Doctor Who: Series 5 - First trailer released by the BBC

i watched this about ten times last night. looks great, but there are a few niggling facts worrying in the
back of my mind however.

in the trailer we see (out of context, no less) what looks like see the sonic screwdriver being destroyed,
the doctor in a fist fight, and the doctor using a firearm. couple that with the fact that matt smith is the
youngest doctor who in history, following on the tail of the most popular doctor in history, and taking
this trailer purely at face value makes it seem an awful lot of similarities the transition from tom baker
(then the most popular doctor in history) to peter davison (then the youngest doctor in history) back in
1980.

not that peter davison was a lousy doctor or anything, but things really did not go too well following
tom baker for a number of years. the transition marked the beginning of what amounted to the
watering down of the program that ultimately left us with the awful colin baker, and poor sylvester
mccoy trying to rescue the show and bring a sense of dignity to the proceedings following him.

i do realize that is just an analysis of a trailer, strewn with scenes across 13 episodes of series 5, all
taken out of context to the actual events in those episodes. but the similarities do paint somewhat of a
scary picture, and someone has to point that out.

the saving grace going into series 5 completely blind, is the knowledge that steve moffat (blink, the
girl in the fireplace, the curse of fatal death, etc.) is probably the best writer in doctor who history,
beating out even the likes terry nation, ben aaronovitch, douglas adams and most importantly, russel
t. davies himself; and the knowledge that this man (mr. moffat) is the head cheese behind the new
series is probably the best news of all. with russell t. davies pretty much taking absolutely everything
he created for the rebooted doctor who with him, including the current incarnation of the tardis
console room, having someone of the caliber of moffat helming the series going forward, is going to be
key to keeping the show not only relevant, but also from falling off the edge into oblivion like it did in
the decade following tom baker.

from what i have seen from programs like the ruby in the smoke and the shadow in the
north, matt smith is no doubt a very good actor, but then so was peter davison; he\'s certainly
proven that time and again, prior to and after his stint as doctor who number five. but even the best
actor in the world, will look like shit if you give him a poorly written script, or badly thought out
direction. now more than ever, the fate of future doctor who rests in the quality of the people behind
the scenes. and i for one and heavily ecstatic that the head honcho behind the 11th doctor is someone
of steven moffat\'s talent and caliber. just the very knowledge that moffat is pulling all the strings going
forward. leaves me not only hopeful that series five will be every bit as good as series one thru four, but
potentially, even better . . . that and the fact that i think i spotted the return of the silurians (or were
those sea devils, i can\'t remember which species had the third eye, and which did not) in the series five
trailer. i was just telling someone a week ago, how cool it would be if they would bring back the
silurians. and it looks like in series five, i will finally get my wish.

i've been the biggest mark for the doctor who series since it returned, its just built up and up as
it went and really made an impact. now i knew this was coming obviously, we all did, and the
(avoiding spoilers) ending of the special could not possible have done the job any better..

but despite all of this i still sit here and think, this new kid, i dont think i like him.

im sure they will convince me, but at this point he just, i dunno, doesnt fit the bill for me.

the new guy looks like a troll. it actually kinda disgusts me. i hope his acting can make up for
it because i love this show. and was that seriously how he punches someone...terrible.

back in march 2009, having seen the new doctor unvieled, i was excited at how intriguing this actor's
face was. and when david tennant finally agonisingly decided to take a 30 minute curtain bow, i was
glad to see the teaser from matt smith - albeit the ginger comment, cheap.
however on viewing the trailer, i am concerned that the bbc have decided to surround matty with even
younger actors. i understand that the franchise has to always look at attracting the viewers of the
future- but is it fair to do this at the expense of its present viewers. i've had the pleasure of watching
the doctor for around 25 years now, and maybe i'm getting old per-say, but do we need another sarah
jane type sci-fi characteur parody? i hope all my fears are alleyed, and matt smith and the writers
prove me wrong, and create the darkest doctor who season yet - somehow though with regret, i doubt
it.

stephen moffat should at least offer a distinct improvement to the dr who franchise, and perhaps
the most prominent thing to look out for will be the distinct lack of obscure casting decisions....
typified by billie piper, freema agyema, michelle collins ... and absurd use of acronyms, atrocious
writing/production/creative direction and recycled characters. however, this trait didn't simply
resonate with russel t davies.... the previous contribution of john nathan turner where similar
traits were evident also led to the death knell being given to the original series .... although i
still have fond memories of the contribution of sylvester mccoy and sophie aldred in the last of the
original season.

perhaps it would be too much too hope for that, in a future edition of the series, we could expect
sylvester mccoy to walk out of the shower, to join ace in the tardis, and to simply imagine the
creative nightmare that was the russel t davies experience. at least some continuity was evident in
the transition between sylvester mccoy and paul mcgann, whereas any relationship between the
original series and since the 1997 movie are entirely superficial.