Here’s Bruce Campbell’s cheeky Doctor Who announcement prank explained. Doctor Who is a landmark BBC sci-fi series that debuted in 1963 and both the character and the series has had many facelifts over the years. William Hartnell played the very first incarnation of the character and since then actors from Tom Baker to Matt Smith and Jodie Whittaker have taken on the mantle of The Doctor.
Like any long-running franchise Doctor Who has gone up and down in popularity, with the series originally being cancelled in 1989. It received a British/American TV movie in 1996 that was intended to launch a new show with Paul McGann in the part, but while the actor’s performance is well-regarded among fans, the overall response was mixed and plans for a show were shelved. It was later brought back to the BBC in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor and Billie Piper (Penny Dreadful) as his companion Rose. This relaunch proved to be a specular success but while Eccleston’s tenure was only one season, it proved there was life in the iconic series yet as it’s been running ever since.
Doctor Who is a quintessentially British show, which the response to the somewhat Americanized 1996 TV movie proved. This is one reason an American actor has yet - and likely never will - take up the role. One performer who is no stranger to cult fandoms is Bruce Campbell, who first broke through as hapless “hero” Ash Williams in the Evil Dead trilogy and has been a staple of many popular b-movies and TV shows like Maniac Cop and Bubba Ho-Tep.
Bruce Campbell decided to have a little fun with his Twitter account on April’s Fools Day 2016. He posted an “announcement” poster where he was set to star in an American version of Doctor Who for the SYFY channel. Given the date, many fans immediately saw through his ruse, though it didn’t stop them dreaming about the wonders of a Bruce Campbell Doctor Who special.
Of course, no such Bruce Campbell Doctor Who show exists and nor will it, and was just the actor being a good-natured troll. It would be nice to see the actor pop on the series as some kind of villain, but an American Doctor Who is in no danger of happening anytime soon. Jodie Whittaker is Doctor Who’s current Doctor, with season 12 debuting at the beginning of 2020 to great reviews. The new series also features the return of villain The Master, this time played by Sacha Dhawan.
Next: Doctor Who: How Jack Harkness Becomes The Face Of Boe
