Ken Socrates

Twenty-six year old Matt Smith, that’s who.

Announced today by the BBC, the young gentleman will follow the very popular David Tennant as Doctor Who after his impending departure from the role. Conversation, as you might imagine, is buzzing everywhere about the news.

My great friend and co-conspirator Gonz O’Lager, the man who’s opinion on all things Who I value and respect more than any other, weighs in on the subject with seeming trepidation and general distaste for the kissy nature of the Doctor in recent years, and how that may have influenced the choice of this youngster for the part. His observations, as always, are spot on and very similar to my own.

Meanwhile, at the KSWNO, Gorman Moloko is using his position as Managing Editor to voice his own opinions on the matter, including, as you’d expect, some rather maudlin dribblings about his boy Tennant riding off into the Vortex.

As for myself, I will admit to a certain amount of interest in the long running series over the years. It all started during the fondly remembered Tom Baker era when I would catch episodes airing on WGBH in Boston. I can recall the feeling when that amazing theme song started up and the tunnel visuals started drawing you into what seemed like such a delighfully strange and alien universe. Later, I would manage catch up on other era’s from the show’s illustrious history, viewed through varying degrees of snow on a tiny television set with rabbit ear antennas that could just barely pick up the signal from NHPTV in New Hampshire. That was my introduction to Jon Pertwee and Peter Davison and all the others.

Baker remains the favorite to this day. I guess I like my Doctors a bit older, and though it was unrealistic, when I heard that the exceptional Tennant was departing, entertained fantasies of a wizened Time Lord with a truly alien sense about him. Perhaps a bit stern and threatening, as someone with his history might become, given to bouts of haunted grimness and a wildly unpredictable sense of humour.

Not to be, of course. But, then, I’m an old fart now and no longer a part of the target audience for the show, which is a keenly felt shame, I think. We’re losing something if The Doctor is slipping into the realm of the Teen Idols and Pop Stars. Television science fiction will be that much poorer as a result, I do believe.

Why bother resisting the trend, though?

You could say that doing so is absolutley useless.