Beloved by many, Matt Smith's eccentric version debuted with style in the confident Eleventh Hour and gave viewers an alien and quirky take on the Time Lord that was more in keeping with some of the more classic Doctors. With a bow tie, a fez and a body that never kept still, this was a Doctor that truly did seem like a mad man with a box. His first series was great fun but then the Smith years start to go off track, bringing in Mrs Who, River Song, and plots of overly complicated and endless paradoxes. Worse, the writers started to overplay Smith's naturally comic performance, robbing Eleven of gravitas. The sonic screwdriver becomes a panacea to all problems and then Eleven becomes sex mad in his last year, lusting over Clara Oswald and Tasha Lem. By his final tale, things had become so convoluted and ridiculous that it was virtually gibberish. Given material such as Vincent and the Doctor or The God Complex and Smith ranks up there with the very best. Alas, he didn't get nearly enough of these to make it worth his - or our - while.
Writer of The Blog of Delights, a review site covering film, TV, cult TV, books and audio. Fan of Dr Who, Bond, X-Men and Marvel. Also the writer of e-book 'Fictional Legends: Doctor Who - the TV Adventures' for Collca.
