When you are The Doctor no more.. what is next?

Let’s say that you are an actor. Your last job was portraying a character who is loved by fans in over 100 countries, from the ages of 15 to 85. What could you possibly do next? (And no, I am not speaking about anyone connected to the latest Star Trek revisioning.)

Well if the character was Dr. Who, and you happen to be David Tennant, you go on to host Masterpiece Contemporary. No doubt there are thousands of American Dr. Who fans that are trying to figure this out. Tennant left Dr. Who (the next few new episodes we see will be his last), to be replaced by a skinny, geeky (in a bad way), barely adolescent, basically unknown actor. And this seems to be what he wanted to do next.

Masterpiece Contemporary might be best recalled by its old name Masterpiece Theater. It’s been running, on PBS in the U.S., since about 1971. Former hosts include some of the more loved Brits – like the former Alistair Cooke, and Russell Baker

Could Tennant have done better? I would imagine that there would be a hoard of films and television shows that would have loved to have his star power, and international fanbase as one of the better received Doctor’s. I mean Masterpiece Contemporary? Isn’t that where the formerly famous end their careers, with dignity?

Maybe I’m still bitter and twisted that Tennant left Dr. Who. Maybe I’m really not looking forward to the nebbish replacement. Perhaps I hoped for Tennant to take on a role of some importance and recurring nature that I could watch repeatedly. Like a BBC mini-series or something sci-fi.

Overall, it just ends up with a simple thought. The new Dr. Who will take more than a few episodes to overcome my apprehension, and the old Dr. Who will likely be unseen by most Americans for some time to come. Neither is a positive.

BBC makes questionable choice for Doctor Who

Matt Smith is the new Doctor. Who is he? Good question. He was nowhere on my radar screens, nor those of any Brit I have read about.

For those not familiar I'm talking about the 11th actor to play the titular role of Dr. Who. The show has been on the BBC for 45 years, and has been on American television (and BBC America) for decades. It is probably as popular and well-followed as Star Trek and/or Star Wars. It is definitely one of the top programs in the world, and likely the longest running non-news program (not including soap operas) ever.

Currently David Tennant is the Doctor. His appearance was debated long and hard, but he quickly won over fans with his quirky, witty, fast-paced portrayal of the Doctor. His version is brash, playful, and perhaps one of the most violent of all the Doctors. When he stated he was leaving the program after 3 years - which is a shame really - there was no end to guesses of who might replace him.

I too joined in on that game with a list of possibles, plus the insane postulation of a couple of Americans. And since that post I have had several friends debate the likelyhood of the first female Doctor (never going to happen), the first Black Doctor, and my insanity about an American Doctor. Suffice to say the debate over this role has been vigorous, especially in England.

But now the answer is before us. I present to you the new Doctor as of 2010



They have seriously lost their minds at the BBC.

Yes the Doctor is a geek. He is the ultimate nerd, given. But he is also cool and powerful and a hundred other quirks. He has been relatively plain (or ugly depending on your preferences), tall, short, old, young, and now he seems prepubescent.

Honestly, with no insult intended, Matt Smith looks ugly, way too young, and completely immature. I cannot for the life of me envision what makes him seem like the Doctor to anyone at the BBC. And I must admit that I say this without ever having heard his voice, nor seen his acting. Such is the difficulty of being in America.

Still I am a fan. And I am sure I will still watch the program. But with a great big cringe. Hopefully they will at least give the Doctor a companion of ample assets and beauty suffice to distract viewers from his visage. But that is more an American trick than British. [Seriously, like Baywatch had any substance beyond the cloth for the swimsuits]

From what I gathered there are a few things we can hope to expect from a Matt Smith Doctor. An new hairstyle - bald is preferred to what he has in the photo. Far less wit, delivered at far slower speeds.

Matt Smith is no Tom Baker, and decisively no David Tennant. He is young and these days on either side of the pond that is worth a lot to television and movie executives. Sadly that does not often equate to zealous or even moderate approval of the viewing audience.

But I am a fan of the Doctor. I have been for decades. I will watch and cringe, and hope to be amazed - or just not overly disappointed. I will hope for a buxom, brilliant, assistant. I will read the tea leaves for clues to the major villian. I will be a fan. Just that much more reluctantly, and far more willing to see the re-run than the first run.

[Patterson Joseph would still have been the best choice I think.]