N4H
07-13-2006, 11:11 AM
I thought this guy really caught David Tennant's interpretation of the Doctor dead on so I thought I'd post it.
I must admit, Tennant took a while to grow on me, a bit longer than Eccleston, simply because Eccleston has an immediate larger-than-life quality that screams "Doctor!" as soon as he steps on-screen. (Actually, it took me until that speech in "Rose" about being able to able to feel the Earth spinning beneath his feet and how he and Rose are "clinging to this tiny little world, you and me, and if we only let go…" Whew. Still gives me chills, that.)
Tennant's approach is both bigger and more subtle. The "bigger" part is easier to peg: I showed a recent date Tennant's first full story, "The Christmas Invasion," and he characterized the performance as "broad." That's not quite fair – Russell T. Davies and his merry pack of writers seem more comfortable giving Tennant far sillier things to do than they gave Eccleston: he breaks into an American Southern accent in the aforementioned story and quotes a bit from The Lion King during his speech about why humanity's worth sparing; he joins Rose in a howling contest of sorts at the end of "Tooth and Claw"; he does a ghastly Elvis impersonation in "The Idiot's Lantern"; and in the first part of the season finale "Army of Ghosts," he breaks briefly (and awfully) into the Ghostbusters theme. And don't get me started on his antics when he's temporarily possessed by Cassandra the "bitchy trampoline" herself in "New Earth." Ouch.
ImageBut when he's subtle, he's very, very subtle – and very, very good. We get to see the Doctor's hearts break twice in this season, and Tennant plays those moments so well (complete with tears at one point) that our hearts break as well. He brings down Harriet Jones' government with six words in "The Christmas Invasion," and in such a quiet way that you realize the Tenth Doctor is far, far more dangerous when he's quiet than when he's yelling. His pain at telling former companion Sarah Jane Smith in "School Reunion" why he never came back for her is palpable, especially when he explains the same issue to Rose. As he's being lowered into the eponymous "Satan Pit," the Doctor tries to answer the question "What do you believe in, Doctor?" and finds himself, in a very human way, lacking an answer. And his stand-off with the head of the Torchwood Institute in "Army of Ghosts," in which he simply stares unblinkingly and smiles maniacally at her, is a classic Doctor moment. So, when Rose comes to the end of her travels and finally tells him she loves him, and he responds with "Quite right, too," we can't help but agree – especially if she's referring to Tennant. Well, I do, anyway. Now, Christmas is how many days away…?
http://www.nowplayingmag.com/content/view/4172/58/
I must admit, Tennant took a while to grow on me, a bit longer than Eccleston, simply because Eccleston has an immediate larger-than-life quality that screams "Doctor!" as soon as he steps on-screen. (Actually, it took me until that speech in "Rose" about being able to able to feel the Earth spinning beneath his feet and how he and Rose are "clinging to this tiny little world, you and me, and if we only let go…" Whew. Still gives me chills, that.)
Tennant's approach is both bigger and more subtle. The "bigger" part is easier to peg: I showed a recent date Tennant's first full story, "The Christmas Invasion," and he characterized the performance as "broad." That's not quite fair – Russell T. Davies and his merry pack of writers seem more comfortable giving Tennant far sillier things to do than they gave Eccleston: he breaks into an American Southern accent in the aforementioned story and quotes a bit from The Lion King during his speech about why humanity's worth sparing; he joins Rose in a howling contest of sorts at the end of "Tooth and Claw"; he does a ghastly Elvis impersonation in "The Idiot's Lantern"; and in the first part of the season finale "Army of Ghosts," he breaks briefly (and awfully) into the Ghostbusters theme. And don't get me started on his antics when he's temporarily possessed by Cassandra the "bitchy trampoline" herself in "New Earth." Ouch.
ImageBut when he's subtle, he's very, very subtle – and very, very good. We get to see the Doctor's hearts break twice in this season, and Tennant plays those moments so well (complete with tears at one point) that our hearts break as well. He brings down Harriet Jones' government with six words in "The Christmas Invasion," and in such a quiet way that you realize the Tenth Doctor is far, far more dangerous when he's quiet than when he's yelling. His pain at telling former companion Sarah Jane Smith in "School Reunion" why he never came back for her is palpable, especially when he explains the same issue to Rose. As he's being lowered into the eponymous "Satan Pit," the Doctor tries to answer the question "What do you believe in, Doctor?" and finds himself, in a very human way, lacking an answer. And his stand-off with the head of the Torchwood Institute in "Army of Ghosts," in which he simply stares unblinkingly and smiles maniacally at her, is a classic Doctor moment. So, when Rose comes to the end of her travels and finally tells him she loves him, and he responds with "Quite right, too," we can't help but agree – especially if she's referring to Tennant. Well, I do, anyway. Now, Christmas is how many days away…?
http://www.nowplayingmag.com/content/view/4172/58/