The End of Time

Well, I watched the second half of The End of Time all three times that it was broadcast on BBC America today, and I have to say that I don't hate Matt Smith.

It is hard to get a reading on someone who has less than 5 minutes in the role so far, but he was actually better than I was expecting. I will need some time to get used to his voice though. It seems to crack in odd places.

He seemed to be trying to play the role the way David Tennant has played it. I am sure that he will soon make it his own though. Every regeneration has the monumental task of winning over an audience that has fallen in love with his predecessor. David Tennant did it when he took over after Christopher Eccelston, and he did it spectacularly. Matt Smith will now do it in his own way.

I am more concerned about the writing than I am with the actor taking over the role. We have all watched stories written by Stephen Moffat, and they are some of my favorite stories, but I am afraid that Moffat will abandon all of the characters that we have come to love in an attempt to make Matt Smith's Doctor stand on his own. That would be a mistake.

Captain Jack, Rose Tyler, Sarah Jane, Martha Jones, Donna Noble and Wilfred Mott are all friends of the Doctor, and even though he has a new face I am sure that they all still feel the same way about the Doctor as they always have. I really want to see them interact with Matt Smith's Doctor, maybe have Jack make some sort of crack about how the Doctor is now younger than he is, and maybe even have David Tennant come back for a show as the Meta-crisis Doctor that we now believe is living happily with Rose in that parallel world. I want to know more about the relationship between the Doctor and Professor River Song, and I want Jenny to find her "father" eventually. I think those are shows that all Doctor Who fans deserve to see.

I know that Moffat is a brilliant writer, and I know that he will be utilizing many of the existing monsters and adversaries as well as introducing some new ones. I just hope that he will also respect the fan’s love of previous companions and not write them out completely.