A dedicated follower of fashion

August 4, 2005 8:40 PM

The Doctor is in: David Tennant, the new Doctor Who (#10), has revealed his look to the world. No long scarf, cricket uniform, or leather jacket this time... instead, a brown pinstripe suit and grubby Converse. He calls it geek chic.
posted by Artifice_Eternity (51 comments total)

This is quite nice. But what's with the surly looking girl in the background? A further strike against the stereotype that women dress better than men by rights?
posted by of strange foe at 9:02 PM on August 4, 2005

That's Rose, of strange! She rocks : >

I'm worried about the change--i really loved the last season, and it was largely because of the actor.
posted by amberglow at 9:08 PM on August 4, 2005

(of strange, look for torrents of the last season--it's totally worth it)
posted by amberglow at 9:08 PM on August 4, 2005

That's Rose Tyler (played by Billie Piper), and I agree, she does look particularly surly in that pic. Also, the puffy parka is not flattering, especially next to Tennant's long, slimming outfit. But then, some have said that the character is a bit of a chav.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 9:13 PM on August 4, 2005

Yes, Rose is very cool, actually. I'm glad Billie Piper will be back for the next season. Looking forward to seeing what Tennant does with the role.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 9:14 PM on August 4, 2005

Seen it, but thanks!
posted by Eideteker at 9:14 PM on August 4, 2005

I love that she's really integral to everything (hopefully that will stay true--are they really bringing back some woman from an older series?)
posted by amberglow at 9:18 PM on August 4, 2005

Nice photo, lovely weather, reminds me why I don't live in England any more. That was taken during the *daytime*.

Tennant looks a bit ... y'know ... young

/oldfart
posted by 5MeoCMP at 9:23 PM on August 4, 2005

I'm with you, 5Meo--that's one of the reasons i loved the other guy--he looked like he was my age. Is this new guy good? I've never seen him in anything at all.

The outfit emphasizes class differences--is he going to be more posh than the last one?
posted by amberglow at 9:25 PM on August 4, 2005

interested related thing on the boom in Brit SciFi, with a quote from a MeFite, too.
posted by amberglow at 9:30 PM on August 4, 2005

Looks a lot like Jarvis Cocker to me.
posted by wilful at 9:33 PM on August 4, 2005

I like Rose as a companion. She's, well, not useless.

That being said, do you know what the new Dr. Who series needs? An episode with Brigadier Josephine Grant.

Think about it. Jo got her original UNIT appointment through Daddy's good connections, which surely means she is well connected to this day. She took training very seriously and demonstrated that she is an able markswoman. And most importantly, when she left the Doctor, she was both on Earth and Not Dead.
posted by ilsa at 9:41 PM on August 4, 2005

Man, it is like watching those old William Hartnell episodes - most of them stink, but it is Dr. Who so I have to watch.

The dalek shoots at the ceiling and is hit by a beam of sun light.
Rose: "I never thought I'd feel the sun light again"
Dalek: "How does it feel"
The dalek opens up, exposing its biology to the light and raises a tentacle at Rose.
...
Dalek: "I can feel so many ideas... So much darkness... Rose, give me orders. Order me to die"

If it wasn't for the new Battlestar Galactica I would totally be screaming "order me to die" too.

Will somebody please stop the torture!
posted by Chuckles at 9:45 PM on August 4, 2005

Peter Davison (Doctor #5, of the cricket outfit) was a year younger than David Tennant when he took the role, if my embarassingly large knowledge of Doctor Who trivia serves.

Of course I'm now a year older than David Tennant (who is 33). Scary.

The Doctor was always a little "posh", but in a flaky, non-conformist, subversive way. Eccleston was fantastic, but his leather jacket and t-shirt look was out of step with series tradition.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 9:48 PM on August 4, 2005

But ilsa, what about Brigadier Winifred Bambera? I think she deserve first crack.
posted by Chuckles at 9:48 PM on August 4, 2005

Can anyone tell me how many lives a Time Lord gets? I honestly thought it was like 11, but I can't remember.
posted by jonson at 9:51 PM on August 4, 2005

13.

I'm hoping this guy sticks around longer than a year...
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 9:53 PM on August 4, 2005

He looks like a mildly pompous indie-ska rocker or something. Maybe the other doctors weren't notable in the fashion context of their own times, but he's pretty bland for the here and now, IMO. I'd like a simple accessory - a huge ring, interesting pin, maybe interesting tailoring on the suit (Vivian Westwood?), something... more.
posted by Jack Karaoke at 9:55 PM on August 4, 2005

Billie Piper.

Drool.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 11:46 PM on August 4, 2005

It really is a shame, Eccleston was fantastic as the Doctor.
posted by nightchrome at 11:49 PM on August 4, 2005

I wasn't a big fan of Eccleston in the role which surprised me as I like most of he stuff he does. I found his manic grin irritating and he came across as a bit thick.

Hopefully Tennant will be a better choice.
posted by PurpleJack at 11:50 PM on August 4, 2005

Oh dear. Although Time Lords only get 13 regenerations there are exceptions to the rule. I believe that the Dr Who canon allows for the good doctor to have about 60 regenerations. (due to some tweaking of the standard Time Lord mythology in the Dr Who books). I really don't know why I know this, and I'm really, really sorry.

Hating the geek chic thing. Why do the fashinistas have to take everything away from us hard working and communicationally challenged geeks. No Chic to Geek! No Chic to Geek!

Again, oh dear.
posted by seanyboy at 11:51 PM on August 4, 2005

Thanks, C_D: Ay, caramba!

I stand by my oldfart closing tag of above. Tennant may only be a couple of years younger than me, and I did like Peter Davidson an awful lot as the Doctor, but ... I dunno, for some reason, The Doctor needs to look older than me.

I'll give him this, though, he has got the Doctor's smirk.
posted by 5MeoCMP at 12:01 AM on August 5, 2005

5MeoCMP: " Nice photo, lovely weather, reminds me why I don't live in England any more."

I don't know where that particular photograph was taken but Doctor Who is filmed mostly in Wales not England. Locations include Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and my beloved Gower penninsular.
posted by ceri richard at 12:14 AM on August 5, 2005

I'm with you, Chuckles, that dialogue had me crying with laughter.
Billie/Rose is the best hope this new series has got - she's pretty mint in a really decent role. I can't say that dressing up the doctor to look like the rhythm guitarist from a crappy student band is a very promising move on the producers' part. But I'd be very happy to be wrong, and to find that he is the best Doctor ever...
posted by bunglin jones at 12:21 AM on August 5, 2005

But surely, Wales *is* in England.
posted by seanyboy at 12:26 AM on August 5, 2005

Dr. Withnail (Geek Chic?)
posted by numlok at 12:26 AM on August 5, 2005

But surely, Wales *is* in England.

And Scotland is an island somewhere to the north of Ireland. I love American geography :D
posted by bwerdmuller at 1:25 AM on August 5, 2005

I wasn't going to post about this when it happened, because I thought it was too nerdy (and I kept on staring blankly at it and going "oooooh"), but I'm glad someone thought it was worthy.

Tennant was bloody fantastic in Casanova. I cannot wait until Christmas!
posted by Katemonkey at 1:38 AM on August 5, 2005

I'm well aware that Scotland is in Edingborough bwerdmuller. Just to the north of London City.
posted by seanyboy at 1:58 AM on August 5, 2005

Of course I'm now a year older than David Tennant (who is 33). Scary.

Was there a time when you weren't a year older than David Tennant?
posted by Jairus at 2:09 AM on August 5, 2005 [2 favorites]

So, of all possible times and dimensions, the Doctor plumps for the Glasgow look circa 2002. Hip.

*rolls eyes*
posted by veryape at 2:12 AM on August 5, 2005

numlok, they've both played the Doctor, and Paul McGann rocked in the role. Then again, just not being Sylvester McCoy got him about a zillion bonus points.
posted by veedubya at 3:19 AM on August 5, 2005

Hehe. it's cute to see people express concerns over the "new Doctor" as if the last guy was the first, and change wasn't a fundamental part of Doctor Who. Everyone has their doctor, and for some, it will be Tennant.
posted by nthdegx at 5:08 AM on August 5, 2005

Although Time Lords only get 13 regenerations there are exceptions to the rule.

Yeah, if you're the Master and you steal someone's soul.

They're already changing lots of stuff for this series (for instance, they aren't numbering the episodes in keeping with the "first" series--we just saw season 1, not season twenty-whatever). It's OK with this fan, but I have to say I really didn't like that they nixed Gallifrey. Their special effects people could have had an awesome vision of it (but Who knows...?)

McGann, in his ONE outing as Doctor, was probably my favorite incarnation--even beating out Tom Baker. Too bad he costs too much.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:11 AM on August 5, 2005

Pretty lame. He looks like a teenager playing "all grown up!" That said, people should just let go of the good Doctor. Somethings belong to the past.
posted by nixerman at 6:53 AM on August 5, 2005

I'll give him this, though, he has got the Doctor's smirk.

Nnnnggrrrrnhhhhh... I HATE that smirk (only his, I quite liked Christopher Eccleston's)...not a devoted fan, but I enjoyed bits of the last series and might not be able to watch the next one without throwing things at the tv to try and wipe that superior smirky smirk off his face.

/off to lie down with a bit of calming, unconvincing alien jelly on my forehead.
posted by penguin pie at 8:03 AM on August 5, 2005

I've heard that Billie Piper is the daughter of Randy Piper of W.A.S.P. fame. Is this true?
posted by mr.marx at 9:14 AM on August 5, 2005

Dr. Who is an indie rock band now?
posted by mrblondemang at 10:19 AM on August 5, 2005

Can anyone tell me how many lives a Time Lord gets?

Technically, 12.

The first instance of a "13th regeneration" was in The Keeper of Traken. In that episode, the Master (Doc's nemesis) cheated death by splicing genes with another hummanoid lifeform. The jury's still out on weither the act constituted in an additional life, or jump-started the 12 regenerations fail-safe. (In Who lore, the Timelords gave up reproducing through sex, and were genetically-engineeded through computers; rather than cloning off their progeny, the gene pairs for each person were randomized by computer, so each child born was, in effect, an individual person. The gimmick also helped explain why each regeneration of a Timelord looked different, varied in height, etc.)

The 13-count was mistakenly carried over in the Amblin adaptation featuring Paul McGann as an explanation for all Gallifreyans. When the BBC announced in a press release than McGann's 7th Doctor was part of the series "canon", it was accepted in the subsequent novelizations, etc.

/ubergeek
posted by Smart Dalek at 10:25 AM on August 5, 2005

"engineered", and "individual person, rather than a direct descendant".

But y'all knew that, right?
posted by Smart Dalek at 10:27 AM on August 5, 2005

mrblondemang - dunno about th' Doc, but R2-D2 was an indie rocker.
posted by Smart Dalek at 10:31 AM on August 5, 2005

I really don't get why people are worried about the new Doctor.

Before the first season had shown, if someone had asked him who I'd chose for the role - Ecclestone or Tennant - I would have picked Tennant. The guy just oozes charisma and I think you need someone with a lot of charisma to pull it off. Ecclestone was much better than I could've imagined (well he has had a reputation for being rather dour) and it was a shame he left but if they keep up the standard of the last season then Tennant will be just fine - in fact I predict you'll all love him.
posted by dodgygeezer at 11:08 AM on August 5, 2005

The 13-count was mistakenly carried over in the Amblin adaptation featuring Paul McGann as an explanation for all Gallifreyans.

Glad someone else noticed this. In my Doctor Who Programme Guide, Vol. 2 (© 1981) it specifically mentions twelve regenerations. Also, Ecclestone's Doctor mentions that he is "the last of his race," which isn't necessarily true: there's the Meddling Monk, (stranded on an ice planet without his TARDIS), Professor Chronotis (aka Salyavin, living incognito in Cambridge), possibly Omega (in E-Space), and possibly the Master (who always seems to get away at the last minute).

/el geeko supremo
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 12:30 PM on August 5, 2005

Ahhhh, C_D! Do you honestly think the War Chief is dead?

/checkmate
posted by Smart Dalek at 1:21 PM on August 5, 2005

Guys, 12 regenerations = 13 lives. The life they pop out of the loom with and then the 12 regenerations after it.

Absorbing the Keeper of Traken gave The Master a 14th "life" and when he was exterminated by the Daleks he took over Eric Roberts for an (apparent) 15th "life".

/EXTERMINATE!
posted by davros42 at 2:49 PM on August 5, 2005

And personally, I think the War Chief is alive and well, outside time, imprisoned on Shada. Shada being outside the natural time line, should have kept him safe from the effects of the Time War and would keep The Doctor from sensing him telepathicly.
posted by davros42 at 2:50 PM on August 5, 2005

/checkmate

Sorry, no dice (/mixed metaphors).

The War Chief was killed by the War Lord, the War Lord was executed by the Time Lords. A- for effort, though. :)
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:18 PM on August 5, 2005

I've heard that Billie Piper is the daughter of Randy Piper of W.A.S.P. fame. Is this true?

the wiki says her father's an actor, Paul Piper.

I didn't know she had hits--was she a pop tart, or good?
posted by amberglow at 9:23 PM on August 5, 2005

"Why you gotta play that song so loud? because we want to! because we want to!" : >
posted by amberglow at 9:38 PM on August 5, 2005

Yes, I did rather miss this being splashed all over every news source for three straight days. Thank God it came to Mefi two weeks later.

(If we're going to have any NewsFilter I'd prefer DW news over any other but, really? Two weeks later and just some rote links to the BBC?)
posted by hugsnkisses at 4:13 PM on August 6, 2005