As any fan of Doctor Who knows, the shows longevity owes itself to the concept of renewal and the conceit that the titular hero can regenerate into a new body when he dies. This enables a new actor to take on the iconic role and stamp their own mark on the character. It also allows the show to regularly change its entire ethos and tone. Everyone has their favourite Doctor and sometimes that can change, but there is no doubting that when one Doctor dies and another is reborn there is a period of grieving. Yes, the Doctor is still the Doctor, but when a new actor takes on the role some fans lament the passing of the previous incumbent and must go through a process of learning to love the Doctor all over again. Never in the history of Doctor Who, with the possible exception of Colin Bakers incarnation, has this issue been tackled so head on through the eyes of the companion. Through Clara we are taken on a journey of discovery, or rediscovery, of the Doctor and it is not always a pleasant one. Like meeting an old friend and finding that you had remembered them through rose-tinted glasses, we got to see the Doctors personality laid bare and were asked, nae challenged, to question who this man really is and whether he really deserves our love and adulation. Am I good man? asks the Doctor and it is up to us to answer that question. The young, bouncing energy of David Tenant and Matt Smith may be the prevailing memory for most New-Who fans, but to those who have followed the series since its inception, or who are old enough to have run home from school to watch Trial Of A Timelord, this was not the man we once knew. To return to the irascible older genius was jarring for many, but was it a successful strategy? For some, Matt Smith simply was the Doctor, encapsulating all the mannerisms and characteristics we had come to love about this ancient alien. Could such a juxtaposition really work? Could we learn to love this grumpy old man once again? Come with us as we investigate the steps to falling in love again, but this time its with Who.
I.T. Consultant, technophile and Doctor Who fan. I like to talk about tech, take films apart and make excuses for Doctor Who's continuity errors. No other show has the power to make me feel like a big kid.
