Autumn is in the air. The leaves are falling from the trees. The weather alternates between chucking it down with rain and bright, blinding, car-crash inducing sunlight.
It must be that time of year again. The time when we start coming up with idle, groundless speculation for what's going to be in the next series of Doctor Who.
As we all know from watching Doctor Who Confidential for series three, Rusty plans to bring back another element of Doctor Who history for series four. Of course, I don't know about you, but I have a Memento-style tattoo somewhere that says "Don't believe Rusty's lies". All the same, we can probably assume it's true, judging from his track record.
So who or what do you reckon it's going to be?
My two pitches, to open the proceedings, are:
- Paul McGann as the eighth Doctor
- Davros
Although Rusty doesn't do "Doctor meets" allegedly, he might well take the opportunity to include a previous Doctor next year - which is going to be more fun, apparently. McGann, being the only one of the previous Doctors (except for Eccles-cake) who still looks reasonably like he did during his on-screen appearance, would be the obvious candidate and since he didn't exactly last a long time in the role, it wouldn't really be a clash of egos thing if he did turn. Plus there have been all those rumours...
As for Davros, which is a bit more likely, we're down to one Dalek now. If they turned to him in the past when their fortunes were decidely better, now would be an ideal time to go back to the Dalek-creator and get him to rustle up a new batch and thus ensure the continuity of the franchiseDalek race. Plus Terry Molloy did say he'd been talking to the production team.
Over to you, my friends. What are your bets?
Updates and related entries
June 21, 2008: Happy third birthday, The Medium Is Not Enough
September 24, 2007 | Reply
The Myrka!
September 24, 2007 | Reply
Shouldn't they save that one up for the Christmas pantomime special?
September 24, 2007 | Reply
Only if they team it up with the Nimon.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
What dreams of conquest you have!
September 24, 2007 | Reply
Got to be the Bandrils - it's the only explanation for Timelash being on DVD.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
"Cogito Ergon sum": I am a big chicken.
Don't why I felt the need to share that.
People are alternately speculating about the returning enemy being connected either to Civilisation Zero or to "the Cruciform", based on the fact that the first two series foreshadowed the main arc word of the next series. If Cruciform's the way to go, then I'd plump for Davros, preferably with someone more heavyweight than Molloy. I don't know what "Zero" would imply.
They should bring back Alpha Centauri.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
Big Finish are doing "The Bride of Peladon" in January, guest starring your favourite giant penis in a cape.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
How about a reunion with his "grand-daughter" Susan, still played by Carol Ann Ford & never regenerated - if she even has the capability, being only part Gallifreyan. Couldn't she have survived the Time War?
Or perhaps Romana back from that other dimension?
And I think Sylvester McCoy could pull off a return as Number Seven... so long as he kept the porkpie on. I saw promotional pics of him here in Brookly with McKellan doing "King Lear" and he still looked like the McCoy of twenty years ago...
September 24, 2007 | Reply
Somehow, the excitement of a McCoy reunion escapes me.
Hmm, where does the "only part Gallifreyan" bit come from? Unless you mean because the Doctor is "half human" (cf the TV movie), although since he can regenerate, that doesn't seem to be a problem. I imagine though that if Susan were alive, the Doctor would sense her, since she's telepathic for sure (cf The Sensorites).
Romana could have survived in E-space, I guess, although it depends on how much Rusty is trying to preserve New Adventures/Big Finish continuity. In the NAs, Romana's up to regeneration number three or something and is President of Gallifrey; in Big Finish's continuity, she's stuck outside time on an asteroid with the entire Time Lord genetic pool, just waiting for an Italian Job cunning plan to come to mind to get her, Leela, K9 and her other companions back into normal space.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
I've often and always said that a Eighth/Tenth story would be dynamite. If the latter had crossed backwards into the former's timeline he'd be eating himself up over not being able to tell him information that would help avert the time war and there would also be the possibility of the companion doing it for him and the catastrophic implications of that.
On a more practical note if the Eighth Doctor does show up perhaps it would be with Lucie Miller along for the ride ...
September 24, 2007 | Reply
I refer the honourable gentleman to the silly conspiracy theory I gave a year ago. All magnificently proved right so far, hasn't it?
September 24, 2007 | Reply
There's no way RTD is gonna be able to resist doing a two-doctor meet-up at some point. We *know* him.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
Head thinks that the Cybermen will meander back, possibly with a Dalek/Master team up to follow with the faint possibility of Davros joining them.
Heart wants to see Katy Manning gin soak her way across the screen as a older, wider Jo Grant. That would send more than one generation screaming behind the sofa.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
It's so crazy, it might just work. The Jo Grant one, anyway.
Don't think Rusty wants to bring the Master back again just yet though.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
There have been mutterings in dark geek corners of the net that John Simm has been tapped up to return. Don't approve though, I think the Master needs to pop up once a generation and do his nemesis thing, then sod off again. As a regular bad guy, he's pure panto.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
He might have been tapped, but I don't think Simm is in any kind of hurry to return. But with a bit of cash, maybe.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
I believe Simm has actually said that he'd like to come back at some point.
I'm sure Rusty is going to bring back another Doctor. Like Anna said, he's a gleeful big kid and he won't be able to resist it. And the prominent picture of Wiggy McGann in the journal in 'Human Nature' would indicate that the design team think it's going to happen too.
As for hints in dialogue: the Sea Devils were mentioned twice in the last two episodes. String vests ahoy? They could do something nicely Cthulhoid with them, if they wanted to go back to the original concept.
They're not really an iconic monster, though. I do think Davros is due a reappearance.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
I've got a great 8th / 10th Doctor idea storylined if RTD wants it. Yes, I am that sad. I need to rewrite it a bit though because it was a Martha episode. Oh god, I need to get out more.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
It's been ten minutes since The Sarah Jane Adventures made its full debut. Your review's late.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
Davros?
'eexcellentttt'
Absolutely the best Who villan ever. Fact (I read it on Wiki)
However if its the Sea Devil or Sonotrians (sp?) I'll still be happy
September 24, 2007 | Reply
I've been commuting. And bastard has forgotten to record it. Might be a while until I can rustle up a copy...
September 24, 2007 | Reply
'Fess up. It's porn, isn't it?
September 24, 2007 | Reply
Stu_n, I know it's you. You have to sign out then sign back in again to avoid being anonymous. And you signed up to MyBlogLog with the wrong URL so you'll need to change that, too, to get your own shiny avatar - I've been fixing your comments all day!
September 24, 2007 | Reply
For some reason, in re: to Susan's genetic makeup, I got it stuck in my head that one of her parents was human as well. Maybe it was that last name of "Foreman", but I know they lifted it from that junkyard for a cover story.
If she had any children, they'd be part human, right? Assuming she stayed with that rebel David(?). Might be interesting to see how the family tree played out.....
And I see the McCoy Doctor separate from the stories. I always enjoyed the characterization as coming close to my favorite, that of Troughton. I think given the chance to return for one last shot with a really great script he could bring it.
But an Eight/Ten combo probably does have more room to work in since we don't have that much info locking down Eight's character.
And for all those possibilities for Romana with the Big Finish and New Adventures storylines, well, you know me - it's the TV world only!
September 24, 2007 | Reply
If there is ONE more dalek story, I swear I will...I'll...
Oh, hell. I'll do the only thing I can do and shake my fist at the television screen.
And I am all for Doc #8 to pay a little visit. It's unlikely he'd get a chance to meet Jack, but one can dare to hope.
(Any word on Jack's [non]appearance in series 4?)
September 24, 2007 | Reply
To return to the original topic, I've just seen something pop up at SARAH-JANE.tv:
"Later on, Lis was on the CBBC Channel - just ahead of the channel's "Revenge of the Slitheen Part Two" debut. This interview proved far more fan pleasing that the morning's breakfast one. Here Lis actually revealed that K9 does return for one brief guest appearence later on in the run of the SJA (helping Sarah Jane overcome some problem she has, apparently), and she almost - almost! - said out right that the Sontarans were returning to Doctor Who sometime in the future!!"
Touch wood, the spoiler thing still works...
September 24, 2007 | Reply
I think the word you're looking for is 'Exterminate'.
Nothing yet on Jack: suspicions are they'd have to book ahead a bit to get him, but maybe they've already done that. Plus if Martha's on Torchwood and she's back in the last three episodes (cf The Sun), then maybe she brings Jack with her.
No one's sure at the moment, though.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
Can't help but feel that those monsters look a bit like a recent series three monster. Does that rule them out or suggest a certain inter-series plotline, do you think?
September 25, 2007 | Reply
I'm not sure I can get through this without being explicit, so (spoilers):
Neither, really. Beyond some nice continuity references, they haven't been hugely keen to do much in the way of crossovers between Torchwood and Who, so I don't see there's reason to believe they'd start doing that with SJA. And there's no reason why those slight, coincident similarities in creature designs couldn't be dealt with by a revamp of Sontaran outfits. It's not as if the masks had anything in common, and the conceptual stuff was entirely different. (I'm sure the Holmes estate might have had something to say about a race of warmongering clones who just happened to have rhinocerotic heads, but the Judoon definitely weren't that.)
September 25, 2007 | Reply
I wouldn't write porn involving Martha. You should know me better than that.
September 25, 2007 | Reply
Notice you didn't deny it was porn...
;)
September 25, 2007 | Reply
If you need anyone to proof read that script, I *suppose* I could give it a read... ;)
September 25, 2007 | Reply
Is Doctor-on-Doctor the ultimate slash fiction? Mmmmmm...
Funny how the girls have gone off on a tangent here.
September 26, 2007 | Reply
"Is Doctor-on-Doctor the ultimate slash fiction?"
Haha, gotta be, hasn't it?