Entertainment For Lively Minds
The New Doctor
Almost from day one I've been intrigued in seeing Matt Smith's incarnation of Doctor Who in a way that neither Christopher Ecclestone nor David Tennant managed to inspire in me. Ecclestone I found had too much gravitas while Tennant, though very enjoyable in the role, always felt a little bit too knowing and a bit too showy.
Having seen a couple of clips I'm now finding myself feeling oddly excited at the prospect of what Matt Smith can bring to the role, and I'm someone who to date has been largely "take it or leave it" about the 21st Century Doctor. I'm rather hoping that Matt Smith is going to bring the kind of distracted headmasterly madness to the role that Tom Baker gave it in its prime and which completely captivated me at the time.
Seeing Matt Smith being interviewed he reminds me of a younger version of Michael Palin and hints at having a great facility to play the surreal and the profound in equal measure whilst simultaneously being incapable of tying his own shoe-lace.
Like I say I'm just surprised that my interest has been piqued so much by this actor's take on the iconic role. What about you?
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Oh dear
There does seem to be "too much Doctor in the house".
Sorry everyone.
I completely agree.
I have surprised myself with the degree of anticipation I am feeling.
Tennant actually put me off completely - someone surely could have explained to him that "making faces" is not the same as "acting" before he went right off the scale and into gurning territory? And Ecclestone was good but blurred the edges between "dour" and "boring". Smith genuinely has an air of much-needed weirdness about his portrayal from the clips we've seen so far, though.
Mind you, my dream Doctor would be John Hurt, so what do I know?
Excited!!
I'm 40. I don't get out much. But my 6 year old, the FPO and I can't wait...
You used to have to wait until
a programme was aired before you have an opinion on it. You had to wait a year until you discovered how Peter Davison was going to follow Tom 'The Guvnor' Baker.
Although you didn't need to see Sylvester McCoy to know he was gonna be shit.....
I enjoyed Party Animals
greatly,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/partyanimals/danny_foster.shtml
though as much for Raquel Cassidy as him I admit. I think he's got a lot of potential.
What really interests me is the prospect of having Stephen Moffatt in overall charge though.
Looking forward to it
I've been watching 'Doctor Who' since the early 90s, when I got drawn into it by repeats of classic episodes on BBC Two, and I've absolutely loved the last five years of episodes made by the team in Cardiff - Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant have both been fantastic Doctors, the latter in particular making the kind of impact in the role you wouldn't imagine was still possible in this day and age. He's been the first actor to seriously challenge Tom Baker as a 'definitive' Doctor.
But I had my reservations about the new team. Steven Moffat is a great writer, and I trust his judgement, but I'm in the weird position now where the actor playing the Doctor is, for the first time, slightly younger than me. By a few months. And to be honest, I couldn't imagine why they'd cast someone in the role who seemed, on the face of it, a bit too young. Also, I was wary of the idea of a new team coming in and substantially altering a show that, at present, doesn't really need fixing.
The closer we get to the new series, though, and the more trailers, clips, interviews and suchlike that I see, the more optimistic I am. Matt Smith really does seem to have all the qualities an actor playing the Doctor needs, in spades. And his enthusiasm for the role and the show is hugely endearing. I'd be excited at the prospect of seeing what he'll do with it anyway, but now I'm excited *and* optimistic.
There's a corker of a trailer from BBC America, incidentally...
Surely Matt Smith is
Juliet Stephenson's secret progeny?
I'm sure she
could do something with a cameo ...