Pearl Mackie: Stars In Her Eyes

[Kalliste]

On 4/30/2016 at 2:40 AM, Kromm said:

Overall a good observation, but I'd give Billie Piper her own category. You've got one group of novices, as you say, and another who were experienced and well known, and then you had Piper, was was "known" but I believe was thought of as washed up (and not particularly talented) before she joined Who. 

I'd have to agree. When I thought of Billie Piper back then this is what sprang to mind:

Perhaps well known but not really for the right reasons.

[darkestboy]

I do like this cast pic with Twelve and Bill ....

Edited May 7, 2016 by darkestboy

[darkestboy]

Some additional information from Steven Moffat on the character in DWM's 500th issue.

- The character's name is short for Billie, unless Moffat changes his mind.

- She'll debut in episode 1 of Series 10, not Christmas this year.

- She'll ask questions you don't expect companions to ask and is someone who never expected to travel with someone like the Doctor. She's not a "forgotten princess" like Rose, Amy or Clara.

- There was a conscious to cast a non white actress for the role.

- We'll meet people around her when asked about family.

- She's a contemporary companion and Pearl picked her look for the clip, which may not be from a future episode after all. 

[angora]

On that last point, he didn't play it off like it was totally coincidental that people thought she might be from the past, did he?  'Cause there was that "back to the future - 2017 needs us!" line, too, which makes me think he was messing with us.

[darkestboy]

I don't think so. I think he was bemused that people thought Bill would be from the 80s though.

I don't mind that she's contemporary but I am hoping that Chibnall's era chances a past or future companion though.

Bill does still seem intriguing as a character though.

[Llywela]

On 26/05/2016 at 5:46 PM, darkestboy said:

Some additional information from Steven Moffat on the character in DWM's 500th issue.

- The character's name is short for Billie, unless Moffat changes his mind.

- She'll debut in episode 1 of Series 10, not Christmas this year.

- She'll ask questions you don't expect companions to ask and is someone who never expected to travel with someone like the Doctor. She's not a "forgotten princess" like Rose, Amy or Clara.

- There was a conscious to cast a non white actress for the role.

- We'll meet people around her when asked about family.

- She's a contemporary companion and Pearl picked her look for the clip, which may not be from a future episode after all. 

Big sigh - this just sounds like more of the same old same old, with a side order of meaningless blurb. In what way exactly were Rose, Clara or Amy 'forgotten princesses'? And surely all companions start out as 'someone who never expected to travel with someone like the Doctor' - that's half the point of the show, that the Doctor blows into the lives of perfectly ordinary people completely unexpectedly, and nothing is ever the same for them again. Although then again, since both Amy and Clara got involved with the Doctor on the basis of the Epic Plot that'd been grafted onto them, perhaps this is Moffat's way of saying he's going to tone it down and let this one be just a companion, instead of trying to go even bigger again this time. As for asking 'questions you don't expect companions to ask', well, every New Who companion so far has come attached to PR statements about how different they are from anyone who has ever come before, but after 50+ years and still going, you can generally find previous examples of just about everything! I think both writers and the media (and fandom, too, come to that) get a bit too hung up on the whole question asking thing - there has to be a degree of question asking, that's how exposition happens in just about any show, but it doesn't have to define the characters to this extent!

I'm not surprised that she's contemporary after all - Show has been stuck in that rut for a long time now, after all - but I am disappointed. With the whole of time and space to choose from, it would be so refreshing to see a bit of imagination being used for the companions' personalities and backgrounds, as well as plot! The show could do so much more than it allows itself.

How come Billie Piper gets a companion named after her?

[benteen]

Gee, what a shock Moffat's not doing a companion that isn't contemporary...

I don't get the whole "forgotten princesses" thing either.  The only thing I can think of is the Doctor visited those companions and disappeared at times, particularly from Amy.

I would imagine just about every companion never expected to be traveling with the Doctor.

Moffat is good at making things sound unappealing.  Still, I'm looking forward to Bill's debut.

[Mabinogia]

I assumed the "forgotten princess" thing was about how very, very special they all turned out to be. I am assuming that Pearl is going to be just some random human who didn't just all over his timeline, who didn't meet him when she was wee, who wasn't so blandly special that he fell in love with her and she got her very own version of him to keep as a consolation price. Even Donna ended up being very, very special, though I love Donna so I don't mind that one lol

What I find very interesting, probably just coincidence, but the only two modern companions who aren't super special, universe saving snowflakes are Martha and now Bill, you know, the two ethnic ones. I just realized it when I was thinking of all the ways which these new companions were deemed special and I realized Martha really didn't have that super special narrative. She wasn't destined to be with the Doctor, she was just some person who decided to tag along for a bit until she realized she'd rather have an actual life. I'm guessing Bill is going to be the same.

[eXiled]

1 hour ago, Mabinogia said:

I assumed the "forgotten princess" thing was about how very, very special they all turned out to be. I am assuming that Pearl is going to be just some random human who didn't just all over his timeline, who didn't meet him when she was wee, who wasn't so blandly special that he fell in love with her and she got her very own version of him to keep as a consolation price. Even Donna ended up being very, very special, though I love Donna so I don't mind that one lol

What I find very interesting, probably just coincidence, but the only two modern companions who aren't super special, universe saving snowflakes are Martha and now Bill, you know, the two ethnic ones. I just realized it when I was thinking of all the ways which these new companions were deemed special and I realized Martha really didn't have that super special narrative. She wasn't destined to be with the Doctor, she was just some person who decided to tag along for a bit until she realized she'd rather have an actual life. I'm guessing Bill is going to be the same.

You caught that too, eh? I hope this means that Bill is as awesome as my Martha, then. As I have no doubt her love for The Doctor will remain platonic (Bill being ethnic and The Doctor being "old") I hope she is independent, in it for the adventure, and leaves under her own steam after having experienced the ultimate in time and space.

Looking forward to Moffat's exit.

[Kalliste]

But Martha did help save the world from The Master. And she did it on her own (without the doctor, that is), if anything she was more special than the others she just didn't play up how amazing she was and she got out before she got burnt by the doctor.

[ganesh]

Yes, and all that happened off screen. With Martha, it was more taking on the burden and doing the hard work. Martha didn't have any special destiny. She didn't use TARDIS magic. She didn't have any advanced technology to help her. Ten never really had Great Love for her. And then she decided she wanted to do more with her life and walked away on her own terms. I'd much rather see someone like this. 

I really wish that her journey was a web series at the least. I think they did a disservice to her by just having her tell and not show anything.

[Raingirlkm]

There is an official account of her travels, a book entitled The Story of Martha from BBC books. It tells some details of how she moved about and some of the stories she told about the Doctor.

[darkestboy]

Jenna Coleman sent Pearl Mackie a bunch of flowers for her first day filming Series 10. Filming started on Monday ....

http://www.irishexaminer.com/examviral/celeb-life/jenna-coleman-passed-the-torch-to-new-doctor-who-companion-pearl-mackie-with-a-beautiful-gift-406136.html

[HauntedBathroom]

Note to self - Jenna's a nice girl, it's not her fault that Clara nips my tits.

[darkestboy]

Pearl Mackie on set as Bill. It seems that Bill is a student at Bristol University

[Llywela]

5 hours ago, darkestboy said:

Pearl Mackie on set as Bill. It seems that Bill is a student at Bristol University

This is just up the road from my office - that's Cardiff Uni's Main Building. They were also filming in the courtyard at the Law School today.

[darkestboy]

More filming scene with Pearl. She's wearing the same outfit from the minisode we first saw Bill in ....

http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/doctor-who/news/a799032/doctor-who-series-10-pearl-mackie-shoots-spooky-nighttime-scenes-as-filming-continues/

Also can we slightly change this thread to add the character's name?