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Post by reversethepolarity on Sept 21, 2010 20:27:07 GMT
 Because, quite honestly, he is just too awesome to be ignored. There have been quite a few alternate Doctors and I was going to make a thread just encompassing all AU Doctors, but I decided that AU!9 was simply too amazing to not get his own little thread all to himself. Besides, he's the most canon of the AU lot, so why not give him his own corner of fame? Anyway, for those of you who don't know, REG!Doctor (so named because of his actor, Richard E. Grant) was the official incarnation of the 9th Doctor before the new RTD series started up with Chris. He was the Doctor in an Webseries called 'Scream of the Shalka,' which you can watch HERE.This series was simply marvelous, though. The Doctor was great. He was sarcastic, hilariously funny at times, and traveled with a Robot!Master for no apparent reason whatsoever. (Well, actually, we ALL know what his purpose was. = ) ) This Doctor was very Sherlock Holmesy, and I liked that. He was intelligent and a little detached, but still went around being the Hero. And there's clearly a backstory to him that we don't know and wish we did. He's haunted by something. He's traveling alone, opposes the idea of getting Alison as a companion, and just seems generally darker. It was and element I enjoyed a lot. Not to mention that he was kind of a major snob and could be very arrogant and aloof, a lot like the First Doctor. Plus, in Shalka, we not only get Derek Jacobi (Yana) as the Master again, but David Tennant makes an appearance. (Neither of them had been on Doctor Who at this point, not television-wise, anyway.) And so does UNIT, which is just always a kick. |
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Post by reversethepolarity on Sept 21, 2010 20:27:53 GMT
This Doctor is also super fun because no one really knows what to do with him. Is he canon? Is he really the 9th's Doctor? Is he from an alternate universe? No one really knows and, like pretty much everything in Doctor Who, it's completely up to the fan's discretion. I mean, he could be an impostor, an auton, another Jackson Lake who just so happened to find an actual TARDIS. No one really knows. There are a few really good theories that I'll put up though. Feel free to add your own.
1st. Okay, this is the one I generally subscribe too. A lot of people think that Shalka!Doctor is simply what the 9th Doctor would have been and done had the Time War never occurred. He's the natural progression of the Doctor before everything got changed by the War. I rather like this theory, as it fits flawlessly, and it gives me a chance to A) insert Shalka as canon and B) explore what would have been had the Time War not occurred, which I rather enjoy.
2nd. Some fans suggest that he is, in fact, the younger, more reckless past self of the First Doctor. They do share several character traits, like their eccentricity and arrogance, they both dress in a Victorian/Edwardian style, and they do have a somewhat similar face and hairstyle. Now, I rather like this idea and I tinker with it a lot. It's a very interesting idea.
3rd. A book, The Gallifrey Chronicles, states at one point that there are multiple versions of the 9th Doctor. Marnal, a Time Lord, is looking for the 8th Doctor and in his search finds at least three different versions of the 9th Doctor, which make Shalka one of several alternate versions living in another timestream. This idea is just as credible, as we are all aware that there are alternate universes in Doctor Who, but I have a bit less fun with this idea and don't like it quite as much.
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Post by reversethepolarity on Sept 21, 2010 20:30:07 GMT
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Post by johne on Sept 21, 2010 21:12:08 GMT
One idea I've seen and quite like is that he's from a timeline where the Time Lords (of the ruthless, nasty flavour) won the Time War.
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Post by jjpor on Sept 21, 2010 22:09:04 GMT
I think all of those possible explanations are kind of cool. I do tend to think it was something Time War related (because that's how I roll), if only because he seemed to have these mysterious unseen superiors sending him on missions whether he liked it or not. I think I toyed with the idea that the Time Lords were so strapped for manpower during the Time War (it was sort of my fanon that the Daleks won an outright military victory and were literally swarming all over Gallifrey when the Doctor blew it up - until RTD killed that with his stupid Time Lock malarkey *sulks*), that they resorted to mulitplying their numbers with duplicate Time Lords. They started off with androids (hence Robot!Master), but soon got more sophisticated, somehow managing to bring versions of themselves over from alternate timelines to fight in the war. So, there were probably several Doctors running about at one point, doing things war-related...including the likes of Cushing!One and Fatal Death Doctor all sorts of weird Doctors played by the actors who might have got cast instead of the ones who did (Fulton Mackay, Michael Hordern, Brian Blessed and Richard Griffiths Doctors were all out there somewhere...  ) Anyway, down that path lies madness, probably... |
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Post by reversethepolarity on Sept 21, 2010 23:32:40 GMT
Oh, I like that idea, Johne. I don't really like the ruthless, nasty Time Lords, but I do like the idea of him being from a universe where the Time Lords won. That's a very interesting idea. I think I might have to tinker with that one.
Ha. I love that idea, JJ. I will really have to play around with that one. That could only lead to much wonderful chaos. Though I think it's said specifically in Shalka that the Robot!Master has the Master's consciousness inside of it, so I don't know if that supports a multiple Master idea. But it's fun to toy with anyway.
And madness is always fun, especially in Doctor Who.
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Post by clocketpatch on Sept 22, 2010 2:40:32 GMT
SHALKA! SHALKA! SHALKA!
I love that webcast. Especially the answering machine message which they keep meaning to change...
He's one of my favourite Doctors. Maybe he'd even be my favourite if he were proper canon. Still, he gets a special place. (I wanted REG for Eleven so bad, because then he could've been the only actor to ever play the 9th, 10th and 11th Doctor... yesss)
And I love both Johne and JJ's theories, because I've never heard ever of them before. The idea of it being set in a universe where the Time Lords won and were really, truly dominating all things is very creepy but works given the story and REG!Nine's absolute resentment of their phonecalls and forcing him to obey.
I think it's a bit strange to constrast REG!Nine's attitude towards the phone to Eleven dancing all around it. There's something profound there if you stare at it long enough; not sure what though.
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Post by reversethepolarity on Sept 22, 2010 7:59:43 GMT
SHALKA! SHALKA! SHALKA! I love that webcast. Especially the answering machine message which they keep meaning to change... He's one of my favourite Doctors. Maybe he'd even be my favourite if he were proper canon. Still, he gets a special place. (I wanted REG for Eleven so bad, because then he could've been the only actor to ever play the 9th, 10th and 11th Doctor... yesss) And I love both Johne and JJ's theories, because I've never heard ever of them before. The idea of it being set in a universe where the Time Lords won and were really, truly dominating all things is very creepy but works given the story and REG!Nine's absolute resentment of their phonecalls and forcing him to obey. I think it's a bit strange to constrast REG!Nine's attitude towards the phone to Eleven dancing all around it. There's something profound there if you stare at it long enough; not sure what though. Oh, that would have been awesome. REG! would have made a great Eleven and I would have loved being able to say that he was 9, 10, and 11. Still, at least he gets to say that he played two Doctors. That's something. And I agree. That phone message was the best. I have it as one of my ringtones. It was just hilarious. Nothing proofs Master/Doctor more than that message... Well, that and maybe every scene with Ainley and one of the Doctors, especially Five. = ) |
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