Smith vs Dalek isn't a patch on Eccleston vs Dalek
In terms of BAFTA-chasing scenery-chomping? I definitely agree. :) I'm not a huge fan of the big epic melodramatic scenes though; even though speeches where the actors spit bits of the scenery out along with their lines has been an integral part of Doctor Who since year dot. I've always found a bit of subtlety more effective, because it allows you to draw your own conclusions, and - more importantly - allows you room to wonder what the character isn't saying.
what examples do we have so far of his wreaking soft-spoken (or ranting) catastrophe on his enemies?
Good question, though I think it rather misses the point. The Doctor's always done the age-old animal trick of posturing to avoid a fight, but in the past, his ranting has seemed more like a cat arching its back at a larger foe: exaggerating his own prowess to intimidate. Eleven seems more like a slowly swaying cobra: "Think about it, now...do you really want to try me?"
It's Eleven's quiet, subdued regret that makes his violent past more tangible for me than the ranting. Imagine Ghengis Khan or someone having grown old and suddenly facing a new enemy. He could easily take this newcomer apart - and will, if he has to - but he doesn't really want to. Because he's tired of grinding his enemies into the dust. For me, that's the whole essence of Eleven: as he says, "sometimes winning is no fun at all."
S5 also makes powerful sense of River's line to Ten in Silence in the Library: "but you're so young!" Nine and Ten both seem much younger than Eleven, in terms of insecurity and having something to prove. Eleven has nothing to prove, because he's proved it already...and we can clearly see the toll that that's taken on him without his having to shout about it.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-06-28 04:21 pm (UTC)In terms of BAFTA-chasing scenery-chomping? I definitely agree. :) I'm not a huge fan of the big epic melodramatic scenes though; even though speeches where the actors spit bits of the scenery out along with their lines has been an integral part of Doctor Who since year dot. I've always found a bit of subtlety more effective, because it allows you to draw your own conclusions, and - more importantly - allows you room to wonder what the character isn't saying.
what examples do we have so far of his wreaking soft-spoken (or ranting) catastrophe on his enemies?
Good question, though I think it rather misses the point. The Doctor's always done the age-old animal trick of posturing to avoid a fight, but in the past, his ranting has seemed more like a cat arching its back at a larger foe: exaggerating his own prowess to intimidate. Eleven seems more like a slowly swaying cobra: "Think about it, now...do you really want to try me?"
It's Eleven's quiet, subdued regret that makes his violent past more tangible for me than the ranting. Imagine Ghengis Khan or someone having grown old and suddenly facing a new enemy. He could easily take this newcomer apart - and will, if he has to - but he doesn't really want to. Because he's tired of grinding his enemies into the dust. For me, that's the whole essence of Eleven: as he says, "sometimes winning is no fun at all."
S5 also makes powerful sense of River's line to Ten in Silence in the Library: "but you're so young!" Nine and Ten both seem much younger than Eleven, in terms of insecurity and having something to prove. Eleven has nothing to prove, because he's proved it already...and we can clearly see the toll that that's taken on him without his having to shout about it.