The only sign of when the scripts get "worse" is when fandom stops being divided and becomes unanimous in the view that the scripts are bad. And that hasn't happened. Heck the only time the show's come close to that was Season 24. *shudder*

Whilst I wouldn't say he's the worst doctor, I think in years to come he won't be looked on in the same light as Christopher Ecclestone and David Tennant. Following Tennant who was extremely popular was always going to be a hard task, and by being a young quirky doctor similar to 10 Matt Smith was not a big enough change, and for that reason will always be viewed in light of being not as good as Tennant (whereas Capaldi being older will immediately be seen in a different light). The other problem with Matt Smith other than comparisons with Tennant was the weakness of Series 6 in particular its story arc and patchiness of Series 7. Had seasons 22-26 been of better quality perhaps CB and SM would be better viewed today.

FWIW in terms of acting and the character I preferred Matt Smith to Tennant, but Tennant managed to be far more popular in terms of the public, and also benefitted from much better stories and series.

Really? Is this a serious question?

To have a valid opinion, anybody who answers "yes, he was the worst Doctor ever", then must have seen at least some episodes of each of the 11 Doctors (sorry I don't count Hurt, in case I'm hauled up over this).

So that means anybody who answered "yes" thinks both Colin Baker & Sylvester McCoy were better at playing the Doctor..

Um, yeah, okay. I bet there's a lot of fans out there who go along with that.

The question should be the more obvious: "Was Matt Smith the best Doctor ever?"

But maybe that's too boring & been done to death -?

If that was the question I'd answer: "if not a yes, then not too far off it" -he was brilliant

No, the worst Doctor was McCoy closely followed by Ecclescake.

The best, of course, are Troughton, Pertwee and the incomparable Tom Baker.

I wouldnt say he was badly cast it was just terrible writers!

Yes Colin Baker was a better Doctor! He had something Matt lacked.

I think Matt was a brilliant Doctor, just let down by some bad scripts, and that was only in the later seasons. His first two seasons blew me away.

I totally agree. When his character was allowed to stop goofing around and calm down he was excellent. He was great in The Day of the Doctor and The Doctor's Wife IMO.

All doctors have good bits and bad bits every series has the odd dodge episode or moment. Overall he was good. Only think was how long it too him to trust his own wife. What part of her sacrificing herself to save 10 did he not get. However after that it was better . 11 loved all his freinds.

'Can of Worms' question this isn't it.
I would place David Tennant as above Matt - but Pat Troughton beats David in my eyes!

Of the new lot, yes, yes, yes he was.

I only hope that the new one can save the show for adults, but with the same moronic producer in place, sadly, I think all is lost.

Bit harsh. Brian Minchin's only done one story...and he seems really intelligent from what I've read.

Brian Minchin has been brought in as the new Executive Producer, alongside Steven Moffat. He's one of RTD's 'people' and (I think) was brought in to play a significant role in getting the show back on track.

Personally, I think having Brian in post will bring a significant and noticeable change in style and direction for the show, more so than simply having a new Doctor.

I think this is one of the reasons Matt's finale was used to tie up pretty much every loose end from his tenure. It has given the 12th Doctor and Clara and clean slate.

I don't personally agree that Matt was the worst Doctor, though. I'm quite fond of the 11th Doctor all in all. I just don't think (for me anyway) that the writing has been as good since 2010.

I liked series 1. Just hated how they ruined the end in the series finale.

Crying to bring him back was a bit far fetched.

In a series featuring a body changing almost immortal alien, who travels the Universe in a blue box, bigger on the inside, capable of time travel etc etc.
And you think that bit was far-fetched?

Yes because all Amy did was cry. It was as bad as rings singing to kill a huge entity.

Surely they could have come up with a better solution than that.

Plenty of stories have done the tardis dematerialing at the moment of impact and would have come off better.

Again, why is that any more far-fetched than anything else in Doctor Who?
I thought that The Rings Of Akhaten, whilst not the best realised story, was at least original and tried hard to show an believable alien culture.

I could never take to Matt Smith's portrayal of the Doctor.

When he regenerated I was one happy Whovian.

It was terrible! The start of it was good but time it got to the end it failed to deliver.

The sacrifice from the doctor is a bit odd as he never seemed to do that in the past eras and suddenly this girl can kill the enemy through singing FFS!

Except that's not actually what happened. The singing didn't do a whole lot of good.

Clearly, as you didn't like it, you didn't watch it properly. Not at all what happened.

Yes that about sums it up. Out of the 4 you mentioned there are 3 actors and Matt Smith.

The Eccleston and Tennant eras are sadly missed. That was back when it was just bloody good drama almost to the point where you could forget it was Dr Who. It could stand on its own as good TV drama for all.

Let's hope we can get back to greatness of Bad Wolf and Family of Blood and Father's Day - Drama so good it had grown men open mouthed and crying.

Was Matt Smith the worst Doctor?

Nope.

Is this a dopey thread aimed solely at provoking arguments and anger?

Yep.

Past Doctors never sacrificed themselves to save the day?

Really? How about all of the regeneration stories for a start, then take a look at almost ever other story where the Doctor invariably does something to save the day by putting himself on the line, especially if it involves saving his companion. Surely it would be easier to find a story where the Doctor isn't prepared to make some sort of sacrifice to save the situation. He's always doing this.

And, although it's been a while since I watched Akhaten, I don't think that the singing killed the enemy anyway. The singing, as far as I recall, was part of a big ceremony to keep the sleeping 'God' asleep. Singing is frequently part of religious and other ceremonies and seemed perfectly in keeping with the backstory of this world and its people.

It's a valid question with many agreeing. Would it only in fact be Matt's die hards who would be experiencing anger and arguing?

Many may be agreeing, but there are a metric ton more disagreeing in all forms is social media. National polls, the YouGov poll... Matt's a firm no. 3 to David Tennant and Tom Baker. That's 3 out of 11 (excluding Capaldi). Certainly not the worst, and definite, undeniable proof that Matt has been GENERALLY very well received as the Doctor. And that IS a fact.