Imperfect 10

[badseed1980]

Eh, he's ok. Ok, he's quite good, really. Good acting from David Tennant. But after watching "The Christmas Invasion", I don't like him as much as the ninth Doctor. I think it's mostly the voice. Too high-pitched, and kind of nasal. A bit obnoxious to my ears. I'd really, really like to see David Tennant in other things. I like him. I just don't like the Doctor quite as much when he's him. Sorry, but Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor impressed me more when he was saying he was a "coward, every time" than Tennant as the Doctor did when he was dueling an alien. And the pajamas had nothing to do with that. Really.

I do think, though, that his line to the "right hand man" at the end was delivered very well. So insidious. I feel bad for Harriet Jones, though. I think that the ninth Doctor would have understood more about what she did, though he still wouldn't have liked it. He wouldn't have ruined her career for it. He would have just planted the seed of regret that would make her think twice about anything like that from there on out. Yeah, he was cooler. Sorry, all DT fans.

Can't help it. He was cooler. A bit darker, but all the more heroic-seeming for that. Maybe that's not in line with what the Doctor is "supposed" to be, what he's been all along, but I liked it. Ah well. Rose and I will just have to get over it and move on!

*considers stealing madamruppy's "you never forget your first Doctor" icon, rejects idea for now because already there are three Who icons in this bunch...sheesh*

I may end up liking Torchwood better on the whole over time. Don't know yet. I'm now a bit worried I might not like the classic Who. I hope I will. I'll start with Four when I start exploring that, maybe, since he's teh awesome (per pierceheart, a man who CLEARLY has great taste).

Comments

[roaming.livejournal.com]

Do you remember that Tennant was Barty Crouch Jr in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire? The guy with the snake tongue who took polijuice potion to appear to be another prof (I forget the name and am too lazy to look it up right now). :-)

I agree: I much prefer Eccleston. Waaay sexier too.

[madamruppy.livejournal.com]

Hell yes he was. *drool* I love Eccleston.

Yeah, I think the droolability is a big part of it.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Why is it that a rather skinny guy with big ears and a big nose is so much more droolable than the pretty boy Tennant? Ah well, to be honest, I don't mind a big nose on a guy, really. Not a bit. Must be the Armenian in me. Hell, my own nose isn't exactly...delicate.

Re: Yeah, I think the droolability is a big part of it.

[madamruppy.livejournal.com]

It is a different level of charisma. David Tennant has a goofy brother vibe. Eccleston has that slightly dangerous knows his was about...whatever he's about sort of vibe.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I agree: I much prefer Eccleston. Waaay sexier too.

Yeah, I think that might be most of the issue!

[madamruppy.livejournal.com]

Feel free to take it if you want. I got it from _nocredit

[vanguardcdk.livejournal.com]

Don't judge too much on that episode..the Christmas specials (imho) have all been pretty weak. The second season has some amazing episodes.

[ianracey.livejournal.com]

While I think that Eccleston did an amazing job as the Doctor, I also think it's pretty clear his character goes on a journey--the first series is pretty much "How the Ninth Doctor Got His Groove Back". I don't know if that sort of performance could really have been sustained over multiple series--I think Eccleston might have cemented the Ninth Doctor's reputation by leaving as quickly as he did.

Top of the list for other David Tennant stuff to see is the miniseries Casanova (not the Heath Ledger movie), written by Russell T Davies, where he plays the title role. And for a totally different type of role, there's the miniseries Secret Smile, where he plays the psycho ex-boyfriend who decides to get revenge on the protagonist for dumping him by seducing and getting engaged to her sister, then destroying the protagonist's life piece by piece. (Only problem with Secret Smile is the one common to any story of that genre, that we're supposed to believe this guy who's so creepy, clingy and stalkerish that the protagonist dumps him within the first ten minutes can then command such cold-blooded charm that he's able to get her sister, best friend and parents, and ultimately the police, to prefer him over her.) I think both are BBC productions.

If darkness is what you're looking for in science fiction, the Fourth Doctor is probably indeed a great place to start, as his early seasons are about as dark as the classic series got--not so much in the character, but in the whole storytelling and atmosphere and attitude, though some of his later seasons are about as silly (and, IMHO, bad) as Doctor Who has ever been. The sixth and seventh Doctors are also fairly dark, though in a bit more of a posery, look-how-cool-being-dark-makes-us kinda way.

[unferth.livejournal.com]

Both #9 and #10 have their good points...the Christmas special isn't really the best way to judge. I'd be interested to hear whether or not you've changed your opinion after you've seen episode 4, "The Girl in the Fireplace", and the #9 and #10 two-parter ("The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit"). And, you know, the good bits of the next season, but that's a ways off.

[placeofhonour.livejournal.com]

Really, you actually liked The Satan Pit? I thought it was the thinnest piece of plotting I've ever seen; a shining example of RTD's increasingly cracked-out thought patterns. Lots of Huge Questions terribly glossily presented, but not a genuinely thought-provoking comment on them in sight. If you know you can't treat a question properly because you're writing a kids' show, stay the fsck away from religion in the first place...

Also, 'Girl in the Fireplace', like 'Blink', was written by Stephen Moffat, who is Nu-Who's single best writer and IMNSHO its only saving grace...

[placeofhonour.livejournal.com]

150% agreed. Tennant looks like a bitchy little queen in comparison to Ecclestone; no gravitas whatsoever. Ecclestone actually made the Doctor almost sexy, which is a heck of an achievement in a cracky kids' programme. And that final line made my blood boil; talk about sexism. Tired and emotional? You wouldn't say that about a man.

Incidentally, classic Who is a *totally* different program, because it was created before RTD lost his mind. It also has real story arcs, unlike the Nu-Who "no attention span" single episide format. Not to mention wobbly sets and the BBC's best location filming... ah, it's a glorious thing.