My Favourite moments of Matt Smith's Doctor

In three days time, we will be saying goodbye to the Eleventh Doctor, so I've decided to post some of my favourite moments of Matt Smith in his time in the part. Others would no doubt have chosen differently, but this my blog, so it's my choices.

1.  Confronting Rosana Calvieri (Vampires of Venice)
When Matt Smith was first announced as the new Doctor, a lot of people thought that he would be too young to show power and authority. This scene proves those people wrong. He begins the scene sitting on a throne, relaxed and confident. He circles the evil Rosanna, flirting and warning her at the same time. Finally he brushes away her manservant and strides out of the room. A good demonstration that this is not a Time Lord to mess with.

2. Saying goodbye to Amelia before the crack swallows him up (The Big Bang)
The Eleventh Doctor is often described as "wacky" or "zany", but here we see his more melancholy side as he sits by Amelia's bedside and tells her the story of how he left Gallifrey before he enters the crack in time, we viewers can finally see the old man beneath the veneer. Matt makes this a sad moment, one which might rival his regeneration scene.

3. Getting the boy to stop the Bomb (The Boy Who Saved the Proms)
Technically this isn't part of the TV Show but I don't care because it's brilliant. Matt Smith proves that he is great at acting with children away from the controlled studio environment and in a hall full of people and with a child whose responses can't be predicted.  As Matt and the boy disarm a bomb with invisible wires, we can see that like Tom Baker before him, Matt can deal with the unpredictable.

4. The Doctor confronts Oswin (Asylum of the Daleks)
The Doctor/Oswin conversations throughout the episode are pretty good, given that the actors were performing separately. I love the look on Matt Smith's face as he enters Oswin's room and realizes that she is a Dalek before she herself does. The eyes say it all. I also like the fact that the Doctor gets carried away with tearing down Oswin's illusions without realizing the danger he is putting himself in when she starts to revert to Dalek behaviour.

5. The Future Doctor prepares for his own death (The Impossible Astronaut)
Once you've seen the future Doctor being killed by the astronaut, it's interesting to look back at the subtle differences between Matt's performance as future Doctor and the present one. The future Doctor has the same tics, but is warier and more confident. The way he says he "never got done saving you" is the dead giveaway. The younger one is more excitable. It's a good example of the range of Matt Smith's performance.

6. Confronting his friends on their secrecy (The Impossible Astronaut)
A good example of how the Doctor can switch from a comedic goon to a serious Lord of Time as the Doctor reveals to his companions that he knows they are hiding something from him. It is at this moment that he reveals his nastier side as he tells River that he does not trust her.

7. Eating Fish Fingers and Custard with Amelia (The Eleventh Hour)
When we first see the Eleventh Doctor after his regeneration, he is completely crazy. The Doctor's one to one talk with young Amelia in her kitchen is the moment that the Doctor finally settles down. We knew he could be funny, but now we see him being observant. It is also the first time we see him acting with children. It's something that Matt has always been good at.

8. Imploring Amy to release him to save the world (The Eleventh Hour)
The Doctor is forced to implore Amy to free him to save the world. For the first time since she was a child, the Doctor talks seriously to Amy Pond.

9. Closing the door to Older Amy (The Girl Who Waited) 
The Doctor shows his darker side as he shuts the Tardis door on the older Amy. While Steven Moffat's version of Doctor Who is generally optimistic, this is a rare example of the Doctor making a harsh decision.

10. "Legs! I've still got legs!" (The End of Time Part 2)
After the downbeat death of the Tenth Doctor, the mood completely changes for the upbeat birth of the Eleventh. Not every Doctor gets the benefit of having a first line. Tom Baker got no line at all. David's first lines gave no indication of whether I would like him or not. Matt is very good at acting naturally crazy. From this moment on, I knew I would like him.