"never thought I'd claim Dr Who was made for adults - but then, in the '60s and '70s, it wasn't"
I dunno--I mean, it DID start out as a family show...but then, for me, that's different than a kids show...
And I thought the Tom Baker era (for the most part) was dark enough for it to cease being kiddie programming, at least...if that's not what you meant I apologize, maybe I'm reading in a different connotation than you meant, but yeah, I think those shows have the feel of something made for kids and adults alike, and older kids at that...maybe it's a matter of the show's audience having grown up, so where in the earlier days it was marketed as something of a family show and more accessible to younger kids, by the late 70s, well, kids who were young in '63 or '66 would have grown up, so the show grew up with them?
Again, not a 5-star Whovian, just spitballing, I'm sure there's some official explanation for this (or several, if it's anything like Star Trek there are tons of explanations for all sorts of different developments with the franchise over the decades and many conflict, such as how Gene Roddenbery and the writer for "City on the Edge of Forever" had wildly different ideas on how to do that particular episode which many, myself included, rank as the best Original Series episode ever if not the best in all of Trek...so maybe there are a ton of conflicting stories on the evolution and maturing of DW.)
And if it was just in that spinoff show, does that mean the limit is hard-and-fast 12 regenerations?
Even if it is, I can't imagine them ending the show when it's doing so damn well and is enjoying so much popularity...even with British TV's reputation for ending series short and sweet and on top, as opposed to American TV that can allow shows to drift and drift for seasons--case in point "The Simpsons" and tied-favorite for a non-Trek/DW TV show, "House," which was golden Seasons 1-3, OK Season 4, and then steadily declined for a couple of seasons before slowly getting better again and (I thought) ended well in Season 8--even with all that...
No way they cancel/end the show if they reach that 12 regenerations limit...
I'm sure there's some White Crystal of Whothefuckknows the Doctor can find that'll give him extra lives or a Fountain of Youth in Space or something...
The magic of science fantasy--if you have sufficient viewership and fandom, it CAN be done.
"[sheepishly] I actually like Matt Smith."
I don't HATE him (well, I sort of do hate his earlier seasons, not a fan overall, but his early stuff especially is grating) and I don't think there's ever been a bad actor to play the Doctor (at least none of the ones I've seen...well, no, wait, I've seen 9/11 and I've seen McCoy in "King Lear" and Paul McGann in a version of Dickens' "Our Mutual Friend," so I know neither of them are bad actors either) but Matt Smith's Doctor...eh...
There's playful/mischievous, the way Tennant and Tom Baker could be sometimes (albeit in very different ways) and then there's just acting like a 5 year old.
And yes, it is sort of a novel idea to have such an old person act so young...but that only works for a short period of time...maybe bursts of that here or there, or concentrated into an episode or two...
When it's all the time--well, who here exactly likes hanging around with 50-year olds who are trying to look and act 15 still? Just...just no...
"He's grown on me, but mostly cause he had a couple of the best companions in Amy and Clara plus his relationship with River, another great character in Whodom"
I'll agree 110% on Clara...not so much on Amy (she always came off as a bit of a whiner and the typical example of the type of character who is told "Whatever you do, don't do X!" and the ONE OF THE FIRST DAMN THINGS SHE DOES IS X! It doesn't make me want to root for you when your biggest contribution to the adventures half the time is doing either something blatantly stupid or doing what you were told NOT to do and getting captured so the Doctor has to go save you...granted saving companions is as much a trope in DW as redshirts dying in Star Trek I guess, but still, there's a difference between someone like SJ, who seemed to really be rather competent and able to actually do things and so when she's captured it's not "Oh, great, she screwed up again and now the Doctor has to go save her ass" it's "Oh no, save her, Doctor!"...and to cap all that, I also have to say, not a fan of Damsel in Distress characters, especially new ones in this day and age--someone like Lois Lane or literary characters who were written that way centuries ago...OK, that's a bit more tolerable, especially considering nowadays they're usually updated and made stronger, the way Lois Lane was made more of a tenacious, intelligent reporter in the Christopher Reeve Superman movies...but to still be writing and creating Damsel in Distress characters in 2013? No. To be fair to Amy, though, I do blame Moffat's view of women on this to a degree--his making Irene Adler into a Damsel in Distress at the end of an episode of "Sherlock" was completely unnecessary, felt contrary to the character, and just sort of misogynistic and tarnished an otherwise-good episode of what is a pretty damn good modernization of Sherlock Holmes...in fairness he hasn't done this with Clara--yet--but I do think Moffat has a thing for Damsel in Distress characters and male characters acting out the part of the hero, and that's just tired and troublesome in 2013.)
And I HATE River Song--she feels like a tangled web of exposition every time she comes onscreen...I find her character grating (no slight against the actress, I'm sure she's fine, it's the lines that get on my nerves) and she just kills the drama for me (did she REALLY have to keep talking to Clara as she and the Doctor were going to see his grave in the last episode? You have this great atmosphere and building drama, but no, River Song has to interject her comments every five minutes like a child who needs attention and won't shut up.)
So yeah...not a fan of Amy or River. ;) But Clara's awesome, go her!
Why isn't Heartland in Fall of American Empire brown?
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