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Actor Matt Smith Will Be 11th Doctor Who
Jerry Smith was among a large number of readers letting us know that the 11th Doctor Who has been named. It's Matt Smith, 26, who will be the youngest actor to play the time-traveling Doctor. The head of drama at BBC Wales said this about Smith's audition: "It was abundantly clear that he had that 'Doctor-ness' about him. You are either the Doctor or you are not."
I heard about this earlier I am waiting out to see his performance as the doctor, before I start judging.
Who?
Did the the 10th Doctor's regeneration count since he never changed ?
btw, get the 1st (new) season on DVD - there's episodes Sci-Fi never chose to air for some reason... and they're awesome.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
Seems like they have been burning through regenerations in the latter Dr. Who series. What are they gonna do when they hit twelve? No more Dr. Who?
I hope its not just so doctor who can become yet another 'only beautiful people allowed' show.
Mind you, the BBC are pretty careful about casting for their prime real estate, so he may just be the best choice.
For me though, although I liked Eccleston and Tennant, I've always considered Tom Baker to be the definitive Doctor. When will they bring back the mad scarfs?
A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' - D. Adams
Since it wasn't included in the summary and searching for "Matt Smith" brings up page after page of listings on IMDB, here's the profile of the actor in question.
It looks like he hasn't done much in his career so far, and (other than one episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl) I don't see anything that American audiences would be familiar with there.
Goo goo g'joob.
The same thing as when they were faced with parallel universes that under any circumstances can never be crossed, because it's utterly impossible and ooh let's have Rose appear in another episode and Mickey cross over.... whoops
My UID is prime... is yours?
More importantly, when are they bringing back K-9?
Seems like they have been burning through regenerations in the latter Dr. Who series. What are they gonna do when they hit twelve? No more Dr. Who?
Yeah for a near immortal race they sure don't live long. One regeneration barely lasted a season and the last one only lasted a few years.
It wont matter, they will just 'reset' it somehow.
It is TV remember, not reality.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Apart from that, he was good in The Ruby In The Smoke (and it was a more faithful adaptation than The Golden Compass =X)
Although, would her memories of "romance" with women be erased or carried through?
I dreamed of Freud: What does this mean?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7808697.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7807996.stm
At the very least they'd better cut his hair,
emo doc can gtfo
He's getting younger and younger every time.
I like how changing actors re-ignites the show every so often. Kinda like Batman but in with an explanation that fits. :)
His personality during the interview strikes me as VERY compelling. Hope he can pull it off.
Strange thing is, seems more people in the U.S. seem to know about Torchwood than Doctor Who. My mother loves Torchwood.
If I remember that question was asked a long time ago. If I remember correctly the producers answered by reminding people about the "Keepers of Traken" story. It was with the introduction of Nysaa's character. I think it was episode 18. The story had the "Master" returning and he had used up all of his 12 regeneration but found a way to extend his regenerations. So I think the good Dr. has a way.
You have to remember there used to be more Time Lords in the universe. Now with fewer Time Lords, in order for the number of regenerations to remain constant, The Dr must regenerate more often. Otherwise, we could see a localized destabilization with the accumulated regeneration energies normally expended.
Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
I never heard about this whole "regeneration" thing before. I am not exactly an expert on the show - I never watched it before 6 months ago - and have just been watching reruns out-of-order, but am completely hooked.
Anyway - I think it will be hard for someone else to measure up to Tennant!
Not to mention the little fact that Gallifrey is no more. Who knows what changes the Time Wars(tm) unleashed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regeneration_(Doctor_Who)#In_the_series
The BBC's Series 4 FAQ suggests that now the Time Lord social order has been destroyed, the Doctor may be able to circumvent the limit on regenerations; it says: "Now that his people are gone, who knows? Time Lords used to have 13 lives.
In "The Sound of Drums" (2007) the Master is revealed to have been granted a new body by the Time Lords during the Time War with at least one new regeneration. Non-Gallifreyans are also seen to regenerate in Underworld (1978) and Mawdryn Undead (1983), but with adverse side effects.
Sounds to me like regeneration is a socially-imposed limit to keep them from living forever. ;)
But they aren't immortal... found this interesting tidbit:
In The Mind of Evil the Master points a conventional firearm at the Doctor and threatens to "put a bullet through both your hearts", while in "Forest of the Dead", Professor Song warns that an impending electrocution would stop both the Time Lord's hearts, killing him. From these, it is apparent that a Time Lord can die if both his hearts stop.
This quote also further supports it:
The TARDIS appears to assist in the regenerative process. In addition to the second Doctor's explicit statement to this effect shortly after regenerating from the first, regenerating outside the TARDIS has never been shown to go particularly well. Of the four occasions on which this has happened, one is forced on him by the Time Lords (The War Games), one requires a Time Lord to give the Doctor's cells a "little push" to start the process (Planet of the Spiders), one needs the TARDIS's "Zero Room", a chamber sealed from all outside forces, to help him recover (Castrovalva) and the last occurs a few hours after he has actually "died" (The 1996 television movie). That last regeneration remains the only one that takes place significantly far away from the TARDIS, without any obvious interaction from other Time Lords, though it may be noted that in The Doctor's Daughter, Jenny - a woman created from the Tenth Doctor's DNA - dies and later reanimates in a process that has some apparent similarities to a regeneration, some time after the TARDIS leaves her planet.
All these + more indicate that the limit may not be a physical one.
Another:
In "Last of the Time Lords", the Master and the Doctor demonstrate that regeneration is not an automatic process (or the process is automatic but the Time Lord undergoing it can halt the regeneration at will) as, despite the Doctor's pleas for him to regenerate, the Master instead chooses to die after being shot by Lucy Saxon
It's quite possible that it's a socially imposed limit - that is, multiple timelords can collectively decide whether you get to regenerate or not.
Twelve regenerations was never a biological limit; it was something imposed by the Gallifreyan leadership. ISTR that once they offered the Master an extra set of regenerations, in exchange for doing some of their dirty work. Now that the other Time Lords have been exterminated, who's to say there can't be a Fourteenth Doctor?
As for the regeneration rate, the Ninth was short-lived, but the Tenth has had a good long innings. He first appeared in 2005 in the final episode of the first new series, and is scheduled to regenerate in early 2010. So... four or five years. That's quite long for a Doctor. The First did three years, so did the Second and the Fifth. The Third did four, the Sixth two, the Seventh two (well, nine, but he was off the air for most of that), the Eighth and Ninth one each (again, the Eighth technically nine years, same objection).
It's only really Tom Baker who's outdone Tennant in terms of years in the TARDIS. And since he has an enormous TV fanbase from Blackpool, Casanova and Doctor Who, and has lately proved himself to considerable acclaim on the legitimate stage as Hamlet, I imagine he thinks it's about time to move on to some extremely lucrative roles.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
Matt Smith's resume is admittedly short, giving some people pause as to whether he's got the acting chops to sustain the role of Doctor Who.
However, it should be pointed out that this one goes to 11.
Wow, I bow my head in respect to all those who's mastery of Whovian lore far exceeds mine!
larryau wrote:
The way the Master extended his life (his decayed appearance in the first series before his apparent regeneration was because [1] he was at the end of his last life or [2] a half-failed attempt at a 13th regeneration) was due to him taking over the body of another (much like he did in the Fox Dr. Who movie), so it wasn't a true regeneration although it does give him a way to extend his life indefinitely.
One thing that has cut the Doctor's life short is that he has been using up his regenerations much more rapidly than a typical timelord (since the First Doctor was 650 years old when he first appeared, he could have lived least 8,450 years). The story "Silver Nemesis" (the 25th anniversary story) indicated that there is far more to The Doctor than we know, so it is likely that this will give the writers a way to give him a new set of regenerations.
One thing I'm looking forward to is the future appearance of The Valyard.
The new doc looks like an emo. Disturbing.
Lore? Join the 21st century. Nobody memorises things these days. I looked up the dates on Wikipedia :-)
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
I am boycotting the 21st century. Maybe if it gets better I'll participate but until then I'm sticking with my tomes, and abacus.
What are they gonna do when they hit twelve? No more Dr. Who?
Captain Kirk will be brought in. Someone that can be trusted to get the job done once and for all.
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
I think Seth Rogen should be The Doctor. He'd be awesome in that role.
Now that the other Time Lords have been exterminated, who's to say there can't be a Fourteenth Doctor?
Which brings me to something that has puzzled me throughout the "new" Doctor Who. Just when is this "now" when the other Time Lords have been exterminated? Isn't there something about being a Time Lord that means they can move through time? And haven't the times in the new series overlapped the times in the old series when the other Time Lords had not been wiped out?
Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
How old are all you /.ers saying you love Dr Who? Hardly anyone I know that's over 25 watches it, unless they watch it with their children.
I find it dull -- it's random running around shouting and special effects without any depth to the plot.
It was abundantly clear that he had that 'Doctor-ness' about him
He certainly does look weird, in a sickly, pervy way. Perhaps that will translate into an intriguing character, if they intend to write some episodes involving sex with corpses.
End anonymous moderation and posting on
Will be 11th Doctor Who... WHAT ???
> If anyone knows why my comments recently started appearing with score 1, despite "Excellent" karma, I'd love to hear.
You should call your mother.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45343000/jpg/_45343466_newdocotr226.jpg
I fear greatly for the future of the show. Please get that man a haircut.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
> here are lots of ways of extending the number of regenerations too ... implied ... regeneration ... Time Lords who are joined with time capsules ... connected to the Eye of Harmony ... the black hole ... so the amount of energy
Here's an idea. We have a special-combo episode where the TARDIS meets The Enterprise whose crew beam aboard with Chief Scientific Officer Deus Ex Machina who adlibs technobabble, not just giving the doctor as many regens as the BBC needs but tying up all the plot holes since the series began. Everyone knows Tie ins help ratings and since Dr Who is increasingly a "Beautiful People" show, what about one with Bay Watch too?
Why not continue the series with Jenny as the Doctor?
Inexperienced. Unpredictable.
Determined to find her own way. But perhaps less content to see the Time Lords simply disappear from all of history.
In her first (or second) incarnation and not certain she'll be granted another. It opens up the story in new and interesting ways.
"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear non-subjective view point, it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey...stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhmWRjo7gKI
It comes with sound of voice, facial gestures, gesticulation etc.
Hair is still annoying though, head still looks way too big for the body, and he appears way too young for the role.
It somehow just ain't right for the Docta to be younger than yours truly.
Now I know how Frank Miller felt when he realized that he was older than Batman.
But at least the guy still has his own nose.
If he was an Hollywood actor, half of it would be gone by now, and he would look even less like someone who treats bodies like I do jackets.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Couldn't agree more, as much as RTD should be praised for resurrecting doctor who in the first place he has been responsible for some of the most hammy and poorly scripted episodes.
I know we shouldn't hold the new doctor's age against him but, if they keep up the trend, our twelfth doctor will be as many years old.
The time war was time sealed. It appears the Daleks and the Time Lord disappeared from the time line when they entered the lock.
Of course it seems strange to see them in time past that point only because time is made up of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.
Star Trek, there maybe hope.
Oh for the love of Rassilon why didn't his parents name him John?
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
There had been some suggestions in the U.K. that maybe they should have a female Dr. Who this time around. That could have been interesting.
The names floating around included Helen Mirren and Judi Dench. Imposing, powerful women. Just the way it should be.
...laura
In the episode with the Master in the third series, it spans a whole year and while they do travel back in travel to reverse the damage the Master had done, the Doctor has still lived another year so chalk that up on the wall. Let's also remember that for most regenerations we don't know the length of the gaps in years. The 8th doctor was on screen for only an hour but how long did he actually live for, same with the 9th?
Jonathanjk.com
While pouring hot grits down your trousers?
Am I the only dyslexic fool that was a little confused that the role was being given to the Fresh Prince.
"You know, I loved being you. Back when I first started, at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important - like you do, when you're young. And then I was you, and it was all dashing about and playing cricket and my voice going all squeaky when I shouted."
It's possible that the 12 regeneration limit was imposed by the time lord council, no council, no limit. They had the power to grant extra regenerations so it's a plausible explanation. Especially considering that the Master was given an extra regeneration then was able to regenerate on his own after that.
*It's not what you can do for the Dark Side but what the Dark Side can do for you!*
> Some 'physics experiment in Swizerland' created a Black Hole.
Is that what they call it these days? I thought it was somebody's mother had one too many hot dogs.
> K-9 is in a safe in Sarah Jane Smith's house, with the black hole, attempting to stabilise it. He occasionally orbits near the door, but he is rather occupied for a while. The one Romana took with her to Gallifrey presumably died in the great time war.
That sounds suspiciously like you believe it...
Burning through, from TFA:
How long have the spans lasted pre new series:
3, 3, 4, 7, 2, 2, 1
new series:
1, 4, ?
I wouldn't exactly call that "burning through"
the previous average was around 3 2/3 years. We have a smaller data set in the new series, but depending on how long #11 lasts, there is no reason to think they're being "burned through".
as the next Doctor Who. It would have been an interesting twist to the show. It also would have bridged the Star Trek and Doctor Who brands.
Maybe they offered it to Shatner, who turned it down because he would have had to give up his Priceline.com commercials. :)
Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
Requirements for female companions of The Doctor:
#1 Look young and sexy.
#2 Scream their heads off when the enemy attacks.
#3 Non-Violent even to Daleks, feels sad when the Dalek is in prison and has to touch it, which gives the Dalek powers and allows it to break free and try to kill her. So while the Dalek is trying to kill her, she tries to reason with it talking about pacifism and things the Dalek does not understand.
#4 Has to fall in love with The Doctor even if he is 500 years older than she is, any hanky panky has to be offscreen though.
#5 When the plot requires it she either becomes a Time Goddess or get's The Doctor's memories in her brain, which burns her up unless The Doctor can sacrifice himself or make her forget those memories to save her.
#6 When The Doctor is kidnapped, instead of being non-violent all of a sudden she agrees with others to activate a stargem bomb despite being a pacifist her entire life.
#7 Becomes something like Bad Wolf which is repeated throughout time and she does not understand it until she almost dies and then sends those messages to herself and The Doctor throughout time as a warning. Even if she knows she already got the message and didn't know what it meant.
Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
You really think they're going to let a throwaway line from 2 decades ago end one of their most popular series? It's easy to get around - for example, that was a rule enforced by the Time Lords, who are no more.
Dr Who?
He might be young but he's still older than I. By one year to be exact.
I guess im the only one who read this as "Kevin Smith Will Be 11th Doctor Who"
It looks The Doctor to be
has weird hair on a spazz body
His tics do impress
a strong Doctorness
But Eccleston did it for me.
Which one are you then?
I bow low before your four digit UID and massive Dr. who knowledge.
your nerd credentials are impeccable.
-- Sig under construction...
I am not trying to be PC, but the Beeb missed a great chance to cast a female doctor with a male assistant. They could have written a whole raft of lame jokes about this body change !!
Who is he? Never heard of him. Perhaps he has a PhD.
Good point.
There was a special episode of "Dr Who Confidential" last night, just to announce the new Doctor, and it had interviews with RTD, Stephen Moffat and Matt Smith.
Stephen Moffat said that he started auditions determined to cast an older Doctor this time, but that it soon became overwhelmingly apparent that Matt Smith was the one for the role. Something about being able to handle the dramatic bits and the quirky mercurial aspects, and being able to switch between them fairly easily.
They had a couple of clips from Smith's earlier roles; not much to judge by, but I think I can see what he's getting at.
It's going to be interesting to see how he handles the role
Don't let THEM immanentize the Eschaton!
Don't worry. There is a bug in the Time Lord software...in leap years, on Dec 31st, the regeneration limiting device stops working, and so the Doctor can be safely regenerated...guess who wrote the Time Lord software...
It's good entertainment, but there is no science in it, is it?
Imagine a doctor as cunning and stupid as the Black Adder...a major TV hit!
The Doctor of 2005 was at least physically imposing and Tennant was witty and in his 30s so the concept of him being somewhat sharp and not a punk was plausible.
This show will tank in the US and the loss of an audience > 30 will find shows like Eureka even more appealing.
Kids and teens buy more merchandise.
I expect younger doctors in the future, or even a kids/teens oriented spinoff with younger actors.
Unless I'm much mistaken, he plays a "Doctor-like" character in an advert for Virgin Atlantic, where he meets the Wright brothers and tells them they'll need a bigger plane.
There's still more nonsensical giddy rubbish to be penned by RTD under the guise of "specials" before the new child takes the role.
Seconded. I would happily pay twice my license fee to make that happen!
He's already done it and been regenerated (many times...) - more info here. It was written by Steven Moffat as well.
She'd make good fodder for a mini-series spin-off, or perhaps even a feature film.
I don't know how well it would work as a series. She's not quite a time lord, and doesn't have a time machine.
One of the bits of cannon which makes the Doctor Who series work is that reliable time-travel is something incredibly rare and mostly unique to the time lords, who use it sparingly and judiciously.
RTD killed off the time lords, but then introduced other organizations (the Time Agents, the Shadow Proclamation, etc.) to sort-of take their place in the narrative. But still, it's extremely rare to encounter somebody other than the Doctor who travels through time, because that's part of what makes him interesting.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
It's understood that time lords only expected to live a long time when they had dull monastic lives on their home planet. The Doctor grew to an age of just over 900 before he stole a time machine and went off saving planets, and he's been burning through his multiple lives at a shocking pace ever since.
Then again, all the other time lords got themselves killed in a war with the Daleks, so who's the reckless fool now?
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Don't be silly. The frequency of regenerations is limited from below by the time that the current Doctor both gets audience share, and is willing to work without a raise. The number of regenerations is limited from above by the willingness of television audience to watch the commercials that accompany the show, and the resulting willingness of advertisers to pay for it. Inside the logic of the show, of course, they may have to come up with an explanation, but that is a task for the writers.
the Time Agents
The Time Agents from the 51st Century (of whom Captain Jack is one) were actually first mentioned in the classic Tom Baker story "The Talons of Weng Chiang". Robert Holmes was the author.
I'd love to know where Jack was when the Doctor was "with the Filipino army at the final advance on Reykjavik", as he states in that story.
They start shooting this year, so remember - he's 26 not 27 at the start!
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
"All these + more indicate that the limit may not be a physical one."
Well those didn't.
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
Captain Jack is going to happy to see this young man heading the tardis
I took one look at this guy and thought, "He's not a Doctor Who, he's a Doctor Huh?".
He kind of looks like an amalgam of the last few Doctors (including the unofficial one from the 2008 Xmas special, and the one from the Fox movie).
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
It the limit is 12 regenerations, and a regeneration is used up going from version 1.0 to 2.0, then we don't end with the 12th Doctor! There should be ... must be ... a 13th Doctor!
I'm sure when they first came up with this in the 70's during Deadly Assassin, someone was saying "Ah...12 regenerations should be enough for anyone. That'll hold the show forever!"
The Doctor is himself half-human. It doesn't seem inconceivable that the TARDIS would seek Jenny out on his death. It can't be coincidence that the writers introduced a daughter into their story as the Doctor nears the end of his story.
Good. He looks more like the classic Dr. Who's. And he's not a fag like the last one. Which is always a bonus.
Better emotional opporunties for story telling. An older Doctor would tend to be more reserved in his emotional conduct lending a "stoic" personality. With Chris we got a bit more manic behavior giving much more breathing room for emotional story telling. Perhaps the younger regenerations is a subtle implication that the Doctor is running away from who he was prior to the extinction of the time lords, once again a renegade on the run, not the the time lords or gallefrey, but himself, who he was, the man that destroyed gallefrey..."
-=[ Who Is John Galt? ]=-
The 11th Doctor Who WHAT? Come on slashdot, don't leave us in suspense. I only read the article titles these days.
I've evolved way passed the 'read the summary only' mentality as a slashdotter.