Who Should Be the Twelfth Doctor?

It was announced a few weeks ago that Matt Smith would be leaving Doctor Who after this year's Christmas special, and ever since then rumors have been flying about who will take over. I was personally not a fan of Matt Smith as the Doctor (someday I'll post a long blog explaining why), so I'm interested in seeing which direction the show goes now.

I don't have any ideas of my own, but I have taken to the Internet to find a few theories that I could be a fan of. I've chosen my favorite Internet-chosen nominees here, plus a few friends toss in their input as well.

Andrew Garfield - OK, a part of me wants to yell "OH MY GOSH YES" just on the basis of loving Andrew Garfield with all my heart, but it'd definitely be a unique take on the character, as my favorite Andrew is when he's awkward and nervous, neither of which are characteristics that particularly describe the Doctor. Well, awkward maybe. He certainly would be a snugglier Doctor than Matt Smith has been. (Er, not that that's a good reason to choose him.)

Hugh Laurie - A popular Internet favorite, I can get behind this for two reasons: 1) Hugh Laurie is awesome and can do anything, and 2) I keep thinking of his early British comedy work and thinking, "That could totally translate into Doctordom." I like my Doctors with a little bit of angst as well, and he played another angsty doctor for eight years, so we know he can do that. The big concern is I don't know if people would be able to see him as anything but House.

Cillian Murphy - OK. Here's the thing. I hate Cillian Murphy, but it's because he has Dead Soulless Eyes. So if they pick Cillian Murphy, and he does the same creepy quasi-evil things Matt Smith has been doing his whole run, it'll be more obvious that he's morphing into a bad guy, because he has Dead Soulless Eyes. And I still really want to see the Doctor morph into a bad guy. Like all the way. That would be fun.

Danny Pudi - Totally not a serious answer, but one blogger suggested him with Donald Glover as his companion, and I'm pretty sure I would watch that show forever and ever.

Benedict Cumberbatch - I know, I know, he's not going to. But I still think it would be awesome.

Amy Acker - This is my really the only one I've liked of all the suggestions for a female Doctor. Fred from Angel was pretty much a more insecure version of the Doctor anyway. Amp that up a bit and it'd be awesome. Oh, and while you're at it, put Joss Whedon in charge because WHY IS HE NOT IN CHARGE OF ALL THE TV SHOWS? Oh, wait. Because not everybody likes all the characters to die and be sad. And he kind of does that.

Alan Tudyk - While we're listing Whedony people, I love this suggestion. I have not yet finished Firefly (it's cowboys in space, and not even Joss can make that interesting to me), but I really love him in a lot of other things I've seen, especially Dollhouse. He's capable of being both super funny and super intense.

John Cleese - My favorite of the "let's make the Doctor regenerate old!" suggestions. I mean, who wouldn't want to watch a show where John Cleese traveled through space?

Alan Cumming - Oh my gosh, I love this one. Heh. I have a feeling he'd be a little more... flamboyant and showy than the previous Doctors, but he's certainly got the quirkiness down, and he's definitely got some acting chops that he could bring to the role.

Richard Ayoade - I mention him mostly because I considered him on my own for the role at first, then thought, "Nah," only to find that there's apparently a pretty big section of the Internet that is really rooting for him. I'm not sure he could pull off the depth needed for any serious episodes, but I've only seen him in comedies, so I don't really know.

I also asked my friends on Facebook to weigh in, and here were some of their suggestions:

"James McAvoy! Because James McAvoy! Also Mr. Tumnus, Charles Xavior, and British. Enough said." --Aimee

"I need someone I have NEVER seen before. That way I won't have any predispositions to what he (or as I've heard rumors a possible SHE) will bring to the character. And I won't see things and think 'Oh that's House!' Or whoever." --Amanda

"I'd probably cast my vote for Benedict Cumberbatch. He's a phenomenal actor. Even though in 'Star Trek' and 'Sherlock' he plays more stoic characters, there are flashes of Who-ish exuberance and excitement that can be seen in his portrayal of Sherlock." --Daniel

"I'm a fan of him being a mostly nobody though. I mean he can have done somethings... but not a celebrity. I would love to see Benedict come in as a villain at some point but not the doctor. Benedict would make a great Master." --Erika

"I'm sticking to my guns. Gordon Ramsey. Done." --Mike

"I NEED someone relatively unknown for all the aforementioned reasons. Cumberbatch would be a spectacular villain and could probably pull off the Doctor wonderfully, but he isn't the Doctor." --Benjamin

"I say, make it a reality series and not actually tell someone they're the new Doctor until filming starts. Script everything but the Doctor and make it the most elaborate 'Which Way Will You Choose?' of all time." --Travis

"I'm also hoping for someone unknown. And I'd be really excited to see them cast a brown-skinned dude. (I've heard a lot of people suggest Richard Ayoade, who I haven't seen in anything, but I approve based on his pictures and resume!) And I'd be happy to see them go back to slightly older, like Eccleston's age. But contradicting all of that, I have a secret wacky desire to see Thomas Sangster play the Doctor... I had the idea when he was playing little Timothy in Human Nature, and said 'Hey, if they take this reverse-aging trend to extremes, clearly Sangster should play the Doctor at some face, since he has that crazy young face and crazy old eyes.' He'd be short on the manic and long on the mysterious and subtle, which would be an interesting change of pace for the modern era. But he's also busy with Game of Thrones right now, so that's probably out." --Virginia