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Some of you have been puzzled by my silence on the subject of Doctor Who over the past few months. Your confusion is understandable — after all, we’re eight episodes into the latest series, and not a peep? What gives? One reader thought that I had been stunned into silence by the show’s radical overhaul; that I had been left traumatized and mute by the sight of a new TARDIS.

I’m sorry to disappoint, but the explanation is far more ordinary: work. I just couldn’t find the time to see any of the new shows until recently. But now I’m caught up, having had my own little Who marathon over the past week. And now that I’m up to speed, I can assure you that I’m anything but traumatized by the new directions. Indeed, let me declare: Matt Smith is an outstanding Doctor, perhaps one of the best.

There was much hand-wringing over the choice of Smith to succeed David Tennant, the most popular actor to inhabit the role. How could a 27-year old actor, however talented, summon the eon-scupted complexities of the 907-year old Time Lord, memorably portrayed by 10 acting heavyweights? Well, the fears are unfounded. I don’t know how, but Smith nails it capably.

The Doctor’s indefatigable curiosity and quirky tics are all there, often performed with subtle homage to his first ten incarnations. Echoes of Tom Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Tennant all reverberate through the performance without ever lapsing into mimicry. Smith has truly inhabited the role.

His skill is especially apparent in scenes that touch on the Doctor’s ancient burdens. The sharp, plosive rage emitted by the Doctor in the episode “The Beast Below” is one fine example: “No one human has anything to say to me today,” he curtly declares to a room of his beloved, yet infuriating homo sapiens. Smith managed to pack the Doctor’s immeasurable back story into his delivery of the line. He also did a great job in the difficult task of portraying the Doctor’s second meeting with River Song –the mysterious woman from the future whom the Doctor met on her last day. He knows their relationship will become extraordinary, but he doesn’t know how because the keep meeting out of sequence. For Smith to wrap his head — and heart — around such a crazy relationship is testimony to his skill. (Alex Kingston must also receive kudos for her reprisal of the role, the best new scifi character on the block, in my book.)

In the days to come I’m going to write up individual episode reviews for the new season. But like the Doctor’s friendship with River Song, I will probably post them out of sequence, as whim takes me. But, as you may have noticed, I am completely on board with the new series. The bold and radical changes — not just the casting Smith, but also the promotion of Stephen Moffat to head writer — were a gamble that paid off, for this fan, at least. It is shaping up to be one of my favorite seasons, and that is saying something.

BlogtorWho has delivered the delicious news that the new series of Doctor Who will begin in the US on April 17th, a mere two weeks after the UK airing (seems the Beeb has learned a bit about the futility of making the Yanks wait forever for new episodes…..)

Here is the trailer for the upcoming series, which is a sure-cure for any geek suffering from erectile dysfunction

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• The New Doctor Who Has A Start Date (cinemablend.com)

The sun rose brightly today in the Doctor Whoniverse, as Lalla Ward appeared on this morning’s BBC Radio 4 program Midweek with Libby Purves.

The honorable Lady Ward appears to discuss her current exhibit of wildlife thread paintings in London, but she also gives us nerds some deliciously dorky anecdotes. To wit: Patrick Stewart‘s admonition not to waste her time doing television (least of all science fiction!), how Douglas Adams introduced her to current hubby Richard Dawkins, and how she still enjoys “seeing old friends” when she does Doctor Who audio dramas.

You can listen to the show by following this link to the Midweek show and podcast. Get there quickly, as the Beeb has a tendency to restrict access to their shows after a short shelf life.

It doesn’t get any better than this. To promote Russell T. Davies‘ book Doctor Who: The Writer’s Tale, BBC Books is making several Doctor Who scripts available for download online.

Among the scripts available are both parts of The End of Time, The Waters of Mars, and one of my favorites, The Next Doctor. Follow this link to the download site.

[Major hat-tip to io9.com]

David Tennant‘s turn as the tenth Doctor in Doctor Who came to a slightly maudlin end last night as BBC America aired the final episode starring the most popular actor to inhabit the role. The show — second of a two-parter called The End of Time — was gripping due to this important event, but ultimately came across as something of an overwrought disappointment. It was too “aware” of its own significance to let itself be a taut Doctor Who adventure.

I suppose a sense of disappointment was inevitable, given the lengthy build-up that spanned the previous three episodes. But I had high hopes after enjoying The End of Time Part 1, which laid the groundwork nicely. In it, we saw the resurrection of the Doctor’s nemesis the Master, who overlaid his image and consciousness onto every human being on earth. Throughout we heard the narration of the Time Lord President, who at the end of the episode announces his intentions to restore the Time Lords. The Doctor and kindly old Wilf had been subdued by the Master, leaving us with a good old fashioned cliff-hanger.

Part Two picks up with the Time Lords, in-council and trapped in the last day of the Time War — an event locked in history from which they know they can’t escape. Led by the bellicose President and informed by the eccentric Prophet, they scheme to prevent their destruction. Only two Time Lords are known to have survived the War — the Doctor and the Master. They decide to use the Master as a lifeline, embedding the maddening four-beat “sound of drums” into his psyche to use as a signal to broadcast beyond the confines of the “time lock” that contains the War.

The Doctor, of course, figures out this plan, and we learn that the Time Lords are not as benevolent as the Doctor’s misty recollections have made them out to be. Indeed, the prospect of their return prompts the pacifist Doctor to pick up a gun, something he has sworn “never” to do.

Without going into too much detail, I can confirm that the Doctor does indeed hear the dreaded “four knocks” that were prophesied to precede his death. They come in a surprising manner, as well, in a clever twist that I hadn’t seen coming.

Unfortunately, this is where the episode became lachrymose, even for this psychic-paper-carrying Who fan. It could have ended pretty tightly right then — but instead the Doctor launched into an uncharacteristic, Garden of Gethsemane rant — Why me? Why now? I had so much more to do!!, etc. We have seen the Doctor face his own demise with cool nobility many times before, so this scenery-chewing spasm seemed very out-of-step. (Contrast this with the demise of the 9th Doctor [Christopher Eccleston], for instance.) And the fact that this may be his true death — not just the prelude to regeneration — doesn’t get him off the hook. The Doctor — even Tennant’s Doctor — has often been willing to march to his annihilation.

The interim between the Doctor’s fatal blows and his regeneration also went against the show’s mythology and continuity. In this instance, regeneration is a lazy, relaxed process that allows the Doctor to mozy around spacetime to “get his reward”… which involves going back and seeing (and saving) a few characters “one last time.” Honestly, it all felt more like an office-party farewell to David Tennant than a proper story. Very self-indulgent and very insensitive to the fourth wall. The time would have been better spent tying up some loose-ish ends, like the identity of “The Woman” or the fate of Donna Noble (though they might be one and the same?)…

The regeneration finally comes, after subjecting us to a painful case of blue-(box)-balls. Matt Smith bursts into the role, and with just a few moments of youthful hyperactivity he rescues the Doctor from the “stations of the cross” treatment we just had to endure. It got me psyched for the new series — I think this will be an energetic shot in the arm for Doctor Who, just as the the J.J. Abrams film was for Star Trek.

Don’t get me wrong — I loved the Tennant years as much as anyone — I just think the farewell could have been handled with a bit more dignified restraint. The Doctor is dead, long live the Doctor!