Shalka Doctor
| The Shalka Doctor | |
|---|---|
| Doctor Who character | |
 |
|
| First appearance | Scream of the Shalka |
| Last appearance | "The Feast of the Stone" |
| Portrayed by | Richard E. Grant (voice) |
| Information | |
| Tenure | 2003 |
| No. of series | 1 |
| Appearances | 1 story (6 episodes) |
| Companions | Android version of the Master, Alison Cheney |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Eighth Doctor (alternate regeneration) |
| Succeeded by | N/A |
| Series | Scream of the Shalka & "The Feast of the Stone" |
The Shalka Doctor (or the REG Doctor) is the common fan name given to the character that appeared as an alternate incarnation of the Doctor in the flash-animated serial Scream of the Shalka in 2003 and the later short story The Feast of the Stone which were based on the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. He was voiced by the actor Richard E. Grant.
Scream of the Shalka was designed to be an official continuation of Doctor Who. At the time, there were no plans for a continuation of the television series and plans for another film were progressing very slowly. The Shalka Doctor was intended to be the ninth incarnation, as two lines in Scream of the Shalka imply: the Doctor mentions that Andy Warhol once wanted to paint "all nine" of him, and comments that a dead cat has used up its nine lives, like he has. The Shalka Doctor's claim to being the "Ninth Doctor" was also backed up by BBC press releases.
However, the 2005 series was announced in September 2003—about two months before the webcast could meet its 13 November release date. This led to immediate controversy about the "official" status of the animated Ninth Doctor. Martin Trickey, executive producer of The Scream of the Shalka, noted these concerns when he was interviewed at the time of Shalka's release: "The BBC said it was the ninth Doctor, so that's great. Is it part of the canon? I don't know. There's a big argument raging on the message board. I just hope people enjoy it. That's the main thing. Whether people choose to see it as the official Ninth Doctor or not is really up to them."
As of 2005, Christopher Eccleston is established as the definitive Ninth Doctor:
To date the Shalka Doctor has appeared in three officially licensed Doctor Who products: the original webcast, the novelisation of the webcast by Paul Cornell which was released by BBC Books, and the short story "The Feast of the Stone" by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright which has to date only been published on the BBC's "Cult Vampire Magazine" webpage.
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