11 Things Doctor Who Is Getting Wrong With The 11th Doctor (And How To Fix Them)

1. Eleven Isn't Twelve Yet, And They Say It Won't Happen Anytime Soon

For all the criticisms of Matt Smith and his performance as Doctor the Eleventh, there is something to be said for the enormity of the task he undertook when he inherited the Sonic Screwdriver from Tennant's Doctor the Tenth. As an actor, he was stepping not only into a storied role which has been hashed and rehashed for longer than he has been alive, but he was doing so on the heels of arguably the most wildly popular and beloved actor to have ever played the role, at a time when many felt he was leaving the series prematurely. And we liked him. We never quite loved him, not like our other favorites. Not like Baker. Not like McCoy. Not like Tennant. But it was possible we would have loved no one in that situation. Smith's Doctor began as a slightly sillier derivative of all the things that made the Tenth great, and that made him safe and familiar. However, the one major reason that Tennant gave for leaving the role is because he didn't want his Doctor to become stale. He felt many of the story arcs for that particular incarnation of the Doctor had been played out, and that it was time to leave while the love was still high. In retrospect, this was strong wisdom on his part. The Eleventh, who is the Tenth with a "cool bow tie", has proven that to be true. Yes, he's fun still. But he isn't great. He doesn't feel like he is growing. He feels like he is running in place, cycling through the same three emotional presets of zany, sullen, and tantrum. Why is this a problem? So Matt Smith says he wants to play the Doctor forever? Moffat assures us that he wants Smith to be around as long as he can keep him? What's the matter with keeping an established and relatively successful actor in the role? After all, the show's economic success couldn't be higher! New fans are "indoctorinated" every week, and the easy access to previous shows means they too can relive the glory days. But the problem is that Matt Smith is now, and always was riding the wave generated by Eccleston and Tennant. He has not appreciably contributed distinction or uniqueness to the character, unless you count certain anachronistic fashion sensibilities. In many ways, the same could be said of Moffat, now coasting in self-indulgent creative confusion, free from what we can see now was clearly the grounding heart of his partnership with Russel T. Davies. Like Smith, it is unquestionable that Moffat has moments of greatness. It is his mind that brought us Silence in the Library and the infamous River Song afterall. However, just as Smith's ability to reliably deliver strong performances in a single scene does not mean he is satisfactory for bearing the mantle of the most famous science fiction character in the world, Moffat's capacity to tell small scale stories well does not mean he is qualified to construct complex narrative arcs; a fact which became painfully clear by the middle of Season 6. So how do we fix this? As always, the best cure for a dying Doctor is a good old fashioned regeneration. At the very least, we need a new actor to invigorate the performance, and very likely, a new creative director as well. However, we want to give this Doctor his due. Let him be the 50th anniversary headliner. Let him forever hold the honor of having uttered the Doctor's name. And then, as the little blue head prophesied, let him fall. And after that, let him rise as something dynamic and bold and very different. Do something new. Regenerate him as a ginger! And make him a her. Give her a gay Scottish guy as a companion, and send them off on entirely different adventures. Make this new Doctor daring, and wild, and maybe a little unpredictable. Let us fall in love with him/her all over again, and see that even though things are very different, they are also exactly the same. Because that is who the Doctor is, the undying hope that maybe the next episode will be awesome again.

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David M. Daniel is an author, blogger, and self-confessed nerd. His personal blog featuring his popular Dirty Little Secrets Curriculum can be found here. Also, be sure to look for his upcoming debut novel, The Marvelous Adventures of Sebastian Smith: In The Dungeons of Castle Gallifrax.