Hmmmm...looking at his TV.com credits, I think there is two Matt Smiths out there....either that or he's done a lot of different stuff in his career.

Matt Smith (I) has done very little TV work, notably an ongoing role in Party Animals and two guest spots in Billie Piper vehicles. Here at TV.com, his Party Animals credits have been assigned to an older ID originally created to credit another actor (a 40-year-old Canadian?) for an appearance on Andromeda.

I'll fix the link. I thought it was the correct one because it had the Party Animals credit and I knew he'd been in that. I guess I have some guide consolidation work to do coming out of this as well.

It's certainly an interesting choice as I remember him as a young guy in Secret Diary of a Call Girl, much younger than the current doctor. Don't know if that's a good thing or not...

I'm pretty sure, the Matt Smith (I) guide is the correct guide for the credits - I remember creating that one. There are several IDs here with that name. 496090 looks like a US guy, 35505 looks like a reality show contestant and 125405 is that Canadian voice actor for these anime series. It looks like the Party Animals credits need to be moved. If you need help with these credits, or if I made a mistake creating that guide, let me know.

He is young, D. He's 26. That would make him 11 years younger than David Tennant. I guess we'll see if that's good or bad. I've made submissions to transfer the credits to 601983, so all should be as it should once they're accepted.




TOB and Mari, if you read this, what are your thoughts on the choice?

My thoughts...the producers played it smart with this choice by avoiding the choice of a well known actor. I wonder, though, if they looked for someone who stay in the role for more than one set of eps...you'd have to think they're eyeing long term stability with this choice.

Well, I never thought that they would go for an actor who is too well known for other roles, nor did I think there was a chance that Moffat would indulge in tokenism. But I was surprised that they went for an actor who is so very young and with such little TV background. It's early, but I'm not overly optimistic. The actor didn't make much of an impression in The Ruby in the Smoke, and I was less than inspired by his brief interview in DWC today. Obviously, any professional actor will do the best job he can with the scripts he is given, but, more than for almost any other drama, this is a show where the actor's interpretation and personality is key. This is established early, and the writers write to that template. I've no idea what kind of Doctor Matt Smith will be.

I compare my reaction to that when I found out that David Tennant had the gig: I was immediately enthusiastic, as I rated him highly from his other work, knew him to be a genuine fan of the show, and was confident that he would build on the excellent work done by Eccleston and take the show to new heights. I think he did so. I do have to trust Moffat's judgement, though: he's in a better position to make the call than I am.

It's worth noting that Tennant, while enjoying a moderately visible profile before 2005, has seen this raised enormously through his association with the show. Yet, while the revival was an established property by the time he appeared on screen, he had been cast before the first episode aired: it might never have become the hit show that it is. Smith, on the other hand, is walking into a show that is already a phenomenon. It will raise his profile enormously and I think he is likely to be tempted away at an early stage. With only 14 episodes a year, we really need an actor who will commit to three or four seasons. (For commercial reasons, but also because fans know that the Doctor can only regenerate twelve times. We've rather wasted the Doctor's sixth, eighth and ninth incarnations!)

I agree with that to a certain extent, Mari. I think there are some more well known actors who would have worked in the role, but it can also pose problems. I also think they chose someone younger with the hope that he would remain for several years.




TOB, I believe I share some of your misgivings about the choice. I was surprised to learn that David Tennant had been cast as the Tenth Doctor before the first episode with Christopher Eccleston had aired. I don't know if that was common knowledge or not, but it's not something I'd been aware of before.




The fact that a younger actor might be lured away early is something that occurred to me as well. I feel they'll have to come up with a plausible solution to the regeneration issue since they'll need more and perhaps sooner than planned. I agree that The Doctor's sixth, eighth and ninth incarnations have been wasted. Earlier this evening, I was just thinking of Paul McGann and what a tragedy it was that we didn't get to see more of him on screen in the role. He's one of my favorite Doctors.

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I like the choice. I'm sad to see Tennant go (and I loved his original accent in Doctor Who Confidential) but Smith seems to have this quirky personality that I expect will translate well to an on-screen role.

I hope that's true Expat.

I personaly have not heard of him, but i shall wait and pass my judgement when i see his performance on DW! i was hopeing for James Nesbitt though! he would have been an awesome Doctor.

I was hoping Eccleston would come back. Now that would have been a stunt. A retro-generation?

I'm trying to be open minded about it as well, Jeric-Ho. It's not exactly easy for me, though. I rather liked the idea of David Morrissey in the role, but I knew he didn't want to make the commitment to it.




It certainly would have been a stunt, francklloyd.

Do you ever think the Doctor will regenerate as a woman in years to come? would that be even possible?

I hate it when a favorite actor leaves the show. I hope the new actor is excellent. At first I wondered if it was Matt Smith (III) who is a voice actor in some of the shows that I edit.

As it stands, I don't think it's possible, Jeric-Ho, but I can see them writing something into the story that would make it possible.




It's difficult when that happens, Sesho. No, it's not the voice actor for the shows you edit; although, I did link to his guide by mistake when I initially posted the blog.

Ahh! i was just wondering as i think it would be a good twist if it did happen at some point, obviously it would have to be a great female actor though! =)

The BBC have been floating the "it might be a woman" rumour since the 1980s. It never will be, as that would throw out everything we ever learned about the Doctor and his race in the show and in the novels. Moffat did cast Joanna Lumley as the 13th Doctor in the 1999 Comic Relief special, and Arabella Weir played an alternative third Doctor in Exile, one of the (strictly non-canonical) Doctor Who Unbound audio adventures.

As far as I'm concerned, the eighth Doctor still lives. We've never seen his regeneration, and Ancestor Cell opened up an interesting possibility that I would like to see realised on screen one day. If I'd been show runner I'd have moved heaven and earth to get Paul McGann on board. Apart from anything else, it would have allowed either Eccleston or McGann to return to the show further down the line, either by McGann morphing into Eccleston or Tennant picking up from where he left off. If neither wanted to return in, say, 2013, we could finally have seen Tennant morph into an 11th Doctor at the beginning of a new season.

I believe that it is best for to keep an open mind. It makes it easier in the end. I really would have liked to see David Morriesey (sp?) in the role. I realize of course, that it would have been highly unlikely. Anyway, I did watch MS's brief interview. I see a lot of potential. I think that he can pull it off. I just hope that his lack of experience will not lead to overwhelming him. It is a big responsibility. The entire world will be watching. Best wishes to him.

It would be a great twist, Jeric-Ho, but I agree with what TOB said about it. That doesn't mean it won't ever happen, but I'd prefer they didn't mess with the show that way.




I'm not familiar with Ancestor Cell, TOB. I'll have to look into that because I'd like to know what the 'interesting possibility' is that it opened. Is there some way to have McGann do a few episodes so they can tell that part of the story? I know I'm just dreaming, but I'd really love that.




I think Morrissey would have been a good Doctor ascaffo. I just don't think he wanted to commit to it. There's nothing wrong with that. I hope the same for Matt Smith.

I haven't seen Matt Smith in anything except the interviews about Doctor Who. I like the look of him, so I think that the show will be okay. He'll take a little getting used to, and I will miss David Tennant, but we don't have to worry about that for a year.

We don't get enough of David Tennant this year, Sassy.