14 new episodes of Doctor Who just commissioned with Matt Smith
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Larry Young
Master Member
That is excellent news.
Solo4114
Master Member
Yep. Good news indeed. Having finally watched through Season 5, the Christmas Special, and the first episode of Season 6, I can safely say that I like Smith as The Doctor. He's got a similar vibe to Tennant in some respects, but without quite the degree of wild emotion. It's a nice balance and change of pace. Also nice to see they didn't trot out the same dynamic of companion-in-love-with-Doctor that they did with Martha and Rose.
ashden
New Member
Yep, that's a Christmas special plus 13 new episodes of Season 7. Glad to see Matt signed on for another year. He's grown on me a lot. Though, I feel like this needs to be the last season for Amy and Rory. I'm interested to see what the last half of the season holds for them.
Last I saw, the next half begins on Sept. 3. Right in the midst of Dragon*Con...kinda hope it's the next week.
AWESOME!
Organic Mechanic
Sr Member
I am absolutely pleased to hear that Smith will be sticking around for a third season, if only because he's JUST starting to feel like the Doctor for me. Let's face it, it takes something special to "be" the Doctor, even more so to pull it off right out of the gate, and Smith is no T. Baker, C. Ecclestone or, D. Tennant. I'll enjoy another season of him in his stride, but probly not five more.
Solo4114
Master Member
I agree that it takes time for an actor to "become" the Doctor, and it also takes time for the writing staff to start figuring out how to write to the actor's strengths and to "get" the conception of the character.
The best Doctors, I think, tend to bring much of their own approach to the character, while the staff also has a good sense of where the character is going. I think the best example of how this DOESN'T work is with the Sixth Doctor where the entire schtick was just him being a jerk. They had similar problems with Adric, where Matthew Waterhouse was probably too young to really bring his own sense of the character to the show, and the writers had no idea what to do with him.
I think that's actually been one of the greatest strengths of the new run of the show -- the writers and actors all have a much clearer sense of who the characters are and why they do what they do. Chris Ecclestone's Doctor was fantastic in this regard, although short-lived. He played just enough mania mixed with melancholy to really bring across that he was dealing with the guilt of being the last of his kind and having been the one who killed his own race. But the writers had a really clear vision of this too, and you can see that with the threads that unite Ecclestone's performance in "The End of the World," and "Dalek."
Tennant, I thought, took a bit to find his own footing, but once he did, he brought a far more emotionally unrestrained version of The Doctor to the screen. Whereas Ecclestone had seemed to be holding back his own rage and pain and sorrow, Tennant took the character forward and allowed himself to be more...there, emotionally. I got the sense that the Doctor had gotten to a point where he could just feel more instead of trying to forget. He'd learned to live with his loss, mostly, until the very end where his losses mounted to a point where he just couldn't deal.
Smith's run, by contrast, has been much abridged with only 13 episodes in the first season and 14 this season (and 14 next season). I think Season 5 was far more action-driven and gave Smith a lot less time to really explore who the 11th Doctor is, but we're starting to get a better sense of it now. I hope he has enough time to really own the role and that the writing staff stays solid enough that they "get" who he is and what he's doing. Smith's performance is far less weepy and joyful than Tennant's, but I think he's continued much of the mania of the Doctor forward, as well as some of the childlike joy that was there from the 9th forward. (And possibly the 8th...we hardly knew ye...)
Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing more of what Smith & Co. have to offer. I'm enjoying the 6th season so far, having just finished Day of the Moon (which was pretty...wow...where is THIS stuff going?!).
The best Doctors, I think, tend to bring much of their own approach to the character, while the staff also has a good sense of where the character is going. I think the best example of how this DOESN'T work is with the Sixth Doctor where the entire schtick was just him being a jerk. They had similar problems with Adric, where Matthew Waterhouse was probably too young to really bring his own sense of the character to the show, and the writers had no idea what to do with him.
I think that's actually been one of the greatest strengths of the new run of the show -- the writers and actors all have a much clearer sense of who the characters are and why they do what they do. Chris Ecclestone's Doctor was fantastic in this regard, although short-lived. He played just enough mania mixed with melancholy to really bring across that he was dealing with the guilt of being the last of his kind and having been the one who killed his own race. But the writers had a really clear vision of this too, and you can see that with the threads that unite Ecclestone's performance in "The End of the World," and "Dalek."
Tennant, I thought, took a bit to find his own footing, but once he did, he brought a far more emotionally unrestrained version of The Doctor to the screen. Whereas Ecclestone had seemed to be holding back his own rage and pain and sorrow, Tennant took the character forward and allowed himself to be more...there, emotionally. I got the sense that the Doctor had gotten to a point where he could just feel more instead of trying to forget. He'd learned to live with his loss, mostly, until the very end where his losses mounted to a point where he just couldn't deal.
Smith's run, by contrast, has been much abridged with only 13 episodes in the first season and 14 this season (and 14 next season). I think Season 5 was far more action-driven and gave Smith a lot less time to really explore who the 11th Doctor is, but we're starting to get a better sense of it now. I hope he has enough time to really own the role and that the writing staff stays solid enough that they "get" who he is and what he's doing. Smith's performance is far less weepy and joyful than Tennant's, but I think he's continued much of the mania of the Doctor forward, as well as some of the childlike joy that was there from the 9th forward. (And possibly the 8th...we hardly knew ye...)
Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing more of what Smith & Co. have to offer. I'm enjoying the 6th season so far, having just finished Day of the Moon (which was pretty...wow...where is THIS stuff going?!).
I think this is great news as well. I really like Matt as the Doctor. I was a little skeptical at first, but he has really impressed me up to this point. I think that he will continue to be good as long as the writing holds up.
I am a little tired of Amy and Rory also and I hope that they don't come back for a new season. I would like to see an old companion return for a cameo or a story arc. Lady Christina de Souza would be nice to see again. She had great chemistry with Tennant. It would be interesting to see her with Matt.
I am a little tired of Amy and Rory also and I hope that they don't come back for a new season. I would like to see an old companion return for a cameo or a story arc. Lady Christina de Souza would be nice to see again. She had great chemistry with Tennant. It would be interesting to see her with Matt.
IronCostumer
Well-Known Member
I would LOVE to see Jenny, The Doctor's daughter, come back for an episode or two. I loved her character!!!
Solo4114
Master Member
I'm not tired of Amy and Rory yet, though I'm only two episodes into part 1 of Season 6. I rather like that they have a male companion again who is actually the female companion's love interest. I just wish they'd stop making the male companions all bumbling idiots. (Although, admittedly, they get moments of redemption.) That was one of the things I most enjoyed about Captain Jack when he was in the TARDIS.
Larry Young
Master Member
Neither does Solo. He said that's what he liked about Jack, that he wasn't an idiot.
cboath
Master Member
Figures...after a few weeks of having episodes air here same day as the UK, we hit a holiday and they got off a week because our networks don't air new stuff on holiday weeks (usually). If the next batch starts Sept 3, we won't see it here til Sept 10 because the week of the 3rd is a national holiday.
Solo4114
Master Member
Precisely.
I am glad to hear that Rory holds his own, though. The first two episodes hinted at that, and I love his determination and devotion to Amy no matter what he thinks (incorrectly) is going on between her and The Doctor.
