The End Of Time Part 2 - Comment & Grading SPOILERS

[Starkers]

Also great to see an older man being seen as cool and hip is a slap in the face to all those, you couldn't have an older Doctor...

What, because there's an old character that people like in an episode?

You may have noticed that you're not getting an older Doctor, because TPTB know better. So there's a slap in the face here to someone, but it isn't to the youth-inclined.

Well there's the argument--that may hold some water--that an older actor wouldn't be up to the stresses of the shooting schedule, I don't fully agree with it (and always site the uber fit Patrick Stewart here) but I understand it.

And Smith wasn't cast because he was young, he was cast because he was the best man for the job.

 

[JoeZhang]

And Smith wasn't cast because he was young, he was cast because he was the best man for the job.

+ cheap (if the rumours are to be believed).

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

And Smith wasn't cast because he was young, he was cast because he was the best man for the job.

+ cheap (if the rumours are to be believed).

Almost certainly that.

And don't be ridiculous about "he wasn't cast because he was young" - when producers and casting directors start out they have something in mind. It's beyond foolish to believe that they gave equal audition time and equal weight to octogenerian and middle-aged actors as to young ones. For that matter although they probably saw women and actors of different ethnic backgrounds the predisposition was just as certainly to cast a white male.

Matt Smith was the absolute best available actor in Britain, at any price or any age, to do a BBC DW series? Hah-hah-hah-hah-hah. He was, in the judgment of the decision makers, the best available actor of a certain type for the money they were willing and able to pay.

 

[Skellington]

Here's a link to an End Of Time Theories article on IO9. Sorry if someone else has already posted it.

 

[Starkers]

I was going to write a thoughtful and slightly angry riposet, but frankly I've been there too, I've done the negative 'he'll be rubbish before we even see him' nonsense. When Daniel Craig was cast as Bond I really went to town...and a year later I was proven 100%, embarassingly wrong. I have issues with the Craig films, but Daniel Craig himself is not one of them. Brilliant casting and I fully admit to being wrong.

I wonder how many of the smith naysayers will do the same? (probably quite a few seeing how many people went from Catherine Tate will ruin the show to best companion evahh! )

Seriously, the BBC cast Matt Smith because he was young and cheap? One of their flagship shows, a commerical and critical success, but they scrimped?

Of course I'm sure David "Who?" Tennant cost a bomb when they signed him up didn't he? He was moderately more well known than Smith, but I'd never seen him in anything (unlike Smith who I actually have!)

Ah well, I'm sure whoever they cast people wouldn't have been happy, hell even if Tennant had stayed I'm sure people would have moaned.

I look forward to Matt Smith being a success. Not saying he will be, but I'm at least going to give him one full episode before I pass any sort of real judgement.

 

[USS KG5]

And Smith wasn't cast because he was young, he was cast because he was the best man for the job.

+ cheap (if the rumours are to be believed).

Well as a talented relative unknown he will be good value, but he probably gets a nice six figure sum, plus unless he is a complete disaster his career will benefit immensely.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Seriously, the BBC cast Matt Smith because he was young and cheap? One of their flagship shows, a commerical and critical success, but they scrimped?

Evidently they're scrimping on a lot. Which is not odd right now - even the big Hollywood studios are doing it. The difference is that while a studio can keep the budgets of its big films up by simply making fewer in a given year, TV networks rarely have the option of programming fewer hours for a year - so budgets get reinned in.

That said, you can untether "young" from "cheap" - the latter might have been an accomodation to circumstance, but if he's young it's because they wanted "young" and there's not a thing wrong with that.

 

[Tom]

Signing young talent at a cheap price has always worked for baseball..so why not.

 

[Jax]

Moffat made the choice not BBC, I am sure he is his own man and would not of took the job as showrunner if he did not have the final say in picking the actor who will be his Doctor. Hes young because thats what Moffat wanted and am sure very talented too.

 

[TedShatner10]

John Simm never seemed to quite cut it as the Master, especially when compared to Derek Jacobi and Roger Delgardo, although he's not as badly miscast as the smug Eric Roberts and you still love to hate him (and the likely final demise of Simm's incarnation is anti-heroic). Timothy Dalton was amazing, but his screentime was relatively brief and his character mostly unexplained (is he the Rassillion?). Catherine Tate was OK but pointless, Bernard Cribbins steals the show for the 1587th time, and David Tennant makes the best out of the yo-yo screenplay typical of RTD.

"The End of Time" is a grand send off story, better judged than that magnificent mess with Davros and his planetary heist, but it still has niggling details to pick over - yes the Time Lords are waved away from destroying the Universe when the Doctor shot the McGuffin with a WWII side arm (although far less groan inducing than the Daleks just getting remote controlled), the billions of Masters opened a can of worms about infighting between identical egomaniacs, and yes the Doctor survives a fall worse than the one in "Logopolis". RTD's habit of throwing everything at the story and not quite tying everything together correctly, making things seem almost like a psychotic dream the Doctor is having. But I somehow enjoyed every second of it.

Roll on Steven Moffat, a producer and writer who will maintain the broad appeal of the show established by RTD, but temper it with more rational and sharper screenplays.

 

[Jax]

^ I agree that Moffat will bring a more subdue vision of Doctor Who when compared to RTD but it will till be a fun as ever a msure. However I do love RTD's way of showing Who because as many have pointed it out "Doctor Who" is quite anti SCI FI...Doc Who tries to be serious while being so cheesy, so stupid and so OTT its laughable but its pure fun and its why we all watch (well most of us). I look for a more grounded and well thought out story in so much of my SCI FI, its so nice to actually sit down and watch just for the fun no matter how silly the plot gets because I know this is what Doctor Who has always been and its so so much fun.

 

[wamdue]

Signing young talent at a cheap price has always worked for baseball..so why not.

that young talent can they develop in the minors, Matt Smith has not done alot of time in the minor leagues of UK TV, I dont think he is even been in an episode of theBill or Casualty. He can not seriously be expected to be taking seriously as an English actor unless he has appeared in one or both (or possibly HolbyCity) of those.

 

[Tom]

Well they liked his acting in the movies he has been in, They saw that certain spark they needed to have in order to play the Doctor.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I liked Simm so much as the Master that I wish he could play the Doctor.

 

[Jax]

I dont think he is even been in an episode of the Bill or Casualty. He can not seriously be expected to be taking seriously as an English actor unless he has appeared in one or both (or possibly HolbyCity)

Funny how I don't take actors seriously who appear in any of them

 

[Snaploud]

I liked Simm so much as the Master that I wish he could play the Doctor.

I wanted Simm's The Master to become a series regular. He was great in that role, and I loved the dynamic between him and Tennant's doctor.

Of course, I also wanted Jenny to become a series regular as she had a great dynamic with Tennant's doctor. It would have been interesting to see how the three of them together would have fared...

 

[Marc]

Of course, I also wanted Jenny to become a series regular as she had a great dynamic with Tennant's doctor. It would have been interesting to see how the three of them together would have fared...

Next on BBC1, Two and a half Timelords.

Yes I went there

So shoot me

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Wonder what ever became of Jenny?

 

[Nerys Myk]

I just keep thinking about 10b with all the Doctor's memories living in a parallel dimension - a bit of pseudo-science and the walls between worlds can come down again and out pops Rose and 10b; this probably won't happen of course, but it allows for an easy two doctors story in the future without having to worry about walking all over the Doctor's personal timestreams etc. so 10 hasn't actually gone...from a certain point of view.

10b always seemed to be designed as Tennant's way to reappear on the series as much as he would like to in the future. If I understood correctly, 10b will age at the same rate a human does; so 10b will look like Tennant as Tennant grows older.

My pet theory is that 10b becomes "Doctor Who" from the Cushing movies. Has a few kids with Rose (and grandkids) builds a TARDIS and goes off and a few adventures. Tennant might age into looking like Cushing did in the movies.

 

[Kelso]

Wonder what ever became of Jenny?

I do.

I'm much more interested in seeing more of Jenny or River Song than I am in rummaging though the old show for actors or monsters to bring back.

Apparently, Jenny was originally supposed to have died but Moffat asked that she be kept alive. Hopefully, we'll see her again.