Sep 11 2012

It’s been done before

Categories:

Weirdness

by PZ Myers

So, where’s the Doctor’s cowboy hat? You have to wear the hat.

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57 comments

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1

skinman

11 September 2012 at 8:21 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

He does have a stetson. River Song shot it off his head when he visted hell…I mean Utah.
2

Turtles

11 September 2012 at 8:29 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

He will be wearing a cowboy hat in next weeks episode.
3

Gregory in Seattle

11 September 2012 at 8:39 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Is it just me, or is the Doctor getting younger with every regeneration?
4

Larry

11 September 2012 at 8:49 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Triceratops are cool!
5

A. R

11 September 2012 at 8:51 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Hmm, that frill would appear to be intelligently designed for a human rider… /snark
6

kreativekaos

11 September 2012 at 8:56 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Hee Haw!!! A regular chap-slappin’ Biblical Wyatt Earp, cleanin’ up this a’here heathen town.
7

Brownian

11 September 2012 at 8:58 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Oh, no! I’m supposed to recognize the person in the photo?
8

kreativekaos

11 September 2012 at 8:58 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

(Can anyone put put a few caption bubbles to that image?)
9

ChasCPeterson

11 September 2012 at 9:09 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

that frill would appear to be intelligently designed for a human rider

until the triceratops decides to look up.
10

duvelthehobbit666

11 September 2012 at 9:10 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

@Brownian
You should know who that is. It is The Doctor. You will now be banished from FtB.

(Just kidding about the banishment)
11

Brownian

11 September 2012 at 9:19 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

It is The Doctor.

Who?
12

rorschach

11 September 2012 at 9:21 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Looks familiar!
13

Gregory in Seattle

11 September 2012 at 9:21 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

@Brownian #11 – No, Who’s on first.
14

rq

11 September 2012 at 9:22 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

My thoughts exactly…
15

Brownian

11 September 2012 at 9:24 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I thought The Doctor was on first. So who’s the guy behind him then?
16

Audley Z. Darkheart: My name is Legion, for we are many

11 September 2012 at 9:24 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Chas:

until the triceratops decides to look up.

Ouch!!
17

chigau (違わない)

11 September 2012 at 9:25 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

When is there going to be a female Doctor?
18

Scrutationary Archivist

11 September 2012 at 9:30 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

You know the Creation Museum is a cheap operation when the BBC’s dinosaur looks better.
19

Gregory in Seattle

11 September 2012 at 9:32 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

@chigau #17 – Non-canonically, there has been one: Joanna Lumley played The Doctor in The Curse of the Fatal Death, a charity telethon put on by BBC 1 in 1999. In this show, The Doctor keeps dying and gets played by, among others, Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Grant before Lumley makes her appearance.

The whole episode is available online, and it is very, very funny.
20

Beatrice

11 September 2012 at 9:38 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I was rooting for Catherine Tate when Donna was Donna/Doctor for a while, but no luck.
21

lindareavley

11 September 2012 at 9:38 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I thought of you (PZ) when I saw this. Look how joyful the guys on the dino look. Dinosaur riding must be great fun. No wonder Jesus used one to trot around the Sea of Galilee.
22

Brownian

11 September 2012 at 9:44 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

No wonder Jesus used one to trot around the Sea of Galilee.

Yeah, ol’ Jesus sure was a helluva fun guy.

I wonder how many people he tried that “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men” line on before he found some who didn’t respond with “Fuck you, you pretentious asshole. We’re just trying to make a living here.”
23

blf

11 September 2012 at 10:29 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Following the link (click on the picture) to the story, it ends with another, ah, point:

Giving the cast something to touch and play with paid dividends. “It allowed them to be eyeballing the triceratops as it approached and for it to physically lick them. Mark Williams [Brian] was feeling quite threatened by that pointy head so close to his sensitive parts!”

Reminds me of forty-foot high killer rats — Cute when seen from, say, Pluto, but rather a bit much up close and intensely personal.
24

cicely (presented without qualification)

11 September 2012 at 11:18 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I thought The Doctor was on first. So who’s the guy behind him then?

Rory is on second, his dad on third.

The tric might be poorly designed for a short stop.
-
25

Ida Know

11 September 2012 at 11:24 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Good job it wasn’t a stegosaurus.
26

magistramarla

11 September 2012 at 11:32 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

We thought that they probably borrowed some props from Primeval.

The Doctor did have a daughter once. We keep hoping that they will bring her back and do something with that storyline.
(We’ve been watching since Tom Baker was the Doctor).
27

Amphiox

11 September 2012 at 11:38 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

It might have been nice if it were a stegosaur. Then we might have witnessed the use of the word “thagomizer” on cable TV.
28

CSB

11 September 2012 at 11:48 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

So, where’s the Doctor’s cowboy hat? You have to wear the hat.

I would also have accepted a fez. Fezzes are cool.
29

ChasCPeterson

11 September 2012 at 11:59 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

don’t make me do it without the fez on
30

lilith

11 September 2012 at 12:09 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I thought the robots were the real stars of the episode. I love Mitchel’s rants (in any form he might be…)
31

joshchang

11 September 2012 at 12:13 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

It’s the gangnam style remix!
32

eamick

11 September 2012 at 12:23 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Is it just me, or is the Doctor getting younger with every regeneration?

It’s not just you. I did a quick check, and the current Doctor is 11 years younger than his predecessor.
33

gworroll

11 September 2012 at 12:37 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Chigau @17- Matt Smith and Steven Moffatt have both spoken somewhat positively of the idea. Matt said he didn’t expect one for a while, though answering the followup question made it clear that this was because he expected to be there a while. With the current Doctor, and the current showrunner, both being ok with the idea, I’d expect it to happen soonish. I’d guess 12 or 13, the other I’m kind of expecting to be the first non-white Doctor(while technically unconfirmed, it’s well known that black actors have gotten auditions for the role, and the narrative possibility has been confirmed in Sarah Jane Adventures)

There was a line in The Doctor’s Wife put in specifically to establish sex changes through regeneration as a possibility. While the idea has been toyed with in some non-canon material, the Curse of Fatal Death special and one of the Unbound audios, until that episode there was no canon support for this. Though, there was also nothing in canon ruling it out either.
34

gworroll

11 September 2012 at 12:46 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Oh, I left out a spoiler when discussing regeneration possibilities. IF someone is about to respond to me “but what about…”, it’s probably because of how recently it happened.
35

F

11 September 2012 at 1:34 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Brownian @ 11:

This is the universe-ending question which must not be answered. Apparently.
36

ryushikaze

11 September 2012 at 4:02 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

No, No, F. You see, that’s a major mistake. The first question wasn’t ‘Doctor Who’ but ‘Staying late, Barbara.’ ‘Doctor Who?’ is like the 5th or 6th question.

It’s a good thing Barbara changed the subject, of course.
37

smidgy

11 September 2012 at 4:05 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

chigau (違わない) #17:

When is there going to be a female Doctor?

Better question – when is there going to be a ginger one? :P
38

myeck waters

11 September 2012 at 4:22 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I just say “The Doctor’s Wife” last night so the topic of a female doctor is pretty fresh in my mind. Although mainly I just wish the situation in the episode could have lasted long enough for the cute couple to have a baby.
39

ravenred

11 September 2012 at 5:30 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Hmm, that frill would appear to be intelligently designed for a human rider… /snark

ISTR the Silurians have some form in that area (including the contender for worst Dr Who monster ever in Warriors of the Deep), so it’s not totally implausible….
40

Ragutis

11 September 2012 at 5:34 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

smidgy
11 September 2012 at 4:05 pm

chigau (違わない) #17:

When is there going to be a female Doctor?

Better question – when is there going to be a ginger one? :P

I’m hoping both those questions have the same answer, but frankly
I can’t think of better candidates for a female Doctor than Emma Thompson, Keeley Hawes or Sue Perkins, none ginger.)
41

Beatrice

11 September 2012 at 5:43 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

female Doctor… Emma Thompson

Seconded
42

Stella

11 September 2012 at 6:04 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I’m not convinced Doctorial sex changes would be at all practical. Think of the gender dysphoria that would involve.
43

Xanthë

11 September 2012 at 6:25 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Ragutis: how about Tilda Swinton? (Not least because she played a wonderfully androgynous Orlando in the film of Virginia Woolf’s novel.)

Stella: assuming Time Lords have gender dysphoria, of course… Steven Moffat wrote The Curse of Fatal Death, which played Joanna Lumley’s regeneration purely for laughs, and it’s doubtful to me that the BBC would think of raising trans* awareness (by way of having a female regeneration) as fit subject matter for the show capable of playing to all age groups of the audience. (And the actor would be cis, inevitably.) Acceptance of trans* people is still rather further behind acceptance of LGB people, who’ve notably benefitted from the so-called Russell T Davies/Steven Moffat gay agenda. Hopefully before too many more regenerations.
44

Stardrake

11 September 2012 at 7:31 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Well, here’s a bit of info nobody’s mentioned…

Dame Helen Mirren is on record as wanting to play The Doctor.

Helen Mirren as The Doctor–that would so ROCK!

And since it’s her idea, she may well be willing to work for BBC scale….
45

Ragutis

11 September 2012 at 8:54 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

how about Tilda Swinton?

She’s great, I just don’t see her fitting into the role. Now, as a baddie… oh yes. Definitely.
46

Improbable Joe

11 September 2012 at 9:48 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Helen Mirren is so good at cheeky and amused at being smarter than everyone in the room, she’d be a perfect fit!
47

chigau (違わない)

12 September 2012 at 12:59 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

oooh
Helen Mirren.
oooooooh
Tilda Swinten.
The Doctor can’t be a “baddie”?
Why not?
There’s a story arc for you.
48

leebrimmicombe-wood

12 September 2012 at 1:10 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

When is there going to be a female Doctor?

There’s been some canonical lines delivered by the current Doctor, both in the regular series and The Sarah Jane Adventures, that suggests that Time Lords can change sex and can change colour. I’m thinking it’s a matter of time until one or both these things comes to pass.

Doctor Who has subtly been breaking boundaries recently. I’m still gobsmacked how it was able to put man-on-man kissing into a prime-time family show with nary a comment from the conservative press. Such is the prestige of the show and the goodwill shown to it by all.
49

leebrimmicombe-wood

12 September 2012 at 1:18 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I can’t think of better candidates for a female Doctor than Emma Thompson, Keeley Hawes or Sue Perkins, none ginger.

Thompson would be an excellent choice, though lord knows whether she’d submit to it. Sue Perkins does not have the acting chops and I think Ashes to Ashes showed the limits of Keeley Hawes’s range.

Certainly Tilda Swinton is alien enough to do an amazing job. But what about Miranda Richardson? Or Dervla Kirwan?
50

Ragutis

12 September 2012 at 4:50 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Miranda Richardson

Only if at some point she has to impersonate or is mistaken for Elizabeth I ;)

Lara Pulver is someone else who comes to mind. And Loo Brealey. Both familiar to Moff and Gatiss from Sherlock.
51

Merrily Dancing Ape

12 September 2012 at 4:50 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Emma Thompson would be great. I’d like to see Helena Bonham Carter give it a shot.

But Matt Smith is doing a fantastic job, so I hope he doesn’t leave any time soon.

Anyone who likes sci-fi but hasn’t yet seen Matt Smith’s two Doctor Who Christmas specials really ought to go find them on Amazon immediately. They’re awesome. (But don’t watch them on BBC America; they cut parts to fit the 1 hr time slot. You can watch them on Amazon for free if you sign up for a trial of Amazon Prime.)
52

Beatrice

12 September 2012 at 5:14 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I’d like to see Helena Bonham Carter give it a shot.

My first reaction was ugh but then I remembered her in The King’s Speech. She’s good, but when I hear about her my mind goes to the endless, annoying Burton/Bonham-Carter/Depp cooperations and then I have to think about her other works to make it better.
53

Ragutis

12 September 2012 at 5:16 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

But Matt Smith is doing a fantastic job, so I hope he doesn’t leave any time soon.

Absolutely agree. I think I’ve read that he’s signed on through 2013, so we should be able to count on at least one more series.
54

blf

12 September 2012 at 5:22 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I think I’ve read that he’s signed on through 2013…

So? Time Lords aren’t exactly bound by normal temporal considerations. He’s already resigned sometime in, as I recall, the 1860′s, and they are now just showing re-runs. His current project is commonly said to be helping NASA film the faked moon landings, albeit there is a rumour he’s now advising The Great Sky Faerie on when the Big Bang should happen…
55

bladesman

12 September 2012 at 11:50 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

The Doctor can’t be a “baddie”?
Why not?

In certain scenarios, the Doctor can indeed be a murderous, ruthless opponent. Ask the Daleks. Or the Racnoss. Or the Family of Blood. Or indeed, Solomon from the very episode shown in the pic above. ;)
56

Anisopteran

13 September 2012 at 6:17 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I can’t believe that no-one on this blog has pointed out that there have been female time lords before – and one of them is married to Richard Dawkins!
57

Rich Woods

13 September 2012 at 12:06 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Of course there have been female Time Lords before, going right back to the very first episode. The question is, if Time Lords can change gender, what happens to the foetus of a pregnant Time Lord if she were to die and regenerate as a male?