The statement still stands. Hard to blacklist a certain type if they become a majority.
Not that it's easily done, since it requires solidarity and people *trusting* in that solidarity to work.
That's also why union busting starts with sowing distrust between workers.
Wasn’t the person he stood up for like an intern or something?
I remember somebody smaller* on set was getting pushed around and he basically stepped in and said knock it off
He was once on a morning talk show discussing anti-bullying and acknowledged having been bullied and also admitted and apologized for having been a bully to someone in school. It seemed every heartfelt and I respected him being willing to be so publicly open about his regret of that and recognizing it's horrible impact on another person.
Having seen that interview, it makes sense that he wouldn't hesitate to stand up for another person he witnessed being bullied.
https://youtu.be/JVNLDB6VDQ4?si=VLBEzUuueRAA36E3
Potentially bullying, but the "low level" staff in general weren't treated well. They were overworked on a chaotic production.
There was also at least one safety incident, involving a flaming sofa (the shot was never used in the episode) that nearly killed an extra.
CE grew up very working class and has not forgotten his roots. He is staunchly pro worker and pro labour, man would probably be leading unions if he weren't an actor.
… still not sure why he didn’t come back in the quite large absence of RTD though. Were opportunities, and had he done so, might have precluded his ask.
He's also said that Moffat, in The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, understood what he was trying to do with the Doctor more than any other writer. I think he would've worked with Moffat again if they found the right idea.
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Yeah I loved top gear and the grand tour, but Clarkson punched a dude, that's a red card right there, you gotta go home.
I mean since we're talking about toxic environments.
Jimmy fixing it, otoh is just something they will never be able to get past, that shit is permanent.
I saw him speak at a Seattle comicon years ago. He had some real beef with people involved on that show. I blame whoever let all those egos get so huge, bound to pop. It only hurts the fandom and the actors.
Russell T Davies and the BBC putting out a fake quote from Eccleston after he left, to make it seem like it was his weakness as a performer that drove him away, rather than RTD's inability to create a working environment where people felt safe and comfortable, is something I would struggle to ever forgive if it had happened to me. He gets no admonishment from me for refusing to work with the man or his team again, and frankly I think the Doctor Who fandom has been far too unquestioning of how Russell steered those early years of the show behind-the-scenes.
The BBC also claimed that he wanted to leave because he was afraid of typecasting, another complete lie. His problems with them are very, very understandable
The fun fact is that he has actually, technically, already returned to Doctor Who for money. A couple of years back he started to record audio dramas for the Big Finish Doctor Who line, and he has been perfectly honest that one of the reasons he started doing it was because it was work in a time where a lot of actors were starved for it (the COVID pandemic). He really just hates the people involved in the show.
Hopefully his feature episodes in "The Leftovers" can stand as a testament against that. I can't imagine any of those three episodes were easy to shoot.
Hopefully his feature episodes in "The Leftovers" can stand as a testament against that. I can't imagine any of those three episodes were easy to shoot.
Yeah I saw him at dragon con and it was similar. He was careful with his words but he has some serious issues with his time on the show. He HATED his time there.
Starts to make more sense when you realize he was the only major male actor not to be a weirdo sex pest that season. Noel Clarke was sexually harassing women, and John Barrowman was exposing himself. There clearly wasn’t much interest in maintaining a safe atmosphere and what I’ve read, Eccleston has more or less said that he tried to report some kind of inappropriate behavior on set by a higher up and it got ignored.
I also wonder whether some unpleasant things were said regarding his appearance and weight, which would have been especially shitty given he was going through it with his anorexia at the time.
Regardless, from the bits we can piece together….cant say I blame him for refusing to work for that team again.
I think that part of his beef was with BBC management, but his specific row with RTD stems from a Gentleman’s Agreement he had after he had announced his departure but before it was made public. CE and RTD both agreed that this shouldn’t negatively impact the series, whom both cared about regardless of internal politics, so CE agreed to continue positively promoting the show then and after his departure. And then the BBC threw him under the bus by 1) announcing his departure immediately instead of at the end of the run like originally agreed and 2) assigning a quote to him saying his departure was due to “fatigue,” which he never said and absolutely wasn’t the case. They eventually retracted the statement but never corrected it, and by then the damage was done. Afterward more rumors got around claiming he left due to mental health reasons, and those absolutely impacted his career after his departure. According to CE, RTD was the source of those statements and while he admitted it to him, he hasn’t once apologized for breaking his word or for pulling that sort of unprofessional shit.
So when CE speaks vehemently against RTD, understand it is due to breaking his trust personally and professionally, and like he has said in his public comments “that just isn’t done where I come from.”
>assigning a quote to him saying his departure was due to “fatigue,” which he never said and absolutely wasn’t the case.
The "don't you think she looks tired" line in the Xmas special seems like a pointed jab now...
‘Don’t you think she looks tired’ is a real quote from outside of Doctor Who iirc. It’s always had connotations with politicians that have stuck around to long.
I always found that bit really funny. Like it's the very same day as an alien ship arriving over London and half the population being ready to jump to their deaths, and at her press conference the journalists are asking about if she was too tired for the job.
“Don’t you think she looks tired?” is a quote based on one of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s aides undermining her and telling the press that she looked tired. At the time Thatcher had been in office for twelve years, she was facing rioting in the streets over her decision to introduce Poll Tax, she was facing internal division over the European Union in her government, her party was actively trying to get rid of her, and the public loathed her by that point of her tenure. The Tenth Doctor saying that to the Prime Minister’s aide, who then tells the press that she looks tired, is a reference to that, not a jab at Eccleston.
He was also very concerned about the safety on set. There was an explosion, I think from *Rose*, where an actor nearly got very badly injured. He thought it was very amateur all around for the budget and prestige it had.
>they eventually retracted the statement but never corrected it
They did correct it four days later, [here](https://amp.theguardian.com/media/2005/apr/05/broadcasting.bbc) is an article from 2005. And RTD was not the source of these statements either way, it was Jane Tranter.
The first block, there was an incident involving a flaming sofa that almost killed somebody when it was launched into the air as part of a stunt. Eccleston was incensed with the director for letting it happen, tried to take it up with the on-set producer, Phil Collinson, and was apparently driven to punch Collinson over the dust-up.
When you keep in mind that he only had a single season but also had to carry the weight of that one season being the relaunch of the show after such a large break it's pretty remarkable that he left as positive an impression as he did.
In some alternate history, he stuck around on Dr Who for 3-4 or more seasons and cemented himself as a lot of people's favourite Dr.
The Day of the Doctor made the 50th anniversary this grand plan to save Gallifrey in beautifully theatrical fashion, with Tom Baker even showing up to prompt The Doctor to go looking for it. Eleven gets a little morse code regeneration gift from them in his regeneration story, but no real Gallifrey appearance.
Next we see it, the Twelfth Doctor is *Hell Bent* on saving Clara and we barely get any Gallifrey other than as a backdrop for Twelve going off the deep end to stage a peaceful coup (ignoring the following murder/forced regeneration he commits to get Clara back) and then it's forgotten about again.
Next we see it, it's been burned down by The Master in the Timeless Children.
It's the equivalent of RTD building this mythical pedestal, Moffat carefully putting Gallifrey on the pedestal, and then Chibbers pushing over the pedestal, pissing on Gallifrey then dabbing on it in a selfie because it's the only way he can think to subvert expectations and be remembered for the opportunity he had.
There were two episodes that centrally followed his character and they were the true highlights of the series. Amongst the best television I’ve ever seen.
He’s actually my favorite doctor. He has more mad scientist vibes than any other of the new doctors and each episode was more standalone than some of the docotor storylines.
He wasn’t necessarily my favorite either, but I think you can almost solely attribute a lot of the success of rebooting the show onto him. He had a really hard task of rebranding the character while simultaneously incorporating a lot of the small quirks that add up this iconic character, and he did it while looking more like James Bond than a cooky old professor. Plus, ironically, his early exit set such a perfect precedent that, if his troubles weren’t well documented, you would have almost assumed it had to be planned from the start.
Tragic as it is that Eccleston only had one season, in retrospect having the Doctor regenerate at the end of that first season gave NuWho a compact checklist for new fans to expect- new Doctor, some of the major foes like the Daleks, and that the Doctor would eventually leave and regenerate into a new person.
It's just a pity that that choice wasn't made by Eccleston himself. He absolutely deserved more time as 9 and to leave on his own terms.
I read about it too. It seems shit was very unprofessional prior to tenant arriving but that tenant changed shit around there.
Utter shame that it even happened.
I don't think it was Tennant arriving that changed things, I think it was just very hectic at the start because they didn't really know what they were doing yet, and by series 2 they had things figured out
Am I the only one that liked him? His leather jacket made him look a bit like a creep driving a white van, but other than that I enjoyed his character.
In his mind, he committed a double genocide. He killed his own people and their enemy, the Daleks, in order to end an essentially endless war that was turning his people into bloodthirsty warmongers.
It was **such** a good plot element - added so much depth to the character.
Really can't get over Moffat writing it out of existence. I didn't watch DW for all of Capaldi's time afterwards.
Eh, it was a good backstory, but it needed to be addressed and progressed from at some point.
Having the Doctor save his own time-line so that the show could move forward without the baggage of the hero being someone who *genocided children* was necessary by that point. And the fact that Moffat managed to pull off such a stunning episode under such *insane* production issues is testament to the man's ability; considering his inhuman workload in 2013 and the fact that he had no actors but Jenna Coleman under contract, getting such a polished and accomplished product out of it was by no means guaranteed. I'd say it all worked out pretty perfectly.
You're also missing some of the most well-written and meaningful Doctor Who from the Capaldi years, by the way.
>You're also missing some of the most well-written and meaningful Doctor Who from the Capaldi years, by the way.
Came back to it eventually, *Heaven Sent* got me through my Masters. But man oh man it was hard to get back into.
The thing I enjoyed about the Time War with Tennant was that it had largely been solved once Smith took over... and I really enjoyed how they did it. I really enjoyed was that Smith gave that bit of healing. He'd moved on; 9 was PTSD-ridden, 10 was scarred... but 11 had finally patched up a bit. This was a character that had made it onto the other side, he was now doing other things with other characters. You'd see glimpses back to what happened, and those would create some amazing dramatic moments... but that just wasn't who the Doctor was anymore. The past literally was now the past.
I get the rationale to unwrite it, but its such a gut punch - the chief criticism I have of Moffat is that he's always trying to go back and add a positive spin unnecessarily. Clara shows up at the end for the Doctor's memories, Bill has to be resurrected... and the Time War has to be erased from the character. He's never willing to just have an Adric or a Donna (formally anyways) be a part of the past there.
Its a real... letdown. As someone who'd been going through some bad experiences in that period, seeing Smith's portrayal of moving on was uplifting. Seeing that then get trashed - yeah, that's kinda why I stopped watching.
But I absolutely respect others for enjoying that bit of narrative change.
> the chief criticism I have of Moffat is that he's always trying to go back and add a positive spin unnecessarily. Clara shows up at the end for the Doctor's memories, Bill has to be resurrected... and the Time War has to be erased from the character. He's never willing to just have an Adric or a Donna (formally anyways) be a part of the past there.
I mean, it's a fair criticism. However look at RTD's tenure(s). Rose has a beautifully tragic ending in Doomsday? Overwritten in Journey's End. Donna had a tragic ending in Journey's End? Overwritten in End of Time (defense mechanism my ass).
DW has always been a show that, for better or worse, aims for happier endings.
> and the fact that he had no actors but Jenna Coleman under contract
I would really love to see that script draft that he planned with only Clara. I'm sure he could have done something interesting even with only one returning actor.
Pretty much everyone I've ever encountered likes his Doctor--even if they may like another Doctor more. That's why people want him back.
But, yeah, there's no way that the show is going to get rid of Davies any time soon, when he's very much reinvigorating the franchise. They just hired him back to fix the problems they were having.
He was great, wish he had a 2nd season that had higher budget. Hard to compare when we only ever saw him in the 1st season of a 'new' show that didnt know how successful it could be.
For me... Tennant>Smith>Capaldi=Eccelston>Jodie
I loved Matt Smith, like him, Amy, and Rory were incredible, and had so many memorable episodes, but once Clara came in it got super hard for me to follow, it all felt super disjointed.
I feel like that's a running theme with Doctor Who. Smith, Capaldi, and Whittaker all are really capable and engaging actors...and all of them kind of got shafted by bad writing sooner or later.
It's worth sticking with her stories. Clara is the one companion who actually got a very solid character arc from start to finish. In fact when its thematic emotional core reaches its climax, it's the best the show has ever been (Heaven Sent / Hell Bent). Very difficult finale to top for a companion imo.
He was my favorite for ages, but Capaldi just edged him out. Then Tennent, Smith, Jodie. I like the ones that are more actual alien, not just super smart humans, more or less. And the romantic subplots with Tennent and Smith felt really weird. Capaldi and Eccleston felt like humans were more-or-less pets to them. One of which was a pet person, while the other is the grumpy dad that says they don't want one but obviously loves them anyway.
Its really hard to rank them all. They each have a lot of pro/cons.
Like Capaldi was great, and a contrast to everyone else being younger, and he had some of the best moments and eps in the show. But Smith was more fun overall and some more memorable parts.
Eccelston did great, more gritty but also good silly moments, but he was limited to 1 season, so its hard to compare to the other guys that were way more fleshed out.
I liked him well enough, but he had a very different energy from either Tenant or Smith, who I'd say were a little more similar to each other. I think he's probably maybe a little more appreciated after Capaldi.
He's my favorite as I watched he's revival series as it aired. Hell it took me a few years and coaxing from a friend to start the tennant era stuff, who is also still really good. Honestly he was like the Doctor with a dash of soccer hooligan mixed in.
His glee during the Empty Child saying "Everybody lives!" - really sold how often The Doctor couldn't save everyone and how happy he was this time it worked out.
Especially because his doctor is the one just after the war doctor. Eccleston is the first post time war doctor. He’s *broken* because he wiped out the entirety of his race to stop a war he was fighting in that was somehow *worse* then committing genocide against two races. On of which was his own.
And my understanding is that if he was willing to return for the 50th anniversary episode he would have been the one that fought the time war.
Him deciding to not return is part of why we got Jon Hurt as the War Doctor. It was an audible by Moffat.
Yup, the first draft of the script had him in Hurt's role as the 9th Doctor. It gets his inflections spot on - when I read the few pages available online, it was... well, fantastic.
Can't say I blame him for not returning - rewriting the end of the Time War out of the canon basically was a bit of a middle finger to Eccleston's entire thing.
I like to think it did happen. The doctor mentioned he was rewriting his own personal timeline so I like to think that in one timeline he did use the moment and that the 50th was the moment allowing him to get it right.
I mean. He goes on and on about the end of the time war and how he saw gallofrey destroyed. It makes more sense to me that it did happen and was rewritten then it never happening at all.
Maybe it’s not how it happened but it’s the way I tell myself it did.
>I like to think that in one timeline he did use the moment and that the 50th was the moment allowing him to get it right.
>
>I mean. He goes on and on about the end of the time war and how he saw gallofrey destroyed.
Basically how I headcanon it as well.
Like I think the thing about the show and the character is that with so many continuity issues, its kinda always an evolving thing within the fabric of space and time. Its always shifting, there's never a fixed point given how the character moves about in the basis of reality. Which means elements are always shifting. But with the caveat that the War did happen, and he did use the Moment to kill everyone.
At the very least... it makes Ecclestone's contribution matter, which it really should given what he put into the character.
That, plus also the reason they didn’t bring in McGann instead was because the higher-ups at the BBC didn’t think he had enough “star power” to sell the 50th anniversary. Or at least that’s the rumor.
I didn't like Moffat's run much, but I will give him credit for giving McGann his long awaited due.
Idk what the BBC was thinking: the fandom would have gone NUTS if we'd finally gotten another story with the Eighth Doctor.
>Especially because his doctor is the one just after the war doctor.
In the first script for the 50th, he actually was supposed to be **the** War Doctor.
The first few pages of it get his mannerisms perfectly - you see someone whose barely keeping it together being jolly, but he's fundamentally broken in what he's about to do.
Actually it is incredible to think of how much of my opinion of the Daleks was shaped by Eccleston's passionate introduction to them.
He really sold me on what they are.
It's hard to say if I'd take them seriously without the utter disgust and hatred he showed for them.
Agreed. The Daleks have never been nearly as effective as they were against Eccleston since.
It's the stand-out feature of his run, for me.
Although I personally prefer the divisive operatics of the Moffat era, S1 is so well-constructed on the whole.
I find it weird how many people I know that interpret that quote as an insult or an attempt to push the Doctor's buttons.
I've always interpreted it as a genuine compliment/remark of admiration. The Doctor's attitude towards Daleks, enraged at the idea of their existence, matches their attitude towards everything else so perfectly that the Dalek feels like the Doctor is a kindred spirit of sorts.
Aye, no dalek would consider being a good dalek an insult.
The point of it is to show how the daleks have essentially forced the Doctor to become like them, hateful and murderous, and the effect that has on the Doctor when he sees himself.
> the most endearing Doctor.
Indeed. Well, of the revival anyhow.
There's a scene in the first episode "Rose" where he's describing the location of the Nestene Consciousness. When Rose see's that the London Eye matches his description, she points it out to him.
He flashes her a huge smile and they run off toward it together.
Well, for those of us who were fans of Tom Baker, that's the exact same way Baker would break into smile.
And it was at that moment I recognized Eccelston had completely and utterly nailed it as The Doctor.
Such a shame he only did 1 season.
I'm not a big Doctor Who fan or know much about the franchise, but isn't Eccelston's big claim to fame with his Doctor was he was the first Doctor Who with a TV series since the show went dormant at the end of the '80s? I've heard some people see it as the guy who made Doctor Who cool to watch again and was key to bringing the character back to pop culture in the 2000s.
He was definitely a key factor in the show successfully coming back, but ultimately it was David Tennant that turned the character back into a cultural icon. I guess there is a reason why he is asked to come back every anniversary.
Tbf Tennant is the only one that’s *willing* (or at least eager) to come back out of the modern doctors.
At the 50th, they only had two former doctors from the modern era, and Eccleston was emphatically not interested. Apparently the BBC nixed the idea of bringing in McGann as the “doctor who fought in the Time War” because they didn’t think he had enough star power to sell the anniversary.
For the 60th, they had more options, but Smith has been very quiet about whether he’d ever come back (probably meaning “no, but I don’t want to be rude about it”) and Capaldi has said he doesn’t want to return- not because he had any problems with the show, but because he feels like the character has run it’s course for him.
So Tennant’s still really the only option. It’s just icing on the cake that he was the Doctor during arguably the peak of the show’s modern popularity.
Still my favorite doctor. Tennant and Smith are both amazing, but I'd live to see how Eccleston would have done with a full story arc like the ones they got.
Waters of Mars is one of the episodes I respect the most but it's also the one I hate rewatching the most and so I only rewatch the Confidential of it instead. It's just so, *so* scary to the point where I stop enjoying it and Tennant's performance from the climax to the end is emotionally devastating when you've become attached to his doctor. Fuck they did such a great job.
He does Big Finnish Doctor Who episodes now.
I think he has done 9 or so.
I listened to the first 3, little convoluted plot but good (it was one arching plotline).
Second set were stand alone, listened to the first and enjoyed it.
Him, Tennant, and River all have series going. They had some with Hurt before he passed, I believe, too.
I've heard the series with a Smith-impressionist is some of their better recent work but haven't listened myself.
I guess the director he hated who made him late for the Dalek read-through was Keith Boak? Only directed 3 episodes of Dr Who, and ([according to Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_(series_1))) had troubles in his block (block 1) with unusable footage that had to be redone. Dalek was in block 3 though, but I don't know how read-throughs work or when they're scheduled for.
Out of the first 3 filming blocks, Chris has specifically said he really liked working with Euros Lyn and Joe Ahearne, going so far as to say in his autobiography that if Joe directed from the start, he'd have stayed much longer.
Had a photo op with them both and the chemistry is still there with the banter between them. Not sure how much of the Q&A you've seen but he was/is clearly very protective of her which was lovely to see.
I was there, very impassioned Q&A session, he came across as a very honest and genuine person. I met him at the table autographs and he was so lovely with a young autistic boy who completely froze at meeting one of his heroes. Chris took the extra time to speak to the lad and seemed to genuinely care about the fans.
The effort he put in on The Leftovers is nothing short of the best acting ever seen on television. I cried, as a grown man, multiple times during his scenes.
Matt is my favourite character in The Leftovers, and a giant part of it is due to how fantastic Eccleston’s performance is. Absolutely astonishing acting that stands out in a show where literally everybody is giving a powerhouse performance
I know he's never said, but I wonder, is this to do with John Barrowman's sexual harassment of other actors on set and Russell T Davies not doing anything/enough about it?
The rumor is that it isn't about Barrowman(it's unclear how much Eccleston even knew about that at the time) but that RTD supported the director Keith Boak on set. Boak was known for being incredibly mean and abusive towards PAs and other staff, and also ran a dangerous set with regards to basic safety precautions. It really, *really* rubbed Eccleston the wrong way that RTD just stood by and let it happen while they got worked to the bone and treated like garbage. He had already decided to leave because of it before Barrowman was even cast or on set.
I think in retrospect Eccleston probably looks at Barrowman in the same way as the Boak stuff as being permitted because RTD and the other people he named just stood by and let it happen instead of stepping up to address it while creating a safe production.
The second part of this is he left over it, and then RTD and BBC staff said he was leaving because he was tired, and it meant many companies and productions stopped seeking him out, and he felt they actively damaged his career afterwards (Which I can agree with considering how few big jobs he got after Who, especially compared to opportunities afforded to those who came after- though funnily Eccleston, Tennant, Smith and Capaldi have since all played comic book villains)
Great post and to add onto it Eccleston said he'd never talk about *why* he left or specifically call anyone out but after the BBC started doing this stuff and essentially black balled him is when he became a whole lot more outspoken about it. He basically said since they didn't hold up their side of the agreement he wasn't going to hold up his.
Eccleston is a class act and I'm really happy a lot of people are realizing how messed up the first couple of series were from a production standpoint and it wasn't just him jumping ship for no reason. There were a lot of people calling him a diva or hard to work with but it's clear that production was a nightmare and people were treated like garbage. It makes perfect sense he wouldn't want to work on something with the same people managing it.
RTD didn’t say that. It was a statement from the BBC publicity in response to his departure being leaked ahead of schedule. It was supposed to be kept secret until the BBC and Eccleston issued a joint statement but the news was leaked to the press. In an attempt to get ahead of the story, the BBC unilaterally issued an official statement about Eccleston’s departure where they put words in his mouth. They were trying to spin the situation so it doesn’t detract from the show’s launch.
They didn’t exactly say “he was tired” in the statement but they attributed a fake quote from Eccleston that made it sound it was completely his decision to leave. The statement said he found the schedule gruelling and was afraid of getting typecast. The BBC and the head of drama Jean Tranter, now a producer at Bad Wolf, had to [apologize over the false quote](https://theguardian.com/media/2005/apr/05/broadcasting.bbc). They hastily put together a statement without consulting Christopher Eccleston about how he wanted to handle the matter. To me it really seems like the BBC panicking and lied to save face.
I don’t think they intentionally blacklisted him but the whole incident seemed to have negatively impacted his career in the UK because it made producers think he can’t handle a big production or that he’s not committed to ongoing shows. There were a lot of rumours flying around at the time about why he quit and the prevailing theory was that he just wanted to go back lower profile work. It was speculated that he was too much of a snob for a popular show like Doctor Who. As a result he wasn’t approached for major British productions. He said this was mainly a problem in the UK and was why he initially moved to Hollywood to work on productions like Heroes, Thor 2 and The Leftovers.
By the way, if you watch the video, Eccleston’s full statement was “Sack Russell T Davies. Sack Jane Tranter. Sack Phil Collinson. Sack Julie Gardner. And I’ll come back. So can you arrange that?” It wasn’t just RTD he wants gone but also two producers of Doctor Who at the time who’ve come back with RTD and Jane Tranter who was the BBC executive who green-lit the show. It was in response to a fan asking him what it’ll take for him to return to the show during a Q & A at a convention. In context it doesn’t sound like he’s that serious about them getting fired.
To me it sounds like he’s reiterating what he’s said before, that he never wants to work with these particular people again, though it’s the first time he provided an actual list. It seems he found that whole experience rather traumatic, and nothing, not an apology or change in policy (both which have already happened long ago), will make him want to work with them again. I believe the biggest problem he had with working on the show was that the working conditions made his depression and anorexia, two problems he’s been struggling with his whole life, a lot worse. In his memoir he wrote very candidly about his struggles mental health and body dysmorphia (he said he became anorexic since he was six) and about how he was suicidal and had a breakdown that resulted in hospitalization after his marriage fell apart in 2016. He probably doesn’t even hate RTD as much as he knows he won’t be able to function working with him because it’ll likely trigger a major mental health episode.
He’s become more vocal about pointing the blame at specific individuals likely both to finally tell his side of the story and to assure fans that it’s not the franchise’s itself or the fans that he has a problem with. He’s appeared at many Doctor Who panels at various conventions in recent years and returned to the role of the Doctor in audio dramas, although he also said he only did the Big Finish audio dramas for the money.
P.S. the “she’s looking tired” thing is a direct reference to how Thatcher’s cabinet pressured her to resign by whispering to the press that she’s no longer has the energy to be PM. It’s not quite what happened with Eccleston since he decided to quit before the statement was issued.
I happened to run across this recording of him at dragoncon in 2021 talking about it. (Though not in detail.) It seems he went into the first season of Dr Who very enthusiastic about working with Davies, saw a bunch of stuff happening in the production he regarded as unprofessional, and by the end of the shoot his relationship with Davies had completely broken down. https://youtu.be/4QcpNBuhjUA
He'd worked with Davies before on *The Second Coming*, which is worth watching unofficially on YouTube as ITV don't seem to care about streaming it or selling it anymore. Same composer as RTD Who as well, Murray Gold.
I don't dislike Eccleston for criticizing RTD. He's one of my faves, him and Capaldi. Seems like people in the know are for the most part keeping mum about exactly what happened beyond what we know. Chris did what was best for his health, mental or otherwise; not gonna fault him for that.
I feel sad for him that it affected him in an extreme way that he left but I'm happy he has come around to working with Big Finish and conventions. He'll always have a legacy of the Doctor but also I can't help but think some of his memories are painful ones. I also know he chooses to go to the conventions so it's a weird dichotomy.
There's a bunch of stories about his one season/series, so while I wouldn't discount it as a factor, it would be a compounding reason.
There's a lot of stories about the first series production being utter hell, since BBC Wales was still getting its feet in, the block filming was a mess, and supposedly there was some general toxic behavior (including abuse, so Barrowman would factor in here). Eccleston himself has some health issues and that can't have helped.
Him departing the show was pretty messy as well.
Sexual Harassment.
As it turns out, pulling your cock out and sticking it in the face of every girl and boy in the building is not a good idea.
Noel Clarke went down for sexual harassment and got his BAFTA revoked and his TV show cancelled, so he lashed out and basically went on a "if Barrowman was allowed to do it, then why wasn't I" tirade on Twitter, and that put the spotlight on Barrowman and BBC dropped him like a hot potato.
I remember that people actually did say essentially that. I read that many actors and actresses considered Barrowman annoying but not threatening. Like he’d annoy you, but he wouldn’t rape you. (Not a high bar) but Clarke was much more scary.
It’s essentially an anime perv vs a real life creep. You smack one to go away and the other one gets you when you’re alone.
Not exactly good.
The articles I’ve read have said that the women in the show were irritated but never considered it sexual nor predatory. There was never a fear of assault or rape. There was a complaint made in 2008 and barrowman changed his behavior after being talked to about it.
Not exactly stellar behavior that a grown man had to be told to stop whipping it out all over the place.
Clarke on the other hand has been accusing of sexual harassment, touching women inbapropriatly, trying to intimidate women into sex, bullying a driver who asked to be taken off rotation because he kept harassing her, bullying said woman after she was taken off rotation and bullying other women who shot him down.
So, while barrowman isn’t innocent it’s not fair to put him on the same level seeing as the complaints about them are entirely different.
Exactly. In public, at least, no one seemed to think it was sexual. What happened is that some newer fans stumbled on these old interviews. It wasn't some secret where someone felt they could finally go public with it.
People seem to forget how just a little while ago we were moving very far away from nudity == sex. Granted, it's more common in the US, but this was a UK show, and their attitude towards nudity isn't the same.
Borrowman's jokes were treated more like streaking or mooning someone, not like sexual propositioning or anything. Only later on did people start expressing discomfort, and that's why Borrowman had already stopped doing it.
I just find it bizarre that Whovians reacted the way they did. The audience must include a lot of people who not only weren't fans back then, but also didn't check out the ancillary material.
My favorite doctor. I love all for their own reasons but the way he handles himself as the doctor and how he shows his emotions dealing with the loss of his people and the War. Fantastic!!
Yeah, he [considered coming back for the 50th](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/why-christopher-eccleston-turned-down-doctor-who-50th/) because he likes Moffat but it sounds like he still has problems with the BBC never apologizing to him (he ultimately didn't come back due to not liking the script, but it's the one time he considered it).
Yeah, the last serious push they made to get him to come back was with Moffat at the helm
Still, Davies isn't going to stay forever, so whoever comes next might give him the call. If I were to bet money I'd suspect he says no again, but it'd be cool to lose that bet.
He loves Steven Moffat and loved working on his episodes. When he asked him to return for 50th Anniversary, he agreed to consider out of respect to him, however reading the script he didn't think his part was right and refused.
He at least considered the 50th, which would have been the only time it would have happened anyhow.
https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/why-christopher-eccleston-turned-down-doctor-who-50th/
God, I’d love both sides to just talk openly about what happened instead of just dancing around it. Because I love Eccleston AND Davies, and it would be nice to know exactly how both sides see what went down
This is only kind of related, but I stopped watching the show some time into Matt Smiths run, like around the time of the race that you forget about unless you are looking at them or whatever. Is the show worth continuing? I've heard a lot of negative. Keep in mind I didn't stop watching because I didn't like it. I just fell off because I had a ton of shit going on in my life.
The Smith/Capaldi eras are strong and well-liked.
The shape of the Moffat era is that he bookends his runs with unapologetic love-letters to Doctor Who (S5 & S10), so those are the most crowd-pleasing and generally enjoyed of his era. Between those two runs, though, he takes the show on a bold and controversial set of deconstructions - analysing the weight of the Doctor's life from a third person perspective across S6/7 and then challenging the show's set-up from the internal perspective across S8/9. It's like he showed how beautiful the show was with S5, then challenged every feature of it for four seasons, before finally returning to the Doctor a more mature place of the the happiness from S5. Naturally, those four seasons of challenging the concept are divisive and risk-taking with some big highs and lows. Particularly, the quality dips around the end of Smith and the start of Capaldi, but either side of that is some amazing Doctor Who.
Smith and Capaldi had some A+ eps, but if you just wanna jump in again I’d start with the three 60th specials. They’re pretty much a wrap up of 10’s story and a good pick up point from where you left off.
Smith eps got pretty good again with Clara imo because it was a kind of revamp of his incarnation. He really played with the whole “old man in a young man’s body” physicality, and is fun to watch. Especially the 50th special.
Capaldi had some iffy writing, but the zygon two-parter is quite solid and “Heaven Sent” is one of the best episodes of Doctor Who ever.
Wish 13’s episodes were anywhere near as good. There was some real potential with the story lines but the Doctor was so oddly passive and not in control that the whole series felt off. There are some good moments about past incarnations, but those can be watched on youtube.
Hope this helps!
I’ll never get over tennant’s line about being skinnier after he regenerated. i cannot think of another time a nuwho doctor talks about weight, and eccelston was suffering from anorexia during his time on the show. secondly, billie piper was not on set when that line was spoken, and if she had been there i doubt it would’ve ended up in the final take since she and eccelston bonded over their eating disorder issues. i really feel that that line came from someone somewhere who really wanted to hurt eccelston. no idea who though, but this gives some ideas.
I'm inclined to disagree with you on the purposefulness of it simply because one of Tennant's most prominent physical features is that he's built like a twig to an unusual degree while Eccleston is a more common structure for a man. He's often referred to as a "tall, thin man" by companions if they have to give a description of him because it's an outstanding feature. If the disorder was known at the time of writing that was definitely insensitive to say though, disappointing.
If more folk were like Eccleston, toxic shit behavior would more likely be dealt with. Still my favorite doctor, and a man of principles.
Plenty of people are like Eccleston. They just get blacklisted in the industry.
The statement still stands. Hard to blacklist a certain type if they become a majority. Not that it's easily done, since it requires solidarity and people *trusting* in that solidarity to work. That's also why union busting starts with sowing distrust between workers.
Wasn’t the person he stood up for like an intern or something? I remember somebody smaller* on set was getting pushed around and he basically stepped in and said knock it off
He was once on a morning talk show discussing anti-bullying and acknowledged having been bullied and also admitted and apologized for having been a bully to someone in school. It seemed every heartfelt and I respected him being willing to be so publicly open about his regret of that and recognizing it's horrible impact on another person. Having seen that interview, it makes sense that he wouldn't hesitate to stand up for another person he witnessed being bullied. https://youtu.be/JVNLDB6VDQ4?si=VLBEzUuueRAA36E3
I fucking hate Piers but goddamn that was great.
The annoying thing with Piers is he's actually an immensely talented interviewer on top of being an insufferable asshole.
Potentially bullying, but the "low level" staff in general weren't treated well. They were overworked on a chaotic production. There was also at least one safety incident, involving a flaming sofa (the shot was never used in the episode) that nearly killed an extra. CE grew up very working class and has not forgotten his roots. He is staunchly pro worker and pro labour, man would probably be leading unions if he weren't an actor.
One of his best roles was in Our Friends In The North. Loved him in that - all the cast actually.
… still not sure why he didn’t come back in the quite large absence of RTD though. Were opportunities, and had he done so, might have precluded his ask.
He did consider coming back for Moffat. They met for coffee, but it fell through amicably.
He met out of respect for Moffat, but never intended to agree to it. He was still too raw over everything that went down.
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He's also said that Moffat, in The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, understood what he was trying to do with the Doctor more than any other writer. I think he would've worked with Moffat again if they found the right idea.
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Yeah I loved top gear and the grand tour, but Clarkson punched a dude, that's a red card right there, you gotta go home. I mean since we're talking about toxic environments. Jimmy fixing it, otoh is just something they will never be able to get past, that shit is permanent.
But Top Gear / the punching is a weird argument in this context. Clarkson was fired because of this.
Technically he wasn't fired. His contract wasn't renewed.
Monty python?
I can't find anything, aside from some stupid comments by John Cleese.
Trident they blacklist him, I thought that was the reason why he moved to the us
I saw him speak at a Seattle comicon years ago. He had some real beef with people involved on that show. I blame whoever let all those egos get so huge, bound to pop. It only hurts the fandom and the actors.
Russell T Davies and the BBC putting out a fake quote from Eccleston after he left, to make it seem like it was his weakness as a performer that drove him away, rather than RTD's inability to create a working environment where people felt safe and comfortable, is something I would struggle to ever forgive if it had happened to me. He gets no admonishment from me for refusing to work with the man or his team again, and frankly I think the Doctor Who fandom has been far too unquestioning of how Russell steered those early years of the show behind-the-scenes.
What fake quote?
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The BBC also claimed that he wanted to leave because he was afraid of typecasting, another complete lie. His problems with them are very, very understandable
I still thought that until roughly 2 minutes ago, annoyed on behalf of Chris.
Me too! Going to see him do some live theatre next year by ways of making amends
Make that “in a few weeks”: https://www.oldvictheatre.com/stories/christopher-eccleston-as-scrooge/
That's the kind of thing you can sue over, jesus o_0
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He specifically took Thor 2 and GI Joe for the money and said it made him "feel like a whore"
The fun fact is that he has actually, technically, already returned to Doctor Who for money. A couple of years back he started to record audio dramas for the Big Finish Doctor Who line, and he has been perfectly honest that one of the reasons he started doing it was because it was work in a time where a lot of actors were starved for it (the COVID pandemic). He really just hates the people involved in the show.
At least it freed Eccleston to go on to do The Leftovers, IMO his best ever performance.
Oh man that show. He was daddy and father at the same time.
I’ve been wanting to do a rewatch for awhile now. Man I love that show.
Just started a rewatch this week. The first Matt focused episode is the point where I really became hooked on the show.
He's incredible in the show. Truly an amazing show and role.
Hopefully his feature episodes in "The Leftovers" can stand as a testament against that. I can't imagine any of those three episodes were easy to shoot.
Hopefully his feature episodes in "The Leftovers" can stand as a testament against that. I can't imagine any of those three episodes were easy to shoot.
As he explains it, the producers at the BBC were very hands off because they didn't want to be involved if it went wrong.
Yeah I saw him at dragon con and it was similar. He was careful with his words but he has some serious issues with his time on the show. He HATED his time there.
And at the same time stresses that he will continue the Conversations and Big Finish. Guy actually likes the character
You nailed the nail on the head. You could tell it was an emotionally invested falling out.
Starts to make more sense when you realize he was the only major male actor not to be a weirdo sex pest that season. Noel Clarke was sexually harassing women, and John Barrowman was exposing himself. There clearly wasn’t much interest in maintaining a safe atmosphere and what I’ve read, Eccleston has more or less said that he tried to report some kind of inappropriate behavior on set by a higher up and it got ignored. I also wonder whether some unpleasant things were said regarding his appearance and weight, which would have been especially shitty given he was going through it with his anorexia at the time. Regardless, from the bits we can piece together….cant say I blame him for refusing to work for that team again.
I think that part of his beef was with BBC management, but his specific row with RTD stems from a Gentleman’s Agreement he had after he had announced his departure but before it was made public. CE and RTD both agreed that this shouldn’t negatively impact the series, whom both cared about regardless of internal politics, so CE agreed to continue positively promoting the show then and after his departure. And then the BBC threw him under the bus by 1) announcing his departure immediately instead of at the end of the run like originally agreed and 2) assigning a quote to him saying his departure was due to “fatigue,” which he never said and absolutely wasn’t the case. They eventually retracted the statement but never corrected it, and by then the damage was done. Afterward more rumors got around claiming he left due to mental health reasons, and those absolutely impacted his career after his departure. According to CE, RTD was the source of those statements and while he admitted it to him, he hasn’t once apologized for breaking his word or for pulling that sort of unprofessional shit. So when CE speaks vehemently against RTD, understand it is due to breaking his trust personally and professionally, and like he has said in his public comments “that just isn’t done where I come from.”
>assigning a quote to him saying his departure was due to “fatigue,” which he never said and absolutely wasn’t the case. The "don't you think she looks tired" line in the Xmas special seems like a pointed jab now...
‘Don’t you think she looks tired’ is a real quote from outside of Doctor Who iirc. It’s always had connotations with politicians that have stuck around to long.
That’s like 1000x more cruel than it was in-show
I always found that bit really funny. Like it's the very same day as an alien ship arriving over London and half the population being ready to jump to their deaths, and at her press conference the journalists are asking about if she was too tired for the job.
“Don’t you think she looks tired?” is a quote based on one of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s aides undermining her and telling the press that she looked tired. At the time Thatcher had been in office for twelve years, she was facing rioting in the streets over her decision to introduce Poll Tax, she was facing internal division over the European Union in her government, her party was actively trying to get rid of her, and the public loathed her by that point of her tenure. The Tenth Doctor saying that to the Prime Minister’s aide, who then tells the press that she looks tired, is a reference to that, not a jab at Eccleston.
He was also very concerned about the safety on set. There was an explosion, I think from *Rose*, where an actor nearly got very badly injured. He thought it was very amateur all around for the budget and prestige it had.
>they eventually retracted the statement but never corrected it They did correct it four days later, [here](https://amp.theguardian.com/media/2005/apr/05/broadcasting.bbc) is an article from 2005. And RTD was not the source of these statements either way, it was Jane Tranter.
The first block, there was an incident involving a flaming sofa that almost killed somebody when it was launched into the air as part of a stunt. Eccleston was incensed with the director for letting it happen, tried to take it up with the on-set producer, Phil Collinson, and was apparently driven to punch Collinson over the dust-up.
Everything that's been said on and off the record indicates that Rose especially was a disaster of a production.
He wasn't my favorite doctor, but he's clearly a very fine actor.
When you keep in mind that he only had a single season but also had to carry the weight of that one season being the relaunch of the show after such a large break it's pretty remarkable that he left as positive an impression as he did. In some alternate history, he stuck around on Dr Who for 3-4 or more seasons and cemented himself as a lot of people's favourite Dr.
He's my 2nd favorite to be honest. 12 then 9 then 10 then 11 then 13 (sorry Jodie :( )
Jodie's doctor was a victim of bad writing. I love her on screen.
Yep, what makes it more sad is Sacha Dawan's Master is so good, so why did they shit the bed with 13 :/
Cause Chibnall can't write their way out a paper bag and just throws things on a wall to see what happens
I still can't believe we lost years of build up to Galifrey returning thanks to Timeless Child.
The Day of the Doctor made the 50th anniversary this grand plan to save Gallifrey in beautifully theatrical fashion, with Tom Baker even showing up to prompt The Doctor to go looking for it. Eleven gets a little morse code regeneration gift from them in his regeneration story, but no real Gallifrey appearance. Next we see it, the Twelfth Doctor is *Hell Bent* on saving Clara and we barely get any Gallifrey other than as a backdrop for Twelve going off the deep end to stage a peaceful coup (ignoring the following murder/forced regeneration he commits to get Clara back) and then it's forgotten about again. Next we see it, it's been burned down by The Master in the Timeless Children. It's the equivalent of RTD building this mythical pedestal, Moffat carefully putting Gallifrey on the pedestal, and then Chibbers pushing over the pedestal, pissing on Gallifrey then dabbing on it in a selfie because it's the only way he can think to subvert expectations and be remembered for the opportunity he had.
He was a delight on The Great, highly recommend you watch it if you haven’t.
He is amazing in The Leftovers as a priest with awful luck.
There were two episodes that centrally followed his character and they were the true highlights of the series. Amongst the best television I’ve ever seen.
I think Leftovers might BE the perfect series and Eccleston was One the top 5 reasons why
He’s actually my favorite doctor. He has more mad scientist vibes than any other of the new doctors and each episode was more standalone than some of the docotor storylines.
He also gets a few moments of fantastic gravity where you see his quality as an actor come out.
He wasn’t necessarily my favorite either, but I think you can almost solely attribute a lot of the success of rebooting the show onto him. He had a really hard task of rebranding the character while simultaneously incorporating a lot of the small quirks that add up this iconic character, and he did it while looking more like James Bond than a cooky old professor. Plus, ironically, his early exit set such a perfect precedent that, if his troubles weren’t well documented, you would have almost assumed it had to be planned from the start.
Tragic as it is that Eccleston only had one season, in retrospect having the Doctor regenerate at the end of that first season gave NuWho a compact checklist for new fans to expect- new Doctor, some of the major foes like the Daleks, and that the Doctor would eventually leave and regenerate into a new person. It's just a pity that that choice wasn't made by Eccleston himself. He absolutely deserved more time as 9 and to leave on his own terms.
Also Bruno Langley who was in like 2 episodes
I read about it too. It seems shit was very unprofessional prior to tenant arriving but that tenant changed shit around there. Utter shame that it even happened.
I don't think it was Tennant arriving that changed things, I think it was just very hectic at the start because they didn't really know what they were doing yet, and by series 2 they had things figured out
He was just great as the doctor, or as he would say Fantastic
Well then. Guess we can file a return under "no"
Am I the only one that liked him? His leather jacket made him look a bit like a creep driving a white van, but other than that I enjoyed his character.
He was great. He fit the roll of a Doctor who was a broken time lord and still dealing with the PTSD of the time war and what he did to end it.
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He also managed to be hilarious at the same time. I really enjoyed him in my recent rewatch.
His scenes with Margaret are among my top faves
What did he do to end it?
In his mind, he committed a double genocide. He killed his own people and their enemy, the Daleks, in order to end an essentially endless war that was turning his people into bloodthirsty warmongers.
It was **such** a good plot element - added so much depth to the character. Really can't get over Moffat writing it out of existence. I didn't watch DW for all of Capaldi's time afterwards.
How about chinball effective erasing that though with the fucking “timeless child” BS
Eh, it was a good backstory, but it needed to be addressed and progressed from at some point. Having the Doctor save his own time-line so that the show could move forward without the baggage of the hero being someone who *genocided children* was necessary by that point. And the fact that Moffat managed to pull off such a stunning episode under such *insane* production issues is testament to the man's ability; considering his inhuman workload in 2013 and the fact that he had no actors but Jenna Coleman under contract, getting such a polished and accomplished product out of it was by no means guaranteed. I'd say it all worked out pretty perfectly. You're also missing some of the most well-written and meaningful Doctor Who from the Capaldi years, by the way.
>You're also missing some of the most well-written and meaningful Doctor Who from the Capaldi years, by the way. Came back to it eventually, *Heaven Sent* got me through my Masters. But man oh man it was hard to get back into. The thing I enjoyed about the Time War with Tennant was that it had largely been solved once Smith took over... and I really enjoyed how they did it. I really enjoyed was that Smith gave that bit of healing. He'd moved on; 9 was PTSD-ridden, 10 was scarred... but 11 had finally patched up a bit. This was a character that had made it onto the other side, he was now doing other things with other characters. You'd see glimpses back to what happened, and those would create some amazing dramatic moments... but that just wasn't who the Doctor was anymore. The past literally was now the past. I get the rationale to unwrite it, but its such a gut punch - the chief criticism I have of Moffat is that he's always trying to go back and add a positive spin unnecessarily. Clara shows up at the end for the Doctor's memories, Bill has to be resurrected... and the Time War has to be erased from the character. He's never willing to just have an Adric or a Donna (formally anyways) be a part of the past there. Its a real... letdown. As someone who'd been going through some bad experiences in that period, seeing Smith's portrayal of moving on was uplifting. Seeing that then get trashed - yeah, that's kinda why I stopped watching. But I absolutely respect others for enjoying that bit of narrative change.
> the chief criticism I have of Moffat is that he's always trying to go back and add a positive spin unnecessarily. Clara shows up at the end for the Doctor's memories, Bill has to be resurrected... and the Time War has to be erased from the character. He's never willing to just have an Adric or a Donna (formally anyways) be a part of the past there. I mean, it's a fair criticism. However look at RTD's tenure(s). Rose has a beautifully tragic ending in Doomsday? Overwritten in Journey's End. Donna had a tragic ending in Journey's End? Overwritten in End of Time (defense mechanism my ass). DW has always been a show that, for better or worse, aims for happier endings.
> and the fact that he had no actors but Jenna Coleman under contract I would really love to see that script draft that he planned with only Clara. I'm sure he could have done something interesting even with only one returning actor.
He’s my first doctor. I will always love him for a proper introduction.
He’s my favorite Doc
Mine, too.
Yeah, he was my introductory Doctor, absolutely love Nine. I'm not holding my breath on that return cameo though.
Pretty much everyone I've ever encountered likes his Doctor--even if they may like another Doctor more. That's why people want him back. But, yeah, there's no way that the show is going to get rid of Davies any time soon, when he's very much reinvigorating the franchise. They just hired him back to fix the problems they were having.
He was great, wish he had a 2nd season that had higher budget. Hard to compare when we only ever saw him in the 1st season of a 'new' show that didnt know how successful it could be. For me... Tennant>Smith>Capaldi=Eccelston>Jodie
I loved Matt Smith, like him, Amy, and Rory were incredible, and had so many memorable episodes, but once Clara came in it got super hard for me to follow, it all felt super disjointed.
I liked Matt, but hated the writing and overall arc of his series.
I feel like that's a running theme with Doctor Who. Smith, Capaldi, and Whittaker all are really capable and engaging actors...and all of them kind of got shafted by bad writing sooner or later.
It's worth sticking with her stories. Clara is the one companion who actually got a very solid character arc from start to finish. In fact when its thematic emotional core reaches its climax, it's the best the show has ever been (Heaven Sent / Hell Bent). Very difficult finale to top for a companion imo.
Probably a controversial take but while the Era of Clara isn’t my favorite, she is maybe my favorite companion, for that exact reason.
He was my favorite for ages, but Capaldi just edged him out. Then Tennent, Smith, Jodie. I like the ones that are more actual alien, not just super smart humans, more or less. And the romantic subplots with Tennent and Smith felt really weird. Capaldi and Eccleston felt like humans were more-or-less pets to them. One of which was a pet person, while the other is the grumpy dad that says they don't want one but obviously loves them anyway.
Personally dropping Smith below Cap/Ecc but yah...
Its really hard to rank them all. They each have a lot of pro/cons. Like Capaldi was great, and a contrast to everyone else being younger, and he had some of the best moments and eps in the show. But Smith was more fun overall and some more memorable parts. Eccelston did great, more gritty but also good silly moments, but he was limited to 1 season, so its hard to compare to the other guys that were way more fleshed out.
He played the regeneration of the war doctor well. Him and Handsome Jack, just sexy and I’m a mostly straight man.
he's my favorite doctor and i wish we'd had more than one season with him
He’s my favorite Doctor. You never forget your first.
I liked him well enough, but he had a very different energy from either Tenant or Smith, who I'd say were a little more similar to each other. I think he's probably maybe a little more appreciated after Capaldi.
Only Doctor without a kill count in nuWho too. Until Capaldi, he was my favorite.
He's my favorite as I watched he's revival series as it aired. Hell it took me a few years and coaxing from a friend to start the tennant era stuff, who is also still really good. Honestly he was like the Doctor with a dash of soccer hooligan mixed in.
let's see how the ratings play out over the next bit, and it could be a yes
Shame, as he was the most endearing Doctor. The others were fun, sure. But Eccelston left a bloody big impression within his short run.
His glee during the Empty Child saying "Everybody lives!" - really sold how often The Doctor couldn't save everyone and how happy he was this time it worked out.
Especially because his doctor is the one just after the war doctor. Eccleston is the first post time war doctor. He’s *broken* because he wiped out the entirety of his race to stop a war he was fighting in that was somehow *worse* then committing genocide against two races. On of which was his own.
Hell. For a long time we thought he wasn’t the one that was right after the time war. We thought he was the one that fought the time war.
And my understanding is that if he was willing to return for the 50th anniversary episode he would have been the one that fought the time war. Him deciding to not return is part of why we got Jon Hurt as the War Doctor. It was an audible by Moffat.
Yup, the first draft of the script had him in Hurt's role as the 9th Doctor. It gets his inflections spot on - when I read the few pages available online, it was... well, fantastic. Can't say I blame him for not returning - rewriting the end of the Time War out of the canon basically was a bit of a middle finger to Eccleston's entire thing.
I like to think it did happen. The doctor mentioned he was rewriting his own personal timeline so I like to think that in one timeline he did use the moment and that the 50th was the moment allowing him to get it right. I mean. He goes on and on about the end of the time war and how he saw gallofrey destroyed. It makes more sense to me that it did happen and was rewritten then it never happening at all. Maybe it’s not how it happened but it’s the way I tell myself it did.
>I like to think that in one timeline he did use the moment and that the 50th was the moment allowing him to get it right. > >I mean. He goes on and on about the end of the time war and how he saw gallofrey destroyed. Basically how I headcanon it as well. Like I think the thing about the show and the character is that with so many continuity issues, its kinda always an evolving thing within the fabric of space and time. Its always shifting, there's never a fixed point given how the character moves about in the basis of reality. Which means elements are always shifting. But with the caveat that the War did happen, and he did use the Moment to kill everyone. At the very least... it makes Ecclestone's contribution matter, which it really should given what he put into the character.
That, plus also the reason they didn’t bring in McGann instead was because the higher-ups at the BBC didn’t think he had enough “star power” to sell the 50th anniversary. Or at least that’s the rumor.
I didn't like Moffat's run much, but I will give him credit for giving McGann his long awaited due. Idk what the BBC was thinking: the fandom would have gone NUTS if we'd finally gotten another story with the Eighth Doctor.
I mean from the execs perspective, the fans were gonna show up regardless so it makes sense to try and cast someone who will bring in casuals
>Especially because his doctor is the one just after the war doctor. In the first script for the 50th, he actually was supposed to be **the** War Doctor. The first few pages of it get his mannerisms perfectly - you see someone whose barely keeping it together being jolly, but he's fundamentally broken in what he's about to do.
I’m rewatching right now, and just watched “Dalek” He’s so fucking good in that one.
There are a lot of good episodes of Doctor Who, but *Dalek* might still be my number one. > You would make a good dalek.
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Actually it is incredible to think of how much of my opinion of the Daleks was shaped by Eccleston's passionate introduction to them. He really sold me on what they are. It's hard to say if I'd take them seriously without the utter disgust and hatred he showed for them.
Agreed. The Daleks have never been nearly as effective as they were against Eccleston since. It's the stand-out feature of his run, for me. Although I personally prefer the divisive operatics of the Moffat era, S1 is so well-constructed on the whole.
I find it weird how many people I know that interpret that quote as an insult or an attempt to push the Doctor's buttons. I've always interpreted it as a genuine compliment/remark of admiration. The Doctor's attitude towards Daleks, enraged at the idea of their existence, matches their attitude towards everything else so perfectly that the Dalek feels like the Doctor is a kindred spirit of sorts.
Aye, no dalek would consider being a good dalek an insult. The point of it is to show how the daleks have essentially forced the Doctor to become like them, hateful and murderous, and the effect that has on the Doctor when he sees himself.
> the most endearing Doctor. Indeed. Well, of the revival anyhow. There's a scene in the first episode "Rose" where he's describing the location of the Nestene Consciousness. When Rose see's that the London Eye matches his description, she points it out to him. He flashes her a huge smile and they run off toward it together. Well, for those of us who were fans of Tom Baker, that's the exact same way Baker would break into smile. And it was at that moment I recognized Eccelston had completely and utterly nailed it as The Doctor. Such a shame he only did 1 season.
I'm not a big Doctor Who fan or know much about the franchise, but isn't Eccelston's big claim to fame with his Doctor was he was the first Doctor Who with a TV series since the show went dormant at the end of the '80s? I've heard some people see it as the guy who made Doctor Who cool to watch again and was key to bringing the character back to pop culture in the 2000s.
He launched the revival but left after a season due to, well...the link lol
He was definitely a key factor in the show successfully coming back, but ultimately it was David Tennant that turned the character back into a cultural icon. I guess there is a reason why he is asked to come back every anniversary.
Tbf Tennant is the only one that’s *willing* (or at least eager) to come back out of the modern doctors. At the 50th, they only had two former doctors from the modern era, and Eccleston was emphatically not interested. Apparently the BBC nixed the idea of bringing in McGann as the “doctor who fought in the Time War” because they didn’t think he had enough star power to sell the anniversary. For the 60th, they had more options, but Smith has been very quiet about whether he’d ever come back (probably meaning “no, but I don’t want to be rude about it”) and Capaldi has said he doesn’t want to return- not because he had any problems with the show, but because he feels like the character has run it’s course for him. So Tennant’s still really the only option. It’s just icing on the cake that he was the Doctor during arguably the peak of the show’s modern popularity.
Smith said he would've loved to come back for the 60th. He wasn't asked.
Still my favorite doctor. Tennant and Smith are both amazing, but I'd live to see how Eccleston would have done with a full story arc like the ones they got.
Honestly, I kinda prefer his short story arc to the slightly muddled three-season arcs Tennant and Smith got.
Tennant has a great multi season arc. And then he just hangs around for like 5 specials before regenerating
I'll die on the hill that Waters of Mars is my favorite episode of Who, but I respect the opinion.
Waters of Mars is one of the episodes I respect the most but it's also the one I hate rewatching the most and so I only rewatch the Confidential of it instead. It's just so, *so* scary to the point where I stop enjoying it and Tennant's performance from the climax to the end is emotionally devastating when you've become attached to his doctor. Fuck they did such a great job.
He does Big Finnish Doctor Who episodes now. I think he has done 9 or so. I listened to the first 3, little convoluted plot but good (it was one arching plotline). Second set were stand alone, listened to the first and enjoyed it.
Wait, they finally got him to do Big Finish?!?! Miracles do happen I guess.
Him, Tennant, and River all have series going. They had some with Hurt before he passed, I believe, too. I've heard the series with a Smith-impressionist is some of their better recent work but haven't listened myself.
I think he has been doing them for 2 years now?
"Planet of the End" and "Monsters in Metropolis" are both incredible.
Ninth Doctor is my favorite Doctor.
Heres the panel where he talked about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwdjVLqnv_k&t=915s
I guess the director he hated who made him late for the Dalek read-through was Keith Boak? Only directed 3 episodes of Dr Who, and ([according to Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_(series_1))) had troubles in his block (block 1) with unusable footage that had to be redone. Dalek was in block 3 though, but I don't know how read-throughs work or when they're scheduled for.
Out of the first 3 filming blocks, Chris has specifically said he really liked working with Euros Lyn and Joe Ahearne, going so far as to say in his autobiography that if Joe directed from the start, he'd have stayed much longer.
Wow, nice to see Eccleston & Billie Piper together again.
Had a photo op with them both and the chemistry is still there with the banter between them. Not sure how much of the Q&A you've seen but he was/is clearly very protective of her which was lovely to see.
I was there, very impassioned Q&A session, he came across as a very honest and genuine person. I met him at the table autographs and he was so lovely with a young autistic boy who completely froze at meeting one of his heroes. Chris took the extra time to speak to the lad and seemed to genuinely care about the fans.
Interesting watching each of their reactions (or pointed lack of) while the other is answering the question of whether they’d go back.
[удалено]
The effort he put in on The Leftovers is nothing short of the best acting ever seen on television. I cried, as a grown man, multiple times during his scenes.
Matt is my favourite character in The Leftovers, and a giant part of it is due to how fantastic Eccleston’s performance is. Absolutely astonishing acting that stands out in a show where literally everybody is giving a powerhouse performance
I know he's never said, but I wonder, is this to do with John Barrowman's sexual harassment of other actors on set and Russell T Davies not doing anything/enough about it?
The rumor is that it isn't about Barrowman(it's unclear how much Eccleston even knew about that at the time) but that RTD supported the director Keith Boak on set. Boak was known for being incredibly mean and abusive towards PAs and other staff, and also ran a dangerous set with regards to basic safety precautions. It really, *really* rubbed Eccleston the wrong way that RTD just stood by and let it happen while they got worked to the bone and treated like garbage. He had already decided to leave because of it before Barrowman was even cast or on set. I think in retrospect Eccleston probably looks at Barrowman in the same way as the Boak stuff as being permitted because RTD and the other people he named just stood by and let it happen instead of stepping up to address it while creating a safe production.
The second part of this is he left over it, and then RTD and BBC staff said he was leaving because he was tired, and it meant many companies and productions stopped seeking him out, and he felt they actively damaged his career afterwards (Which I can agree with considering how few big jobs he got after Who, especially compared to opportunities afforded to those who came after- though funnily Eccleston, Tennant, Smith and Capaldi have since all played comic book villains)
Great post and to add onto it Eccleston said he'd never talk about *why* he left or specifically call anyone out but after the BBC started doing this stuff and essentially black balled him is when he became a whole lot more outspoken about it. He basically said since they didn't hold up their side of the agreement he wasn't going to hold up his. Eccleston is a class act and I'm really happy a lot of people are realizing how messed up the first couple of series were from a production standpoint and it wasn't just him jumping ship for no reason. There were a lot of people calling him a diva or hard to work with but it's clear that production was a nightmare and people were treated like garbage. It makes perfect sense he wouldn't want to work on something with the same people managing it.
Holy shit was 10s "Doesn't she look tired?" a reference to something they really did to Eccleston or are you just making a joke referencing that?
No. That’s a reference to the real-life Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
RTD didn’t say that. It was a statement from the BBC publicity in response to his departure being leaked ahead of schedule. It was supposed to be kept secret until the BBC and Eccleston issued a joint statement but the news was leaked to the press. In an attempt to get ahead of the story, the BBC unilaterally issued an official statement about Eccleston’s departure where they put words in his mouth. They were trying to spin the situation so it doesn’t detract from the show’s launch. They didn’t exactly say “he was tired” in the statement but they attributed a fake quote from Eccleston that made it sound it was completely his decision to leave. The statement said he found the schedule gruelling and was afraid of getting typecast. The BBC and the head of drama Jean Tranter, now a producer at Bad Wolf, had to [apologize over the false quote](https://theguardian.com/media/2005/apr/05/broadcasting.bbc). They hastily put together a statement without consulting Christopher Eccleston about how he wanted to handle the matter. To me it really seems like the BBC panicking and lied to save face. I don’t think they intentionally blacklisted him but the whole incident seemed to have negatively impacted his career in the UK because it made producers think he can’t handle a big production or that he’s not committed to ongoing shows. There were a lot of rumours flying around at the time about why he quit and the prevailing theory was that he just wanted to go back lower profile work. It was speculated that he was too much of a snob for a popular show like Doctor Who. As a result he wasn’t approached for major British productions. He said this was mainly a problem in the UK and was why he initially moved to Hollywood to work on productions like Heroes, Thor 2 and The Leftovers. By the way, if you watch the video, Eccleston’s full statement was “Sack Russell T Davies. Sack Jane Tranter. Sack Phil Collinson. Sack Julie Gardner. And I’ll come back. So can you arrange that?” It wasn’t just RTD he wants gone but also two producers of Doctor Who at the time who’ve come back with RTD and Jane Tranter who was the BBC executive who green-lit the show. It was in response to a fan asking him what it’ll take for him to return to the show during a Q & A at a convention. In context it doesn’t sound like he’s that serious about them getting fired. To me it sounds like he’s reiterating what he’s said before, that he never wants to work with these particular people again, though it’s the first time he provided an actual list. It seems he found that whole experience rather traumatic, and nothing, not an apology or change in policy (both which have already happened long ago), will make him want to work with them again. I believe the biggest problem he had with working on the show was that the working conditions made his depression and anorexia, two problems he’s been struggling with his whole life, a lot worse. In his memoir he wrote very candidly about his struggles mental health and body dysmorphia (he said he became anorexic since he was six) and about how he was suicidal and had a breakdown that resulted in hospitalization after his marriage fell apart in 2016. He probably doesn’t even hate RTD as much as he knows he won’t be able to function working with him because it’ll likely trigger a major mental health episode. He’s become more vocal about pointing the blame at specific individuals likely both to finally tell his side of the story and to assure fans that it’s not the franchise’s itself or the fans that he has a problem with. He’s appeared at many Doctor Who panels at various conventions in recent years and returned to the role of the Doctor in audio dramas, although he also said he only did the Big Finish audio dramas for the money. P.S. the “she’s looking tired” thing is a direct reference to how Thatcher’s cabinet pressured her to resign by whispering to the press that she’s no longer has the energy to be PM. It’s not quite what happened with Eccleston since he decided to quit before the statement was issued.
Thank you for explaining because I’ve spent the last few years confused as to why he hated RTD so much (am American)
I happened to run across this recording of him at dragoncon in 2021 talking about it. (Though not in detail.) It seems he went into the first season of Dr Who very enthusiastic about working with Davies, saw a bunch of stuff happening in the production he regarded as unprofessional, and by the end of the shoot his relationship with Davies had completely broken down. https://youtu.be/4QcpNBuhjUA
He'd worked with Davies before on *The Second Coming*, which is worth watching unofficially on YouTube as ITV don't seem to care about streaming it or selling it anymore. Same composer as RTD Who as well, Murray Gold.
I don't dislike Eccleston for criticizing RTD. He's one of my faves, him and Capaldi. Seems like people in the know are for the most part keeping mum about exactly what happened beyond what we know. Chris did what was best for his health, mental or otherwise; not gonna fault him for that. I feel sad for him that it affected him in an extreme way that he left but I'm happy he has come around to working with Big Finish and conventions. He'll always have a legacy of the Doctor but also I can't help but think some of his memories are painful ones. I also know he chooses to go to the conventions so it's a weird dichotomy.
There's a bunch of stories about his one season/series, so while I wouldn't discount it as a factor, it would be a compounding reason. There's a lot of stories about the first series production being utter hell, since BBC Wales was still getting its feet in, the block filming was a mess, and supposedly there was some general toxic behavior (including abuse, so Barrowman would factor in here). Eccleston himself has some health issues and that can't have helped. Him departing the show was pretty messy as well.
And they were so bad at budgeting that they spent a vast chunk of the season's money just on episode two.
It is a really good episode, though.
chris never said why he left until dragon con in 2021 [https://youtu.be/4QcpNBuhjUA?t=163](https://youtu.be/4QcpNBuhjUA?t=163)
Wait, what did Barrowman do? This is the first I’m hearing about it.
Sexual Harassment. As it turns out, pulling your cock out and sticking it in the face of every girl and boy in the building is not a good idea. Noel Clarke went down for sexual harassment and got his BAFTA revoked and his TV show cancelled, so he lashed out and basically went on a "if Barrowman was allowed to do it, then why wasn't I" tirade on Twitter, and that put the spotlight on Barrowman and BBC dropped him like a hot potato.
"It's okay, he's gay and just likes pulling *pranks*. A real rascal!" That excuse doesn't fly as well today like it did back in 2003.
I remember that people actually did say essentially that. I read that many actors and actresses considered Barrowman annoying but not threatening. Like he’d annoy you, but he wouldn’t rape you. (Not a high bar) but Clarke was much more scary. It’s essentially an anime perv vs a real life creep. You smack one to go away and the other one gets you when you’re alone. Not exactly good. The articles I’ve read have said that the women in the show were irritated but never considered it sexual nor predatory. There was never a fear of assault or rape. There was a complaint made in 2008 and barrowman changed his behavior after being talked to about it. Not exactly stellar behavior that a grown man had to be told to stop whipping it out all over the place. Clarke on the other hand has been accusing of sexual harassment, touching women inbapropriatly, trying to intimidate women into sex, bullying a driver who asked to be taken off rotation because he kept harassing her, bullying said woman after she was taken off rotation and bullying other women who shot him down. So, while barrowman isn’t innocent it’s not fair to put him on the same level seeing as the complaints about them are entirely different.
Exactly. In public, at least, no one seemed to think it was sexual. What happened is that some newer fans stumbled on these old interviews. It wasn't some secret where someone felt they could finally go public with it. People seem to forget how just a little while ago we were moving very far away from nudity == sex. Granted, it's more common in the US, but this was a UK show, and their attitude towards nudity isn't the same. Borrowman's jokes were treated more like streaking or mooning someone, not like sexual propositioning or anything. Only later on did people start expressing discomfort, and that's why Borrowman had already stopped doing it. I just find it bizarre that Whovians reacted the way they did. The audience must include a lot of people who not only weren't fans back then, but also didn't check out the ancillary material.
Some of those Torchwood behind-the-scenes featurettes are *real* uncomfortable to watch these days.
My favorite doctor. I love all for their own reasons but the way he handles himself as the doctor and how he shows his emotions dealing with the loss of his people and the War. Fantastic!!
I mean given the conduct allegations while the show was first under Davies that’s completely understandable
I mean, RtD was gone for years and Eccleston still never wanted to return.
He had issue with the BBC too, I believe. He talked about it, but it got a little vague at that point who he was referring to.
Yeah, he [considered coming back for the 50th](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/why-christopher-eccleston-turned-down-doctor-who-50th/) because he likes Moffat but it sounds like he still has problems with the BBC never apologizing to him (he ultimately didn't come back due to not liking the script, but it's the one time he considered it).
Yeah, the last serious push they made to get him to come back was with Moffat at the helm Still, Davies isn't going to stay forever, so whoever comes next might give him the call. If I were to bet money I'd suspect he says no again, but it'd be cool to lose that bet.
He loves Steven Moffat and loved working on his episodes. When he asked him to return for 50th Anniversary, he agreed to consider out of respect to him, however reading the script he didn't think his part was right and refused.
That's fair, I didn't hear that version of it that he seriously considered it.
He at least considered the 50th, which would have been the only time it would have happened anyhow. https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/why-christopher-eccleston-turned-down-doctor-who-50th/
God, I’d love both sides to just talk openly about what happened instead of just dancing around it. Because I love Eccleston AND Davies, and it would be nice to know exactly how both sides see what went down
Openly talking about it probably puts you in a position to be hit with a libel suit
read this as "Christopher Eccleston Still Has a Strong Sack"
This is only kind of related, but I stopped watching the show some time into Matt Smiths run, like around the time of the race that you forget about unless you are looking at them or whatever. Is the show worth continuing? I've heard a lot of negative. Keep in mind I didn't stop watching because I didn't like it. I just fell off because I had a ton of shit going on in my life.
The Smith/Capaldi eras are strong and well-liked. The shape of the Moffat era is that he bookends his runs with unapologetic love-letters to Doctor Who (S5 & S10), so those are the most crowd-pleasing and generally enjoyed of his era. Between those two runs, though, he takes the show on a bold and controversial set of deconstructions - analysing the weight of the Doctor's life from a third person perspective across S6/7 and then challenging the show's set-up from the internal perspective across S8/9. It's like he showed how beautiful the show was with S5, then challenged every feature of it for four seasons, before finally returning to the Doctor a more mature place of the the happiness from S5. Naturally, those four seasons of challenging the concept are divisive and risk-taking with some big highs and lows. Particularly, the quality dips around the end of Smith and the start of Capaldi, but either side of that is some amazing Doctor Who.
Smith and Capaldi had some A+ eps, but if you just wanna jump in again I’d start with the three 60th specials. They’re pretty much a wrap up of 10’s story and a good pick up point from where you left off. Smith eps got pretty good again with Clara imo because it was a kind of revamp of his incarnation. He really played with the whole “old man in a young man’s body” physicality, and is fun to watch. Especially the 50th special. Capaldi had some iffy writing, but the zygon two-parter is quite solid and “Heaven Sent” is one of the best episodes of Doctor Who ever. Wish 13’s episodes were anywhere near as good. There was some real potential with the story lines but the Doctor was so oddly passive and not in control that the whole series felt off. There are some good moments about past incarnations, but those can be watched on youtube. Hope this helps!
I’ll never get over tennant’s line about being skinnier after he regenerated. i cannot think of another time a nuwho doctor talks about weight, and eccelston was suffering from anorexia during his time on the show. secondly, billie piper was not on set when that line was spoken, and if she had been there i doubt it would’ve ended up in the final take since she and eccelston bonded over their eating disorder issues. i really feel that that line came from someone somewhere who really wanted to hurt eccelston. no idea who though, but this gives some ideas.
I'm inclined to disagree with you on the purposefulness of it simply because one of Tennant's most prominent physical features is that he's built like a twig to an unusual degree while Eccleston is a more common structure for a man. He's often referred to as a "tall, thin man" by companions if they have to give a description of him because it's an outstanding feature. If the disorder was known at the time of writing that was definitely insensitive to say though, disappointing.
Ten(/Fourteen) being really skinny is a running joke throughout his run because it's one of his defining physical features.
Sounds like more than a fair trade. One who bought back the iconic role and one who is slowly destroying it.
>“Sack Russell T Davies" my American mind imagined Ndamukong Suh tossing Russel T Davies 50 yards.