TV & Radio

David Who? It's an alien insurrection

IT IS TRANSFER SEASON once again, that dangerous time when fans have to put up with the misguided decisions of their team's management. In a trice, hopes can be dashed beyond recall and dreams destroyed totally. So it is with the cruel announcement that Scottish actor David Tennant - misguidedly referred to as a "heart throb" - is replacing that genuine alien, Christopher Eccleston, as the Doctor.

When Doctor Who was revived after a 16-year absence, I was both excited and dismayed. The return of a cherished British sci-fi hero after decades of American Star Fleet political correctness was welcome. But would the BBC bureaucrats ruin it? Would the new Doctor be so updated that he ceased to be the delicious combination of alien maniac and sexy subversive that made the character plausibly different from real human beings. And God knows whether Billie Piper could even act.

But the return of the Doctor proved a super nova (including Piper's acting). The plots were up to their historic best, the Daleks more frightening than ever. And Eccleston emerged as a candidate for the best-ever Doctor if only he could hang on a couple of seasons to own the part.

Then disaster struck just as if the Master had interfered yet again with time itself. Eccleston had quit because he did not want to be typecast - too late, Christopher - and BBC Cardiff had found a replacement.

And who did we get to play the greatest alien in the universe? The being we need to save Earth? The son of a former Moderator of the Church of Scotland better know for playing Andy Crawford, the wimpish sidekick of Dixon of Dock Green in the radio revival of the cosy 1950s police series. Yawn.

OK, I know lots of interesting folk come from Paisley and I did see bits of Tennant when he starred in the television version of Casanova. He's a passable actor and clearly more in love with playing the Doctor than was Eccleston. But as another disgruntled fan put it: "Somebody who looks like a weasel could never play the Doctor. It's over!"

Just to prove the nightmare is official, the BBC has announced what it calls a "striking" new outfit for Tennant's Doctor. This turns out to be a striped suit and trainers. Golly gosh! How spiffingly trendy. The Daleks will be impressed.

• George Kerevan is associate editor of The Scotsman.

This article: http://living.scotsman.com/tv.cfm?id=1735152005

Last updated: 06-Aug-05 01:55 BST