Doctor Who?

[wshaffer]

And so, the BBC has announced that the 11th Doctor will be played by....

Matt Smith!

Wow, I think they surprised us all on that one - I don't think his name even appeared in any of the speculation leading up to the announcement.

I've never seen Smith in anything - his wikipedia entry shows a handful of television credits, plus what looks like a very solid theater career. I'll wager the guy can act. He's awfully young (finally overtakes Peter Davison as the youngest actor ever to play the role), and if I were feeling churlish I could complain that they've cast a (really) young skinny dark-haired white guy to replace another young skinny dark-haired white guy, which isn't the angle I'd have taken if I were casting the role. On the other hand, I think that we can all be really really grateful that Steven Moffatt is running Doctor Who instead of me, and so I'm going to keep an open mind and give this guy a chance.

A small sampling of online fan reaction seems to be overall positive, with predictable pockets of "Aaargh, he's too young" and the like.

Any readers out there actually seen Matt Smith in anything? What's he like? What do you think of this choice?

Comments

[amoken.livejournal.com]

My main reaction is: younger than me?!?! Few PhD-seekers have finished by his age. How could he be The Doctor?

Say, is there a good place to sign up for BBC announcements? I'd like to be informed when they announce the series 3 Torchwood date(s). Sounds like they may broadcast the whole thing on consecutive nights, but I haven't heard when.

[wshaffer.livejournal.com]

I don't know of a good way to sign up for announcements from the BBC. However, if you keep an eye on torchwood_three, they do a daily link collection of notable Torchwood news and discussion on the internet, so it'll be sure to pop up there when the dates are announced. (You'll also get 400% of your RDA of links to Jack/Ianto fic, which may be a bonus or not, depending.)

[paulgreaves.livejournal.com]

My first reaction was "Who the f*** is Matt Smith?"

What about an older Doctor? Or a black Doctor? (Paterson Jospeh missed out AGAIN!) Oh no, I forgot, that kind of eccentric character won't appeal to "da kids". God forbid we risk the demographic...

In fairness he may well surprise us all and I will give him a fair crack of the whip, however I do think it's incredibly boring casting. As you say Wendy, we've just got rid of one dark-haired skinny white guy only to get another one.

Time will tell...

[wshaffer.livejournal.com]

While I'm more than willing to believe that Piers Wenger might have backed a younger Doctor out of a misguided attempt to appeal to "da kids", Moffatt's always been very clear (and, I think, correct) that what the kids want most in the Doctor is a kind of wacky uncle figure, for which an older actor works better. Which makes me wonder if the demographic they were worried about losing was young women. (If so, I think it's still a misguided response.)

At this point, I'm trying to find reasons to be optimistic, because it's really all I can do. (Well, besides watch Pertwee episodes and sigh...)