The BBC is starting the hype machine for the upcoming latest incarnation of its venerable time-traveling franchise, Doctor Who. They have unveiled a teaser video of the new logo for the spring 2010 season, which will debut the 11th incarnation of the good Doctor, who will be played by newcomer, Matt Smith. The new logo is the first version to ever incorporate the Doctor's signature TARDIS time-machine, which is visible in the form of giant "DW" initials. They seem to be a tribute to the franchise's iconic status, as at this point, it is assumed that two letters are enough to command the necessary respect.
At 26 (he will be 27 this month,) Matt Smith will be the youngest actor to have played the character. (Three years younger than the age of the 5th Doctor, Peter Davison when his tenure began in 1981.) Smith will be replacing the hugely popular David Tennant, who announced his imminent departure from the series last year. (Tennant's final episodes are set to air slowly through the remainder of this year.)
It will be interesting to see if the somewhat untested Smith will be able to project the kind of gravitas (a word from the 2000 Election lexicon along with "dimpled chads,") necessary to carry this role, which comes with so much history. However, it does make sense, given the direction that the BBC seems to be taking with their programming with shows like the "Twilight-esque" werewolf drama, Being Human" and airing Channel 4's "edgy teen drama," Skins. There does seem to be a overarching drive towards the younger demographic, similar to The CW network's recent revamp in the US. (Although, CW started theirs by dropping WWE Wrestling, which was by far their highest-rated show.) In that context, Smith's selection as the 11th Doctor is understandable.
It also has to be considered that if there's one thing to which fans of the Doctor Who franchise are accustomed, it's radical changes. The fact there there have been 11 very distinct versions of the main character, whose storylines, style, and character context have changed drastically over the span of five decades is proof enough. As long as Smith is even somewhat passable, I seriously doubt there will be any real backlash.
Comments
Displaying 1–19 of 19
T_Rexx
Not a good logo.
Ohalland
"Skins" was produced by Channel 4 you numpties.
Disturbed1ne
thats an awesome logo. what you talking about?
sucks that I never got into the series once David was made Dr. but I have watched the spinoff to this, Torchwood. Awesome show! Too bad people are now having a backlash on the show since Davies loves to piss off the fans.
ah well.
Good luck Matt.
typhoon_2099
Yeah, what Ohalland said.
Necronomoly
I am a fan of DW but, Matt Smith looks like a complete tool in that that picture.
imdave
Ohalland
"'Skins' was produced by Channel 4 you numpties."
Well its probably shown on BBC America and have you seen the R1 DVD box sets, BBC logos on them. I think the BBC has international distribution rights for a lot of non BBC produced UK shows.
Sorry if this ends up as double post, site wasnt cooperating ;)
Wildcard273
I'll get used to the new logo, that's fine. I'm just shaky on the new Doctor he's so young looking. Let's hope he's able to pull it off. I did watch the Being Human and I don't think it was Twilight-esque. Well...their vamps can go out in daylight, but they're not emo d-bags like Twilight.
I grew up on Dr. Who as a kid in Chicago and it would come on at 11pm on Sunday nights. So it wasn't often that I got to stay up and watch it. So Doctor Who will always have a special place in my heart.
SG_17
The new Doctor and the new logo look queer. The 10th Doctor is the best ever. Even better than the 4th,
atari05
New Logo looks killer actually. Much more Dr-ish....brings me back to the 80's watching re-runs of Tom Baker.
I hope Matt Smith does well. I at first didn't think he was a good choice at all (Considering DT is a tough act to follow) but I saw some interviews with him and I think he might be able to pull it off.
Only time will tell though...but I will miss DT very much.
Mr_Eko_73
Whats with the "Flock of Seagulls" hairdo?
Christopher Eccleston was Great! David Tennant was Awesome! This dude...meh..I guess we'll see.
I lived in England for 3 months and I can tell you all of there Logos and artwork for shows look like they're stuck in the 90's.- just sayin'
piglet102970
Since i lvie in America, I havent been able to see the older Doctor Whos (only the episodes since the reboot started). I have to say though, I love this show! Personally, I dont care if The Doctor is young or not, as long as he does the sho right. Personally, I liked The Doctor from when the showed had its reboot (I think it was number 9). He's absolutely hilarious.
badspeller05
OOOOO Weeeeee OOOOOOOO! WeeeeeOOOOOO!
electrox3d
no eyebrows??
slakr2386
The Doctor is back to bad David Tennant wont be back he was great being the doctor
Spartan593
David Tennant was the best doctor. Im sure this guy will be fine, but tennant was amazing
RedRingsOfDeath
Best Doctor ever = David Tennant, It would of been awesome if he stayed... for me. he was awesome. just won't be the same without him...
thesilentmole
I love people basing their opinions of Matt before he's even had a chance to show a 20 second clip. Leave it to this group of internet psychos to base their opinion of a movie/game/show/person who will play the doctor based on one clip and a title logo.
MacPhisto
Eh I don't know, the new logo just looks so... chunky. It probably just needs a little more time to grow on me I guess. I'm surprised it took them so long to finally work the iconic symbol of the TARDIS into the logo. I figured they would have done that a lot sooner. There's a cool video on the BBCA site that shows the complete evolution of the logo throughout the entire run of the show: http://www.bbcamerica.com/cont ent/123/doctor-who-video.jsp
Now hopefully they won't mess with the theme music too!
As far as Matt Smith goes, I'm sure he'll do just fine and the fans will grow to love him too. Everyone always seems to say the current Doctor is "the best one ever and no one could ever replace him"... until the next one comes along. Steven Moffat said "As soon as Matt walked through the door and blew us away with a bold and brand new take on the Time Lord, we knew we had our man." I'm sure he knows exactly who would fit well into the role of the Doctor, so I'm willing to trust his confidence in Matt.
PopReference
"When there's trouble call DW!"
Displaying 1–19 of 19
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