"New mouth, new rules," says Matt Smith’s Doctor. He's experimenting with his new digestive system, but he could mean playing the Doctor. Talk about pressure: he's succeeding David Tennant, the most popular Doctor yet. Fans have grumbled about his age, his hair, his not being David Tennant.
But they needn't have worried. Smith's debut, The Eleventh Hour, is outstanding. From the moment he hurtles into new companion Amy Pond's garden in a busted-up TARDIS, it's clear he’s going to hit the spot. Smith's Doctor is sarcastic, eccentric and extremely funny.
The purpose of this hour-long special is to introduce the new Doctor to viewers and to Amy (Karen Gillan), so writer Steven Moffat has wisely kept things simple. The story starts with a crack in a child's bedroom wall. Something has escaped through it, sneaking out into the country village where Amy lives. What is it? And how is it connected to the strange sightings of coma patients apparently walking through the village green?
Like so many companions before her, Amy has her reasons for wanting to escape her life. And like so many Doctors before him, Matt Smith offers the tantalising prospect of whisking her - and us - away from the everyday. "Who are you?" Amy asks. "I don't know yet. I'm still cooking." Well, from what we've tasted so far, Doctor Who is in safe hands. Indeed The Eleventh Hour may just be the best Doctor Who debut yet.
