David Tennant Says There’s Talk of Doctor Who: The Musical!!

by Josh Roth @ 12:42 am December 24th, 2008

I am an unabashed fan of musicals, and also an unabashed fan of Doctor Who, so the idea of a Doctor Who musical is right up my alley. Recently David Tennant said there was talk over at the BBC of having one of the upcoming specials be a musical, and that John Barrowman (Captain Jack) was really the only other interested cast member. This would fulfill all of my wildest Doctor Who related dreams, but only if they did it right. Something along the lines of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog would be fantastic, and I’m sure a hit with the fans, myself included.

What makes Dr. Horrible unique, and all around brilliant, is that it is at heart a classic musical. The songs are addicting and drive the story forward, and the story is the heart of the piece, not the music. Dr. Horrible has a compelling story filled with unique and wonderful characters, it just happens to be a musical. That is how they should approach a Doctor Who musical, the story must come first, then the music. I have no doubt that Murray Gold and the Whales Orchestra would come up with some truly incredible songs, but if the story isn’t there it will feel like a big ol’ gimmick.

If ever there were a Doctor who I think could pull of a musical it is the Tenth as played by David Tennant. He says he’s a big fan of musicals, and frankly the prospect of seeing my all time favorite Doctor singing about the Tardis and his sonic screwdriver fills me with geeky joy. And I love Captain Jack, he really is the real reason I keep on watching Torchwood. John Barrowman is almost as fantastic as David Tennant, and they play great off each other on screen (seeing them both together again in “Utopia” was absolutely mind blowing). So having them both starring in a musical special would most likely have them both be fighting for the audiences attention, making the whole spectacle a battle of awesome.

But I know I’m not the only Doctor Who fan in the world, and this is just my humble opinion. But I do think that if they followed the lead of Dr. Horrible and focused on story as opposed to gimmick they would come out with a product everyone would be surprised at and enjoy.