Ok so I was wrong about Dr Who. Or maybe I was right. In either case the upshot is that the show seems to be less campy and more enjoyable since Russell T Davis left. Someone at the BBC decided that the new series would be consciously pitched at older teens rather than young kids and in an attempt to get girls to go along for the ride there is a definite Twilight sensibility to the whole proceedings. The casting of the dreamy Matt Smith as the new Doctor is successful. Initially I resented the fact that the last last three Doctors have all been younger than their previous incarnation, but despite looking like a particularly intelligent undergraduate somehow Smith also gives the part real gravitas. The line where he said "I'm the doctor, I'm worse than everybody's aunt" convinced me completely when there was every opportunity for bathos....
Karen Gillan is a terrific new assistant for the doctor with no problems acting or speaking the English language which is a big step up from, say, Billie Piper. I'm a sucker for girls talking with a Scottish accent and the camera clearly adores Gillan's bright red hair and pale Pictish features. (Although it isn't quite up to High Noon levels, judging from the number of tight pouty close ups, the director clearly adores her too.)
...
I still have three lingering issues with Dr Who. The special effects are not good - they're cheesy, cheap and unbelievable which is inexcusable when you consider how much income the Who franchise brings in for the BBC. I'm also a bit fed up with the same old UK locations which make Who seem very parochial. Thirdly, those oh so sophisticated Brits still seem to think that slapstick is the highest form of humor. But still, I'm encouraged so far. Dr Who Season 31: A-
49 comments:
Dr Who...Cheesy is the first thing that comes to mind. It was always on PBS but I never watched it. Even as a kid I thought it was really fake looking. For me, it was "Lost in Space", loved that show.
A U.K series that I loved and saw when it was re-run in 2005/06 on PBS was "Inspector Morse" I really, really love it. In fact, in one episode, I saw Lewis undercover at Oxford playing this weird sport,decided to find out more, and 4 years later, i'm one of the few American born cricket players. Decent with the bat and fairly good pace on the ball.
I'll have to give Dr.Who another chance. When are "The Reardon's" going to be shown in the U.S ;)
Sean
There's a big difference between the Who shown on PBS which was the show from the 60s and 70s and this relaunch which started in 2005. Still the production values are not good. Not up to the standards of say Battlestar Galactica.
Morse is a good show. It was still filming when I was at Oxford and I'm think there's bound to be at least one episode where I'm riding my bicycle past in a background shot. The ones directed by Danny Boyle are particularly good.
I don't have anymore to say about Dr. Who than I did the last time the topic came up here, but Sean might like to read the old you to see how you might be on the same page after all.
A man in a coffeeshop told me about a tour he had taken of the BBC studios recently, and you're right--it sounds like they can well afford better special effects.
She's lovely, innit. She shines in the second episode.
Seana
Yeah this is definitely better but not up there with Seasons 1-3 of Galactica.
Rob
And the accent. Not quite as charming as Kelly McDonald but pretty great none the less.
Galactica, Galactica. Everywhere I go, it's always Galactica.
My boy had been astonished to learn there was a Dr Who before David Tennant and is deeply wary of Matt Smith, who he suspects of ousting Tennant in some sort of luvvie-led putsch. Because, in his eight-year-old mind, why would anyone give up the role voluntarily? I think Smith has potential, although I suspect he got the role because he looks like he's related to Robert Pattinson.
Seana
Well the mini series and seasons 1-3 were about as good as scifi gets on the telly.
David
Tom Baker is hard to beat in my book. The right age, the right sense of unpredictability, the right sense of menace...
I have nothing against it, except it becomes one of those in the loop out of the loop things and not surprisingly, I'm out of the loop.
It reminds me a bit of the whole Buffy the Vampire Slayer phenomena. Or X Files. Or probably Lost. There gets to be such a mood around it that even if you watch it, you can't really get what everyone else is getting.
Or maybe that's just something about me.
Seana
I'm very much down with Buffy, but Lost sames to me the kind of show where they're just making it up as they go along. Unfortunately Galactica Season 4 went down that road too.
Did you ever read Wilkie Collins? Most of his his novels read like that too, but somehow Wilkie manages to pull it off.
I did--just the two most famous ones, but I did like them. I think his excuse was that he really did sort of have to make the template up as he went along, didn't he? But a couple of generations of film school mean people should have a bit more of a clue than that by now.
This is a big generalization, but I find that the British series seem to be better at this--they seem to be aware of an end they're headed for, while the Hollywood shows seem to be more just hoping they'll get renewed every year and figuring they'll work out the story once they know that. I almost hate to get too invested in a network series, because you never know if they'll have time to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion.
Strangely Gillan's Scottish accent is a lot more in and out in real life than it is in the show.
Not that I'm one talk. Every day I get asked if I'm from Canada or the US just as much as I get asked if I'm from Ireland. About one in every 10 people will get that I'm originally from Belfast because, I suppose, my accent is much weaker than it used to be and because they have a good musical ear.
Seana
No Name is good too if you're ever looking for another WC.
Thanks. I'll remember that.
I am sure Rob will enjoy that interview very much. Well, she is very fetching.
I heard an accent that sounded a bit like yours from your radio interviews, and that was James Nesbitt's in Bloody Sunday. Of course, he was probably enunciating very consciously as a Belfast native, but I remember thinking it sounded familiar.
Seana
Well both Nesbitt, Liam Neeson and myself are all from the northern bit of County Antrim so I imagine that its a similar accent.
Holly Hunter in Raising Arizona has for me the ne plus ultra of female accents on film especially that bit when she's singing to the baby.
which by the miracle of the internet is right here:
Holly Hunter singing
Yes, it's Baker for me (Tom not Colin). Although I liked what little I saw of Christopher Eccleston. Plenty of menace there, too.
Seana, I'll send Daughter over with her laptop and you can then catch up on all the new Doctor Who episodes. I never watched in the olden days, on account of being a foreigner (and believe it or not, it's one BBC product that didn't travel to Sweden). Now I do watch.
And it's still fun to think that Daughter and I witnessed the rather charming but useless Matt Smith miss his train home, one day in Milton Keynes. The boy can't speak on his mobile phone and catch a train at the same time, apparently.
Actors. What are you going to do? I guess it's just nice that they're good at something. Although if I had a cell phone, I'd be the same way. Maybe I should try the stage.
I've seen bits and pieces of Doctor Who over the years, and think I saw most of two Whos back and enjoyed it but then lost interest when the Whos changed. I'm kind of with David's son on that. But I'll take a look at this one when it comes over here--I don't think it's out here yet.
I liked that Holly Hunter rendition. Talk about your cradle songs, though. I should watch that movie again. It's been a long time.
Of course Adrian has high standards in the field of Tv Science Fiction.
It's probably difficult for Dr.Who to compete.
I've wanted to get into watching Who ever since it was relaunched with Ecclestone -- Dr Who was a childhood fave -- but there's always been a stumbling block, Billie Piper, Tennant (that bloody OTT gurning of his...) and some truly shit dialogue. But lo, I watched it last week and damn me, I ENJOYED it! I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's episode with the daleks.
PS As well as the director, I think I too have a crush on Karen Gillian. Oh dear.
David
Eccleston had potential but he bailed too soon and was hamstrung by some dodgy scripts.
Miss Witch
That is a very cute story. You just want to pat Matt Smith's head and say "its all right sonny."
Marco
Sigh, only when Shatner's gone will we realise how much we miss him.
Mike
I'm in 100 percent agreement with you. This series has real potential now that all the stars have aligned.
But aren't you always in 100 percent agreement with Mike? In fact, maybe you are Mike.
I see that even the PBS Newshour has picked up on 'renewed interest' in Dr. Who. Maybe just plumping for ratings, though. As you've said elsewhere, the new millennium is all about marketing.
But aren't you always in 100 percent agreement with Mike? In fact, maybe you are Mike.
I see that even the PBS Newshour has picked up on 'renewed interest' in Dr. Who. Maybe just plumping for ratings, though. As you've said elsewhere, the new millennium is all about marketing.
But aren't you always in 100 percent agreement with Mike? In fact, maybe you are Mike.
They are part of the same Borg consciousness.
Seana
And I saw a story today on CNN too.
Mike and have very different views on Iain Banks's sci fi novels if thats any use.
Marco
The Borg would have lasted two minutes against Shatner.
Or rather forty two minutes.
Did you ever watch this guy's Star Trek critiques? They're very good.
Borg consciousness--that makes sense. I hope it isn't catching.
Nowt to do with Dr Who but bookwitch's comment reminded me of the time I saw Christopher Hitchens running for a bus in London, near Lancaster Gate.
It was during a Tube/train strike and the buses were creeping along like a Bela Tarr film but he still struggled to catch the 94.
Red faced, tie askew - he really did look like I felt which, at that time, wasn't a good thing.
Paul
According to my trusty set of Wikipedia man of the moment Nick Clegg was Christopher Hitchens's intern at the Nation.
I once saw Kenneth Williams in Harrods. I told him that Carry Up on the Kyber was a masterpiece. I was gutted years later when the incident didnt get a mention in the published version of his diaries.
I used to live round the corner from 'Carry On Star' Fenella Fielding when I lived in London - batty as a box of frogs but very nice ...Hitchens isn't the most hungover celeb I've seen - that was the girl who played Marmalade Atkins and was in that accurate depiction of British life 'Four Weddings. That was on the 94 bus too...The drunkest celeb I ever saw 'dahn sath' (apart from musicians) was Bert Kwouk in Gerry's in Dean Street.
I think I should do a blog on drunk/ hungover celebs.
What about Robin Williams doing the US version of Dr Who,eh?
Fenella Fielding is such a good name to drop - she of the lovely voice and memorable appearances in Barbarella and Carry on Screaming.
I saw the season premiere last night and enjoyed it. The two leads are very engaging and the writing is good. I do see what you mean about the special effects, though, at least for the monster.
I do really like that it's a girl--and really in a way, it's the little girl, not the grown up one--that he's taking on the adventure.
Twilight overtones were what really worried me when I saw the first publicity shots of the new guy standing by the Tardis dressed in black and looking moody... luckily he has *just* about managed not to sparkle in the sun so far. Although I'm not going to look too closely at that scene where he was up on a sunny rooftop confronting the Atraxi.
Seana
They've been getting away with that level of cheesiness for four decades. Its not on.
But yes, everything else is good.
Hampshire
I think they've pulled it off. At least so far. Success does funny things to people and I hope they keep trying AS hard in every show.
I liked the line that was something to the effect of "As we long knew it would the end of the world will come to us through the view screens of our cell phones.
It's funny that holding their cell phones to the sky was apparently exactly the way a local governmental conference responded to the fact that almost all cell phone transmission to our county was cut by saboteurs a couple of years ago. It was probably pretty fun to see all those bigwigs in such an abject state.
I enjoyed that interview a little too much, I think.
Having just watched the latest Dalek episode, I can honestly say that Matt Smith is already my favourite Doctor.
Rob, I think that if you don't actually start stalking her, it's probably all okay.
The Daughter is just kicking herself for not carrying round an autograph pad at all times. And she keeps bumping into someone from Spooks locally. Not that I'd know who he is.
Rob
Lets not get carried out away now.
Marco
Sigh, only when Shatner's gone will we realise how much we miss him.
You can say that again .
Marco
Classic. I wish there was more of it.
And I still say that his version of Common People is the definitive one.
The guy does know how to have fun, I'll say that for him.
Post a Comment