Is Dr Who becoming Who Is The Comedy Guest This Week?
Why is Dr Who obsessed with comedians? The latest news is that Steve Pemberton from the League of Gentlemen is going to appear in the next series. This should not come as a big surprise as his LoG chum Mark Gatiss has already appeared in the sci fi hit. And furthermore, when not denying rumours that the likes of Eddie Izzard are in the frame to play the Timelord himself, the show is constantly plundering the comedy world for characters. Jessica Stephenson (now Hynes) and Simon Pegg from Spaced have both had a turn in it and didn't Peter Kay play an intergalactic slug? Or was that Ricky Gervais's Andy Millman in the Extras Christmas Special? And, of course, there's Catherine Tate, who, not content with one star turn in the show, is about to return as the Doc's sidekick.
This celebrity stunt casting (see also Kylie Minogue) all adds to the fun of the show, but the makers have got to be very careful that it doesn't slip into the realms self-parody. I wondered a while back if the show was turning into a comedy and my fears may be coming true. At one point a few years ago David Walliams was rumoured to be writing a Dr Who episode, but thank goodness that never happened. What if a script from Little Britain and a script from Dr Who fused together like Jeff Goldblum and the fly in, erm, The Fly. Would Lou and Andy find themselves parking the wheelchair in the Tardis? Would Vicky Pollard nick the sonic screwdriver and break into the local branch of Lidl with it?
I'm not saying Dr Who should exclusively employ actors from the RSC who have never cracked a gag in their lives, but it has to be careful about diluting the brand. It is bad enough that David Tennant is developing a light-hearted sideline with cameos in comedy shows, but if many more clowns get involved in this still-scary TV classic how are we ever going to take it seriously again?
This piece might carry more weight if it acknowledged that at least half - if not more - of the actors named as 'comedians' have also done a lot of wrk in 'straight' drama. I recall Steve Pemberton playing a serious role in BBC's drama Blackpool, for example, while Mark Gatiss has had a long career as a dramatic actor in theatre and TV. Jessica Hynes played a brilliantly moving, completely non-comedy role in Dr Who, Catherine Tate has also had a long career as a serious actress in theatre and film and TV, and on it goes.
Celebrity stunt casting is surely when someone is levered into a show just because of who they are, and never mind whether they fit the part or can actually act. That hasn't been the case with Dr Who!
Posted by: Lally W | 20/02/2008 at 06:15 PM
I agree with this completely. The Peter Kay epsisode was the worst of the modern era. Catherine Tate? No-way is she right.
Programmes often lose themselves when they get it into their heads that they are so important they can attract famous people. It's just about OK when Top Gear indulges in their "Star in a reasonably priced car" because the diversion from what the programme is supposed to be about is only temporary, but when it's in a drama and the actor is incongruous you can't do the suspension of belief that is necessary to follow the plot.
Posted by: Simon Rockman | 21/02/2008 at 01:01 PM
Okay, so there have been comedians in Dr Who but let's be fair here, Pegg, Stevenson, Gatiss and Pemberton are also very good actors and have worked well (although the Pegg episode's script was very weak) in their episodes. Conversely neither Kaye nor Tate could act their way out of a paper bag and so far they have proved that neither should ever be let near the show again. It seems unfortunate then that the Beeb has seen fit to give Tate 50% of this season to ruin the ratings and destroy what little credibility was left with the show after Russell T Davies' preposterous storylines from last season.
I fear that the only way to save the Whoniverse now is to hand the whole thing over to Steven Moffat and let's see what a proper writer/producer can do.
Posted by: L Bond | 22/02/2008 at 10:27 AM
I can see where you're coming from here, but I think it's a non story. You could also say "Why is Doctor Who obsessed with Luvvie middle aged thesps (Dereck Jacobi, Simon Callow, Penelope Wilton)", or "why is Doctor Who obsessed with pretty, young actresses (Billie Piper, Freema, Carey Mulligan, Eve Myles)". They're just people who can bring different aspects to a performance. But if you must...Let's take these on a case by case basis
Mark Gatis: Obsessive Doctor Who fan who had already worked on the Big Finisih audios and campaigned to work on the show. Not as a comedian, but as a writer of oddball, dark stories. By series 3 he was part of the family.
Jessica Hynes: Surely more of an actress than a comedian, here playing it straight. Cast surely because of her acting chops, not her comedy pedigree.
Simon Pegg: See above. Also has Sci-Fi credibility.
Peter Kaye: Thinner ground here. This was trading off the back of a huge star, comedy or not. He was good in it though.
Catherine Tate: Primarily she's actually a really good actress. Her acting is better than her comedy. I'm assuming producers felt they couldn't go with the hot-20-something-sexual-tension sidekick again and had to do something different.
Steve Pemberton: A great character actor with a neat line in grotesques.
There's also a rich history of comedy in Doctor Who: Douglas Adams was script editor during the Tom Baker era.
Posted by: Marc Burrows | 28/02/2008 at 02:39 PM
It's almost become the 'strictly come dancing' for comedians. Where z-listers have one last stab at reviving their flagging careers.
Posted by: James McCreddie | 29/02/2008 at 12:14 PM
Sorry to be late to the party. I found this article while googling to find out whether the specific date of Steve Pemberton's Dr Who appearance had been published. I'm a lifelong Who fan, but am also a fan of the League of Gentlemen and I adore the crossover.
I'd like to agree with the majority of respondants and disagree with the article.
The only non-actor in the roll call was Peter Kay, and I still really enjoyed the episode. It was a light-hearted episode - what's not to like? Many friends/ colleagues of mine watched it because of their children (because of Peter Kay, because of Blue Peter, because of the publicity - you name it). I remember five different reports of how they sat with their children for the first time in years and enjoyed something together. So even (untrained actor) Peter Kay has massively benefited Who.
And does this mean Tom Baker sold out with his voice overs for Little Britain? Because Dr Who and comedy are so many worlds apart that even Time Lords can't cross the divide?
Don't castigate award winning actors just because they've been successful in one of the hardest areas of acting to succeed in. That's tall poppy syndrome.
Steve Pemberton on the z list. Hello? Benidorm - ITV's most popular sitcom? Give him another BAFTA and sign him up for another Dr Who role.
Posted by: C Robinson | 10/05/2008 at 07:51 PM