Doctor Who: 8 Matt Smith Era Problems The New Series Should Improve Upon

"You know what we need? More confusion!" "Brilliant!"

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses episodes from the Seventh Series, The 50th Anniversary Special and The Latest Christmas Special. When it comes to film and television, no matter what efforts the writers, actors and director may make, there are always going to be audience members who dislike the final product. This goes double for Doctor Who, one of the few shows where the replacement of the lead actors is expected by its fans and is a central aspect of the plot. However, with new actors comes a new approach to material and a shift in tone for the show, which, more often than not, draws a divided response from the Doctor Who fandom. The departure of Matt Smith has definitely caused a distinct divide, despite his replacement being the Academy Award-winning veteran actor Peter Capaldi. While some fans have declared they would not watch a show with an older Doctor, others who were uneasy with Matt Smith's youth are returning to the show. While it is incredibly unlikely that the 12th Doctor will satisfy every Whovian, it is more than possible for this new series to learn from previous mistakes, and improve upon certain issues that plagued the 11th Doctors reign. For example...

8. Story Arcs

The 'Cracks in the Universe' and 'Silence Will Fall' both captured the fan's imagination and attention very early on, assuring nervous fans that Steven Moffat could handle a seasonal story arc as well as previous showrunner, Russell T Davies. After a season of build-up, The Silence featured in their first episode at the beginning of the sixth series, and Steven Moffat was celebrated for creating a new villain to rival the Weeping Angels. The Silence, as it was soon revealed, were actually the members of a religious order dedicated to making The Doctor's death a fixed point in time. Luckily though, The Doctor was able to thwart this plan and... well, that's it really. No real explanation €“ besides a brief mention to an 'ongoing war' €“ as to why The Silence had gone through so much effort to ensure The Doctor's death. Series six finishes with The Doctor escaping death, and series seven begins with a new story arc and villain. The Silence are never to be seen from again. That is, until Matt Smith's final episode 'The Time of the Doctor', which aired over two years after the series six finale. This is where we learn that The Doctor's attempt to bring back Gallifrey is what will cause the war mentioned in series six and, ultimately, the formation of The Silence. After years of waiting, fans finally had all those frustrated questions answered. While several critics have since praised Moffat's foresight and ability to tie the previous story arcs together, many more critics have raised the question, "Why bother?" In the time between appearances from The Silence, two companions left the series, their replacement starred in eight episodes, a new story arc €“ complete with new villain €“ was introduced and resolved, the long awaited 50th anniversary special aired, Matt Smith's departure was announced and Peter Capaldi was chosen as the next Doctor. By the time Moffat had answered all of the questions that were initially raised, none of the fans cared anymore. This is one aspect where Moffat could learn a lot from Davies treatment of recurring story arcs. In the two years between Rose's appearances not only was the character referenced several times, but hints were scattered throughout the episodes to let fans know that this story line was unresolved.
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A writer, actor, teacher and musician from New South Wales, Australia. His first play/musical "Hipster Apocalypse: A Zombie Cabaret" will be hitting the stage in Wollongong, Australia later this year. If you have any questions or just want to chat, you can contact Bradley on Facebook, Twitter and Google+