"...doesn't your balloon ever land...?"

It's been a rather hectic week and a half for Doctor Who fans, with two rather important things. First up was the fourth, now annual, Christmas special. Entitled The Next Doctor, the plot teased us to think that the Doctor had met a future incarnation of himself in the shape of David Morrissey. Initial speculation centred on how the episode was absolutely certain to be an adaptation in some form of the Big Finish audio CD, in which the Doctor bumps in to a person claiming to be a future incarnation of himself in the shape of, erm, Christopher Biggins. In this story, called The One Doctor, the other Doctor is revealed to be a con man called Banto Zane (Panto Dame, anyone...?). However, it was soon obvious that the only similarity the stories shared was that each had an alternative Doctor.

Prior to its broadcast, there was also much speculation (once the "One Doctor" theory had been explcitly denied by Russell T Davies) that Morrissey's Doctor was truly a future Doctor and was in fact, literally, going to be the next Doctor, the one to take over from David Tennant. Again, this was not to be the case.

Anyhow... enough of the speculatory talk.

What we ended up with was, to my mind, the best of the four Christmas specials thus far. It's apparent early on that Morrissey is not a real Doctor; the only question is that if he's not the Doctor, who is he? Like all good mysteries, the clues are seeded throughout and in hindsight, once you know the answer, it's rather obvious. Blatant even. But that first time you see it, when Tennant says "I think I've worked it out...", and it's only halfway through the episode (I was convinced Russell would keep us waiting until the end...), it's such a wonderful moment. As Tennant explains everything to Morrissey, you can see the latter is really struggling to come to terms with what he's being told; the sheer strength of the performances of both Doctors is what really elevates this episode up. I really wanted Morrissey to be a real Doctor, to be the next Doctor, but it was not to be. His performance is one of the very best guest appearances throughout RTD Who. 

The episode is not without its faults, however; the most notable and glaring one is the Morrissey plays no part in the climactic scenes with the Cyber-KIng. Yes, he's there on the ground; but frankly he should have been up there in the Ballon with Tennant. Given that he had previously stated that he'd never been up in the balloon - his Tardis (Tethered Arial Release Developed In Style!!!) - and that was one of his ambitions, you really would have thought that Russell could have come up with a conclusion that put him there, in the thick of the action once again showing how it was his own courage that made him do the brave things he did, rather than just from the memories he had gleaned from the info-stamp about the Doctor. Really, the more scenes with DT and DM together, the better I say.

Anyhow, despite this minor qualm, it made for a great episode, and as I said earlier, the best of the Christmas Specials to date.

But... if David Morrissey was not to take over from David Tennant... then who? We did not have to wait for long.

The sudden announcement that the Eleventh Doctor would be announced during an edition of Doctor Who Confidential sent Dr Who forums in to meltdown. The OG forums spent the best part of a couple of days going in to, and out of, and back in to "patron only" lock down mode. Speculation became rife again as to who it would be with most commentators seeming to think it was a two horse race between Paterson Joseph and Chiwitel Ejiofor. Either of which who would have been great.

Meanwhile, over at the betting exchange website, Betfair, out of nowhere a new favourite emerged. Someone whose odds, at the time betting on the site closed at about half four on Saturday, were down to 1-10 (that is; bet a quid, and your winnings would be 10p...). Could this have been because people "in the know" as to the new Doctor's identity were out to make a few quid by putting money on to, what was to them, a dead certainty?

This person's name was Matt Smith, and sure enough shortly before 6pm on Saturday January 4th, he was announced as the eleventh Doctor.

Dr Who forums, once again, went in to meltdown. The reaction to his casting was somewhat mixed, most notably relating to his looks. Many people were whinging because "I can't believe they cast such a pretty-boy as the Doctor" and equally as many were whinging because "I can't believe they cast such an ugmo as the Doctor". Some of the vitriol and hate that spewed out was, to my mind, somewhat sickening, and went far beyond jovial mickey taking and in to the realms of out and out abuse. 

What abuse there was that wasn't centred on his looks was instead heaped on his age. So, he's 26. Get a grip. This is the actor that has been chosen for the part by Steven Moffatt, and frankly I trust his opinion a lot more than any of the nay-sayers who seem to think his young age and his pretty/ugly looks automatically mean he's unsuitable to play the Doctor. There have been several people claiming they will never watch the show again calling the casting things like "absolute bullshit" and "the worst decision ever" and various other things like that. 

I mean, give the chap a chance. At least wait until you've seen at least his regeneration scene, or even better, his first episode, before saying such things. But, I guess this is Doctor Who fandom we're talking about here where given all the spiel about how this is a show that can go anywhere and do anything, how the Doctor is always fighting for the underdog and for giving people a chance, that so many people who purport to be fans have such closed minds. It's sad really. You can see why Russell referred to some sections of fandom as "mosquitoes"...

I'm optimistic about how he'll turn out. I trust Steven Moffatt to get it right, and for him to place the future of the show on the shoulders of Matt Smith, then I have no doubt he knows exactly what he's doing. If I was casting, I can't say I'd have picked Smith - I'd have gone for either Adrian Lester or Stefan Dennis - but that's part of the fun of the announcement of each new Doctor, the surprise, and wondering how he'll turn out. Smith was certainly a surprise - well, until the Betfair betting patterns made him a dead cert - and it's surprise like these that make being a Doctor Who fan so exciting. It's hard to imagine how Smith will approach the role at this stage, but it's going to be fun finding out. 

Spring 2010 is going to be a great time for telly as not only is that when this new era of Doctor Who will start, but also when Lost ends... 

Epilogue:

• I have now passed a milestone in that for the first time in my life the incumbent Doctor is younger than I am. Makes me feel so old...!
• And how long will it be before we find out who Smith's companion will be... I reckon it should be Hannah Murray. She would be great!