The comments are generally highly favourable about Matt Smith. But there’s also a minority who think he’s not up to scratch (and I’m not just talking about people on DS).

thats always going to be the way about anyone....from Tom Baker to David Tennant.

I don't think anyone would have predicted that Matt would get off to such a positive start with the fans prior to the series starting.

Dervish: Not accepting ever being wrong about Tate since 2006


I find your assertion that MILLIONS of fans switched off at her appearance LAUGHABLE and frankly am suprised you didn't warm to her yourself, given that her character had a platonic relationship with The Doctor, something which you, dervish (and lest not beat about the bush...) craved.

I myself couldn't stand her sub-Little Britain level Sketch Show and was very wary about the announcement that she was joining the show.
But unlike you I went into the series with an open mind, realised that she was a damn fine actress who just HAPPENED to do comedy and realised I was wrong to doubt her.
Something I imagine you will never be able to admit, in your old age.

You'd written her off before she'd even acted a second and you were damned if that decision was ever going to be challenged.

Now, get over it please

On Topic, DT "clicked" with me the second he was sarcastic to the Sycorax leader... That to me was what I wanted to see in The Doctor. "I DON'T KNOWWWWWW! Etc.

MS hasn't quite clicked with me yet, but there's is still time

To misquote Jerry Macguire, David Tennant had me from Barcelona. I actually loved that he was so absent in The Xmas Inv as it made you appreciate him soooo much more when he saved the day and I don't think he missed a beat in his first 3 episodes.

However, Matt Smith did not get me with Geronimo but I have loved everything from his first scene in the 11th Hour. Whatever else is wrong with the series (and I'm not sure there is that much - need to rewatch) I think that our lead actor has nailed it. It will interesting to see how he is in next weeks eps as they were the first filmed and TCI, NE and SR were first for Tennant.

Speaking as someone who's original Who memory is Genesis of the Daleks first time so had 6 years before her first generation I feel I can talk with a childlike point of view with regard to letting your doctor go... I should have hated PD but I didn't because he was good.

I've been bouyed by Matt Smith's performance as the Doctor so far, he's stepped up to the plate and is crafting a personality of his own, he really does come across as a weird professor but also as an angry man that you don't cross. With Tennant i always got the feeling they were trying to make him an angry God and the only humility he would show would be for him to go "I'm sorry, i'm really sorry" with a tear in his eye.

The second episode of the current series showed Matt Smith had a bit more to him than that, "NOBODY HUMAN HAS ANYTHING TO SAY TO ME TODAY", and was inconsolable whilst Amy's head whizzed to the solution.

A lot of people don't seem to realise that Steven Moffat is basically starting his own legacy as show runner and is trying to add a certain mystique, a magic if you like, about the Doctor and is probably having a gentle run in. I think it's unfair to judge Matt Smith so early on in his tenure but it's like everything else in this world, some people will love him, others won't. It depends on what you want from the show and why you watch it, i know some people who thought David Tennant was irreplacable and have said that they've not even thought about him once in the first 3 episodes, others have said they just can't get into Matt Smith.

Different strokes for different folks, but from what i've seen personally, the majority of people have really enjoyed the new series and the new Doctor, and have been glad for the seemingly good shake up it's had from new story direction, to the new assistant and to the new version of the theme tune.

I didnt like tennant at the beginning but would say after 3 probably did as i ended up liking him a lot.

I liked Matt from the first episode

I was ok with Amy at first episode but now find her so irritating Im almost at the point of not watching anymore.

i will watch one more and see if it improves. Im so desprate to like her but am a bit shocked at how much I dont

I think the DS polls for the first 3 episodes along with DTs first 3 episodes in series 2 make interesting reading.

I think far more people have been saying that after the brilliant opening Eleventh Hour the series (so far) been lacklustre and void of any dynamics (this isnt JUST down to MS but the guy really hasnt been given much to do has he)

Episode 1.

New Earth
Exellent - 19.75%
Very Good - 34.45%
Good - 25.07%
Poor - 4.90%
Very Poor - 2.80%

714 voted

The Eleventh Hour
Very Good - 66.99%
Good - 18.87%
Average - 6.92%
Poor - 3.31%
Awful - 3.91%

1330 voted



The eleventh hour absolutely trounces New Earth by a country mile in the votes for excellent (it is obvious to class the Very Good vote in TEH poll as Excellent) So where is the SM backlash, Where is the MS backlash?? It simple doesn't exist, except for a very small one or two posters which will always be the case, regardless of who the new Doctor is.

So according to that poll it look like people were/are more than accepting of MS in the role and SM as showrunner. No backlash really.

The poor/very poor votes really don't differ enough to be of any interest.



Episode 2.

Tooth and Claw

Excellent - 41.67%
Very Good - 28.96%
Good - 17.08%
Fair - 7.10%
Poor - 3.28%
Very Poor - 1.91%

732 voted

The Beast Below
Very Good - 33.19%
Good - 39.50%
Average - 19.80%
Poor - 5.33%
Awful - 2.18%


919 voted



Tooth and claw polled better in regard to excellent vote up from New Earth. The Beast Below poll was down by half in the excellent votes compared to TEH.





Third Episode


School Reunion
Excellent - 56.69%
Very Good - 26.46%
Good - 9.61%
Fair - 4.32%
Poor - 1.53%
Very Poor - 1.39%

718 voted



Victory Of The Daleks
Excellent - 22.99%
Good - 30.66%
Average - 25.59%
Poor - 13.23%
Awful - 7.54%

809 voted


DT's third series episodes trounces MS. As far as VoTD goes there is quite a drastic turnaround in the wrong direction from The Eleventh hour, polling less excellent votes than the previous two episodes. And in the case of School Reunion it was a drastic turn around for the better from New Earth in terms of these polls.


Now I'm not saying these polls are the be all and end all and are definite representation of the general public at large but in terms of these DS threads it is telling that they do tend to support what some of us here have been saying.

Does it make us all anti SM/MS, well no not at all, that is just lazy posting in order for a response by a few people. The voting for TEH more than disproves this ridiculous anti SM/MS notion. As fans of previous series how can we be anti SM? Ive personally said many times Im a fan of both writers, Im a fan of MS, BUT and it is a really big BUT (no not the new Bootylicious Daleks) for many of us that are criticising the last two episodes there is something missing, a sense of, joy, peril, heart, and so on.

I'm hoping that the time of angels brings things back on course, I really do.

Don't tell me, you watched a preview screening of the whole series with these 'millions of others' and they all sighed and expressed their disgust at the same time when CT appeared on the screen...

After only 3 episodes how can you be so sure so soon ?

I think he is OK so far but only 3 stories are far too few to show if he will be the best ever.

I think that sums it up perfectly....

I missed CE when he left in 2005 and didn't really accept Tennant as THE Doctor until the 2007 series when he really came into his own. The relationship between the 10th Doctor and Rose suffocated the show for me, and prevented Tennant really shining. By the time he left though, I thoroughly enjoyed and believed in him as THE Doctor.

That's the point. Amy seems to be without any fear at all which all adds to the loss of suspense. Likewise the Doctor who was quite happy to stand in front of the Daleks risking instant extermination, with only a Jammy Dodger for protection. I'm all for a joke but you have to get the suspense right or it becomes a pantomime.

I think most people took to David Tennant fairly quickly, he seemed very enthusiastic about the part whereas you got the impression Chris Eccleston didn't like it that much. He moaned about the long nine month filming schedule. Tennant was a big Doctor Who fan too so I'm sure fans liked that and welcomed him to the part.

Matt Smith's Doctor is a bit more engimatic and quirky - Tennant's Doctor was less mysterious and more family friendly. Eccleston's Doctor was a bit of a misery, he was upset about the Time War, being the last Time Lord, although he did grin quite a lot.

But Matt Smith has a delicious temper and he does show his irritation at the human species at times (and others). I love this character trait.

I find his temper rather alarming.

When did he do that???? Yes he talked about it being difficult....well so did DT! And BP.....in fact Matt has talked about how hard it is as well....talking about it isn't the same as moaning about it.

As for the actual point of the thread...well I was someone who was willing to not give DT a single chance, I wanted to hate his every little moment, wasn't even going to watch TCI....all this because I hated the fact that CE had left....if felt so wrong, I had became a fan of this show and he left, it was a big blow to me. But saying that I still gave it a chance, not with the intention of DT changing my mind, but because I loved Rose and her family...and nothing else on Christmas day....I spent most of the episode along with Rose saying "he isn't the Doctor, the Doctor wouldn't do that" and so on.....so to my big suprise, as I got more and more involved in the story, and really wanted the Doctor to some and help, I was smiling like this when the Tenth Doctor came out of the Tardis and said the immortal words "did you miss me?" And I did....and from that moment he became my Doctor, he showed me that the show is bigger than the actor, and the Doctor does change his face and yet stays the same. It was down to his performance that I was able to find the classic Doctor very accessable, because I saw Ten in most of them...after I watched more they became the Doctors in their own right. So yes I was a fan of Tenth Doctor before we even reached episode four of series 2.


Matt on the other hand.....had me in the confidentail that introduced him!!!!! So I already knew I was going to like him very much! I was eagerly looking forward to seeing his performance, because I know that many people felt unsure due to his age, for me I thought that him being young would add to the Doctor, not in the sense that I want pretty faces or youtful energy...no I just see it as a more testment of acting that a young person can convince you that he is a 900 year old alien....any old person can do that by looking old....but the challenge is for the young actors...I thought both CE and DT did it brilliantly...haveing caught up on Peter Davison...i thought he was magnificant at diplying that old person in a young body...and so is Matt. The only things that are not too clear right now for me is that I am still not sure how much of the Eleventh Doctor we see is the Eleventh Doctor...for example, I have seen a lot of Ten, Two and Six and Seven in him....but can't put my finger on what is exactly eleven....howver that is not a bad thing as it means I am still discovering his doctor...

As for what others think....well the recent archives are more than enough evidence to prove criticism of a new Doctor is nothing new at all....not something started by the cult of DT.....

I don't think you can assume anything about fans based on this board (or others). It's on this board that I learned five years were an unmitigated disaster and the "real" Doctor Who is a bunch of spin-off novels and a one-shot American movie.

Well, we do like to educate the newbies.

Well yes they do, but it's not really relevant to what this OP is trying to say here. The fact that overall people might have liked the STORIES better does not mean that the reaction to DT wasn't very mixed at the time, which is what the OP was saying.

I also have to say trying to compare the results of the polls then and now is highly flawed because we have six options in one set of polls and five in another. Thereby meaning it is impossible to make a fair judgement either way, because we don't know how the addition or subtraction of one of the options would effect the outcome of the poll, nor is it possible to predict what it would be.

Your trying to compare two totally different sets of responses.

I don't really think we can make a valid comparison with School Reunion to other 3rd episodes. It brought back Sarah Jane and K-9 and had Anthony head and did it with so much heart that people who'd never seen Sarah Jane or K-9 were in tears. And just to cap it off, a student gets to blow up his high school.

Imagine the polling you'd get if they brought back Rose for the first time after 30 years instead of 30 months.

Thanks for collecting all that!! DT's doctor really hit its stride series 3 onwards. No disrespect for Rose but he really shone after she left. I liked him straight away as well, although he was much better as time went on and he fitted into his role. That's why I'm very optimistic about Matt Smith.

Yes, I understand that, I wasn’t using the polls as a basis of MS popularity but as how the voters here perceived the series with a new Doctor as the series progressed using the op’s first three episodes example. I was expanding the 3 episode idea of this thread and not using it as a basis of MS popularity.



Which is why I said it is probably a safe bet to read the 'very good 'vote as excellent (I recall a few complaints that there was no excellent option at the time, so would it not be safe to assume that very good were the excellent vote that was not avaliable for those polls) and the only other readings I compared were the poor very poor votes as they appear on both style of polls.

Again this wasnt used as a measurment of MS's popualrity but in context of the 3 episode ethos I thought it would be interesting to compare the polls, its a simple as that. Im sorry you disagree but there you go.






And there will have been many viewers not aware of who Sarah Smith was, not every new who viewer is steeped in classic who. Were the excellent votes because of who was in the episode or because of the story and how well it handled and portrayed its emotional dynamics? TVoD had new Daleks , Churchill and spitfires in it all of those are far more exciting for me that an old companion returning, so by rights I should have voted excellent for that episode because I like Daleks, Churchill and spitfires, I don’t think it works like that. (although I did love the spitfires in space)


I dont think people vote excellent based on who is in an episode to be honest.

If the SJS story was an absolute stinker, if the new who audience hadn’t had connected with her character, if that emotional context hadn’t had worked as well as it did, well then I dare say it would not have received that many votes just based on having SJS in it, she would have been just another character to many new who viewers, but the writing had heart and dynamics in its characterisation, something that has been drastically missing from the last two episodes of the new series.

For example Churchill was a wasted opportunity in VOTD imo, the passion the story should have demanded just by having that character in it was completely over looked.

Now, again, I didn’t use those polls as a measurement of MS popularity, I’ve said that a new Doctor should be given chance to bed in, and this wasn’t about MS but in the context of the first 3 episode ethos of the thread I thought it would be interesting to see how both series progressed in terms of storys based on the voter in these forums, and to show that the high votes for the eleventh hour disputes the anti SM/MS tosh being raised (not by the OP I might add)

To me it's like comparing apples and pears so to speak. Although they were both carrying on the role of the Doctor from someone else they had lots of different circumstances, some making it harder, some making it easier. DT had to take on a show that had only had one new series, one new Doctor who would have been the only Doctor for a lot of people, and had to fit in with an already established cast, and a writing style that was already in place for another Doctor. MS has the task of taking over from a long established Doctor, who is widely held as being very popular, and has to create a whole new relationship with a companion and work with a new showrunner who must be finding his feet as well and dealing with all the little changes that can upset people, such as the theme tune.

On the other hand CE had done a year so there was arguably less of a bond for the public for DT to break through, Rose was established and maybe gave some breathing space as the focus while he found his feet, and the showrunner had done the first series with public success. For MS he has the benefit of a whole new feel of the which might make it easier for people to move on from DT, and SM has done a lot of popular stories prior to taking over as showrunner, and the show is established.

Ultimately some people will like, some people won't. The change will be good for some, not for others. That's the way it goes.