Ricblog

Of course it does, Matt Smith was announced as the next Doctor only yesterday. I guess the question i’m really asking is this; does Doctor Who have a stable future once David Tennant has left? I’d like to think the show will go from strength to strength, but I have some very serious doubts. As good as the Christopher Ecclestone first series  was, it was the second series when Doctor Who firmly found it’s feet.  Everyone could relate to Tennant’s portrayal  of the doctor. He was geeky, but cool. Lanky, but sexy. Intelligent but funny. In may ways he was just like me…..ahem. His performance was majestic and he’s gone on to become the nations all time favourite Doctor, knocking Tom Baker of the top spot.  Talking of Tom Baker, he was replaced with a younger Doctor, a certain Peter Davison. Davison was young and replacing Baker’s iconic Doctor was risky. Ignore what Doctor Who Confidential says, Davison taking the role was a complete disaster, and the show went into a steep decline.  I’m old enough to remember Davison as the Doctor. In 1984 I found the show rather boring, but I occasionally watched it and I remember watching Colin Baker emerge as the next Doctor at my Nana’s house and being slightly intrigued, as It was the first time i’d seen the Doctor regenerate. However, by this time the show was considered a complete joke and none of the kids I knew at school bothered watching it. Everyone was into Knight Rider and Airwolf. Doctor Who had had it’s day and after one further gaff (casting Sylvestor Mccoy ) the show was quite rightly cancelled. So, the problem seemed to stem from casting a far younger actor to replace an established and much loved Doctor.  Could history repeat itself? Well, in many ways it already has. Matt Smith is only 26 and is stepping into a very difficult pair of shoes. To many people (including myself) David Tennant is THE Doctor in the same way that people used to think Tom Baker had that exclusive honour. It’s an impossible task to play that role when your predecessor is held in such high regard. It killed the show in the 1980’s and I fear the same might happen again. I hope i’m wrong. But whatever happens watching David Tennant play the Doctor will always be the greatest. He’s the man that brought the character back alive. I’ll reserve judgment on Matt Smith until 2010, he might be brilliant….we’ll just have to wait and see.

The shop is dead and Jonathan Richman (for what seems like the billionth time) sings his generic blues rock to an abscent audience. I’m sat in front of a Christmas tree that’s so heavily decorated that you can’t actually tell it’s a tree at all, just a pyramid of blue balls. Part of me can’t wait for a hyper active child to come in a and knock it over. At least that would add an air of excitement to what clearly is going to be a rather long day. There’s a plastic snow flake hanging behind till 5 that keeps poking me in the eye, and i’m going to take it down in a couple of minutes as it’s going to cause permanent damage to my retena, if it stays up any longer. Christ, i’m bored, really bored, and it’s only 11 o’clock. I’m so bored that i’m mentally mapping out my journey around Sainsbury’s in Stockport. Oh, by the way, Sainsbury’s pork is simply the finest you can buy. So hot foot it down to your local branch and stock up now. You can never have too much pork y’know.

2008 will certainly have a very different feel to it, with many exciting new things going on in my personal life. For the first time ever, I have my own flat and no longer sharing with friends or relatives. Before I moved into my own place quite a few people warned me that living on my own would be a lonely experience. However, this hasn’t proved to be the case and I feel more relaxed and in control than I’ve ever been during the last 5 years. But things are starting to change as I get older. And one of the changes has been on the cards for a while and had a certain amount of inevitability about it. Anyone who reads this blog or knows me personally will be fully aware that i’m a serious record collector and have been for 20 years. But looking through my records and cds the other night, it occured to me that i’ve taken this project as far as it can go. This doesn’t mean i’ve lost interest in music, far from it. Music will always be the most important element in my life and I don’t envisage a time in the near future when it wont be. When I set myself the amazing task of investigating classic rock and other genres such as folk and country I knew deep down I would hit a point where it would have to end. And I always guessed right from the beginning that it would probably take about 20 years or so for this to happen. So does this mean i’ve retired from music? Well, only in the sense that my collection is complete and I feel a desire to move on to something else. What that ’something else’ is will only be revealed during the course of time

As you know, i’m an open minded guy, who’s open to every new suggestion and idea placed in front of me. Erm….okay that’s not true at all. I’m a 31 year old bloke that’s totally set in his ways and hates change. Right, so i’ve started this post from a position of total honesty. And may I just mention that this is the first post i’ve released for over 6 months. Yes, Axl Rose fever set in; i’ve written at least 8 posts, but decided not to release any of them. Why? Cos they were pretty crap and made me sound far madder than I actually am. Although the strange train journey I had last month will certainly appear, once i’ve edited it down a bit. Okay, enough rambling, i’m here to talk about the new Doctor, set to hit our screens in 2010, once David Tennant’s last four specials have been screened. I hasten to add, these specials haven’t even been filmed yet! So we’re getting well ahead of ourselves. Anyway, the next Doctor is………………..Matt Smith. Who the fuck’s Matt Smith?………….He’s a 26 year old actor………….26 years old??????  Is the whole world on a mission to make me feel old? You can’t have a 26 year old boy playing the doctor. Why? Because I can’t look up to someone who’s 5 years  younger than me. Also he looks like an ugly version of David Tennant, with a boxers nose. I wanted James Nesbitt to be the next doctor (that would have worked) or Brian Blessed (that wouldn’t have worked, but funny). In my mind the doctor is certainly no younger than mid to late 30’s when it comes to casting. I don’t believe that a young actor can portray the life experience the doctor has. After all he’s 901 years old. Also, are we going to end up with an assistant that’s far younger than Matt Smith? The idea of some annoying 15 year old hanging out in the tardis is probably just as annoying as young teenagers that beat me at snooker. I hate teenagers.  The train was full of them this afternoon.  Stupid hair and fluffy boots. Grrr…..

I’m going now, i’m really hungry and there’s some salmon in the fridge. Hmmm…might have it with new potatoes and peas. Don’t have any potatoes. I’m off to the Co-op to get some, better not be any teenagers there. Did I mention I hate young people?