Doctor Who Series 5 is Near-Perfect: Part 3

Now for Tennant's Doctor.

This is probably the most thought I've put into a blog. Ever. I have to be very careful on my wording when talking about Tennant's Number Ten because of the rabid following he has in the Doctor Who, and even general theater, fanbase.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I am a complete fan-girl for David Tennant's portrayal of The Doctor.

He was brave, bold, charming, hilarious, full of wit, quick on his feet, and loved bananas. When he was given an emotional scene, you felt as if you were hurting along with him. He is an amazingly accomplished actor.

That being said, his performance as The Doctor was fun, but seemed to rely on over-acting to achieve the eccentricity of The Doctor. I would say he was too human for the Doctor, but, that is just how one chooses to play The Doctor. Each actor chooses which elements to emphasise and which to play down, so no actor can really do it wrong, objectively speaking. It comes to down to the subjective.

(SPOILERS)
As battle-scared and war-torn as he was getting after losing Rose, Martha, and Donna, and reacting to the prophecy about his own death, it was becoming increasingly hard to cheer him on.

Most notably, in "The Waters of Mars", he defiantly changed the course of history by saving the crew of Bowie Base One instead of leaving them to their watery graves. Realizing he has the power to do so, the internal struggle about saving them comes to an end and he strides back into the base and carts them back to Earth in the TARDIS. He takes his arrogance to the highest of extremes and in realizing what he had done, Adelaide commits suicide. This is the moment that the sorrow snaps back into The Doctor's mind and he utters that he has, "gone too far".
(SPOILERS END)

This is just a prime example of just how flawed a Time-Lord can be, but in making him seem God-like, it takes away from the edge-of-your-seat-ness and makes him walk a fine line between God and hero.

Now, this is by no fault of Tennant. David Tennant is one of the most amazing actors I have ever had the pleasure of watching perform. And RTD's writing was brilliant for /most/ of the episodes; it just loses entertainment value when there's no need to cheer for the hero.

To wrap this up in Part 4, I will defend Smith's Doctor, who is, in my opinion, the most perfect Doctor since the revival.

Go back and read: Part 1 Part 2 Part 4

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