So, Matt Smith has defied all predictions to be named the next Doctor. If your reaction was anything other than "Who?", then you're either a shrewd telly addict, a Doctor Who insider or lying. Smith's announcement came out of nowhere.
Matt Smith's selection has raised a number of issues, not least about his age – more on that on my regular blog – but one thing I did find interesting is the geographical origins of not only him, but all the other Doctors as well. Wait, come back!
There's a pattern (he says, sounding like a B-movie scientist).
It's generally taken as read that the home of the world's most famous timelord is not just the TARDIS, but London. In fact, no one really notices how most Doctors in the past have spoken with a nice neutral southern accent, because it's so lovely and unnoticeable.
But with just one exception (Christopher Ecclestone's jovial Mancunian banter), each Doctor's accent has hailed from the South of England.
That is, at least, until the '80s came along. After five of the first six actors playing the Doctor were born and raised in London – the only exception here being, incredibly, Tom Baker, who came from Liverpool but gave his character the voice of a lofty old Shakespeare impresario having elocution lessons – Sylvester McCoy dragged the Doctor up to the Scottish highlands. He was followed by Paul McGann (Liverpool), Chris Ecclestone (Salford) and David Tennant (West Lothian). The Big City was left well and truly behind.
And yet, Ecclestone and maybe McCoy aside, the southern accent prevailed. Tennant's, in particular, is a masterpiece: hearing his original Scottish brogue spoken out of character is really quite disarming.
So what does this have to do with: a) online journalism; b) Matt Smith; c) anything?
The map below charts the actors' hometowns. This is thanks to Google Maps and similar online map tools, which have once again proved their occasional worth in the journalistic sphere (journalism.co.uk has a good one about journalism job losses).
Like Twitter, Flickr and the blogosphere, online maps have grown from idle pastimes to become a tool of real use to professionals, providing they're used the right way. Maps generally are: it's pointless using them to demonstrate a supposed trend if locations are dotted around like bullets from a shaky scattergun, so they usually have some impact. Unlike timelines and many other journalistic tools, which can be used as a bit of fluff to provoke a reader response of "Ooh, interactive images", maps have to SHOW something, otherwise there's no point in them being used.
Hopefully, this one does (though you probably want to enlarge it).
View Larger Map
And to conclude my musings on Matt Smith, my point is that he sounds bloody posh. He hails from Northampton, placed nicely between north and south, suggesting a shift for the Doctor back towards the capital, but most importantly, he will almost certainly not affect an accent. How do I know this? Because the makers like 'em neutral, as David Tennant has previously explained in interviews. Indeed, Russell T. Davies has been quoted as saying he doesn't want the Doctor "touring the regions" with his accent, and though he's no longer in charge, I can't see this changing.
But yes, aren't maps pretty?
(TARDIS image courtesy of Andrew*)
Matt Smith's selection has raised a number of issues, not least about his age – more on that on my regular blog – but one thing I did find interesting is the geographical origins of not only him, but all the other Doctors as well. Wait, come back!
There's a pattern (he says, sounding like a B-movie scientist).
It's generally taken as read that the home of the world's most famous timelord is not just the TARDIS, but London. In fact, no one really notices how most Doctors in the past have spoken with a nice neutral southern accent, because it's so lovely and unnoticeable.
But with just one exception (Christopher Ecclestone's jovial Mancunian banter), each Doctor's accent has hailed from the South of England.That is, at least, until the '80s came along. After five of the first six actors playing the Doctor were born and raised in London – the only exception here being, incredibly, Tom Baker, who came from Liverpool but gave his character the voice of a lofty old Shakespeare impresario having elocution lessons – Sylvester McCoy dragged the Doctor up to the Scottish highlands. He was followed by Paul McGann (Liverpool), Chris Ecclestone (Salford) and David Tennant (West Lothian). The Big City was left well and truly behind.
And yet, Ecclestone and maybe McCoy aside, the southern accent prevailed. Tennant's, in particular, is a masterpiece: hearing his original Scottish brogue spoken out of character is really quite disarming.
So what does this have to do with: a) online journalism; b) Matt Smith; c) anything?
The map below charts the actors' hometowns. This is thanks to Google Maps and similar online map tools, which have once again proved their occasional worth in the journalistic sphere (journalism.co.uk has a good one about journalism job losses).
Like Twitter, Flickr and the blogosphere, online maps have grown from idle pastimes to become a tool of real use to professionals, providing they're used the right way. Maps generally are: it's pointless using them to demonstrate a supposed trend if locations are dotted around like bullets from a shaky scattergun, so they usually have some impact. Unlike timelines and many other journalistic tools, which can be used as a bit of fluff to provoke a reader response of "Ooh, interactive images", maps have to SHOW something, otherwise there's no point in them being used.
Hopefully, this one does (though you probably want to enlarge it).
View Larger Map
And to conclude my musings on Matt Smith, my point is that he sounds bloody posh. He hails from Northampton, placed nicely between north and south, suggesting a shift for the Doctor back towards the capital, but most importantly, he will almost certainly not affect an accent. How do I know this? Because the makers like 'em neutral, as David Tennant has previously explained in interviews. Indeed, Russell T. Davies has been quoted as saying he doesn't want the Doctor "touring the regions" with his accent, and though he's no longer in charge, I can't see this changing.
But yes, aren't maps pretty?
(TARDIS image courtesy of Andrew*)
