The Eleventh Doctor, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The New GuySo we're just a few days away from the 13th (and final) episode of the 2010 Season of Doctor Who - possibly the most important series for the revived show since... well... the launch in 2005. And I want to talk about Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor.
I remember sitting up the night before the official announcement was made - worrying about who it would be. Then that special episode of Confidential came on... and after a bit he was just suddenly there. No great reveal... he was just there.
That's pretty apt, as Smith isn't a crash-bang-wallop in your face Doctor. He has his moments, but in general he's a quieter more restrained Doctor than his immediate "pouty-shouty" predecessor. He didn't need a fanfare - that's not who his Doctor is.
So we've seen him in twelve different episodes now, and I'm left eagerly awaiting The Big Bang (the only reason I'm writing this is because I can't get Doctor Who out of my head) and I want to talk about Smith, and why I like The Eleventh Doctor so much.
There's something very "Original Run" about his Doctor - so much so that he often feels like a 1963-89 Doctor trapped in an episode of the revived series. The furious pace of the post-2005 episodes is maintained... but Smith slows everything down. He makes me enjoy the journey, rather than feeling like I'm part of a furious race to get somewhere.
Smiths Doctor is also very alien - not completely comfortable with mankind and human behaviour (his attempt to replicate human social interaction in 'The Lodger' is one of the best moments for the Eleventh Doctor this series) - a far cry from the Lion King quoting, Blockhead loving Tenth Doctor. He says the wrong things at the wrong time and finds "waiting" to be very tedious - no matter what he may be waiting for.
He also has heart - the end of Vincent and The Doctor is all the evidence you need for this - despite being very, VERY Alien he is still very, very human when it counts.
I feel like I would trust him - in The Eleventh Hour when Amy has him trapped (by the tie in a car door) and he asks her to trust him I think "I would trust that guy." he emanates goodness.
He moves strangely and looks uncomfrotable in his own skin - which works for The Doctor. Changing bodies must be a massive shock and a big adjustment to be made. Whilst this awkwardness is apparentely an everyday thing for Smith, it certainly works in the context of the show - without ever being laboured upon.
He has a great voice, a voice filled with authority (without having to resort to shouting like a lunatic) - that's not to say he doesn't get upset, but he sounds like a patient, kind and wise old man. He just happens to be trapped in the body of a 27 year old.
There's something to be said for the way he dresses. Not a great fashion choice but they do tell us something about the character. Smith has stated that the Doctor is someone who "isn't cool but thinks he is" - the tweed and bow tie are the Eleventh Doctors approximation of cool - and it just reminds me of William Hartnells costume being his approximation of 20th Century dress.
It does feel like someone at odds with the culture of the day, trying and failing to fit in - just like Hartnell.
The Eleventh Doctor is trustworthy, he's slow, he's fast, he's completely alien and completely human, he doesn't get "humans" and yet understands them completely - he's a mass of contradictions just as The Doctor should be. Long may he reign.
I remember sitting up the night before the official announcement was made - worrying about who it would be. Then that special episode of Confidential came on... and after a bit he was just suddenly there. No great reveal... he was just there.
That's pretty apt, as Smith isn't a crash-bang-wallop in your face Doctor. He has his moments, but in general he's a quieter more restrained Doctor than his immediate "pouty-shouty" predecessor. He didn't need a fanfare - that's not who his Doctor is.
So we've seen him in twelve different episodes now, and I'm left eagerly awaiting The Big Bang (the only reason I'm writing this is because I can't get Doctor Who out of my head) and I want to talk about Smith, and why I like The Eleventh Doctor so much.
There's something very "Original Run" about his Doctor - so much so that he often feels like a 1963-89 Doctor trapped in an episode of the revived series. The furious pace of the post-2005 episodes is maintained... but Smith slows everything down. He makes me enjoy the journey, rather than feeling like I'm part of a furious race to get somewhere.
Smiths Doctor is also very alien - not completely comfortable with mankind and human behaviour (his attempt to replicate human social interaction in 'The Lodger' is one of the best moments for the Eleventh Doctor this series) - a far cry from the Lion King quoting, Blockhead loving Tenth Doctor. He says the wrong things at the wrong time and finds "waiting" to be very tedious - no matter what he may be waiting for.
He also has heart - the end of Vincent and The Doctor is all the evidence you need for this - despite being very, VERY Alien he is still very, very human when it counts.
I feel like I would trust him - in The Eleventh Hour when Amy has him trapped (by the tie in a car door) and he asks her to trust him I think "I would trust that guy." he emanates goodness.
He moves strangely and looks uncomfrotable in his own skin - which works for The Doctor. Changing bodies must be a massive shock and a big adjustment to be made. Whilst this awkwardness is apparentely an everyday thing for Smith, it certainly works in the context of the show - without ever being laboured upon.
He has a great voice, a voice filled with authority (without having to resort to shouting like a lunatic) - that's not to say he doesn't get upset, but he sounds like a patient, kind and wise old man. He just happens to be trapped in the body of a 27 year old.
There's something to be said for the way he dresses. Not a great fashion choice but they do tell us something about the character. Smith has stated that the Doctor is someone who "isn't cool but thinks he is" - the tweed and bow tie are the Eleventh Doctors approximation of cool - and it just reminds me of William Hartnells costume being his approximation of 20th Century dress.
It does feel like someone at odds with the culture of the day, trying and failing to fit in - just like Hartnell.
The Eleventh Doctor is trustworthy, he's slow, he's fast, he's completely alien and completely human, he doesn't get "humans" and yet understands them completely - he's a mass of contradictions just as The Doctor should be. Long may he reign.
Congratulations for this post. I'm really happy now.
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