Tangent 21 - The Runaway Bride Runs Back

Posted by
Wobag

Posted on
11:20
Jul 04 2007

The Runaway Bride Runs Back

So after the surprise departure of Martha Jones at the end of the final episode of Doctor Who, the further surprise announcement that she's actually coming back half way through season 4 AND appearing on Torchwood....

...the BBC announce the regular companion for S4 is Catherine Tate.

Tate, who starred in the last Christmas special, returns as Donna, a deliberately aggravating, shrill character who wont stop complaining.

Supporters of the choice say she is a popular figure, that the character has largely calmed down by the end of her first appearance, and that a character who wont take any crap from the Doctor, and isnt likely to be yet another love interest is the perfect move for the show.

Cynics see a character as annoying as hers in anything more than small doses as intolerable, and the choice of a 'comic' sidekick as a sign the show is becoming a light hearted celebrity romp, not actual drama.

Tate certainly polarizes people, and depending on which side of the fence you sit, she will either draw in a greater casual audience, or drive away half the audience they already have.

This is either most genius move ever, or someone just lit the fuse on the BBCs biggest hit.

Which is it?

(Edited by Wobag 04/07/2007 11:21)

12 Replies and 5698 Views in Total.

Keenangel *Fourteen phonecalls a night??!!*

Personally i found her character to be bloody annoying. Yeah there was a lot of shouting and complaining but i kept waiting for the punchline!!!

The rumour was that the guy who played the pediatrician/male doctor in the finale was going to be Martha Jones' replacement, i could've lived with that...but Catherine Tate...oh please!!!

Posted: 14:44 Jul 04 2007

Stoo There are two major products that come out of Berkeley: LSD and UNIX. We don't believe this to be a coincidence.

What Keeny said..

Stand by for the ratings to plummet..

Incidentally, the vast majority on the bbc talkback section, and the poll are just as horrified as me and Keeny are...

Maybe someone at the beeb will give Russell T a thorough slapping..

Posted: 18:06 Jul 04 2007

mad "dont ask me to apologise if i get your back up, youre mistaking me for someone who gives a f*ck" - the dust junkys, nothin' personal

my first 27,412 or so thoughts on this arent suitable for a family-friendly place such as this.
suffice to say that ive read hundreds of comments from people horrified by this, and only a handful (certainly not in to double digits) who thought it was a good idea.
a lot of names have been put forward for possible alternatives - the one that keeps popping up is the girl who played sally sparrow in the weeping angels ep.
possibly even bringing back that character...

anyhoo, i know a fgew people who are planning on skipping S4 altogether, only coming back for S5 when someone else takes over when RTD vanishes up his own fundament.

Posted: 22:37 Jul 04 2007

Wobag Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so...

For what its worth, the reaction on the Doctor Who forums (who are by definition the most explosively reactive to announcements like this) are...

Good Move: 40%
Bad Move: 40%
Wait and See: 20%

I really hope I'm wrong. I guess we'll know about 10 minutes into the first episode of S4, and then when we see the overnight ratings.

Posted: 13:19 Jul 05 2007

Keenangel *Fourteen phonecalls a night??!!*

I never thought of the Sally Sparrow character, but you're right, she'd work too, at least she'd be quieter than Catherine Tate. I really hope Russell T relents. I know a few people were against Billie Piper but she grew on me, i don't see that happening with Catherine Tate, she's too closely associated with the comedy characters she plays, and like i said, i'll be waiting for the (non existent) punchline and could do without the distraction. I sincerely hope she proves us all wrong.

(Edited by Keenangel 05/07/2007 14:35)

Posted: 14:34 Jul 05 2007

Alan Got a message from the Great Lakes Avengers, They offered me a membership but didn't accept... they're a walking disaster... Just don't make sense at all... the worst heroes of all time, To call thems

My reaction was the same as Bruce Campbell at the end of Evil Dead 2: "No, no, nooo, NOOOOO!!"

I think it's safe to say I won't be watching the next series - yes, Catherine Tate alone irritates me that much.

Posted: 12:52 Jul 07 2007

PictureOfFlowers "When things are at their darkest, it's a brave man that can kick back and party." - Lt. Tuck Pendleton, Innerspace

I cannot stand Catherine Tate... A completely unfunny woman with a very limited range of very annoying characters... (in my opinion...

)

When I first heard that she was to appear in The Runaway Bride I was dreading it... But she actually surprised me. She was OK... She was no Rose, and with hindsight she wasn't even a Martha, not even close to either... but she was OK... Having her for a whole series though, that's got to be a mistake...

Posted: 22:32 Jul 09 2007

SPIKE "Hakuna Matata" Captain Zapy

Pof has pretty much said what I want to say. She irritates me, but was ok in The Runaway Bride.
The odd episode with Catherine Tate in may be ok, but not the whole series. It would be good to have a companion who is a bit different and who doesnt fancy the doctor, so that is the only good thing about her.
I was fairly happy with Martha going. She was a good companion, but she was no Rose, and I felt she left in a good way, not having to strand her in a paralel dimention like Rose.
Personally I too would like to have seen Sally Sparrow be the next companion, she was cool and that was my fave episode of season 3.

Posted: 21:40 Jul 10 2007

Byron "Live. Grow stronger. Fight another day."

When I saw the thread I automatically checked the date: and dammit, space-time has not gone haywire on me, April 1st has past.

A sign of good news this ain't.

by Wobag
Tate, who starred in the last Christmas special, returns as Donna, a deliberately aggravating, shrill character who wont stop complaining.

So Russel T Davies's hero-worship of Joss Whedon now extends to introducing a Dawn character to Doctor Who. Y'know, Dawn, the deliberately aggravating, shrill character who helped Buffy to jump the shark in spectacular fashion.

At least Michelle Trachtenberg could act and doesn't have a voice that could shatter concrete.

After the godawful season finale, I assumed that RTD had now done his worst. I was wrong. Please, please get the show a decent exec STAT. As "Blink" and the 1913 episodes show, it can be damn good entertainment when in the right hands. As "The Last of the Time Lords" and "Gridlock" also show, when it's not, it's CBBC rubbish.

Ah well, here's hoping that it survives Davies' final year. I'll return after the human foghorn has gone.

(Edited by Staff 12/07/2007 09:54)

Posted: 01:40 Jul 12 2007

I hope everyone understands when I point out that I still haven't actually seen the finale episode?

Posted: 10:13 Jul 12 2007

Byron "Live. Grow stronger. Fight another day."

You unbelievably lucky bloke.

Public service announcement: spare yourself the horror.

Posted: 20:08 Jul 12 2007

PictureOfFlowers "When things are at their darkest, it's a brave man that can kick back and party." - Lt. Tuck Pendleton, Innerspace

I loved the finale. Not as good as last season's, but still very good. In fact I've loved this whole series, I think it's the strongest so far of the "new series". And this coming from a Rose fan!

Posted: 02:24 Jul 14 2007

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