Thoughts on the new Doctor Who
I am really enjoying Eleven, though he is not without his problems. He's a little overly volatile and his angry moments are VERY angry, but his sweet moments are very sweet (as in 5x05, Flesh and Stone) and I love his distracted-professor mode, which has so far been at its best in The Eleventh Hour (which is a brilliant title, by the way). I also quite like Amy: she's very very smart, and I love the relationship to the Doctor that they've given her (for the most part: recent developments have displeased me, but he's awfully cute so I don't blame her, and I love how oblivious he is). Not sure how much I like the miniskirts: they're just not that flattering. Do love her sense of style, though.
I'm not as sure how much I like the degree to which they're remodeling the show. Between the new Doctor, new companion, new TARDIS, new credits/theme song, even new sonic screwdriver, it kind of feels like a totally different show. Not to mention the weird sound effects and perspective shifts, like when they zoomed in on his eye and then shifted around the square in The Eleventh Hour. For God's sake, even the Daleks are new, in a development which just had me groaning: I feel like they're just trying to remove everything that makes the show look as old as it is, and part of that is an astonishingly young actor.
I really just keep being thrown by that! He's only 6 years older than me, and he's 11 years younger than David Tennant. I didn't mind how much younger David Tennant was than Christopher Eccleston, because they were both old enough that it didn't matter, but Matt Smith (God, there are just so many Smiths and Joneses in this show) is SO YOUNG. And Karen Gillan is only one year older than me at 22 (almost to the day, even: her birthday is 6 days before mine), making her the youngest yet as well. (I also didn't realize how tall she is: 5'11", same as me. Weird that I didn't notice that, as she's awfully close to Matt Smith in height. PS: LOVE that he was in The Ruby in the Smoke with Billie Piper, and later an episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. It must be fun for them to see each other now.) The overall newness of everything, from the actors to the technology, is just a little overwhelming considering how old the Doctor is and how old this show is. I do think, though, that this is why they're trying to include so many old things early in this season: we've already had the Daleks and the Weeping Angels, which is 3 episodes of 5. I am very much looking forward to the Vampires of Venice, though, and having Rory around, but I hope he doesn't turn out to be another Mickey Smith, all jealous and mopey (but I also think Eleven is less likely to fall in love with Amy than Ten was with Rose, so that's some consolation).
I'm complaining a lot, but I'm still really enjoying it. I do want more distracted-professor-Eleven, though, as Matt Smith does that excellently. He also very much fits the Doctor Template: brilliant, with the kind of focus that comes across as distraction, frequently bossy, generally cheery but occasionally frighteningly angry. I do wish he were less dismissive of Amy: I think she's still a little bit 8 years old in his head, and she's not only grown up, but also very quick, and very brave, and has been since she was a little girl. That's the only thing that I really don't like about him: otherwise, I think he's doing very well so far, especially considering how high David Tennant set the bar with Ten. But I might be a poor judge: he IS awfully cute. :P
I'm not as sure how much I like the degree to which they're remodeling the show. Between the new Doctor, new companion, new TARDIS, new credits/theme song, even new sonic screwdriver, it kind of feels like a totally different show. Not to mention the weird sound effects and perspective shifts, like when they zoomed in on his eye and then shifted around the square in The Eleventh Hour. For God's sake, even the Daleks are new, in a development which just had me groaning: I feel like they're just trying to remove everything that makes the show look as old as it is, and part of that is an astonishingly young actor.
I really just keep being thrown by that! He's only 6 years older than me, and he's 11 years younger than David Tennant. I didn't mind how much younger David Tennant was than Christopher Eccleston, because they were both old enough that it didn't matter, but Matt Smith (God, there are just so many Smiths and Joneses in this show) is SO YOUNG. And Karen Gillan is only one year older than me at 22 (almost to the day, even: her birthday is 6 days before mine), making her the youngest yet as well. (I also didn't realize how tall she is: 5'11", same as me. Weird that I didn't notice that, as she's awfully close to Matt Smith in height. PS: LOVE that he was in The Ruby in the Smoke with Billie Piper, and later an episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. It must be fun for them to see each other now.) The overall newness of everything, from the actors to the technology, is just a little overwhelming considering how old the Doctor is and how old this show is. I do think, though, that this is why they're trying to include so many old things early in this season: we've already had the Daleks and the Weeping Angels, which is 3 episodes of 5. I am very much looking forward to the Vampires of Venice, though, and having Rory around, but I hope he doesn't turn out to be another Mickey Smith, all jealous and mopey (but I also think Eleven is less likely to fall in love with Amy than Ten was with Rose, so that's some consolation).
I'm complaining a lot, but I'm still really enjoying it. I do want more distracted-professor-Eleven, though, as Matt Smith does that excellently. He also very much fits the Doctor Template: brilliant, with the kind of focus that comes across as distraction, frequently bossy, generally cheery but occasionally frighteningly angry. I do wish he were less dismissive of Amy: I think she's still a little bit 8 years old in his head, and she's not only grown up, but also very quick, and very brave, and has been since she was a little girl. That's the only thing that I really don't like about him: otherwise, I think he's doing very well so far, especially considering how high David Tennant set the bar with Ten. But I might be a poor judge: he IS awfully cute. :P