The Time Lord Returns!

So, today was a big day for British television: Doctor Who returned, with a new Doctor! Now, I will admit I was a bit worried (and extremely excited) about the return of Doctor Who, namely because:

1. The conclusion of The End of Time (Part Two), Matt Smith was acting too much like David Tennant. Now, this might not seem like something too dreadful, but it seemed like they'd just gotten rid of David Tennant to bring in a new face. But the Doctor was the same otherwise. Or so it seemed.
2. Matt Smith looked weird. I don't mean to sound critical, but he didn't look right. He looked a little bit off (a little bit left?). It had to do with the size of his head. His forehead looked too big. I knew straight away that how he looked would make watching him act a bit difficult. I wouldn't be able to look at him and just let it be. At least the other's were easy on the eye - all their good points and all their bad points were obvious from the start (like the size of Christopher Eccleston's nose and ears... at least I was able to look at him!) 
3. Everything was on fire. I know a Time Lord bursts into golden timey-wimey fire when he regenerates, but the TARDIS was burning up too! Scary stuff! 
4. There was no companion to turn to for safety. When we first met Eccleston, we knew we had Billy Piper for some comfort. She was a fairly big league actor in her own right, so we knew she wouldn't be killed off by the Autons in the first episode (entitled Rose.) But Smith was alone out there, all new and with his clothes all torn and burnt, and unlike the regeneration of the Doctor to Tennant, we didn't have a companion to keep something the same.

So, all of that slightly plagued my mind ahead of the Season Five premier of Doctor Who, the first episode in a long while without David Tennant after the sorrowful goodbye, and the first episode with a new Doctor and, presumably, a new companion. And, it seems, an altered TARDIS. The internet was full of stories of how the TARDIS was going to be redecorated...

But there was something else that carried on from The End of Time (Part Two) - the big damage done to the universe. This, I believe accounts for both the change in the opening sequence (the time vortex is like a big storm!) and the first alien villain of the new season. It's also something I think Moffat is planning on keeping throughout the season; the Doctor and his new companion have to try fix the hole in the universe caused by the Master. Note: This is my own theory!

Overall, I think the episode went brilliantly! You see, for every point I made earlier, there is a rebutal upon having seen the episode:

1. Smith quickly found his feet as the new Doctor. This is, I think, largely down to the writing of Moffat, making sure that viewers can see these two Doctors as something quite different. Aside from the fact that Smith is younger than Tennant (and indeed any of the previous Doctors at the time of their debut), his personality is shown differently. He's still slightly rude, as the Doctor ought to be, so long as it's funny. He's still crazy, as the Doctor ought to be, so long as it's controlled by the writer. He's still the Doctor. But he has his own little quirks. I'm still waiting for them to fully show themselves, but I think once he's friendly (on screen) with his new companion, Smith will be an excellet Doctor! And 'Geronimo' doesn't seem so silly any more! 
2. I found out why Smith looked so weird, why his head looked to be the wrong shape; his eyebrows. They're too thin for his head. His forehead looks massive as a result, and it throws off his whole face. Throw in his rather pale complexion and the mad hairstyle, and the odd attire, and he's just... left. He's left. He's not right, he's left. But now that I know that, now that I'm not looking for what's wrong with his face (because there's something wrong with all of our faces... well, not wrong, but an imperfection). 
3. The TARDIS had to change, because of the end of the era of Tennant. Plus, it worked into the episode so that: (a) The Doctor didn't have his TARDIS to fight the bad guys and (b) Amy Pond could be shown the new interior. These worked to progress the story a bit and show the change in who controls the show - Moffat replaces Davies back stage and Smith replaces Tennant on stage (don't talk to me about control - you know I mean in the eyes of the public, not literally running the show). Plus, the new TARDIS looks so cool! It's shiny and bright and it has a typewriter. Win! 
4. The new companion, assuming she stays, is actually really fun! While Piper had a certain magic about her that made everyone love her, and Tate was just adored because of how human she was, the new companion (I need to learn the actor's name... - gender neutral term there: the actor is a woman) has her own little flair. She's not just the human of Tate and Piper, she's the crazy of them too, but in her own way! You'll see, if you haven't already, that she's pretty mad... just watch it! I know, though, that things with her are going to be great!

So, there's my points rebuted. I think this pretty much serves as a review for episode one of the season, The Eleventh Hour. I look forward to seeing what Moffat can show us later: his stories have been so brilliant and so terrifying in the past (such as Blink and Silence in the Library) that he has a huge standard to meet. And that's just on a personal note! He also has to live up to Russell T Davies! I wish him all the best of luck with it!

Now... when's episode two airing?