Jo's Cafe

Remember back when we were transitioning from Star Trek: TOS to Star Trek: NG and Kirk had to die?  I had one co-worker (that I could find) at the time who was a fan of ST too.  (Usually I’m the only SciFi nut in the whole place – this office too).  When I expressed dismay at Kirk dying but didn’t go into fits of whaling, gnashing of teeth or the wearing of sack cloth – she refused to speak to me!!!  I’m not lying people — she stopped talking to me and never spoke another word to me.

Next up – Stargate SG1.  Jack O’Neill has been involved in the Stargate project back to Kurt Russell.   Eventually Richard Dean Anderson’s years as MacGyver and Jack started catching up to him.  I was upset when the leader of SG1′s role shifted.  I was upset when Hammond of Texas was promoted to Washington – but Stargate survived.  Atlantis came into its own and the wonderful Ben Browder took the reins from Jack and moved the story forward.   Yes – I’m thrilled Jack is back in the new movie coming out in July – but SG1 is Colonel Mitchell’s now.

Actors have lives too folks.  We’ve seen many good ones get stuck in roles they could never shake.  The crew from Gilligan’s Island for example.  Forever they were tied to that show and their careers didn’t move forward (in my opinion).  It didn’t always happen no … Sean Connery is forever “Bond” – but not everything of him is Bond.

So – when do fans go to far when an actor decides to move away from role to prevent stagnation of the career?

When I type “Is David Tennant leaving Who?” in Google and find women wailing, gnashing teeth and throwing on sack clothes at the possibility.

Oh for god’s sake people – the man has a career and life to think of.

Its.just.a.television.show!

Okay – now maybe NO ONE will ever talk to me again.   (sigh)

I came up with the idea for the search after watching all three parts of a video of Torchwood moments from the finale of DW:S4. Spoiler: I saw the 10th Doctor having to regenerate.  From what I’ve been able to pick up so far – Europe gets the shows first, we here in the US are, I think, three shows behind, maybe two at this point.  We just finished up with ”Forest of the Dead” on SciFi, and BBC America is running Season 2.  (Yes Sean, we’re re-watching those too!) If you want more spoilers than what you are getting, watch all three parts of the video above.  Its mostly about Jack, Ianto and Gwen, but you get enough to wonder about our beloved Tennant’s Who.

My husband prefers Christopher Eccleston‘s Who… I like them both.  BUT Tennant in this incarnation of Who has been more prominent in all three of the current four seasons.  Naturally, people like him, like what has been brought to the character and identify him with Who.

But does he forever stay in a role that could stall his career?

I say no.

IF we have to get use to another Who in 2010, then we just have to.  We need to remember the story is about a living Time Lord, the last of the Time Lords, and to preserve himself, he must regenerate.  Actors come and go, parts are brilliantly done and stored in our memories and history.   Tennant will always be Who to me … but man I’d love to see him in Hamlet!

Doctor Who will survive without Tennant.  So will we.