Watching a phoenix die and be again reborn must be a sad yet inspiring event. How noble and mysterious ad beast, to live lonely in it's life as the only of it's kind, and die and die again. Clearly, the Doctor is a phoenix of sorts. he attempts to live as long as he can from regeneration to regeneration, but time goes on and death is inevitably probable. Each time he dies, is a new death, the first death. It never gets and easier. Though from the flames of regeneration he is a new man, he is one cycle older, one cycle closer to the ultimate end. It's surprising to think of our lively Doctor in such a hopeless light. his spunk and zest often dismiss the heavier aspects of his existence.

This is where Tennant, our dear now-late Doctor, specialized. As the Doctor he lit up. No one could bounce about with so much exuberance for exploration or fervor for the value of life. on the flip side Tennant could show hints of the fraying Doctor within. just as his eyes could beam with cleverness and excitement at times they would also harden with time lord reality. An example would be the recent episode where the Doctor is obviously troubled. He fears the way time is slipping by for him, listening for the four knocks that will signal his demise.

In The Waters of Mars the Doctor makes a decision he knows is incorrect. He changes a fixed point in time, possibly changing huge future events. At the end of the episode he is challenged by the woman he saves, who furiously demands he explain what gives him the right to change history. The woman decides to commit suicide to die as she was supposed to on mars.

As the first episode of Doctor Who from the new series makes its way across the ocean, we meet Matt Smith. He's charming enough with his doe eyes, and boyishly charming face. (see example below:) At first, we were all quite dubious of him. My boyfriend was skeptical of anyone being better than Tennant. I believe the Tennant years were great, but now Smith is the Doctor and we must give him a fair shot. We must ease into him, just as the Doctor eases into his new regenerations. It's new for him too! Like he said on the first episode of the new season, "Apples. Rubbish! I've a new mouth now. New rules."

Charming.

Through the duration of the episode Smith stays true to the whimsical nature of the Doctor. He even spits off some lines that are reminiscent of Tennant. The Doctor although still coming into his new body, is raring to go,discarding his loneliness to pick up a new fearless companion. What future adventures will they pursue? What new dangerous will present themselves? Already there is an ominous fracture in space in time that's made apparent. Will this theme take the Doctor somewhere even darker than last season? As always, he's the Doctor, listen to everything he says, don't ask him any stupid question, and don't wander off.

Geronimo!