May 14th, 2008
Doctor Who: Catherine Tate and wool puppet copyright
While this viewer has been waiting to get a few episodes under my belt, last month The Telegraph jumped straight in and asked exactly what I’ve been thinking… is Catherine Tate the right choice as Doctor Who’s sidekick?
I’m not a fan of Tate’s comedy, and she frequently - consciously or unconsciously - tries to incorporate this into the role of Donna Noble in Doctor Who. Too often she blurs the lines between her own show characters and Donna to the point that I keep expecting her to launch into an impression of Frankie Howerd, or worse, that irritating Lauren/”Am I bovvered?” character. She’s not quirky enough, is too old and is far too high profile for the role. She was fine as a Christmas Special guest star, but the Doc’s right hand gal? No way.
Speaking of Doctor Who, the BBC has rounded on a woman who published knitting patterns of various monsters from the show on her website. The knitting sci-fi fan, Mazzmatazz, claims she was doing something in all innocence, but the BBC’s Worldwide department see it diffferently. I wonder how hard it is to knit a Dalek?
May 14th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Easier than knitting a reconciliation with disillusioned fans I’d wager.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
You may have seen my knitted Dalek on my facebook page, kindly knitted by my mother when she also creating a woollen Christmas nativity scene. She told me that it wasn’t very hard to do, although it did require using a circular needle.
I didn’t get the pattern from the above website but from another site that was reviewed in the Guardian’s Saturday (TV) Guide. I think it’s shame that the BBC has gone after that knitter.
I wonder if my Dalek will now have to go into hiding…
May 14th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Her announcement made the show lose an awful lot of fans.
One thing I cant understand though is last week I heard Ant and Dec had to give back an award for “most popular act” from the 2005 British comedy awards because Catherine Tate was the actual winner.
The bit I don’t get is that it was 2005?! How has her popularity not died yet?
May 14th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I actually quite like CT in the role. But maybe that’s because I haven’t been overexposed to her other work.
I don’t agree that she hams it up. She is better than the last one, Martha, who was completely boring. Also, very surprised to hear her being described as ‘too old’! But maybe you just think the character is much younger than the actress CT? — maybe you can clarify?
May 14th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Oh jaysus……. you’ve jumped on the nerve of lifelong Who fan here
I do believe you’re right though - whereas Tate was a good choice for the 2006 Christmas special, she does grate somewhat over an entire season (thank god for Bernard Cribbins who is magnificent as her Grandad) and as for her age, she’s not the oldest “companion” by any stretch.
Often the main job of the “companion” is to ask the questions in a mystery and to a degree represent the audience. In the 60’s this manifested itself with very “girlie” actresses to the more feisty 70’s element and then there were the 80’s (Bonnie Langford, et al)…….
Essentially Tate (along with Piper and Freema) feed into the brash, loud and supremely confident media picture of what young people are like and are cast to represent that - it’s just a shame dear Catherine is so bloody irritating.
Anyway, she’s leaving at the end of the season, so all is good in my head.
Oh and her “comedy” show is dreadful too… Am i bovvered? Well actually Catherine, yes I am.
May 14th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I think she’s far more impressive than that wano from last season. She’s far more human and less subservient.
May 14th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I always thought Catherine Tate’s humour was more worthy than funny if you know what I mean. She faithfully and skillfully portrayed types of people and situations - like the old Cockney woman and her grandson, and the young “you’ll never believe this” couple - but was never really laugh-out-loud funny. I think she’s really talented but something’s missing in the funny.
Poor knitter lady. I bet the Beeb feel like boobs too, mind you but I guess they have to protect their copyright. Their lawyers probably made ‘em do it.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Putting Catherine Tate in the TARDIS is marginally less desperate and pandering then Chris Martin’s appearance in (Extras’ show-within-show) “When the Whistle Blows”. Given that the new Doctor Who already suffered from being way too broad and “shouty” the casting amounts to a hilarious own goal.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Green Ink - or crocheting a big fat merchandising deal…
Sylvia - like the knitted Dalek a lot. Your mum should run a little sideline.
Not being exposed to CT’s other work is probably why she doesn’t bother you in this role. To me, there’s a lot of transference and as a result, you can really see her limitations as an actor, which is not the same as hamming it up.
What I mean by too old, is that I always - first and foremost - think of the doctor’s assistant as very much an apprentice role, that of a young sidekick looking up to a mentor, and it’s something I just don’t get from her. I think of the role as a vastly diluted version of Luke as the young Jedi in Star Wars, learning from a master, and again youth (in fictional terms anyway) is a prerequisite.
B’dum B’dum - most of the diehard DH fans I know don’t like her in the role, but one friend thinks she’s great in it.
Leigh - Bernard Cribbins is the upside of her inclusion. He was one of my favourite Jackanory narrators. Along with the apprentice traits, I agree about the question-asking - the way Tate plays it, is too knowing.
Damien - I do like the ballsiness, but sometimes it’s a little too much, and reminds me of some of her gobbier CT show characters.
Sam - she has some merit as a comedy actress, but I keep failing to find it funny. And then there’s that awful Irish nurse character that’s riddled with stereotypes that bugs the hell out of me.
Fustar - how awful was Chris Martin in that episode? Do you think the casting choices across the whole of this DW series are bad - even David Tennant?
May 14th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
DH Sinead? DH..? What be this then…..?
May 14th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
“diehard DH” fans?
Chris Martin’s appearance in Extras was fantastic though, although I prefer series 2 overall too.
Doctor Who’s assistant has to be young and foolish… old and foolish means they’d have to create decent fillers for holes in the plot that could’ve just been gave the “sure Billie Piper’s only like 12 years old still, she’s immature…” excuse.
Suppose make Tate act as a senior citizen and blame it on her being senile the whole time?
May 15th, 2008 at 7:49 am
Oh relax people! 12 hours of minding a baby and writing reviews in between is TIRING. The brain slips, the mind fogs and sub-editing your own comments is for people with waaaaay too much time on their hands.
BD - I liked the point Chris Martin’s appearance made (rockstars piggybacking on charities) but god, was he wooden.
I don’t think DW’s assistant has to be “foolish” at all. In fact, they’re usually sharp and inquisitive - never as much as the Doctor, mind.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Well at least Chris Martin’s appearance was meant to be awful! “Hi guys, I was just in Wigan promoting our new album and thought I’d pop into the factory to see how you were all doing”. I take your point though. He wasn’t even good at playing himself in the “real world”.
As much as I like some of the New Who, the acting still tends to be of the “roar it to the back rows” variety. Lots of gurning and eye-rolling too - particularly from David Tennant. It’s a bit hard to stomach - like Brian Blessed on acid. The potential is there for it to be great. If only one could tone everything down several hundred notches.
May 15th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Catherine Tate has always got on my nerves in a big way. I pretty much gave up on Doctor Who after the all-too-brief Christopher Ecclestone period, but the announcement of Catherine Tate ensured that I won’t watch it at all now.
Fustar’s last point is extremely valid.
May 15th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Maybe DH stands for Doctor How…
Sinead, I think you should rally the knitters of the world, stir them up into a frenzy and get them to launch an assault on the BBC. Those knitting needles could do a lot of damage I reckon!
Or maybe they could group together and knit a giant balaclava for David Tenant, to tone him down a little. I want to see some serious knitting backlash!
May 15th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
fústar; you’re right about the style of performance but have you or anyone else had the misfortune to witness ITV’s “answer” to Doctor Who, Primeval? If we’re talking about acting… we really can’t talk about Primeval. Abysmal.
Like Leigh, I’m a lifelong DW fan and I think CT is fine in the role. My only issue is that she’s supposedly from Chiswick; I used to live there and, frankly, it’s WAY too upmarket for people with an accent like that…
May 15th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Brian Blessed was in Classic Who in a very, very shouty way (naturally)
[see Season 23, “Mindwarp”, Episodes 1-4, 1986, Colin Baker]
May 15th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
i know i should really go off and find a knitting blog or something, Sinead, but i just wanted to point people towards this picture of a knitted Ood, because it’s SO cute:
http://www.openrightsgroup.org/
May 16th, 2008 at 12:28 am
Sylvia -
That is really class - what a cutesy
May 16th, 2008 at 4:17 am
[…] Sinéad does not like Tate on Who. I love her on it. […]
May 16th, 2008 at 9:02 am
I would love her to say to the Doc (for the craic like!)
“am I bovvered”.
I don’t necessarily think she was a bad choice at all. She’s getting a lot of unnessary ’schtick’ all round.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Fústar - thanks for the Brian Blessed memories. He was on Have I Got News For You recently and was mad as a badger.
I think David Tennant is great in the role. The character of the doctor has always had a camp OTTness to it, and I think he pulls that off quite well
Chancer/Andrew - I liked Ecclestone, but I always thought (and not disrespect to the other actors who play or have played the doctor) that it was a little beneath him.
Sylvia - I think the BBC will have to come to some arrangement with her. The case has been widely reported and makes them look like greedy bullies. The lovely David Tennant should NEVER be covered up in a balaclava.
The knitted Oods are adorable!
Johnnie - I haven’t seen Primeval, is it awful?
Leigh - Blessed is like a big scary teddy bear.
Trinity - that’s the problem - I keep expecting her to say just that. Spotted your appreciative David Tennant comment on Damien’s blog. I also have a big soft spot for him AND he’s got a Scottish accent. Ah…
May 16th, 2008 at 10:07 am
The damned (in this case those who watched Dr. Who when he was reduced to running away from a giant Bertie Basset) will always take whatever they can get with gratitude.
None the less, I was quite bored by the last series, which seemed to have lost a lot of puff. Tate was a worrying piece of casting.
Happily she’s been good fun and has had the good fortune to be in a run of very good episodes. I’ll take a great script over any piece of casting wobbles. She’s a stronger character too. I hope the Doctor’s run of good luck with his plotlines continues through this series.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Simon -
The Bertie Basset story scared the shit out of me when I was 7 years old
May 17th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Sinead -
I actually watched the HIGNFY with Brian Blessed yesterday - mad bastard, great stuff
May 19th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Sinead…
rawrrrrrr
David Tennant as Hamlet
http://david-tennant.com/temp/id200.html
oh hold me back!