Doctor Who/Torchwood casting rumors--huge spoilers (if true)

[Rob Helmerichs]

http://syfyportal.com/news424775.html

In short, after the Year Of Specials, Tennant out and Robert Carlyle in as The Doctor; on Torchwood, Owen, Tosh, and Captain Jack (!) out, Martha in as they try to make the show more family-friendly and Who-like. And only five Torchwoods for Season 3.

These rumors don't come from those idiots who make s#!$ up every year, but I have no way of judging whether these people are any more reliable.

[gchance]

Wait, wasn't Jack the whole point of starting up the Torchwood series in the first place?

Greg

[kdmorse]

Good god... you mean Owen's going to live that long? ;)

-Ken

[Rob Helmerichs]

Good god... you mean Owen's going to live that long? ;)

-Ken

Um... :D

[Langree]

Robert Carlyle could be interesting, as for the TW changes, meh. If true I probably won't watch.

[Barmat]

Robert Carlyle could be interesting, as for the TW changes, meh. If true I probably won't watch.

+1 The whole reason I watch is because it isn't family friendly.

[dswallow]

Having Martha in a recurring role on Torchwood is the death knell.

[Rob Helmerichs]

Having Martha in a recurring role on Torchwood is the death knell.
...although she actually wasn't bad this season, freed from her Rose-iness...

[whitson77]

http://syfyportal.com/news424775.html

In short, after the Year Of Specials, Tennant out and Robert Carlyle in as The Doctor; on Torchwood, Owen, Tosh, and Captain Jack (!) out, Martha in as they try to make the show more family-friendly and Who-like. And only five Torchwoods for Season 3.

These rumors don't come from those idiots who make s#!$ up every year, but I have no way of judging whether these people are any more reliable.

I think all the sex stuff is a beating, so I'm glad they'll be cleaning that up. Getting rid of Owen and Tosh doesn't bother me. Too bad about the Captain.

[atrac]

I was hoping Ann Robinson would be the next Doctor Who. :)

[nirisahn]

...Getting rid of Owen and Tosh doesn't bother me. Too bad about the Captain.

+1 Owen is very annoying, and Tosh doesn't ring very true. She seems to be too insecure to hold down that type of job. And her constant mooning over Owen is almost as annoying as Owen. I'm not sure the writers really have a clear picture of who they want her to be, so they've been writing her badly. I won't miss either of them. Captain Jack on the other hand - now him I'll miss. Then again, these are just rumors and about a year away, so I'm going to continue enjoying for now.

[WinBear]

I would much rather see Ann Robinson as the Doctor than any of these other rumours. This makes it sound like Russell T. Davies is going as well.

[Rob Helmerichs]

This makes it sound like Russell T. Davies is going as well.
While not confirmed, that seems like it's been pretty much a done deal for quite a while--the denials have been more non-confirmations than outright denials.

[Cainebj]

no more man on man kisses i guess :down:

[LoadStar]

Hmm. Let's start with the Doctor Who rumor... it seems weird that they'd go out of their way to have the "year of specials" to work around Tennant's Royal Shakespearean obligations, only to have him leave after that. Not impossible, just odd. You'd think they'd just have him leave after this series and be done with it, so they can have a full series next year.

I find it interesting that they supposedly are going for another Scottish doctor. The bad part is that he is a very prominent actor. (I guess. I hadn't heard of him, but he's an OBE for his acting in major motion pictures.) I'd think they'd be concerned about him pulling a Christopher Eccleston and bailing right away to move onto something else.

As for Torchwood, the series has potential, but (particularly in recent episodes) have gone completely off the rails as far as I'm concerned. Something needs to be changed. Ditching Owen and Tosh aren't bad ideas, but losing Captain Jack? If there are two good things about the series, it's Jack and Gwen, and the chemistry between the two has actually improved this series as the rest of the series has gone downhill.

Martha was fine in the recent episodes, and as Rob points out she was able to overcome her "echoes of Rose" problem... but I can't see her holding a regular role on the show. She's just not a strong enough character, particularly when cast against the rest of the characters on the show. Torchwood (the show) demands a very bold dynamic from the character and the actor, and I'm not quite sure that Freema has what it takes to convey this.

[Kamakzie]

Getting rid of Captain Jack would be insanely stupid.

[Rob Helmerichs]

Getting rid of Captain Jack would be insanely stupid.
I agree. The thinking may be that he is too tightly wound up in the less family-friendly aspects that they're trying to move away from. Then again, he's been great on Doctor Who, so...

There was also that recent interview in which Barrowman talked about how he hoped the show would go on for a long time, so if he really is leaving, it doesn't seem like it's his decision.

Hopefully, that part at least isn't true. It's hard to imagine the show without him.

[windracer]

Boo! :down:

[dtle]

On a tangent note....

What I don't understand is why we still haven't got a premiere date for the next Doctor Who Season. Everything I read is Spring 2008, but no definitive date. Do the British like to schedule their most-watched shows on the fly?

[Langree]

On a tangent note....

What I don't understand is why we still haven't got a premiere date for the next Doctor Who Season. Everything I read is Spring 2008, but no definitive date. Do the British like to schedule their most-watched shows on the fly?

No, but they do wait till the last minute to announce.

[BluesFools]

In what world can they have a production meeting and say "OK: Captain Jack, Owen, Toshiko, Ianto: keep only one, dump the other three", and walk out with Ianto? The Gwen-Martha-Ianto family-friendly show might be called "Torchwood", but it won't be Torchwood.

[dswallow]

In what world can they have a production meeting and say "OK: Captain Jack, Owen, Toshiko, Ianto: keep only one, dump the other three", and walk out with Ianto? The Gwen-Martha-Ianto family-friendly show might be called "Torchwood", but it won't be Torchwood.

On top of that Ianto would be absolutely miserable without Jack.

[Kamakzie]

I hope these rumors turn out to be BS.

[pkscout]

I've gotten use to Doctor regenerations, so while I love Tennant, another actor would be fine. It's a change to get to know the Doctor all over again.

I'd tend to agree that Torchwood just won't be Torchwood without Captain Jack. I'd probably still watch it, but I won't enjoy it as much. If you want family friendly, just watch the Sarah Jane Adventures.

[bengalfreak]

I thought Tosh and Owen were pretty good last season. But so far this season, they are abysmal. But out of all of them, Ianto is the one I would ditch the quickest. He adds absolutely nothing to the show except for some homo-erotic thing with Jack. Not that the home-erotic idea is all bad. But it definitely needs a more interesting, less one dimensional character to pull it off.

[cheesesteak]

On top of that Ianto would be absolutely miserable without Jack.
Ianto is miserable anyway.

[Rob Helmerichs]

Ianto is miserable anyway.
Can't live with him, can't kill him.

No, really, can't kill him.

:D

[windracer]

Ianto is miserable anyway.
Heh, he reminds me of Mike Nelson's Morrissey (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04ly_fV8Ct4) impression on MST3k.

"Did I mention that I cried?" :)