First, you're all going to have to forgive my "fan girl" moments...
Yes, I admit it. I was convinced that the "Matt Smith era" of Doctor Who was going to translate to "Doctor Who Lite". Somehow, it would be a little frothier and much less filling. No one -
no one! - could hope to wiggle a big toe in, much less
fill, David Tennant's Converse trainers.
Well, praise the Time Lord and pass the sonic screwdriver! I was wrong! It may be a tad too early to confirm that the shoes have, indeed, been
completely filled but it's looking right promising at this point!
Let me say, without equivocation, that I love David Tennant. Love, love and love him! In fact, I've loved the whole Doctor Who reboot. Loved Christopher Eccleston and hated that he only played the Doctor for one season but Tennant was such a
treat from the beginning that I got over it fairly quickly. Somehow, he transcended the campiness that is inherent in (is, in fact, an integral part of) the show. Always lurking behind the merry twinkle in those velvety brown eyes was a
hint of a shadow of rage and sorrow. And when, under the right circumstances, he allowed that "hint" to boil up into out-and-out
menace - oh, be still my heart! Especially after he (sort of) lost Rose. All in all, Tennant presented the Doctor with a maturity and gravitas that made the idea of traveling around in a big blue police call box ("It's
bigger on the inside!"), fighting mobile saltshakers, moldy scarecrows, belligerent tinmen and other monsters, downright believable.
Then Tennant announced that he was leaving the series.
Then they introduced this somewhat goofy looking
infant - he's late twenties but looks all of fifteen! - as the new Doctor!
Now... allow me to clarify the "infant" remark. I
remember Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. Yes, even before Tom Baker - Jon Pertwee.
With his velvet coat and lace cravat. (I'm sorry but the first thing I thought of when I saw Mike Myers as "Austin Powers" was Pertwee's Doctor.) The man had a mane of wavy white hair, and his craggy, "Mount Rushmore" face had an almost perpetual get-off-my-lawn-you-whippersnapper snarl on it. I loved him! And, of course, Baker's Doctor was for me, and for many fans before the current reboot,
The Doctor. But... Matt Smith?? Looking like the whippersnapper at whom Pertwee would have been shaking his fist. Goofy enough to make the mop-haired Baker look almost
sedate! And no where near as, well,
smoking hot as Tennant.
I mean,
surely you can understand my skepticism. There was no way, I believed, that
young Mr. Smith could
ever pull off the depths required of my beloved Doctor. Nope. Wasn't gonna happen.
Well, color me surprised! He is managing to do so, and without breaking much of a sweat. (Oh, come on. Give me the "much of". I'm still in love with David Tennant, remember?) Yes, Smith has his funny and endearing moments, much like Tom Baker's incarnation. But, as he displayed in his first episode, "11th Hour" when facing the Atraxi (the galactic police force with a rather black/white view of the universe and no shred of compromise
at all!), he knows how and when to play the menace card. The Atraxi were ready to exterminate everyone on Earth just because a dangerous prisoner had managed to hide here for a while - never mind due process or any other inconvenient legalities! At the end of the episode, Smith strode purposefully out of the hospital where much of the action had taken place, still donning his new duds (complete with suspenders and bowtie) and, with a half smile on his lips that never quite made it to his eyes, advised the Atraxi,
"hullo, I'm The Doctor. So, basically... run." And they did. At, like, warp 10. I felt my misgivings slip dramatically at that point...
The new companion is Amy Pond, played by Karen Gillian. She's feisty, red-headed and in no real danger of falling in love with the Doctor. She is (was) engaged to a very solid, normal sort of bloke (yes, I get British when I watch this show) named Rory who traveled with them for four episodes. I say "was" because at the end of tonight's episode, Rory (apparently) died. I say "apparently" because this is, after all, a science fiction series involving time travel and such, so who knows how it all may finally shake out. But it was sad - even sadder because a pesky (it's been following them since the beginning of this season) rift in the time continuum erased Amy's memories of her fiance. In spite of the Doctor's efforts to save
those, at least, since he was unable to save Rory. (Oh, there was an immense sadness in his eyes. The same that David Tennant pulled off so perfectly, time and time again.)
This season has also seen the return of River Song - the mysterious woman from the Doctor's future. She was central to the very creepy episodes featuring the weeping Angels, and she will also be a part of the season-ending arc. We get more hints as to her importance to the Doctor; my personal feeling is that they were lovers, possibly even married at some point in the future. It is also possible that she killed him - also in the future. The final death, maybe? Who knows. But that
must be way into the future. Smith has already signed to repeat as the Doctor for another season, at least.
Matt Smith, the actor, has most of his experience on the stage - again, like David Tennant. I think the stage training serves them well for a show like "Doctor Who". Things are a little exaggerated on stage - expressions, movements. When you have to carry a character across the boards and beyond the footlights, you have to make a little extra effort. Tennant did, Smith does, and it works for them. It doesn't come across as cheesy or over-the-top, just... different. Perfect for a human-looking alien time traveler.
My only complaint is a technical one, and it may be the way my television manages the broadcast; I haven't upgraded to HD in video or sound. My set
does manage stereo quite nicely, but there are times in this season's episodes when the music track overpowers the dialogue and I think it must be an HD thing. I have to hit the "playback" button a few times to get what is said sometimes.
Okay. [/fan girl] And without even one single "Squee!". Not that I wasn't tempted, mind you!
If you are a fan of the Doctor, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. If you aren't, well, I probably lost you a few paragraphs back. And that's okay. "Doctor Who" isn't for everyone. But if you
are on the fence in any way, trust me. This isn't "Doctor Who Lite". There is no froth here. The Eleventh Doctor is standing tall on the shoulders of those who have gone before and I, for one, am quite content.
(Edit because I found a much better clip for the menace link, as well as one with his confrontation with the Atraxi. Plus other things. As in, I wrote the original in the very wee hours of the morning and, as we all know, I can never leave well enough alone. Especially when it isn't "well enough".)
