I must admit that I watched this show after I already knew the subject of the reveal and, to be honest, it was my pleasure about the choice that made me decide to watch this. The show was live and hosted by an excitable Zoe Ball who breathlessly ushered in clips of talking heads and a few guests in the studios to fill the first 20 minutes before spending the remainder chatting with the new Doctor. In terms of content it is decent enough although it must be fairly obvious that the focus is not going to be on people's memories of William Hartnell; no, this is the new era and while the show does have a history, it is not one the current makers want to be a slave to, so they generally focus on recent years.
This is the case here and although we get the odd mention (and one appearance) of former Doctors, the focus is on Matt Smith leaving and who the replacement will be. As such it is entertainingly high energy but mostly about noise and hype – which is something that could be directed at the show as a whole recently. Ball stokes up the crowd while Smith appears in a few recorded interviews where he hardly looks at the camera and seems awkward. The hyperbolic approach continues with the appearance of the new Doctor in the style of a contestant on Stars in their Eyes and then ends the show in an X-Factor-esque shower of confetti.
I can understand why the show is this way and Ball did a decent job to keep it moving and upbeat, but really the question is not who the new Doctor will be, but will the show make the most of whomever it is? The announcement offered me hope that maybe they wanted someone a bit older and more substantial – but this is not the same as the writers changing the show to meet that person on their ground. We'll see but I look forward to finding out.