On The Current Regulars

I will be posting a review of Season 31 (shut up, yes it is) shortly, once our colonial and former colonial cousins in Australia and the US have caught up. But aside from what I think of the first Moff season, one item must be addressed. And that is the performance of our regulars. Make no mistake, Matt Smith IS the Doctor. Regardless of my humble opinion, it seems clear that even those who have failed to warm to the Moff’s vision/scripts have been wholly enamoured of Smith’s performance as the Eleventh Incarnation.

He’s something special.

SFX recently requested Terrance Dicks-style descriptions of the incumbent. It proved difficult, but my entry read as follows:

A bow-tied, bow-legged old man with a teenager’s skin, chin and excitably floppy hair.

It’s curious. Eccleston’s 9 was clearly about establishing the role as a weighty one in the eyes of viewers and fellow actors. The Tennant Doctor that followed was seen by us fans as the rightful ascension of one of our own to the throne. The anecdote goes that when Sylvester McCoy became the Seventh Doctor, he attended an American convention and was immediately asked how he had felt upon landing on Peladon. McCoy, of course, hadn’t a clue. Tennant, of course, knew precisely how he’d felt. And we found that good.

Not Matt Smith. He didn’t grow up being the Doctor in the local quarry. He is an actor playing the Doctor. And, by golly, he’s thought about it. As he's pointed out, if you’re playing a 900-year-old alien, it doesn’t matter if you’re 28 or 55 (as Hartnell was). He’s approached the role as an actor, and even if he’s showing a Tom-esque tendency to let the character bleed into his off-screen demeanour, it’s his performance that demonstrates Win.

According to a recent interview, he went through a ‘what am I doing?!’ fluster at filming's start. He felt himself floundering, unsure of how to play this unique character. Crisis of confidence, on the phone to his Dad every evening in a panic, seeking reassurance.

Which was presumably given. I don’t know if Matt’s Dad has perused many Peter Davison interviews, but he’d find them familiar. Hopefully Mr Smith got the message through to his son that he was doing just fine. But, whatever, it’s clear that there was no need to worry. The first scenes filmed were the beach ones for The Time Of Angels. And if I didn’t know that, I’d have never guessed. He hit the ground stunning.

Karen Gillan has come in for some criticism. Apparently she’s wooden. Well, I can’t see it. But then I’m Scottish too; perhaps we’re all wooden. But seriously, as my good friend Sly Pangloss has pointed out, in 21st Century Who the companions that work best are those grounded (however tentatively) in reality. I love Rose. I love Donna. I’m even vaguely fond of the Lady Christina de Souza. They’re beautiful, but they’re beautiful cartoons.

It’s Martha and Amy that are most/almost real. It’s Martha and Amy that come closest to piercing the viewer’s heart, for they come closest to being Girls We Know (for those of us who Know Some Girls). It’s in Season 29 that Tennant really works – think of Gridlock. The Tenth Doctor is at his best when he is robbed of his arrogance, and what robs him of his arrogance is Freema Agyeman’s grounded performance. So kudos to Karen for following in those footsteps.

Finally, we have Arthur Darvill, performing as our current tin dog, Rory. He’s playing a stock Moff character, right enough – Larry Nightingale, Steve Taylor (smirk), Spike, Tom Jackman. But doesn’t he do it well? And hey, getting turned into a Auton seems to do wonders for one’s love life. Mickey the Idiot’s had two companions, and now Rory joins the plastic hotties. Way to go.

So thank you, you three. Whatever what one thinks of current Who, it would be diminished without you.

(All images © the BBC. From the Official Site.)