Category talk:Post-2005 Doctor Who cast reprising their roles at Big Finish

Should this category exist?

I'm posting here the message that User:Digifiend left on the talk page of the creator of this category, user:Amorkuz:

"There doesn't seem to be a category for Pre-2005 Doctor Who cast reprising their roles at Big Finish (I checked Sylvester McCoy's page, no such category there), so I'm not sure your category should even exist. How can we have this without also having a similar one for classic era cast reprisals?"

The existence of this category needs discussion, because it at least needs a different focus if it's decided to keep it. Shambala108 ☎ 04:06, November 16, 2015 (UTC)

Below is the original reply of Amorkuz to Digifiend left on the talk page of the latter:

That's a valid point. The question is why this category does not exist for the classic series. Here are three possibilities 1) This information is useless. 2) This was too hard to create and there was no guarantee it would be complete. 3) It was redundant.

I would argue point 3) that it was partially redundant because one could check whether an actor belonged both to Category:Big Finish voice actors and to Category:Doctor Who cast. (Even that is not fully true because actors were often cast in different roles.)

What changed after Big Finish got extended license is that now there are two kinds of transfers: from the classic series to Big Finish, which was standard. From the new series to Big Finish, which many people squee about (me included). IMHO, this is a kind of a tectonic change in DWU, with (a part of) the history of the Time War, for instance, scheduled to be revealed at Big Finish, not on TV.

Capturing this new reality is the goal behind the category I've created. As mentioned on another talk page, such things are much easier to create at the beginning (currently there are only 3 actors/actresses in the intersection). Imagine how much work it would be now to create such a category for the classic series.

If you feel this matter merits public discussion, we could bring it to Panopticon. My feeling was that categories are watched over by admins anyways. So, were this category completely out of place, they would not hesitate to delete it. Just in case, I contacted one of them, so the matter is not in any way out of hand.

I also thought a bit whether other media could have similar categories. But the unique property of audios is that it is not only the same character but also the same actor playing the character.User:Amorkuz 01:05, November 8, 2015 (UTC)

Kai Owen

Technically, he's not a Doctor Who actor, as he has only appeared on Torchwood. JagoAndLitefoot ☎ 09:56, December 26, 2015 (UTC)

I agree. It is my own fault that I could not formulate the category name better. I wanted to collect all actors for new characters from the new series who then went to BF. But there are too many exceptions to formulate this as a compact category name. I didn't have the heart to just ignore him, but you would be right to remove him. Amorkuz ☎ 11:10, December 26, 2015 (UTC)

Also, what about classic series actors who also appeared in the new series? And technically, I don't think Nicholas Briggs has actually reprised any specific role from the new series on audio - he has been voicing Daleks since before the 2005 revival, and I don't think he voiced any specific character (be it a specific Dalek or Cyberman or whoever) from the new series on audio. JagoAndLitefoot ☎ 16:36, December 26, 2015 (UTC)

In principle, I did not intend this to be a category for characters/actors hailing from the classic series. But whom do you have in mind specifically? I can only think of Sarah Jane Smith, but Elisabeth Sladen's participation in BF had to be canceled exactly because she reappeared on TV. Is there anyone else who first was in the classic TV series, then in the new TV series, and then went to BF?

As for Nicholas Briggs, I did not add him but I anticipated that someone would. I cannot guarantee this was the reason he was added, but I thought it was a reason to keep him. He voiced the Nestene Consciousness (NC) in Rose, the very phrase that people wanted to believe was "Bad Wolf" but that was, in fact, "Time Lord". And then he voiced the NC in Extinction. I always considered the NC to be an individual character, so it seems to fit the description of the category. Amorkuz ☎ 22:29, December 26, 2015 (UTC)

There's also Paul McGann, who was in The Night of the Doctor. JagoAndLitefoot ☎ 07:18, December 27, 2015 (UTC)

Didn't think of him. Shame up on me. Some caution, however, is advised, methinks. The Night is a minisode. So is Time Crash, but wouldn't you agree that adding Peter Davison to this category would be wrong? So what is the difference? Amorkuz ☎ 19:13, December 28, 2015 (UTC)

Destiny of the Doctor

Should Catherine Tate as Donna Noble in Death's Deal also count? That one was released before Big Finish got the new series license, as it was a co-production between Big Finish and AudioGo. JagoAndLitefoot ☎ 09:56, December 26, 2015 (UTC)

I don't have this (yet). Is she performing her role or simply serves as a reader/narrator? Amorkuz ☎ 11:10, December 26, 2015 (UTC)

It's a bit like companion chronicles, as she serves as both narrator/reader and reads her lines in-character (opposite one other actor). JagoAndLitefoot ☎ 16:36, December 26, 2015 (UTC)

I see. Then formally she (and Jenna Coleman?) should be added, although once again it is a side effect of the category's name rather than my original intention. My point was for this category to collect actors who could only come to BF to reprise their roles because of the new license of BF. Since Destiny of the Doctor was a joint production with AudioGo, Tate and Coleman were there because of the since expired AudioGo license, not because of the shiny new BF license. Amorkuz ☎ 22:29, December 26, 2015 (UTC)

Jenna did not play Clara there, the story had a one-time companion (who may or may not be an echo of Clara). JagoAndLitefoot ☎ 07:18, December 27, 2015 (UTC)