Unofficial Tex Murphy

So I finally got to see the 11th Hour here. Wow that was great! I really liked it. I think Matt Smith is already growing on me. I do like the return to old timey clothes with the bow tie and suspenders. Kind of reminds me of Patrick Troughton.

Gotta say I don't like the new credits and theme song. Just doesn't sound right to me.

I just got back from watching The Eleventh Hour. Out of the Doctor's we've had for this new series, this was clearly the best Doctor debut. This is the introduction to the Doctor we should have had back in 2005. Why did I love it so much? Well, for me, this Doctor is more down to Earth (excuse the pun) than that of Tennant's interpretation of the role. I always felt that Tennant's use of humour (such as rambling, random shouting and spontaneous quirks) in some ways forced the audience to appreciate him. Whereas, with Smith's interpretation, there's certainly some anarchy there but there's also a great deal of subtlety to through his off the cuff remarks such as "Where's your boyfriend...the good looking one" while in the presence of Rory. In fact, out of any of the Doctor Who i've seen, including the classic era, this is by far the most laugh-out-loud moments i've experienced.

One of the highlights for me was early on in the episode when the Doctor is handcuffed to the radiator. In the RTD era, if any of his Doctors were in that position, it either would have been straight out with the sonic screwdriver or an obscured movement of the wrists covered up with a facetious one-liner to get move us on. Here, the Doctor needs his companion to undo the restraints or at least wait for the sonic screwdriver. These moments really added depth to the character and gave him a far less comic book character type feel. The Doctor here is facetious, arrogant but also contemplative. Where Tennant would merely ramble a solution, Smith reasons. Another noteworthy quality was the quality of performances, not only from the lead cast but also from the guest and supporting cast. The episode was extremely well shot and the CGI, explosions and overall spectacle was kept to a minimum. This is something I felt that the RTD era really lacked at times as, much like some of the performances, there was a very forceful means of maintaining the attention of the audience. Here, it really did come down to the dialogue and dramatic tension. That's not to say that there weren't moments like that in the RTD era or in any way to describe it as totally shallow (I loved his vision), but it would come and go. Instead, I get a feeling that Moffat will be more consistent with his approach to character and plot development.

Smith's Doctor truly brings out the alien in the title character where I felt it was absent in some of Tennant's tenure. That's not to discredit or express any dislike for Tennant. Waters of Mars is, after all, my favourite Doctor Who episode. However, I felt that even in his first episode, Tennant (at times) got to a point where he was effectively waving his arms about and throwing his voice to keep the audience interested. So far, I haven't detected this at all with Smith. Instead, he seems to invite the audience with a more slightly passive tone so when he is bombastic, it actually stands for something rather than something that can sometimes be gratutious. Furthermore, from this, i'm actually open to the idea of the Doctor having a closer relationship with his companion because...I actually feel the character deserves it more than any other Doctor because I feel this interpretation of the Doctor could truly unearth the human and alien differences between the two instead of having an alien that relates too seamlessly with the humans.


Interestingly, when I read initial reviews I was worried the tone of the show would play down to the younger audience too much. But, I was surprised and relieved to find that there is actually quite a gloomy atmosphere to the feel of the show. You can sense from the shady production and from Smith's performance that there are skeletons to be revealed in this series. I'm confident that the best is yet to come.

The TARDIS interior is also brilliant. Again, as with the overall episode, it's what we should have had back in 2005. Doctor Who is really back. This is the most excited I have ever been for a new Doctor. Smith could well end up being my Doctor, just when I thought nothing of the modern incarnation of the series could surpass Eccleston.

Until next week

I do agree that Smith's doctor is more toned down then Tennant's. I did enjoy his wildness but agree a more traditional style Doctor is good.

Fish sticks and custard?!? Eww.

I do think it's much better when the story relies more on the acting than the special effects. People tend get lazy if all they do is work on eye candy and don't care about the characters or the story.

I saw some previews that looked like they were bringing back River Song. My only question was I thought she said her Doctor looked older that David Tennant. Did I miss something?

Can't wait to talk about the next episode.

What's River Song? Remind me

I agree with both (Joel and Sam) about the show's good points. I preferred the second episode to the first, but it definitely seems to hark back to my childhood memories of the show. I think the titles tune is more like the old style, and I personally quite like the change.

Change is such a hard thing to accept isn't it!?

Demonlawyer,
In the episodes "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead" she was the archeologist of the group. She knew the Doctor but he had not met her yet. She said she called for her Doctor but David Tennant arrived instead. To get him to trust her, she whispered his real name in his ear.

Yeah I know change can be rough. Thankfully they've prepared us for it. I love it when they scroll through the pictures of all the past Doctors. It gives a great sense of history about the brilliance of the show.

For Dr. Who fans...I found this little comic strip. It's animated! Kinda. You just have to wait for it.

http://www.dernwerks.com/HWC/?p=201

Did anyone catch the Dalek ep? Any good? We're two week behind everyone else.

I watched the "Victory for the Daleks" episode this past weekend. It wasn't very good imho. Quite disappointing. It was missing something that is difficult to pin point.
Just to clarify, I enjoyed the first two episodes (much to my surprise) and have come to like Matt Smith as the new Doctor. He won't ever be my favorite (David Tennant & Tom Baker hold those spots) but he is a good Doctor in his own right.

However, the latest episode was poorly written or directed or something. Solutions were found too quickly to be taken seriously. And the answers and actions didn't seem to fit properly. That isn't the only thing either. The Daleks motivations and methods seem to be inconsistent too. The Doctor seemed a little off as well as Amy.

The best description I can give is that the Doctor Who universe was "tacked on" to a short story not truly meant for it. Considering this was supposed to be the big return of the Daleks, it should have been MUCH better.

That's the best description I can give without giving away plot spoilers. Hopefully, this will make more sense once you see it. I would certainly like to hear everyone's take on it.

Next week's episode (in the UK) looks to be pretty good, however. Finally, we get to see the first time River Song meets the Doctor. But his second time?! Got to love that "wibbly wobbly timey wimey" stuff...

Ah I remember her, but didn't realise that was her name. Should be interesting! And what she knows about his sonic screwdriver too.

I'm a little annoyed at the end when the TARDIS spits out a new screwdriver for the Doctor. I had expected him to make is own (like how the Jedi build their own light sabers).

I'm pissed that they made a new screwdriver for him. Ruins the continuity. River Song had the Doctor's screwdriver when he met her for the first time in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. And back then it was blue. And he recognized it as his (Surely there are more than one sonic screwdriver in all of space and time, so him recognizing his blue screwdriver would imply that it's the same one he's carrying around.)

However, he loses it and he gets a new one which is green. Did they forget? Did they expect us to forget?

Geeks are like elephants. When they sit on your fence, it's time to get a new fence.

...or wait, maybe it was something about having a decent memory. I forget.

GERITOOOOL!!

-Fred

I'm with you Fred. Us crazy and obsessed fans notice these things!

Unless the Doctor got his blue one at the future equivalent of Walmart and they are all identical. So he'll lose the green one for a while then gets another blue one in the future. The logic just doesn't add up any way you think about it.

It looks as though Charles Cecil, creator of the Broken Sword games, has collaborated with the BBC on a series of episodic adventure games due to be released this year for the series. The engine is said to be based on the 3D Broken Sword engine. Smith and Gillan will reprise their respective roles. Best of all - they're free!

Announcement:

http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2 ... games.html

Official Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEVF_TfKsrc

I thought that Tenant's Doctor simply recognised a sonic screwdriver, not that it was necessarily his. Also I thought he acknowleged that it was different to his one, so maybe there are a few more screwdrivers to go before we see this one appear.

But yes, it should only be right that the doctor makes it into what he wants, not that the tardis builds it for him. That's a bit naff.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8616413.stm

Interesting read here about how they got the idea for the transformations from one Doctor to the other.