Dragon Con 2017Part 12: Matt Smith, Part Two
Part One: Overview and Wednesday Part Two: Thursday Part Three: Wallace Shawn Part Four: Toby Froud Part Five: The Star Trek: The Next Generation Cast, Part One Part Six: The Star Trek: The Next Generation Cast, Part Two Part Seven: Buy My Book Part Eight: Medieval Swag, Part 1 Part Nine: Medieval Swag, Part 2 Part Ten: Friday Night, Including Steam Powered Giraffe, and Saturday Morning Part Eleven: Matt Smith, Part One Saturday, September 2ndThe next fan told Smith she's been a fan since the 80s, but it wasn't until his Doctor that she really connected to the character. Additionally, she was diagnosed with stage four leukemia the day before his first episode aired. (She did not reveal if she still had it or was, hopefully, in remission.) She said she really related to how socially awkward his Doctor was, saying he gave her hope. She added that, after her question, she would love to get a hug or shake his hand. He said sure -- and very kindly offered her a doodle as well. She then asked him which of his episodes was nearest to his heart.He feels "Vincent and the Doctor" is a clever, emotional episode (it's certainly a fave of mine!). He loves the idea of showing Van Gogh, a man who was unsuccessful in his own lifetime, what he didn't know: that he would change the face of art. Smith praised Curran's performance when Van Goh is brought to the future. (I relate all too well to Van Goh in the ep, and can easily imagine how he must have felt in that moment -- indeed, Curran reflected it perfectly.) His favourite episode, though, is "The 11th Hour", for personal reasons while making it. He was under a lot of pressure, but pleased with how it turned out. After sharing that, he indeed gave the fan the doodle and hugged her. Sagers asked if, after watching so many directors at work, Smith has the directing bug now himself. Smith confirmed that he does -- and thinks he knows how to direct Doctor Who now, and could do a good episode. A fan asked how he prepared for what she feels is the best presentation of the character of Mr. Collins ever, in Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies. He replied that he thought Collins needed to be the complete opposite of Darcy. He sees Darcy as a quiet, roguish hero, so he figured Collins could be a coward who fumbles and bumbles and over-talks. He worked with someone he described as a "really cool acting coach", Martin Nedberth (I'm guessing at the spelling), whom Smith said helped him a lot, especially to be funny. He said that's where it all began, "and then you read the book and hope for the bloody best!" Sagers asked how important it is to have a coach or someone you look to who can call you out. Smith replied that he wished he'd had Martin working with him on Doctor Who, because coaches stop you from being superfluous, and Smith has a lot of energy -- a coach stops you from being wasteful, and from being one's self instead of the character. The next fan, a child, asked, if Smith could create a room in the TARDIS (The Doctor's ship), what it would be. Smith first asked the child what they would make; they replied, "A doughnut room". Smith decided it would be raining "Starmix" -- sweets -- inside his own room, and there would be a grump hippo named Clive living in one corner. On the left wall would be a big door leading to inside a spaceship, which in turn leads to a grassland where the hippo can hang out. There would also be a tennis court, a football pitch, a drumkit, a big cinema, and a library full of Roald Dahl books. The piece de resistance is an otter named Boris who lives next to Clive and is a fan of line dancing. Oh, and there'd be a bar. (He comes up with most of this so quickly, it's hard to tell if he's actually thought about this before, or is just really good at improv.) Another child asked if Smith still liked bow-ties, to which Smith relied, "Yeah, bow-ties are ... cool!" Awwww! He said that that line came from Moffat telling him he couldn't wear one, and him protesting that they were cool. Sagers asked him if he could tie one, to which he confessed, cutely, "Absolutely not. It's a clip-on." A fan said that "The Eleventh Hour" (Smith's first ep) was the first ep she ever saw, and the one she recommends to people who haven't seen the show start with; she asked which episodes he recommends to people. Smith says, if he were recommending one of hs own eps, it would be "The Eleventh Hour" or "Christmas Carol". If he were recommending Tennant, he likes the one with the wolf ("Tooth and Claw"?), and the one where he meets the devil (a two-parter, "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit"). With Eccleston, he had a hard time deciding, saying he loves Eccleston; at first he thought "the Dalek one" (I'm sure he means "Dalek", and not the two-parter "Bad Wolf" / "The Parting of the Ways"), but deciding on the one with the line "Are you My Mommy" (the two-parter "The Empty Child" / "The Doctor Dances"). (I would recommend starting with Eccleston's first episode, "Rose" -- not the best episode, no, but necessary to see before watching "The End of the World", which is a great one. And then you can watch allllll the "NuWho" eps in order. Tom Baker was my fave doctor for two-thirds of my life, but Eccleston stole the top spot and is still my fave Doctor, with T. Baker, Tennant, Smith, and Capaldi all tied for second place, McCoy and Davison tied for 3rd, and Colin Baker and Paul McGann tied for fourth.) Smith's favourite-ever episode, though, is "Tomb of the Cybermen" (a Troughton episode); he doesn't feel they've ever gotten the Cybermen as good / scary as that episode. And then he and Sagers joked around about how the last few minutes of Tennant's last episode, where The Doctor regenerated into Smith, would be a good starting point. The next questioner asked on behalf or her absent niece what Smith thought happened to the Paternoster Gang; Smith, embarrassed, could not remember what that was (nor could I), until Sagers clarified that it was the group comprised of Strax (the "potato head"; it sounded like everyone at this panel was calling him "Drax", though), Vastra (the lizard woman), and Jenny (Vastra's wife). Smith says he loved them, and that Strax was the funniest guy. He doesn't know their fate, but thinks they'd make a good spin-off, with The Doctor popping in now and then, He likes to think they're travelling the universe, with Jenny off being hot somewhere, and Strax being nuts. He thinks Vastra is really cool. And he say's he'll ask Moffat about it. (I'm a bit puzzled why the girl would ask this question of Smith, as we did see the gang again in Capaldi's first ep, leaving them happy in London.) The next fan asked Smith what was the most surprising thing he'd come across in a Who script. He replied anything with River, especially the whole Amy / baby stuff. Moffat kept all that a secret, so when the cast would read a new script, they'd ring each other up to talk about the shocking things in it, being all, "Melody Pond??" and "Arthur, what the hell?? You're dead!" Moffat told Kingston The Doctor's name, but never Smith, just to wind Smith up. He added that it was amazing to read the scripts, because he felt like a fan watching an episode, "and when they're brilliant, they're just so brilliant." He sad Moffat's episodes in particular were like that, but it's not clear to me if he meant that they were brilliant, or that they were full of surprises, or both. Sagers asked if Smith had any sort of rituals he would go through when getting a new script. Smith replied that he would make a cup of tea before sitting down with it, adding that he never gets tired of reading them. "Interior: TARDIS, day. The Doctor opens the door to a galaxy of whatever ...." Seeing "The Doctor: on a script is "quite a strange thing", and seeing "The Doctor, played by Matt Smith" on the screen is a wonderful feeling. The next fan wanted to ask a two-part question, but Sager told him (rightly so) to cut it down to one. The fan decided on asking what it was like to work with Tom Baker. Smith said it was wonderful, that Baker was everything you want him to be: mad and doctor. Smith said it was a privilege to work with him, saying he was such an amazing and seminal Doctor who'd done so much for the show. He got to hang out with him for a whole day, and it was brilliant! Sagers asked if there was any sense of pressure, after having nailed the 50th anniversary special, knowing that he then had to do his departure episode, which was right after, on his own. Smith confirmed that he did feel it, saying you could never hit the heights of having multiple doctors in the same room. But he also figures that the 50th anniversary special was meant to be the centerpiece anyways, as the 50th birthday of everyone -- it's not about Smith. The Doctor doesn't die in Smith's final episode -- the Doctor is still the same person, just reinvented, even if we mourn him as an audience. He's all right; he carries on. (It still breaks my heart that Moffat, I believe, failed to adequately explain how the story would work to Eccleston, who apparently refused to participate in a story that would, as he saw it, negate his entire arc. Except it wouldn't have, since they all forgot what happened, so all that Nine went through after was still a legitimate reaction to what he'd thought had happened .... Also, while I loved John Hurt, I really think they should have had McGann in the War Doctor role instead. And I wish they had worked Davison, McCoy, and C. Baker in as well -- and David Bradley as Hartnell, seeing as he played the man in a biopic released that same year, and Sean Pertwee, to take over for his late father.) The next fan said she had two parts, but was not told to choose one. Odd -- lots of inconsistencies this panel. She asked for a shout out to her pregnant friend who was about to give birth. She also asked what he thought a child of River and 11 would be like. "Sweet mother of God," Smith replied to the second part, remarking that the child would be "impossibly handsome". He went on to say that anyone who has a child with Kingston "is going to have a wonderful baby and a wonderful time, frankly." (Ahhh, but she said River, not Kingston ....) Smith then said that The Doctor can't have a baby, looking very weirded out by the idea; Sagers weighed in that The Doctor needs a parent himself half the time. Smith seemed to feel The Doctor wouldn't know how to interact with it. (Oh, I dunno, he seemed to do well with Stormageddon ....) Even so, he thinks such a child would be amazing, and would like to meet it! He then wished the girl's friend good luck, saying, "It's going to be painful, but it's going to be worth it. Sagers jokingly asked if Smith was speaking form experience, to which Smith replied (I assume jokingly, but maybe not) that he has a background in midwifery. A child asked him what his favourite scene was. Smith replied that, while it wasn't (for personal reasons and due to the fact that it was early in his days as The Doctor) his favourite episode, there was a moment in "The Beast Below" that he enjoyed: they had built "fucking" (and he apologised for saying that) enormous slides for him and Gillan to slide down, into the "tongue" of a "whale", and they got to slide down it all day long! The downside, though, was that the "goop" they were sliding in got really cold after a while.) Also, there was an episode ("Closing Time") where he got to play football all day long, which he calls his dream job. Sagers asked him if he'd lobbied Moffat for that scene, but Smith says he doesn't even know how the scene came about, other than that they knew he plays football. Smith also remarked that James Corden (who was in that episode) would make a great companion. (Agreed!) The next fan asked what was the best prank anyone pulled on him. Smith revealed that he was the pranker, not the prankee. He used to hide in Gillan's trailer's shower, as she was a very jumpy person, and jump out and scare her. One day, though, and he admits this was bad (though he also says it was hilarious), he scared her so much, she cried. He evilly admitted that winding Gillan up made him happy. (I'm hoping the fact that she still seems to speak fondly of him means it wasn't as bad as it sounds ....) He ended the panel with the order, "Be lawless!" Next month, I'll tell you about the Agents of SHIELD panel!
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