Geronimo: A Tribute to Matt Smith
June 21, 2013It’s easier to say goodbye to the Doctor when you remember all the good times Matt Smith gave us as The Doctor.
As most of you know, BBC recently made a pretty shocking announcement: Matt Smith will be stepping down from the role of The Doctor, and will be regenerating in this years Christmas episode. That leaves us with only two more stories with our beloved Eleventh Doctor; the much anticipated 50th Anniversary episode and the Christmas episode. It’s a well-known fact amongst people who know me that Matt Smith is my favourite Doctor since the reboot, so today I want to take a look back on the past 3 seasons and 4 years we’ve spent Matt Smith playing our beloved Doctor. We’ll count down the Eleventh Doctor’s top 10 moments, and discuss what’s to come with the second half century of Doctor Who. We’ll start now with the countdown! In the words of River Song: “Spoilers!”
10: “One thing you never put in a trap”
We’ll start our list with this epic scene from the two-part episodes “The Time of Angels” and “Flesh and Stone”.
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Early in Matt Smith’s season, there are a lot of firsts in this episode. First time the Eleventh Doctor meets River, first time Amy meets her daughter, the first time we get confirmation that River is The Doctor’s wife, and of course the first time Amy and Eleven meet the fan favourite monsters, The Weeping Angels. An all around great story, but this epic moment to set up a cliffhanger between the two episodes really gives us a glimpse of how much of a badass The Doctor can be.
9: “You are always here to me”
The tearful goodbye and passionate kiss between The Doctor and River Song in the recent season 7 finale definitely had to make the list. Unfortunately this video was the only one I could find, and it cuts out all the great dialogue and just leaves in the joke. Every other clip from the scene that I found was set to some cheesy pop song and made into a montage of River Song scenes. But hey, at least we get the kiss!
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Why does this final goodbye make the list? It is heartbreaking and beautiful and it gave me a new found appreciation for the relationship between The Doctor and River. The problem I think most people had with River is that the chemistry between the actors wasn’t instant. This scene is so beautifully done and the sparks really do fly between Smith and Kingston. “Goodbye Sweetie”.
8: “The one who broke the promise”
Obviously this had to make the list:
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Everyone’s response after the incredible Season 7 finale “The Name of the Doctor” was pretty much the same: wut. What the hell just happened? Who is this guy? Why are his clothes so familiar? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. November 23rd can’t come fast enough!
7: “Fish fingers and custard”
From the Eleventh Hour, where we first meet Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor and a young Amelia Pond (Played by Karen Gillan’s real life cousin!)
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Fresh from the loss of David Tennant, this scene is where I realized I would survive without him. It didn’t take me long to warm up to the new face, and by the end of this episode I was completely sold on Matt Smith. Of course, seeing the grown up Amy Pond also helped. (Another well-known fact about me: I’m completely in love with Karen Gillan)
6: “Rest now”
I wasn’t sure if it was the lack of Amy and Rory, but for the first few episodes of Season 7B I was afraid that Matt Smith had lost what he had with his previous co-stars. This scene confirmed that he still had it. Unfortunately all I could find from this episode was the audio.
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It is such an epic scene with an absolutely beautiful soundtrack and stunning visuals. If you haven’t seen it yet I suggest watching it, because the audio alone doesn’t do the scene justice.
5: “Nobody human has anything to say to me today”
As seen in every incarnation of The Doctor we see rage with the Eleventh for the first time.
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What is The Doctor without his rage? It doesn’t happen often, but on this emotional rollercoaster that we Whovians have boarded every now and then we get to see The Doctor get mad. Tennant had a silent rage. For years we rarely saw the Doctor yell. When Matt Smith comes along he is bubbly and fun with a sense of childlike wonder. To see him turn on a dime like this was shocking to say the least.
4: “Amelia’s last farewell”
Try as I might I could not find this scene anywhere online, but I’m sure you know exactly which scene I’m talking about. From the Season 7A episode “The Angels Take Manhattan”, we see the last of the Ponds. It is the perfect ending to what is in my opinion, one of the greatest love stories ever told. I hate to see The Doctor cry, I really do.
3: “Let somebody else try first”
This speech gives me goosebumps.
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Seriously. He’s so cool! I wish I was this cool. From the Season 5 two-part finale, that was The Doctor telling off every single one of his enemies. All of them. At the same time. With no plan or weapons. He’s so cool.
2: “Are you scared?”
And our runner up for my favourite Matt Smith moment is actually a moment from Matt Smith himself.
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You can’t tell me that wasn’t the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen. Not all of Matt’s shining moments were when he was wearing the bow tie. The man’s a stellar human being who loves his fans so much. I am going to miss him as The Doctor, but I look forward to seeing what he does with his time post-Who. I think he has an amazing career ahead of him.
1: “Are they protected?”
This is the moment that sold me on Matt Smith as The Doctor.
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His goofy and awkward antics through most of “The Eleventh Hour” were entertaining, but seeing the newly regenerated Doctor beat the bad guys and then call them back for a scolding, that was the moment I realized that he was my Doctor.
So there we have it, that’s my list! What are some of your favourite moments? What did I miss? We have two more stories with Matt Smith and as much as I can’t wait to see them, I want to continue to enjoy the remaining time that we have where Matt Smith is still The Doctor. Fan sites and entertainment news outlets are predicting we’ll know who is playing the role after Matt by fall, probably before the show comes back with the 50th Anniversary episode. Check back with Geek Chic Elite because trust me, as soon as we know, you’ll know.
Earlier today the BBC posted this message from Matt Smith, who is in Detroit right now shooting (and sporting his new haircut) that you can see HERE on the BBC website.
Matt Smith, on behalf of all of the Whovians at The GCE I want to thank you for being our Doctor, for being an endless source of entertainment, for making us laugh, cry and scream at our televisions, and most importantly, for being you. We love you, and we’ll miss The Eleventh Doctor so much. Good luck with what is sure to be a long and amazing career.
Geronimo.
