After several rounds of reassurances that Matt Smith would be in the next series of DOCTOR WHO following the Fiftieth Anniversary special in November, the BBC confirmed Smith would not be returning in the role for the eighth series of the show in 2014. (The full press release from the BBC is here, just so you know this isn’t fan wankery.)
If anything could overshadow whatever script hijinks are in store for the Special, with John Hurt, David Tennant and Billie Piper along for the ride, the attention now turns to the inevitable regeneration that will occur at the end of the episode… and who will play the Twelfth Doctor next season.
That’s the genius of DOCTOR WHO, and the reason it’s been a relevant science fiction icon for fifty years: when it’s time to change out the lead actor of the show, there’s no Dick York / Dick Sargent kerfuffery. The Doctor regenerates as a self-defense mechanism, and he has a new face, new personality, but it’s still the same Time Lord.
With the show at such a crossroads, I feel it’s time for showrunner Steven Moffat to go bold with his choice for the next Doctor. (It’s also an opportunity to shut up the scholarly wingnuts who recently claimed the show was “thunderously racist,” one of the most ridiculous statements in academia.) Here, because no one asked me except Mark Walters, are five choices for the next Doctor. (And, please: feel free to either submit your pick or decry mine in the comments below.)
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Rhona Mitra: Nothing says the Doctor has to be British, or male. Setting Mitra up as the Doctor not only allows the series to turn the whole dynamic of Time Lord and Companion on its head, it sets casual fanboys who might not have given the series a second look all a-flutter. Mitra’s sci-fi chops are also there, with the lead in DOOMSDAY as well as stints on STARGATE UNIVERSE and the upcoming Michael Bay-produced LAST SHIP.
David Morrissey: Technically, Morrissey has already played the Doctor, albeit an ersatz version in one of David Tennant’s final WHO specials. He’s made his desire to be further involved with the series quite plain, and would represent a return to an older Doctor in the vein of Tom Baker or Peter Davidson. (His work on THE WALKING DEAD might be a hinderance to his availability, but things like this can always be worked out if the BBC came calling.)
Andrew Scott: Amazing actor who has two strong bullet points in his favor. Steven Moffat’s Sherlock Holmes was only supposed to meet up with his Moriarty in one installment of the BBC series; Scott’s portrayal was so strong, Moffat rewrote the arc to feature more screen time for the two to spar. Also, show me anyone who can steal scenes from Benedict Cumberbatch on a consistent basis. Give the man a sonic screwdriver and watch him work.
Damian Lewis: Credit my lovely wife for this one, and it makes sense for several awesome reasons. He’s British, and the right age. Has no problem with heavy roles – if you haven’t been watching HOMELAND, get off your computer and fire up Netflix now. Charismatic as all get out. Finally, he fulfills the one wish the Doctor has had for the last two regenerations: he’d finally be a Ginger.
Okay, what’s your take? You like any of these choices? What’s your dream Doctor pick? Sound off in the comments below.
America's Sweetheart. Pixel monkey; media whore; recovering film critic; baseball fanatic; husband; Texan; human. 
All very good choices, though as much as I’d like to see a lady Doctor, I’m not sure I’d want to see someone as blatantly hot as Rhona Mitra. Okay, maybe I wouldn’t mind SEEING her I just think a more unconventionally attractive woman might work better. I suppose Benedict Cumberbatch would be wishful thinking, though he could do one heck of an arc as The Master.
It wasn’t Mitra’s stunning looks that made me think she’d be an amazing Doctor, as much as her action chops. When the time comes for her to grab her Companion’s wrist and yells “RUN!” you would not argue for a nanosecond.
I’d love to see either Lennie James, Nick Frost, Paterson Joseph, Richard Armitage or Richard Madden in the role. (Richard Madden would possibly be too sweet, as he’s dating Jenna Louise Coleman.)
Nothing to say the doctor has to be male, but DEFINATLY HAS TO BE BRITISH!
Hmmm, not sure I understand why the Doctor “DEFINATELY HAS TO BE BRITISH” considering that the Doctor is a Time Lord (also known as Gallifreyans) which are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids. Nothing there states that the character must be British.
This is very similar to an icon (Superman) we here in America claim as ours because he was created here (like The Doctor in England), sounds American when he speaks (like The Doctor) and has always stood for Truth, Justice and the American Way.
The fact is, like The Doctor, Superman is an alien so the people playing them don’t have to be from the country that claims them. Case in point… Henry Cavill (British) playing an American icon (Superman).
Let the next Doctor be the best choice available, not the best choice available from white, male, British actors.
But the Docor wasn’t raised by Ma & Pa Kent in the backwaters of SmallvIlle, KS. Clark’s english speaking comes from being raised by dirt farmers in America’s heartland, not through millennia of contact with countless species and Brit-centric human events. The Doctor can not reappear sounding like anything other than a British national icon. Can you see him fighting to step out of a graffiti-covered AT&T phone booth (the folding door being sticky), and in his best country drawl says, “Day-um Son, them Cybermens is some tough sumbiches – you’n’ Donny Ray sure have learned y’all to bring on the whoop-ass!” (Twangety-twangety-twangety-twangety-twangety… Roll credits)