The Regeneration of Doctor Who

It’s been a while.

Recently one of my favorite shows ended one era, and is about to begin another one. That show is Doctor Who. Much like how the Doctor regenerates into someone almost completely different with elements of his former self still there, so is the show about to do the same. Not only is the extremely popular David Tennat leaving the show, so is head writer and show runner Russell T Davies.

The void they are leaving is going to be filled with relatively unknown (both sides of the pond from my understanding) Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and popular writer Steven Moffat as head writer and show runner. From Matt Smith’s spiffy bowtie to the brighter blue of the Tardis, and even the retro look of the new logo, they are going to try and reclaim a lot of elements of the classic series.

So far a lot of fans seem to be upset over Matt Smith taking over. Many of the more rabid fans are tearing apart the trailer that aired after “The End of Time”, complaining about how Matt Smith is shown punching a fellow with a smile and shooting a gun. The thing that many fans seem to be missing is that even the Tenth Doctor was known to show some violence, and yes, hold a gun. Off the top of my head I know two episodes where the Tenth Doctor holds a gun, and taken out of context could make him look like a regular member of the NRA.

One of the things I’m hoping that not too many fans do is immediately dismiss Matt Smith’s portrayal of the Doctor because he’s not Tennat. Yes, he has an emo haircut that is rather ugly, but I’d hope we can get past that. The great thing about the Doctor is that he doesn’t stay the same. He changes. By constantly changing it keeps things fresh, and gives us a new perspective on the universe they inhabit. While Tennat gave a tremendous performance and made him one of my favorite Doctors (I actually really got into Doctor Who after seeing Tennat play Casanova in a movie of the same name), it’s time to see where else we can go, and how far the envelop can pushed in a new direction.

The main thing to remember while watching the series when they start airing it is this. If Matt Smith does a horrible portrayal of the Doctor, he can be regenerated into another actor.