Do you think Matt Smith can portray the Doctor's dark side?

[Joe Washington]

When it comes to portraying the wacky, funny side of Doctor, Matt is good and will hopefully get better. The same goes for the Doctor's mad-scientist intelligence. But I'm wondering if he has what takes to show the Doctor's dark side which has been a common personality trait of the Doctor's for some time. Some of the other Doctors were able to do it chillingly without ruining the audience's sympathy for them. What are you guys' thoughts on this?

 

[23skidoo]

Based on the trailer alone, I'm saying oh yeah, definitely.

Everyone assumed David Tennant would be a wacky Doctor as well, until we got hit with moments that made Edward James Olmos' Adama look like Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys (bet no one's ever thought of THAT analogy before!).

Likewise, everyone assumed Eccleston would be nothing but dark and intense, but he provided the series with some of its funniest moments ever.

Smith is more than capable of being dark and in fact I predict he'll ultimately be a darker - and potentially angrier - Doctor than Tennant, in part because it's masked by his "mad scientist" demeanour. In The End of Time, Tennant threw a bunch of stuff off a table as he began ranting against his impending regeneration; Smith seems like the type who'd kick the table over. Tennant's Doctor looked awkward holding a gun; Smith's Doctor doesn't.

Alex

 

[Romulan_spy]

There's that scene in the trailer where Smith says that he is the last person who want to put in a trap and there is also the scene where he is holding a gun. So, yeah, I think we will see a dark side of the Doctor. Smith will definitely be a doctor you will not want to mess with.

 

[DimesDan]

Do you think Matt Smith can portray the Doctor's dark side?

yes

 

[The Wormhole]

Considering the Doctor's darker side is as much an integral part of the character as his compassionate and goofy side, I would say that Moffat and gang were probably looking for someone who could portray all the necessary facets of the Doctor when they were casting. So I'm confident Matt Smith has what it takes to be the Doctor, light or dark.

Everyone assumed David Tennant would be a wacky Doctor as well, until we got hit with moments that made Edward James Olmos' Adama look like Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys (bet no one's ever thought of THAT analogy before!).

Now I got an image in my head of Olmos wearing those think glasses.

On a related note, I have seen a few comparisons made between Colonel Tigh and Mr Lahey.

 

[23skidoo]

Now I got an image in my head of Olmos wearing those thick glasses.

My work here is done.

Alex

 

[davejames]

I'm sure he's capable of it, but personally I'm not in any big hurry to see that dark side. Unlike a lot of fans, it's not something that really interests me that much, and I don't think the Doctor really needs it to be a compelling character.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Everyone assumed David Tennant would be a wacky Doctor as well, until we got hit with moments that made Edward James Olmos' Adama look like Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys (bet no one's ever thought of THAT analogy before!).

I think Matt Smith will hit us with moments that make Edward James Olmos' Adama look like Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

No. He's too young for his negative aspect to come across as anything more than creepy.

 

[Starkers]

Well not every Doctor showed off his dark side, certainly Davison didn't. If they do go down that route I am hoping that Smith doesn't become the dark hypocrite God that 10 was at times...

The man who never would...except when he did...

No second chances, I'm that kind of a man (unless you're the Master in which case you can have 422)

 

[Captain Pike]

Well said Starkers.

 

[diankra]

Well not every Doctor showed off his dark side, certainly Davison didn't.

Davison never blew up planets, if that's what you mean, but he could do a cold, dangerous hiss very well - to the Cybermen, on Frontios, to Sharaz Jek, etc. When he went nasty, you felt it.

 

[Starkers]

True, but it wasn't a big part of his personality. Unlike that guy who followed him who occasionally showed a nice side...very occasionally...

 

[Captain Pike]

There was never much of a dark side to Troughton or Pertwee either.. Not sure about McGann, as there are still alot of audios I haven't listened to, but I never got much of a mean-streak vibe from him either..

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

There are colors and character complexity to the Doctor in nuWho that were not characteristic of the old video series. That's certainly true. I'll lose interest really quickly if this show starts to become what oldWho was, but thank goodness there's no suggestion whatever of that in anything that Moffat has said or done.

Eccleston and Tennant were dangerous and angry sometimes, and that's what I want to see. I do doubt that Smith has that in him, based on the clips of upcoming weeks - so far, he seems pretty goofy.

 

[diankra]

There was never much of a dark side to Troughton or Pertwee either.. Not sure about McGann, as there are still alot of audios I haven't listened to, but I never got much of a mean-streak vibe from him either..

That'd be the Troughton who engineers the extinction of the Dalek race in Evil, and behaves so ruthlessly earlier in the story that Jamie tells him to get lost? Who opens up the Cybermen's Tombs, leading to the deaths of most of the archeological expedition, rather than let them come back later when he's not around to deal with the problem? And so on. Troughton is one of the darkest Doctors of the lot, he just comes over as nice...
Pertwee just went along with blowing things up without worrying about it (except in The Silurians - one of the most effective moments in the entire series).

 

[The]

I'm in the camp that found Tennant's "dark side" about as threatening as a four-year-old throwing a shouty tantrum. He could certainly yell a lot. But, not once did I feel "Ooh, he's dangerous". I felt like he was The Doctor, trapped in a very, very non-threatening body. Thus, he talked a big talk. But, in the end, he was one of the 'weakest' incarnations. Meanwhile, Eccleston could rip the skin off your balls with a stare.

"I watched it happen. I made it happen!"

Holy crap, when he had that moment with the Dalek, I nearly spit out my drink. Number Nine was the dangerous, lonely survivor. Number Ten was the egomaniac with a god-complex.

Number Eleven? To be seen...

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

There's no question that Nine was very much "on task" compared to Ten, and I still wish Eccleston had gone on with the part longer than he did.

Other than Eccleston the Doctor has never been a threatening or imposing figure, and Smith certainly isn't anything special in that regard.

 

[Sci]

I'm in the camp that found Tennant's "dark side" about as threatening as a four-year-old throwing a shouty tantrum. He could certainly yell a lot. But, not once did I feel "Ooh, he's dangerous". I felt like he was The Doctor, trapped in a very, very non-threatening body. Thus, he talked a big talk. But, in the end, he was one of the 'weakest' incarnations. Meanwhile, Eccleston could rip the skin off your balls with a stare.

"I watched it happen. I made it happen!"

Holy crap, when he had that moment with the Dalek, I nearly spit out my drink. Number Nine was the dangerous, lonely survivor. Number Ten was the egomaniac with a god-complex.

Number Eleven? To be seen...

While I tend to agree that Eccleston's bark was much worse than Tennant's, I don't agree with the idea that Tennant's Doctor never seemed dark or dangerous. He was positively chilling when handing down eternal judgment upon the Family of Blood, for instance, and his "Time Lord Victorious" speech was very threatening -- especially when he declares someone else's home "all yours" after breaking it into it and declaring he has no constraints upon him anymore.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

...I don't agree with the idea that Tennant's Doctor never seemed dark or dangerous. He was positively chilling when handing down eternal judgment upon the Family of Blood, for instance, and his "Time Lord Victorious" speech was very threatening -- especially when he declares someone else's home "all yours" after breaking it into it and declaring he has no constraints upon him anymore.

He freaked me out because it wasn't absolutely clear to him all the time that he wasn't God himself. Freakier that it wasn't always altogether clear to me, either.