Originally Posted By: Prometheus
Episodes leading into each other is a throwback to Peter Davison's era, as well as Hartnell's. Moffat's favorite Doctor is Peter, so there's that.

Matt Smith said Moffat gave him a single episode from each Doctor to watch. Smith loved Troughton in Tomb of the Cybermen, thus his insistence on the bow-tie and outfit.

As for his mannerisms, I too detect some hints of Ten in there. I think that's up to (A) Moffat still writing him a little like Tennant, and (B) probably to ease the pain and try and attract the tweens. Either way, it's in such small doses I just chalk it up to the "new" period. Remember, Tennant was very Eccleston in his first few episodes, too.

Mainly, though, Number Eleven comes off as a new mix of Colin Baker's 6th Doctor, and Paul McGann's 8th Doctor. The rapid-fire "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" from him when the Cloister Bell sounded in The Eleventh Hour was 100% Paul McGann. He has a vanity that is similar in intensity, if not tone, of Colin Baker. There's something about his cadence that hints at Troughton and Tennant. His detachment and bizarre movements come off as a mix of Tom Baker's 4th Doctor and Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. He has the breathless enthusiasm of Peter Davison's 5th Doctor, and given his style of mini-outburst about "humans" in last Saturday's episode, hints of Eccleston's bottled rage issues.

All that said, there's something new about what Smith is doing. He's just so effortless in his portrayal. I'm really interested to see where they take the incarnation...

P.S. Hey Ray! I'm glad you're here to chat about Who! How's construction work in NYC? \:\)


So far, I've only seen 1 1/2 episodes of the 11th Doctor's era, but I'm enjoying it quite a lot. So's my 4-year old, who adapted quite well to the change-over (mind you he also enjoys the Classic Doctors, so I guess I shouldn't be that surprised). My son however blew me away with his impromptue impersonation of the 11th Doc's "Apples to Fish Custard" scene.

Getting back to your point. I don't know why, but I see a bit of Michael Palin in Matt's portayal of the Doctor.

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