Now, some of you will be reading this and straight away thinking, "This man's insane! One minute he's telling us about the latest speculation of 'Human Nature' with David Tennant and now he's going all retro again to a long-forgotten Doctor Who story of more than TEN YEARS AGO!!".
Ah, my friends, I am quite sane I assure you. Why dismiss what is part of a long-running and classic period of Doctor Who history? Why criticise the BBC's effort in bringing together the Doctors of the peiod to celebrate the magnificence of what, effectively, we still have today? And anyway, this was more my era of Doctor Who.
But why I wanted to write this was that it was the first time I watched this the other day. And HOW it contrasts with what we have NOW is incredible in SO MANY WAYS!
First things first though. Yes, it actually wasn't that great a Doctor Who story. Rather slow-moving and somewhat plot-less and an ending that was just a little predictable. Has to be said.
But it was, in OTHER ways, a really GREAT Doctor Who story. Just think! For anyone who had not seen Doctor Who before, it gave so MANY things. We got to see Daleks (well, ONE Dalek anyway!), Cybermen and a strange thing called a Yeti (from the Patrick Troughton era). AND we had a new Doctor Who adversary called a 'Raston Warrior Robot'. Not sure if this is a Good Guy or bad-to-the-bone Bad Guy, or if its main function in life is to kill everything that moves (which it does with incredible speed and menace). But it was a great new creature. Wikipedia says it is found only in the Gallifrey Death Zone, so if that is the case then it is surely no more since Gallifrey is gone forever. But maybe someone could revive it! ...... Or maybe it is just too deadly to be useful. Anyway, GREAT to see it!
It was also my first look at Patrick Troughton playing The Doctor on screen. And oh, I wish I could see more of his Doctor Who adventures. Totally superb - a Doctor with ATTITUDE, knowledge and a complete oversized fur coat (which is maybe a bit non-PC these days!). All a great Doctor Who should be with that essential mixture of wisdom and manicness and, to some extent, dominance. HOW could you compare THAT with a wimp of a Doctor like Peter Davison or, worse still, Colin Baker?? Doesn't bear thinking about, does it?
But the Tardis!! It was not MY first look at the original Tardis layout, but WAS my son's. And he COULDN'T BELIEVE what he saw! And nor could I given the magnificence of the current 21st century look.
Looking at that old Tardis control room, the first thing that strikes you is HOW LITLE SPACE they had! I mean, you just WOULD NOT have David Tennant jumping around or going manic rushing around the controls in THAT old-style console. The cameras wouldn't keep up!! And get this - they used to have sometimes two Doctor Who companions in that small space - even THREE on a few occasions. AND even K9 in Tom Baker years gliding around. Ah, but how could K9 get IN to the modern Tardis? He couldn't! HOW could he go up the steps? It's that old Dalek problem again!
Another thing which is a huge contract is, of course, the central column of the Tardis. The part which moves up and down in flight. Old Tardis: a simple up-down movement. New Tardis: the central console goes ALL THE WAY UP TO THE CEILING and contains the up-down moving column! And then there's the decoration as a whole. Old Tardis: white, white, and more WHITE with cut-out holes around the walls - some of which double as windows to the outside world. New Tardis doesn't have these, and the walls are that much further away from the centre of the room anyway. All visions of the outside world are from the computer screen on the central console. This, in retrospect, is a but limited for us, the viewers since we have to go out to see what's going on. But it doesn't seem to have mattered up until now.
And then there's the sets, of course. The Five Doctors was filmed mostly on location on Dartmoor, Southwest England - the outdoor shots anyway. That was quite unusual for Doctor Who at that time unlike now where the majority of it is still done out of the studio (though the percentage of that is, I feel, getting less). The indoor stuff in the 'caves' did, I have to say, look a bit hammy and unstable like one push might bring it all down. Well, to be fair, I guess I'm talking mainly about the mirror caves which the First Doctor came into. But the final sequences where they are all at the Tomb Of Rassilon were quite nicely done, although very retro in feel. I'd just like to know how they'd do all that using the CGI and green screen that we have now.
And the COSTUMES OF THE TIME LORDS - particularly the Time Lord guards. "Where did you get that hat?". 'Nuff said! Yes, another great moment in Doctor Who dress-sense history!
Back to the story. When I read about it on Wikipedia, it seemed very long and I couldn't imagine how they could keep all that going on screen. But happy to say that the TV version went along at a good enough pace and all the parts that Wikipedia so laboured over actually proceeded more quickly that in the text version. Yes, as much as I love the Wikipedia for holding all that info, I do find sometimes that its descriptions are a bit longer and more-drawn out than need be. But just glad it's there!
I said at the start that the story itself was not the best part of the whole thing. Well, maybe in today's more condensed Dr Who pace it would have been whipped through a bit quicker. Really though, I think the anniversary was just a good excuse for bringing out the best Doctor Who monsters (Daleks and Cybermen), for reuniting the five Docs and, of course, for bringing together for the first time many Doctor Who companions old and new (with the NOTABLE omission of Jo Grant!). It was more than just a PITY than Tom Baker refused to be included at the time (he was said to regret this later) because, he said, it was too close to his departure from the series to be sensible. His inclusion would have been the Icing On The Cake, but there you go. But his absence did mean that Katy Manning (Jo Grant) could not be included as she had no Time Lord to be paired with. SHE was my first Doctor Who assistant that I remember! And an excellent screamer too when the time was right only matched by Sarah Jane Smith after her. Yes, it was nice to see them all working together to sort it all out.
Peter Davison had, I suppose, the main Doctorly role since he was the current Doctor of the time. And this spoiled it rather as I never liked him as Doctor Who anyway! He just never showed any emotion. Even when he discovered the tune that he had to play on the harp he reacted rather - well, EMPTILY I thought! People say that he was a more vulnerable Doctor Who character than others and that was what made him. But he just could not express himself well and did little to make the Doctor Who character of his era memorable. It was, I suppose, the beginning of the decline of the original series - after all, Tom Baker was an incredibly hard act to follow. I often wonder why he was cast. Patrick Troughton, it seems recommended him but told him not to stay more than three years - LONG years as it turned out!
Overall then, thinking about it all as a whole, I think that it IS worth watching for the joy of seeing the retro side of Doctor Who and to see all these Doctor Who actors of old coming together. Have I mentioned Jon Pertwee before now? Sorry Jon! YOU were great too, and you were my first Doctor (just about!). I would say that if you haven't seen this, then you should make an effort to do so because it has a lot to offer.
Monday 28 May 2007
Sunday 27 May 2007
Ah HAH! Now THAT'S more like it!
Last week, we had a definite Downer in Series 3 with the ridiculous episode entitled '42'. But I wrote about that last time so no repeats here - this isn't BBC3 folks! So I was hoping and praying that something better would spring out from our TV screens this week to compensate and put Doctor Who back on the Greatness Track where it belongs.
Oh, and I was IN NO WAY disappointed! We had, "Human Nature", the first in a two-part Dr Who story set in England in 1913 - one year before World War One (not sure of the significance of THAT yet but still). Next week it concludes, and seven days is WAY TOO LONG if you ask me, and potentially we have the best story of the series to date. Yes, EVEN BETTER than the Dalek story, which, although good, didn't really do it for me as a true Evil-Daleks-Try-To-Conquer-The-Universe type of story. Important, yes, but not nearly as good a Dalek story as that in Series 1 with Christopher Ecclestone or the Series 2 ender with Cybermen combined.
No, even today I watched it again and it stil gives you loads to think about, to wonder about, to speculate about what it all means, who they all are, why they are there, who sent them, how The Doctor knows them etc. etc.
The first thing, and I reckon this could be the most important part next week, is Tim Latimer, the boy who took the Doctor's watch. Now, he obviously went to John Smith's study for that very reason to get that watch and not to get the book. WHY? Who is he? Then there was some kind of clip or backflash of him bumping into Martha, Martha saying Sorry and then Martha running on somewhere. Except that in this backflash clip, Martha was dressed as she was at the start of this episode. So did they meet in the events leading up to the very beginning of this Human Nature episode in the part we didn't see? It seems like they may well have done!
And another thing. When Jeremy Baines returned from his 'Alien Conversion' in the woods and had come through the window, he gave a long suspicious look at Tim Latimer, who had by then opened the Doctor's watch. AND SO DID the three family members out in the countryside.
And did you notice how those three cocked their heads to one side when looking at this boy? What does THAT remind you of? Come on, think hard, think, THINK!! COME ON, it's obvious, isn't it?? Yes, full marks!! It was, of course, exactly the same gesture as Jamie, the "Are You My Mummy?" kid, the Empty Child from the brilliant Series 1 story, "The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances" story with Christopher Ecclestone and Billie Piper. Significant? Well, perhaps not but in THIS Doctor Who these days, nothing should be dismissed.
So this boy, Tim Latimer, then. I seem to remember David Tennant in, "Girl In The Fireplace" (I think it was) saying, as The Doctor, how he HAD had a child once. Maybe THIS IS THAT CHILD who has somehow managed to time travel to that time period at the same time as The Doctor. He definitely KNEW what he was doing taking that watch because he had not even seen it before entering that room - had he?
And there's also Nurse Joan Redfern, who as we have seen is to get married to our Mr John Smith next week. And a BABY too!! EHHHHH????? She too knows more than what we can see on the surface. Perhaps SHE came with the boy together from ......
Ah, now here comes the next set of speculation which comes from the Face Of Boe and his prophecy. Did you notice that the first thing we heard once the kid had opened the watch for the second time WAS indeed the words, "You Are Not Alone"? Oh, YES!!!! Mind you, this was AFTER he had got it back to his room. And we saw him with it open for a THIRD time sitting outside in .... the garden being observed by The Family Of Blood. So clearly he has been influenced in some way by the contents of that watch. Is he now some kind of Time Lord boy?
There is speculation that this Family Of Blood is somehow connected to Mr Saxon aka The Master, and that could well prove to be true. They are "hunters", The Doctor said, and for some reason need a Time Lord. Well, that would obviously target The Doctor. I'm not sure about this, but wasn't there something about The Master that he was running out of regenerations and needed another cycle? He nearly got one in 'The Five Doctors' on the promise from Barosa, the President, but that was most likely not a genuine promise as Barosa just wanted to make sure they all did his dirty work for him.
YET another piece of speculation and gossip I've got to put your way. Remember the Carrionites from Episode 2 - the witch ladies which The Doctor supposedly caught and imprisoned in some kind of 'crystal ball' and put for safe-keeping in his Tardis' attic. Well, I am thinking of the scene now inside the alien spaceship where the three Family Members have caught the other house-maid, Jenny. The bit where Jeremy Baines takes his green-glowing crystal ball saying it is The Mother and then the 'being' gets into Jenny. IS IT my imagination, or was that a bit too Carrionite Witch to be ignored?? Certainly seemed significant to me!
I seem to have picked up on a whole lot of things from this episode which may or may not have any meaning at all. Hey, YOU out there in blogland reading this! Don't be silent! Tell me what YOU think! We've got six more days to sweat over it all, and that's a WHOLE LOT OF TIME even for a Time Lord fan!
Oh, and I was IN NO WAY disappointed! We had, "Human Nature", the first in a two-part Dr Who story set in England in 1913 - one year before World War One (not sure of the significance of THAT yet but still). Next week it concludes, and seven days is WAY TOO LONG if you ask me, and potentially we have the best story of the series to date. Yes, EVEN BETTER than the Dalek story, which, although good, didn't really do it for me as a true Evil-Daleks-Try-To-Conquer-The-Universe type of story. Important, yes, but not nearly as good a Dalek story as that in Series 1 with Christopher Ecclestone or the Series 2 ender with Cybermen combined.
No, even today I watched it again and it stil gives you loads to think about, to wonder about, to speculate about what it all means, who they all are, why they are there, who sent them, how The Doctor knows them etc. etc.
The first thing, and I reckon this could be the most important part next week, is Tim Latimer, the boy who took the Doctor's watch. Now, he obviously went to John Smith's study for that very reason to get that watch and not to get the book. WHY? Who is he? Then there was some kind of clip or backflash of him bumping into Martha, Martha saying Sorry and then Martha running on somewhere. Except that in this backflash clip, Martha was dressed as she was at the start of this episode. So did they meet in the events leading up to the very beginning of this Human Nature episode in the part we didn't see? It seems like they may well have done!
And another thing. When Jeremy Baines returned from his 'Alien Conversion' in the woods and had come through the window, he gave a long suspicious look at Tim Latimer, who had by then opened the Doctor's watch. AND SO DID the three family members out in the countryside.
And did you notice how those three cocked their heads to one side when looking at this boy? What does THAT remind you of? Come on, think hard, think, THINK!! COME ON, it's obvious, isn't it?? Yes, full marks!! It was, of course, exactly the same gesture as Jamie, the "Are You My Mummy?" kid, the Empty Child from the brilliant Series 1 story, "The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances" story with Christopher Ecclestone and Billie Piper. Significant? Well, perhaps not but in THIS Doctor Who these days, nothing should be dismissed.
So this boy, Tim Latimer, then. I seem to remember David Tennant in, "Girl In The Fireplace" (I think it was) saying, as The Doctor, how he HAD had a child once. Maybe THIS IS THAT CHILD who has somehow managed to time travel to that time period at the same time as The Doctor. He definitely KNEW what he was doing taking that watch because he had not even seen it before entering that room - had he?
And there's also Nurse Joan Redfern, who as we have seen is to get married to our Mr John Smith next week. And a BABY too!! EHHHHH????? She too knows more than what we can see on the surface. Perhaps SHE came with the boy together from ......
Ah, now here comes the next set of speculation which comes from the Face Of Boe and his prophecy. Did you notice that the first thing we heard once the kid had opened the watch for the second time WAS indeed the words, "You Are Not Alone"? Oh, YES!!!! Mind you, this was AFTER he had got it back to his room. And we saw him with it open for a THIRD time sitting outside in .... the garden being observed by The Family Of Blood. So clearly he has been influenced in some way by the contents of that watch. Is he now some kind of Time Lord boy?
There is speculation that this Family Of Blood is somehow connected to Mr Saxon aka The Master, and that could well prove to be true. They are "hunters", The Doctor said, and for some reason need a Time Lord. Well, that would obviously target The Doctor. I'm not sure about this, but wasn't there something about The Master that he was running out of regenerations and needed another cycle? He nearly got one in 'The Five Doctors' on the promise from Barosa, the President, but that was most likely not a genuine promise as Barosa just wanted to make sure they all did his dirty work for him.
YET another piece of speculation and gossip I've got to put your way. Remember the Carrionites from Episode 2 - the witch ladies which The Doctor supposedly caught and imprisoned in some kind of 'crystal ball' and put for safe-keeping in his Tardis' attic. Well, I am thinking of the scene now inside the alien spaceship where the three Family Members have caught the other house-maid, Jenny. The bit where Jeremy Baines takes his green-glowing crystal ball saying it is The Mother and then the 'being' gets into Jenny. IS IT my imagination, or was that a bit too Carrionite Witch to be ignored?? Certainly seemed significant to me!
I seem to have picked up on a whole lot of things from this episode which may or may not have any meaning at all. Hey, YOU out there in blogland reading this! Don't be silent! Tell me what YOU think! We've got six more days to sweat over it all, and that's a WHOLE LOT OF TIME even for a Time Lord fan!
Sunday 20 May 2007
So ... was it worth the wait or not?
Well, I'm talking about Episode 7 - 42 of course. And the title certainly was intriguing even before it got to our screens. Forty-two is after all, according to Douglas Adams the answer to "Life, The Universe And Everything" from the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. And Dougie A. did contribute to Doctor Who many years ago so maybe it was some kind of tribute to him or acknowledgement of this.
Anyway, we were promised that it was, in fact, to be 42 minutes of real-time thrills and action and The Doctor and Martha Jones would NOT know what hit them by the end! Oh, and we were also tempted by ex-Eastenders soap star Michelle Collins in the main role as the ship's captain Kath McDonnell.
I was at a kid's party for my son at Doctor Who Time yesterday so caught it on Catch-Up TV that we have on our cale channel (as most of you do I'm sure). Only missed it by about 20 minutes live mind you, so don't go calling me a Lightweight or anything like that! My boy's birthday comes first - even before Doctor Who (though HE might disagree!).
It was, I think, yet another new Doctor Who writer in Chris Chibnall, though he has apparently done Torchwood episodes before now. Well, sorry mate but in my opinion you'd better stick to the 'Wood and leave Doctor Who alone!
WHY do I say such a callous thing? After all, yes, it was an action-packed 42 minutes as the ship hurtled towards the sun with those mysterious "Burn With Me" sun-guys (well they didn't have a name, did they?). And OK, I DID like the final idea revealed near the end that the 'sun' was in fact a living organism which was powerful and was able to possess living things (ie, people) and get them to do its killing work for it. What else? Yes, the bit where Martha is ejected in the escape pod with that other lonely guy which then has HER heading faster towards that toasty end which never came. That was a great bit full of desperation and I really thought that Martha was gone for good. there was no way that she could be brought back - after all, this was one hot BABY of a sun and would surely burn them up together quicker than they knew it. The Doctor's seemingly vain call of, "I'll Save You!", really did seem like a hopeless cause as there was no way it could have happened that she got back.
OK, I love science fiction above most other types of TV and film. Sci-fi for me is that nightmarish vision of our future, that abandonment of present-time sensibility for future impossibility where they have all the technology in the world to do what they will. It is the most imaginative form of vide entertainment there is and that is a brilliant thing and that is why I love this totally escapist form of TV and movie entertainment.
BUT sci-fi or not, it has to be believable or at least explained in a plausible sci-fi kind of way. And we surely have to believe that the laws of physics are still present even in deep space.
And this is where it all goes up on its head and where I start to groan.
My biggest Groan Of Implausibility is obviously the bit where The Doctor somehow manages to remagnetise the escape pod's 'connewction' to the ship which "magically" pulls the escape podded Martha and new friend back to the safety of the ship - which by now is only ten seconds away from the sun itself anyway so is bound to be roasted PDQ. I mean, COME ON NOW GUYS!! In order to remagnetise such a large item as this escape pod had to be, you are looking at an absolutely HUGE magnetic force! ESPECIALLY considering the distance it was from the ship for crying out loud!! Even a powerful electromagnet couldn't work at THAT kind of range! And they were in space, ie, in a vacuum. Well, here's where I'm not so sure and where my Physics knowledge might let me down. But can you magnetise something so far away in a vacuum through space?? This was just about the most ridiculous moment in the entire Series 3, and is high on the Silly List for David Tennant's term as The Doctor. The only other more silly moments I can think of are the horse leaping through the mirror in Series 2's "Girl In The Fireplace", the whole of the "Love And Monsters" Abzorbaloff carry-on and I guess "The School Reunion" episode where of COURSE a bunch of super-hyper-intelligent school kids REALLY COULD get closer to solving the Skasis Paradigm (the God-Maker) with just a few modern-day computers and a spinning cube! So that remagnetisation RANKS HIGHLY!
Ah, but that is not the end of my critique, my friends! There is more to follow. Now, this part is not nearly so silly, but WHAT ABOUT the aprt where The Doctor himself is 'possessed' by this Living Sun and becomes a Burn-With-Me? Seems it doesn't get him quite so bad since he still has the ability to carefully instruct Martha and tell her exactly what to do to save him - which was TWO THINGS she had to do. Complicated ones too! Myself, I thought it would prove the rumours to be true and that it was regeneration time. And THAT was quite exciting, and in a way appropriate because it would show the brilliance of the BBC's timing to delay this for one week before letting it at us. But no, somehow he survived that because after the sun-fuel dump, all the Living Sun organisms magically bled away from everyone on the ship leaving him clean and dry!
Oh, and of course the last bit (but by this stage my criticism is only a small one) On The Silly Side is these 29 doors between the crew and the Control Room sealed by what? A bunch of quiz question which they thoughtr up when they were DRUNK!! OhMyGod! HOW pathetic is that? Makes good watching for all those eight-year-olds, eh! Yup, really shows them how it should be done! Well, if they had such a corny thing, why not share MORE of these dumb questions with us? I mean, we ALL love a good Pub Quiz, except THIS one was a Saturday and not a Sunday night.
Did I like Michelle Collins though? Prefer her in blonde! No, just kidding. Yes, she wasn't bad, though she seemed to be hiding some Dark Secrets that we weren't told. And one of her crew (I forget their names right now) said something about how she was the KEY to all this and that they ALL depended on her. So I had hoped for something darker to be revealed at the end, but NO!!
Oh yes, before I go, yes there was more good stuff though not enough of it. The "Continuity" bit with Mr Saxon and his mysterious pursuit of The Doctor now using Martha's mother as bait to try to lure them in. Mmmmmm!!
Ah, and of course The Tardis Key. Rose got it in episode 4 but it's taken Martha up until episode SEVEN to get hers. Will they have a tiff and will she be giving it back like The Doc and Rose did? Will she let some Unwanted Visitors in to the Tardis? Oh, and let's not forget that ONLY NOW does Martha get her SuperPhone! Rose got her upgrade way back in episode 2 which was, by some coincidence also a space episode.
Poor Martha! it's all happening too little and too late for you, my dear! Watch out for my little Martha/Rose poll coming soon.
OK, that's it, Yup, in summary, I didn't like the Saturday episode! We've got a two-parter coming up next week which promises to be a good'un. See ya then, Time Lords!
Anyway, we were promised that it was, in fact, to be 42 minutes of real-time thrills and action and The Doctor and Martha Jones would NOT know what hit them by the end! Oh, and we were also tempted by ex-Eastenders soap star Michelle Collins in the main role as the ship's captain Kath McDonnell.
I was at a kid's party for my son at Doctor Who Time yesterday so caught it on Catch-Up TV that we have on our cale channel (as most of you do I'm sure). Only missed it by about 20 minutes live mind you, so don't go calling me a Lightweight or anything like that! My boy's birthday comes first - even before Doctor Who (though HE might disagree!).
It was, I think, yet another new Doctor Who writer in Chris Chibnall, though he has apparently done Torchwood episodes before now. Well, sorry mate but in my opinion you'd better stick to the 'Wood and leave Doctor Who alone!
WHY do I say such a callous thing? After all, yes, it was an action-packed 42 minutes as the ship hurtled towards the sun with those mysterious "Burn With Me" sun-guys (well they didn't have a name, did they?). And OK, I DID like the final idea revealed near the end that the 'sun' was in fact a living organism which was powerful and was able to possess living things (ie, people) and get them to do its killing work for it. What else? Yes, the bit where Martha is ejected in the escape pod with that other lonely guy which then has HER heading faster towards that toasty end which never came. That was a great bit full of desperation and I really thought that Martha was gone for good. there was no way that she could be brought back - after all, this was one hot BABY of a sun and would surely burn them up together quicker than they knew it. The Doctor's seemingly vain call of, "I'll Save You!", really did seem like a hopeless cause as there was no way it could have happened that she got back.
OK, I love science fiction above most other types of TV and film. Sci-fi for me is that nightmarish vision of our future, that abandonment of present-time sensibility for future impossibility where they have all the technology in the world to do what they will. It is the most imaginative form of vide entertainment there is and that is a brilliant thing and that is why I love this totally escapist form of TV and movie entertainment.
BUT sci-fi or not, it has to be believable or at least explained in a plausible sci-fi kind of way. And we surely have to believe that the laws of physics are still present even in deep space.
And this is where it all goes up on its head and where I start to groan.
My biggest Groan Of Implausibility is obviously the bit where The Doctor somehow manages to remagnetise the escape pod's 'connewction' to the ship which "magically" pulls the escape podded Martha and new friend back to the safety of the ship - which by now is only ten seconds away from the sun itself anyway so is bound to be roasted PDQ. I mean, COME ON NOW GUYS!! In order to remagnetise such a large item as this escape pod had to be, you are looking at an absolutely HUGE magnetic force! ESPECIALLY considering the distance it was from the ship for crying out loud!! Even a powerful electromagnet couldn't work at THAT kind of range! And they were in space, ie, in a vacuum. Well, here's where I'm not so sure and where my Physics knowledge might let me down. But can you magnetise something so far away in a vacuum through space?? This was just about the most ridiculous moment in the entire Series 3, and is high on the Silly List for David Tennant's term as The Doctor. The only other more silly moments I can think of are the horse leaping through the mirror in Series 2's "Girl In The Fireplace", the whole of the "Love And Monsters" Abzorbaloff carry-on and I guess "The School Reunion" episode where of COURSE a bunch of super-hyper-intelligent school kids REALLY COULD get closer to solving the Skasis Paradigm (the God-Maker) with just a few modern-day computers and a spinning cube! So that remagnetisation RANKS HIGHLY!
Ah, but that is not the end of my critique, my friends! There is more to follow. Now, this part is not nearly so silly, but WHAT ABOUT the aprt where The Doctor himself is 'possessed' by this Living Sun and becomes a Burn-With-Me? Seems it doesn't get him quite so bad since he still has the ability to carefully instruct Martha and tell her exactly what to do to save him - which was TWO THINGS she had to do. Complicated ones too! Myself, I thought it would prove the rumours to be true and that it was regeneration time. And THAT was quite exciting, and in a way appropriate because it would show the brilliance of the BBC's timing to delay this for one week before letting it at us. But no, somehow he survived that because after the sun-fuel dump, all the Living Sun organisms magically bled away from everyone on the ship leaving him clean and dry!
Oh, and of course the last bit (but by this stage my criticism is only a small one) On The Silly Side is these 29 doors between the crew and the Control Room sealed by what? A bunch of quiz question which they thoughtr up when they were DRUNK!! OhMyGod! HOW pathetic is that? Makes good watching for all those eight-year-olds, eh! Yup, really shows them how it should be done! Well, if they had such a corny thing, why not share MORE of these dumb questions with us? I mean, we ALL love a good Pub Quiz, except THIS one was a Saturday and not a Sunday night.
Did I like Michelle Collins though? Prefer her in blonde! No, just kidding. Yes, she wasn't bad, though she seemed to be hiding some Dark Secrets that we weren't told. And one of her crew (I forget their names right now) said something about how she was the KEY to all this and that they ALL depended on her. So I had hoped for something darker to be revealed at the end, but NO!!
Oh yes, before I go, yes there was more good stuff though not enough of it. The "Continuity" bit with Mr Saxon and his mysterious pursuit of The Doctor now using Martha's mother as bait to try to lure them in. Mmmmmm!!
Ah, and of course The Tardis Key. Rose got it in episode 4 but it's taken Martha up until episode SEVEN to get hers. Will they have a tiff and will she be giving it back like The Doc and Rose did? Will she let some Unwanted Visitors in to the Tardis? Oh, and let's not forget that ONLY NOW does Martha get her SuperPhone! Rose got her upgrade way back in episode 2 which was, by some coincidence also a space episode.
Poor Martha! it's all happening too little and too late for you, my dear! Watch out for my little Martha/Rose poll coming soon.
OK, that's it, Yup, in summary, I didn't like the Saturday episode! We've got a two-parter coming up next week which promises to be a good'un. See ya then, Time Lords!
Friday 11 May 2007
A Doctor Who episode postponed one week for WHAT??
Oh my dear Auntie Beeb! How could you be so callous? I mean, delaying your Number One show of the whole week for what I have to say is the Number One in the Dire Charts in the entire continent - maybe even in the world.
I wonder what the Americans think of this nonsense institution we have every year over here in Europe that is Eurovision (and I am OH SO hating myself for dirtying my precious blog with THAT word - don't you DARE tag it!!). I bet the Aussies think we got a "bad case of the trots" for daring to delay the might Doctor Who for THIS kind of triviality.
Anyway, enough free blog-vertising for the bloody Eurovision Song Contest. I'm fighting back here, and I decided to dig around for any previous times in Doctor Who history when an episode was delayed or postponed for some, well TRIVIAL and NONSENSICAL reason.
Ah hah! It will not be the first time, my blog-friends! According to the mighty Wikipedia, the first time such a scandalous event occurred was way, WAY back to the era of none other than William Hartnell, the first Doctor. It was the third episode of 'The Sensorites' which had to be delayed by one week because of an overrun of former BBC Sports programme "Grandstand". Not sure of the exact date of this, but it was something like the first Saturday of August in the year 1964. And NO, yer cheeky buggers, I myself was sadly NOT EVEN BORN in that year. Don't even THINK about it!
Was this the only time this has happened. No no, not at all. There was another occurrence of Doc-Delay a couple of years later from this opne I just told you about. Oh YES, another crash into poor Willy Hartnell at his finest! This time, the Dr Who story was 'The Dalek's Master Plan' and the postponement occurred because of the showing of the BBC's Christmas Special of that year. So we can suppose it was the Xmas weekend, and the year was 1966. Well .... getting a little closer to my entering this world but yer still got almost another year to go until I was a fully paid Earth Member. Oh, by the way, this valuable nugget of information comes to you via something called 'Pat's Doctor Who Quiz' which I highly recommend you check out some time to test your knowledge. In fact, I highly advise you to Vote With Your Remote, refuse to switch on the TV and do this quiz instead. Eurovision, Schmurovision indeed!!
Of course, there was the near thing a few weeks back when there was the, erm, possibility of the Man Utd. v. Watford FA Cup game going into extra time. But the Mighty Reds gave the Wats a darn good thumping to save the Doctor Who Bacon. Maybe the good Doc himself had something to do with that ....
That's all I could find in my efforts at digging the web I'm afraid. Hey, you never know! Use this as a Pub Quiz Question or indeed if you're really on the ball, a Pub Quiz Answer. ASTOUND your friends and drinking buddies with your knowledge of all things Doctor Who. And don't forget to tell them where They Too Can Be Like You and send them here.
I'm off to read my very first copy of the Doctor Who Magazine. I mean, first one I ever BOUGHT - not Issue 1 Year 1. I may be WHO but I'm no Whovian you know. See yer next time!
I wonder what the Americans think of this nonsense institution we have every year over here in Europe that is Eurovision (and I am OH SO hating myself for dirtying my precious blog with THAT word - don't you DARE tag it!!). I bet the Aussies think we got a "bad case of the trots" for daring to delay the might Doctor Who for THIS kind of triviality.
Anyway, enough free blog-vertising for the bloody Eurovision Song Contest. I'm fighting back here, and I decided to dig around for any previous times in Doctor Who history when an episode was delayed or postponed for some, well TRIVIAL and NONSENSICAL reason.
Ah hah! It will not be the first time, my blog-friends! According to the mighty Wikipedia, the first time such a scandalous event occurred was way, WAY back to the era of none other than William Hartnell, the first Doctor. It was the third episode of 'The Sensorites' which had to be delayed by one week because of an overrun of former BBC Sports programme "Grandstand". Not sure of the exact date of this, but it was something like the first Saturday of August in the year 1964. And NO, yer cheeky buggers, I myself was sadly NOT EVEN BORN in that year. Don't even THINK about it!
Was this the only time this has happened. No no, not at all. There was another occurrence of Doc-Delay a couple of years later from this opne I just told you about. Oh YES, another crash into poor Willy Hartnell at his finest! This time, the Dr Who story was 'The Dalek's Master Plan' and the postponement occurred because of the showing of the BBC's Christmas Special of that year. So we can suppose it was the Xmas weekend, and the year was 1966. Well .... getting a little closer to my entering this world but yer still got almost another year to go until I was a fully paid Earth Member. Oh, by the way, this valuable nugget of information comes to you via something called 'Pat's Doctor Who Quiz' which I highly recommend you check out some time to test your knowledge. In fact, I highly advise you to Vote With Your Remote, refuse to switch on the TV and do this quiz instead. Eurovision, Schmurovision indeed!!
Of course, there was the near thing a few weeks back when there was the, erm, possibility of the Man Utd. v. Watford FA Cup game going into extra time. But the Mighty Reds gave the Wats a darn good thumping to save the Doctor Who Bacon. Maybe the good Doc himself had something to do with that ....
That's all I could find in my efforts at digging the web I'm afraid. Hey, you never know! Use this as a Pub Quiz Question or indeed if you're really on the ball, a Pub Quiz Answer. ASTOUND your friends and drinking buddies with your knowledge of all things Doctor Who. And don't forget to tell them where They Too Can Be Like You and send them here.
I'm off to read my very first copy of the Doctor Who Magazine. I mean, first one I ever BOUGHT - not Issue 1 Year 1. I may be WHO but I'm no Whovian you know. See yer next time!
Tuesday 8 May 2007
How did I get back into watching Doctor Who after 16 years?
Hey guys! While I'm well and truly in this Forum Spirit of things I thought of something. Actually I was reminded of something while watching the "Parting Of The Ways" with Christopher Ecclestone doing his regenaration thing while Rose fries the Emperor Dalek's brain (wasn't that just a GREAT and yet TOTALL BIZARRE episode??!!).
And it was this. How did I get back into Doctor Who after all these years and what started me again? Well, it was Series 1 of course and the first two episodes. My dad sent these to me on video around the time they had come out. I really didn't want to watch, and the video remained unseen in the cabinet for around a year - maybe more. My dad had watched and his comments had not been that complementary. And another reason I had resisted for ages was that BILLIE PIPER was in it!! EUUWWWWW! That one-off pop star! Couldn't imagine HOW she could POSSIBLY fit in and thought how naff it must all be. No way!! Then one day the server which gave me my internet was down a LONG TIME. Hmmm, I thought, what shall I do now - ah, I know! Let's watch that Doctor Who! And so it was done.
SERIES ONE (Christopher Ecclestone, Billie Piper)
1. ROSE - The Doc, Rose, Autons, Nestene Consciousness, new Tardis, first sight of Mickey and Jackie Tyler
OK, I'll do more with that 'blooper reel' another time. But I think I got out of a tight spot there. And you didn't really notice, did you?
And it was this. How did I get back into Doctor Who after all these years and what started me again? Well, it was Series 1 of course and the first two episodes. My dad sent these to me on video around the time they had come out. I really didn't want to watch, and the video remained unseen in the cabinet for around a year - maybe more. My dad had watched and his comments had not been that complementary. And another reason I had resisted for ages was that BILLIE PIPER was in it!! EUUWWWWW! That one-off pop star! Couldn't imagine HOW she could POSSIBLY fit in and thought how naff it must all be. No way!! Then one day the server which gave me my internet was down a LONG TIME. Hmmm, I thought, what shall I do now - ah, I know! Let's watch that Doctor Who! And so it was done.
SERIES ONE (Christopher Ecclestone, Billie Piper)
1. ROSE - The Doc, Rose, Autons, Nestene Consciousness, new Tardis, first sight of Mickey and Jackie Tyler
- I suppose they needed a way to get Rose into it all as a shop girl and the Autons were the obvious target for Villain Number 1. But they were good though not great. It gave us a good first look at our New Doctor Who that we'd waited 16 years for. Was kind of strange with me remembering old Tom Baker with his scarf and long coat and manic smile. "Doctor Who in a leather jacket of all things!!". Loved the run across the Bridge, the scene at Rose's home with the Auton arm was silly and the acting of Billie Piper on that was pretty poor. Also good though only necessary for people who'd never ever seen Doctor Who before in their life, was how Rose met and talked with Clive about the "historic sightings" of Doctor Who throughout the ages.
- We also saw the first hint of humour - there was the Doc getting throttled by this arm, falling down and Rose with no idea what was going on. Pretty silly. Also daft was the scene with Rose's mum in her dressing gown seeing the Doc for the first time and coming on to him. It was totally out of character as we saw in the character of Jackie for the rest of the two series as she never did anything like that again (except maybe in 'Love And Monsters' with the Abzorbaloff).
- OVERALL RATING FOR EPISODE --> 7 / 10
- THIS WAS THE ONE THAT DID FOR ME and proved to me that Doctor Who really WAS BACK.
- This was such a brilliant episode! Not only a great Doctor Who episode but a really GREAT science-fiction story in its own right. The monsters were brilliant, the action was great and the argument between the Doc and Rose was a high point too. The only naff and unexplained bit is of course HOW the hell DID Doctor Who walk through those rotating blades and not get chopped to bits? OK, he concentrated, and maybe that was it. Ah hell! It's sci-fi!! Who says you have to explain it all!
- And it was the final few monents which really did it for me. The final few seconds when The Doc saved them all, the sight of the sun exploding and the Earth shattering to pieces. And to cap it all, it was the final revelation that Gallifrey had gone in a Time War. "They nuked the Time Lords!!", I thought. What could be next? This was definitely IT now!
- OVERALL RATING FOR EPISODE --> 9.5 / 10
OK, I'll do more with that 'blooper reel' another time. But I think I got out of a tight spot there. And you didn't really notice, did you?
Monday 7 May 2007
A new Doctor Who? The Sun says ....
Just read today about how The Sun predicts the end of David Tennant at the end of this series. Yes, you read correct - the end of THIS SERIES, SERIES 3.
I mean, I know that if THE SUN SAYS, then hey it must be true. But it just cannot be TRUE.
Consider if it was. The BBC would be effectively pulling the trigger in the game of Dr Who Russian Roulette with the chamber loaded. I mean, it would be two Doctors and Rose in three series only! And sorry, the BBC knows what a good thing it is onto with Dr Who and it surely would do NOTHING to jeopardise that. I mean, think what they get from merchandise on the thing.
And we've only just got used to having a settled Doctor in the role after the Ecclestone exit, and THAT was too much to take in itself. A regeneration is an emotional thing and the BBC takes a big gamble every time it does one that people won't like the new Doc and will switch off. So WHY would they do it twice in three years?? It's GOT TO be a wind-up! Oh, it HAS TO BE!! I sincerely HOPE SO for the whole future of the thing.
I mean, I know that if THE SUN SAYS, then hey it must be true. But it just cannot be TRUE.
Consider if it was. The BBC would be effectively pulling the trigger in the game of Dr Who Russian Roulette with the chamber loaded. I mean, it would be two Doctors and Rose in three series only! And sorry, the BBC knows what a good thing it is onto with Dr Who and it surely would do NOTHING to jeopardise that. I mean, think what they get from merchandise on the thing.
And we've only just got used to having a settled Doctor in the role after the Ecclestone exit, and THAT was too much to take in itself. A regeneration is an emotional thing and the BBC takes a big gamble every time it does one that people won't like the new Doc and will switch off. So WHY would they do it twice in three years?? It's GOT TO be a wind-up! Oh, it HAS TO BE!! I sincerely HOPE SO for the whole future of the thing.
Sunday 6 May 2007
I'm Two Years Late with this BUT ....
OK, why I am doing this? Well, Those Who Know About These Things say that blogging is a Good Thing so that about seals it for me. I mean, I am a computer graduate so I know about these things but this Blogworld is a strange and crazy one if you ask me.
A bit like the strange and crazy world of our very great favourite Man Of Questioning Title.
So here we are. We just had episode 6 here in the UK featuring The Lazarus Experiment. A pretty good one I'd say - 3.5 out of 5. Not the best story ever - you knew where it was going from the start really that something weird was going to come out of the Lazarus body. Actually we all knew that from the trailers. Why watch, you might say when just about all of that episode was shown in the days up to it.
Ah, because the intriguing thing is this continuing Mr Saxon Character who keeps popping up - the Recurring Theme Of Series 3. Every series had one - Chris Ecclestone was dogged by the Bad Wolf (Still not convinced that was IT for that idea and I think Rose will be back somewhere anyhow). Series 2 had the Daleks pretty much haunting us through the last half (and a few Cybermen). Now we have the mysterious Mr Saxon.
Except he's not a mystery either if you read the wikipedia and other Dr Who blogs and sites. They are all convinced that it's gonna be The Master coming back.
I can't help thinking this: bleeaagghh! What a tired storyline THAT is. I mean, OK, the Master's a Bad Guy and all that but just not very exciting. OK, some of you will be yelling that every Good Guy must have his equal and opposite Bad Guy who never gives up and let's face it they all have them. Sherlock Holmes had Moriarty, Spiderman has Venom, Batman and Robin had ..... Liberace (I suppose).
But it does not fill ME personally with excitement at the prospect of seeing The Master come back. Now, I am not of the Roger Delgado generation but I do remember the guy who played him in the era of Tom The Great Baker. And sorry but he just isn't Bad Enough. Too HUMAN I say!
Nuff said there. Now what do you all think of Martha? I would say that up until yesterday's Lazarus thing she had been pretty lame and extremely unconvincing. WHY the hell have they given her the same idea as with Rose? And WHY is she in love with him? OK, the big Snog/Genetic Transfer in the Judoon episode, but soreeeeeee!!!! THAT is not enough to make a woman as sensible as Martha Jones fall for the Doc so quickly as all that! Well not in MY book anyway.
In the Lazarus ep, yes, she did a bit more to justify herself and justify being able to continue with the Grand Old Doc. But I tell you what. If she hadn't got in the Tardis at the end and had stayed at home then I would not have minded at all. Her character's going not very far. Unless Russell "The Wizard" T has some Spice for her at the end.
This blog, even though it is the first, is putting together too many storyline chats into one. Could have split it up I guess. But no matter - I've Started So I'll Finish!
Yeah, I said about Wikipedia. On there they already have the list of episodes and about what's goiung to happen until the end of Series 3. OK, I read them and maybe I shouldn't have but They Were There and it was late and I was bored and so there! But what is ALSO on Wikipedia which hacks me off a bit is just about the full story of the whole of the rest of Series 3. yes, nice, Captain Jack returns next time, yes the last two episodes of Series 3 are, wow wow, a 2-part story (original or WHAT!) and yes the thing with Martha's family will kind of go on.
Actually talking about Martha's family, I wanted to see more of them before now. Hey, let's have more Annalise!! OOOOHH YEAH! Legs like that should be compulsory. Actually all of her should be ALL the time! A bimbo in Doctor Who! Now for all you Doc fans when was the last Doc Who bimbo? And this is not one of those questions I know the answer to. I just thought of it right here on the Blog Spot. Who would count as a bimbo? I reckon Jo Grant of the Jon Pertwee might do. Maybe Peri (but too clever by far). Perhaps Leela given that she was a kind of tribal girl of a rather basic race of people. Ah, now what about Tegan, the Aussie flight attendant. Now THAT was a dumb way to get into the TARDIS - getting lost like that and - oh, let's go in here cos it looks like a good place to keep out the rain. As dumb entries into the Doctor Who world go, THAT was near the TOP!
Yeah yeah anyway, back to present day. I'm getting a bit worried actually. Why? Well, two series in and we've lost both The Doctor and Rose who after all brought the whole thing back into our living rooms in the first place. Mind you, I just can't see Christopher Ecclestone doing it in the same way as Tennant does. It just would not work. Do we really know the TRUTH why Chris E. bowed out after just one series? To me it looks like they couldn't get David Tennant for the start (I read someplace that he was supposed to start from the beginning), and so they had to get the other guy to fill in. Now don't get me wrong. I think Christopher Ecclestone was really GREAT and I was really sorry to see him go so soon. Wish he was still here actually. But as I said, to lose him PLUS Rose after two series is ..... well, it's getting a bit careless.
I don't see how things are going to continue more than halfway into Series 4. Yeah OK lots of new monsters and that but they are running out fast of recurring themes. Face Of Boe dead, wisdom imparted, by end of Series 3 we'll know what THAT'S all about. Dalek Emperor gone in a shot, back we go to One Dalek In Existance (Dalek Caan), Cybermen not going to be back for ages and ages I reckon. And let's face it they were pretty stupid in the end. Take over the world, make us all into Cybers, oops their factory goes meltdown, off they go through The Void and back they get sucked into it. Back where they started in John Lukic's lab. So they weren't much cop. No way we're seeing any more Autons - what kind of storyline could they have other than .... err, .... shop window dummies and yes once again they come alive and zap us all and in comes the good old Doc to switch them all off. But the Recurring Themes To Keep Us Hooked slate is rapidly being wiped VERY clean. No mystery left = a VERY BIG JOB to create the whole thing again right from scratch. In other words, back we go two years.
What about the rumours of Tennant going out mid- series 4? Nah that's never happened before so they might or might not. I reckon that if they bounced out a second Doctor in three series, they would lose a whole lot of viewers.
Riding a bit of a tightrope then I think with storylines for the series we're on and the proposed Series 4. I cannot see a Series 5 happening at all UNLESS there is something still bound up and waiting to be unleashed. The one I hope is that ..... perish the thought BIG TIME ..... Russell T Davies does not quit. THAT would be the END! But what I see now this series is les episoides written by him and more by what I think are lesser known writers. I mean, the writer of the Lazarus ep - Stephen Greenhorn. Wikipedia says he has written for The Bill, a Scottish soap opera, Where The Heart Is and is working now on a Proclaimers musical. Uh huh!! LOTS of good Doctor Who talent there, ma boy!! And I see we only have one Stephen Moffatt episode due this series. I think his stuff varies but he did what I think is one of the best Doctor Who's ever - 'The Empty Child (are you my mummy?)'. So that's good enough for me.
Anything I could say in this first blog line? Nah, I reckon that'll do you for starters. I reckon I'll write this at least once a week and in between too. Lots of stuff in my mind about Tom "the Great" Baker. Will there ever be another like HIM?
Peace and Love to all!
A bit like the strange and crazy world of our very great favourite Man Of Questioning Title.
So here we are. We just had episode 6 here in the UK featuring The Lazarus Experiment. A pretty good one I'd say - 3.5 out of 5. Not the best story ever - you knew where it was going from the start really that something weird was going to come out of the Lazarus body. Actually we all knew that from the trailers. Why watch, you might say when just about all of that episode was shown in the days up to it.
Ah, because the intriguing thing is this continuing Mr Saxon Character who keeps popping up - the Recurring Theme Of Series 3. Every series had one - Chris Ecclestone was dogged by the Bad Wolf (Still not convinced that was IT for that idea and I think Rose will be back somewhere anyhow). Series 2 had the Daleks pretty much haunting us through the last half (and a few Cybermen). Now we have the mysterious Mr Saxon.
Except he's not a mystery either if you read the wikipedia and other Dr Who blogs and sites. They are all convinced that it's gonna be The Master coming back.
I can't help thinking this: bleeaagghh! What a tired storyline THAT is. I mean, OK, the Master's a Bad Guy and all that but just not very exciting. OK, some of you will be yelling that every Good Guy must have his equal and opposite Bad Guy who never gives up and let's face it they all have them. Sherlock Holmes had Moriarty, Spiderman has Venom, Batman and Robin had ..... Liberace (I suppose).
But it does not fill ME personally with excitement at the prospect of seeing The Master come back. Now, I am not of the Roger Delgado generation but I do remember the guy who played him in the era of Tom The Great Baker. And sorry but he just isn't Bad Enough. Too HUMAN I say!
Nuff said there. Now what do you all think of Martha? I would say that up until yesterday's Lazarus thing she had been pretty lame and extremely unconvincing. WHY the hell have they given her the same idea as with Rose? And WHY is she in love with him? OK, the big Snog/Genetic Transfer in the Judoon episode, but soreeeeeee!!!! THAT is not enough to make a woman as sensible as Martha Jones fall for the Doc so quickly as all that! Well not in MY book anyway.
In the Lazarus ep, yes, she did a bit more to justify herself and justify being able to continue with the Grand Old Doc. But I tell you what. If she hadn't got in the Tardis at the end and had stayed at home then I would not have minded at all. Her character's going not very far. Unless Russell "The Wizard" T has some Spice for her at the end.
This blog, even though it is the first, is putting together too many storyline chats into one. Could have split it up I guess. But no matter - I've Started So I'll Finish!
Yeah, I said about Wikipedia. On there they already have the list of episodes and about what's goiung to happen until the end of Series 3. OK, I read them and maybe I shouldn't have but They Were There and it was late and I was bored and so there! But what is ALSO on Wikipedia which hacks me off a bit is just about the full story of the whole of the rest of Series 3. yes, nice, Captain Jack returns next time, yes the last two episodes of Series 3 are, wow wow, a 2-part story (original or WHAT!) and yes the thing with Martha's family will kind of go on.
Actually talking about Martha's family, I wanted to see more of them before now. Hey, let's have more Annalise!! OOOOHH YEAH! Legs like that should be compulsory. Actually all of her should be ALL the time! A bimbo in Doctor Who! Now for all you Doc fans when was the last Doc Who bimbo? And this is not one of those questions I know the answer to. I just thought of it right here on the Blog Spot. Who would count as a bimbo? I reckon Jo Grant of the Jon Pertwee might do. Maybe Peri (but too clever by far). Perhaps Leela given that she was a kind of tribal girl of a rather basic race of people. Ah, now what about Tegan, the Aussie flight attendant. Now THAT was a dumb way to get into the TARDIS - getting lost like that and - oh, let's go in here cos it looks like a good place to keep out the rain. As dumb entries into the Doctor Who world go, THAT was near the TOP!
Yeah yeah anyway, back to present day. I'm getting a bit worried actually. Why? Well, two series in and we've lost both The Doctor and Rose who after all brought the whole thing back into our living rooms in the first place. Mind you, I just can't see Christopher Ecclestone doing it in the same way as Tennant does. It just would not work. Do we really know the TRUTH why Chris E. bowed out after just one series? To me it looks like they couldn't get David Tennant for the start (I read someplace that he was supposed to start from the beginning), and so they had to get the other guy to fill in. Now don't get me wrong. I think Christopher Ecclestone was really GREAT and I was really sorry to see him go so soon. Wish he was still here actually. But as I said, to lose him PLUS Rose after two series is ..... well, it's getting a bit careless.
I don't see how things are going to continue more than halfway into Series 4. Yeah OK lots of new monsters and that but they are running out fast of recurring themes. Face Of Boe dead, wisdom imparted, by end of Series 3 we'll know what THAT'S all about. Dalek Emperor gone in a shot, back we go to One Dalek In Existance (Dalek Caan), Cybermen not going to be back for ages and ages I reckon. And let's face it they were pretty stupid in the end. Take over the world, make us all into Cybers, oops their factory goes meltdown, off they go through The Void and back they get sucked into it. Back where they started in John Lukic's lab. So they weren't much cop. No way we're seeing any more Autons - what kind of storyline could they have other than .... err, .... shop window dummies and yes once again they come alive and zap us all and in comes the good old Doc to switch them all off. But the Recurring Themes To Keep Us Hooked slate is rapidly being wiped VERY clean. No mystery left = a VERY BIG JOB to create the whole thing again right from scratch. In other words, back we go two years.
What about the rumours of Tennant going out mid- series 4? Nah that's never happened before so they might or might not. I reckon that if they bounced out a second Doctor in three series, they would lose a whole lot of viewers.
Riding a bit of a tightrope then I think with storylines for the series we're on and the proposed Series 4. I cannot see a Series 5 happening at all UNLESS there is something still bound up and waiting to be unleashed. The one I hope is that ..... perish the thought BIG TIME ..... Russell T Davies does not quit. THAT would be the END! But what I see now this series is les episoides written by him and more by what I think are lesser known writers. I mean, the writer of the Lazarus ep - Stephen Greenhorn. Wikipedia says he has written for The Bill, a Scottish soap opera, Where The Heart Is and is working now on a Proclaimers musical. Uh huh!! LOTS of good Doctor Who talent there, ma boy!! And I see we only have one Stephen Moffatt episode due this series. I think his stuff varies but he did what I think is one of the best Doctor Who's ever - 'The Empty Child (are you my mummy?)'. So that's good enough for me.
Anything I could say in this first blog line? Nah, I reckon that'll do you for starters. I reckon I'll write this at least once a week and in between too. Lots of stuff in my mind about Tom "the Great" Baker. Will there ever be another like HIM?
Peace and Love to all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)