The Doctor is Out
Us blokes in the U.S. finally got to wrap up the year-old Doctor Who season on sci-fi this last friday with "The Parting of the Ways". I feel the need to discuss as I blasted the first episode of this series (and the first regular Doctor Who series on either side of the pond since 1989).
It was great.
Right up front I'll tell you that the fact there were decent special effects helped. Yep, I'm being the ugly American here but colored toilet water for the Tardis travelling through space was old when they did that in the 80's.
Anyway, the story revolved around the Daleks. Essentially, they're very angry coffee makers with lasers. I've always thought they were stupid enemies until this new series essentially put the "Terminator" spin on them. They're slow, but they're relentless, and they NEVER STOP COMING. It turns out that they've been hiding near Earth after the Doctor destroyed their homeworld and killed their race. Now that they're back up to speed, they're going to harvest Earth for genetic materials. Ick.
Doctor freaks. People die. Weird shit happens. They kind of took the cheese way out by having Rose essentially become the Dark Phoenix, but that's ok. My only real criticism revolves around something I read somewhere on the Net about this season. With only one or two exceptions, the Doctor really never saves the day. It's always his companions (mostly Rose) who come through with the last minute save. The Doctor is the great empowerer, not the savior.
And then the worst of it, was that Christopher Eccelston, who only played the Doctor for one season, is replaced (Timelords burn their alloted lives by shedding their old appearance and adopting a new one. It's actually a brilliant way of bringing new actors in.) by David Tennent. I really grew to like Eccelston and hope that he can develop the same chemistry with Billie Pieper.
Right now, sci-fi is running some really interesting Doctor Who trivia including one note that John Barrowman will reprise the role of Captain Jack in a Doctor Who spinoff called Torchwood on the BBC this year. I hope Sci-Fi picks this up for us.
posted by Mkae at
8:18 PM
8 Comments:
So, a couple of months ago, I was having trouble sleeping (the baby does better alone in her room than I do with her alone in her room) and I went to the BBC UK's Doctor Who website and watched some of the behind the scenes stuff for the episodes that had already aired. Yes, David Tennant was on the front page, but I had steadfastly ignored that and didn't really look at the front page long enough to realize it meant that the UK already had the new Doctor.
However, I was still not very sleepy after watching the behind the scenes videos for the episode that had aired here, so I watched the stuff for the episodes I hadn't seen yet. I watched the scene where the Chris Eccleston Doctor explains to Rose what's about to happen, and from then on, I've known where the season was going.
In a word, it sucked to know that was going to happen. (Yes, I know that's more than one word. That's my lame attempt at the funny.) I got attached to Christopher Eccleston and I already don't like David Tennant just because he's replacing an actor I like and I feel like being whiny about it.
I always wanted to be the Doctor's female companion when I was a little kid (I was one of them--can't remember which one, but it was one of Tom Baker's, maybe Nyssa?--for Halloween one year) and I think I was as upset about the CE Doctor "dying" than I would have been about it when I was 8.
So the past couple of months have been a bummer for me, Doctor Who-wise.
David Tennant, you'd better not suck.
By
Kathy, at 9:52 PM
I've spoiled myself with some of the details of the first Tennant season. So far, at least the stories will outshine even the best of the ninth Doctor's only season.
Too bad Cat-Face is still his companion. There are hot British women. I've seen them. They exist. They just don't do television or film work.
By
GiromiDe, at 10:39 PM
Very harsh giromide. You know Piper is a rock star in Britain don't you? Besides, I loved her character.
By
Mkae, at 7:50 PM
Having seen all of Season two that has aired so far, I can assure you that the new actor continues the great work done in season one. He manages a different but equally interesting and charming relationship with Rose. Both actors remain the best thing about the show.
Some episodes have been better than others this season, which I think is a bit behind season one in the story department, but overall if you liked season one, season two is also a sure thing.
Torchwood airs this fall and also looks like a sure thing. Season two is littered with references that remind me of the Bad Wolf arc in season one. They seem to be putting as much behind the spin-off as they are the original.
I still love the fact that Torchwood is an anagram of Doctor Who. How cool is that?
By
Michael J. Hercus, at 1:05 PM
I dunno about Torchwood...is that the Captain Jack spinoff? I can't say Captain Jack does much for me, but I'm a born 'shipper, and he probably seemed to me like a "threat" to the main 'ship.
Huh, I guess I am a girl after all. You'd think the giving birth thing would have tipped me off.
I have found a few excerpts of S2 Doctor Who episodes on YouTube (the ones the BBC hasn't had removed...I understand why they remove them, but they should know that my viewing them ahead of time does not mean I won't watch them first-run, along with the commercials that keep these things on the air...okay, I may TiVo past the commercials, but you get the gist) and David Tennant isn't horrible. I just don't know if I can let the previous Doctor go. This was also my trouble when I was a kid...I really loved the show but couldn't handle it after Tom Baker left. I suppose many people would probably say the same thing.
With only two transformations left, one would hope David Tennant is in for a longer haul.
By
Kathy, at 8:47 PM
You got it bad for the Doctor Kathy. Enjoy these links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG07m5r5io4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiPjc5gutX4
By
Mkae, at 7:42 PM
Aw, you found me two weepy, girlie fan vids.
I watched 'em. Hey, I'm not a stone. I swear, you big tough guys are gonna start to refuse to hang out with me, aren't you?
By
Kathy, at 7:44 PM
You're tougher than all of us, Kath. :)
By
Mkae, at 9:22 PM
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