Pete Nicholson He avoided a real answer in a very well done way I think. He didn´t answer the question but switched to another information everybody could be curious about...so well done, Mr. Eccleston!
Such a shame he left. Ten years ago to this day, I won't ever forget watching him regenerate into David Tennant. I bloody love David Tennant, but Christopher Eccleston got me watching the show when I was a kid, and kept me watching it to this day. For that reason alone, he just has to be my favourite.
How could anyone say hes not charming or funny?? He made me swoon from the moment he said "RUN" and i was instantly hooked on the show from then on....
I actually didn't like him at first because before I started watching Doctor Who, my friend showed me a picture of the 10th Doctor David Tennant, so I thought he didn't look right as the Doctor
Yes his Doctor is very charming and funny, he only had one season to be the Doctor before he chose to leave so I don't think he a chance to be more popular.
This must have been one hell of an awkward interview because I think he'd already decided he was leaving the show at this point, but couldn't say anything about it.
exactly, you can see at one point he is almost in tears trying to evade the question of how long he will be with the show. the final episode had already been filmed.
What people don't realize is Eccleston got the party started. As an actor that had to be a hard role. It was the reboot of a series that had been off for a very very long time. If there was any discontent in Eccleston with the role is had to have been trying to bring this heavy weight of expectation back up. If he had started when Matt Smith did it wouldn't be as difficult. He even says "or a large number of enemies, it depends on how they like me". So this was untried waters and I think he did an amazing job. He is one of my favorite Doctors. You can tell in this interview he has such a reverence for the role. Anyone who says he is a jerk and didn't like the role obviously doesn't understand him.
+FireStarter Gaming Idk I was attached to Christopher more I literally cried when he regenerated and hated tennant to the core but now I love tennant in series 3 and 4 when rose left as rose worked better with eccleston
DW fans owe a debt of gratitude to Christopher's version of the Doctor. I remember when news of the reboot first came out, there were naysayers predicting its failure. In particular, there was a huge uproar about the Doctor and Rose kissing (shock for current DW fans). Where are those naysayers now? Christopher bought a dark, mischievous charm to the Doctor in the way the best TV characters are remembered. He set the template of how Doctor Who could win new fans among a 21st century audience. David, Matt and Peter are great in their own right but never forget the gamble Christopher Eccleston took in 2005 when no one could have predicted the outcome. I hope that someday he agrees to a cameo in DW because for better or worse, the first line of his obituary has already been written.
TONS of respect to Eccleston for how gracefully he's handled leaving DW after only one season. It's admirable that he won't gossip about the show or its producers, he's just quietly moved on with his career. Not everyone is able to do that.
I just started delving into Doctor Who for the very first time last week. I'm currently 20 years old. I absolute adore this series so far. I decided to begin with the 9th Doctor, so Christopher Eccleston is my very first Doctor.
Welcome to the experience. My own Drs were John Pertwe and Tom Baker (1978-1980's give or take). Christopher, I think, was a great Ninth Doctor he balanced perfectly the insanity of the character with his curiosity and compassion. This is the first truly Post Time War Dr... That's the background and the last of his people. That is a theme the "NuWho" (?) series looks into more than past seasons..... 😏 Sorry, long winded but hope you'll find something to enjoy, whether you choose weekly devotion or just pop into epispdes here and there.
Christopher Eccleston Is My First Doctor And He Is The Best Doctor I've Ever Seen. If He Wasn't The Doctor There Would be No Tennat Or Smith Or Capldi. He Would HAve Been The Last Doctor.
Agreed! Eccleston is my absolute favourite - no doubt about it! He was my first doctor and it's such a shame he wasn't in the 50th and didn't stay for longer :3
Such a great and honest interview! And the way he understands the show without having watched all of it... And the way he talks about RTD and the everyone else working behind the scenes... God, he was amazing.
If he was doing it for money as everyone says, how come he didn't show up for the 50th? Wouldn't that have made way more money than whatever he's doing now? I think the answer is simple: he planned to stay for several series, hoping it'd become a thing, had some really, REALLY bad experiences and gave the whole thing a proverbial middle finger. Now he's just wondering why everyone's calling him about a show he was in 8 years ago for only 13 episodes.
It took a very long time to get the script, so much so John hurt had to call them back after 6 months and ask wtf is going on. By the time they wanted to send eccleston he had to go for something else because it's how he makes his living .
He has always been my favorite doctor, and he will always be.... There's a certain thing to him that just makes me smile and to be proud of this Wachovia Fandom, it was him that got me started and I am grateful for that:-) thank u Chris for what u dish so many years ago!♥♥ -B
I think I'll never like another doctor as much as i liked his.And I know that a lot of people kinda resent the fact that Chris didn't accept to be part of the 50th, but i respect him more for that because they screw up everything that was done to ninth. Can you imagine how silly would be if ninth saved everyone and poof, just forgot all about it? (actually this whole special will never not bug me, i like to pretend it never happened) . All the pain that his character carried, that he did a amazing job portraying it was thrown away thanks to a retcon. In my opinion, he did it because he respected and loved the character as much as the fans did. Also do you see how he likes the fact that the show was different from the classic series because the sexism , the doctor's 'know-it-all" attitude was gone? Now look at that episode . Look how doctor who is now, look the dynamics between the doctors and the companions on the latest seasons... I can totally see why he don't want to be associated to this show anymore, because is not the same one he agreed to be part of .That's probably the same reason why Rusell T Davies refuses to write new episodes for the show too
I didn't think about that. I was bitter about him not being there but you have a great point:) thanks!! I do wish he can come back somehow. He was amazing
+Beatriz Nascimento Very well put, thank you. Completely agree. Also, I think it's his bloody business why he didn't come back. I'm just really thankful he did the first season in the first place. My all time favourite Doctor.
I am watching Series 1 again from 2005. The episode with the dalek was brilliant. Eccleston's acting is great---whatever decisions he makes as an actor do not affect how amazing Series 1 is, and nothing about this interview makes me think he's an idiot at all.
I think the most amazing thing about this interview is, after his more recent interviews over the years whereby he's opened up about his differences with Russell, Julie & Phil, he speaks about Russell so highly. Every time he's asked WHY he wanted to play The Doctor he answers because the show was written by Russell. Considering the timing of this interview when he must have already filmed the regeneration and had the arguments and disagreements it's amazing how highly he speaks of Russell. Whoever and whatever you believe the truth is behind him leaving the role, to speak to highly of someone you've had bitter disagreements with is an amazing quality to have.
oh i really do love him. only recently started Dr Who and i found him absolutely captivating. David Tennat might be awesome but Christopher has got a charm of his own. He might as well be my favourite doctor, very closely followed by Tennant.
I would have loved to see Chris go for a couple more years but respect his decision to leave because of artistic differences. Love to see him in things and if it weren't for him and his acting in the first show (I thought the mannequins were lame) I may not have watched another. He intrigued me.
I didn't realize this was one of the earlier interviews. He looks so young here. Even for that time period. Chris wants 8-12 year olds to follow him and take him into their hearts. Well he has my two grandsons for sure. And me.
This is the man who brought it back to us, this is the man for whom we still watch it. Tennant is brilliant and I don't want to get into a debate about it, but 9 will always be FANTASTIC ❤❤❤❤❤
it's sad that he doesn't get the recognition he deserves. if it weren't for Christopher, the reboot wouldn't have happened, he set the mood and the pace for the new series. He was amazing as Doctor 9 ♥
This is an incredible interview. Eccleston really does come across as a really professional, deeply involved actor. I would have loved a less serious, up-beat second season with him before Tennant took the mantle. Fuck the BBC.
I love Christopher, he's my favorite Doctor and I hate that when they show the reruns on BBC America that they leave his episodes out. It doesn't matter what his difficulties were with the higher-ups, if it wasn't for Chris' amazing performance as the 9th Doctor the show wouldn't still be around, they would have killed it after his series. Shame on you BBC!!!
I think series 1 with Eccelston was allways ment to end the way it did. Simply because it was the "introduction-series" for a new generation. They needed to establish all what makes dr who, dr who. And they needed to introduce the regeneration in the firs series. Just saying: "This is what you are going to get in this story." Even though I would love to see more adventures of his doctor, I am very pleased with everything he did^^
Actually no, the regeneration concept would've been explained to the audience but there were two routes the show could've taken in series 1 according to Russel depending if Christopher stayed or not which meant series 2 would've been different and David would've come on a later series to do his era.
Fortunately, Doctor Who series had RTD and Julie Gardner who found David Tennant after this magnificent actor and David delivered. Christopher and David will always stay two of my favorite Doctors.
But the Daleks were able to conquer stairs even before we saw the episode of "Dalek"! A Dalek levitated up the stairs after the Seventh Doctor in "Remembrance of the Daleks!"
I first started watching Doctor Who properly when I was about 15/16, when Christopher Ecclestonon first came on, and I have to say, I absolutely loved him! I loved how serious he could be and also the softer side to him as well, especially in The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances episodes. He has to be one of my favourite Dcotors. My mum used to think the same, she used to watch the older Doctor Who episode when she was a kid, and we both were excited when hearing it was coming back. And when we watched the first episode of series 1, we were hooked. Was so sad when he regenerated though, just wanna say, you did a fantastic job as the Doctor Christopher, thank you for all of your good work xx
Please keep Doctor Who focused on the story and the content. The "large American productions" in science fiction for the most part lose the story for the technical effects. As an American, Doctor Who offers something far more than eye candy and hopefully will elevate the production of science fiction on this side of the pond. Loved this interview.
This guy was my first Doctor, and he is just fantastic (no pun intended), the humor, the sense of loss, i've watch the classic series and he is still one of my favorite Doctors
This guy was my childhood doctor and I'm proud. His calm voice and stern face meant you could take him seriously and it really suited the role, the rest are too jokey or weird or rubbish
I loved Eccleston's doctor and he was the first doctor I encountered! I loved his doctor, he was fun and deep but in a way where you had to scratch the surface and only peered in at the doctor's emotional depth at certain times. I would have loved to see him do a 2nd series but I also like how he was only around for one. It made the return of DW feel like a flash of excitement and a great instep to the next years and Tennant's amazing run.
I still just don't get how so many people think that Dalek (2005) was the first time that a Dalek ever flew up a flight of stairs, when it actually happened for the first time in the iconic cliffhanger from part one of Remembrance Of The Daleks (1988), still dumbfounds me to this very day. I mean I know that as Chris said in the interview, he didn't really pay any attention to Doctor Who in the eighties, but I have heard a lot of other people make the same error of claiming that Dalek was the first time a Dalek climbed the stairs, when it clearly happened years earlier in Remembrance Of The Daleks.
Alternatively, they just don't have an in-depth knowledge of every episode of Doctor Who. Eccleston outright says he didn't watch the show as a kid, and the guy interviewing him needn't have watched every episode of the classic series in order to conduct an interview about the modern revival. It doesn't invalidate him as a journalist. The BBC were promoting this as the first time the Daleks were able to levitate, so a TV journalist took them at their word. Even if he had known, what difference would that make? Would you have him confront Eccleston in this interview? Pen a reproving article accusing the BBC of lying about obscure Doctor Who minutiae? Not everyone has an encyclopedic knowledge of the show, deal with it.
Brilliant how he completely changed the direction when he was specifally asked about a possible regeneration at tje end of a series brilliant incarnation of the Doctor and a brilliant performer
Such a fantastic interviewee. Absolutely stands his ground without blinking. He was such a gift to the show and deservedly brought Dr Who back from the TV grave.
I am rewatching series 1 at the moment, and I agree that visually, the series is not as impressive as it is now, but the scripts are tightly written and it's pure fun :)
