Unsubstantiated assertion. I myself adored David Tennant at least as soon as Tooth and Claw. Fans in general have been going on about how brilliant he was for years now. And a cursory glance of any congregation of fans reveals that we are almost entirely biased in favour of Matt Smith, not against. (It's his face. Looking at Smith's face is like staring into a 3D time vortex.) Unless you're finding these fan opinions on Facebook or Youtube comments!!!!!!!!

The only thing predictable about me, is that I jumped to defend myself against a claim you made which I did not like. But then, in conversation, even a simpleton can predict that a statement shall be countered with a response. Either of the agreeing variety, or the disagreeing variety. Or perhaps non-commited opinion.

I remember seeing the negative backlash against Matt Smith when he was first announced as the new Doctor over a year ago. I remember that same backlash for David Tennant. My Dad remembers talking to friends of his at the time Peter Davison was cast, most of whom said he was "too young" and preposterously out-of-type for the character of the Doctor. Same for when Tom Baker was cast.

The Gallifrey Base forum seems to be filled with extremes - either the next Doctor is awful, has always been awful and will always be awful up until the point when he's about to leave at which point he's bloody marvellous and the NEXT next guy is terrible. Or they get incredibly "squee" about... well, not just the Doctor but anything.

This doesn't really say anything about Doctor Who fans specifically. Scifi fandom in general is rather maddening. Star Trek went through the same thing whenever a new spin-off launched and the new crew was announced.

We watched all of the original Dr. Who shows on PBS and CBC; I haven't watched much of the new stuff - what little I've seen says that it looks like a decent show, but the feel isn't the same.

I've liked every Dr, with the exception of Colin Baker. I started with Tom Baker, but liked Jon Pertwee just as much. Peter Davidson - I didn't hate him, but he just didn't 'click' as a really good Doctor. Sylvester McCoy was going really well, until the BBC infighting led to the show ending. (Ace and Nissa were my favorite sidekicks; they kicked butt )