Matt Smith Announced as the Eleventh Doctor, And Why It’s NOT the End of Doctor Who

by Josh Roth @ 6:44 pm January 4th, 2009

I won’t lie and say I wasn’t a little disappointed by the BBC’s announcement that actor Matt Smith would be the Eleventh Doctor. A 26 year old white man isn’t exactly all that surprising or exciting, I suppose I was expecting something a bit different, or an actor I was familiar with, or both. I was hoping for Paterson Joseph or James Nesbitt, instead I got what I thought was a Twilight reject…but after watching interviews with Steven Moffat, and Matt Smith himself I’ve become more optimistic about this Eleventh Doctor, if only a little.

As dedicated fans, we can sometimes get, should I say, a little emotional over changes to our favorite shows. When I heard that the cast of Stargate SG-1 was changing , specifically the departure of Richard Dean Anderson, I was shocked and appalled…and then I calmed down. Turns out the cast shift was for the better, it completely revived SG-1, gave it a whole new and interesting flavor…until it was canceled a year later, but that’s not the point. The point is change can be good for a show that’s been on the air for a long time, we just have to give change a chance, and that is especially true of Doctor Who.

Doctor Who is very unique, in that the main character undergoes a shift between actors every once in a while, he literally regenerates into someone completely new. Not only is it one of the greatest plot devices in history, it’s also an essential part of the show, it’s gotta happen. No matter how much we love the current Doctor, we have to let go eventually, so the show can be retooled and the story can go on. I’ve already said that I think David Tennant is the greatest Doctor in the history of the show, but it was inevitable that he’d leave, and someone would have to try in vain to fill his Converse.

In the end we really have to put our trust in the hands of the show runners, Russel T Davies and Steven Moffat have shown they’re committed to entertaining and enthralling us in the world of the Doctor. I trust Moffat to make the right decisions, he’s already proven time and time again his deep love for the material, and he’s a bloody writing genius. So let’s reserve judgment on Matt Smith until we see his first performance as the Doctor. Who knows, maybe he’ll take the reins and surprise us all! Shame we’ll have to wait until 2010 to find out. But until then let’s all remember why we love this show so much, and have a little faith in Steven Moffat.

Updated: BBC posted an extended interview with Matt Smith about getting the role.