I loved David Tennant. He was the right Doctor at the right time. A brilliant actor, one of the best in the country as he has proved with his stage work as well as Doctor Who.
But I suspect alot of those that dislike Matts doctor are those who have grown up on New Who alone and know little of the many incarnations that preceded the RTD years. Because for me the Doctor was always a little silly, a little temperamental, a bit manic and odd. And this was mostly lost in Tennants version of the Doctor who was more conventionally leading man heartthrob material...and it worked. But there was a bit of the Classic Doctors essence missing. And Matt brought that back and he seems, despite not having been a fan originally to have studied the past and really understood that intangible 'Doctor-ness' that ran through the first eight incarnations. He really seems to just get it.
So when I hear complaints that Matt is too wacky or flippant or silly I think of course he is. The Doctor always was. It is part of the reason I loved the show in the first place. He wasn't your standard hero figure.
Matt has brilliantly taken aspects of each of those that blazed a trail before him while also managing to make the role his own. He can do it all, serious and a funny and sad and silly and understated and over the top and angry and eloquent. As Moffat has written the Doctor isn't a conventional hero or leading man or God...he is a goblin, a trickster, a mad man in a box. Matt is all those things and more.
Matt is like a fungus, he has grown on me. Used to hate him and how he never showed any emotion, not even a little but recently that has changed and I quite like his quirkiness now.
I don't think he has been helped by the changing of running times though, not just the split seasons of late but the move to the autumn as well and the fact we have lost an entire season since all this chopping began.
The anger that fans have developed from this has been taken out on him I feel. I think he would have faired better if he was starring in a series that ran from march - may in one go.
I loved David Tennant. He was the right Doctor at the right time. A brilliant actor, one of the best in the country as he has proved with his stage work as well as Doctor Who.
But I suspect alot of those that dislike Matts doctor are those who have grown up on New Who alone and know little of the many incarnations that preceded the RTD years. Because for me the Doctor was always a little silly, a little temperamental, a bit manic and odd. And this was mostly lost in Tennants version of the Doctor who was more conventionally leading man heartthrob material...and it worked. But there was a bit of the Classic Doctors essence missing. And Matt brought that back and he seems, despite not having been a fan originally to have studied the past and really understood that intangible 'Doctor-ness' that ran through the first eight incarnations. He really seems to just get it.
So when I hear complaints that Matt is too wacky or flippant or silly I think of course he is. The Doctor always was. It is part of the reason I loved the show in the first place. He wasn't your standard hero figure.
Matt has brilliantly taken aspects of each of those that blazed a trail before him while also managing to make the role his own. He can do it all, serious and a funny and sad and silly and understated and over the top and angry and eloquent. As Moffat has written the Doctor isn't a conventional hero or leading man or God...he is a goblin, a trickster, a mad man in a box. Matt is all those things and more.
You see I can never get my head around this. If nobody has ever met an alien how can anyone say someone is playing it more alien? To me anything can be alien because it is a blank canvas.
So if you don't like Mat then you are anti-Dr Who? :rolleyes:
Says it all about how blind some are in the obsession with Matt Smith.
We are in fact real Who fans and want to save the show.
I'm sorry, save the show? The only thing the show needs saving from is the people that can't get round the fact that it evolves and changes over time. There is nothing wrong with the show in it's current state and I think the people who don't like how it currently is should stop trying to make out like the axe is about to drop and either *try* to enjoy it or simply wait it out until the next era (it can't be that far away now). It's getting tiring that people are STILL hankering after Tennant three years after he left.
And, I agree with saladfingers81. During Tennant's time we needed a Doctor who could connect with a general audience and draw them in. He did this to a fantastic level. But Eleven is a different Doctor altogether and I think it's great that he's nothing like Ten. We know we'll be getting Twelve within the next couple of years (well, it can be safely assumed) and although Matt is my favourite Doctor I sincerely hope that Twelve is, once again, a completely different Doctor to Eleven (when I say completely, I'm pretty sure you know what I mean). That is how the show has always been and always should be.
I like Matts portrayal but he needs to be the centre of the story not the assistant I prefer it when the Doctor arrives in the middle of "something" discovers the problem and then sorts it out. Matts strength is in portraying that the Doctor is an Alien.
You see I can never get my head around this. If nobody has ever met an alien how can anyone say someone is playing it more alien? To me anything can be alien because it is a blank canvas.
I agree.
All these comments about Matt portraying a more alien doctor make no sense to me, eccentric yes, oddball yes, a bit off the wall yes, but alien no......
Although Derek Jacobi and Timothy Dalton could have been acceptable actors to play The Doctor within the original series by virtue of their theatrical and non theatrical talent, I am not sure whether Christopher Ecclestone, David Tennant or Matt Smith (presumably the next actor to play The Doctor will be a Teenager) may presume themselves to possess the acting experience necessary for the role. However, the same perverse casting decision also permeated the last James Bond, with an actor young enough to be Q's Niece being presented as "Q".
Of course, the post 2005 series remains non canon to the original series, and the viewer must simply accept whatever baloney is presented.... in the meantime, one wonders whether in a future series, Sylvester McCoy will awake from a matrix induced nightmare, rescued by Sophie Aldred as Ace, where it became clear that the events portrayed within the 1996 movie (starring Paul McGann) and the 2005+ series were simply induced by Michael Jaystons Valeyard.
I like Matts portrayal but he needs to be the centre of the story not the assistant I prefer it when the Doctor arrives in the middle of "something" discovers the problem and then sorts it out. Matts strength is in portraying that the Doctor is an Alien.
There are still plenty of episodes like this - off the top of my head, The God Complex, The Doctor's Wife, Night Terrors, that cowboy one I can't remember the name of, and so on. But they have to keep mixing it up, or the stories would get too same-y, which was one of the problems with the classic series.
Even the ones where the companion delivers the coup de grace, it's only because the Doctor got them there.
You see I can never get my head around this. If nobody has ever met an alien how can anyone say someone is playing it more alien? To me anything can be alien because it is a blank canvas.
All these comments about Matt portraying a more alien doctor make no sense to me, eccentric yes, oddball yes, a bit off the wall yes, but alien no......
:eek:
:eek:
At last after 40 odd long years two kindred souls:D.
I've never understood the whole plays it 'more Alien' thing in fandom either. Forgive me 'Penfolds Place' this isn't directed at you or your opinion but more that you raised something that has never quite clicked with me:)
To me no Doctor has been played as an Alien, or anything remotely alien. Yes we know he is an alien because of his story, yet if we didn't know that then he would seem human, an eccentric human yes but eccentricity IS non an Alien trait, neither is love, compassion, anger, laughing crying, cracking gags..blah blah blah.
To me all Doctors have been 'Human' Doctors not just Tennants, seeing that he has earned the unfair label of being the 'Human' Doctor. The only difference is Tennant's 'last of his kind' character arc over his 3+ series allowed that Doctor to run the gauntlet of emotions , and personally this is why I feel that eras Doctor is head and shoulders above any other in terms of character development. I think it is one of the greatest character arcs in TV, I really do, it is wonderfully built up over 4 series, (starting with Ecclestone) sometimes it's with a sledgehammer sometimes subtle.
Being the last of his kind the natural place for him to take refuge would be Earth, the natural species he would turn to would be humans, that is entirely in keeping with the character created all those those years ago.
It is here that I personally feel Matt Smith has been let down by the showrunner/writers. Three series into Matt Smiths reign and the poor guys arc is STILL faffing about trying to find out why yet again his new companion is soooooo mysterious, just like the one before.:yawn:
.
But being bumbling, eccentric and quirky are not alien traits.
Matt Smith is THE only Doctor that I have really embraced since 2005, I suppose as a "classic series" fan that's not surprising.
What is with the negativity in the shows 50th year? Can't people bite their lips just this once?
The problem is that, unlike you and I, some fans know nothing of the Classic series, so think all incarnations of the Doctor should be like and should look like David Tennant. Had those fans been more familiar with the Classic series they'd know that a good-looking, "almost human" Doctor like Ten, was the exception rather than rule, and that Eleven has qualities of many previous Doctors, making Matt perfect for the role.
The problem is that, unlike you and I, some fans know nothing of the Classic series, so think all incarnations of the Doctor should be like and should look like David Tennant. Had those fans been more familiar with the Classic series they'd know that a good-looking, "almost human" Doctor like Ten, was the exception rather than rule, and that Eleven has qualities of many previous Doctors, making Matt perfect for the role.
So what about those, like me, that grew up with Classic Who but still prefer Ecclestone/Tennant in the role than Smith??
So what about those, like me, that grew up with Classic Who but still prefer Ecclestone/Tennant in the role than Smith??
I respect your right to hold that opinion, and just because I said Ten was the exception rather than the rule, it doesn't mean I didn't like Tennant's portrayal of the Doctor, because I did, I just prefer Matt's.
I also said some fans, meaning younger fans, who only dislike Matt Smith, because he's so different from and not as good looking as David Tennant.
I respect your right to hold that opinion, and just because I said Ten was the exception rather than the rule, it doesn't mean I didn't like Tennant's portrayal of the Doctor, because I did, I just prefer Matt's.
I also said some fans, meaning younger fans, who only dislike Matt Smith, because he's so different from and not as good looking as David Tennant.
I don't buy the good looking thing at all, people hankered after Tom Baker long after he'd left the role, and with all due respect I don't think you'd call Tom good looking.
Although Derek Jacobi and Timothy Dalton could have been acceptable actors to play The Doctor within the original series by virtue of their theatrical and non theatrical talent, I am not sure whether Christopher Ecclestone, David Tennant or Matt Smith (presumably the next actor to play The Doctor will be a Teenager) may presume themselves to possess the acting experience necessary for the role. However, the same perverse casting decision also permeated the last James Bond, with an actor young enough to be Q's Niece being presented as "Q".
Of course, the post 2005 series remains non canon to the original series, and the viewer must simply accept whatever baloney is presented.... in the meantime, one wonders whether in a future series, Sylvester McCoy will awake from a matrix induced nightmare, rescued by Sophie Aldred as Ace, where it became clear that the events portrayed within the 1996 movie (starring Paul McGann) and the 2005+ series were simply induced by Michael Jaystons Valeyard.
nice to have you back Daria... I've missed your insistance of no connection... and I look forward to you reinstating wobbly sets and slow four parters.
You see I can never get my head around this. If nobody has ever met an alien how can anyone say someone is playing it more alien? To me anything can be alien because it is a blank canvas.
All these comments about Matt portraying a more alien doctor make no sense to me, eccentric yes, oddball yes, a bit off the wall yes, but alien no......
Comments
The show doesn't need saving, since it's doing as well as ever. Maybe you just need to accept you are the one with the problem and move on?
But I suspect alot of those that dislike Matts doctor are those who have grown up on New Who alone and know little of the many incarnations that preceded the RTD years. Because for me the Doctor was always a little silly, a little temperamental, a bit manic and odd. And this was mostly lost in Tennants version of the Doctor who was more conventionally leading man heartthrob material...and it worked. But there was a bit of the Classic Doctors essence missing. And Matt brought that back and he seems, despite not having been a fan originally to have studied the past and really understood that intangible 'Doctor-ness' that ran through the first eight incarnations. He really seems to just get it.
So when I hear complaints that Matt is too wacky or flippant or silly I think of course he is. The Doctor always was. It is part of the reason I loved the show in the first place. He wasn't your standard hero figure.
Matt has brilliantly taken aspects of each of those that blazed a trail before him while also managing to make the role his own. He can do it all, serious and a funny and sad and silly and understated and over the top and angry and eloquent. As Moffat has written the Doctor isn't a conventional hero or leading man or God...he is a goblin, a trickster, a mad man in a box. Matt is all those things and more.
For me the best Doctor ever.
I don't think he has been helped by the changing of running times though, not just the split seasons of late but the move to the autumn as well and the fact we have lost an entire season since all this chopping began.
The anger that fans have developed from this has been taken out on him I feel. I think he would have faired better if he was starring in a series that ran from march - may in one go.
Is this going anywhere?
Meaning people who like Matt aren't real fans? I hadn't realised, so thanks
Love this and I so agree with you!
You see I can never get my head around this. If nobody has ever met an alien how can anyone say someone is playing it more alien? To me anything can be alien because it is a blank canvas.
I'm sorry, save the show? The only thing the show needs saving from is the people that can't get round the fact that it evolves and changes over time. There is nothing wrong with the show in it's current state and I think the people who don't like how it currently is should stop trying to make out like the axe is about to drop and either *try* to enjoy it or simply wait it out until the next era (it can't be that far away now). It's getting tiring that people are STILL hankering after Tennant three years after he left.
And, I agree with saladfingers81. During Tennant's time we needed a Doctor who could connect with a general audience and draw them in. He did this to a fantastic level. But Eleven is a different Doctor altogether and I think it's great that he's nothing like Ten. We know we'll be getting Twelve within the next couple of years (well, it can be safely assumed) and although Matt is my favourite Doctor I sincerely hope that Twelve is, once again, a completely different Doctor to Eleven (when I say completely, I'm pretty sure you know what I mean). That is how the show has always been and always should be.
I agree.
All these comments about Matt portraying a more alien doctor make no sense to me, eccentric yes, oddball yes, a bit off the wall yes, but alien no......
Of course, the post 2005 series remains non canon to the original series, and the viewer must simply accept whatever baloney is presented.... in the meantime, one wonders whether in a future series, Sylvester McCoy will awake from a matrix induced nightmare, rescued by Sophie Aldred as Ace, where it became clear that the events portrayed within the 1996 movie (starring Paul McGann) and the 2005+ series were simply induced by Michael Jaystons Valeyard.
There are still plenty of episodes like this - off the top of my head, The God Complex, The Doctor's Wife, Night Terrors, that cowboy one I can't remember the name of, and so on. But they have to keep mixing it up, or the stories would get too same-y, which was one of the problems with the classic series.
Even the ones where the companion delivers the coup de grace, it's only because the Doctor got them there.
What is with the negativity in the shows 50th year? Can't people bite their lips just this once?
:eek:
:eek:
At last after 40 odd long years two kindred souls:D.
I've never understood the whole plays it 'more Alien' thing in fandom either. Forgive me 'Penfolds Place' this isn't directed at you or your opinion but more that you raised something that has never quite clicked with me:)
To me no Doctor has been played as an Alien, or anything remotely alien. Yes we know he is an alien because of his story, yet if we didn't know that then he would seem human, an eccentric human yes but eccentricity IS non an Alien trait, neither is love, compassion, anger, laughing crying, cracking gags..blah blah blah.
To me all Doctors have been 'Human' Doctors not just Tennants, seeing that he has earned the unfair label of being the 'Human' Doctor. The only difference is Tennant's 'last of his kind' character arc over his 3+ series allowed that Doctor to run the gauntlet of emotions , and personally this is why I feel that eras Doctor is head and shoulders above any other in terms of character development. I think it is one of the greatest character arcs in TV, I really do, it is wonderfully built up over 4 series, (starting with Ecclestone) sometimes it's with a sledgehammer sometimes subtle.
Being the last of his kind the natural place for him to take refuge would be Earth, the natural species he would turn to would be humans, that is entirely in keeping with the character created all those those years ago.
It is here that I personally feel Matt Smith has been let down by the showrunner/writers. Three series into Matt Smiths reign and the poor guys arc is STILL faffing about trying to find out why yet again his new companion is soooooo mysterious, just like the one before.:yawn:
.
But being bumbling, eccentric and quirky are not alien traits.
The problem is that, unlike you and I, some fans know nothing of the Classic series, so think all incarnations of the Doctor should be like and should look like David Tennant. Had those fans been more familiar with the Classic series they'd know that a good-looking, "almost human" Doctor like Ten, was the exception rather than rule, and that Eleven has qualities of many previous Doctors, making Matt perfect for the role.
... but they are Whovian ones.
So what about those, like me, that grew up with Classic Who but still prefer Ecclestone/Tennant in the role than Smith??
I respect your right to hold that opinion, and just because I said Ten was the exception rather than the rule, it doesn't mean I didn't like Tennant's portrayal of the Doctor, because I did, I just prefer Matt's.
I also said some fans, meaning younger fans, who only dislike Matt Smith, because he's so different from and not as good looking as David Tennant.
I don't buy the good looking thing at all, people hankered after Tom Baker long after he'd left the role, and with all due respect I don't think you'd call Tom good looking.
nice to have you back Daria... I've missed your insistance of no connection... and I look forward to you reinstating wobbly sets and slow four parters.
You could be on to something there.
You are all quite right, and I have been previously wrong in thoughtlessly referring to quirkiness as Alien, just because so many others do.
I'll try not to do it again!