sheldrake

I went to galactic_jack's birthday party last night and now (as predicted) I basically want to die. I should probably wait until the worst of the effects have passed off before attempting to communicate with the internet, but I'm just happy my fingers still work.

So. To prove it, here are my thoughts on Doctor Eleven.



Ok, so. I wanted it to be Paterson Joseph. I wanted it to be him so much. I've been a fan of his for ages, and I think he would have been great. About halfway through yesterday, I realised I was basically setting myself up for a huge disappointment, because it probably wasn't going to be him after all. And then I was inadvertantly spoiled by Jonathan Ross on Twitter, which gave me about half an hour to get the wailing and gnashing of teeth, the Googling and the going "who?" and "26?" out of the way before the announcement was made.

I was surprised to find I actually liked what I saw of him, though. He's not who I would have chosen. But there was something about his manner that really appealed to me. I like the fact that he's got kind of a weird face. I like that he's come out of nowhere! And at one point his hands went all Wallace-and-Grommitty. Somehow, I feel that bodes well.

With regards to the casting decision, I'm in two minds. Moff and co seemed to be saying they cast him despite his age, not because of it, which seems a hopeful sign. As galactic_jack said last night, though, they could have taken a risk and they didn't. It seems like a missed opportunity. I'd like to think it's as they described -- he was just the best they saw, and too good to pass up. But galactic_jack said something I thought was interesting: "As soon as they said 'He just looked like the Doctor, and he had the right hair', I knew he wasn't going to be black." To me, that does point to the idea that (I'm sure unintentionally) they had an established idea of who the Doctor is, and this was a safe option. Same old, same old...

But the casting process and the end result are two different things. On a personal level, I can't help feeling a bit sorry for the poor guy. He can't really win. He's too young, too white, too male, too obscure, too pretty, not pretty enough, too thin, too tall, too floppy-haired, too emo-kid, too southern, too posh, too estuary, too like David Tennant, not David Tennant, not Christopher Eccleston, not Paul McGann, not Sylvester McCoy, not Colin Baker, not Peter Davison, not Tom Baker, not Jon Pertwee, not David Troughton, not William Hartnell, not Who, too who?, too young, too young, too young, too young. All valid opinions, of course, but it's not like he can actually help any of it.

On the other hand, he does get to be the Doctor, so I don't feel that sorry for him.

I'd have loved it to be Paterson Joseph. But I hope Matt Smith turns out to be really great. Because like it or not, he is the Doctor now. And there is a pathetic part of me that's still just happy they're actually making Doctor Who, and putting it on television for us to watch, and like, or not like, or whatever. And I'm looking forward to that!