Today is the 50th anniversary of the first Doctor Who regeneration.

Fascinating article, this: it’s interesting that something that was simply intended to be a novel way to explain a new actor in a lead role would end up permitting the television franchise to survive for a half century. Mind you, I started watching when it was Tom Baker, and I stopped watching when it was no longer Tom Baker. I understand that it was good before, and that it was good after. It’s just that Tom Baker was the Doctor Who that I wanted to watch.  I’ll watch the rest of them in Heaven, or something.

So, they’re thinking of casting a female Doctor…

…look, I haven’t watched the show since Tom Baker (yeah, there are a LOT of things that I should be doing with my time, OK? Call me when they extend every day by eight hours), so in a sense this is me being a buttinsky, but I don’t know if you want to mess with the continu

A host of names have been suggested in Sunday’s papers, among them Idris Elba, Dame Helen Mirren and John Hurt. [Bolding mine – ML]

…OK never mind. I wouldn’t quibble if it was Helen Mirren. As Warren Ellis said of her performance in RED (which, by the way, was a movie that I loved to death):

Helen Mirren with a sniper rifle.

I mean, if you don’t want to see a film with Helen Mirren with a sniper rifle, I’m not sure I want to know you.

Well, I’m not quite THAT prejudiced, but I can see it from here.

Moe Lane

PS: Yes, I am aware that I am inviting a war in the comments thread.