“Rosa” and “Demons of the Punjab” might not have been your usual Doctor Who fare, but they were brave enough to give us bold, emotional human stories that contained some strong contemporary messages about our current society. Tonight’s episode, “The Witchfinders” – which took the Doctor and her companions to the witch trials of 17th century England – had the potential to have much the same power, but the end result didn’t pack enough of a punch to measure up to those aforementioned outings.
Still, there was one thing about the latest installment of Doctor Who that everyone agrees was terrific, and that was Alan Cumming’s guest spot as King James I. He was a definite highlight in an otherwise mediocre episode and fans have already taken to Twitter to sing his praises.
Below, you’ll find just a sample of what folks are saying, with more and more Tweets continuing to pour out that show us how much people loved his performance.
Can we have @Alancumming as overly dramatic King James in everything please? ? I am living for it!!! #DrWho #DoctorWho
— Eden (@gogingergiraffe) November 25, 2018
ALAN CUMMING IS THE GREATEST KING JAMES WHO HAS EVER KING JAMESED. #DRWHO
— Dr Fern Riddell (@FernRiddell) November 25, 2018
Just watched the latest #DrWho and was like yeah King James was the best character so far, came on twitter and apparently everyone else also thinks. I WANT HIM BACK! MORE! pic.twitter.com/AD1qYLMROL
— Tatiana 'clearly a trap' Pirogova ? (@TatianasButt) November 25, 2018
I wanted King James to go with them! #DrWho #morefun
— Susie20RF (@pandsreid) November 25, 2018
Alan Cumming was superb as King James #drwho
— Mr Birchside (@kevbirch1) November 25, 2018
#DoctorWho was just really REALLY good tonight wasn’t it? ? Can we have Alan Cumming as King James for a long time to come please!!
— David McLaughlin (@FalcoMaton) November 25, 2018
Actually that was a surprisingly light episode of #doctorwho #drwho – credit to Alan Cummings for a brilliant version of King James.
— Tony D. (@tonypdickinson) November 25, 2018
I pretty sure Alan Cumming enjoyed playing King James in #DrWho best cameo ever ?
— Kath Wilson (@katsitter) November 25, 2018
Alan Cumming has been onscreen for 5 minutes and I can already tell this is going to be excellent #DoctorWho
— Mark Hazard (@DapperSteve) November 25, 2018
With a longtime interest in James I, I was intrigued to see how he was portrayed by Alan Cumming in #DoctorWho. It was a total delight and, thanks to writer @JoyOfSE19, was surprisingly rooted in what is known about him, from his insecurities to his witch obsession. pic.twitter.com/Y0qAt1HzUO
— Mark Ludmon (@MarkLudmon) November 25, 2018
While Whittaker was as great as ever tonight, Cumming stole the show, as evidenced by the Tweets above. Folks were pretty excited to see him appear on the series, too – as he turned down the part of the Doctor many years ago – and he didn’t disappoint. Sure, his larger-than-life performance may not have fit with the dour, pretty gloomy subject matter, but he livened up the episode considerably.
With any luck, Doctor Who will bring his King James I back at some point in the future. Perhaps not on this season, but a return for Cumming would certainly go down well with the fanbase and we imagine that the producers have exactly that in mind already.
Tell us, did you enjoy seeing the actor appear tonight? And would you like to see him reprise the role again? Be sure to let us know by dropping a comment below.
