"The Doctor will see you now!!"

Atraxi:  YOU ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD.
The Doctor:  No, but I've put a lot of work into it.

Doctor Who, The Eleventh Hour.

Easter Sunday, and I honestly have to wonder how many people are spending any time at church today? When I was younger, Easter Sunday was a significant religious holiday which more or less closed down the country, but I see that a lot of stores and restaurants are open, and the Easter Bunny seems to be as much of an object of worship as Christ.

I can't be too critical, though, since you might say that I have also chosen to worship at a different altar - I've just finished watching The Eleventh Hour, the first episode of the new season of Doctor Who.

It's very tempting to make unfair comparisons between the previous incumbents and Matt Smith, the new Doctor.  (I briefly considered titling this post: David Tennant Light.)  However, I think that it's worth taking a moment to consider the unique nature of the Doctor Who series.

Unlike any other ongoing series, Doctor Who has an institutionalized method whereby the actor playing the main character can be replaced.  The process of regeneration allows the program to be virtually immortal (rather like the Doctor himself).  Actors can grow bored or grow old, move on, get fired, and the character simply regenerates - presto!  A new Doctor takes the place of the old one.

However, this process presents an odd challenge for both actors and writers. For the actor, it's a bit like doing Hamlet or Macbeth - the part has been played by many other actors, each of whom has left his mark, and it's now up to the new performer to offer what will hopefully be a new and different interpretation of the role while still remaining true to the essential nature of the character.

For the writer, it's almost the opposite.  The writer starts by wanting to be faithful to the character of the Doctor, as they have to be - the Doctor is the center around which the show revolves, after all. But there's always been a tacit understanding that after a regeneration, the Doctor is a new person, which allows for some innovation, and of course each new actor has strengths and weaknesses that need to be written to.

So, all that being said, how does Matt Smith fit into the Doctor template?

Short answer:  he's a pretty damn good fit.  In fact, he's such a good fit that I completely forgot about the fact that he was the new guy while watching the episode.  He's less dramatic than David Tennant was in his first appearance, but again, different actors, and I'd be willing to say that it might just be that he's making a deliberate effort to bring some steadiness to the role. As the youngest actor to portray the Doctor, it may be that the 27-year old Smith is trying to balance his perceived youth with some gravity, and we'll see how that develops over the long run.

Second-guessing aside, I'd give Mr. Smith a strong A, possibly even an A+ for his debut, but I'll certainly be watching that mark as the season develops.  Oh, and there's none of this David Tennant four-specials-a-year coyness, they're going right into a standard 13-episode run, with a fresh program next week.  The trailer at the end of the debut episode showed an intriguing mix for the upcoming shows:  olive drab Daleks with Union Jack flag decals, Stonehenge, vampires, Spitfires in space, lizard men, and (I think) van Gogh.

As always, I'll be downloading the episodes as they come, but those of you with more patience, less computer savvy, or just a stronger sensitivity to the international copyright laws will be able to watch the new season starting April 17th on the Space Channel.

- Sid

P.S.  The dissipated looking Easter Bunny is my niece, Jody.  There's a matching shot of a little fuzzy tail, but I'm trying to keep a Family rating for this blog, or at least PG.

P.P.S.  At the start of every week we have a staff meeting which starts out with everyone saying what they did on the weekend.  I was the only person who downloaded a Doctor Who episode...sigh...sometimes it's lonely.