Matt Smith is the New Doctor Who
The Doctor gets even Younger when the BBC TV Series Resumes
Aug 11, 2009
Doctor Who is a famous British Broadcasting Company (BBC, source of information for this article) television series that has been running on an off for 40 years.
In that time, through the magic of regeneration, the Doctor has been played by ten different actors. Matt Smith will take up the role in 2010.
As in the story of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Doctor has been played by continually younger actors. The character is said to be 900 years old, but Smith is in his late twenties, by far the youngest actor to play the Doctor.
Doctor Who’s Beginnings
The first doctor was played by William Hartnell, as a elderly, slightly confused but brilliant grandfatherly type. Indeed, he was a grandfather to Susan, although much is unexplained how that came about.
The second doctor, Patrick Troughton, continued to play the role as teacher and mentor to younger companions. Troughton’s Doctor is more befuddled and entertaining compared to Hartnell’s sometimes aloof attitude. .
The third doctor, Jon Pertwee was more spry, but could best be described as aristocratic, except when occasionally besting his foes in hand to hand combat with Venusian Karate.
Tom Baker brought more youth and vitality to the role he held for seven years, and Peter Davison youthful good looks were used to advantage with the audience, but he maintained the same chaste relationships with his companions that his predecessors did.
The next incarnations of the Doctor aged a bit. Colin Baker followed, and Sylvester McCoy became the seventh Doctor before the show went on hiatus. The eight Doctor, Paul McGann only appeared in a television movie.
The Regeneration of Doctor Who
Christopher Eccleston reprised the role in 2005. Doctor Who was re-imagined as a action show, with less focus on science and more on conflict. Advancement in the moving camera allowed for more action, and Eccleston brought energy to the role as the Ninth Doctor.
After one year, Eccolston left the show and David Tennant became number 10. Not the youngest actor to play the role, the handsome Tennant became an action hero and a romantic lead, particularly opposite Billie Piper as Rose.
Tennant’s athletic footwear allowed him to run from scene to scene. This Doctor runs away more often than he engages in personal combat, but is handy with a sword when necessary.
Time will tell what kind of Doctor Matt Smith will present, but he will be the youngest actor to play the Doctor, and will no doubt continue the romantic bent that has become so much a part of the show.
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