I think it's that his first thought is never to be clever. It seems to me that his first thought is "what makes sense for this character" and then he happens to BE a very clever storyteller, so that what he comes up with is very smart.

So what do you think makes Joss' work resonate so much.

"If you had any more tawdry quirks, you could open up a tawdry quirk shop"

And if I wanted to READ I'd go on Facebook, not to a movie!!!

Exactly. When David played that part, he played it well, but in a very grand way. It was a side you didn't see of the Doctor unless something terrible had happened. With Matt though, every expression, every line, has some of that behind it.

I think one of the reasons they didn't look into it is that they'd covered similar ground to that in Amy's Choice.

Hells yes. It's a great example of how quietly sad he can be, and how devastating it is. I think for me, its when Amy finds the ring. The look on his face, anger and so much regret, is amazing.

I think that one of the things that makes 11 work is that his gravitas works within the context of a smaller story. Many of the stories in this era are very much to do with human nature, and personal interactions. This is what grounds the drama, and makes the stories work. Matt's gravitas (good word!) then makes all…

I'm also very interested to see where he's going with this. Based on his previous track record, there's a pretty good chance it'll be interesting (if not always dramatically satisfying).

I think it's partly the fact that he has an old face, but also partly (like Nathan Ford's Evil Twin says above) how quietly he plays the drama. It's a subtlety that implies depth.

I think he's the first nu-who to really feel old. Not just in a "I've done/seen things you wouldn't believe" kind of way, but also in a wise, thoughtful kind of way. It makes the character moments ring a little truer.

I thought I had 100% given up on True Blood after last week's Fairy Nightclub Nightmare. I actually said... "that's it! I'm DONE!" as soon as I saw it, and then I thought...well..I'll give it one more try... and then they knock it out of the park with this one. I am simultaneously furious and delighted.

Well..... at least, light(er) haired. I was really just shocked to see him not looking like Crichton, but it's growing on me...a bit.

Unfortunately, he'll always be Pingu to me.. I can never take him seriously.

Ben Bowder with blonde hair and a mustache. I do not like.

Just come away from reading the "top opening sentences article," and may I say that "The sky glowed for hours." would be a killer one. Especially followed by "This was the explosion that informed us about the EMP effect and made it clear that nuclear weaponry would be the end of us."

Telstar: the first US communications satellite, and the first single by a British band to get to the top of the US charts.

Ok.. I see your point, by viewing life through the lens of, say, Buddhism, you can learn and understand certain things about the world, whereas looking at things through a different lens, you can understand other things which Buddhism doesn't treat, or have a particularly clear perspective on.

Surely that's only possible if those too worldviews don't contradict one another. If the two conceptions of reality contradict, then you really have to do something very clever or very stupid to make them both exist.

I think that some metaphors can be damaging even when you keep in mind that they're metaphors. I've had some concepts explained to me using incorrect or inaccurate metaphors that really confuse the issue at hand, and lead to a muddying, not a clearing up, of my understanding.