Hey youtubers it’s Charlie and the BBC just announced Peter Capaldi’s newest companion
on Doctor Who, Samuel Anderson.
So I wanted to do a video explaining who he is and what kind of dynamic he’s going to
add to the core group of The Doctor and Clara.
I’ll also be doing a follow up Q&A video later this week so make sure to let me know
if you want me to include your question in it.
If you’re finding me for the first time I usually do bonus videos for really important
things.
Like new companions.
Be sure to subscribe to get it.
So let’s do a quick breakdown of Samuel Anderson.
His character’s name is Danny Pink and he’ll also be a teacher at Coal Hill School with
Clara.
He’s most known for previously co-starring with Jenna Louise Coleman on Emmerdale as
Ross Kirk.
She played Jasmine Thomas.
And for his role on Gavin and Stacey as Fingers.
He co-starred with a few other fellow Doctor Who Alumni on that show, James Corden who
played Craig in The Lodger and Closing Time and Joanna Page who played Queen Elizabeth
in the 50th Anniversary Special.
Because Radio Times is calling him a new companion we can assume that at some point he’ll join
Clara and The Doctor in the TARDIS.
During William Hartnell’s run the same thing happened to teachers Barbara Wright and Ian
Chesterton.
In that scenario they were really following The Doctor’s granddaughter Susan Foreman.
So now let’s talk about how he might fit into the group.
I’m sure everyone is rushing to Netflix to watch Season 1 all over again to see what
Wright and Chesterton’s run looked like.
All joking aside I think that Moffat is trying to pay homage to Season 1 with the dynamic
and maybe even the tone a little.
Peter Capaldi isn’t going to be playing a version of William Hartnell, it will be
his own original take on the character but we as whovians will see the similarities.
A stern older Doctor with a young eager companion, joined by a curious scholar.
Practically in terms of Anderson actually boarding the TARDIS is think it will be something
like Series 5 where Rory was part of the story for the entire year, but wasn’t in all of
the episodes.
Especially the first half of the series.
Does this mean that by Series 9 Anderson will board the TARDIS full time like Rory did?
It’s too hard to say as we don’t know how long Jenna Louise Coleman will stay.
And if she leaves, we don’t know if Anderson will take over as full-time solo companion.
I really hope that they both stay on for series 9 because it took me almost all of series
5 just to get used to Arthur Darvill’s Rory.
Mostly because he was the butt of so many of Amy and The Doctor’s jokes until he changed
into the Centurion Character.
Let’s hope that Anderson doesn’t run afoul of the Daleks.
But the Doctor’s track record with companions is a little spotty, so cross your fingers.
This will be the fourth time in Doctor Who’s history Coal Hill School is heavily featured.
The first being with Wright and Chesterton, then with Ace and the Seventh Doctor in Remebrance
of the Daleks, then with the eighth Doctor and Samatha in The Eight Doctors book story
and most recently with Jenna Louise Coleman in the 50th Anniversary Special.
What is his relationship with Clara going to be?
Probably not like Rory just because that’s been done so recently.
When I first saw him I thought of Mickey just because he had a close relationship with Rose
but it was always implied that he fancied her.
It didn’t help that Noel Clarke recently took this picture with Jenna Louise Coleman
while she was filming Series 8.
He said he was just visiting because he was nearby, but all you conspiracy theorists can
have fun with it.
I am expecting Series 8 to be less of a relationship comedy that Matt Smith’s run had become,
especially with the addition of River Song.
Also rumored to make an appearance.
The real question now is which episode Anderson will debut in if not episode 1, what his arc
is going to be and if there will be any other new companions.
We have learned quite a bit about episode 1 already, like the fact it takes place in
Victorian London and will feature the Paternoster Gang and maybe even Jack the Ripper as one
of the villains.
I’d say Anderson could be like a history professor or expert on the subject, but really
isn’t the Doctor supposed to be the universe’s greatest historian?
Having lived through most of it himself.
Ben Wheatley the director said in a recent interview this month that he hoped his episodes,
Episodes 1 and 2 will be aired as soon as July.
Last year the BBC had said Fall 2014 would be their expected start date, but it’s possible
that they could air the first episode at San Diego Comic Con.
Last year they only brought two short clips for the 50th Anniversary and An Adventure
in Time and Space.
But they have screened full epsiodes early in the past.
I was able to see the first episode of Series 7 at Wondercon.
The timing was very close to the official premiere, so it’s possible that we’ll
see new episodes as soon as August if they do screen it at Comic Con at the end of July.
Now it’s your turn, let me know what your reactions are to Anderson’s casting and
what kind of a companion you think he’ll be.
I’ll be posting that Q&A video in the next day or two so be sure to subscribe to get
it.
You can include any questions you want about series 8.
Right now click here to learn about my top 10 fantasy picks for new Time Lords and click
here to learn more about series 8.
Thanks for watching, see you guys tonight.
High Fives!