fangasmic | [q&a] So Apparently Some People Really Hate Matt Smith?

We here at Fanspastic like to think of ourselves, like Glenn Beck, Nancy Grace and the Ghostfacers, to be truth seekers. (Also, we're hiring interns. If you are gay and willing to die for our cause, all the better!) And in the interest of that, and because certain members of the Fanspastic editorial team just would not shut up about how much they hated Matt Smith, we took it upon ourselves to do some digging about the Eleventh Doctor, and to plumb the depths of why people hate him.

So do a lot of people, I guess?

Just to give you a taste of what we've been dealing with here:

[9:47] whyareyoulikethis: JUST LOOK AT HIM THOUGH: http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw
[9:47] whyareyoulikethis: UGGGGGGGGGGGGGH
[9:47] whyareyoulikethis: GTFO
[9:48] whyareyoulikethis: BUT LIKE REALLY LOOK AT THE PICTURE ON THE BEEB SITE DON'T YOU HAVE THE URGE TO TAKE HIS BOW TIE AND RUN AWAY SHOUTING 'NEENER NEENER NEENER' ONLY TO RETURN TO PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE?
[9:49] stopitsomemore: ...
[9:49] whyareyoulikethis: fine, just me.
[9:51] whyareyoulikethis: HE WEARS MICKEY MOUSE TEES WITH STRIPED SCARVES: http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll48/Alli_Jean/BOYS/THISISMATTSMITHINMICKEYMOUSE.jpg
[9:51] stopitsomemore: oh my god
[9:51] stopitsomemore: you need to stop

For a 27 year-old guy with dubious sartorial decisions, Matt Smith engenders a lot of hatred. Before he ever washed up on the shores of whatever moon the TARDIS is parked on right now, Smith did a lot of theater, managed to talk his way into some sort of bullshit agreement where he could graduate from Uni without attending lectures (which, what the fuck), acted twice with Billie Piper, some political farce, and then acted as a catalyst for probably a lot of terrible puns in news articles grappling with the split public opinion on his casting as the Eleventh Doctor.

Let's get this shitshow on the road. This interview was conducted Thursday. They regret nothing.

stopitsomemore: Hi guys.
whyareyoulikethis: hello!
thatneedslube: hello! I would like to start by saying I am shallow and MS has a stupid nose
stopitsomemore: ...Okay, just to clarify, we're here to discuss why you two hate Matt Smith irrationally. Matt Smith being the 11th Doctor.
thatneedslube: also he dresses like someone my best friend would date, which is a bad sign
whyareyoulikethis: i would like to start by saying that i don't like his forehead.
thatneedslube: means he might carry roofies

I bet he'd grow a creepster moustache if his greasy girl-old-man skin would let him

whyareyoulikethis: it's too big. disturbingly big.
stopitsomemore: Okay guys, pause. Breathe. Contain your hate.
stopitsomemore: First question -- How long have you been watching Dr. Who? How many doctors have you known and loved and watched die?
whyareyoulikethis: i'm one of those people who's only ever seen new who. and i have very little desire to catch up and watch the earlier stuff.
thatneedslube: I've watched the new, and some old but the old scared me and wasn't pretty
whyareyoulikethis: so basically we've been around for 9 and 10.
thatneedslube: also it didn't have David Tennant
whyareyoulikethis: agreed! fatal flaw, that.

Actually a bit of a creepster in real life, but still charming, amazing, and my favourite Doctor

thatneedslube: I know a little Tom Baker
whyareyoulikethis: i did enjoy Christopher Eccleston as 9, but i also thought the way they did the regeneration from him into 10 was really well handled.
thatneedslube: yeah, it made a lot of sense because he had progressed to that point so naturally but needed that extra kick
stopitsomemore: All right -- given that, which of the ones you saw was your favorite?
thatneedslube: like, he didn't want to be quite so bloodthirsty anymore
thatneedslube: episodes or doctors?
stopitsomemore: doctors
whyareyoulikethis: david tennant as 10, hands and feet and any other body part down.
thatneedslube: Tennant, hands down, followed by Baker even though I know that will offend traditional fans

He of the really long scarf and awesomeness; almost everyone else's favourite Doctor with good reason

stopitsomemore: All right. Thus established -- whyareyoulikethis first: Why do YOU dislike Matt Smith. How did it begin?
whyareyoulikethis: Well, when they first announced it and we saw pictures my initial reaction was that of maybe a lot of fangirls- i had really been hoping RTD/Stephen Moffat would be ballsy enough to give us a female Doctor. BUT after finding out that wasn't going to happen, I just thought that Matt Smith was way too young looking.
stopitsomemore: …Is the Doctor required to look older?
whyareyoulikethis: Not in a pedo way!
stopitsomemore: Why would that be where your brain goes first?
whyareyoulikethis: ....uh, see my username.
stopitsomemore: Perve. Anyway -- thatneedslube: Same question, your turn.
thatneedslube: So we know from previous Doctors that when he regenerates it's a narrative transition Nine into Ten made sense because of how Nine had developed and where he wanted to go
stopitsomemore: Okay dude, we know your hatred is irrational, there's no reason to try and sound smart about this.
thatneedslube: But based on the things that happened to Ten this shift to Eleven doesn't make narrative sense...sorry pal. Also I think he looks like a douchebag

Matt Smith being a douchebag at night, much as he is during the day. I am surprised he's not also wearing his sunglasses.

whyareyoulikethis: ME TOO!
thatneedslube: and I've seen him act in the Ruby... rub…shit…that phillip pullman thing on BBC with Billie Piper?
whyareyoulikethis: Ruby in the Smoke!
thatneedslube: Ruby in the Smoke!
whyareyoulikethis: He sucked!
thatneedslube: He's the reason I stopped watching it. It was so painfully bad. And I adore Phillip Pullman (his upcoming book excluded because it sounds dumb)
whyareyoulikethis: thatneedslube and I have pretty strong kung fu when it comes to Masterpiece Theatre, so that shit is serious.
thatneedslube: Damn straight
stopitsomemore: Of course. So, okay, of Matt Smith's objectionable physical features I hear a lot about his nose. Why do you hate his nose so much, guys.

thatneedslube: Have you seen it? it's the size of a baby's arm. like some other things we know. he looks like a vulture. a vulture in a bib
whyareyoulikethis: Personally I think his entire face is bloated and out of proportion. He looks like one of the ghosts from Casper.
stopitsomemore: Oh Jesus Christ.
whyareyoulikethis: Like a cartoon! You know what I mean.
stopitsomemore: So are you guys like, I don't know, boycotting the premier?
whyareyoulikethis: ...of course not! Well I'm not. I mean, irrational hatred aside, I'm trying to keep my mind ajar enough for at least one episode.
thatneedslube: also he looks greasy. no, I'm totally going to watch it and keep an open mind. isn't the companion a sassy black lady? problem: isn't she 14? to make him look less pedo?
whyareyoulikethis: Totally. (It's not working.)
thatneedslube: (not at all)
stopitsomemore: Does everybody feel this way? Not about the pedos. About Matt Smith.
thatneedslube: All I can think about is Tennant on some NBC show with an American accent and it makes me want to cry. Not everybody.
whyareyoulikethis: THAT TOO. D:
thatneedslube: I know some people who think he'll be good. My friend E. is an original DW fan from like, season 1. Hardcore. she's willing to give him a shot
whyareyoulikethis: I mean, the essential premise of the series is that you're always going to get a new Doctor at some point, so the old school fans are maybe more open to the concept. But I think a lot of people who came in under 10 are just having a hard time letting go. Not like I'm one of them. My hatred of Matt Smith has absoluuuuutely nothing to do with that whatsoever.
stopitsomemore: sure, okay
thatneedslube: Oh, no, I actually got excited when I saw the Christmas promo? If that guy were 11 I'd be peeing myself with excitement. He looked, acted, sounded, etc perfect, and then they were like "Surprise! It's a flaming bag of shit on your doorstep!" after promising me a litter of attack dog puppies
whyareyoulikethis: Yeah, I think what thatneedslube and I are missing from Matt Smith is that the role of the Doctor, while funny and comedic at times, really requires a certain amount of gravitas that I have NOT seen from him yet, including the new series trailers.
thatneedslube: Yeah, mostly I just see some loser who can't pull off a bow-tie. bow ties are serious business
whyareyoulikethis: Especially considering the arc of the Doctor in recent episodes is all about his growing sense of hubris and the consequences of that. Which is pretty much a non-issue if you don't think that the Doctor can fuck your shit up.
stopitsomemore: But you recognize your hatred is irrational. Like, there has not been one single episode yet.
whyareyoulikethis: But there have been trailers! And 15 seconds of him on screen! And I'm very prescient about some things!
stopitsomemore: what did he DO during these 15 seconds? like, did he beat a child?
whyareyoulikethis: He made a lame joke about not being a woman and felt his face and then was all manic and twatty IDK. YOU HAD TO BE THERE, OKAY
thatneedslube: Here's the thing: RTD is leaving, right? And his replacement is the guy who wrote Blink
whyareyoulikethis: (Scariest episode everrrr)
thatneedslube: which, let's not lie, was one of the greatest episodes of anything on tv ever
whyareyoulikethis: Agreed!
thatneedslube: like, everyone loves it. Even people who hate Who.
whyareyoulikethis: It's super solid.
thatneedslube: So theoretically the writing should be BRILLIANT BUT remember high school English?
whyareyoulikethis: THE ACTING
thatneedslube: Remember when you had to read Shakespeare aloud?
whyareyoulikethis: YES
thatneedslube: Think about that for a second.
whyareyoulikethis: HORRORS.
stopitsomemore: God you two are losers
whyareyoulikethis: Whatever, let's just say that on Sunday I'm going to take my Tardis piggy bank and cash in all the change so I can go buy a 6 pack to drink while I watch it. ... oh God, I am a loser.

The tl;dr of the conversation?: Smith, who is indisputably young, is raising the hackles of both traditionalists who find his lack of acting history dubious as well as newcomers still partially mourning Tennant's exodus. The storyline of the Eleventh Doctor promises to be promising, but is Smith up to the job? In terms of acting chops, at least

whyareyoulikethis and

thatneedslube feel there's reason for doubt. And profoundly terrible lead actors have been a blight upon network television for at least a decade now. In the end, Smith's up against a tough crowd with a WPM of 90+, average, probably and a lot of pent-up anger. Good luck, man.

Either way, new Dr. Who starts showing Sunday via BBC1. For those of you lucky (or...unlucky?) enough to see it live, Godspeed. For those of you who can but are too lazy to, the BBC iPlayer is here for you. For those of you trapped in the loose confederation of revolutionary states also known as Amerrrka or anywhere other than the UK and would like access to the iPlayer too, Lifehacker has kindly put together a visual guide on how to make that happen.

[q&a] So Apparently Some People Really Hate Matt Smith?

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