By Rob Bricken in
TV
Friday, Mar. 19 2010 @ 9:51AM
I kid, I kid. It's not like the Tenth Doctor didn't have his share of TARDIS mishaps, and this doesn't seem nearly so unreasonable as getting hit by a Space Titanic. At any rate, here's the first actual clip from the first episode of Doctor Who starring Matt Smith as the Doctor, trying to fix his TARDIS and chatting with a young future companion Amy Pond. Overall, the short clip isn't blowing my mind with awesomeness, but neither does it make me worried. Of course, it is very short.
I tell you what does make me excited, though -- Steven Moffat. As those who follow me on Twitter know, I finally caught Moffat's Jekyll series earlier this week and was just blown away. It was like a mini-Lost, full of suspense and mysteries and awesome moments and a great dual performance by James Nesbitt. It went off the rails a bit at the end, but that's certainly something I'm used to with Doctor Who, so now I'm really looking forward to this new season.
23 comments
Comments
McQ said:
I can't wait.... I want this to be on now.... NOW DAMN IT
FishBiscuit said:
I'm really excited to see if this guy can live up to David Tennant. That being said, it looks like he does at least have some decent energy.
And also, I'm right there with you on the Jekyll thing. Totally worth checking out for those of you who haven't seen it.
Purple Monkey Dishwasher said:
Tennant carried the last series.
I will give him time to settle in.
JessT said:
I was worried about how Matt Smith was going to portray the Doctor after Tennant's awesome stint, but from that clip, I'm finally excited by the prospect! He does look like he has the energy and we'll just have to wait and see what happens!
Jon said:
I tend to avoid trailers on stuff I know I'm going to watch, but it does make me feel better that this trailer is getting so much love.
And yeah, Moffat's Jekyll, while flawed, was quite fun. It was what sold me on Gina Bell pre-Leverage, and it solidified my man-crush on James Nesbitt. I will watch him in just about anything after Jekyll and Murphy's Law.
Jekyll is also what originally made me so nervous about Moffat's take-over of Who. There was so much talk about Paterson Joseph taking the role, and that freaked me out. His performance in Jekyll was atrocious, and Survivors has confirmed my distaste for his work. The world dodged a bullet when he wasn't chosen as Who.
Doctragon said:
Yes. Gaining Moffart as a full-time writer very nearly makes up for loosing Tennant. Think of how great it would have been to have a full series of Moffart-Tennant goodness. Now cry that it won't happen. Still, I'm excited for Gaiman's episode.
Kevin said:
Doctor Who: Coupling with Daleks!
Kevin said:
I like Matt Smith thus far, although I don't want him to be too much like Tennant. If he has the same manic energy, his Doctor won't be distinct enough. Each actor has always turned their Doctor into something new.
spazweez said:
Jekyll was fantastic. I've shown my DVDs of that mini to three different people and the response has been the same each time: I show them the first episode and then they ask if they can watch the rest right away. And I happily "endure" another marathon viewing of the series. They all come away loving Nesbitt and Moffat.
And pre-Leverage and PRE-Jekyll, Gina Bell was one of the regulars on Coupling (the fantastic original Britcom, not the US abomination). Clever and hysterical. Written by...Steven Moffat.
The dude can do it all.
Jess said:
I'm the only one in my family who's actually excited about Matt Smith. No one else can get over Tennant, but I'm really excited about the new season. And I love the special tag you have for Matt Smith. No matter how many times I see it, I still laugh.
B.C. Cakes said:
I've got 1 more Season 3 disc to watch. Then I have to watch Season 4. Then I have to watch the 4 specials (which aren't available at my library so I've asked for it for my birthday in about 10 days). Then I'll be able to watch Season 5 on BBC America.
Old Fart @ Play said:
Jekyll rocked! I give props to my local library for adding it to their video collection. It made me buy the DVD for my own. Everyone I have shown the first episode to wanted to see the rest of the series ASAP.
Andrew Nattan said:
I just don't get the full-on Tennant love. Yeah, he's a good Doctor compared to the cavalcade of crap (full time) doctors before him (Eccleston phoning it in, McCoy chewing the scenery and Colin Baker ruining the 1980s single-handedly), but is he really better than Tom Baker, Patrick Troughton or Jon Pertwee?
It's like putting Brosnan on a massive pedestal because he couldn't physically be as bad as the Bond before him.
Pedestrienne replied to Andrew Nattan:
I agree on Tennant. Meh. I liked him at first and by the end I couldn't stand the sight of him. His portrayal of the Doctor started to come over to me as vainglorious and self-satisfied. I completely loathed his performance in his final story.
That said, I am always willing to give a new Doctor a chance. My all time favourite TV show is Press Gang (for any of you who haven't seen it and want more Moffat, go hunt it down!), so I am willingly placing my faith in the writing for the new series.
I also heard general good things from people who had been on set with Matt Smith in Cardiff. That they were impressed with his performance, and that he was polite and friendly with all of the crew, asking how machinery he was unfamiliar with worked, etc.
BulkSlash said:
That was pretty decent. Matt Smith's short scene at the end of TEOT had me a bit worried, he seemed to be doing the same Jim Carrey performance Tennant did, which I never liked. He seems more eccentric and less hyperactive here, which can only be a good thing.
Great casting with the little girl in that clip, it was immediately obvious she was meant to be a young Amy Pond even before I read it.
DoctorSmashy said:
The Guardian have an interesting article on the first episode, which they got an early viewing of. It's not online yet, but it mentions a new, steampunk Tardis interior with three levels AND OTHER ROOMS! This can only be awesome, right?
WarrenGHarding said:
If that little girl really is Amy Pond, then I think the gag is that he says "5 minutes" then it winds up being ten years. That wouldn't be out of character for the Doctor and how 'accurate' he typically flies the TARDIS.
Good times.
DoctorSmashy said:
Oh, and Jekyll is excellent, with a very creepy ending. James Nesbitt is a true badass.
Shadowtag said:
I keep thinking he's too much like Tennant. What I enjoyed most about Tennant was he was in sharp contrast to Eccleston's Doctor so it drove home the fact he was a new personality, but Smith seems to be Tennant + Jay Leno's chin.
But like Rob said, Moffat's damn good so I trust him. I've only ever said that about Christopher Nolan.
And Bryan Singer and Geoff Johns. Aw hell...
I think the issue there is that there's a bit of conservativeness sneaking into the show - it is, after all, pretty much the number one drama in the UK, and it seems like they're a bit worried that the usual radical change will run off a lot of the younger / more casual viewers who are used to Tennant's style. As such, the Doctor, on first glance, remains high-energy and has a catchphrase that kids can easily shout back at the TV.
Those of us who are used to regenerations would be fine with a radical shift, but in the show's home country it's got to play to a much broader audience.
However, I expect that Moffat realises all of this and is going to develop 11 as time progresses. Although they didn't do the usual trick of shooting the first few episodes out of broadcast order so that a more complete concept is actually first to hit the air, which is a bit of a surprise....
Prodijy said:
Jekyll was worth the cost of a lifetime netflix membership even if you never rented another DVD.
