Strange as it may seem 'The Christmas Invasion' may possibly owe a debt to the unusual combination of Colin Baker, 'Time And The Rani' and 'Breakfast Time'...
Interviewed on location, Sylvester's extremities are somewhat lost inside Colin Baker's coat and it appears that the Doctor has regenerated without a hand.
I've no idea whether Russell T Davies saw this report, but I'd like to think it planted a seed of an idea that would run from 'The Christmas Invasion', the first series of 'Torchwood' and ultimately provide the handy get-out for the unexpected David Tennant regeneration at the end of 'The Stolen Earth'.
It's extremely unlikely, I know, but if there's any truth in this at all, it's a result of two particular actors being cast in a certain order, and if one of the other candidates for the role of the Seventh Doctor had been cast instead, maybe Colin's coat wouldn't have fitted them quite so badly, and the whole hand idea would never have had legs. (I do like a mixed metamorph!)
The DVD of 'Time And The Rani' gives a glimpse at some of the material recorded for the audition process and we get a look at two alternative Doctors in the form of David Fielder and Dermot Crowley. What also interests me is that we see some fascinating possibilities for their costumes, as well as Sylvester wearing something that I honestly prefer to his Season 24 getup. The huge kipper tie may be a little unexpected, but the overall effect is somewhere between his Season 26 and TV Movie apparel and looks very natural on him.
David Fielder, plus worrying moustache, has quite a down-at-heel air about him, as though his Doctor might have been exiled to a park bench with a bottle of White Lightning for a companion, whereas Dermot Crowley carries off a simple look of dark jacket, garish shirt and check trousers.
It does make one wonder how much thought they'd put into how they may have played the Doctor, but 'The Last Chance Saloon' documentary does suggest that they were there simply to make up the numbers, when John Nathan-Turner's choice of Sylvester was questioned by the BBC Sixth Floor.
But this whole thing of alternative Doctors is one that fires my imagination. Barry Letts was certainly casting his net wide for the Fourth Doctor and Fulton Mackay in 'Terror Of The Zygons' is still an image that I can't shake from my head. I loved 'The Curse Of Fatal Death' for giving us so many new faces, even if they did have to keep the same costume for reasons of both running time and budget.
Gary Russell's book 'Regeneration' (which looks at production of the TV Movie) features screenshots of 1994 footage of such names as Liam Cunningham, Tony Slattery, Mark McGann, Chris Bowen, John Sessions, Rob Heyland and Paul Bown. The full list of names considered for the project is huge and includes such unlikely candidates as Chris Eccleston and Peter Capaldi... As if they ever stood a chance!
Big Finish have explored this area with their 'Unbound' series and the two 'Almost Doctors' videos by Babelcolour also cover this subject with some very clever and inventive editing. Part 1 - The 60s can be seen here and Part 2 - The 70s can be seen here.
With the new series now close on the horizon, it'll exciting to see a new take on how the Doctor can be played and I look forward to the innovations that are to come.
(By Andrew Trowbridge)
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