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So what's up with this Eleventh Doctor guy, anyway? It's not just that he's "alien" — it's that his emotional wires are SERIOUSLY crossed….
UPDATE: Where you hear the word "peanut butter" think "marmalade."
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
So what's up with this Eleventh Doctor guy, anyway? It's not just that he's "alien" — it's that his emotional wires are SERIOUSLY crossed….
UPDATE: Where you hear the word "peanut butter" think "marmalade."
I must say that I enjoy the unpredictable Matt Smith character. As much as I loved Tennant's character, I felt the writers were making him too human, too emotional, completely forgetting that he is an alien.
The 11th Doctor, in my opinon, provides a fresh way of looking at situations. Yes, he may be oblivious at times and doesn't have the same social skills (Rory's party, for example) as we'd expect, but let's face it, he is an alien.
I think you're right that Smith's alien-ness is a direct reaction to Tennant's (some might say excessive) humanity. Something very similar happened when Tom Baker became Peter Davison, as you obliquely reference.
To be fair, though, I think Christopher Eccleston should get more credit for being a bit out there. Remember the scene in "The Unquiet Dead" when he proposes that the Gelth be allowed to temporarily use dead humans as vehicles, which Rose finds abhorrent? Indeed, during his first trip with Rose, he thinks it's a good idea to take her to an observation platform so that she can see the Earth burn. Not a good idea. He also carries on a flirtatious relationship with a tree. By the end of the series, though, Rose has had a startling impact. Effectively, she humanizes him over the course of the series, which flows over into Tennant–but I honestly am not sure if I would ever consider that a good thing.