I totally agree with this. The Doctor is the Wizard. He's the Stranger. He's the Trickster.
And I agree that this is one reason why 11 works so much better for me.
It never occurred to me either that the Doctor should be broken. I always took the Doctor as a man who had figured out his life, figured out what he wanted, and had given up everything that wasn't that thing.
Yes, there is some tragedy in that, but there is also boundless joy. And to me, that's what the Doctor is, a man who may have tragedies, but he acknowledges them and moves on, they don't control him, or limit him, or make him tragic.
Instead he looks toward the future, as a Time Lord he knows he can't change his past (unfortunately something that Moff has messed with, which I think has damaged the dramatic credibility of the show a bit, if the original thing can simply be altered, then what do the consequences of those things matter?)
But, I always took the Doctor to be the sort of kindly Wizard figure. Someone surprising and amazing who appeared and changed your world for the better. Not someone who needed your shoulder to cry on because of his own "tragedies."
So, yeah, I like that aspect of 11. And, frankly, I have more respect for him. For all that Matt looks younger, and 11 acts so childlike at times, I do often feel he's the more mature "wise" one.
So, yeah, I prefer the Wizard to the Tragic Hero. Wizards are supposed to impress and surprise us, not make us pity them.
And I've never been comfortable with the idea that I was supposed to pity the Doctor.
I always thought he was the guy with the greatest life in the universe.
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And I agree that this is one reason why 11 works so much better for me.
It never occurred to me either that the Doctor should be broken. I always took the Doctor as a man who had figured out his life, figured out what he wanted, and had given up everything that wasn't that thing.
Yes, there is some tragedy in that, but there is also boundless joy. And to me, that's what the Doctor is, a man who may have tragedies, but he acknowledges them and moves on, they don't control him, or limit him, or make him tragic.
Instead he looks toward the future, as a Time Lord he knows he can't change his past (unfortunately something that Moff has messed with, which I think has damaged the dramatic credibility of the show a bit, if the original thing can simply be altered, then what do the consequences of those things matter?)
But, I always took the Doctor to be the sort of kindly Wizard figure. Someone surprising and amazing who appeared and changed your world for the better. Not someone who needed your shoulder to cry on because of his own "tragedies."
So, yeah, I like that aspect of 11. And, frankly, I have more respect for him. For all that Matt looks younger, and 11 acts so childlike at times, I do often feel he's the more mature "wise" one.
So, yeah, I prefer the Wizard to the Tragic Hero. Wizards are supposed to impress and surprise us, not make us pity them.
And I've never been comfortable with the idea that I was supposed to pity the Doctor.
I always thought he was the guy with the greatest life in the universe.