David Walliams for the 11th Doctor?

[Vehrec]

The author of Schlock Mercenary has this to say on the subject:

I am a Doctor Who fan.

In 2010 we’re getting a new Doctor, the eleventh regeneration. For folks with access to BBC and the Doctor Who Confidential special this is old news, I’m sure.

With a little bit of search-fu I got what I needed from BBC Online: a name, a face, and a little official footage…

Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor, with wibbley-wobbley, timey-wimey fingers

At first blush? Watching this youngster talk I can’t help but see his hand gestures, and think “wibbly-wobbly, timey wimey…”

Congratulations, Matt Smith.

And I will admit, he does a lot with his hands. I say he shows promise.

[Patrick Degan]

I... just don' t know.

[PREDATOR490]

Dont know who the hell this guy is and the lack of remote google hits for his name leaves me with a sinking feeling of dispair.

That picture of him in front of the Tardis really does not fill me with confidence that he can pull it off. Even if by some small boon he manages to become the next Tom Baker, it seems like the new series is going down hill with the appeal to 'younger audiences'.
A.K.A Lets get young 'hot' guys so that stupid shit fans will watch
I only hope they wont duplicate the same mess they have been doing from the beginning of the new series by having all the companions want the 'hot' Doctor and I guess having a young Doctor means we will be treated to more younger female companions.

It would have been nice to get an older Doctor with a suitable no-nonsense attitude to match rather than the 3 years of mess-about Tennant. However, I will withhold judgement until I see him perform. With luck and decent writing he might be able to carry a decent Doctor like Davidson did at least until the next regeneration.

[mr friendly guy]

Video interview with Matt Smith can be found here

See what you guys think.

[Uraniun235]

will there be an uptick in companions with pink and black striped socks

is there going to be an episode with evil space monsters taking over the nearby Hot Topic

does the Doctor root out a sinister mind-control conspiracy threading tendrils through LiveJournal



god damn, space opera aesthetics keep getting lamer, a year from now the whole god damn genre will be a totally bombed out wasteland

[NecronLord]

He looks like he's off a poster for that 'twilight' teen vampire film.

[loomer]

He actually reminds me really strongly of one of Abe Lincoln's assassination conspirators. The pretty one. Just something about the picture trips a flag for me.

[PREDATOR490]

After seeing that clip... just no.

I can see the appeal to his 'fidgety hands' and the way he speaks but really. That clip made him look rather weak and sombre. If thats the way they are going to take the new Doctor then fair enough but it seems REALLY stupid for them to bring in that kind of character at that age rather than use it with an older actor.
It becomes worse if you consider who they are going to get for a companion. Billie was pretty clueless at the start and was paired with a pretty commanding act from the Craig.
David's Doctor kinda slipped on that with Rose but that was kinda understandable since she had developed quite a bit, he still managed to pull off the stronger character in a crunch. With Tate though, David's Doctor was pretty heavily matched and even outdone by her towards the end in my opinion. Putting this guy with someone like Tate would be awful, especially since he is going to be going through hell for the first year while he and the producers work out what kind of Doctor he is.

THIS guy playing the Doctor makes me worry about the companion possibly outdoing his perfomance or forcing them to select a teenage moron. I really do NOT want to see another idiotic screamer like whats-her-name Megan ?
Additionally, I would be worried about how long this guy is going to stay because I dont see him being able to pull off more than a single season which makes for another regeneration in 2011.

[Bounty]

I still stand by him looking a bit too young, but with Moffat writing, I'm starting to see how he can work as the Doctor. He's got that old look, he's got the expressiveness, and if nothing else him being so young opens up at least a few new avenues of characterization. Whatever his looks, Smith can act. Everything else is circumstantial; if he gets good scripts he can go on to do great things. The Hot Topic styling can still change substantially.

Additionally, I would be worried about how long this guy is going to stay because I dont see him being able to pull off more than a single season

How can you predict that when you haven't seen even a single episode with him in it?

[PREDATOR490]

The guy is walking into a heavily demanding role in Tennant's wake. The saving grace is the movie gap will reduce the wake slightly but regardless, a large amount of the fanbase like Tennant and will make them hesitant to accept a new Doctor.
More than a few have pointed out how the series has become weaker in developlment and the results in a pretty large amount of pressure falling on his performance and if he relys on good scripts then what happens when he gets bad ones ?

Tennant at least had a good solid year worth of season 2 before the series slumped but this guy will have literally nothing backing him up. New Doctor, New series, New companions and hopefully New enemies.
On one hand it gives them a clean break to start fesh and do new arcs, on the other it forces them to start really thinking up some fresh stuff which is going to be fairly difficult to do when your trying to compensate to a new style of Doctor, companions and remain true to Doctor Who's past continuity.

[Big Orange]

On hindsight I personally found Season Three to be Tennant's best year, with Season Two and Four being more uneven with notable creative slumps (but I'll easily take "Doomsday" over "Journey's End" any day, though "Midnight" was better than "Love & Monsters" though I don't hate that ridiculous episode).

Matt Smith does seem a very surprising choice and he has big shoes to fill, but it won't be until 2010 that he actually becomes the Doctor so he's got enough prep time and Moffat will be there to inject some fresh blood into the stale formula.

[DaveJB]

The guy is walking into a heavily demanding role in Tennant's wake. The saving grace is the movie gap will reduce the wake slightly but regardless, a large amount of the fanbase like Tennant and will make them hesitant to accept a new Doctor.

That's only the exact same thing that's happened every time a new Doctor has been cast! (I know someone will come along and say no-one gave a fuck about McCoy being replaced, but he'd gained quite a following among what was left of the fanbase through the last two seasons, and then again through the New Adventures)

More than a few have pointed out how the series has become weaker in developlment and the results in a pretty large amount of pressure falling on his performance and if he relys on good scripts then what happens when he gets bad ones ?

We haven't even seen how he's going to play the Doctor, and you're already saying that he isn't going to be strong enough to carry an episode by himself? As I said earlier I'm not really feeling either positive or negative about his casting (it doesn't look like many people are, to be honest), but what's the point in writing him off a year before we're going to see him in action?

Tennant at least had a good solid year worth of season 2 before the series slumped but this guy will have literally nothing backing him up. New Doctor, New series, New companions and hopefully New enemies.

That's not as big an obstacle as you might think - Jon Pertwee came into the series in pretty much the same circumstances, and he did alright for himself.

On one hand it gives them a clean break to start fesh and do new arcs, on the other it forces them to start really thinking up some fresh stuff which is going to be fairly difficult to do when your trying to compensate to a new style of Doctor, companions and remain true to Doctor Who's past continuity.

You've just described the situation the show was in just before it relaunched, and as you've admitted yourself, the real problems of RTD's leadership didn't come along until the third season or so.

[Lord Woodlouse]

Not my first choice (I was actually hoping for an older looking and somewhat more antagonistic Doctor, of which I rather liked Richard E Grant's rendition in Scream of the Shalka), but I'm definitely not actively against this chap. Steven Moffat seems to have been the main person choosing him, and I generally trust his judgement.

[Hillary]

I rather think that the scripts are far more important than the actor in the lead role. He's done enough stuff to suggest that he is at least competent as an TV actor - rather that than someone like Walliams - so he obviously has the skills to make it a success. Whether he actually does so is not something anyone can really judge at this stage.

[Jade Falcon]

I wouldn't mind Lindsay either, except for it being quite a challenge not see him him as a bumbling dentist.

I wonder if Alan Davies might still be in the running. I saw the Jonathan Creek special last night and he really does that mystery-hunting weirdo part quite well.

If you want Lindsey further back than My Family or even Citizen Smith, there's also as a National Serviceman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K33ud0kE ... re=related

God, I'm showing my age.

[Vympel]

As long as he's not a manic jack-in-the-box on acid I imagine he'll do fine if given a decent script. I just want someone a bit more serious.

[Ryushikaze]

Well, Moffat did say he thought Smith had an air of oldness about him, which is why he was chosen instead of an actual older actor like they originally intended. I'm going to remain cautiously optimistic til I see him in action and confirm just how good or bad a choice he is.

[Big Orange]

When do you they'll begin shooting Season Five?

[NecronLord]

When do you they'll begin shooting Season Five?

They're shooting the specials now, I believe. Presumably the next season will be the in roughly a year's time.

[Straha]

who on earth is matt smith?

Funnily enough, that was everyone's response to Tom Baker getting the role. There's a video clip out there, I'm not sure if it's on Youtube but it probably is, of a camera crew at a BBC party right after the announcement that Tom Baker was taking the role, unknowingly going up to Tom Baker and asking him where the new Doctor Who was.

I, personally, don't mind him being too young, and the dark mood which seems to permeate the photo of Smith next to the TARDIS is more than welcome, in my opinion. After such travesties as the Sontaran two parter, the giddy buffoonery of The Doctor's Daughter/Unicorn and the Wasp or the sheer retardation of the schlock like "Daleks in Manhattan" something a bit darker is in order. Further, the New Doctor Who only seems to get the comedy of old Who right when it's a darker episode, look at Girl in the Fireplace, the Doctor Dances, Family of Blood, and Impossible Planet for that.

Also, the idea of the Doctor aging backwards seems somewhat fitting. With the oldest we've ever seen the Doctor look or act was when he was at his youngest, and as he's aged he's seemed to strive to be younger and even more energetic than his previous incarnations (with the exception of McGann, Davidson and, perhaps, McCoy.) If we can't get the Shalka Doctor on the TV I'm more than willing to give Smith a shot. Though, despite the seeming optimism, I'm more apprehensive than not over the scripting that we can expect. But c'est la vie.