It's quite early to say but if he stays like this he will easily become my favourite doctor

I think McGann has done some fantastic work with the audios. And though I didn't care much for the concept of the Doctor Who movie I did think he was very good in it. I would rate him ahead on Colin Baker and Sly McCoy I think.

Well I've only seen the 'movie' and I thought it stank to high heaven! I liked Colin Baker. He was moody, irritable, foul and bad-tempered. I like those qualities in a person.

Edit: I agree that McCoy was horrid.

It is too early for me to say but Amy's optimism against his darkness is very like Rose and Eccleston's Doctor which gave it a touch of humanity and alieness in series one. Matt's powerful vocal delivery ('Nobody human has anything to say to me today') and his manic ramblings reminds me so much of Chris Eccleston so that puts him several galaxies ahead of David Tennant in my book as he manages to be authoritative not shouty.

You should check out some of his audios, seriously they are fab!

The thing with Colin Baker is that as a child the first regeneration I remember was Davison's and I loved Colin's first scene and was very excited about him, right up to the point his Doctor tried to strangle the women that the 5th Doctor had sacrificed himself to save, now that may not be rational, but think about it from the perspective of a young kid....that sort of thing stays with you.

I don't think McCoy was horrid, but he certianly had some horrid scripts to work with!

TB was my childhood Doctor.


Bingo! Quirky and eccentric is a good thing. I liked CE, loved DT and I'm loving Matt already.

And yes, I'm crushing on MS like a teenager.

I think he has cool points whereas Chris Eccleston has sexy points, he didn't need to say sexy thing, he could just look I've never been sure what David had - shouty points?

No, I don't think favourite, but he is very good so far.

He's my fave by FAR!!it helps of course that he's good looking and I dont really like the companion so it makes him look even better But i do really like him

I was impressed with Matt again tonight, the scene where he confronted the ironclad Dalek was top draw. He looked like a right nutter (in a good way!).

But I still won't rate him against other Doctors till the end of the series...

I really like Matt Smith, he reminds me a bit of Patrick Troughton. He has eccentricity and charm without losing the authority which the character should have. He could well become my favorite if he keeps up the good work.

I particularly ike the fact that he has not been overly emotional so far (like DT was in the last series) maintaining a slightly aloof alien persona.

Tom Baker is the classic Doctor, DT was just brilliant in his second series and the specials following it. DT just used to be able to show age and loss so well. Matts very young acting, admittedly he is a new Doctor but I don't feel that age and emotion yet.

Im happy to give it time though. DT didn't have it in early episodes either.

I agree completly. Watching DT in series 2 he's almost a different Doctor. His Doctor got much darker towards the end of his tenrue; despite the repetiveness of it he always made us feel the loss that the Time War had caused him. MS hasn't really had chance to do this yet and it is still very early days for him.

When I've seen Matt Smith pull off a "Family of blood" acting, he will be good.

He can do the running around but can he make you fear that this really is the end of the world as we know it? I haven't seen any gravitas yet.

Yes lets have a show void of all emotion in case it's too taxing for the teenagers to understand.

The Doctor before and after the time war should be two different people, in the same way many soldiers are after returning from war.

The Doctor played a part in the end of his civilisation, that has to leave a deep scar, DT's Doctor was starting to accept that and his emotion was clear. I think Matt could easily portray this emotion but is being held back by Moffats love for the old series and fairytale.

i don't think that is a fair reflection on what the poster you quote said. He didn't say it should be void of all emotion. And indeed it hasn't been void of all emotion.

I had no issue with DT at all - he was great in series 3 and 4, but I don't think MS should necessarily be taking his lead from him in his portrayal. He is going to react differently, and I don't see how it is a bad thing for him to be more aloof and alien in his reactions, it is just different. Perhaps you will always prefer the way DT played the role and thats fine too.

In many ways that is the trouble with this thread - as soon as one person starts saying they prefer A more than B, the people that like B retaliate as you have.

Possibly. He's VERY similar to Tennant though isn't he? He makes it very easy to suspend your disbelief that it's the same person.

No, not at all. He's very different to DT's Doctor.

Too early for me to say at the moment. I was impressed TEH, but Matt's been hit and miss in the TBB and TVOD. Some scenes I totally buy into him, others are a bit meh. Can't tell if it's the writing or if it's Matt yet, so giving it time.

No - I don't think anyone can ever be a better Doctor for me than David Tennant. A different Doctor - then yes. His own take on The Doctor - of course. But the best Doctor - I don't think so.

I like Matt Smith but have some problems with his performance. He mumbles a lot and his speech often lacks clarity - he puts emphasis on the wrong words or swallows words, and I am confused both as to what he is saying and what emotion he is trying to convey.

Visually he's fantastic, and he captures two things very well - the "old man in a young man's body" and the sense of amiable eccentricity. What he doesn't do, for me, is capture any of the Doctor's great sadness, loneliness, or at times darkness. The words have been there for him in all three of the episodes so far (the "I am the Doctor" speech in the first ep, the "nobody human speak to me today" in the second, and the confrontation with the daleks in the third) but those were his least convincing moments.

I enjoy the eccentricity of his performance but he's not making me feel anything. David Tennant caught the dark side of the doctor from the word go with the chilling way he said "no second chances - that's the kind of man I am", and he proceeded to show us that over and over again. He was very much an all rounder of a doctor, with great variations of shading in his performance. I'm not a DT fan particularly but I do think he's a very fine actor having now seen him a variety of different things, all of which he pulls off with a real sense of nuance and sheer acting talent.

I think Matt Smith could evolve. I still think he's been cast too young although I can see why the temptation was there to cast him because he looks so superb and gives such arresting visual performances. He needs much stronger direction though to bring out more layers in the character.

Funnily enough, I think that in last night's episode, Matt Smith's portrayal of the Doctor was the closest to David Tennant's so far. Especially the bit where he said "BEAUTIFUL!"

Someone told me today that some of the episodes were written before Smith got the part. Is this true?

Yes, this is true, because of course the opening episode script was used at the auditions as per interviews MS has given.

I think two or three of SM scripts were written at that point. But they may have been drafts rather than the final versions.

hardly, but i was seriously tiring of Tennant so anyone would be better for me at the moment