Eric Johnson Comics

Really liking the current season of Doctor Who.

A few observations

1)  Matt Smith has clicked into place for me as the Doctor faster than any other regeneration, I think.

I was willing to accept him as the Doctor early on the first episode, and by the time of his verbal confrontation with some aliens at the end, I *believed* it.

This bodes well.   As an actor, Matt needs to find his own voice for the role, but he and the writers have already done enough that I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until he's really hit his groove.

2)  Amy Pond is shaping up to a be a really first-rate traveling companion for the Doctor

- Her method of introduction to the Doctor in the first episode gives her a unique relationship with the Doctor and makes her better suited to dealing with the things she runs into.  She's not just "another young woman" who steps onto the TARDIS.   She's got a history and attitude towards the whole thing we haven't seen before

- As an actress, Karen Gillan is doing an amazing job so far.  Arguably, she's out-acted the lead in several of the early episodes.  Which is fine.  Companions are viewer-indentification characters more than the Doctor sometimes.  And a shared spotlight is good.

- As a male nerd, I must confess it doesn't hurt that Amy Pond might be one of the sexiest female stars the show has seen in a long time.  For me, probably the most attractive since Leela.  And by sexiness, I'm counting the combination of looks and attitude.    Peri may have shown some cleavage and Teagan may have had nice legs that she showed off a lot, but as a young man, neither really appealed to me.  Too much "Damsel in Distress", and they weren't always written as the brightest.  Amy is attractive, but she's not just eye candy.

- Assuming the good work with this character continues, I hope they keep her around for more than one or two seasons.  She could end up being one of my favorite companions, right up there with Leela, Romana, K-9, Ace and Sarah Jane Smith.  (my personal opinion of the "best" of course)

3) The overacing plotline for the season seems more integrated into each episode.

(**** Possible Spoilers ****)

The cracks are showing up, and the Doctor and his Companion are *noticing* them. And we explore the thing and what it might mean *before* something showing up as a "big reveal" in the last one or two episodes.  This is a GOOD thing.   Ties it all together and makes it seem less like coming out of nowhere.  This is what we call good writing and well done foreshadowing.  Wish there was more of that on television.

4)  Nods to continuity, while still blazing it's own path as a new series.

(**** More spoilers ****)

- the return of River Song

- reboot of the Daleks

- return of the Weeping Angels

- new version of the Silurians (an enemey going back to the Third Doctor!)

These were all things done in such a way so as to please old fans to some degree (the Dalek re-design being debateable and controversial there), but still set up to appeal to newer viewers.   It's a tough balance, but I think they are pulling it off.

So, if you care about this one lone nerd's opinion, then Doctor #11 and his first season (aka Season 5 of reboot, even if the BBC doesn't call it that), gets the Thumbs Up and a high reccomendation.

And if you are a sci-fi fan who doesn't watch Doctor Who, then this new season is a *decent* jumping on point to start with the first episode of this run.  But really, if you like this genre, do yourself a favor, and start with the beginning of the re-boot, with Christopher Eccelston.  Sure, the first season isn't quite as good as the following ones. But wade through it, it's still prety good, and it only gets better as it goes on.  It's worth the ride.