CBR Doctor Who Roundtable with David Tennant and Julie Gardner

In a roundtable interview recently published by Comic Book Ressources, David Tennant and Julie Gardner had quite a few many things to say about the beloved Time Lord and his final adventures in his Tenth incarnation. Listed below are some of the interview highlights.

Tennant talked about the evolution of the Tenth Doctor, that it evolves through the script and that:

“Inevitably things happen a little more subconsciously than that, as well, but on a conscious level you take it from the script. The character develops from what I took off the page, and then what the writers take from what they've seen. It's kind of an ongoing process.”

Gardner mentioned that sometimes subtle script elements become more major, for example this idea that he is the last of the Time Lords:

“The idea that he's the last of his kind was a very new thing,” Gardner said.
“But that's going to come back in a big way in the final stories,” Tennant added. “The Doctor being the last of his kind, or nearly the last of his kind.”

Both Tennant and Gardner say that there were ''surprisingly few discussions'' about how Tennant should play the Doctor.

Tennant joked that he was the the best actor Russell T. Davies could get after Davies could not get the Best one:

“Yeah, and you can't get him, so you get me,” Tennant joked.
“What was it Russell [T. Davies] said in the read-through? 'It's fantastic to work with such great actors, you're the best in your price range,'” Gardner recalled.

They talked about the very demanding physicality of the role but Tennant said he did not know what Steven Moffat had in mind for the Eleventh Doctor:

“Well, it has been. It isn't necessarily,” Tennant said. “We don't know what Steven [Moffat, oncoming writer-producer] and Matt [Smith, the next Doctor] are going to do--maybe he'll sit in a chair for four years. It's something we've developed over the years, the running and the exploding.”

David Tennant also talked about how he feels about his character and his own emotional state tied into the character:

“You kind of see what the story's going to be and that takes you on an emotional journey in itself,” Tennant said. “Those final stories are pretty emotional.”

They also talked about the many apologies the Doctor as muttered since the new series began. 120 times to be exact (someone has kept count!) The answer comes from the fact that the Doctor feels guilty. Gardner had this to say:

“I always think the Doctor is at his best and at his most exciting when he's suffering. . .I do! I love him as this tragic sufferer. Particularly when you're hanging off the wire.”
“That's not him suffering, that's me,” Tennant said. “Chaffing.”

They discussed the return of Jack, Donna, her grandfather Wilf, the Master and a mysterious character played by Timothy Dalton (whom everyone believes will be a Time Lord).

When asked whether he was able to “spirit away” a sonic screwdriver, the Doctor's signature tool, Tennant said he was actually presented with one:

“Yeah, I was very touched to get given one as I left. I don't know if this means, have they got new ones or—? [The Eleventh Doctor] might not even have one now. He might have a... sonic...”
“Pencil,” Gardner suggested.
“I have no idea if they're now one down or they don't need it anymore,” Tennant said. “But I've got one now in my house, which I'm very proud of.”

This interview is much more longer and has a few more things about the filming of Planet of the Dead and Midnight. Go here to read it all!