Doctor Who adds Neil Patrick Harris to its already-impressive cast ahead of the show’s upcoming 60th Anniversary.
Last Monday evening it was confirmed that Neil Patrick Harris would be filming scenes that will air next year, and most likely as an adversary for The Doctor. Remaining vague on the details of Neil Patrick’s role, returning showrunner Russell T. Davies said: “It’s my huge honour to open our studio doors for the mighty Neil Patrick Harris… but who, why, what is he playing? You’ll just have to wait.”
However, he did tease that the Time Lord might have a brand new adversary, teasing: “Doctor beware!”
The official BBC Doctor Who handle on Twitter sent out this puzzling image of Harris with the announcement, an image that doesn’t appear to be from anything specific that we can find. (If you know what this character is as portrayed by Harris, please speak up in the comments section below.)
Neil Patrick Harris tumbled onto the world stage at the tender age of 16 in the acclaimed TV series Doogie Hauser, M.D. An Emmy and Tony award winner, whose screen credits include the TV series How I Met Your Mother and A Series Of Unfortunate Events, as well as films like Starship Troopers, Gone Girl, and The Matrix Resurrections.
David Tennant and Catherine Tate have also both confirmed a return to the franchise, presumably in a return to their own roles as Doctor and Companion, for the upcoming 60th Anniversary special episode.
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Neil Patrick Harris? But he’s that young kid who plays Doogie Howser! Oh, wait, that was 30 years ago….
Seriously, Davies wrote that Harris is “playing the greatest enemy the Doctor has ever faced.”
Looking at The Doctor’s past (and assuming it comes from The Doctor’s past, which of course I don’t know), that gives me two prime suspects:
1) The Master. This seems the most obvious answer, perhaps The Doctor’s most qualified enemy. Or perhaps second most qualified enemy, which leaves me with what I hope is the answer:
2) Doctor Who. I don’t want to say more to risk making a serious spoiler of classic Doctor Who. But it is something that, in Doctor Who lifetime terms, I’ve been waiting to see happen for hundreds of years.