Matt Smith. He impressed me more in the clips from Party Animals than in his interviews though.
Reactions? Comments? Too young? Not pretty enough? Too pretty? Too English? Too white? Not female enough?
And anyone want to start the reckoning on who his companion will be?
January 3, 2009 | Reply
Not a very exciting choice. He may turn out to be brilliant, but just on first glance, there's nothing perceptively different about him to get intrigued by. I saw him in Party Animals and the Philip Pullman adaptations, both of which he was perfectly alright in - but neither was (in my opinion) very good, so it's hard to tell what he would be able to do with a better script. I suppose at least he made something of his characters, but not enough to make the shows that watchable - then again, he wasn't exactly the lead in either. Very ho hum for me!
January 3, 2009 | Reply
I'm remaining open-minded. I trust Stephen Moffat's judgement - particularly given his determination that the role should be played by an actor in his 40s. Matt Smith must have done a brilliant audition to change Moffat's mind.
I'm a little disappointed that Patterson Joseph didn't get it - he would have made a good Pertweeesque Doctor.
I also feel a huge relief that completely inappropriate people like Alan Davies and James Nesbit didn't get a chance to ruin the programme.
January 3, 2009 | Reply
I was really wishing it were Paterson. Oh, well.
This kid is a kid! And kinda pasty.
But the reason I'm commenting? I had to admit to someone that until a moment ago, I thought that guy Alan Davies' name was Jonathan Creek.
Well, shoot me. It's always been so peripheral to me that I never checked it out.
January 3, 2009 | Reply
I warmed up to Paterson Joseph as the Doctor over the last two months and now I'm disheartened he didn't land the role. It seems like the suggestion was greeted so warmly in the various forum, that now was the time to finally debut a black Doctor. Certainly the times made that idea more acceptable as well.
I also would have preferred somebody more - how to put it? - distinctive looking. A big honker, let's say; ears that could give him lift; a bit of a belly!
And yet another dark-haired Doctor? Where's the ginger? He even wanted ginger!
But I'm thinking now with the choice of Matt Smith, they've got a great ongoing script device now - looking so young, the Doctor will find it even more difficult than he did before to get people to listen to him and do what he says in times of trouble. So there's that......
"Trust in Moffat" should be our mantra!
January 3, 2009 | Reply
Well, he looks like a competent actor and will be working with Moffat scripts, so he'll probably be fine. I've seen him in a couple of television productions, but have no real memory of him. Way too damn young, but who's asking me? Elder daughter is very ticked off with me for making cracks about looking for the bolts on either side of his neck and fighting the urge to sing Eighties pop tunes....
Does this mean the companion can be elderly?
January 4, 2009 | Reply
well I for one am really pleased they managed to pull the wool over all of our eyes. I was SOOOOO sure it was Paterson Joseph. Great that it's someone different, even if I have NOOOO idea who he is. But that might be good too, no? Who could replace Dzvid Tennant? An unknown might be able to swing it.
Rob. HOW DID YOU GET IT WRONG???? I thought you'd know!!!
January 4, 2009 | Reply
sorry about typo. Very late. Very drunk. Am sure you'll all understand....xxx
January 4, 2009 | Reply
BBC News asks: "Who on earth is Matt Smith?"
My thoughts precisely.
It's occurred to me I haven't known so little about a new Doctor's prior work since Tom Baker -- being too young to make the connection between the mad bloke with the scarf and the magician in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. Could be a good thing, as I don't have anything to pick apart until 2010, except for whichever bits of Series 5 news come my way. (Although I could perhaps pick his face apart, as it seems to have been assembled from several different Airfix kits.)
Some fun to be had reviewing the history of the Paterson Joseph Wikipedia article:
* "Oh yes, can't wait for the big reveal as it's obviously him."
* "Hang on, did Moffat just say, 'The youngest ever...'?"
January 4, 2009 | Reply
I don't know much about Matt Smith, all I can say is I'm thrilled it's not Paterson Joseph. I can't stand him in Peep Show or Survivors. He always irritates me no matter what kind of character he's trying to play.
I suppose in his defense I must admit he wasn't the _most_ annoying character in Survivors, and the show was trash anyway. But still, when you're cheering because he's got shot then he's done something wrong.
(Disclaimer I only watched the final episode of Survivors, so my opinion of the show might not be fully formed)
January 5, 2009 | Reply
Pros for Matt Smith:
He's an actor, not a personality (which is one of the things which bothered me about Paterson Joseph - people were already going "but he's Johnson from Peep Show!").
He'll bring the mystery back to the role, because we have no expectations of how he'll play it.
He has an interesting, shadowy, bony face which you can imagine will look very different depending on how he's made up and lit; he also has very expressive hands; and he can clearly do things with his voice.
The 'unknown' bit doesn't matter at all — how many people had heard of Tom Baker before he was cast? David Tennant was hardly a household name, either.
He doesn't actually look that much younger than David Tennant, and it's always interesting having a young-looking character who is actually very old, although Doctors Five and Ten did both explore that;
He's completely unexpected, and a bold move from Moffat, which also tells us very little about what plans he has for the character (although he's probably going to explore the romantic lead side, which...)
...means he's also going to annoy the nerdcore fans, which is Always A Good Thing.
He's not James Nesbitt. Or a comedian.
Cons:
He's a very similar physical type to David Tennant; the Doctor is still going to be gawky and angular. I hope they find a distinctively different costume for him.
His hair is rubbish. Really, really rubbish. A friend of mine described him as having 'a head like a cotton bud', which is pretty accurate.
He's twenty cocking six, for Christ's sake!
January 5, 2009 | Reply
I agree with all the above Stu - only belatedly watched his interview on Dr Who Confidential, and loved his expressive hands which immediately made me think he can do it. Good call from Mr M I think. I actually quite like the weird hair, but the twelve year old tells me its naff (mind you she likes Eioghan off the X Factor so what does SHE know??)What I also want to know is if he is going to meet River Song how old is she going to be? Cos it's going to be interesting to match them up don't you think without her looking very pervy. Unless no 11 meets her very young which is why she thinks no 10 is so old when she meets him in the library...
January 5, 2009 | Reply
"What I also want to know is if he is going to meet River Song how old is she going to be? Cos it's going to be interesting to match them up don't you think without her looking very pervy."
Why is it perfectly okay for a male actor to be paired with a much younger female, but not the reverse? I'd just like to point out that there is roughly the same age difference between Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston as between Matt Smith and Alex Kingston. (Matt Smith and Billie Piper are almost exactly the same age.) I don't recall anyone suggesting anything pervy about the Ninth Doctor and Rose, even though there was definitely a romantic implication (granted, not as explicit as that between Rose and the Tenth Doctor where there was still an eleven-year gap between the actors). The only problem I'd have with River Song meeting Doctor Eleven is that it doesn't fit in with her comments about the Tenth Doctor looking so young. She clearly remembers a more mature future incarnation of the Doctor. Sorry, Jane, just had to get that off my chest.
January 5, 2009 | Reply
"I don't recall anyone suggesting anything pervy about the Ninth Doctor and Rose"
I did. I thought it was icky.
January 5, 2009 | Reply
Latest suggestion for an instant comment: "You're such a moral fellow, Rob."
January 5, 2009 | Reply
I did too, Persephone, though I wouldn't claim to be nearly as moral as Rob (!). I take your point utterly about there being one rule for men and one for women. Tis the way the world works unfortunately. But I always have a problem with a relationship where one partner is alot older then the other and the younger partner is relatively young because the balance of power isn't a good one. Mind you there's no fool like an old fool etc, so there's no reason to think the power is necessarily always with the older person. And I am going to totally contradict myself and say I loved the pathos of the relationship that Connor Mcleod of the Clan Mcleod had with Heather in Highlander, but then he stayed young while she aged, so to start with they were the same age, which is slightly different.
I think I need to get out more!
January 5, 2009 | Reply
He's 900 years old, for God's sake! If he snogs anyone under 600, he should go on the galactic sex offenders' register.
January 5, 2009 | Reply
@Persephone: I'm not sure how to square that with your other suggestion, "Rob, you're evil incarnate", but I guess it gives people choices.
@Jane Henry: Does the power inequality come purely from the age-difference/physical power or does it come from age and experience. Because Connor and Heather are the same age in Highlander, it's just he doesn't look it.
@Steerforth: Absolutely.
January 6, 2009 | Reply
There's an old rumour that Paul Abbott's script for a series 1 episode had the Doctor subtly intervening in Rose's childhood to make sure she became the sort of companion he needed, in a wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey way. But it turned out to all be a bit icky, in a grooming kind of sense, so the script was dropped.
There's still an oblique reference to it in one of the other episodes, where the Doctor knows that Rose got a bike for her birthday when she was nine or something.
Yes, I am a nerd, why do you ask?
@Persephone — when River said the Doctor looked young, I don't think it was his face she was referring to. But if it was Doctor 11 who gave her the sonic screwdriver, at least he'd had a haircut.
January 6, 2009 | Reply
Why, Stu...Whatever do you mean?
January 6, 2009 | Reply
Rob I think power inequality in age difference relationships can be as a result of a number of things. I have known two men my own age consistently dating women much younger, and it is a power thing. An older woman might answer back, show far too much independence etc. That I think is unhealthy for both parties. OTOH turn it the other way round and a much older man falling for a young woman can find himself in her thrall and making a total tit of himself. Again I have seen this happen once or twice,and the power in that situation is squarely with the younger person.
And I don't think that just applies to the man being older. People always laugh at the Mrs Robinson fantasy - isn't it every teenage boys dream? But I think that is equally damaging (Zoe Heller's brilliantly disturbing Notes on a Scandal conveyed that incredibly powerfully),but equally there is something tragic about an older woman trying to retain her beauty and keep hold of a much younger man (see Sunset Boulevard).
Having said all that I don't think older/younger relationships can't work, but to have say a twenty year age gap isn't in the normal scheme of things and usually creates difficulties.
Having said all that of course Jane Austen claims in Emma that a man should be 35 and a woman 21 for an ideal relationship, but then that was partly based on a man being financially solid by then and a woman being seen to be past her sell by date at 28 (poor poor Charlotte Lucas).
Yes, Heather and Connor are the same age, which is probably why I don't feel disturbed by seeing him young while she's old, just very sad. Who wants to live for ever is one of my favourite parts of that film, and yes I do well up every time!
Stu N - ew! Glad they didn't pursue that with Rose. And I remember the bike thing too, so you aren't alone in your nerddom.
Any thoughts on the new companion? I really hope it isn't Lily Allen or Rachel Stevens. Although to be fair I'd have said that about Billie Piper before I saw her in The Miller's Tale, so I could be proved wrong.
January 6, 2009 | Reply
I'd really like the next companion not to be from London, and to be different from the others we've seen. And I think RTD said that one of the temporary companions for the specials would be much older, but I doubt they'd go with that for the main series. It'll be a woman, she'll be from the present day, and she'll probably be young.
Having said that, Sparrow and Nightingale! Sparrow and Nightingale! C'mon, Moff! Sparrow and Nightingale!
January 6, 2009 | Reply
Good point, Stu. We're all assuming the Doctor is only going to have one companion. Who's to say the new Yoof Doc isn't going to have a Massive this time round?
January 6, 2009 | Reply
Ooh yes, Stu I like it I like it!
January 6, 2009 | Reply
Given it's Matt Smith that's the new Doctor, surely the companion will be his regular co-presenter on ITV4 football coverage Robbie Earle?
January 7, 2009 | Reply
Just back from hols. I fancy the ragged arse off Matt Smith so no complaints from here. Re age gaps and companions, perhaps young Matt Smith will meet a young River Song?
January 7, 2009 | Reply
"He's twenty cocking six, for Christ's sake!"
And this is an issue?
January 7, 2009 | Reply
It is when you're 39 and still haven't quite got used to the Doctor being younger than you, yes!
January 7, 2009 | Reply
A young Doctor? I can cope. And yes, the hair may be eccentric but it works for me ...
March 18, 2009 | Reply
Oh, wow. I don't know this Matt Smith as an actor but that's not necessarily a bad thing. However, I just got done watching the Doctor Who Confidential interview with him and I have to say, just from that he seemed Godawful boring.
Yeah, I know interviews are different than acting and whatnot, but seriously, I couldn't keep watching him. All I can say is that I REALLY hope Stephan Moffat knows what he's doing here. -is
Eh, but what do I know, I'm not English and I didn't grow up with the show. Who can understand the quite possibly insane reasonings of the man.