Doctor Who's Matt Smith Departing Show At Christmas

[Ferisar]

It's meant to excite the imaginations of children and to get them interested in history. To pretend anything else is to ignore the point of the show.

Or maybe you're wrong and there's far FAR more to it than that since there's many dark, complex themes and relatively few episodes focused on history.

I actually don't think that he meant that quite as it was stated. A lot of Doctor Who as of now may be partially aimed at a younger audience, but a lot of the subject matter has to do with finding interest in not just history, but the various cases of almost-science. It's just a fun thing for kids to be watching Doctor Who and want to know more about the actual functionality behind the thematic usage of the science concepts.

History is just mixed in the bag because time travel implies travel through historic times as a general rule of thumb.

I do still agree that there is room for something that is a little more edgy, but whimsy has been with the new Who regardless of writer. It was present in the darker Tennant episodes, it was present with Eccleston, it just got more spotlight with Smith. He also just has the persona for being silly and whimsical to begin with, at least seemingly.

And rubs his hands a lot.

OT:

I'm a bit sad. I really liked Smith, exactly because his Doctor was so lighthearted. I hope whoever replaces him gives us an interesting take on the character still, though.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Smith, I liked your version of The Doctor many times more than Tennant. (well, a big part of that isn't Tennant's fault; but the writing. Of course, it's rare when the writing ISN'T a problem in New Who from what I've seen..)

So I'm assuming that Smith decided to leave on his own, or did the studio decide to introduce the 12th Doctor for the 50th year, or was his contract simply up?

I'm guessing we don't know at all.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

It's meant to excite the imaginations of children and to get them interested in history. To pretend anything else is to ignore the point of the show.

Or maybe you're wrong and there's far FAR more to it than that since there's many dark, complex themes and relatively few episodes focused on history.

I actually don't think that he meant that quite as it was stated. A lot of Doctor Who as of now may be partially aimed at a younger audience, but a lot of the subject matter has to do with finding interest in not just history, but the various cases of almost-science. It's just a fun thing for kids to be watching Doctor Who and want to know more about the actual functionality behind the thematic usage of the science concepts.

History is just mixed in the bag because time travel implies travel through historic times as a general rule of thumb.

I do still agree that there is room for something that is a little more edgy, but whimsy has been with the new Who regardless of writer. It was present in the darker Tennant episodes, it was present with Eccleston, it just got more spotlight with Smith. He also just has the persona for being silly and whimsical to begin with, at least seemingly.

And rubs his hands a lot.

Oh I fully agree both on the subject of whimsy and that it's partially aimed at children. Both are certainly true and I for one love what whimsy they do add. It just irritates me when people seem to imply it's ALL for children and that means adult viewers don't get to have input.

Actually, I wish they would do more spinoff shows. The brilliance of the Sarah Jane Chronicles and Torchwood is that they all had the same awesome universe, but from a totally children oriented view and a totally adult oriented view, respectively, both vanilla Doctor Who in between.

 

[Albino Boo]

A few things.

The biggest point is that whoever is the next Dr has already been cast. Smith is due to leave Dr Who at the end of the 50 th anniversary show which has already has been filmed.

The next point is that regardless of the race or sex of the next Dr, the most probable reaction to the name is going to be Who?........ Ok I'm sorry but I couldn't resist it. The majority of actors that have played the role have not been that well known, the best known actors to take on the role have been Davison, Eccleston and Tennant. Even in the case of those 3 they have only had a few lead roles to their names at the time of casting. The main reason for it because unknown actors are cheap.

So I'm assuming that Smith decided to leave on his own, or did the studio decide to introduce the 12th Doctor for the 50th year, or was his contract simply up?

I'm guessing we don't know at all.

Smith is in film with Eva Mendes and which is being directed by Ryan Gosling. Hollywood beckons with much bigger paydays and not having to be in Cardiff for 14 weeks of the year.

 

[Robot Number V]

Well, he'll certainly be missed. I mean, Tennant was still my favorite but you know what? Matt Smith was still pretty goddamn good, and he stared a lot of my favorite episodes.

As far as the new Doctor goes...I want something really different. Someone older and maybe a little meaner, more like the very underrated Eccleson.

Spoiler: Like, for example, this guy.

{NOTE: There may be some spoilers for Supernatural in there. Also, the most relevant part happens about 2 minutes in.}
I mean, holy SHIT. I'm not saying he'd have to be that mean ALL the time, but if he ever WAS that mean, he'd fucking OWN it.

Or, you know, Benedict Cumberbatch. Obviously.

 

[frobalt]

A few things.

The biggest point is that whoever is the next Dr has already been cast. Smith is due to leave Dr Who at the end of the 50 th anniversary show which has already has been filmed.

Actually, the news points to it being at the end of the christmas special. I'm curious as to whether the christmas special forms the 3rd part of a trilogy including The Name of The Doctor and the 50th, or whether it's just a 1 off. Hopefully the former.

Also, if they have already filmed and not cast, I'm sure it'll be easy for them to simply film the new Doctor's half of the regeneration once they have cast.

 

[Elate]

Good. Maybe this will be a chance to get back to things more related to soft science than fucking space magic. Seriously I haven't been able to watch any of Matt Smith's stuff because of the direction the writers took his character and stories, like that one with killer snow, and living tree people.

 

[Froggy Slayer]

Maybe we'll get Dylan Moran as the Doctor. I can always dream, can't I?

 

[ellers07]

I'm going to miss Matt Smith. I thought for sure I wasn't going to like him after watching Tennant's years, but he quickly became my favorite. For what it's worth (which is nothing), I do have to disagree with people about the writing. For me, the Matt Smith years have had some of the best written episodes out of the series, as well as some of the best story arcs. I guess that's the difficult part of a show like this. With so many actors and writers portraying The Doctor, how could you not divide the fans?

In any case, good luck to the next guy... or girl. They've got some mighty big shoes to fill. I thought Eccleston was great, I liked Tennant even more and then somehow Smith topped them both. I'd love to see that trend continue.

 

[coolerthanice21]

Personally, I don't think they should introduce a female doctor because Moffat hasn't proven he can write good female characters. All of Moffat's female companions have been one dimensional variations of River Song, and we do not need River Song as the Doctor.

 

[octafish]

I'd like to see them get one of the actors from the BBC show Robin Hood that aired for three seasons during 06-09. You have a great pool of people to pick from there. If I could pick anyone it would be Kieth Allen without a doubt. He's older though so I doubt that he has a real shot. Barring him I'd be happy to see what Richard Armitage would bring to the role. If they want to go more in line with the past two incarnations you could get Harry Lloyd or Sam Troughton or even David Harewood if they wanted to cast a black man.

At the risk of posting a low content comment I really only have two words for you. Idris Alba. If they can summon up the money to coax him from Hollywood that is. I really can think of no-one I would prefer to see in the role...except possibly Christopher Lee... love would not be the answer if Lee.was the Doctor.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Okay, Moffat, now is the time to move away from fairy tale whimsy and move back to a more grounded approach. Do something different with the next Doctor. Whether it's an older Doctor (new for NewWho) or a black Doctor or even a female Doctor. This is the time, Moffat! Don't faff it up!
As for Matt Smith ... it's been fun, Matt. You've given us plenty of fantastic episodes, performances and a very memorable Doctor. You'll be missed.

This.

I quite enjoyed Matt - and here's hoping we get something new and different. I'd love to see a female doctor (see Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death, staring Rowen Atkison as the Doctor for an amusing example of that).

Again, cheers to Matt Smith.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

I have noticed in the Series Game of Thrones, they have a lot of people who have had roles on Doctor Who. Perhaps S.M could pilfer one of GoT's actors for the next Doctor.

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

Hey you guys, I've been doing some pretty serious number crunching, and by math Smith is the Eleventh or the Twelfth Doctor, depending on how they work out how to retrofit Hurt into the backstory.

Now, I'm not the universal mind when it comes to the Worshipful and Ancient Lore of Doctor Who, but Time Lords only get twelve regenerations. So how are they going to continue the show? Will they actually end it? Will they call upon an ancient plot-hole?

I think the latter is more likely.

 

[Kurt Cristal]

I read an article about new doctor speculations. One of them, can't find the link, good candidates for female doctors. It'd be an interesting change for sure. The #1 contender of the top 5 list on the site was Tilda Swinton, and that she could pull it off on looks alone, but that her acting is also spectacular. To this I say... yeah, actually. She has a very "alien" look to her. Go to google images. I'll wait............... You back? Okay. AMIRITE?

 

[FalloutJack]

Alright, place your bets: Who believes the next Doctor will actually be a ginger?

 

[FEichinger]

I still despise Moffat as showrunner, so ... here's hoping he gets something right this time. We need a true back-to-the-roots Doctor, not all these young quirky-for-the-sake-of-being-quirky Doctors.

Will they actually end it? Will they call upon an ancient plot-hole?

I think the latter is more likely.

River Song's first appearance already more or less killed that one.

 

[Zeraki]

I can't believe it's been three years since he started already. It's been a fun ride with Matt, he quickly became my favorite incarnation of the Doctor.

While I'm sad to see him go, I'm excited to see what'll happen next. It'll be interesting to see who they pick.

 

[Ulquiorra4sama]

Hey you guys, I've been doing some pretty serious number crunching, and by math Smith is the Eleventh or the Twelfth Doctor, depending on how they work out how to retrofit Hurt into the backstory.

Now, I'm not the universal mind when it comes to the Worshipful and Ancient Lore of Doctor Who, but Time Lords only get twelve regenerations. So how are they going to continue the show? Will they actually end it? Will they call upon an ancient plot-hole?

I think the latter is more likely.

Pretty sure they already made some kind of excuse up for why the Doctor has unlimited regenerations(since apparently Time Lords can take away or grant more regenerations... somehow), although i can't for the life of me remember how.

OT: He gave us plenty of one-liners and crappy Christmas specials, but he will still be sorely missed :/
I will admit though; i wanna see the Master again. Get some casting on that, please.