If Doctor Who Keeps Declining, Who Should be the New Doctor Who?

There’s no shortage of people wanting to be the next Doctor Who as Nick Grimshaw of the BBC puts it since he can list several at one go without breaking a sweat. But should it happen? That’s a good question since at this point the ratings are dropping with each episode as people are for one reason or another deciding to voice their complaints and show that they’re not too happy about the direction the show is taking at the moment. But if giving up on the current Doctor is that easy then what’s to say that fans won’t find a reason to disapprove of the next one? That’s a hard question to answer of course, but it’s also one that should be looked at in greater context since if the reason that the ratings are falling is due to Jodie Whittaker being the first female Doctor, then there’s a bigger problem than the storytelling going on. At this point it does feel as though the writing is what’s causing the show to suffer as too many people have been complaining about the route the story is taking to be entirely discounted. Too often poor writing or pushing off from the source material can be a big reason why people find displeasure with a series. Like it or not, fans are creatures of habit and they continuously want that habit fed, even if they admit that seeing something new once in a while would be nice.

And there’s the rub. People want to see something new, but they don’t want the old to change, or to simply go away in favor of the new. A lot of fans want to have it both ways and haven’t come to realize yet that it doesn’t always work that way, that something must be given up in order to move forward, to do something new, and to bring about something that hasn’t been seen before. The ‘purists’ that love a show the way it is, and I’ll admit I’ve been this way as well about favorite shows, tend to want things to stay as they remember them, to keep that memory intact for as long as they possibly can, but often at the expense of what could be a truly dynamic change to a show that’s already gathered millions of fans. You don’t get something new without losing something old sometimes, it’s a way of life and in show business it’s just a natural transition.

But like I mentioned, there are a few people that would love the chance to play the fabled Doctor, and a few of them might actually do just as good of a job as anyone that’s stepped into the role. Eddie Redmayne might be a good pick since he does enjoy the show, knows the story, and would look pretty good in the outfit to be honest since he’s already donned a pretty interesting role in the Fantastic Beasts movies. Seeing him as a Time Lord would certainly be a switch but it would also be an impressive transition from what he’s already done to something that could cement his legacy in a big way. Hayley Atwell is another name that might be up for consideration if she really wanted it, but likely as not she’d be a much more hard-nosed Doctor if only because people might expect it thanks to her role as Peggy Carter in the MCU. Just imagine, a Doctor that could truly dismantle a person in a number of ways, both psychological and physical, it’d be nothing short of great, and as a woman has already taken the role, it would certainly be an easy transition that might take place. Tim Roth is another name that would hopefully be on the block since he’s a great actor and would be a little more bookish in terms of his appearance and overall demeanor, but in a very cutting and professional type of way that would allow him to exhibit a great deal of wit that’s made him so impressive throughout the years.

Charlotte Manning from the Express tends to think that Kris Marshall will be taking over the role if Jodie does in fact decide to step aside. The fact that fans do tend to like Jodie in the role but are still turning away from the show does suggest that it’s more the content than the actual Doctor. That’s kind of uplifting but at the same time it’s still troubling since it would mean the writer hasn’t got the hint yet that people aren’t too happy with the story and might need to go back to script and see what can be fixed. It might be a little too late to right the ship at this point, meaning damage control is all that can be done, but hopefully Jodie will stick around for another season.