The Lousypoet

So after what seems like a long time of speculation, we finally have the official announcement. Actor Matt Smith has been named the new face of Doctor Who.

Now, Mr. Smith (OMG, that’s so funny, his real last name is Smith, just like the Doctor so often uses as an alias, LOL!) is a relatively unknown commodity on this side of the ocean, but certainly the press in Britain seems to think he is pretty good. And seeing him interviewed, I can sort of see where the Doctor could go in his hands, and I think I like it. What I really like is that they’ve gone with a younger actor. The names that had been bounced around previously seemed like they were going to take the role back to the days of Patrick Troughton and company. An older, more mature Doctor, as opposed to the young and vibrant Doctor that Tennant has given us. What I’ve loved about the current Doctor Who series is that mix of dark, been there seen that, character and the wide eyed explorer that gets giddy at the thought of even the slightest new discovery. I think Matt Smith might just be the man for this. Not to mention that I think with Stephen Moffat taking over, we need a Doctor who is young, cause lord knows there’s a lot of action and running in Moffat scripts!

All in all, I think I am now feeling a bit more secure in my anticipation of the full season five. In the meantime, I intend to enjoy the hell out of the remaining David Tennant specials!

You should read the BBC article and see an interview with Matt Smith.

Ok, where the hell have I been for the past month?! They announced on October 29th that David Tennant has decided that at the completion of 2009’s special episodes, he will leave the show. I feel like crying. I’ve loved Tennant is the Doctor. But, change is part of Doctor Who, and I can only hope that the next Doctor will be just as great. After all, I was struck when Christoper Eccleston left, but it all turned out all right with Tennant. Hopefully they score another great one with the next Doctor. I look forward to checking it out.

You can read a BBC article interviewing Tennant about the leave HERE.

So I just finished watching the season four finale of Doctor Who. I have to say, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Now I trolled the net and have seen quite a few reviews of this episode, mostly leaning towards a negative viewpoint. Which I suppose in our technobabble world is somewhat understandable. Afterall, much of the “science” in this episode is questionable and we do have our usual Doctor Who “quick fix” solutions to some otherwise insurmountable problems. But for what this episode was, Russell T. Davies’ swan song to fans, I thought it was rather brilliant

First off, I would like to say how stunned I was by the performance of Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith. Her reaction to hearing the Daleks was powerful. I even said “wow” outloud. Her shear terror was so real, so gut-wrenchingly genuine, that for a moment it made me afraid (though this being Doctor Who I knew it would all be sorted in the end). And watching Catherine Tate and David Tennant mimick each other was downright hillarious! When this season began, I had some doubts about Tate’s character being a companion. But she has totally pulled it off and her rather tragic exit from the series was too bad in my opinion. In some ways, I was very intrigued by the idea of the Doctor traveling with someone who was as brilliant and knowledgeable as he is (not seen since the days of Tom Baker’s who with Romana).

Seeing Davros return was very welcome indeed. With the glut of Dalek stories we’ve had in the past four years, it seemed like a gaping hole having him absent. But I would complain a bit because his ultimate plan seemed a little flat. It just didn’t seem as brilliant and twisted as I thought it would. Not to mention that he was made to appear a slave of his own creations. I doubt that the Davros we’ve seen before would allow such a thing to happen.

But this episode isn’t about punching plot holes. God knows you could probably find some truck worthy ones if you looked, oh, not so hard. This episode was a big, Doctor Who blow out! Let’s get all the major players back together. Let’s give Rose the happy ending she was denied in Doomsday. Let’s setup the next incarnation of the Torchwood team. Let’s make sure our lonely, anguished Doctor is set and primed for his guest stars for the next few films over 2009 so that Moffat can have a virtually clean slate in 2010. Let’s finally get rid of that damn hand that has played as a prop in so many stories. Let’s give our f/x guys some really good, Dalek blasting fun to work on! And for all these things, I’d say the episode was a success. This show was not for die hard sci-fi fans who pick things apart and want to be impressed by the brilliant science of everything. This was a show meant to quicken your pace and wink at you cause you’ve followed the series and know all the inside jokes. I mean, come one people, this was the show that last year delivered the Doctor, engulfed in light and flying across the room in perfect Jesus pose (or wuxia flying fighting stance, depending on your preference )

So was I satisfied. I’m sure you can tell by now the answer is yes. Do I acknowledge there were some weaknesses, hell yes. But Doctor Who is my guilty pleasure show. I watch it not for the science, or the stunning, bullet proof plot. I watch it because it is so f#$!king fun. And this episode delivered to my fun factor!

Now, to Stephen Moffat taking over, please, let the Daleks go for a while. They have been key players in 3 of the 4 season finales we’ve had so far, and it’s starting to feel stale.

So I guess this news is hardly new (I think it originally broke a few days ago) but since I have some time to myself, I felt compelled to write about it. As you may know (or may not know, I guess it depends if you are a Who fan or not) Doctor Who was resurected some years ago by the BBC with Russell T. Davies as the show’s chief writer and executive producer. The first Doctor (Christoper Eccleston) was brilliant and his new companion, Rose (played by Billie Piper) set a new high standard. While the show’s slightly cheese factor was still there, the show was far more dramatic and compelling than I remembered from my youth. After season one, David Tennant took over as the Doctor and eventually we had new companions as well. The show is now in its fourth season since the relaunch.

I have to say I am in love with the new Doctor Who, and every time there is a change, I cringe to see what disaster may come. When they announced that Eccleston was leaving, I thought they would never find anyone to fill his shoes. Well, I am very merry to say I was wrong. Not only has David Tennant filled the shoes, he has made them his own. In fact, for the first time, Tennant has been voted as the favourite Doctor of all time in polls by Doctor Who magazines, the first time anyone has beaten Tom Baker. So, back to my point, I was initially dismayed by this news. But then I found out who was taking over. The new man in charge of Who as of season five is Steve Moffat. Why am I psyched about this? Because the man has already written some of my favourite Doctor Who episodes ever!! The Empty Child? Excellent. The Girl in the Fireplace? Even better! Blink? My God, one of my favourite episodes ever (not to mention pretty scary as hell too!).

So once again, it seems the BBC might turn what could be disaster into something glorious. Now if they could just calm my fears and confirm Tennant will be around to see season five!