, 2012

I believe Sean Connery qualifies as a Scottish James Bond.

As for the Doctor, so long as the character works, I don't care. I'm just glad he finally got a NuWho companion who can say "Something" instead of "Sump-fink".

Morrus · Oct 10, 2012

sabrinathecat said:
I believe Sean Connery qualifies as a Scottish James Bond.

And Tennant's a Scottish Doctor - the Scottish are British, though, so it's all fine.

As for the Doctor, so long as the character works, I don't care. I'm just glad he finally got a NuWho companion who can say "Something" instead of "Sump-fink".

You'd hate me, then!

sabrinathecat · Oct 10, 2012

Morrus said:
And Tennant's a Scottish Doctor - the Scottish are British, though, so it's all fine.

You'd hate me, then!

I dare you to say that on the streets of Glasgow!

After 2 years of Rose and her mother, followed by Martha Jones, Donna was a welcome relief.

Morrus · Oct 10, 2012

sabrinathecat said:
I dare you to say that on the streets of Glasgow.

What, sumfink?

Cor Azer · Oct 10, 2012

With a good script, any of them could be changed successfully.

That said, I'd be least receptive to losing the British part.

Umbran · Oct 10, 2012

White - I very much don't care. The whole point is that his appearance changes!

Male - I, too, find that changing the character's gender would be a stretch. I think, with just the right actress, writers, and directors it could still be done successfully, but this is the most difficult of the one on the list, to me, and I'd be skeptical until I saw the results.

Middle-class - To my American eye, William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee weren't too middle, but I certainly miss some of the detailed cultural cues. I think he could be played anywhere on the spectrum.

British - I don't care where the actor is from. However, changing the character - so, say he's a New Yorker, or a Texan, or from New Delhi - well, I suppose it could be done. But why?