Talk:David Tennant

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Contents 1 Editing "List of Credits" 2 Old Image 3 Place of Birth 4 Best Doctor Who since Tom Baker. 5 Birth name 6 denial of mr polly 7 Ready Steady Cook 8 What's up with the footnotes? 9 "American audiences know him best..." 10 THE CYBERMEN 11 Tennant in Randall and Hopkirk? 12 Accent 13 People Source 14 Casting as Doctor 15 Scottish and British? 16 Separate section for "popular" awards? 17 Fair Use Picture 18 Bite (1997) credit hyperlink 19 Doctor Who 20 TV, film and stage 21 Relationship status

[edit] Editing "List of Credits"

As the page stands now, the television and film credits are listed with the newest at the top, but the theatre credits are listed with the newest at the bottom. I had a quick look round, and while it's far from consistent, most actors' pages that have filmographies or lists of credits seem to be in chronological order: see Madeline Kahn, Laurence Olivier, Ian McKellen. However, there are also pages like Mandy Patinkin which have newest at the top, and even some which are mixed.

Unless anyone feels strongly about having the newest credits at the top, I think I'll rearrange the filmographies so that they're in chronological order, like the theatre credits. —Josiah Rowe 03:00, 31 August 2005 (UTC)

Actually, I dunno why I thought the theatre credits were in chronological order: they were a total mess. I've organized them as best I could, in the absence of dates for so many of them. And I did go ahead and change the filmographies into chronological order. —Josiah Rowe 17:18, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

I'm nit picking here (I tend to do that a bit), but usually a CV of credits like this is written from newest at the top, to oldest at the bottom (ie: so you see the most recent activity first, as the earlier appearances tend to be more obscure). That said, unless someone has seriously a lot of time on their hands, then the credits are fine how they are. Also, I just added in Tennant's recent appearance in The Virgin Radio Christmas Panto under the heading of Radio and CD Audio Drama. Tinkstar1985 07:16, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Old Image

What was wrong with the old image. As far as I can tell it is a picture of the actor out of role, so would be better than one of him in role (which can go lower down the article). --βjweþþ (talk) 17:40, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Well the older image was a home-made scan from a photo originally seen in Doctor Who Magazine, which not only means its quality is lower than a professional web image, but its fair use status is also fairly dubious. The new image, as well as being higher quality, is an official BBC-released publicity photo of Tennant in costume, and thus rather safer ground for a fair use claim. Angmering 09:53, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

OK. --βjweþþ (talk) 16:37, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Place of Birth

wasn't he born in bathgate? i'm sure i've read it in numerous interviews, and i think he even mentioned it on Johnathon Ross' show the other night...

You're right, he's mentioned it several times, he was born in Bathgate and brought up in Paisley. As you say, he stated that quite clearly on the Jonathon Ross show. I've just amended the article to reflect this, since the actor himself is the source of information we have to take his word for where he was born. I'm sure he and his mother know best.  :-)

[edit] Best Doctor Who since Tom Baker.

Fans amongst several online board Doctor Who fan communities have expressed their delight to his role as The Doctor. His witty charm, charisma and energy acting really suit his portrayal of the Gallifrean Time Lord.

 I think that him, Peter Davision and Tom Baker are the best Doctors ever. Then comes Slyvester Macoy.

00:20, 2 October 2006 (UTC)00:20, 2 October 2006 (UTC)00:20, 2 October 2006 (UTC)00:20, 2 October 2006 (UTC)144.138.57.118 00:20, 2 October 2006 (UTC)ŰЯŁÈ

This is opinion, not fact - unless you want to quote a newspaper review. A friend of mine thinks that Sylvester McCoy was the worst thing that ever happend to Dr Who, and having recently been watching the DVD's in "The Beginning", I'm feeling more partial towards Bill Hartnell than I used to be - there's no need for discussions of "who is the best doctor" in this article IMO. PaulHammond 14:51, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Birth name

Is there a definitive source out there for Tennant's real surname? His father was Moderator of the Church of Scotland - I believe in 1997 - which makes him Alexander McDonald, not MacDonald, on List of Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Google results aren't entirely consistent but, if you exclude Wikipedia and syndicated versions, seems to lean towards "McDonald". --Whouk (talk) 16:46, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

The Independent article from December 7 2005 has McDonald, so I've changed the article accordingly. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 20:12, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

This is a nitpicky point, but it seems a bit odd referring to him by as "Tennant" in the peice about his early life, although calling him "McDonald" until he actually takes the name doesn't really work either. Daibhid C 19:07, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

The recent Who Do You Think You Are episode detailing Tennant's ancestry also gives "McDonald", so I'm changing it back. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 05:29, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] denial of mr polly

David Tennant.com reported this: "Mr Polly Update 14/03/2006, 16:00pm GMT Despite the article that appeared in Broadcast David will not be appearing in the ITV drama The History Of Mr Polly. He will, however, be working on a new project over the summer and we will fill you in on all the details as we get them!"

Amo 18:31, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ready Steady Cook

Apparently Tennant and his father are going to be on Ready Steady Cook this week.[1] Noteworthy or not? —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 04:54, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What's up with the footnotes?

I added some stuff about his early career (If you're a fan, Takin' Over the Asylum was simply brilliant and should have been a career-making performance by DT). I noticed that there is something very strange with the footnote numbering - the anchors go to the right place, I think, but the numerals don't correspont to the note. Redo using cite? --Cedders 13:36, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

Fixed. I think. --khaosworks (talk • contribs) 13:53, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "American audiences know him best..."

I know a large proportion of users of Wikipedia in English will be american, but i'm not sure that his career should necessarily be categorised in such a US-centric way. Perhaps a better phrase would be "international audiences know..." or "outside of the UK" (although the latter might make it sound like people in the UK didn't go see Harry Potter 4). Amo 01:03, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

It's too TV & film-centric too, Tennant was famous in theatre 10 years ago. How about something like "Already a well-known theatre actor, he achieved wider fame in his native Britain for his TV roles in Casanova and Dr Who, and he has subsequently achieved international fame in Harry Potter". The Singing Badger 01:39, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

I really like that. I'll edit to your suggestion. Amo 19:51, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

Okay. I live in Australia and am both a Harry Potter and Doctor Who fan. When I saw HP and the Goblet of Fire I had no idea who Tennant was, he had a very limited role (only a small handful of lines), and was only listed in the comprehensive small type credits after the main role credits. I only discovered and subsequently became a fan of Tennants when he began his role as the Doctor (and upon watching the DVD of HP and the GOF, I realised he had been in that also). Doctor Who airs in a number of English speaking countries, so it could be just as accurate (or inaccurate) to say that Tennant became well known internationally for his role as the Doctor. I would suggest it is more accurate to say this, but then that is just me exercising my oppinion - which is not the point of wikipedia.

I think this sort of guessing (for lack of a better word, I know it sounds harsh) should be removed from the article, or altered in a way like "International audiences may recognise Tennant from his roles in Harry Potter and the GOF, and televisions Doctor Who". What do you guys think?Tinkstar1985 04:32, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

No objections so went ahead and changed this sentence so you guys should take a look. Thanks Tinkstar1985 10:17, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

I removed the repeated reference to his role as the Doctor — we just said in the previous sentence that he's best known for his role in Doctor Who, so there's no need to add that international audiences may know him from that as well.

Actually, now that Series 2 of Doctor Who has aired in Canada, the US, Australia and NZ (I think), it's possible that he's simply best known for Doctor Who at this point — after all, his Harry Potter role was fairly small (albeit significant), and it's likely that more people will now recognize him from Doctor Who than from Harry Potter. Or maybe we should say "He first gained international attention for his role as Barty Crouch Jr..."? —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 10:28, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree, he is definitely better known for his role in Doctor Who, like I stated previously. I don't really think he gained much attention for his role in Harry Potter, especially since he wasn't listed in the primary actor credits. Perhaps pointing out he is most recognisable for his role in Doctor Who, and also appeared as Barty Crouch Jr in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Also, EnsRedShirt, the second reference to Doctor Who, although it may not have flowed properly and could have been better written (my apologies for this) was to acknowledge that Tennant is known for his role as The Doctor to international audiences, not just UK audiences. Whilst your edit improved the flow and made this section seem more coherent, it also removed this important detail. I won't touch this section again, but if somebody can work out a better way to make the clear importance of Tennant's Doctor Who role in the development of his international fame, (rather than his role in Harry Potter) I would be very greatful. Tinkstar1985 11:30, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

Other than it being in the very first sentence of the article?? That pretty well asserts the importance of the role. EnsRedShirt 11:39, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

Well, as it is not in the very first sentence of the article, I am very confused. However, the second sentence of the article does state, "Already a well-known theatre actor, he achieved wider fame in the United Kingdom for his TV roles in Casanova and Doctor Who." I am curious as to which part of this sentence states that Tennant gained internationalfame for his role in Doctor Who? I would be most obliged if you could show where it specifically states this. At this point (with my obviously quite poor reading comprehension) what I can decipher from the article is that Tennant only increased his popularity in Britain for his role as the Doctor, which he apparently went unnoticed for in the remainder of the globe. That in fact, international audiences may only recogise him from his very small, albeit significant role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Your help in this matter would be much appreciated. Tinkstar1985 12:23, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Oh, just to clarify, Tennant is from Scotland (UK) and Doctor Who is filmed mostly in Wales (UK). In order for Tennant to gain international fame, he would have build fame outside of the UK. Tinkstar1985 12:30, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

First sentence of the article, "David Tennant, the stage name of David John McDonald, (born April 18, 1971) is a Scottish actor from Bathgate in West Lothian, best known as the tenth actor to portray the Doctor in the television series Doctor Who."(Bolding by me) Notice that it is a non specific best known.. The second and third sentences explain more about his populairty and relate where international audiences may have seen him otherwise. EnsRedShirt 17:44, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

My apologies, you are right. The article does state he is best know in general for his role as the Doctor. Sorry Nathaniel. I've also done some more research into what of Tennant's has aired here in Australia. I had a vague recollection of Casanova being advertised on the ABC, and of seeing bits a pieces of Blackpool. Casanova did indeed air in Australia on the ABC during October 2005 ([2]), so Tennant may also be known for this role outside the UK. Blackpool also aired in Australia from November 2005 to January 2006 on the ABC ([3]). Perhaps the sentences: "Already a well-known theatre actor, he achieved wider fame in the United Kingdom for his TV roles in Casanova and Doctor Who. International audiences may also recognise Tennant from his role as Barty Crouch Jr in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.", could be modified to something like: "Already a well-known theatre actor, Tennant achieved wider fame for his TV roles in Casanova and Doctor Who, as well as his film role as Barty Crouch Jr in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." Tinkstar1985 05:16, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm, no one has responded, so if this continues to be the case I will alter the phrasing to "Already a well-known theatre actor, Tennant achieved wider fame for his TV roles in Casanova and Doctor Who, as well as his film role as Barty Crouch Jr in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.", unless anyone has any objections? Tinkstar1985 06:21, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] THE CYBERMEN

Sorry to have to say last week's first episode was rather poor and slow; it can only get better with tonight's second episode! There must be a limit to the sucessful revival of previous 'monsters'? The Cybermen were more frghtening in black and white; yes, I am 55, and my younger brother did 'hide behind the sofa' in 1963!! NitramrekcapmpNitramrekcap

[edit] Tennant in Randall and Hopkirk?

In the first episode of the 2001-ish series of Randall and Hopkirk, David Tennant portrayed the 'baddy' but that's not on the list of his TV appearances... is it only major appearances listed there, or has it just not been noticed? I would add it myself, but I'm too dumb, lazy, and busy. ...... and apparently, I forgot to sign. *Signs* --The last sheikah 15:18, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

Done it! Cheers... HornetMike 19:36, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Accent

Does Tennant put on a less scottish accent for the show? I was suprised at his accent when I head him on a documentary. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ragzouken (talk • contribs).

In a word, yes. He also does London accents on the audio book adaptations of the Tenth Doctor Adventures for Rose and Mickey which have to be heard to be believed. Tim! 08:55, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

Not that its related to the editing of this article, but where can I find that audio online?Tinkstar1985 04:36, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] People Source

The People are used as the source for his salary. Personally I trust the People as far as I could throw them. A rather shaky source IMHO.

Oh, and it was me logged out who edited out the Sarah Parish bit. It's a bit of a pointless bit of trivia.HornetMike 16:55, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

If it's that dodgy, feel free to remove it. I'm across the pond, and sometimes it's hard to tell from this distance. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 07:19, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Casting as Doctor

One bit of curiosity I haven't been able to fill. Is there any background on how he came to be cast as the Doctor? Did he audition? Were any other candidates considered? At least one competitor has been confirmed for Christopher Eccleston (i.e. Bill Nighy) but I don't know if Tennant went up against anyone. Does anyone else know?Bjones 21:10, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

Yes, he has spoken about it, but i can't give you engouh solid facts/sources to warrent an answer. If i were you i would re-ask that question [here http://tennantweb.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=question]. Amo 00:12, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for the direction.Bjones 12:28, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Scottish and British?

OK, I know that the politics of nationality in the United Kingdom is sometimes a tender subject. But from across the pond, it seems redundant to say that Tennant is "Scottish and British". Are there Scots who aren't British? (I suppose that an American of Scottish ancestry might be considered Scottish but not British, but surely the default assumption for someone who's Scottish is that they are aslo British?) Saying both seems as silly to me as saying that Gerard Depardieu is "French and European", but perhaps I'm missing something. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 22:11, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, your French and European thing is a good comparison. If you are English, Northern Irish, Welsh or Scottish you are British. To say "Scottish and British" suggests they are two independant things. I've reverted it. HornetMike 23:24, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

That's what I thought. Thanks. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 23:32, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Separate section for "popular" awards?

I wonder if things like "sexiest man in the universe" and "top 100 men" need to be in the article's lead. I was thinking of putting them in a section of their own, perhaps called "Popularity" as a subsection of "Biography". This could also include Tennant's recent dubbing as "Scotland's most stylish male" at the Scottish Style Awards. What do others think? —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 18:26, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like a plan to me! (oops, forgot to sign, well there it is -->) Tinkstar1985 07:08, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

I'd completely forgotten about this. I ended up making "Popularity" its own section, since it's not exactly part of his biography, and fits better after discussion of his career. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 21:34, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair Use Picture

We should replace the current image with a Creative Commons image. There are some good ones on Flikr here. I think I like the 1st, 8th, or the 14th picture. What do you guys think? --Phoenix Hacker 04:19, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree that we shouldn't use the official Doctor Who portrait as the main Tennant picture — indeed, right now the article uses the same image twice, which is silly. Of the images on that flickr page, I think this one (suitably cropped) would be best; of course, it would also be great to get a free image of Tennant as "himself", since he's not just Doctor Who. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 04:39, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

We can't alter that image. It's labeled as no derivatives. We could try contacting the author and asking for permission. --Phoenix Hacker 05:59, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

The images them selves probably could not be used under a free license here anyway. thanks/Fenton, Matthew Lexic Dark 52278 Alpha 771 09:39, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

If they're released under CC (which they are) they can used in Wikipedia. They would actually be preferable to fair use images. --Phoenix Hacker 04:41, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

No derivates images are disallowed in wikipedia even under the CC. If it is no derivatives, then we couldn't use it except under fair use but if it's on flickr it's unlikely there would be a fair use justification. Using a publicity photograph under fair use might be allowed but actually I doubt it since it seems probable a freely licensed photo could be created Nil Einne 18:57, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Checking further those images they apparently are a double no-no. They're no derivatives and no commercial. Both conditions are disallowed in wikipedia and the wikimedia commons. Of course, you could try to convince the author to relicense one of the images. Given that he/she already allowed these under a limited license, perhaps he/she will be willing to liberalise one a bit more Nil Einne 19:04, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bite (1997) credit hyperlink

This link actually leads to a description of what an actual bite is, rather than to any film page. There isn't actually a page on wikipedia for this film. I was wondering hether it would be better to remove the hyperlinking? Tinkstar1985 07:22, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Good thought — since from its IMDb page Bite appears to be a two-hander starring only Tennant and Sharon Small, and none of the crew mentioned on the IMDb page have a Wikipedia article, it seems unlikely that other links to this film will pop up. If someone does create an article for the film, it can always be re-linked. I've de-linked it for now. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 07:42, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Doctor Who

There is a large gap between the heading Doctor Who and the actual content about Tennant's role as the Doctor. Can someone please fix this, I don't know how it got there, so I have no idea how to fix it. Tinkstar1985 07:27, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Hmm... that's not showing up on my browser (Safari on Mac OSX). Is anyone else seeing this? —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 07:43, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

I don't see it in Firefox either. Could it be a resolution or screen size problem? --Phoenix Hacker 04:08, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Quite right, I have switched from my widescreen to the standard LCD on my PC and the gap is now gone. Tinkstar1985 07:06, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] TV, film and stage

Personally i support user:HornetMike's removal of this phrase, as it clutters the opening, and is detailed later in the article. I'd have to disagree, though: actors also work in factual narration, fiction narration, audio drama, music video, TV adverts, corporate videos, and probably more that i haven't listed here. Tennant has participated in each one of those - he is a partic notable presence in some - and contrary to user:EnsRedShirt's edit summary, he is not particularly notable in film. Anyone else have an opinionAmo 20:43, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Well, I agree, obviously. I just thought it was fairly obvious that any actor on Wikipedia is going to be notable for one of those things and it doesn't really need saying. HornetMike 20:47, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Relationship status

Do we know anything about the status of Tennant and Myles' relationship? An IP editor added the split/whole Amba Horton thing (no Google hits, although that doesn't necessarily mean anything). I have fact tagged it, no response. Doesn't mean he hasn't necessarily split with Myles, though. HornetMike 20:33, 20 March 2007 (UTC)