 | SDCC2011: Matt Smith on Doctor Who's 50th and Moffat plans a possible spin-off |
Who's turning 50?
Matt Smith reigned supreme at a special panel held at the 2011 San Diego International Comic Convention. He had plenty to say about his influences on playing the role of the Doctor, teased some details on series 6 part two and even thew out some teasers regarding Doctor Who's 50th anniversary in 2013.
Matt Smith by http://jimiyo.com/
Via i09:"It was bizarre, really, because nobody had any clue who I was, and David [Tennant] was hugely popular. It was daunting, but I guess it was a good pressure." He expressed his admiration for Tennant and Christopher Eccleston's incarnations of the Doctor, but said that his personal favorite is actually the Second Doctor, played by Patrick Troughton. He aims to bring something of Troughton's Doctor to his version of the character. "What's great is, when you're the Doctor and you walk into a room, you're always the smartest person in the room, which lets you be the stupidest person in the room. It's very liberating for an actor. It lets you do some silly stuff."
He was a bit serious and a bit silly in answering fan questions. When a young lady dressed as a Dalek asked him what color Dalek he would want to be, he replied, "I really like that stone ones [from the episode "The Big Bang"] that have all faded away. But you know, I really like purple – a purple Dalek. But probably a stone one." When another fan asked where and when he would go if he had access to a TARDIS, he said, "There's two: I would go to Atlantis and see if that's just going down. And I'd go see the dinosaurs, but I'd pick up Frank Sinatra on the way."
Smith also revealed his lasting legacy to the series: the Eleventh Doctor's tweed jacket. When one fan asked him whether he had any say in his character's style, Smith answered, "Quite a lot, actually. I had this tweed jacket I used to wear. I actually started in a long leather jacket [when we started filming] – which was a bit awkward – and one day I brought in this tweed jacket. And I couldn't wear it anymore – that's actually where the bowtie came from. And – spoiler alert – in the next episode, I'm wearing a new coat and I get a new hat." Said tweed jacket was likely a far cry from the acid wash denim jacket he wore to the panel.
He says the eighth episode, "Let's Kill Hitler," is his favorite so far. "There's a great monster, which is important." He also teased that there are some great River moments ahead, as well as some great interactions between River and the Doctor.
And when one fan asked if the Eleventh Doctor might encounter Captain Jack Harkness, Smith didn't rule out the possibility. "It's the 50th year coming up, so maybe." He said that he and Steven Moffat have tossed around some ideas for the big anniversary – and suggested that there might be room for some additional Doctors when the time comes.
I find it touching that Smith, an actor too young to have ever seen the original Doctor Who when it was on the air, favors Patrick Troughton's cosmic hobo. While Smith's Doctor is very modern, I can see little influences of the Second Doctor here and there. Regarding wardrobe changes, the dark overcoat has been glimpsed online, but I have no clue what new kind of headgear Smith is referring to. He has already donned a top hat, fez and cowboy hat, what's next?
For fans of the new series, a multi-Doctor story is something of a mythical possibility. Back in 1983, when three of the surviving actors to play the Doctor assembled with actor Richard Hurndall as the First Doctor to play the game of Rassilon in the Five Doctors, it was very special indeed.
Despite two smaller reunions since then, there has yet to be a celebratory event that matches the magnificence of the program's 25th anniversary special. With Chris Eccleston refusing to return and David Tennant anxious to come back, hopes are high that Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor will finally make an appearance on screen.
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The Further Adventures of Madame Vastra and Jenny
In addition to the San Diego Comic Con revelations, Steven Moffat has been happy to reveal a spin-off may be in the works based on his two outlandish characters from this year's mid-series cliffhanger.
Silurian Madame Vastra and... Jenny
Via TV Overmind:
"Obviously the first person to think about a spin-off was me, when I was writing "A Good Man Goes To War," shared executive producer and showrunner Steven Moffat. "A Victorian Silurian? Her lesbian maid? Come on!"
Talking to SFX, Moffat declared that the spinoff had even received an unofficial greenlight from BBC Drama Controller Ben Stephenson. "He just said '...Yes!'. And then I said 'I obviously don't have time to do this..."
That doesn't mean that we'll have to wait to see more of Vastra and Jenny, especially after their reception by fans. "I think I might revisit them," Moffat divulged. "They were great fun to write. . . I was pleased by the reaction to them, but not surprised. They really cut through as characters, given how little screentime they had. I certainly wouldn't be averse to them returning. It's just a thing that worked, isn't it? I love that Victorian setting, and having kicked it out of [his other series, Sherlock, which reimagines the Victorian era detective in a modern setting] I can always kick it in somewhere else!"
I'd personally be up to possibly seeing Vastra and Jenny as companions after the inevitable departure of the Doctor's companions, Rory (Arthur Darvill) and Amy (Karen Gillan), whenever that may be. It wouldn't put such an enormous strain on Moffat's schedule, and we'd get to see more of the duo (though just routine guest appearances would be fine by me as well). In any case, it should be interesting to see just how and when we see these new characters in the future.
Doctor Who will return in the fall with the episode "Let's Kill Hitler."
I'm not a fan of Doctor Who spin offs myself, but Madame Vastra and Jenny are by far the most interesting characters of 'A Good Man Goes to War.' In fact when I reviewed that episode I pointed out that they were practically screaming for more screen time in their own program.
As always, more as it comes...
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