Matt Smith is the 11th Doctor

It's coinfirmed that Matt Smith is the 11th Doctor. What do we all think?

Reposted from the other thread...

I think my reaction is just generally being underwhelmed. I've seen him in a couple of things and while he's not a bad actor, he just didn't seem to have that spark that marked him as out as someone to watch. Not just the 'would make a good Doctor' vibe, but the whole 'going to be a big star' feeling.

Mind you, I'd likely have said the same about anyone who appeared in Party Animals after watching that, and Andrea Riseborough and Raquel Cassidy have been outstanding in stuff I've seen them in.

Maybe it's just lingering disappointment at not getting Joseph or Ejiofor, and I'll obviously give him a chance, but I just don't see him as the Doctor in the way the announcements of Eccleston and Tennant made me think 'yes, they've got it right.'

Or perhaps I'm just getting old and can't accept the idea of a Doctor who wasn't even born when Tom Baker was the Doctor. Actually, just looking, he was born after Davison's first season...

Just to repeat what I said in the other (now locked) thread:

I'm staying open minded and I've heard good things about him, but I do share concerns about what this might do to the show's overall feel. As someone pointed out on DWF a young Doctor means a young Master as well as younger companions and there's a danger the whole thing might start to skew too much towards a "youth" demographic. That's not an issue in and of itself, but one that might alienate me a little. But we'll see and hopefully I'll be proved wrong.

But having a young doctor could equally mean older companions. Another thought is, how will the authority he exudes work with a younger form? Will his life be harder or easier?

millerqueen wrote:But having a young doctor could equally mean older companions. Another thought is, how will the authority he exudes work with a younger form? Will his life be harder or easier?

Mmm. That occurred to me. Might make for interesting interactions with UNIT, for example.

good luck to the geezer.

Cool, a forum that's not in meltdown! I saw the news referenced on Sheringham's and Great High Wolf's Facebook status and quickly jumped over to DWF. At the time it was in patron-only mode and running nicely but by the time I read the news stories, it had returned to chaos mode.

I'm, of course, unfamiliar with the guy so I'll wait until midway through the 2010 season before I can say anything about him as the Doctor.

On second thought, that's far too long to wait: werst Docter Evah!1!Eleventy

Hacky, you forgot HE@S TOO YOUNG!!!!! The doctor never regenerates younger than 40 now, it's canon Grrr from the interview he's a terrible actor who should be doing random kids crap, not playing Britain's premier White male role. WHat next za female Master? Well done it's going to suck more than [insert female actress] here

A quick random trawl around the intertubes shows that the troll-fu is weak in the entire population.

Predictably, there are people howling about him being "too young" - without realising that this is the man's first big role and there's a chance he will therefore be in it for a few years before moving on.

There are others howling that he's not black, female or otherwise not a white man, and this is apparently beither groundbreaking or edgy enough for anyone.

Others are saying that the show is now doomed and we should all head for higher ground.

Some are disgusted and sickened. Some have decided that it will all be crap.

All I can say is that I'm looking forward to 2010, and that Mr. Smith is eagerly awaited if only to watch the posts about "well, that's it, I shall never watch again" week after week from the same people.

Tryst 75 wrote:Just to repeat what I said in the other (now locked) thread:

I'm staying open minded and I've heard good things about him, but I do share concerns about what this might do to the show's overall feel. As someone pointed out on DWF a young Doctor means a young Master as well as younger companions and there's a danger the whole thing might start to skew too much towards a "youth" demographic. That's not an issue in and of itself, but one that might alienate me a little. But we'll see and hopefully I'll be proved wrong.

Now here's the thing - people, especially Who fans, have short memories. All these concerns about a younger Doctor have been voiced before. the news of Davison's casting originally brought out these self-same fears, concerns and anxieties. They were unfounded. Almost certainly they'll prove just as unfounded this time around as they did back then.

As for the slight risk of alienation due to skewering towards a youth demographic - relax. The Moff and the BBC are all too well aware of the importance of Who's appeal across the widest possible demographic spread - they're not about to imperil that.

They know their jobs - just trust them to get on and do them to the very best of their abilities.

millerqueen wrote:But having a young doctor could equally mean older companions. Another thought is, how will the authority he exudes work with a younger form? Will his life be harder or easier?

Harder. Infinitely harder to begin with. Again, as it was for the 5th Doctor.

Although having said that, I've met more an a few much younger people who carry an innate sense of authority within them.

We'll see which direction they decide to take this particular question soon enough.

That's what I mean though, apart from the "but he's an alien" which wasn't always addressed, this time, he's been set up for a harder ride, a reset, recovered from the wounds of the time war, not pining over Rose, now he has to prove himself over and over again. I'm just thinking out loud here, but it's a refreshing new look at the doctor.

Dave Webb wrote:A quick random trawl around the intertubes shows that the troll-fu is weak in the entire population.

Predictably, there are people howling about him being "too young" - without realising that this is the man's first big role and there's a chance he will therefore be in it for a few years before moving on.

The intertubes need a troll aggregation system that can just give us the representative worst of the bunch so we don't have to read them all.

Sid Seadevil wrote:Now here's the thing - people, especially Who fans, have short memories. All these concerns about a younger Doctor have been voiced before. the news of Davison's casting originally brought out these self-same fears, concerns and anxieties. They were unfounded. Almost certainly they'll prove just as unfounded this time around as they did back then.

Right, Davison was fine. Now Adric, Tegan and Nyssa on the other hand....

Heh. Adric and Tegan were actually really important (Nyssa less so, but should have been more so) if only they'd been written right.

But, yeah, this does have echoes of the Davison era; I notice particularly the comments about youth and authority and all that auld gubbins. It's all rubbish. Larry Miles says that science fiction fans know nothing, and if he wasn't a fan of science fiction I'd say he was right. We need to wait and see.

I am sure that Matt Smith is lieing about his age. To me he does not look a day under 40. He has an old face to start off with, and after the first year of the grueling Doctor Who filming schedule, he will look even older.

Dave Webb wrote:Predictably, there are people howling about him being "too young" - without realising that this is the man's first big role

Well, yes. He's the youngest ever. And because he's not had a big role, we dunno if he can act. That's a justifiable source of trepidation. At least with Tennant, I could go buy copies of Blackpool and Casanova, warm to him as a lead. Does he have a lead role I can buy on DVD (any region)..?

and there's a chance he will therefore be in it for a few years before moving on.

That's a point. (Ponders...)

ah But the questions of authority were just there as ideas for plots points, I'm not questioning his ability to be inspirational, I'm just saying it's gonna make things interesting.

warped wrote:Well, yes. He's the youngest ever. And because he's not had a big role, we dunno if he can act. That's a justifiable source of trepidation.

I think we should trust the production team. And the fact that they've cast someone with a fair amount of theatrical training, who hasn't been on fandom's radar.

Well, I've never seen him in anything but there was nothing in his interview snippets that alarmed me - rather the reverse I think. Baldly saying '26 year old to play Doctor Who' sounds slightly alarming but Steven Moffat said, or certainly implied, that he wasn't cast because of his young age but (in part) because he seemed able to appear both old and young. Certainly I felt he seemed to have this ability and that is what matters, rather than his birth certificate age or actual physical appearance.

So, we will see but I'm not feeling worried in advance!

I'm just rather pleased at quite how left-field he's come from. At least this way, there's *no* element of fandom that can claim him as "their" choice.

Well, I have had time to ponder and I think he's going to be interesting and a big contrast to Tennant, which is what you need. In a way, I'm glad they didn't go for a box ticking exercise with PJ and CE - no matter how brilliant they are as actors - , they went for a young, jobbing actor and I certainly get a good vibe just from the interview segments on Confidential. I think I can see what Moffat and Wenger saw in him, at least physically. He isn't your average pretty boy (see Christian Cooke in Demons for how casting that way would have affected the show), there is something slightly off in his looks which I think is a good thing. I like a pretty boy but I tend to get very attracted by quite unconventional looking actors and I think Matt has that quality. I've seen him in a few things and he is a very competent young actor and all we have to wait for now is to see how he handles the role in 2010. His youth will add an interesting edge to relationships with older characters. Lord knows what the Moff has planned for the Doctor but I bet it'll be interesting.

I really don't have time for the ming mongs whom have already instantly dismissed him on age and inexperience. Wait till 2010 and then make your minds up.

Doc Filth wrote:I'm just rather pleased at quite how left-field he's come from. At least this way, there's *no* element of fandom that can claim him as "their" choice.

£10 says a certain someone will claim him as the 'traditional' choice...

Doc Filth wrote:I'm just rather pleased at quite how left-field he's come from. At least this way, there's *no* element of fandom that can claim him as "their" choice.

Absolutely. Of course, that's not going to actually prevent certain factions from retroactively claiming he was "their" choice at some point in the not-too-distant future.

I'm about to brave the Matt Smith threads on DWF. Wish me luck friends.

You're a f*** idiot Youngster!

Johnstone McGuckian wrote:I'm about to brave the Matt Smith threads on DWF. Wish me luck friends.

Good luck Youngster. If you've not returned in an hour we'll send out a crack(ed) rescue squad.