Doctor Who

[Starmongoose]

Woot, go Scotland. Two Doctors.

[Daggerstrike]

Considering some of the hints they dropped during Name of The Doctor about the actions of the next Doctor I am glad they got someone a little older. He is going to be one bad ass motherfucker.

[Yoda]

HOLY FUCK I LOVE THAT GUY



Shit time to catch up to speed and watch everything after Eccleston


Seriously I'm excited as all hell.

[Lard]

I've heard there are 2-1 odds on Peter Capaldi.

I'm okay with this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Capaldi

I'd like to have someone a bit older again.

Indeed it is.

I am pretty pleased with this choice.

[Prime Mover]

Very happy about the choice. Ironically, the morning before he was announced I had just happened to rewatch Fires of Pompeii, which he's STELLAR in. Actually, he acts very much like a Doctor in that Episode: serious but with a funny side... Roman sculptor/statue salesman. Great in Torchwood too, though his character was tragic and creepy as fuck!

I think this is the only other Doctor besides Collin Baker who was on the show before he was chosen to play the roll. Collin's character was an ass on his introductory episode, though I actually really grew to like him as the Doctor (though everyone else loves to hate on him). Everyone bases their opinion on him of his first episode, which is horrible... and he had the worst companion ever.

Of course, quite a few companions have appeared previously, which is a hold over from Romana II (who regenerated into the form of the female lead from the previous episode), since then Martha, Donna (as herself), and Amy all were in previous episodes. In Karen Gillian's case, it was ALSO Fires of Pompeii, though I don't think she and Capaldi are on screen together.

[Tooker]

In case anyone doesn't remember which Torchwood he was in, he had a pretty big part in the series Children of Earth.

It's been weird to me to see people online saying "how are they going to explain that he was in those shows?" Because to me, it's exactly as you say, Prime. Plenty of folks have had appearances before going on to a bigger part. No need to explain it at all.

[Starmongoose]

I worry that the people who stay stuff like that don't realise it's a TV show.

[Prime Mover]

It's been weird to me to see people online saying "how are they going to explain that he was in those shows?" Because to me, it's exactly as you say, Prime. Plenty of folks have had appearances before going on to a bigger part. No need to explain it at all.

It's wonderful to see the few times that actors from the old show have returned. I recently went back and watched ALL of the old Doctor Who (1-7, though a bit out of order), and noticed a number of actors that have appeared in the recent series, though not the same characters. The one I always love, and I've seen him in other places, was the guy who played the silly tour guide on Voyage of the Damned, played an evil scientist working for the Daleks in one of the Sixth Doctor episodes... though he had a big mustache.

I suspect they'll be bringing back the time lords for the 50th anniversary. I think it's about time. It's been a wonderful mini-arc with the Doctor being the last time lord, but it's never been a show-defining theme. Thankfully, I've heard a few leaks that suggest that they'll finally bring the time war to a close. Ya know what might be really wonderful? Bring back Romana! It's always been wonderful for the Doctor to have a peer equal. I doubt we'll ever get the amazing chemistry of Tom Baker and Lalla Ward, but I think there's so much that could have been done with Romana as a non-companion side character. I guess she's all over the place in the radio series. Hell, Lalla Ward is only 7 years older than Capaldi, not that they'd need her... and I believe she's regenerated a few times in the radio series.

Also... after this season, I think it might be time for the writer/producer to regenerate. I've enjoyed Steven Moffet's take on the story, but he can get a bit repetitive after a while, and that's one of the things that typically makes the series what it is: lack of repetition. New actors, new locales, new arcs, new writers and new producers. The whole "Doctor Who as a Fairy Tale" has turned out better than I would have originally thought, but I think it might be getting to be time for a new person to sit in the head writer's seat and put his/her spin on the series.

[Starmongoose]

I am so sick of the fairy tale Doctor Who. I like Neil Gaiman-y stuff but a whole series of wishy-washy morality tales is getting as you say, repetitive.

[Lard]

The only producer I can think of who really stayed on too long was John Nathan Turner, who was there for the whole of the 80s run.

I know he was quite involved at the start, he was involved with a lot of the choices such as costume (the question mark shirt) and such.
The story I've read repeatedly is that he kept trying to move on and the BBC wouldn't let him.
By the time of McCoy, he didn't give a fuck and basically was a figurehead and was letting Andrew Cartmel run the series.
Hence why we got the two fantastic seasons with McCoy and Ace before the show was canceled.

[Prime Mover]

I actually thought McCoy was dull and pathetic... but Ace was one of the greatest companions ever and held the show all by herself. But my big problem with McCoy's run is, and I'm surprised I'm saying this, but it's SO 80s!!! I usually look fondly on the 80s, but even I have my limits. The intro sequence just sets it off badly, the music is terrible and the animation is gawd awful (Dalia herself said she was appalled at the music). Then the sets and costumes all look like they're out of some John Carpenter pulp flick. Suddenly the incidental music is all 80s synth pop (wasn't before). Even the alien worlds feel like 80s earth pop. Somehow late Tom Baker, Davison, and Collin Baker didn't have this problem, the aliens were still alien and the the show doesn't feel incredibly dated. I feel like the McCoy run was trying to be too hip, and it might have been okay at the time, but now it just feels really dated. Watching the rest of the show, I'm impressed with how timeless it is and how accessible it is even 30-50 years later.

Maybe it was JNT, maybe it was BBC corporate who wanted to play it cool with a teenage demographic, but I just finished watching those seasons and I think it was the worst two seasons of the entire run. Even McCoy is pretty dreary to watch. He's kind of mopey and pathetic a lot of the time... unfortunately (and he can't help it) his physical stature doesn't help. He just looks pathetic and out of place everywhere.

I vastly prefer Collin Baker, who I don't understand why everyone hates so much. I've always wondered whether people have just watched his first series of episodes (which portray him as being a complete psychopath) and don't go on. After that horrible introduction (way to go BBC) he's completely different. Unfortunately, Perry is terrible: as whiney as Tegan, bitchier than Sara-Jane Smith, and has a bad American accent that drifts from line to line. This is one of those few times where I can undeniably blame the actress. Sure, the writers gave her a bad setup, but she did a horrible job. But why should Collin take the heat for it?

Everyone should give Collin Baker a chance, there are some awesome episodes in his run. Possibly my second favorite Doctor of the old series to Tom Baker. Though I love Pertwee, Troughton, and Davison too.

[GrimReality]

I am so sick of the fairy tale Doctor Who. I like Neil Gaiman-y stuff but a whole series of wishy-washy morality tales is getting as you say, repetitive.

Yeah, pretty much the whole last season was just not very good. And even 5 and 6 had their problems.
I've always liked Matt Smith, so he's not the problem. It's Moffats ridiculous stories that are truly wearing on me. It's like he has all these grandiose ideas, but can't figure out how to make them work for an hour show. We're left with all sorts of loose ends, and numerous Deus Ex machina style endings.
At least the women have been crazy hot.

[Prime Mover]

The writers are totally abusing Jenna-Lousie Colman/Clara. I think she could be (or could have been) my very favorite companion, but they've all designed plots that completely ignore her strengths. The nice thing is that they've never written her badly, but they don't utilize her well at all. I don't think anyone disagrees that Clara is at her best when she's WITH the doctor, and the two of them are bantering back and forth. This has been an age old leitmotif in the show, however, I think the Jenna does this better than ANY previous companion (and I've seen every existing episode). Some are tougher (Ace), some are more dominant (Amy, Romana), some are sweeter (Jo Grants), Jenna/Clara's strength is in the toe-to-toe banter. Yet, the writers insist that in practically every episode, she's stolen away or the two get separated and spend the bulk of the episode apart, unable to play to this strength.

Some may say that this is always been a common theme, but really, it's not THAT common. Yes, there is the occasional "save the princess" episode, and from time to time, the two end up on opposite sides of a wall, banding together with different allies. But I have to say that after seeing the entire series, old and new, it was far less than 50%, and so far this season is pushing 90%. Even when they are together, The Doctor and Clara are given very little "alone time," in which to play out their parts. By-in-large, Clara spends much of her time trapped: dying (Snowmen), paralyzed (Rings of Akoten), comatose (Bells of Saint John), in another dimension (both Hide & Journey to the Center of the Tardis), or held hostage (Cold War).

It's a weird problem, because the writers ARE writing her well, but they keep creating plots in which they can't utilize her. Not surprising that I think the person who wrote her the best was Niel Gaimen. Sure, his episode was flawed and heavily criticized by fans for his obnoxious children and Swiss cheese of plot, both which I felt were only minor problems in overall enjoyable episode.

God I hope they make up for it with some fun episode before Matt leaves. I've started thinking of Clara as sort of an unromantic girlfriend to the Doctor... a girlfriend turned best buddy, or best buddy turned girlfriend. I could totally hear her saying, "yeah, I'm the Doctor's girlfriend, what of it?" or "The Doctor, yeah, he's my best friend and room mate, we used to date but we're better as friends." It's sort of the opposite relationship from Rose & The Doctor... incredibly romantic but somehow emotionally isolated. Eleven and Clara just have that wonderful spark... not really romantic, but magical all the same. Too bad the writers are completely drowning it.

[Lard]

One month til the special!

New trailer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loGm3vT8EAQ

[Lard]

HOLY FUCK!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U3jrS-uhuo