Shalka Doctor
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| The Doctor | |
|---|---|
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| The Shalka Doctor | |
| Portrayed by | Richard E. Grant |
| Tenure | 2003 |
| First appearance | Scream of the Shalka |
| Last appearance | The Feast of the Stone |
| Number of series | 1 |
| Appearances | 1 story (6 episodes) |
| Companions | Android version of the Master, Alison Cheney |
| Related Articles | |
| Preceding | Eighth Doctor (unofficial regeneration) |
| Succeeding | N/A |
| Series | Scream of the Shalka |
The Shalka Doctor (or the REG Doctor) is the name given to the character that appeared as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the flash-animated serial Scream of the Shalka in 2003 and the later short story The Feast of the Stone which were based on the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. He was voiced by the actor Richard E. Grant.
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[edit] Overview
Scream of the Shalka was designed to be an official continuation of Doctor Who: at the time there were no plans for a continuation of the television series and plans for another movie were progressing very slowly. The Shalka Doctor was intended to be the ninth incarnation, as two lines in Scream of the Shalka imply: the Doctor mentions that Andy Warhol once wanted to paint "all nine" of him, and comments that a dead cat has used up its nine lives, like he has.
However, just before the webcast was released the 2005 series was announced, in which Christopher Eccleston would play a Ninth Doctor (as labelled by official sources, but not explicitly by the series itself) who was clearly different. In addition, the Doctor (as played by David Tennant) states in School Reunion (2006) that he has regenerated a "half dozen times" since he last met Sarah Jane Smith (the context implying that it was during his fourth incarnation), confirming that Eccleston was indeed the Ninth Doctor and Tennant the Tenth.
To date the so-called "Shalka Doctor" has appeared in only three officially licensed Doctor Who products: the original webcast, the novelisation of the webcast by Paul Cornell which was released by BBC Books, and the short story "The Feast of the Stone" which has to date only been published on the BBC's "Cult Vampire Magazine" webpage.[1]
The status of the Shalka Doctor in current canon remains unclear.
[edit] Personality
To avoid capture by the Shalka, this Doctor tries to act as if he is a detached alien observer. However, he still has respect for human life and can not allow them to kill their hostage. Grant has described his interpretation of the Doctor as "Sherlock Holmes in space." This incarnation of the Doctor seems haunted by some undisclosed past event, to the point where he actively opposes the notion of Alison becoming a companion. For reasons likewise unexplained, he travels with an android which contains the consciousness of the the Master,(voiced by Derek Jacobi). The android Master does hint, however, that the Doctor's previous companion may have met an untimely end, perhaps explaining his initial reluctance to take on a new traveling companion.
The Shalka Doctor had an appreciation for the finer things that bordered on snobbery, although he shared with his other incarnations an abhorrence of evil. His travels seemed to be directed by an unseen power that he resented (possibly the Time Lords). This led to his refusal to intervene in the Shalka invasion of the village of Lannet until the death of a homeless woman raised his ire. He also had an abrasive relationship with the military similar to how the Third Doctor treated UNIT early in his tenure.
[edit] Trivia
- In the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel The Gallifrey Chronicles by Lance Parkin, a character named Marnal looks through various timestreams for the Eighth Doctor. At one point he observes that the Doctor has "three ninth incarnations". This seemingly refers to the official Ninth Doctor played by Christopher Eccleston, the Shalka Doctor, and the incarnation played by Rowan Atkinson in the 1999 charity spoof, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death.
- Richard E. Grant had previously played the Doctor, albeit briefly, in the 1999 Comic Relief charity special Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death, when a series of explosions caused the Doctor to rapidly regenerate; Grant's incarnation was intended to be the Tenth. In the spoof, Grant's Doctor was characterised as conceited, a trait associated with many of Grant's past acting roles. For Shalka, Grant played the character straight, with little of his trademark conceitedness.
- Grant is still best known to many for his role in the cult film Withnail and I, where he co-starred with Paul McGann, who, coincidentally, played the Eighth Doctor in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Scream of the Shalka
- Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka at the Internet Movie Database
- Scream of the Shalka, on the BBC website
- Scream of the Shalka at The Doctor Who Reference Guide
- Scream of the Shalka theme music (mp3)
[edit] Feast of the Stone
| The Doctors |
|---|
| First Doctor (William Hartnell) | Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) |
| Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) | Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) |
| Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) | Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) |
| Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) | Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) |
| Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) | Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) |
| Other Doctors |
| Cushing Doctor (Peter Cushing) | Shalka Doctor (Richard E. Grant) |
