The Next Doctor
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Craig 10 years, 8 months ago.
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2 June 2013 at 22:08 #11707
Anonymous @
@craig – “As for being on the news I nominate PhaseShift, JimTheFish or Bluesqueakpip to represent us in 4 or 5 years time when we’re the biggest Doctor Who Forum on the net”
Four or 5 years’ time? You pessimistic fool, you. You shall have world domination by August! Mwahahaha.
But not until you correct your appalling (lack of) apostrophisation. 👿
2 June 2013 at 22:11 #11708@Shazzbot The Wikipedia entry is pretty much the case as far as I know. I may be completely wrong. He is a music producer, DJ and huge Doctor Who fan. He has saved a lot of old episodes in the past for the BBC. He does have, or did have, a lot of connections with the BBC, and is well known in Doctor Who fandom. One has to be careful as he is rumoured to be quite litigious, although it is just a rumour and I am not making any statement of fact, honest.
2 June 2013 at 22:15 #11709@Shazzbot I meant it will be 4 or 5 years before the next Doctor, and the need to comment. Of course we’ll be the biggest before then!
You are a grammar Nazi though aren’t you? I’ve been in the pub all day! Leave me alone 😀
2 June 2013 at 22:21 #11710@craig – “You are a grammar Nazi”
Page 3 (‘ooh! err! Miss!’) of the comments … it’s a bit late to invoke Godwin’s Law, eh? 🙂
PS I would say ‘nice recover’ but only because ‘being in the pub all day’ is pretty much the get-out clause that neutralises everything one posts afterward. 😀
2 June 2013 at 22:26 #11711Yeah, I’m a bit slow today 😀
2 June 2013 at 22:37 #11712Okay – I went & watched Skins for the 1st time to see if I like Will Merrick. I really do. It’s mostly to do with his look but he’s maybe got ‘it‘…. He looks exactly like I imagined the Merlin Doctor back in 1989. All he needs now is a camel-haired coat…
Looks like the odds have changed:
2 June 2013 at 22:47 #11713He does fit the part but possibly a bit too similar to the previous two incumbents…
I nominate @phaseshift as our official PR spokesman. He’s already our resident marketing whore, after all…
Well, at least you haven’t reached these levels of grammar Nazidom yet…
2 June 2013 at 23:09 #11714@jimthefish – ‘It’s ‘whomever’. 😆 I’m still laughing; thank you for that. 🙂
2 June 2013 at 23:23 #11715
‘It’s started…’Actually my dream Doctor would be David Thewlis. I love him in the film ‘Mr Nice’.
2 June 2013 at 23:58 #11716If Ian Levine has indeed ruined a shock regeneration, then he’s an even bigger tosspot than I thought. (He was also responsible for the utterly shite boy band Upside Down among other things). Anyway, about the next Doctor:
I’m so sick of feminists demanding a female Doctor for reasons completely unrelated to the interests of the show that I sincerely hope they never get their wish. Sorry, but that’s my thinking on the subject, even though I can can think of a few women who’d be really good.
As far as black doctors go, that’s another matter. I’ve heard a few suggestions that sound good, although I think Adrian Lester would also be a good choice. A Doctor with a bit of the Mickey Bricks about him could be a lot of fun: the Doctor as a time-travelling con-artist with a heart of gold.
Anyway, that was just a name I felt like throwing into the mix!
3 June 2013 at 00:01 #11717I thank that since not only Smith, but Eccles and Tennant had solid theatrical experience behind them, we should be looking at stage actors. It makes sense, the role is high pressure and requires a great deal of charisma and devotion of time. Supposing the next doctor is going to be older (by which I mean at least late 30’s to early 40’s, which I don’t consider old-old, I’m nearly there myself, but I think it was a substantial achievement to pull off two very young looking Doctors who came across so differently, three might be harder to do, and before Smith bagged the role they were looking for older.) it’s also a good way to get someone with proper experience, but not a household name. But probably not someone with only theatre experience, because it is a very different medium in which to work.
(Nowadays that is. See @phaseshift ‘s wonderful blog on Sapphire and Steel for an example of earlier almost theatre/TV crossovers. ‘ITV’s answer to Doctor Who’- it made an interesting conversation.)
3 June 2013 at 00:31 #11719David Thewlis–inspired! Yes, he would be great.
3 June 2013 at 00:47 #11721
The Dr’s new greatest enemy? (Please don’t sue me)3 June 2013 at 04:03 #11727If it wasn’t him it would have been someone else. I’m not excusing his blabbing but I think the real blame should lie with whoever at the BBC sent the mysterious email. First the DVD fiasco and now this – I wonder if Caroline Skinner is out for revenge.
BTW I concur with @bluesqueakpip, @pedant and @jimthefish – the new Doc is already decided and there will be a regeneration in the 50th Anniversary special. Any other talk from the BBC / Moffat reeks of damage limitation.
3 June 2013 at 04:28 #11729I have a feeling that Moffat won’t be content to just replace Matt Smith with another 3-year incumbent. Partly, because I do not think he would want to hand over “his” Doctor to another showrunner, and partly because I still feel he wants to do something no-one has done before.
Further up I conjectured that he has already told us the answer–it is John Hurt and Season 8 will be out of order, and set during the Time War, and Hurt will only last a year, as will Moffat. But I am willing to accept that the suits at the BBC will want a younger Doctor for an entire season.
So, here is my next bonkers idea: what if season 8 involves multiple regenerations, perhaps even one a week, because of some timey-wimey problem? Think about it for a minute. Instead of a whole season trying to discover the mystery of the companion (ie, s7 with the mystery of: “Clara: who is she?”) it could be a whole season of different Doctors constantly in flux. Perhaps the whole timey-wimey multiple regenerations might be manipulated by the Hurt Doctor, or even the Great Intelligence. And it would be a way to guarantee the audience tuned in each week to see what the “new” Doctor was like. Moffat played with this idea of multiple regenerations in his Comic Relief sketch, and well, he has been known to re-use ideas and material he has used before. And it puts a whole new spin on Doctor Who?
Whatever else he does, Moffat won’t do anything ordinary in what I think most of us assume will be his last year at the helm.
3 June 2013 at 04:43 #11730what if season 8 involves multiple regenerations, perhaps even one a week, because of some timey-wimey problem?
I like this. The BBC could use it as a kind of live audition and try out all different kinds of actors: black/white/old/young/male/female etc. The internet would give them their weekly approval ratings instantly.
I wonder how long Moffat is going to stick around for now. Another season for sure but then? It wouldn’t surprise me if the next Doctor is only in place for a season which would allow for greater risk taking in casting the lead. The showrunner and next Doctor could leave at the same time.
I have to say, as much as I enjoy Matt Smith’s performance, I’m not unhappy there is going to be a change. Dramatically it feels right and I think the show needs to refresh periodically: 3-4 years seems about right too.
3 June 2013 at 04:44 #11731RE: Ian Levine, it doesn’t surprise me that he leaked this and forced the BBC’s hand into making the announcement as he is seemingly that type of bloke. Incredibly self important. He seems to have had run ins with a large number of influential Doctor Who fans over the years.
Incidentally, I searched for his tweets on Twitter and if you do that, be careful as there’s obviously a gay porn actor with the same name. Not only did I see the tweets about Doctor Who, I also saw a few pictures that I wasn’t expecting..
3 June 2013 at 04:44 #11732@blenkinsopthebrave, that is an inspired idea. I like it a lot. Those multiple regen’s could include female, ginger, very old, very young, Ben Whishaw, Ayaode, John Noble, Thewlis etc. (Loving most of the suggestions.) Moffat has toyed with multiple regenerations before, in the Comic Relief, The Curse of Fatal Death. Then at the end of the year, with his filming in the U.S. done with Matt can return to the role he was born for. (Well one can dream..)
Cheers
Janette
3 June 2013 at 04:51 #11733Incidentally, I searched for his tweets on Twitter and if you do that, be careful as there’s obviously a gay porn actor with the same name. Not only did I see the tweets about Doctor Who, I saw a few pictures that I wasn’t expecting..
Apologies for laughing at your misfortune, but that made me roar.
3 June 2013 at 05:03 #11734Given his recent (alleged) comments, it would be hilarious if the BBC offered the part to John Simm.
They could do a DW version of Face/Off.
3 June 2013 at 09:35 #11736@phaseshift – looking through more of DigitalSpy following your earlier link over there, I found this article which contains some nice tweeted tributes to Matt Smith as the Doctor following the announcement of his leaving: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a486421/matt-smith-leaving-doctor-who-celebrity-reactions.html
The most interesting thing is that only one of those tweets is not giving praise to Matt Smith, in fact it doesn’t mention him at all – Colin Baker’s.
“To those kind people who have suggested I should return as the Doctor – thank you but DON’T BE SILLY! Be fun though….”
Colin, judging from what I’ve read about your take on the role on this site, not least from the mighty @htpbdet , I think you’re confusing ‘kind’ with ‘taking the mick’.
3 June 2013 at 11:00 #11737James Callis.
I know, it’ll never happen.
3 June 2013 at 12:04 #11738With regards to the relative age of the next Doctor, I believe that one of the main reasons that Eccleston didn’t want to stick around was the all-consuming nature of the job and the fact that he didn’t get to see his family very much. Both Tennant and Smith were pretty much in ‘just dating’ mode for most of their tenures. I don’t think you’ll see an older Doctor because a) it seems to take a lot out of you (just look at how much Matt has changed in last few years) and b) most older actors have families or at least serious relationships and they’d be unlikely to put them to one side as Who takes over their lives for three or four years…
I do like @blenkinsopthebrave‘s idea of multiple Doctors. I did think that would be the only way you could realistically do ‘past’ Doctors for the anniversary — by giving them episodes of their own. Not sure the Time War will feature that much — too much of a budget drain to do effectively, but I think there might be some mileage in seeing more than one Doctor next series. But at the same time, there’s a definite danger that that could become very gimmicky very quickly.
However, failing that I do think we’ll be on a one-series-only Doctor. Especially if we’re looking at ‘non-traditional’ casting. They’ll test the waters and if it doesn’t take they’ll revert back to someone more traditionally Doctor-ish.
3 June 2013 at 12:47 #11739I have a feeling this would’ve come out sooner rather than later. I would have loved a surprise at Christmas but I’m sure there’ll be plenty more surprises.
I have a feeling we may not even see the Doctor fully regenerate. What if we just get Matt bursting with regeneration energy and that’s it? That would certainly generate a big audience for the series 8 opener!
I love the idea of an older Doctor. He should be a father (or mother 😉 ) figure IMHO. However, Moffat seems to love providing a platform for young talent
I’ve don’t even know where to start guessing. They don’t need an established actor so I’m thinking it will be some “unknown” with a theatre/comedy background.
@blenkinsopthebrave I like the idea of having Hurt stick around. The new-regen-per-episode is an intriguing possibility but a bit too HIGNFY.
Just had another thought, what if series 8 had no Doctor! What if it was Clara and the TARDIS searching the universe for him
3 June 2013 at 13:13 #11741@blenkinsopthebrave – “what if season 8 involves multiple regenerations, perhaps even one a week … Instead of a whole season trying to discover the mystery of the companion it could be a whole season of different Doctors constantly in flux.”
That’s so weird, because I was thinking the same thing myself! I had a an idea long ago that the next series could be Clara and the Doctor body-swapping, so that the audience could experience a female Doctor and the audience’s reaction could be thoroughly gauged, without a 3-4-5 year timelock on any actress’s time. But then that idea morphed into having multiple Doctors – all ages, all colours, all genders – so that each incarnation could be test-driven upon the audience.
But I agree with @jimthefish – “there’s a definite danger that that could become very gimmicky very quickly.” Even if it were just one or two changes in series 8, I fear.
@thommck – “what if series 8 had no Doctor! What if it was Clara and the TARDIS searching the universe for him”
Now, that’s an interestingly bonkers theory! And whatever we think of the fact that ‘the Moff lies’ and however sure I am that they must have finalised casting for series 8 (otherwise, how could they write any episodes?), who says current casting is for the Doctor? It could be just for an additional companion for Clara with whom, as you say, to search the universe for the Doctor and with whom simultaneously to have adventures. This also leads back to my ‘test-the-waters-with-a-female-Doctor’ idea; Clara – even as a Companion – would in this scenario be taking the lead role with a new (and presumedly male) additional companion.
3 June 2013 at 13:20 #11742First impression: I was, and am not, ready for Matt to go. I was preparing for Series 8 to be his last, but now seems too soon. Oddly, it feels like the day after “TATM”, or, going back further (and ironically) the first time I saw “Logopolis”–and I didn’t even know the regeneration thing was coming! (doubly irony, I think, as Matt may pass Tom Baker as my favorite and best Doctor. Tom’s still my Doctor, but what Matt’s done with the role is just brilliant!)
Also, as fond as I am of River, she’s not coming back, unless it’s somehow in the 50th. I think what most of us wanted to be expressed between the Doctor and River was done with that brilliant kiss. Could you imagine River/Alex with anyone other than Eleven/Matt?
3 June 2013 at 13:40 #11744@StratCat01 – “Could you imagine River/Alex with anyone other than Eleven/Matt?”
Well, the implied bad-boyness of the Hurt Doctor, multiplied by River’s well-known sassy bad-assedness, could be extraordinary to watch. 🙂 But all we know right now of the Hurt Doctor is that he is badly damaged by his horrific decision to do whatever he did ‘in the name of sanity’. Which doesn’t bode well for a saucy combination with Our River.
And I agree with you, River’s gone. {sniff} I’ve said before that I think they should have let Rose go after that hologram-on-the-beach scene, because that was a perfect and pathos-ridden literary ending for her character. But then Rose was brought back, and given the consolation prize of an almost-10. I hope, intensely, that this time they have let River go because even the most heart-breaking of endings needs to stand as shown. Further adventures with River would be a dilution of the gorgeous emotions – and acting intensity of both AK and MS – of that last scene in TNotD.
3 June 2013 at 14:06 #11749@Shazzbot – I think John’s Doctor is not quite the ‘bad boy” that Our River’s more attracted to! That would be Matt, although technically she realizes it’s “all the same man”. Whatever John’s Doctor has done, I think that would be crossing a line somehow for River.
Regarding the Next Doctor…I don’t have anyone in mind at the moment. I think I’m of a mind to trust Moffat, because he, as has been mentioned, seems to have a knack for finding great talent. I’m still working on contributing to the “bonkers theories” that all of you do so well! My mind seems to have issues grasping “what it all means” let alone “where’s is all going”!
I should add here that when John Hurt was introduced as “The Doctor” I had a flash that this was it for Matt: a changing without a regeneration, if you will. Dunno why…now it seems almost eerily prescient (which I don’t get very often, if at all). I think I go along with a 50th regeneration. A regeneration in the now annual Christmas special seems the wrong time to do it.
3 June 2013 at 14:46 #11750@thommck –
what if series 8 had no Doctor! What if it was Clara and the TARDIS searching the universe for him
I was originally being slightly flippant when i suggested (over on the 50th Anni thread) that a Doctor-Lite Season could be used to get the audience comfortable with a leading lady (i.e. the companion, be it JLC or whoever) as a lead in to a female Doctor, but I began warming to the idea… but now you’ve produced the extreme example! I like it, think it’s got legs.
They’ve presumably been planning Matt’s departure for a while, but if auditions had already been taking place, I’m amazed the news didn’t leak earlier. And if auditions haven’t taken place yet, it’s surely cutting fine for the shooting of the Christmas special (if the new Doctor is to do anything more than be a face in a volcano) – so maybe a Doctorless Doctor Who could be a possibility.
Another thought – perhaps Clara is going to be searching for someone fit to take on the mantle of ‘The Doctor’? That’s why she’s a nanny – to nurse the new Doctor into the job, using her accumulated knowledge of all the previous incarnations. Is Trenzalore actually going to be the final resting place of this line of Doctors, with the title handed on to someone new?
3 June 2013 at 14:56 #11752I wouldn’t mind if the regeneration faded to black without showing the next face. The regeneration sequence is always so emotional for me, I find it jarring the way they’ve done it in recent years with the new face of the Doctor popping off all wacky and trying to be funny. Both Tennant and Smith went right into a comedy routine while I was having feelings. I’ve always needed a bit more of a breather.
3 June 2013 at 14:58 #11753@Shazzbot – agree on bringing back Rose in S4 – it lessened the impact and emotion of that original departure. I’d have preferred for her return to have been along the lines of appearing in Turn Left but then not actually getting back to the Doctor, or ending up with a watered down knock off Doctor for a fiver off t’market etc.
I love NoTD as a River swansong, leave the rest of their adventures to the alt media, and don’t detract from that kiss and final goodbye.
3 June 2013 at 15:20 #11754A regeneration in the now annual Christmas special seems the wrong time to do it.
Seen this mentioned by a few people, but it’s pretty much the pattern for PG-who. The Eccleston – Tennant regen led into the first Christmas special, and the first of ‘The End of Time’ 2 parter for Tennant’s departure was the Christmas day special, so while we haven’t seen a regen on Christmas Day itself, we’ve already had 2 of the 7 being regeneration related. Plus, British TV on Christmas Day evening often wades well into the waters of misery, so a post-dinner tear jerker would be completely in keeping with the national habit!
3 June 2013 at 16:01 #11757Sigh. I heard the news Sunday morning (local time), checking the news on my phone. (I have Google news customised to give me Doctor Who news.)
There’s no way this could have been kept quiet in the age of the internet. It’s never been kept quiet before, and I doubt it ever will be in future, except perhaps under a totalitarian state where leakers can expect to be tortured and killed. Too many people would have to know for too long in advance. (And even if it was miraculously kept quiet until the time of broadcast, I’m sure word would reach me before it screened in Australia.)
I’ve been aware of Ian Levine since my early days in fandom. He’s a genuine eccentric who’s been fabulously successful, and I have to admire that. He’s done some regrettable things, mostly in the last few days, but on balance I’m sure he’s done more good than bad in the world of Doctor Who. He’s the man who put a stop to classic TV being put in the bin at the BBC. (At least, according to a fanzine article I read in the 1990s.)
Who’ll be the next Doctor? Probably someone I’ve never heard of, so not much point in guessing. Of the last three, David Tennant was the actor I was least familiar with before they were cast (i.e. I’d never heard of him). I was already aware of Matt Smith from the Sally Lockhart mysteries. He had such a low profile I never would have guessed it would be him, but when I heard, I thought ‘Yeah, he could work’.
Of the actors I’m aware of: Bill Nighy would be a great choice, but has apparently turned it down before. And may not be youthful enough. Chewitel Ejiofor would be great, but he seems a bit busy with high profile Hollywood roles.
Here’s a few suggestions that may not be out there yet (I haven’t been following the discussion on other forums or betting sites, only here):
Richard Coyle. Would he be up for it? He quit one great role (in Steven Moffat’s Coupling) because fans bothered him… so probably not. He’d be great, though. I thought so after seeing him in Coupling, and since then I’ve seen him as a leading man in Going Postal and Grabbers, which have only confirmed that belief.
Mark Strong. He has a tendency to play stony-faced villains, which might make him seem like a one-track actor, but his performance in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy showed a broader range than is usually asked of him. He has a great presence, I think. Maybe a little over the line if playing the Doctor is a ‘young man’s game’.
Laurence Fox. I only know him from Lewis, which didn’t give him an opportunity to show a massive range, but I was always impressed with what he did with a role that could have been much more limited. (I just looked him up, and was surprised to discover he’s married to Billie Piper, star of the Sally Lockhart mysteries, and some other shows. Small world.)
3 June 2013 at 16:15 #11759@osakahatter – Oh dear you are absolutely correct! Since re-starting DW, I’ve been watching out of sequence beginning with ‘The Impossible Astronaut’ forward, at the same time going back first to ‘The Eleventh Hour’, and then back to ‘Rose’. Consequently I’ve only seen one Christmas Special on, well, Christmas! Of course, the past Christmas special was entirely cheery was it! 😉
3 June 2013 at 16:30 #11760Not read all the comments yet, but as a ginger myself, if the new Dr is a ginge, I shall stop watching, start reading the Daily Mail and grow old(er) and bitter(er).
Fe**ing gingers!3 June 2013 at 16:46 #11761@phileasf – ooh, Lawrence Fox! I love him as Hathaway – so much not said, not shown, but glimpses of intellect and passion and sadness… I’ll be very happy if it’s him.
3 June 2013 at 18:24 #11762Some say they might make the doctor a woman. I am not sexes, but the doctor is meant to be a male so it would destroy over 50 years of character development making hima woman with only one or two episodes of brief explanation.
3 June 2013 at 18:38 #11763@onethingannoysme 😀 Nice trolling. Good luck with it.
3 June 2013 at 18:58 #11768There’s no way this could have been kept quiet in the age of the internet
In one way I’m inclined to agree with you, but I think until Levine opened his gob they were well on course to getting away with it. Moffatt has a pretty good relationship with the media and has managed to keep a few big surprises up his sleeve in the past. And the cast and crew are usually pretty on-side as well. (When they’re screaming at each other in public, that is.) It’ll be interesting to see if whether we get an announcement of the next Doctor or if the news will be revealed via on-set snaps in August.
Mind you, now that there’s been two high-profile publicity gaffes in almost as many weeks, you have to wonder if we weren’t actually being played a bit here. Much in the same way that a new iPhone prototype tends to get ‘accidentally’ left in a coffee shop somewhere and just happens to come into the possession of a tech journalist.
3 June 2013 at 19:32 #11770@onethingannoysme – an account getting deleted in 5,4,3,2….
Trolls just don’t put the effort in these days, do they?
3 June 2013 at 19:52 #11772@pedant They definitely don’t. But I’m not gonna delete just yet. The troll may redeem themselves, I may have misjudged them 😀
Proper trolling on this site would be a 300-500 word post, well argued, full of knowledge about the show, that just implied, in the slightest way, racism and sexism. That would be impressive trolling, and probably the only way we’d bite. Although I’d hope we’d still see through it.
3 June 2013 at 20:03 #11773@onethingannoysme They said in the episode The Doctors Wife that the Corsair who was also a Timelord was sometimes a woman in his regenerations, so why not the Doctor?
3 June 2013 at 20:08 #117743 June 2013 at 20:08 #117753 June 2013 at 20:09 #117763 June 2013 at 20:13 #11777@brynwe We get a few. We also have a several people who just post banal nonsense. At the moment I’m allowing them to continue to comment despite them adding little to the site, just because I don’t want to be authoritarian. They’re easy to spot, get ignored anyway, but I’m keeping an eye on them. The list is growing.
It’s interesting running a forum. You meet all types.
3 June 2013 at 20:23 #11778Pah! Jose Mourhino’s signed for Chelsea *crosses him off the list of potential doctors, but keeps him as a possible Master*.
On my Fantasy Doctor Who football team I’m left with:
1) Roberto Martinez
2) Roberto Mancini
3) Glenn Hoddle
4) Wayne Rooney
5) Bertie Vogts
3 June 2013 at 20:31 #11779Our “voice of youth” Lindalee has spoken.
How she feels about Matt Smith leaving, what she’s enjoyed and her choice to be the next Doctor.
Colin Baker has a real aptitude for turning any issue about Who to himself. When Eccles announced he was leaving, Colin went on TV to “lambast” him (CE was nowhere near, and presumably just thought “who is this idiot” if he ever heard about it) about leaving the part so quickly. He declared that he “would still of been playing the part today, if it hadn’t been for those nasty BBC people” (I’m paraphrasing).
I actually finished the interview having warm feelings about Michael Grade.
3 June 2013 at 20:53 #11781@phaseshift – one thing I have noticed about PostGap Who is the way they have an ‘exit strategy’ planned in for a Doctor that doesn’t work out – a finale at the end of the first year that can easily be rewritten to be somewhat fatal. 🙂
Christopher Ecclestone they used it, David Tennant and Matt Smith they didn’t need to. This ‘termination option’ is probably due to the embarrassing ‘tripped over a brick’ regeneration of Six into Seven.
And if it is a policy, it does mean the showrunner can take risks. I noticed upstream that people were suggesting that they might book a ‘risky’ Doctor for one year only. They’ve already done that – Series 5 was written so that it could have been Eleven’s complete arc. Smith was too young, didn’t have enough experience, they took a risk – and he was great, so he was (I’m pretty sure) then contracted to play the Doctor until the 50th.
If the next Doctor is also a risk, they’ll no doubt do the same again; a first season which could be a complete story – but will be survived if the risk pays off.
3 June 2013 at 20:54 #11782@chickenelly That would also allow for an incredibly stubborn and frugal nemesis of The Professor. The Doctor would never see that water bottle coming.
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