Art Machine
Just another former infatuation junkie

You ever notice when a couple are together long enough, they start to pick up each other’s vocal patterns and mannerisms?

Awww… Fox News and Bush have been a couple for so long, Fox has even picked up Bush’s cute little horribly unfortunate misspeaks.

I still like seeing the science articles that come up at io9, but I worry more and more about their entertainment reporting. For one thing, their coverage of comic book films has pretty much declined to the point of whining about how nobody makes a comic movie by just giving the artist of the comic $20,000,000 and turning them loose. Up until the release of The Spirit (which, by the way, I really think is the 80’s Flash Gordon of the modern era), their entertainment bloggers were angrily blogging that Frank Miller’s movie should be scrapped completely and instead the artist of the current comic should be given twice the budget Miller had and turned loose.

At this point, I have to point out – just giving a comic artist a massive budget to make a film is a phenomenally bad idea. Comics and film being, hey, two completely different media.

Lately, ranting and gloating have not been enough for them. They’ve taken it on themselves to begin making the news up. First off taking the pipe dream of one of their own reporters – that Christopher Nolan would do the next Batman film as a direct adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns – and reporting it as “the latest buzz in Hollywood” that they “hope to be true.”

Then there’s the gloating they’ve done over The Spirit’s lousy performance in theatres, which has lately grown to declaring Frank Miller’s Hollywood career to be “ruined.” Honestly, Frank Miller is nowhere near as bad as Uwe Boll – and Boll still gets new chances. And leave us not forget in the ranks of wunderkind directors with truly lousy films, there’s Robert Rodriguez and From Dusk ‘Til Dawn.

But rather than continue to be bitter about the way they turn their own opinions into “the latest Hollywood buzz,” I’ve decided I can take this opportunity to do the same, myself. See, io9 wants to know who the new Doctor’s companion is. So I’m pleased present the latest buzz to come out of the Beeb offices.

Emma Watson is rumored to be (wink, wink) in negotiations with the Beeb to play the companion to the Doctor as portrayed as Matt Smith. Sources within the Beeb report that the Harry Potter and the [fill in the blank] star is far and away a favorite. Not just for her youth which will match the image of the younger doctor, or for the star power she brings to the bill, but also to help appease the wrath of author J.K. Rowling, still upset after being dis-invited from the Doctor Who Christmas special.

Allowing Emma Watson to become the Doctor’s companion will soothe wounds with the author, and may pave the way for Rowling to appear in Smith’s first Christmas as the good Doctor. Moffat, while eager to work with Watson and Smith, was apparently unhappy with the decision to reinstate the Rowling story (an idea of Davies’) until the BBC sent Rupert Grint around to his office with a switchblade.

And this rumor is a 100% real rumor. Because I want it to be.

So, earlier today the eleventh actor to play the Doctor was announced.

Being a Yank, I did not have the luxury of watching the edition of “Doctor Who Confidential” as it aired since no American station (to my knowledge) airs it.

Unfortunately, being a Yank also meant that the BBC website doesn’t like to show me videos, because they really only want the intended audiences of the Beeb seeing those things.

So all I was left with was still pictures, which were kind of frightening. Because not only is the actor younger than I am, and an actor whose work I’ve never seen before, but he’s also got that shaggy, gaunt “I belong in a role in Twilight” look.

Thank goodness there’s YouTube. The Beeb video of Matt Smith talking about taking over the TARDIS is up online. And he may look kinda gothy, but he sounds like he’s got the right sense of humor for the Doctor – and that’s definitely some un-gothy, bouncy enthusiasm he has for playing the role.