It looks like David Tennant had no problem finding additional work now that his run on Doctor Who is ending. He has been signed to host Masterpiece Contemporary (the contemporary version of Masterpiece Theatre) on PBS. It's likely that for this role he will be returning to his native Scottish accent.There is some mild irony at the fact that in the old days before cable TV, Doctor Who used to be shown ad infinitum on PBS and became the only place for American audiences to enjoy the show. There is even more irony at the fact that Masterpiece Contemporary will be more easily accessible to American audiences than Doctor Who.
Tennant seems a little young to host, but when I think of Masterpiece Theatre (and not it's modern versions), I keep thinking of those SNL sketches from the 70's with Dan Aykroyd as Leonard Pinth-Garnell. But that's probably more an issue with me.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on 'Faces of America' and the Beer Summit
Six Reasons Why '24' Has Jumped the You-Know-What
The Super Bowl Commercials: The Best
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-13-2009 @ 6:26PM
PB said...
Well, DT is only 6 years younger than Alan Cumming, who hosted Masterpiece Contemporary last year, so he's not necessarily "a little young". It would be interesting if DT did it in his native Scottish accent, because that's what Alan Cumming did. It surprised me when I watched, because until then I had not realized Alan was a Scot! Any accent they do is fine with me, though :-)
Reply
5-14-2009 @ 10:49AM
jaradel said...
I think it's funny that you think David Tennant, at 38 and with a pretty impressive CV, is too young to be hosting Masterpiece. I think it's very appropriate that he's hosting the Contemporary installments for Masterpiece, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with it. The first installment, "Endgame," also sounds very interesting.
Don't get me started on how SciFi / SyFy's major fail with scheduling Doctor Who. Two specials have come and gone, with nary a peep from them on transmit dates here in the US. Did their first-run contract run out, or are they stockpiling them for 2010? Talk about not understanding your target audience. Then again, BBCA never should have let SyFy get the first-run rights to begin with.
Reply
5-15-2009 @ 4:47AM
Danielle said...
I totally agree with you...I wish Dr. Who was accessible to the U.S. audience, and the networks don't seem to care. I don't think BBC America is too impressive either. Shame.
5-14-2009 @ 10:52AM
jaradel said...
Grammar fail: that sentence should read, "Don't get me started on SciFi / SyFy's major fail with scheduling Doctor Who."
Reply