FIGHTS: So long, Matt Smith!

ZBFbooks SALUTES MATT SMITH AS HE MAKES WAY FOR A NEW ERA OF DOCTOR WHO
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

I'll never forget the day when I joined a Doctor Who 'Meet Up' group at a place called Lion and the Rose in San Antonio, Texas, to watch the 50th Anniversary Special.  The Doctor Who group is pretty cool and I made my way to a table with available seating with a few fellow Doctor Who fan.

I immediately established that I'm ready for Matt Smith to spark discussion on why, I assumed, these three folks were big Matt Smith fans.  And, like the ass that I am, I discovered that the three of us shared the same feeling.

We appreciated Matt Smith's stay, but we were ready for him to go.

I dubbed Matt Smith the 'Peter Davidson' of this modern era.  Like Davidson, Smith had to fill the shoes of who was, at that time, the most popular Doctor since Tom Baker: David Tennant.  And I'll never forget how unhappy I was when he changed into Smith.  In fact, even before he shouted his first 'Geronimo', I was already wishing for another Doctor to take his place.

Why do I gripe about Smith?  For me, the guy just didn't have the emotional depth or skill of Tennant.  After watching episodes scored by Russell T. Davies that were filled with emotional depth, story, and great additions to the Doctor Who canon, I wasn't sure of the new guy.

My initial feelings were justified in the first few episodes.  The guy was 'pantomiming' a Doctor, if that makes any sense.  Like, he was acting whimsical and fun with no real motivation behind it.  Don't get me wrong, there were several episodes where a look or a gesture reached deeper than his actual acting.  I can acknowledge that.  But those moments felt few and far between for me.

And even though the script bolstered his profile, I think it also hindered his performance as well.  I imagine considering the way filming is done for shows, which are typically never linear (read: You might film the end of an episode before moments from the beginning), he might have lost track of how he should 'feel' or what moment came before.  Moffett's scripts can sometimes (okay, ALWAYS) be so overly clever or epic that even I lose track of what exactly is going on.  Perhaps being green, Smith had similar moments where he couldn't immerse himself in the moment because he wasn't exactly sure what that moment was or how he should feel.

Granted, he got better in subsequent seasons, but it always felt like a kind of 'on-the-job' training.  He got better as an actor because he was literally learning how to be a better actor as the program went on.  That's very different than growing the character and learning more about them as the program moved forward, which he did a pretty good job of.

In the end, however, I was still very excited to hear about him leaving and looked forward to that day.

Truth is, he did okay.  He was just alright, in my eyes.  True, you can never really compare apples to oranges when it comes to the unique position of this show.  In this case, I would have taken the orange over the apple, even though the apple could provide the same goodness as the orange.  I just prefer the orange.

Even though ZBFbooks.com has been one of Smith's critics, I am thankful for the time he put in to the show to build the show's legend, and did enjoy his performances as a whole.  But once was enough for me.

So, naturally, when I heard Peter Capaldi was taking Smith's place, I was happy.  Here was an older guy who probably has a little more emotional depth, acting skill, and an obvious stronger presence and intensity that's been missing from the series for a while now, perhaps since Eccleston.

So long, Matt Smith.  ZBFbooks.com wishes you well in your future endeavors.  And here's wishing Peter Capaldi a long and successful run.

And if you like superheroes, you need to give the ZombieBloodFights.com superheroes a chance.  Codename: La Lechusa, Room 26 and the Army of Xulhutdul, and Tejano Star and the Vengeance of Chaplain Skull.  Get a copy today via paperback or kindle today.

 

 

Bowie V. Ibarra (1975- present) was born and raised in Uvalde, Texas, to a school principal and a book keeper. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and a Master of Arts in Theatre History.

Network with Bowie at his official website, ZBFbooks.com.

FIGHTS: ZBF.com welcomes the new Doctor, Peter Capaldi

UK SCI-FI SERIES CHRISTENS NEW TIME/SPACE ICON
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

 

The landmark decision to introduce the newest Doctor took place today 8/4/2013.  The Dr. Who Universe had been waiting in anticipation for the call, and it turns out Peter Capaldi was tapped to be the next Doctor.

 

Capaldi is a Scottish actor with a great resume.  He has been in movies and television for years now.  And though he is quite good at comedy acting, he looks to bring a more sophisticated air to the role. 

Capaldi is the third Scottish actor to take the role of the Doctor.  The first was Sylvester McCoy, with the second being David Tennant. 

 

The trend for the new Doctor Who series had been to cast 'younger' men for the roles, starting with Christopher Eccleston on to David Tennant.  Both men were phenomenal actors, with Tennant carrying the series into the new era of global popularity.

 

It was almost jarring to see such a young actor like Matt Smith be cast into the role.  Though Eccleston and Tennant were youthful in their appearance, there was still a maturity and depth to their performances and interpretation of the Doctor.  Smith took some time to get used to.  He had flashes and good moments, but even as he developed on-the-job as an actor and Doctor, he could still not reach the emotional depth Tennant and Eccleston reached without seeming artificial.

 

Capaldi is a welcome addition to the Doctor who canon.  Here's hoping he ushers in a new era of fun and sophistication to the role that has been lacking in the modern era since Tennants departure and since the classic era as well.

 

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BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuster.  His latest story, 'Room 26 and the Army of Xulhutdul' is the story of a young woman who is granted superpowers while being assigned to oversee a museum in San Antonio, Texas, that holds great secrets.  The book is now available in paperback and Kindle here.

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BLOOD... from David Tennant! - #SPOILERS# ZBF2.0 Reviews the Fright Night remake...

Let me start by saying I wasn't going to see this movie.  Fright Night?  Nope. Not for me.  In fact, I might need to requalify for my 'movie expert' card for not seeing the original.  I was young, and I thought the movie poster was dumb.  Scary clouds above a house didn't tell me anything about the movie.  Was it zombies?  Was it ... what was it.

So that's what I felt when the remake came out.  Because I didn't like the first one, I wasn't going to give this remake a chance.

That is, until a buddy I used to do improv comedy with named Jay Olson (who works in Chicago living the improv dream), posted a Facebook update that talked about the first trailer and how David Tennant was in it.

Shwhat?

For those not in the know, David Tennant is the stellar actor that completely rocked the Doctor Who world with his portrayal of the legendary UK sci-fi hero.  Not since Tom Baker has there been a Doctor as popular as Tennant.  His work was the most powerful and moving I had ever seen.  His work as a Shakespearan trained actor brought amazing strength and truth to his role as the time traveller.  He upped the ante of Christopher Eccleston before him and Matt Smith after him, who, in my opinion, has not come close to Tennant's work.

Apparently, Tennant was in the first trailer for about one second.  I immediately thought, "Oh, David's got a bit role and is going to do the j-o-b to Colin Farrell. 

But it later became apparent that he would be featured in the movie as one of the main characters.  It was then and there that I decided I would buy a ticket.

Here's the synopsis, ripe with spoilers.  You have been warned.

The kid played by Anton Yelchin and his mom played by Toni Collette wonder about this guy who moved in next door played by Colin Farrell.  They live in a subdivision just outside of Las Vegas.

One of the kids buddies played by Chris Mintze-Plasse, "McLovin" from 'SuperBad', tries to tell the kid that his neighbor is a vampire and is killing all their friends.  He doesn't believe it, and McLovin ends up caught by Vampire Farrell.

After a while, the kid figures out Farrell is, indeed, a vampire and tries to enlist the help of Tennant, who plays a bitter illusionist.  His character is kind of like Chris Angel, but with a heavy vampire-killing theme to his shows.  He refuses to help the kid.

But when the Vampires make a move on Tennant's Vegas stronghold laced with antique vampire-fighting weapons, it forces Tennants character to look inside himself.

The kid makes a move on the vampire's lair when his girl, played by the girl from 28 weeks later, is captured by Farrell during the crisis.  Tennant has a change of heart, becoming the unlikely sidekick to the kid, and they enter the lair to take on the ancient beast into the climax.

I have to admit I enjoyed it.  I didn't think I was.  But they stuck to a good story with a simple formula following the dramatic structure.

The trailers have Colin Farrell looking like he mailed in his performance.  But watching his performance in context made what I thought was smarmy mugging during the trailers something different.  It became a patient arrogance of someone with a kind of strong omnipotence.  Colin could smell the characters, know they were near.  He was restricted by traditional vampire lore, but also had their super strength and speed.  I thought his character went beyond just plain creepy to sinister. 

I think Farrell upped his performance to make sure to take the scenes with Tennant in the flick.  As his performance in the Doctor Who series, Tennant brought a Shakesperean-trained performance to what was a standard Hollywood action script.  The dialogue was nothing special, but in the hands of a master like Tennant, gained a resonance that the lines would not have had with other actors.  Only Tennant could make the phrase, "Get the fuck out of my house" powerful on a RSC level.

And his dialogue was a strong American departure from his Doctor Who role.  His lines seemed to have been written by Samuel L. Jackson, as he used the 'F' word a lot.  I would have like to have seen more British slang used, like "Fuck all" or "Bollocks".

As the professional Tennant was, with all the potential to steal scenes, he shared them.  People like me that showed up specifically to see him will be happy to see that with his material and with the script, he was able to bring a strong performance for his lovable character.

All the other actors did well.  And in all, it was a great performance.

It wasn't anything groundbreaking.  But it was a good action/vampire horror story worthy of watching on the big screen.  And, to be honest, Tennant's performance is worth the price of admission.  Farrell as a great heel is just icing on the cake.

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Bowie Ibarra is the author of the zombie horror series, "Down the Road" from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuester.  His most recent story, "Codename: La Lechusa", is a superhero action story with a paranormal theme.

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