…. has not convinced me, I’m afraid.

For me Smith doesn’t embody the role the way previous Doctors have. (As far as the new Who is concerned I was never taken by Christopher Eccleston, either, come to that.)

The character of Amy Pond, however, makes for a cracking companion, not merely an adjunct but substantially more pro-active than those who have accompanied the Doctor before (including Rose Tyler) and capable of carrying a sub-plot without reference back to the Doctor but in this sense she was underused.

And once again, a la Russell T, we had her friendships and relationships as a focus of the stories.

Can we have a bit more universe spanning please and stop relying on entanglements such as these to create a sense of empathy and emotional impact?

Another quibble was that I wasn’t entirely happy with the story arc of the series. What with all the “will never have existed” malarky, it skirted dangerously close to “it was all a dream.”

I know it’s all fiction, but fiction requires rather more substantial backing than this, otherwise it’s not worthwhile people investing their time in consuming it.

It seems I may have done Russell T something of a disservice. According to the comments in a blog which I frequent, the dialogue for the new Doctor’s scene was actually scripted by Steven Moffat, the new overall supremo for the series.

Also the line, “And still not ginger,” seems to be a reference to one of David Tennant’s first utterances in the role. I had forgotten he was given that to say but now I’ve been reminded I do vaguely recollect it. As I recall now, Tennant said it in a regretful tone, though, which I did not think Matt Smith did.

For me, the new doctor has got off on the wrong foot.

I’ve just watched the second of the Doctor Who specials which were on over the holiday season.

The story was pretty much awful. (Thank you, Onebrow, for this pithy summing up.)

The coda epitomised everything that was wrong with Russell T Davies’s oversight of the series. It was so far up itself it was excruciating. All of the Doctor’s companions since the programme’s resurrection (and their families!) made an appearance merely in order that Tennant’s Doctor could say farewell. Ladle on the treacle why don’t you?

And the new Doctor didn’t get himself off on the right foot, either. Examining himself for changes in appearance he dragged a lock of hair down past his eyes and said in a pleased tone, “And still not ginger.”

And still not ginger? And still not ginger?

Would you think it acceptable, Russell, if your character had said, “And still not black?” or “And still not gay?”

To pose this question is to underline the gratuitousness – not to mention offensiveness – of the comment.

The Doctor surely ought to be above such things, Russell, even if you’re not.

I managed to watch most of Hamlet today – the need to take in food interrupted it a bit. (Wouldn’t 7-10 or 8-11 pm have been better time slots?) Quite well done, I thought.

Not like the previous day’s Doctor Who, which was pretty much awful. I’ve always disliked the Russell T Davies episodes. So much recursive stuff about the Doctor’s companions’ families.

My younger son for some reason took a liking to Doctor Who even though it was in its long hiatus when he was growing up. As a result he has much more of an encyclopædic knowledge of the Who canon than me. He was of much the same opinion about this Christmas special as I was.

I’m more hopeful for the upcoming Steven Moffat driven series but I’m not sure about the new Doctor. Time will tell.