Matt Smith’s ‘Doctor Who’ Era Begins
Matt Smith in costume as the new Doctor in 'Doctor Who'
Production started today on the new series of Doctor Who in which Matt Smith will play the 11th Doctor. To kick it off the above image has been released showing Matt Smith in costume as the Doctor alongside his new companion Amy Pond (played by Karen Gillan).
Upon arriving on set in Cardiff, for his first day of filming, Smith commented: “I feel very privileged and proud to be part of this iconic show. The scripts are brilliant and working alongside Karen, Steven and the rest of the crew is an inspiration because their work ethic and passion for the show is so admirable. I’m excited about the future and all the brilliant adventures I get to go on as the Doctor.”
Karen Gillan is a Scottish actress known for The Kevin Bishop Show. Her character Amy will meet the Doctor in episode one of the new series.
New show-runner and long-running Doctor Who fan Steven Moffat has developed this series and, as Lead Writer and Executive Producer, will be responsible for the overall creative direction of the show, as well as plot and character arcs.
Moffat’s previous episodes of Doctor Who, including the BAFTA-winning episode Blink, have garnered widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike.
He commented: “And here it is, the big moment – the new Doctor, and his new best friend. And here’s me, with the job I wanted since I was seven. 40 years to here! If I could go back in time and tell that little boy that one day all this would happen, he’d scream, call for his mum, and I’d be talking to you now from a prison cell in 1969. So probably best not then. Matt and Karen are going to be incredible, and Doctor Who is going to come alive on Saturday nights in a whole new way – and best of all, somewhere out there, a seven-year-old is going to see them, fall in love, and start making a 40-year plan…”
Piers Wenger, Executive Producer and Head of Drama, BBC Wales, added: “The scripts for the new series are every bit as funny, thrilling, scary and imaginative as you’d expect from the man who brought us The Empty Child and Blink. There’s a strange and perfect alchemy between Steven and Matt Smith and the next few months are going to be riveting as that relationship starts to emerge on screen. Steven always says he’s been waiting to do this job since he was seven. But it’s actually the Doctor who has been waiting for him.”
The new series follows three Doctor Who specials starring David Tennant which will transmit later this year.
Filming is underway in Cardiff and will go through until March 2010.
Matt Smith’s first season will consist of thirteen 45 minute episodes.
July 20th, 2009 at 3:18 am
Bring it on, Moffat. I don’t know about you guys but I’m so bloody ready for this thing.
July 20th, 2009 at 3:41 am
Me too CJJC. There’s people involved with this that helped do Torchwood: Children of Earth too and that rocked.
Cept for the bow tie I’m down with it (the bow tie makes me think of Colin Baker’s era and, well, no one wants that).
August 10th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Very poor costume, expected better. I am hoping it will fit the character. I wasn’t struck with Chris Ecclestones costume but it worked for him. I have championed Matt Smith amongst my friends, Hes has the look so fingers crossed.
October 28th, 2009 at 6:45 am
I hate the newbie Doctor Matt Smith. He’s not cute or geeky or anything. I hate his hairstyle aswell. The best Doctor therre ever was was David Tennant. He was cute funny and clever and emotional. He’s the best no matter what anyone else says. I hate the new Doctor. He doesn’t look like a timelord or anything he should be an alien. David Tennant as Doctor Who rules!
October 28th, 2009 at 6:45 am
His costume is the worst of all too.
November 9th, 2009 at 10:53 am
paul mcgann should have been recast as he is a suitable replacement or jason connery
November 11th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
I think that Matt Smith really has potential and be a really interesting Dr.Who.
November 20th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Given the constant gripe about the costume, I hope the fans and viewers give Matt Smith a chance to shine and develop into the role and hopefully he’ll be as successful as most of his predecessors have been. Someone mentioned earlier about David Tennant being the best Doctor Who and that’s fine and considering the history of the show, it’s natural that everybody has their favourite Doctor Who. In the time frame that I grew up with Doctor Who, Tom Baker was considered by far the best, but that was a long time ago now. I’m sure somewhere around late 2010 there will be lots of people who will proclaim Matt Smith as their favourite Doctor Who and quite rightly so. This is the way it should be.
November 21st, 2009 at 11:21 am
Is he the 11th Doctor? Or the 1st? Mrs KG and i were kicking around this idea:
David Tennant’s Doctor seems to be doomed. Hubris, Nemesis – all the Tragic Greek elements coming together. What if this is The End for the Doctor? Instead maybe Matt Smith is the young Doctor from “back in the day” (don’t you hate that phrase?) ie just after the Time War.
Just a thought- 2 months from now I’ll read this and laugh.
December 27th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
I’m hating this guy even more after seeing the gorgeous david cry this christmas!And what is p wih the dressing sense.. i doubt I’ll contiue watching the show……
December 28th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
It’s quite obvious that they gave him this ridiculous outfit to try and make him look older but it rather makes him look even more stupid. If Tennant was bad this guy will be worse
December 31st, 2009 at 1:57 pm
What if he isnt? maybe an elaborate hoax? SW is underlined on the website twice, maybe, and its a long shot, he isnt or at least not for long. Mind you its new years eve and I am about to go out, but this guy doesnt seem to fit
January 1st, 2010 at 1:54 pm
GET HIM OUT NOW!!…. NOW I TELL YOU
January 2nd, 2010 at 8:33 am
@DoctorWhoBiggestFan
Were the previous Doctors cute? Compare hairstyles with the previous Doctors. I agree “The best Doctor therre ever was was David Tennant” You’ve only seen 3 minutes of Matt Smith, and you’re saying he can’t be cute “funny and clever and emotional.” He doesn’t look like a Time lord? Does that mean Time Lords should look exactly like David Tennant? -.- Or are you talking about his age, because he’s the youngest, enthusiastic doctor out of all 11 doctors? He should be an alien? Yeeeeah… He is…
Also, it’s natural that everyone hates Matt Smith. Not many people liked David Tennant when they first heard him coming to the series: “Oooh, a Scottish guy is playing the doctor?” http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/scotsman-edinburgh-scotland-the/mi_7951/is_2005_August_6/hate-doctor-david-alien-insurrection/ai_n34065622/ So yeeeeah, and look how David turned out to be after 3 seasons: splendid. If you’re a David-Tennant-Die-Hard fan, it’s okay to hate on Matt, but if you’re a fan of the series, then don’t just judge his appearance/personality from those 3 minutes in the tardis (>__<)!
January 4th, 2010 at 4:24 am
Matt Smith is just a dork! David Tennant is much better! Why won’t he stay? Uh… Matt must do it good! Or I will never watch it again! (If David comes back, maybe than i will watch it!) 0:-)
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:47 pm
Im sick of all you David Tennant freaks going on about ‘ooooh no Matt Smith Cant be The Doctor and oooooh his costume is ugly!’ Heres a news flash guys David Tennant it GONE and your all going to have to accept that because he’s not coming back. I think that Matt Smith will be a stunning new Dcotor and will bring something great and new to the show, so how about you give the poor guy a chance and see what he can with the role before you start crying and moaning about had bad he is.
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:18 pm
I think the fact that Russell T Davies was originally looking for an older actor to play the 11th Doctor, saw Matt Smith’s audition and said “That’s our Doctor.” must have some weight to Matt Smith’s performance. I say we all wait for the new season and judge after we see him act for more than 3 minutes.
Seriously, I love David Tennant and everything, but Matt Smith must have something special if the original head writer changed everything for which he was looking from an audition.
Can’t wait for the new season.
February 4th, 2010 at 1:06 am
So everyone, I love David Tennant as the Doctor as much as everyone else. He is “my Doctor Who,” but he can’t be the Doctor forever and I think everyone should give Matt Smith a chance before saying that they hate him. We have only seen one official scene in which he was just getting used to his new form. And who knows they brought Rose back over from the parallel world, maybe we will get another episode with the half human half time lord. I doubt it but we may as well wait and see.
February 7th, 2010 at 6:37 am
dudes and dudettes I like David tenant and matt smith i want to star in a doctor but well you have got to say after the regeneration matt smith was pretty mad just like D.T and it was great but I still think matt smith killed David tenant but in the trailer he did things that D.T did not do
1. he punched a guy in the face, he hit a dalek on his battle suit
he shot a gun
all this things D.T hardly did
AWESOME
February 19th, 2010 at 7:11 am
People need to get a grip here. Matt Smith will be fine and people who are slating him before he’s done a full episode are just wrong. Some of the comments are just ludicrous. One comment I saw about how Smith doesn’t look like a Time Lord I mean what the hell does that mean? Time Lords look like humans so he DOES look like one. As for everyone who goes on about cutness well I’m sorry it’s not an nescessity to play the doctor. You need a good actor, nothing more. Anyway Tennant is gone and there is nothing anyone can do so get over it and if you can’t then you’re not much of a Doctor Who fan.
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:25 am
I really really do not want Matt Smith to take over and I want them to scarp him and bring David back. I think that Matt looks too young to be The Doctor and mabey they should bring Tennant back and let Smith try again in a few years…
SOLX
May 10th, 2010 at 10:51 am
Well, having seen five episodes now let me be the first here to say that the new cast is absolutely brilliant. Two thumbs up
May 21st, 2010 at 6:12 pm
I’m so glad Tennant left. Matt Smith is a much more talented actor and is doing an amazing job as the Doctor.
June 7th, 2010 at 1:42 am
OMG SHUT UP, I HAVE SEEN 9 EPISODES WITH MATT SMITH AND HE IS AT LEAST AS GOOD AS THE LAST DOCTOR. David was good, but Matt is as well, David had Humor, and the fast way to speak nailed but seriously Matt has the fast speaking with more knowledgeable ways of speaking. He inspects is the word i would choose closely and has very good potential. And since Davids doctor “Died” they cant just bring him back.
June 28th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
OMFG Matt Smith is like the BEST DOCTOR EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! all those who say hes not can go rethnk their lives. he is also very cute no matter what anyone else says. why is it that i always fall for guys who are good at or just play soccer even though the sport irks me SSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 30th, 2010 at 7:29 am
NEWS JUST IN……..Doctor Who ratings are at an all time low. 1 million viewers have deserted the show and only 5 million tuned in for the finale. The show no longer registers in the top 10. DW confidential doesn’t even appear in the top 30. Who’s fault is that? Everyone involved I think. Especially Matt Smith. Did you see that twat on Glastonbury? He turned up at the end of Orbitals set and completely ruined it. The guy has no charisma what so ever. He needs to go.
July 12th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
everyone on here who is bitching and complaining and fighting over who was the better doctor is seriously delusional. Hello people, its fucking fiction, get a grip or maybe even a life. Its meant for entertainment, and entertainment only, and if its not doing that for you then maybe you should just find something else to watch. OOO or heres and idea try writing a story of your own, read a book, who cares just quit your bitching
July 13th, 2010 at 1:41 am
This new Doctor easily blows the doors off those that came before him. This is the Doctor classic Who fans have been hoping for. While I enjoyed Tennant’s run, it’s good to see someone bring some depth back to the role.
July 13th, 2010 at 5:52 am
Man, I wish I could unsubscribe from this topic. What a fool I was back in 2009, clicking that “Notify me of followup comments” box…
PS, Matt Smith has not only been far better than I expected, but far better than I COULD have expected. Truly a surprise.
July 18th, 2010 at 1:56 am
@SB
Shut it mate,
You pulled those figures out of your ass,
They don’t even make logical sense.
1 million people all way through then suddenly a 4 million increase for last episode?
no episode this season has gone BELOW 5 million,
The rating for the last episode was 6.7 million.
Also Matt smith > David Tenant in many peoples opinions
Matt smith is an incredibly talented actor
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:15 pm
What are you people talking about? Matt Smith is awesome! I like him. All the whining and bitching…before he even started the series. Seriously – that’s just not fair. If you still hate him, and you STILL want David back, you’re not a real fan! Change is what defines this show…
1st Doc: William Hartnell
2nd Doc: Patrick Troughton
3rd Doc: Jon Pertwee
4th: Tom Baker
5th: Peter Davison
6th: Colin Baker
7th: Sylvester McCoy
8th: Paul Mcgann
9th: Christopher Eccleston
….Shame on you, haters. SHAME.
July 25th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
EXTERMINATE MATT SMITH!!! EXTERMINATE!!! This is the one time we’d like to see the DALEKS actually get their way.
July 29th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
I started with Matt Smith and fell in love with him instantly (love his outfit! Bowties are cool
! ) and I personally find him rather sexy, but that is a side point. Being sexy is not required to play The Doctor. I mean, look at Eccleston. Not a very pretty man.
I have watched all of Matt Smith (so far) and all of Eccleston, and have just started on Tennant and I love them all equally. They’re each a different version of The Doctor and they each bring something special and uniquely theirs to the interuptation of who he is. Eccleston was sad and angry and learning to be a better man again. He wasn’t as fun-loving and dynamic but he didn’t need to be. Tennant seems to be a lot more goofy and excitable (from what I’ve seen). Smith is very spastic, very excitable, but he has a dangerous edge that I like.
Comparing ANY of The Doctors is as pointless as comparing Capt. Kirk and Capt. Picard. No one was better, just different!
October 5th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Geronimo?? Matt Smith is Fail. Ill come back when they change this shmohawk.
October 5th, 2010 at 11:38 pm
and that bowtie makes him look like an asshole
November 25th, 2010 at 8:56 am
OK. David is my Doctor. I gave Matt Smith a chance. I watched half the series and I felt … disappointed. I was willing to give Matt a chance, knowing full well that I would probably not like him as much as David. And I was right. I just cannot watch him as the Doctor. I feel the show has changed too much, too fast. It isn’t Doctor Who anymore to me. I actually cried at the fact that I can’t watch the Chritmas Special this year, it has been one of my favourite TV shows for the past five years and it was hard to let go.
I just feel like Matt Smith is almost going overboard with everything. Too hypo, too angry, too … everything.
Also, rainbow Daleks? Did small children get to design these things? For God’s sake, get a new villian. The Daleks and Cybermen are getting old.
Overall, I just can’t watch the show anymore. And this saddens me. Now, excuse me, while I go and hold my sonic scewdriver and watch my Series 2 boxset …