I wasn't a big fan of NBC's Bionic Woman remake. The best thing about it – besides Katee Sackhoff's guest turn – was star Michelle Ryan. The English actress not only looked the part, but her performance sometimes managed to make the show feel richer and more complex than it actually was. So I was happy to hear that she might play the new Doctor's companion on Doctor Who."Michelle's been in secret talks with BBC bosses," a source told the UK's Sunday Mirror. "They are likely to announce her as Doctor Who's new assistant very soon. She is perfect for the role. She is good looking and the right age to star alongside Matt (Smith). Everyone agrees they look great together and reckon fans will think they're the perfect team, too."
I'm sure Ryan will get the part. She auditioned for the assistant role after Billie Piper left in 2005. She lost out to Freema Agyeman, but her profile has only gone up since then.
I'm excited about the possible Ryan/Matt Smith combo. I might be in the minority here, but I hope Doctor Who will look and feel very different once Smith takes over the role. I'll really miss David Tennant and everything and everyone about the current incarnation of Doctor Who, but I think it's time to regenerate.
What do you think about the possibility of Ryan time traveling with the new Doctor? Are you still holding out hope for Lily Allen?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-21-2009 @ 3:11PM
gwangi said...
I loved her in Jekyll, which Steven Moffat did.
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1-21-2009 @ 3:12PM
Franklin said...
I think Ryan's a good choice for a companion. She was great in the tiny role she had in Jekyll, much better than the work she did for Bionic. I'm with you in hoping the show will be very different after the regeneration. With new actors in the roles of Doctor and companion, plus a new showrunner things should change noticeably. That's half the fun of a regeneration; changing the tone of the show even if it's only small changes. I think that's how Doctor Who stays fresh and popular.
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1-21-2009 @ 3:33PM
Tom said...
A great choice. Extremely sexy and very capable of doing an action role as well as showing emotional ranges.
My one caveat -- we've already seen the Doctor fall in love with a pretty, young companion. We don't need to see it again.
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1-21-2009 @ 3:36PM
Anita said...
Based upon her BW performance, NO. However, if I get my hands on a copy of Jekyll I might change my mind. I wanted to watch it for Gina Bellman, but reviews touting Ryan have made me doubly eager -
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1-21-2009 @ 3:59PM
Leah said...
The best thing about it – besides Katee Sackhoff's guest turn – was star Michelle Ryan. The English actress not only looked the part, but her performance sometimes managed to make the show feel richer and more complex than it actually was.
um...what show were you watching? I thought she was terrible and the reason the show failed. They tried to find someone like Jennifer Garner and it didn't work. The only time I liked her on BW was the episode where she went undercover and got to use her real accent, that was good. So, given that, she'll probably be good on doctor who, when she doesn't have to pretend to be american.
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1-21-2009 @ 4:28PM
Jimmy said...
I think Ryan gets too much of the blame for the failure of Bionic Woman. I thought she did a good, if not great, job in the role. More of the blame should fall on the writers and producers of this series who gave her one mediocre plot after another. Moreover, they had no respect for the original series. They desperately wanted to be more dark and gritty -- a mistake too many in Hollywood are making these days; I mean, not everything has to be Dark Knight! -- and it failed.
Given what I've seen of Ryan outside of Bionic Woman I think she could be very good for Doctor Who. I'm not yet sold on Matt Smith as the new Doctor, but I wasn't sold on David Tennant at first and he turned out to be much better than Christopher Eccelston.
1-21-2009 @ 8:55PM
kate said...
I kinda hated her in Bionic Woman. And I was bitter that the show sucked so bad, because I had high hopes for it. But I think it had a lot more to do with writing and direction than her acting- she's been good in other things and Dr. Who is always wonderful- so I am sure she'll be great.
1-22-2009 @ 1:15PM
dan said...
ditto what Leah says.
1-21-2009 @ 4:09PM
Wii60 said...
I have a better idea, let's get Piper back from Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and put Michelle Ryan in her place!
Everybody wins!
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1-21-2009 @ 4:12PM
George said...
Shooting for Series Five doesn't start for at least another three months, so I can't see why there'd be a real companion casting announcement 'til the next special airs at Easter. Of course, this means that every agent worth his/her salt will attempt to link one or more of his/her clients to the role. Pretty standard, really.
Ryan isn't a bad choice, and might be favored because she has a higher profile with American viewers who don't know Smith, but I'm not sure she has the acting chops. I'd love to see a companion who's 20-odd years older than Matthew Smith -- there's great comedy in the idea of the Doctor's companion being mistaken for his mum.
Gina Bellman would make a great Rani. I hate the Rani, but I'd get over it if Bellman took the role.
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1-21-2009 @ 4:24PM
J. said...
She's too old. They should get some young tart to do it.
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1-21-2009 @ 4:27PM
Claire said...
i'm sure she'd be lovely but i don't want her to spend her time pining for the doctor like martha (and rose to a degree) did. i'd prefer another male companion or even one of either gender that's older.
or jenny. i'd be happy with her too.
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1-21-2009 @ 4:33PM
Boomstick said...
what happened to the idea of multiple companions?
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1-22-2009 @ 10:40AM
carrespondent said...
An excellent question/point!
I also hope they drop these forbidden/impossible/woe-is-us love connections. It's just not Who.
1-21-2009 @ 4:53PM
Modwild said...
Yikes - I think Michelle Ryan ruined what The Bionic Woman could have been. I wish her luck, but I hope she is better cast in this than BW.
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1-21-2009 @ 4:55PM
Mikael said...
I think they should give Katee Sackhoff the part in Merlin. That's what they should have done in Bionic Woman.
I thought Michelle had no screen presence at all in Bionic Woman and that her performance was wooden. Very lifeless. She wasn't helped by the terrible script though. Maybe she will be better speaking in her own accent.
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1-21-2009 @ 4:57PM
Mikael said...
(I meant Dr Who)
1-21-2009 @ 5:34PM
Hollie said...
Lily Allen? I'd rather see Amy Winehouse passed out on the floor of the Tardis every week.
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1-21-2009 @ 7:27PM
AutomagV said...
Hell yeah. If this is the case, I will be a regular viewer of Dr. Who.
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1-21-2009 @ 10:36PM
Tom said...
"I think Michelle Ryan ruined what The Bionic Woman could have been. I wish her luck, but I hope she is better cast in this than BW."
The problem with Bionic Woman was not Michelle Ryan, it was the writing, which was very unconsistant and deeply flawed. Michelle is actually a very good actress and the episode with her speaking in her native tongue was proof positive because she was relaxed other than trying to do an american dialect with the horrible scripts that she had to work with. Michelle's acting in the BBC series Merlin was the only highlight of that series and she was great in the series "Jekyll". She would make a great companion to The Doctor.
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