Aldo, in Doctor and brides: what's up with that? She's the second after Donna, and my mind is going all Jung about it, and it's never fun in this level of analysis.

And I think that the core of the Tennant-Eccleston era (haven't watched earlier Doctors) was fairy tale gone bad - just by the character of the Doctor himself. With Smith and Moffat on board, it'll be a strictly horror fairy tale, I think.

Jars, from what I've read, that angle is not going to be an issue. Thank goodness. (They've pretty much done that to death with Rose, I think).

Glad most others here are feeling the new Doctor love !

On rewatching, Amy didn't annoy me as much, and other bits of the Internets were impressed, so maybe that was just me .

I liked the slapstick. Anything which set up that Scottish line is fine by me. Mostly I liked the way the atmosphere spun from funny to scary in one second with the line about "You're not afraid of anything. So why are you afraid of the crack in your wall?"

Jon, Patrick Moore is a British institution. I'm trying to think of a US equivalent, but I can't. Hope Wikipedia cleared it up for you.

With Smith and Moffat on board, it'll be a strictly horror fairy tale, I think.

The fairy tale report was from an interview with one of the writers of the new season.

I'm trying to think of a US equivalent, but I can't.

Fiona: Carl Sagan, perhaps?

Thoughts on New Who: I liked Eleven very much, and even though it's early days yet, I think I may wind up liking him more than Ten. It seems to me that the anger that was always simmering under the surface with Ten has been replaced with a sort of gentleness. I also thought his speech to the aliens at the end was much less blustery and snarly than it would have been with Ten, and relied on reason as much as threats to convince the aliens to back off. In short, he reads as a Ten who has come to some sort of terms with his grief/rage/guilt/fear.

Jon: certainly in terms of knowledge and scientific standing, but with a big heap of English eccentricity thrown in.

Oh, the white font, it burns with temptation! Okay, so it's more of a tingle. I'm getting excited, though.

he was kinda badass at the end. But charmingly excitable.

Yep, the quiet confidence, that brings back planet-destroying aliens to tell them not to do it again, mixed with the ability to have fun, was rather cool. River's Doctor. Nice.

Which reminds me - I so adored the flashes of all the past Doctors through the Atraxi's mind. Nice way to establish continuity.

The Girl has a theory that he was channelling past Doctors during his very changeable time while he's "still cooking". Regardless, I liked the personality shifts as he added to his personality repertoire. The change at the duck pond was particularly impressive. That Smith with his acting and that Moffat with his writing, they make a good team.

Regarding Jeff - a future UNIT leader or something? " I'm fond of the empowering of other people: "You have to be magnificent."

General thoughts: Some fantastic lines. This is a very funny Doctor. "Sun's gone wibbly." "Get a girlfriend, Jeff." "Who da man? Oh. I'm never saying that again." I also like how he's got a whole village on hand to be useful, because they've known him far longer than he's actually been Eleven. And his costume is surprisingly fetching.

Oh, and someone on my twitter feed tipped me off that Amy's eyes change colour somewhere between the ages of seven and nineteen.

I'm completely with you Anne, about the differences in 10 vs. 11 presentation with one refinement: I agree that there is so much less anger in 11's bravado. But, in my mind, that makes him WAY more badass. That simple "Run" made me sit back, whereas, 10 saying that was more unstable and, therefore, less effective.

Very cool. And, I'll say it again, unexpected.

As for the slapstick. I've never been a fan of that sort of comedy, but, it WAS an element of 10's regeneration, so it didn't stand out for me. In fact, I concluded that it was used as a purposeful delineation. The one nod to what 11 might retain of 10 ...aaaand now we're done. From here on out, 11 is his own timelord.

I didn't think I was going to like the wardrobe change. Bowtie? Really? As it turns out, SUPER hot.

Not to go too wibbly, but I really like the way he walks.

eta: Heh. Crosspost with Seska. Thanks for bringing up Jeff and his future potential. As soon as I saw him, I said outloud, "Oh my god. It's AWESOME." Not only does he look like Chuck's bil, but he acts like him too, AND has a similar role.

I'm completely with you Anne, about the differences in 10 vs. 11 presentation with one refinement:

Ooh, yes. I like that refinement. It means that instead of letting emotion run things, Eleven has the potential to be a lot more pragmatic and to think things through more carefully when push comes to shove. In short, less volatile but potentially far more dangerous.