The Scores
Here are Sue’s scores for Christopher’s stories:
Rose: “Proper Doctor Who.” – 10/10
The End of the World: “I could murder some chips.” – 8/10
The Unquiet Dead: “I bloody loved that.” – 9/10
Aliens of London / World War Three: “Loads of fun.” – 7/10
Dalek: “Brilliant.” – 10/10
The Long Game: “I’ll probably forget it tomorrow.” – 7/10
Father’s Day: “It really got to me.” – 10/10
The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances: “Perfect.” – 10/10
Boom Town: “A ****ing egg!” – 5/10
Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways: “Fantastic!” – 11/10
Ask Sue
I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to ask Sue a question (I’m sorry I couldn’t ask her everything – we’d be here all day). And now, without any further ado.
Bridget: What do you say to those people who skip Christopher Eccleston’s era?
Sue: Do people actually do that? Why would they do that? Are they thick or something? Idiots.
Lorcan Murphy: If all the incarnations of the Doctor were in Big Brother, who would win and who would be evicted first?
Sue: Are we talking American rules or UK rules? If it’s the American rules, Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor would win because he’s a crafty bastard. He’d probably convince the rest of them to vote Tom Baker’s Doctor out first, because he’d be the biggest threat. They’d probably blind side him, using Peter Davison as a pawn (he’s so nice, he’d probably go along with it). And if Tom won the power of veto, they’d vote Peter Cushing’s Doctor out because he doesn’t count.
Me: And if they were playing by the UK Big Brother rules?
Sue: If the British public had anything to do with it, David Tennant’s Doctor would win. Because, you know, he’s David Tennant.
Dave Sanders: If Eccleston had stayed for another season, which classic monsters (other than the Daleks or Cybermen) should they have brought back for him to face?
Sue: The Yeti and the Sontarans.
Me: Why?
Sue: Because they’re the only two monsters I can remember. No! Wait! The Master! He’s a monster, isn’t he?
Jon Price: If you were Rose, but Rodrigo didn’t owe your mum a favour, how would you jemmy open the TARDIS console?
Sue: I’d ask it nicely.
Me: And if that didn’t work?
Sue: I’d take a ****ing chainsaw to it.
Drew Simchik: Does Eccleston’s Doctor seem like the same man as the Doctors who’ve come before him? Why or why not?
Sue: If you mean did he act like the Doctor, well, yes, of course he did. He was a bit damaged, and sometimes I wanted to give his head a shake, but he was definitely the Doctor. He was less posh than the rest – a bit rough around the edges – but still the same character.
Paul Ingerson: If Christopher Eccleston had stayed for one more season, which David Tennant episodes would’ve been better with Eccleston? And which episodes would’ve been worse?
Sue: Any episode without David Tennant is automatically worse than any episode with David Tennant. Does that answer your question?
David Czeck: Sue, back in Rose you described the story as “the first episode of Doctor Who made for me”. Would you expand on this a little more please? What do you see as the single most significant change in Doctor Who that made it appeal to you between the series which ended 1989 and the one that returned in 2005?
Sue: Better scripts, better production values, a faster pace and more emotions. Apart from that, it was exactly the same. But seriously, I think it appealed to me more than it did Neil because it was grounded in reality. Neil wanted more spaceships and alien planets, whereas I was happy with the stories set on council estates. I could relate to the characters and situations a lot more.
Ian Brightman: Why did Christopher Eccleston leave?
Sue: How the **** should I know? Even Neil doesn’t know the answer to that one. It’s a shame, though. He left just as he was getting into it. Still lasted longer than my first marriage, though.
James: Why aren’t you doing your third husband?
Sue: I ask myself that question every night, James. You’d have to ask Neil.
Me: Oh come on, that isn’t fair. You told me you didn’t want to do it either.
Sue: Don’t get me wrong, I want to watch them; I’ve enjoyed re-watching the new series with you. But blogging these episodes seems a bit pointless. They’re too good. I’d rather watch more episodes of Space 1999 – at least I can laugh at them. Plus you always end up crying, Neil.
Me: And finally, can you give us three words that sum up Eccleston’s Doctor?
Sue: A tough, self-righteous Northerner.
Me: Self-righteous?
Sue: It was either self-righteous or sexy, and I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.
Everyone who asked a question will receive a PDF copy of the The Miserable Git: The Wife in Space Volume 1. Yes, even if your question wasn’t chosen, you’ll still receive a copy. Hooray! Please check your emails now.
Sue decided that James asked the best question (well, it made her laugh). I’ll be in touch with you later.
And on that bombshell, we’ve reached the end of the blog. Again. And this time we actually mean it. Again.
I’d especially like to thank Glen Allen, Graham Kibble-White, Marcus Bentley, John Callaghan, Steven Schapansky and Ian Berriman for all their help and support. And to everyone who visited the blog over the last three months, do you know something? You were fantastic too.
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