tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63951142621632845132024-03-05T08:24:17.005-05:00Doctor What: A Doctor Who BlogA U.S.-based Doctor Who fan's spoiler-laden thoughts on all things related to the British sci-fi TV series.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-78936608096029766482011-05-15T16:42:00.002-04:002011-05-15T19:20:18.804-04:00Review of Series 6, Episode 4: “The Doctor’s Wife”Well, that was better than last week. It wasn’t great, mind you, but it was pretty okay. Of course, I’m one of those guys who thinks Neil Gaiman hit his creative high point near the end of his run on <span style="font-style:italic;">Sandman</span> and has been heading steadily downhill ever since, so “pretty okay” is about the best I could have reasonably expected.<br /><br />So what did I like? I liked that the TARDIS assumed her name was “Sexy.” I enjoyed the interactions between the TARDIS and the Doctor in the last half of the episode, especially getting the TARDIS’s perspective on her relationship with the Doctor. The fact that she says that she chose him (and not the other way around) was great. And given that she’s a creature who sees all of time at once, her hints about the future were intriguing and useful, too. They helped Rory get into the second control room, yes, but they also set us up with a mystery for the future. “The only water in the forest is a river,” she says. Hmm. Well, that could be a reference to River Song, obviously, especially since we first met her in the “forest of the dead.” But if the only water in the forest is River, then that doesn’t bode well for Amy “Pond,” does it? The episode had a few funny moments, too, such as the construction and flight of the makeshift TARDIS and the TARDIS’s attraction to Rory.<br /><br />What didn’t work for me? Well, the sets, costumes, and self-consciously quirky guest actors didn’t connect with me. The entire vibe of the episode reminded me of a Tim Burton movie circa 1998. And that’s not a compliment. Some of the plot didn’t quite gel, either. For example, how did these people get to House in the first place? They were just humans (and an Ood), right? Why did House keep the Ood around at the end, but kill the humans? Where did House get the Time Lord “help boxes,” anyway? Why did House start calling the TARDIS by the name Idris? When did she get that name? And did we really need to see Rory die yet again? This is getting to be a bad joke. Rory’s become the show’s Kenny (from <span style="font-style:italic;">South Park</span>). The talking asteroid thing called to mind those stupid space whales from that not-very-good episode last series, too. Maybe House was a lost space whale? And I can’t say I understand why Steven Moffat, Neil Gaiman, and the rest of the crew seem to think that men want to have sex with the TARDIS. I don’t get the whole let’s-sexualize-machinery thing. But then, I’m not into cars, either.<br /><br />But my biggest problem with the episode was that the audience knew within the first 3 minutes that the TARDIS has been displaced into the body of the Helena Bonham Carter wannabe, which made the next 15 minutes of the episode (where the supposedly brilliant Doctor catches up with us) rather pointless and painful to sit through. I was twiddling my thumbs through those early scenes, waiting for the Doctor to figure out what we already knew so we could just move on already. Yes, yes, the TARDIS is in the body of a human. That idea isn’t very original or interesting so can we just get past it and move on with the plot? The climax of the episode was decidedly weak, too. The emotion at the end from the Doctor and Rory felt unearned and unwarranted. After all, the TARDIS wasn’t dying; she was just leaving her stolen human body. If those two guys wanted to mourn for anyone, they should have mourned for the poor woman who owned the body originally! (Was that Idris?) I also thought they missed a great opportunity to show us more of the TARDIS’s interior. They finally leave the control room and what do we get to see? Some really lame, “sci-fi” hallways. Whoopee. Where was the churchyard that houses the cloister bell? Where was the library? Where was the oft-mentioned swimming pool, for God’s sake?! The best the production team could muster were some cardboard, hexagonal corridors. And then they started talking about old control rooms and I got excited again. I thought maybe we’d get a glimpse at the original, William Hartnell console. Or maybe Tom Baker’s. But, no. We just got David Tennant’s control room. That’s the opposite of fun.<br /><br />One last thing – did anyone else catch the reference the Corsair’s gender swapping? Fans have speculated for years about whether or not Time Lords can switch genders. Now that we know they can, could a female Doctor be in the cards?Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-55228271722035166102011-05-08T21:30:00.006-04:002011-05-09T21:38:03.396-04:00Review of Series 6, Episode 3: “The Curse of the Black Spot”My mom always told me, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Unfortunately, I have committed to blogging about all of the episodes of <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span> this season, which means I have to say something about last night’s episode, “The Curse of the Black Spot.”<br /><br />As I mentioned last week, I didn’t have a good feeling about this story going into it based just on the trailer (and the fact that is seemed like a blatant <span style="font-style:italic;">Pirates of the Caribbean</span> knock-off). I tried to put my preconceived notions aside, though, so I could enjoy the pirate-y thrills and derring-do. I failed – although I think it was less my fault than the episode’s. This episode was just… not good. It actually seemed more like a parody of <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span> than an actual episode; it was riddled with the show’s clichés – an alien masquerading as something supernatural, a decidedly low-budget feel, another oh-no-Rory's-dead scene, and a nonsensical plot that didn’t come together in the end. The script was quite bad, actually, riddled with unfunny, attempting-to-be-clever lines for the Doctor and an inadequate character arc for the pirate captain guest star. The acting was no great shakes, either. Even the regulars (Matt Smith included) seemed bored and vaguely embarrassed. Karen Gillan made the least-convincing pirate in history. (Yes, even worse than Keira Knightley.) Honestly, this episode felt like the series was just killing time. They did shoehorn in a reference to the ongoing plot with a brief appearance by Eye Patch Woman, which seemed like a token way of trying to tie this episode to the rest of the series. It didn’t work. And the scene at the end with Amy’s pregnancy scan was almost a copy/paste from last week. So why even bother including it?<br /><br />As for the plot, it had more holes than a sinking ship. For one thing, why were there a total of only five crewmembers? Even at the end when the full crew gathered on the bridge of their new spaceship? And how did they all manage to walk onto the bridge at the end (including the sick kid)? I thought the “siren” had to keep them in suspended animation or some such nonsense. And is letting a crew of dangerous, bloodthirsty pirates take control of a state-of-the-art spaceship a wise decision on the Doctor’s part? Shouldn’t these guys be in jail for all their raping, murdering, etc.? Now they’re flying around a nuclear reactor with all of space to harass! Speaking of the small crew, why did one of them (the one that the annoying little kid cut with a sword to force him to stay hidden with Amy and Rory) just sort of disappear halfway through the episode, never to be mentioned again? And why would the medical hologram have an “evil, red demon setting,” anyway? And why couldn’t it speak? How does singing act as an anesthetic? Why bother making the dead aliens non-humanoid if you’re then just going to have to explain why the medical hologram looks human? And how did the alien crew die if they had this ingenious medical hologram on board with them? Shouldn’t she have healed their injuries? So many things that didn’t make sense…. And worst of all, I can’t really bring myself to care about the answers.<br /><br />So, taken on it’s own merits, this episode was bad, bad, bad. It certainly ranks down there with “Fear Her,” “The Lazarus Experiment,” and “Planet of the Ood” as some of the worst of New Who. Watched right after the brilliant season-opening two-parter, though, it seems even worse. After the intriguing start to the season, I wanted more about the ongoing storyline. Or at least an enjoyable one-off. Unfortunately, this episode was neither of those things. Hopefully, Neil Gaiman can right this ship next week. Yes, I just made a sailing analogy while discussing a pirate-themed story. Not very clever, I know – which means it should fit in perfectly with this episode.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-25181104678564920212011-05-01T15:18:00.002-04:002011-05-09T21:38:23.178-04:00Review of Series 6, Episode 2: "Day of the Moon"I can't resist; I'm skipping to the end of the episode first.<br /><br />SPOILERS!<br /><br />I did not see that coming. So the little girl's a Time Lady? What the hey?! Who is she then? Is she Amy's daughter who was somehow born as a Time Lady because she was conceived in the TARDIS? (I'm assuming Rory is the father. Surely Steven Moffat wouldn't have Amy impregnated by the Doctor.... Would he?) The Doctor's medical scan of Amy at the end of the episode seemed to imply that Amy's fetus is already jumping in and out of time (or in and out of existence), which might be totally normal for Time Lord babies, who knows? Or is the little girl a young River Song, making that shady dame a secret Time Lady all this time? Maybe River was the Rani in a previous form. Or Romana. Or, a little more outlandishly, the little girl could be the Doctor's granddaughter Susan who hasn't been seen since the days of the First Doctor. Or maybe she's the Doctor's cloned "daughter" from a couple of season's past having regenerated from Georgia Moffett into a little girl? Or perhaps she's a combination of these possibilities. Perhaps she's Amy and Rory's TARDIS-conceived Time Lady daughter who just happens to grow up to become the Rani who later reforms and becomes a certain benevolent Doctor Song. Nah. That would be too confusing! There is one other possibility. Perhaps the child is the daughter of River and the Doctor. Remember last week, River also got sick after forgetting the Silents, just like Amy did. Does that mean that River's pregnant, too? We know from the ending that River and the Doctor had been quite intimate in her past (but his future), so if she is pregnant, that'd mean the baby is at least half Time Lord. Hmmm.... In any case, the possibilities have my mind reeling - and have me excited, waiting for answers.<br /><br />So, aside from the ending, how was this episode? In a word, great! Continuing on from last week, this episode contained even more creepy stuff - Amy, Rory, and River marking on their skin how many times they had seen the Silents, the abandoned orphanage with the ominous warnings (written in blood?), the Silents hanging from the ceiling like bats, the Doctor imprisoned and looking like an unkept crazy person, Amy's disembodied voice begging for help through the communicator, and so on. If I were a kid, I'd have definitely been hiding behind the sofa for this one. I also thought the Doctor's solution to the problem of the Silents (involving a phone camera, Neil Armstrong's boot, and the televised moon landing) was creative and clever - although I am rather surprised that the Doctor would inspire humans to kill off an entire race of aliens, no matter how evil those aliens are. Actually, there was rather a lot of violence in this episode (what with River and the Doctor blasting Silents with guns and screwdrivers), which would probably be the one negative thing about the episode for me.<br /><br />As with many of Moffat's episodes, the script answered a couple of minor questions but left many of the bigger questions to linger while introducing a few new wrinkles as well. As I mentioned above, we still don't know who the little girl is. And now we have to wonder about her status as a Time Lady, too! And why, exactly, did the Silents need her? And why did their ship look like a TARDIS? Also, we do not learn why the little girl (if that was her in the spacesuit at the start of last week's episode) killed the future Doctor - or why he allowed it to happen. And what was with that lady with the metal eyepatch who peeked at Amy through a peephole in the door and said, "She seems to be dreaming," only to then disappear (along with the peephole)? That was like something from a bizarre art film, and I have no clue where that's going.<br /><br />Overall, I'd say this is the best opening for a Doctor Who series in the modern era. I'm really digging the scary yet funny tone and the various mysteries have me begging for more. I must admit that I am a little concerned about next week's pirate-themed episode, but I'll go into it with an open mind hoping for the best.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-55126298306297350842011-04-26T10:29:00.005-04:002011-05-09T21:38:34.729-04:00Review of Series 6, Episode 1: “The Impossible Astronaut”<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilqJli2QIa68ZzCAgzGqn5ErwwahhUC7RCVvUgwZtAzypTFdbKWaKwyMxjx_8BUjSR5QIyDgRBYBeoBDgYW4bNl4cWl-ls01l6uCS9UQeo2LAj_Ck91GxPHLudSV1-KY3sMFCrMZWWKO0/s1600/Impossible+Astronaut+Cast.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilqJli2QIa68ZzCAgzGqn5ErwwahhUC7RCVvUgwZtAzypTFdbKWaKwyMxjx_8BUjSR5QIyDgRBYBeoBDgYW4bNl4cWl-ls01l6uCS9UQeo2LAj_Ck91GxPHLudSV1-KY3sMFCrMZWWKO0/s320/Impossible+Astronaut+Cast.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599900097797530450" /></a>“The Impossible Astronaut” makes for an epic and cinematic opening episode that looks like it was made on the budget for a Hollywood movie instead of a BBC TV show. The plot starts strong and grabs you by the lapels, making innovative use of the Doctor’s ability to travel through time without becoming overly complicated for the kiddies. Basically, it’s a fantastic way to kick off Series 6!<br /><br />After several not-so-funny vignettes in which the Doctor tries to get Amy and Rory’s attention throughout time (although I must admit that it was fun seeing the Doctor dance with Laurel and Hardy), the plot finally gets moving when the happy couple receives a mysterious TARDIS-blue invitation directing them to coordinates in the good ole U.S. of A. I thought it was funny that Amy and Rory arrive at the location on a traditional yellow school bus given that those buses scream “American” to Brits in the same way that red double-decker buses say “English” to those of us in the U.S. It’s like they were trying to overload on Americanisms right off the bat by including the yellow school bus, Monument Valley, a vintage Cadillac, a Stetson, a six-shooter, and (soon enough) a 1950s-style diner complete with American flag and Elvis murals. Kitschy, but fun.<br /><br />Having received a blue invitation while incarcerated in Stormcage, River Song (making an explosive entrance, as always) joins the little group – and also reveals that the statues on Easter Island were actually modeled after the Doctor. They do kind of look like Matt Smith! The friends’ reunion picnic is then interrupted by the mysterious arrival of a silent astronaut from out of the nearby lake. This was a very creepy sequence that was only made even more eerie by the fact that the Doctor seemed to know what was happening. A few moments later, the Doctor is dead, having been willingly shot several times by the astronaut, the last time in the middle of his regeneration cycle, stopping him from changing into a new body. So, in the first 10 minutes of the episode, the Doctor has been finally and irrevocably murdered. Hell of a way to hook the audience!<br /><br />But, of course, things aren’t that simple when you’re dealing with time travel. Another Doctor (“our” Doctor from the previous season, which means the Doctor who was killed was actually from a couple of hundred years in the future) arrives with a blue invitation, and River convinces Amy and Rory that he has to be kept in the dark regarding his ultimate fate and the identity of who invited them all. The fact that the audience now knows more than the Doctor about what’s happening made for a nice inversion to River’s oft-frustrating “spoilers!” comment; we’re on her side now instead of the Doctor’s so we can see that there are, indeed, facts that she would need to keep secret from him. The scene in the Oval Office was outstanding because it managed to combine creepy and funny in just the right proportions without giving the audience emotional whiplash. Breaking the tension from the creepy little girl’s recorded phone call with the Doctor’s antics and the appearance of the TARDIS was a stroke of brilliance.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGK7kT-ZAd-GR22IZVE-jYalUX8R5wC3A9Skimp6VAf8ETI7aLPPzO0T63s0tokJF2s-JLgBJarwjetzNLQuxQd3jEvfF_k5xTrBbb304GJRXcDPHVfgvfL-eVpcQ0jADjcR_F7w_TWJo/s1600/Silents.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 170px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGK7kT-ZAd-GR22IZVE-jYalUX8R5wC3A9Skimp6VAf8ETI7aLPPzO0T63s0tokJF2s-JLgBJarwjetzNLQuxQd3jEvfF_k5xTrBbb304GJRXcDPHVfgvfL-eVpcQ0jADjcR_F7w_TWJo/s320/Silents.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599900240841021026" /></a>The new aliens introduced in this episode had a great design (not to mention a great conceit – that you forget about them as soon as you’re not looking at them). The aliens’ scary faces are somehow rendered even creepier in contrast with their rather standard “man in black” suits. I noticed that these aliens didn’t have mouths and seemed to communicate telepathically. Does that mean that they are the “Silents” that were teased throughout last season with the phrase “The Silents will fall”? Whoever they are, it was spooky when River and Rory entered their spaceship only to reveal to the audience the same interior as the makeshift TARDIS from last series’ episode “The Lodger.” Of course, River and Rory wouldn’t recognize that fact because they were not in that episode, which I’m sure is no coincidence on the writer’s part. In any case, I guess we can assume that these same aliens were behind that plot as well.<br /><br />Aside from the intriguing plotline, this episode also had an abundance of clever and funny lines. “You were my second choice for president, Mr. Nixon.” “They’re Americans!” “The Legs, the Nose, and Mrs. Robinson.” “Brave heart, Canton.” “She’s just a friend!” Good stuff.<br /><br />The performances were all around excellent as well. Of course Matt Smith was great, but Karen Gillen as Amy Pond wasn’t as abrasive as she was last season. I found her a little annoying last year, but I liked her in this episode. I’m glad to see Arthur Darvill’s Rory become a full-time companion, too. And River is as intriguing and likeable/untrustworthy as always. Even the supporting cast was good. I don’t know if they actually hired American actors for the bit parts (I kind of doubt it), but the accents weren’t terrible. Usually Brits trying to do American accents are pretty intolerable (see the David Tennant two-parter set in New York during the Depression for some examples). The only annoying over-Americanism that I can recall from this episode was Joy’s overuse of the word “honey” in the bathroom. Her voice made me glad the alien blew her up, actually.<br /><br />I did have a few very minor criticisms. As I said, I wasn’t a fan of the opening series of vignettes, which I just thought were silly and not funny. And did they really need to do the old “Doctor Who?” joke not once but twice in the episode? I know that there are probably some newer members of the audience who haven’t heard it before, but they certainly had already heard it by the time it cropped up a second time in the episode! I also wasn’t thrilled with the decision to go all slow-mo on us during the cliffhanger. I’m not a fan of slow-mo in general, but I like it even less when there are lines of dialogue during it. Always reminds me of those horrible last scenes from The Return of the King. You know the ones. “Gaaandaalf?! Haaa haa!”<br /><br />Aside from those minor nitpicks, though, I thought this was an excellent episode. I can’t wait for next Saturday to see how they wrap all of this up in “Day of the Moon.” Who is the murderous astronaut? The Doctor himself? (I kind of can’t picture anyone killing the Doctor but himself, for some reason.) Or is it River Song? After all, we know that she is imprisoned in Stormcage for killing “a great man.” Speaking of River, I wonder if we’ll finally get to learn her true identity next week. Is she a Timelord, as some have suggested? The Rani, maybe? Or the Master? Or the Doctor him/herself? Or is she just a human? She says she was “an impressionable young girl” when she first met the Doctor. Is she, maybe, the girl in the spacesuit at the end of the episode? I have no clue and I’m not even going to bother guessing because I’m sure Steven Moffat has some tricks up his sleeve yet!Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-34945027955865330722011-03-09T22:42:00.004-05:002011-03-09T22:47:53.680-05:00April 23, 2011, Baby!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22aTsIYWjGLbvgE78z5UhCQpFP6MwIZLUPX9J6BLWhQD2d8wS_oSUnx5LBj4_hLijQi4S2cH7G3zk30tAa9nONprsuDSbKc5DlN_H6NY3R7PJkpIAAWi5uzXRDTNezwIrEoO4wJS8ES8/s1600/April+23.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22aTsIYWjGLbvgE78z5UhCQpFP6MwIZLUPX9J6BLWhQD2d8wS_oSUnx5LBj4_hLijQi4S2cH7G3zk30tAa9nONprsuDSbKc5DlN_H6NY3R7PJkpIAAWi5uzXRDTNezwIrEoO4wJS8ES8/s400/April+23.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582292286702390866" /></a>BBC America has announced that the first half of this year's <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span> series will begin airing on April 23. Let the countdown begin!Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-73191042668913432092011-02-11T15:55:00.004-05:002011-02-11T16:07:26.808-05:00Awesome Doctor Who Infographic!Check out this cool "infographic" that my fellow Hoosier Bob Canada created and posted on his <a href="http://bobcanada92.blogspot.com/2011/02/revised-doctor-who-infographic.html">blog</a>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUY3WWUixrCioghWw2a1YFSXOS30RGeR1Wiz3yweY6mjEGrrnjCYryQFW9JYBrKzVkO3bC9GmQ8S0bndZbqF8wiX4LGRC1hXdx0olmGH3uWIw9iaCoX8XL3uGjc3Ht8wkoUfKqLEvet4/s1600/doctor+infographic+print+13-23-17.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUY3WWUixrCioghWw2a1YFSXOS30RGeR1Wiz3yweY6mjEGrrnjCYryQFW9JYBrKzVkO3bC9GmQ8S0bndZbqF8wiX4LGRC1hXdx0olmGH3uWIw9iaCoX8XL3uGjc3Ht8wkoUfKqLEvet4/s320/doctor+infographic+print+13-23-17.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572539482914523266" /></a><br /><br />What a great introduction to the Doctor! Share it with all your friends who don't watch <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span> to get them up-to-speed before the next series starts this spring. Let's hope he makes it available as a poster. I know I'd buy one. Good work, Bob!Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-42988454312290276612011-01-06T15:46:00.002-05:002011-01-06T15:52:45.531-05:00Review of the 2010 Doctor Who Christmas Special: “A Christmas Carol”Let’s hear it for the first ever <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Wh</span>o episode to be broadcast on the same day on both sides of the Atlantic (December 25, 2010, natch)! That’s the good news. The bad news is that BBC America is not in HD in my town, which made the US-broadcast version look, well, less than good. Aside from the picture quality, this was also the first time I’ve tried to watch <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span> (a program made for the commercial-free BBC) with commercials awkwardly shoehorned into it at regular intervals, which meant that watching the episode was kind of like reading a book with someone periodically screaming in your ear. So, despite the day-and-date broadcast, I still found myself looking elsewhere to get a high-quality, commercial-free version to watch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcXxv4-YVDHeWOsZm-DQ9z2O9VUfQbH1cHWshB9LsfxGbztM945X3pRUAzD9UgMmGhID9v_1RatE7PtKY1s0vVgEHrkDtmprlmBcJMD6LLR1KyXtPvEaC27hN4Iz4Xi3bNI8PLI8Bjlw/s1600/Doctor+With+Shark+and+Friends.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 234px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcXxv4-YVDHeWOsZm-DQ9z2O9VUfQbH1cHWshB9LsfxGbztM945X3pRUAzD9UgMmGhID9v_1RatE7PtKY1s0vVgEHrkDtmprlmBcJMD6LLR1KyXtPvEaC27hN4Iz4Xi3bNI8PLI8Bjlw/s320/Doctor+With+Shark+and+Friends.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559177370505739234" /></a>And, boy, am I glad I held out for a version in HD because this episode looked great, if nothing else! The foggy, steam punk setting for the episode was brilliantly realized, a mixture of nostalgic Victorian England and futuristic, sci-fi trappings. The first time they showed a school of tiny flying fish circling a street lamp like it was a plastic castle in a fish bowl, my eyes were glued to the screen. And who thought a flying shark pulling a carriage could look cool instead of stupid?<br /><br />Don’t get me wrong, though, the episode was not all about the visual effects. There was a real story here. Obviously, Steven Moffat (the current executive producer of <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span> and the writer of this particular episode) started with the template and title of Dickens’ <span style="font-style:italic;">A Christmas Carol</span>, but Moffat didn’t so much rehash that story as cleverly reinvent it. The Ghost of Christmas Past (the Doctor, of course) actually traveled to the past and messed around with the Kazran Sardick’s childhood, changing the man in the present by influencing the boy. Cool! The Ghost of Christmas Present (Amy) then used her holographic powers to both appear to Kazran as a spooky green phantom and to project the interior of the doomed ship around him, thereby taking him to the scene of the disaster. Most clever of all, though, was the Ghost of Christmas Future (the Doctor again) not bothering to take Kazran to see his future/death, but instead taking the young Kazran to his future (the present) to see the bitter old man he had become. Well played, Mr. Moffatt! These changes meant that the story did follow Dickens’ original novella, but mixed it up enough so it wasn’t just another boring rehash.<br /><br />As for the acting, Matt Smith was great as usual. He’s really fallen into the role of the Doctor now, seeming to me like a blend of the First Doctor, the Second Doctor, and the Fifth Doctor. Michael Gambon (who I think we can all agree made the superior Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies) was excellent as well, making me both hate and pity Kazran. I’ve never heard of the episode’s other major guest star, a British singer named Katherine Jenkins, but she was fine, too. Her acting as Abigail didn’t really pull me out of the episode, anyway, even though her singing isn’t really my cup of tea. Given that I’m not overly fond of either of the Doctor’s current companions (Karen Gillan as Amy Pond and Arthur Darvill [whose name now appears in the opening credits, by the way] as Rory Williams), I can’t say that I was too upset that the unlikely newlyweds ended up stuck on board a crashing spaceship with the cast of <span style="font-style:italic;">Star Trek</span> for the entire story, thereby minimizing their roles. It made them more palatable, that’s for sure! I did like how they put Amy and Rory back into their most “iconic” costumes from the preceding series (slutty policewoman and Roman centurion, respectively), explaining the odd sartorial choices as “a bit of fun” for them in their honeymoon suite.<br /><br />No, the episode wasn’t perfect. But, then, what is? There were, indeed, a few cheesy lines (“Everyone stops and turns and hugs as if to say ‘Well, done, everyone!’”), but if you can’t be cheesy at Christmastime, then when can you be cheesy? Aside from the cheese, there were also a few lines of dialogue that simply didn’t work. The worst was when old Kazran said to the Doctor, “Was that a sort of threat-y thing?” which sounds more like something Joss Whedon would write for Buffy Summers instead of something an old, powerful rich dude would actually say. There was also at least one sequence (when the Doctor is analyzing Kazran and his environment near the beginning of the episode) that seemed lifted directly from <span style="font-style:italic;">Sherlock</span>, Moffat’s other BBC series, but I chose to take that sequence as a kind of in-joke regarding his other job rather than a jarring, out-of-place element that didn’t match stylistically with the rest of the episode. And, yes, there were some logic problems. For example, why was Abigail frozen as collateral in the first place if she was dying at the time? What kind of collateral is that? Clearly Kazran’s father knew she was dying because he placed a convenient “life-count-down-ometer” on the outside of her freezer. Setting aside the idea that they even could predict, down to the day, how much time she had left to live, why would Kazran’s father have installed such a counter anyway? Why would he care? Finally, the boy who played young Kazran was a bit over-the-top for my taste. He seemed more like a kid who’s taken one-too-many acting lessons rather than a natural talent. I say send him back to his role as Gavroche in <span style="font-style:italic;">Les Miserables</span> and start looking for kids who aren’t unnaturally hammy for TV.<br /><br />Aside from those rather minor points, though, I enjoyed the episode quite a bit. It was certainly Christmas-y! Murray Gold’s music was excellent as always, and I loved seeing the Eleventh Doctor in a scarf reminiscent of the Fourth Doctor’s, even if it was just for one moment. Overall, I’d say this was the best of <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span>’s Christmas Specials. Looking back at the previous ones, though, that may seem like faint praise.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-46392858485256838422011-01-03T20:41:00.004-05:002011-01-03T20:48:34.955-05:00Happy Holidays!Just a quick post to say that I hope everyone had a great Hanukkah or Christmas or Winter Solstice or Kwanzaa or New Year's Day or whatever this year. I do plan to post a review of "A Christmas Carol" (this year's Doctor Who Christmas Special) after I've had a chance to re-watch it. I was a little less than sober when I watched it on Christmas night.... In the meantime, here are two awesome washcloths that were knitted for me by a friend of mine. The first one is of the TARDIS and the second one is of a Dalek. Exfoliate!! Thanks, Rachel!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSeIUBd3YVV42kxXtumBtb7vNq42JKRm5H3Xgaps7M2J6jmscdfjY2ImSKmFiyX_lTJJnY5KSKodesJgBmiqBYEIwRbIrDcj7WPrUUh_Oe3Ur8VM77DiBMY0qMTuOuDhIAYuYPIiyGuQ/s1600/TARDIS.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSeIUBd3YVV42kxXtumBtb7vNq42JKRm5H3Xgaps7M2J6jmscdfjY2ImSKmFiyX_lTJJnY5KSKodesJgBmiqBYEIwRbIrDcj7WPrUUh_Oe3Ur8VM77DiBMY0qMTuOuDhIAYuYPIiyGuQ/s320/TARDIS.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558141142728327410" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOSJojazxU8iWD5ljv191cHHwKZhVJpU5B1vCzKc6NfTWudUu-m4RFTMFQUR4Rgb7L8to28RPYdD8z7wsxT3vtlBC3wHIl_PADHMKLGg6BcNJLg2CrVreCRVjrUFXsp-DS1vgSWz41Zo/s1600/Exfoliate%2521.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOSJojazxU8iWD5ljv191cHHwKZhVJpU5B1vCzKc6NfTWudUu-m4RFTMFQUR4Rgb7L8to28RPYdD8z7wsxT3vtlBC3wHIl_PADHMKLGg6BcNJLg2CrVreCRVjrUFXsp-DS1vgSWz41Zo/s320/Exfoliate%2521.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558141226205226226" /></a>Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-42243225917437537882010-11-23T11:38:00.003-05:002010-11-23T11:42:52.523-05:00Happy Doctor Who Day, Everybody!!Happy Doctor Who Day! In case you've forgotten, the very first episode of Doctor Who was transmitted exactly 47 years ago on Saturday, November 23, 1963. Matt Smith is looking pretty good for being middle aged, isn't he? Read my take on the first episode, An Unearthly Child, <a href="http://doctorwhatus.blogspot.com/2010/10/doctor-who-from-beginning-unearthly.html">here</a>.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-73850769878046827982010-10-28T12:15:00.003-04:002010-10-28T12:21:44.167-04:00Review of The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 4, Episodes 5 and 6: “Death of the Doctor” Parts 1 and 2I don’t usually review episodes of <em>The Sarah Jane Adventures</em> on the blog, not because I don’t like the show (I think it’s perfectly alright for a program squarely aimed at children), but just because I am focused on <em>Doctor Who</em>, not its spinoffs. I don’t review episodes of <em>Torchwood</em>, either. This week’s two-parter demands an exception, however. Why? I should think the title (“Death of the Doctor”) would be explanation enough! Yes, Matt Smith turns up as the Eleventh Doctor. Yay! These episodes also mark the first time that our old friend Russell T Davies (RTD, the man who returned Doctor Who to our TV screens back in 2005) has written for Matt’s Doctor. How did RTD do? Read on!<br /><br />Plotwise, the story is fairly simple. UNIT contacts Sarah Jane and tells her that the Doctor has been killed. They plan to hold a funeral for him, which will be presided over by the Shansheeth, a race of intergalactic undertakers/professional mourners. Sarah Jane, in a state of denial regarding the Doctor’s death, agrees to attend the memorial service with Clyde and Rani. (Luke is apparently too busy with his studies at Oxford to take a day off to pay his respects to the man that he knows has saved all of reality numerous times. Ingrate.) At the funeral, Sarah Jane finally meets Jo Grant (or Jo Jones as she’s been called since marrying Professor Clifford Jones at the end of <em>The Green Death</em>), another of the Doctor’s former companions. Jo also doubts the Doctor’s demise. Their skepticism is rewarded when the Eleventh Doctor suddenly trades places with Clyde from the other end of the universe, meeting his old friends for the first time in his present incarnation. Of course the Shansheeth turn out to be bad (or at least misguided) and the Doctor and his pals foil their plans.<br /><br />These two episodes are a feast of nostalgia for old-time viewers. Jo makes a fun return, still as ditzy and lovable as ever. She basically serves as the co-lead with Sarah Jane in the story, turning it into a double-act. Even though this is the first time the two characters have met, they have an easy rapport, reminiscing about their Doctors and their adventures (especially Peladon), running up and down corridors together holding hands, and verbally tag-teaming the new Doctor. The two ladies complement each other nicely, Jo’s devil-may-care, free-thinking attitude contrasting with Sarah Jane’s slightly more conservative point of view. Actually, I wouldn’t mind seeing Jo take on a more permanent role in the series. Those kids are all going to have to go to college some time, right? Maybe Jo could move in to 13 Bannerman Road after Sarah’s high school pals have moved on and the two older ladies can go on wacky adventures together as a team. Aside from the co-lead role for Jo, we also get shout-outs to many other companions and monsters from the program’s past, including Daleks, Ogrons, Tegan, Ben, Polly, Harry, and Ace (at least, I assume that’s the “Dorothy” that Sarah Jane mentions). Oh, and I always knew that Ian and Barbara would end up together! Although I never suspected that they’d stop aging…. Even more impressive than these mentions, we actually get to see many of the classic monsters in flashback, not to mention the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Tenth Doctors. Seeing Tom Baker appear in the middle of <em>The Sarah Jane Adventures</em> certainly made me smile.<br /><br />The rest of the serial was top-notch as well. The CBBC budget was apparent in a few places, most notably the exterior to UNIT’s Mount Snowdon base and the rock quarry/alien planet on which the Doctor was trapped. And, okay, the Shansheeth did look a little like giant Muppets (or perhaps the Skeksis from <em>The Dark Crystal</em>). Still, I actually liked the design for the aliens as giant, lumbering buzzards. Maybe it was a bit too literal for a race of professional ambulance-chasers, but it worked. They didn’t look “real,” but they looked creepy and otherworldly. And I found it really disturbing, for some reason, when one of them played the harp.<br /><br />When they finally stop switching places and get a chance to meet, Clyde and the Eleventh Doctor have a fun moment together where Clyde instructs the Doctor on how to travel through the air duct. “You have to shuffle backwards,” he explains as if it’s rocket science. And then comes the “controversial” part. Clyde asks how many times the Doctor can regenerate, and the Doctor says “507.” The classic series answer was 12. Quite a big difference there! But does it really matter? I know that some überfans are upset about this possible change, but, come on; we always knew the BBC would find some way around this “rule.” And the way the Doctor says the line (not to mention that he’s speaking to a kid that he hardly knows) made it seem like he could have been joking anyway. Speaking of the kids, I’m not quite sure why Jo’s grandson Santiago was introduced in the story. He didn’t do anything of consequence (aside from giving RTD a chance to mention that Santiago’s father was hiking across Antarctica with his gay dad’s club, anyway). I was afraid that he was being introduced as a regular to replace the now away-at-university Luke. Thankfully, RTD didn’t go that route, letting the hippy kid leave with his grandma at the end of the story. I wonder if the plan was to see how he worked with the cast and then make the call about whether to keep him or not at the end of filming. Probably not since I assume they already had all the subsequent stories written for this season in advance without his character in them, but it’s still fun to speculate. Maybe they’ve set him up to come back next season, though, if there’s a positive response to his character. Personally, I hope we’ve seen the last of him.<br /><br />Although the story was good overall, there were still a few RTD-isms that grated. First off, why were there Grosks involved at all? It seemed like they were thrown in just so RTD could reuse that Grask costume the producers had lying around. I can hear his thoughts now, “We’ll paint the costume blue, I’ll change a vowel in the creature’s name, and then it’ll be totally different alien! And for added cleverness, I’ll call out what I’ve done in the script!” The funny thing is, RTD’s pretty much done this same trick before with the Zocci/Vinvocci. There were also a couple of lines that just seemed, well, off. First, it seemed a tad out of character for the Doctor to make fun of Jo’s visible aging. I believe he said something like, “You look like you’ve been baked in an oven.” Bad Doctor! Then, at the end, when all of the Shansheeth and at least one human UNIT soldier have been burnt to a crisp, the Grosk says, “Smells like roast chicken.” I admit, I laughed. But then I felt bad for laughing. Also, the end was a bit “magic-y,” as is usual for RTD. To recap, the Shansheeth need a key to the TARDIS so they hook up Sarah Jane and Jo to some kind of glowy machine thing called a Memory Weave that will create a new key from their memories but then the gals think too hard, overload the machine, and blow up the bad guys. Or something. Yeah, RTD always has problems with endings. Oh, one more thing. “Scarlet Monstrosity.” 'Nuff said.<br /><br />Aside from those few niggles, though, these two episodes made for quite an enjoyable hour of TV for this old <em>Doctor Who</em> fan. In fact, I’d say it was the best storyline of <em>The Sarah Jane Adventures</em> yet. Certainly better than David Tennant’s two-part appearance as the Tenth Doctor last season, anyway. Matt Smith really is an excellent Doctor. Bring on this year’s <em>Doctor Who</em> Christmas Special!Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-23616012936516383812010-10-18T14:56:00.000-04:002010-10-18T14:59:31.667-04:00Doctor Who from the Beginning: 100,000 BCIn my last post, I examined “An Unearthly Child,” the very first episode of Doctor Who. The next three episodes of the program (“The Cave of Skulls,” “The Forest of Fear,” and “The Firemaker”) form a serial of sorts, which I am going to refer to as <em>100,000 BC</em> and discuss together in this post.<br /><br />Curiously, “The Cave of Skulls” does not pick up directly where “An Unearthly Child” left off (with the Doctor and his granddaughter Susan taking their two new captives, Ian and Barbara, for an unwanted ride in the TARDIS). Instead, the episode begins by introducing the viewers to a crowd of dirty, Stone Age tribesmen who are all dressed in rags and are fairly indistinguishable from one another. Bold move for only the second episode of a new program! From what I could gather in this scene, Za, son of the tribe’s previous firemaker is having problems making fire. His father appears to still be alive and well, although he, too, is now unable to produce fire. The inability to make fire must run in the family, which makes me wonder how Za’s dad got fire the first time. Was he just walking in the woods and found a burning stick or something? Anyway, Za wants to make fire so he can become leader of the tribe, marry his sweetheart (creatively named Hur), and live a life of cave-bound luxury. Unfortunately for Za, the rest of the tribe, including the requisite Creepy Old Woman, wants the hunter named Kal (who is an outsider from a destroyed tribe) to step up and be their new leader. It’s hard to feel too bad for rather whiny Za given that his attempts to make fire seem to consist solely of rubbing both of his hands on an animal bone. He says he expects “Orb” (the sun, I guess) to show him how to make fire because he’s special or something. I guess religion hasn’t changed much in the last 100,000 years.<br /><br />After this scintillating opening, we finally cut back to the TARDIS. The Doctor says he doesn’t know where they are, but Ian insists that they’re still in the junkyard. At one point in this scene Ian calls the Doctor “Dr. Foreman” and the Doctor promptly replies, “Eh, doctor who?” Ah, that old chestnut. As a matter of fact, that “joke” is used not once, but twice in this serial. Eventually they all leave the TARDIS and even Ian is forced to accept that they’ve moved. What convinces him? An old horse skull, of course! I guess they didn’t have horses in London in the 1960s. Interestingly, from a Doctor Who fan perspective, this is the first time that the TARDIS’s broken disguise mechanism (later called a “chameleon circuit”) is mentioned. The doctor looks at his ship and mumbles, “It’s still a police box. Why hasn’t it changed?” As the Doctor ponders this issue, Kal the hunter sneaks up on him, knocks him out, and kidnaps him because he saw the Doctor light his pipe with a match. Or maybe he was just hunting old men. Hard to tell with Kal. When the Doctor’s abduction is discovered, Susan becomes scarily hysterical. Is it just me or does this kid seem seriously psychologically messed up? Maybe all Gallifreyan kids are this weird? Meanwhile, Kal has brought the still-unconscious Doctor back to the tribe and tells them that the old man will make fire appear from his fingers for the tribe. Because “the creature” is his, Kal says, he should be the leader. The Doctor finally wakes up and tells the tribe that he can make fire for them – if they take him back to his ship. How is the Doctor able to speak their primitive language, I wonder? Ian, Barbara, and Susan then conveniently/inconveniently stumble into the tribe and are taken captive. Za says they should wait until daybreak when Orb shines again before killing them; maybe that will bring them fire, he hypothesizes. Convinced by Za’s sound logic, the tribe tosses the four captives into the Cave of Skulls where Barbara promptly tries to get romantic with Ian before noticing the piles and piles of split-open human skulls surrounding them.<br /><br />“The Forest of Fear” reveals to us that Stone Age tribes apparently slept in one big pile, like a really boring orgy. While they sleep, their new captives are trying to escape, their time as prisoners uniting them. The Doctor tells Barbara that fear “makes companions of all of us.” This is where the four of them finally stop bickering (as much) and become a more unified crew. The Creepy Old Woman frees the TARDIS crew with Za’s knife and makes them promise not to make fire. She says that fire will bring trouble. I’m not sure what her motivations are here, to be quite honest. Has she seen fire destroy a tribe before? Does she just not want Za to get the credit because she’s a Libertarian and she’s backing Kal? And aside from the question of her motivation, how the hell did she move that giant stone at the doorway to the Cave of Skulls? Anyway, Za and Hur show right after the Doctor and company have escaped, so they assault the old broad. Meanwhile, in the forest, Barbara fakes a breakdown so Ian will hug her. Then she freaks out when she sees a dead boar. Maybe she wasn’t faking. Her screams bring Za and Hur. Before the two Stoners can recapture the TARDIS crew, he is mauled by an unseen (for budgetary reasons) wild animal. Tellingly, the men want to abandon Za, but the women force the Doctor and Ian to stay and help. Ian even mocks Barbara by saying, “Your flat must be littered with stray cats and dogs.” Sensitive comment, Ian! Especially when directed towards a woman who probably lives with at least 14 cats. In exchange for their help, Za and Hur agree to guide them back to the TARDIS. Back at the homestead, Kal goes to the Cave of Skulls, finds the Creepy Old Woman, and kills her because he thinks she let the captives go. Oh, Kal. She totally supported you, dude! When he discovers Za’s knife on her person, he decides to rather cleverly use the weapon to frame Za and Hur for the murder. The Doctor and company finally make it to the TARDIS, but are met there by the angry tribesmen. Oops!<br /><br />At start of “The Firemaker,” Hur tries to explain to the tribe what really happened to the Creepy Old Woman, but because she’s just a stupid girl and Za is still unconscious from his previous mauling, her people refuse to believe her. The Doctor somehow proves that Kal really killed the old woman, though, so the tribe drives Kal away into exile. Yeah, that’ll stick.... Now it’s back to the Cave of Skulls for our heroes! Za recovers from his wounds and goes to visit the captives, who are busy trying to make fire with the old “rubbing two stick together” method. Ian proves that he is The Man by being the first to produce a flame. But is having a fire safe in such an enclosed environment as the Cave of Skulls? Ever hear of smoke inhalation, Ian? I thought you were a science teacher. Before anyone can get sick from the smoke, though, Kal appears and attacks Za. Begin filmed sequence of caveman on caveman action complete with anguished reaction shots from the regulars! Yay! Of course Za wins the fight, although I must admit that I had trouble telling the two hairy, dirty men apart until all the action was over. Stand-up guy that he is, Za then passes off Ian’s fire as his own and becomes leader of the tribe. Even though he’s achieved all of his dreams, including getting the luscious Hur, Za still insists on keeping the TARDIS crew captive. Because the episode is nearly over, though, they manage to escape by using a lame, unbelievable trick where they stick four skulls on torches and run away into the forest while the tribesmen cower in fear. They get to the TARDIS and dematerialize. Unfortunately for Barbara and Ian, the Doctor says he cannot take them back to their time because they “left the other place too quickly for him to properly set the coordinates.” So, they land in a strange-looking petrified forest, instead, and decide to go exploring. As they leave the TARDIS, a radiation meter on the console of the machine suddenly reads “Danger.” No one except the camera operator seems to notice, though.<br /><br />This is an odd story. For one thing, it seems like Kal, the outsider underdog, is going to be the protagonist of the piece from the outset, not Za, the “privileged” son of the previous firemaker who convinces the rest of the tribe that they should kill the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara at dawn. Even at the end, when it’s become apparent that we’re supposed to sympathize with Za, he just seems like a jerk, claiming that he made Ian’s fire and refusing to release the prisoners. Kal may have killed the Creepy Old Woman (for which we should all probably thank him), but I don’t doubt Za would have done the same if it had brought him power. Plus Kal shares Superman’s Kryptonian first name. How can he be bad? For another thing, the rather rudimentary politics of a Stone Age tribe does not make for the most fascinating basis for a plot. Although I said I liked the four-person crew in the previous story, some of the individual members of the crew don’t really get to do much in this serial. Instead, this seemed like a story that could have been told using just the Doctor and one other person, probably Ian. Does Susan even do anything in this story? In fact, both of the women characters just seem to get hysterical and scream a lot. Was this common in the 1960s, I wonder? Both of the women seemed necessary to the plot in “An Unearthly Child,” Susan because she set the story in motion with her weirdness and Barbara because she convinced Ian to help her investigate. I wish the two ladies got more to do in this story. I did like how Za and Hur related to the TARDIS members in ways that made sense to their limited experiences. For example, they call the TARDIS crew a “new tribe,” they decide that the TARDIS itself is “a tree,” and Hur says that Barbara watched over the injured Za “like a mother taking care of her baby.”<br /><br />Next time: Introducing the sensational character find of 1963 – THE DALEKS! Yeah, I’m not really a fan....Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-84017105845781481982010-10-08T23:38:00.002-04:002010-10-08T23:43:51.360-04:00Doctor Who from the Beginning: “An Unearthly Child”This weekend I sat down and watched “An Unearthly Child,” the very first episode of <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span>, which was broadcast on the BBC on November 23, 1963. That was nearly 47 years ago! Wow, this show has been on the air a long time. I guess people love ’em some <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span>.<br /><br />But will people today love this episode of <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span> from the early 1960s? That’s debatable. TV was just different back then. TV programs, especially on the BCC, were more akin to filmed stage plays than the mini-movies that modern audiences expect. The pacing was slower, there were no quick camera cuts, and the acting could sometimes be, well, theatrical. Taking all of that into consideration, though, I think the first episode of <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span> holds up rather well. It’s surprising the number of constants that have remained throughout the program’s long history. The Doctor is already a cranky know-it-all when he first appears, for instance. Yes, William Hartnell’s portrayal of the First Doctor is markedly different than, say, Tom Baker’s portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, but there are similarities such as the strange sense of humor and the condescension to modern-day humans. And he’s already traveling the universe with one young female assistant for company when we first meet him (although, by the end of the episode, he ends up with a set of unwanted older companions as well). The TARDIS, too, is here at he beginning, looking and functioning pretty much as we expect it to. The machine is even described as “alive,” a contention that I assumed came along much later.<br /><br />Plot wise, the 23-minute episode is pretty straightforward. Basically, Susan Foreman is an odd 15-year-old kid who has been attending Coal Hill School for around 5 months. She knows some things that a kid in 1963 shouldn’t know (she apparently understands more about science than her teacher, including the existence of a fifth dimension), but she doesn’t know some things that a British kid in 1963 should know (how many shillings in a pound, for example). She does love listening to (and sort of dancing to) those crazy 60s tunes on her transistor radio, though, so that’s pretty normal. Although she’s also fond of saying things like, “I like walking through the dark. It’s mysterious.” Yeah, she’s weird. Concerned by her behavior, her science and history teachers (Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, respectively) decide to follow her home one night. That seems a tad bit like stalking to me, but I suppose they had good intentions, right? Truthfully, I think Barbara’s primary intention was to get Ian alone in a dark car; she invites him to trail Susan with her as if she’s asking him on a date. When the pair of teachers arrives at Susan’s address (76 Totter’s Lane; kind of a fairytale-sounding address, isn’t it?), they find a scrap yard owned by one “I. M. Foreman” (or so the sign says). In the junkyard they meet a secretive and ill-tempered old man who looks like he just wandered away from playing Ebenezer Scrooge in a local theater production of <span style="font-style:italic;">A Christmas Carol</span>. Naturally, this is the Doctor. They question him about Susan, but he only laughs at them and denies any knowledge of the girl. He nearly convinces them to leave – until Susan yells to him from inside a police box (a common site in England in those days, although not in a junkyard). Of course Ian and Barbara rush in to the police box to investigate and are shocked to find that it is (altogether now) “bigger on the inside.”<br /><br />Susan appears and explains that the police box is really her grandfather’s space ship/time machine, which is called a TARDIS. She tells them that the name stands for “Time And Relative Dimension In Space” and that she coined the term. Her claim doesn’t seem possible given that we later meet other time travelers with TARDISes of their own. Little liar. The Doctor gets some good lines in this scene. When Ian is confused by the Doctor’s description of the TARDIS as a ship, for example, the Doctor says, “Yes, ship. This doesn’t roll around on wheels, you know.” And when Ian tells him not to treat them like children, the Doctor replies, “The children of my civilization would be insulted.” The Doctor and Susan seem to be exiled from their own planet and people (not here identified), which makes secrecy imperative. When the Doctor explains to Susan that they cannot stay in the present if Ian and Barbara know their secret, Susan says that she would rather stay in the 20th century without him and the TARDIS, then. Wow. Talk about family loyalty! The Doctor doesn’t take kindly to this idea, so, instead of opening the door to the TARDIS to let Ian and Barbara (and possibly Susan) stay behind, he decides to kidnap them all to the Stone Age. Sensible idea! This Doctor (who we assume to be the First Doctor) is quite old, remember, so maybe his thought processes don’t always make the most sense…. After a trippy, psychedelic time travel sequence, the episode ends with the shadow of a caveman falling across the exterior of the TARDIS. Cliffhanger!<br /><br />All in all, “An Unearthly Child” makes for an intriguing start to <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span>. It is mysterious and makes me want to know what happens next. I like the fact that the Doctor is given multiple companions, each with a purpose. Susan is the viewer-identification character, Ian is the expert in science, and Barbara is the expert in history. Given that the show was originally developed for children, these characters all make sense. I also like the sense of mystery that pervades the episode. Is Susan’s last name really Foreman, for example? Surely she just took the name from the sign at the scrap yard, right? Heck, for all we know, her name may not even be Susan. Maybe she’s the Student or the Assistant or something. And why are the Doctor and Susan on the run from their own people? What are they hiding from? The episode was definitely atmospheric with the fog and the darkness and the spooky junkyard (the black and white helps with this, too). And I can see why kids used to hide behind the couch when they heard the eerie theme song! If I had tuned into this in the 60s, I definitely would be back for the next episode. The idea that the travelers can go anywhere in time and space is too enticing to not check in again. And who could resist the promise of cavemen?<br /><br />P.S. I know that some people refer to the first four episodes of <span style="font-style:italic;">Doctor Who</span> (“An Unearthly Child,” “The Cave of Skulls,” “The Forest of Fear,” and “The Firemaker”) as a serial called <span style="font-style:italic;">An Unearthly Child</span>. Given how different the first episode is to the other three, though, I have decided to discuss the first episode on its own. I will review the other three episodes in my next post as a serial called <span style="font-style:italic;">100,000 BC</span>.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-53467473197218907692010-09-29T14:45:00.000-04:002010-09-29T14:46:19.948-04:00Doctor Who from the BeginningAs I patiently wait for the DVD box set of <em>Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series </em>to be released on November 9 so I can review all of the newest episodes of the show here on the blog, I thought it might be fun to go back and revisit the very earliest <em>Doctor Who</em> serials from the 1960s. So, I’ve decided to embark on a rather ambitious project – discussing/reviewing all of the First Doctor (William Hartnell) stories that have been released on DVD to date, starting with <em>An Unearthly Child</em>. These reviews will run up until the Fifth Series DVD is released, at which point they will run concurrently with my reviews of Matt Smith’s first season.<br /><br />I am setting aside time to watch <em>An Unearthly Child </em>this weekend, so look for my review of that very first <em>Doctor Who </em>story early next week.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-75641781367141375412010-09-21T09:22:00.003-04:002010-09-21T09:28:01.351-04:00Happy Birthday, Tegan!No, not this Tegan:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9GZ8-njtxN3l-dgy7i3KXOZcqePXnB6cksihzigBJXon0FkmsuKY94CIzqRQ1jw-vPZYYXfpmQZyxhPc4Q9OJSe8N5IEjxYfPPVlsEv2YlNFFbfndSwH_3mZzGs2E89M0ncyVZ48Mf0/s1600/janet+fielding+3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9GZ8-njtxN3l-dgy7i3KXOZcqePXnB6cksihzigBJXon0FkmsuKY94CIzqRQ1jw-vPZYYXfpmQZyxhPc4Q9OJSe8N5IEjxYfPPVlsEv2YlNFFbfndSwH_3mZzGs2E89M0ncyVZ48Mf0/s320/janet+fielding+3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519357690973777106" /></a><br /><br />THIS Tegan:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1h0C5jKfMeujGL4ivzf-D5T5HuY4yNbx8nmSA9MEB7FuQHK-fuz6lcVZc8bg-j_P3B9ObljkYJauwVX5VlEWCVXemECW7QZWT4K5GvHV8ClmGilaqMH2vHM-ehGN2wly4oWV_yXQvEn8/s1600/IMG_2049.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1h0C5jKfMeujGL4ivzf-D5T5HuY4yNbx8nmSA9MEB7FuQHK-fuz6lcVZc8bg-j_P3B9ObljkYJauwVX5VlEWCVXemECW7QZWT4K5GvHV8ClmGilaqMH2vHM-ehGN2wly4oWV_yXQvEn8/s320/IMG_2049.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519357963182100626" /></a><br /><br />Yep, that’s right. It’s the first birthday of my adorable little niece Tegan. Surprisingly, my sister and my brother-in-law did not name her after Tegan Jovanka. They know nothing about Doctor Who, poor souls. No, they named her after Tegan Quin from the Canadian indie rock band Tegan and Sara. Because I introduced them to that band in the first place, though, I still get to take credit for the name! And, yes, I like to pretend that little Tegan is going to get to have exciting adventures in space and time as well as in the bathtub. What can I say? I’m incredibly lame.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-39360188248446753742010-09-20T02:15:00.002-04:002010-09-20T02:30:41.247-04:00The Return of Doctor What!Some of you may have noticed that it's been a while since I posted an article or a review here. My absence was probably doubly puzzling given that an entire series of new Doctor Who episodes (with a brand new Doctor, no less) has aired over the past few months. The truth is, I decided to try a little experiment with this most recent series; I decided to wait until the end of the series to review the individual episodes. I thought this would be an interesting exercise given how important the overall season plots have been to Doctor Who since the show's revival a few years back. By reviewing the individual episodes at the end of the season, I can better take a look at how each episode fits into the season's uberplot. And that's just what I intend to do! The DVD box set of Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series is scheduled to be released on November 9 in the US. As soon as that set is in my hot little hands, I'll re-watch the individual episodes and post my reviews/thoughts here.<br /><br />Before November 9, I will also be posting a few reviews of "classic" episodes as well. I've just finished watching the Kamelion-related episodes starring the Fifth Doctor, so I plan to start with those stories. Keep your eyes on this space!Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-55768887739899942082010-01-01T19:48:00.002-05:002010-01-01T20:04:00.931-05:00Pre-Review of the "End of Time"I watched Part One of "The End of Time" last Friday on Christmas. I really did not care for it. Nevertheless, I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. "Be patient," I told myself. "Maybe it won't really make sense until you've seen Part Two." Well, now I've seen Part Two and the story still doesn't make any sense. Look, I know that Russell T Davies is, by definition, a professional writer. But just because someone gets paid to do something doesn't mean they're any good at it. Look at Britney Spears, for example. Or Uwe Boll. There are many, many people in the world who are completely incompetent at what they do for a living, yet somehow make enough money to continue doing it. I have now added Russell T Davies to my own private list of incompetents.<br /><br />I'll write a more complete review of this story in a couple of days where I'll articulate precisely why "The End of Time" was a terrible example of Doctor Who - nay, of television - nay, of storytelling in general. Until then, you can be sure that I was severely underwhelmed.<br /><br />Come on, Steven Moffat. Fix this mess next season! I want to like Doctor Who again.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-45717775245198480042009-11-16T14:08:00.002-05:002009-11-16T14:12:13.758-05:00Review of the 2009 Thanksgiving Special: "The Waters of Mars"Now that was more like it!<br /><br />“The Waters of Mars” is the first genuinely good episode of Doctor Who that has been broadcast since, well, since “The Stolen Earth” in June of 2008. Last December’s Christmas Special, “The Next Doctor”, was alright – fun but forgettable – and then Easter’s “Planet of the Dead” was just terminally stupid with its random psychic ladies, its flying manta rays, and that god-awful, babbling Malcolm idiot. I had almost forgotten what it felt like to enjoy an episode of this show!<br /><br />As we’ve been shown repeatedly (most obviously in the 2006 Christmas Special, “The Runaway Bride”), the Doctor needs a companion to reign in his not-so-benevolent impulses. This episode, which picks up with the Doctor having traveled alone for an unspecified period of time (possibly many years), takes that idea to its ultimate – and surprisingly dark – end. This is not the Tenth Doctor we first got to know, jaunting around the universe with Rose and having a grand old time. This is a much older, much more world-weary Doctor more akin to Christopher Eccleston’s battle-hardened Ninth Doctor. One almost gets the feeling that the oncoming regeneration could be a blessing to this wounded character, granting him a new lease on life and a new pair of eyes through which to rediscover the universe.<br /><br />David Tennant does a marvelous job with this more somber version of the Tenth Doctor. I like his Doctor so much better when he only occasionally gives in to his more manic impulses. He was serious when he needed to be and fun when he could be. And at the end, when he went on his “Time Lord victorious” power trip, he was downright scary. Tennant would make a much more frightening Master than the version given to us by John Simm in “The Sound of Drums”/”Last of the Time Lords.”<br /><br />But Tennant’s performance would have meant very little if he hadn’t been matched up with someone of equal talent. Thankfully, that happened in the person of Lindsay Duncan who played AdelaideBrooke, head of the Mars colony. Duncan – who, as Servilia of the Junii, was one of the best things about the TV series Rome – matches Tennant note for note. She portrays Adelaide as an extremely competent leader who commands respect and has sacrificed much in pursuit of her goals. She is an equal to the Doctor, not a subservient, love-struck child. Her decision at the end of the episode, to preserve history even at the cost of her own life and in defiance of the Doctor, is a fantastic moment. This is the kind of companion with whom the Doctor should be paired – someone who can force the Doctor to make the hard decisions, or make them for him if he fails. She reminded me of Dr. Lazarus from the movie <em>Outland</em>, but that could be because of her age and gender paired with the extraterrestrial outpost setting.<br /><br />Even the monsters in the episode worked for me. I found them creepy and effective. Yes, they were obviously influenced by the most recent spate of “zombie” movies, but they were really just window dressing to set up the themes of the episode anyway. As window dressing, they did a good job! Having said that, though, the scene where a single drop of liquid fell onto a character’s face from above, infecting him, was lifted almost shot for shot from <em>28 Days Later</em>. Theft or homage? You be the judge! Too bad the character that was infected in this episode wasn’t half as likable as Brendan Gleeson’s father-figure from that movie.<br /><br />All of the creepy goings-on at the Mars base build up to one terrific ending in which the Doctor learns that, even if he is the last Time Lord, he cannot control time. What he calls “time,” he discovers, is really made up of an endless number of personal choices by an endless number of individuals; no matter how powerful he thinks he is, he cannot control those individual choices. In the end, Adelaide makes a choice, a shocking, violent choice to preserve the timeline despite the Doctor’s wishes. The painful lesson hits the Doctor full-on, leading to his emotional breakdown outside the TARDIS. In the midst of this breakdown, he has a vision of Ood Sigma. The last time the Doctor saw Ood Sigma in “Planet of the Ood,” the creature prophesized that the Doctor’s “song” would soon end. As the Doctor questions Ood Sigma, the spectral visitor fades away, recalling the mysterious appearance of the Watcher from “Logopolis,” which also signaled an oncoming regeneration.<br /><br />Clearly, the Doctor’s defiance of time is going to have further ramifications. Even though Adelaide offed herself, two other crewmembers survived who shouldn’t have. Could their survival have an impact on the timeline? An impact that the Doctor will have to die undoing? And how did the two surviving crewmembers explain their escape from the Mars colony, anyway? And how will Adelaide’s suicide be explained? That she was overcome by guilt because she was unable to save all of her crew?<br /><br />The teaser trailer shown at the end of the episode didn’t provide many clues. The Master is returning, for sure, which begs the question, what about Mrs. Saxon? Will she return as well? Was it Mrs. Saxon who took the Master’s ring? We also see a glimpse of Donna and her grandfather Wilfred. I must admit, I’ll be glad to see them both again. Overall, the teaser looked promising. It’s not all rainbows and puppy dogs, though! Davies has shown in the past that he knows how to build suspense toward the big season-ending events (“Utopia,” “Turn Left”), but he hasn’t actually shown that he knows how to wrap them up in a satisfying manner (“Last of the Time Lords,” “Journey’s End”). Still, if he can avoid any magical cell phone prayers or TARDIS-dragging-the-Earth moments, we could get a pair of excellent final episodes yet! “The Waters of Mars” gives me hope, at least.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-24681537265863009922009-04-12T22:13:00.004-04:002011-05-09T21:39:04.052-04:00Review of the 2009 Easter Special: "Planet of the Dead"Russell T. Davies is officially out of steam. If only we could just skip over his final few episodes and get straight to Steven Moffat because, frankly, I'm starting to wonder why I even bother to watch Doctor Who. And coming from a guy who spends his time writing a Doctor Who blog, that's saying something!<br /><br />So what was so bad about this episode? Almost everything. The one thing that I did sort of enjoy was the relationship between Christina and the Doctor. I liked how she immediately took charge when they reach the alien planet and how she insisted on calling him “The Doctor.” It's always fun to see someone take the Doctor down a peg or two. And the dialogue between them had a few nice moments as well. “You look human,” she said. “You look Timelord,” he countered. "We make quite a couple," he said. "We don't make any sort of couple, thank you very much," she said. Good stuff!<br /><br />Unfortunately, that was the only good stuff. First off, the plot was nonsensical bordering on nonexistent. Some people on a bus end up on an alien planet. Why? Well, something about flying manta rays zipping around in swarms really, really quickly or something. Whatever. Really, it seemed like they ended up there just because Russell T. Davies thought it'd make for a cool visual. I assumed that they were transported through the wormhole as a consequence of whatever artifact Christina had stolen from the museum in the opening <span style="font-style: italic;">Mission Impossible</span> "homage." But noooooo…. That would have actually made sense and would have tied her sudden appearance on the bus to the overarching plot. Turns out, an international super-thief hitched a ride on the Doctor's bus purely by coincidence. And speaking of coincidences, there also just happened to be a psychic lady on the bus. Of course there was. Isn't there always? I was hoping that perhaps she would somehow relate to the plot as well. Nope! She was just a really lazy way to give the audience the occassional info dump or scary portent. In fact, she turned out to be rather useless, never revealing anything that the other characters couldn't have figured out for themselves. As to the other people on the bus, I'm not sure why we needed them either. Not a single one of them did anything worthwhile and we never got to know (or care about) any of them. This episode was really the Doctor and Christina show - which would have been fine if we didn't have to put up with the occassional line from one of the glorified extras. Overall, the whole people-trapped-on-a-bus-bond-and-bicker scenario was done better in the episode called "Midnight," also written by Davies. In fact, the Doctor actually makes a joke to that effect. You know, calling out that you're plagiarizing your own stories doesn't make it okay....<br /><br />Other things that I hated. The alien fly people approached <span style="font-style: italic;">Sarah Jane Adventures</span>-levels of cheap - and the bad purple and green lighting in their ship only made things worse, especially when the Doctor commented on how beautiful the interior of their ship was. Yeah, really beautiful. If you think color gel sheets are the epitome of beauty. And don't even get me started on the comedy stylings of Malcolm. He was the single most irritating character in the history of Doctor Who. Every second that he was on-screen was like nails on a chalkboard. When he popped up wearing those stupid goggles or tried to use the fire extinguisher only to be knocked over, I felt my soul die a little.<br /><br />Speaking, er, typing of souls, I'm not a religious man. At all. And yet, even I found the religious metaphors in the episode more heavy-handed than those of the typical Narnia book. Given the fact that the episode was set on and broadcast on the day before Easter, I can’t believe that they actually named the main female character “Christina.” She's like a female Christ, see! Oh, and in case that was too subtle for you, the people on the bus returned from a "planet of the dead" on the very holiday that celebrates the return of Christ from the dead. And I won’t even mention that Christina just happened to steal a golden cup that looked a hell of a lot like many depictions of the Holy Grail. Oh, and the Holy Grail somehow managed to save the day, returning all of the boring, stock characters to the world of the living. Yay!<br /><br />Because there are only a few episodes of Doctor Who this year, you would think that the writers could devote a lot of time to each episode, really putting together a tight story with a coherent plot. But, no. We’re still getting the same nonsensical Russell T. Davies plot mechanics. For example, all of the fly aliens conveniently get killed so the Doctor can steal their only means of getting home without feeling guilty. Oh, and the bus suddenly flies. That's so wizard, Russell.<br /><br />So, what I'm saying is, I didn't care for the episode.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-50034486939734312922009-04-10T06:45:00.006-04:002009-04-10T06:53:36.684-04:00"Doctor Who: Room With a Deja View" AnnouncedAccording to this week's <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=20702">Lying in the Gutters</a> column over at <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/">Comic Book Resources</a>, Rich Johnston is reporting that IDW will be releasing a Doctor Who one-shot comic this July called "Room With a Deja View" (great title) drawn by EricJ and written by one Rich Johnston. I'd say Rich is in the clear to give this particular piece of comic industry gossip a green light.<br /><br />Check out the amazing cover by Tom Mandrake:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJZdZig4SqOIqWXdRAAoOsNA2jNmV2-eCOPZQtjoVbdtTAAvj9OiBh4CUniavTJD9RW53-d9MHEK2PkOXraNHU4-cfcNVlCVCXX9E184unyuiS_2uIIPCUGEx1-UM9kCFfQU5r52Wl_E/s1600-h/DW_RWDV_Cover_colors_LowRes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJZdZig4SqOIqWXdRAAoOsNA2jNmV2-eCOPZQtjoVbdtTAAvj9OiBh4CUniavTJD9RW53-d9MHEK2PkOXraNHU4-cfcNVlCVCXX9E184unyuiS_2uIIPCUGEx1-UM9kCFfQU5r52Wl_E/s320/DW_RWDV_Cover_colors_LowRes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323013187711151810" border="0" /></a><br />Congrats, Rich!Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-4667355797223298332009-04-10T06:21:00.009-04:002009-04-10T06:44:00.316-04:00Youngest Doctor, Meet the Oldest CompanionRussell T. Davies has now confirmed (on BBC Breakfast) that Wilfred Mott, Donna's grandfather played by the always excellent Bernard Cribbins, will be returning as the Doctor's companion for David Tennant's last two episodes.<br /><br />This is fantastic news! I loved Wilf in Season 4, especially in his heart-breaking last scene with the Doctor after Donna's memory had been erased. I have been saying for a while now that the producers ought to change up the Doctor/companion dynamic beyond the older Doctor/wide-eyed lady combination they've had going for the past few seasons - although, to be fair, Donna was a bit of a departure from that as well. I could really see Doctor #10 and Wilf working well as a team.<br /><br />And just imagine if Wilf sticks around post-regeneration. How interesting would it be to have the youngest Doctor ever paired up with the oldest companion ever? That combination could really shake up the expected dynamic, perhaps putting the Doctor in a position where he actually asks for his companion's advice and wisdom on occasion. In short:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQn2IEAHdEaIVsqZrWyaq-inF_o7s53nsB8r1qq2LeS1A7XBoCuRMZEArbu0AkjUByvjKEYPmXcXumeCfTb-5WuN0pm1gkyxeeoyN6MZbQxfn860mlU7hmBRCRuD7rIga2kPGh2097BEM/s1600-h/WilfAndDoctor%2311.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQn2IEAHdEaIVsqZrWyaq-inF_o7s53nsB8r1qq2LeS1A7XBoCuRMZEArbu0AkjUByvjKEYPmXcXumeCfTb-5WuN0pm1gkyxeeoyN6MZbQxfn860mlU7hmBRCRuD7rIga2kPGh2097BEM/s400/WilfAndDoctor%2311.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323010749116560242" border="0" /></a>In a completely non-sexual way, of course. Although, this is Russell T. Davies.....Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-21159147018688856542009-04-10T05:50:00.003-04:002011-05-09T21:39:18.642-04:00Review of the 2008 Christmas Special: "The Next Doctor"Given that the Easter Special (I guess that's what we're calling it) is set to air this weekend, I decided I better hurry up and type up my thoughts on this past Christmas's episode. I just couldn't bring myself to write about it at the time because it was so middle-of-the-road. Hopefully this weekend's special will be a tad more inspiring!<br /><br />So, the 2008 Christmas Special, then. They called it "The Next Doctor," which set expectations fairly high. No, I didn't expect that David Morrisey was really going to be the next Doctor, but when you tease us with that idea from the outset, you better have a darn satisfying reason why he doesn't turn out to be Doctor #11 in the end. Sadly, satisficaction was something entirely lacking in the episode.<br /><br />No, I didn't hate it. It started out well enough, with the Doctor arriving alone at a typical turn-of-the-century English Christmas scene for a little cheering up and immediately becoming embroiled in trouble with an act-alike adventurer and his companion. I actually really liked David Morrisey at the start of this episode. His over-the-top heroism and obvious affection for his role was ennervating. The scene where the Doctor and the faux Doctor are pulled through an abandoned warehouse on a rope and are saved from certain death at the last instant - only to then collapse into each other's arms in a laughing fit - was great. And the very idea that our current Doctor could suddenly be the companion to a future Doctor was an intriguing role-reversal that really could have been fun if sustained for a while longer.<br /><br />Unfortunately, things went downhill. Fast. As soon as Russell T. Davies made it obvious that something wasn't right with faux Doctor (about 10 minutes into the episode, mind you), my interest began to wane. Soon, Jackson Lake (as we learn the faux Doctor is really called) became a blubbering, useless excuse for a companion. It was blatently obvious from the get-go that his wife had been killed and his child had been captured, but Davies decided to "save" the second revelation for a ridiculous scene near the end of the episode that comes complete with slow-motion sparks falling and bored children seemingly kidnapped from the set of Temple of Doom. By that point, Jackson Lake had become so ineffectual that all he could do was stand around crying and pointing while the Doctor made use of some improbably available rigging to rescue Jackson's sunken-eyed son.<br /><br />And don't even get me started on the villains. I'm not a huge fan of these new Cybermen at the best of times, but when you add some silly new shaggy monsters with cyberfaces (creatures who are never adequately explained or utilized) and a shouting woman in a red dress, I begin to mentally tune out. There was a lot of nonsense involved in the plot on this one as well. What was Miss Hartigan trying to do? Get revenge against men? Why could she control the Cyberking? Because she was some sort of feminist genius? Why were the children necessary at all? You can't tell me that 30 lethargic children marching in circles is really going to provide enough energy for the Cyberking to rise.<br /><br />Ah, well. I did like Jackson Lake's TARDIS (Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style) and I appreciated that the Doctor actually stayed for Christmas dinner for a change. Although Jackson's speech about how the Doctor had never been thanked made me want to wretch, so there was that....<br /><br />Disappointing outing all around, really.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-22903752382937774702009-01-03T22:01:00.008-05:002009-01-03T22:49:59.957-05:00Matt Smith is Doctor Who's Eleventh DoctorSorry there's been no review of this year's Christmas Special, "The Next Doctor," yet. I didn't really love or hate the episode, so it's hard to get worked up enough to write about.... I do plan to force myself to review it soon, though.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Of course, the lackluster Christmas Special is now old news given today's announcement. Earlier this evening, the BBC broadcast a special episode of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Doctor Who Confidential</span> revealing the name of the actor who will replace David Tennant as The Doctor. After months of speculation (with the odds being on Patterson Joseph, who would have been the first black Doctor), the big reveal for the Eleventh Doctor is kind of a head scratcher.<br /><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHgdmjpLM13uDss6sqQooSRm4e9HgJwT_gwuaZbgUmQ3uZrUqI84BLPIOg2kWETOPMvxwY9gwmCzBzBH9VVduMRJWfJ9f3OOu_9a4fLyoCHoUTA0eSBUxKtXAlA6IGcO0TsvXs_3NtCw/s1600-h/Doctor+11+Close+Up.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 356px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHgdmjpLM13uDss6sqQooSRm4e9HgJwT_gwuaZbgUmQ3uZrUqI84BLPIOg2kWETOPMvxwY9gwmCzBzBH9VVduMRJWfJ9f3OOu_9a4fLyoCHoUTA0eSBUxKtXAlA6IGcO0TsvXs_3NtCw/s320/Doctor+11+Close+Up.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287274461528981506" border="0" /></a></div> Matt Smith.<br /><br />Cue the crickets chirping.<br /><br /></div><div>So, who is Matt Smith? Here's what we know. 1.) He's 26, making him the youngest actor to ever tackle the role of The Doctor (Peter Davison, the Fifth Doctor, was 29). 2.) He has appeared in TV movie versions of Phillip Pullman's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Ruby in the Smoke</span> and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Shadow in the North</span> as well as an episode of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Secret Diary of a Call Girl</span>, all alongside Billie Piper (Rose from <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Doctor Who</span> Seasons 1, 2, and 4). Maybe she vouched for his Doctorness? 3.) He's done just a few other TV shows and some theatre work. 4.) He has an, um, interesting look to him.<br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6AU-I1lV5jzyk3Wz8i6PDt9oxhE5SSbqqxcCQkfKVoHzSnz99S4Rm57hcVXsSGQF3io21QRYXXDEn-C4oLr1VgD_Nk6zoIWzidGilc2sM_8EvUueU8WM5P6mugKynliAPxk6wIKHU_Y/s1600-h/Doctor+Eleven+and+TARDIS.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 203px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6AU-I1lV5jzyk3Wz8i6PDt9oxhE5SSbqqxcCQkfKVoHzSnz99S4Rm57hcVXsSGQF3io21QRYXXDEn-C4oLr1VgD_Nk6zoIWzidGilc2sM_8EvUueU8WM5P6mugKynliAPxk6wIKHU_Y/s320/Doctor+Eleven+and+TARDIS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287278263191022306" border="0" /></a> I must admit, when Matt first appeared in tonight's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Doctor Who Confidential</span> episode, I was a little taken aback. To be blunt (and a little rude), I thought he looked like an emo version of Frankenstein's monster. Or Eric Stoltz in <span style="font-style: italic;">Mask</span>. Still, I also thought David Tennant was quite a homely sort when I first saw him, so maybe I'll get used to Matt Smith's look. And besides, who cares what he looks like, right? The important question is -- can he act? Because I have seen none of his previous work, I really can't address his talent. I'm just going to assume that Steven Moffat knows what he's doing. I have no reason to doubt him, so I'm remaining cautiously optimistic. Perhaps the Eleventh Doctor will meet up with Professor River Song (from last season's "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" two-parter) and begin The Doctor's relationship with her. The older woman/younger man dynamic would be very interesting following The Tenth Doctor's perpetual cradle robbing.<br /><br /></div><div>I do hope the production team trims Matt's Flock of Seagulls haircut before they begin filming, though. Not everything from the 80s needs to make a comeback.<br /></div>Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-77747254225349318492008-10-30T23:33:00.004-04:002008-10-30T23:36:46.641-04:00Happy Halloween!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9t9vpnJwy4cgsTkh5v40FM_jSlEiD-CddD65ABCZ-k1qMO-XOn1XXr8dM0Dfwdsw7zn3TADnEp8-ISbveCGViLUlvbC9X6fHeMs-kiBT3H6ydQWX4ceWxt6Zh3qYwrO82xL_qKveTufk/s1600-h/FourthDoctor3.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 234px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9t9vpnJwy4cgsTkh5v40FM_jSlEiD-CddD65ABCZ-k1qMO-XOn1XXr8dM0Dfwdsw7zn3TADnEp8-ISbveCGViLUlvbC9X6fHeMs-kiBT3H6ydQWX4ceWxt6Zh3qYwrO82xL_qKveTufk/s320/FourthDoctor3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263156551335419410" /></a>As the picture to the left attests, I have now entered the next level of Geekdom. Yes, tomorrow I will be dressing up as The Fourth Doctor for Halloween. Mom and dad will be so proud! Thanks to my pal Heather for the suggestion.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-14256297673937170602008-10-29T18:28:00.003-04:002008-10-29T19:21:03.473-04:00The Eleventh Doctor<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-_sqZdG9LP-_sy_EmaDZPelTmaPvJm3jeaqsbwbSMuw-1lmld5FgWHMQDAW6YdYnLekKcWnG22fVvEuNmPX3H-MDm-8umPsMx4oR3OTSMZVpG9gulJzx0KlXC8_klXcf8ysG7ZExPE0/s1600-h/TheNextDoctor.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-_sqZdG9LP-_sy_EmaDZPelTmaPvJm3jeaqsbwbSMuw-1lmld5FgWHMQDAW6YdYnLekKcWnG22fVvEuNmPX3H-MDm-8umPsMx4oR3OTSMZVpG9gulJzx0KlXC8_klXcf8ysG7ZExPE0/s320/TheNextDoctor.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262719730537396402" /></a>So, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7698200.stm">it's official</a>. David Tennant will be leaving Doctor Who after this next "season" of specials. As much as I've enjoyed him as The Doctor, I think its probably about time for a change, honestly. Let the speculation on who will play The Eleventh Doctor begin! Personally, I think David Morrissey (who will play "the next doctor" in this year's Christmas special) certainly looks the part (see the picture to the right for evidence), but I doubt the producers will go that route. Still, introducing a new Doctor before the old one has left the show IS a cool idea....Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6395114262163284513.post-37041834337136222332008-08-29T14:28:00.007-04:002008-08-29T14:42:17.641-04:00Doctor Who: The Forgotten, Issue 1 ReviewSix months or so ago, the good folks at <a href="http://www.idwpublishing.com/">IDW Publishing</a> launched an all-new, ongoing, monthly <em>Doctor Who</em> comic book featuring the first-ever stories created exclusively for the US market. As a <em>Doctor Who</em> fanatic, I’ve been dutifully reading the comics as they appeared, although I have yet to take the time to write any reviews of the individual issues. The reason for my lack of commentary on the comic thus far is two-fold: 1.) I wanted to complete the first 6-issue storyline before discussing the comic, and 2.) I just haven’t been that thrilled with the series. I finally finished the sixth issue last night and, well, I’m still not going to write about the ongoing series. Instead, I’m going to write about the first issue of a new six-issue <em>Doctor Who</em> miniseries also from <a href="http://www.idwpublishing.com/">IDW Publishing</a> called <em><a href="http://store.idwpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=1348">Doctor Who: The Forgotten</a></em> (written by <a href="http://www.tonylee.co.uk/">Tony Lee</a> with art by <a href="http://www.hellkitty.com/">Pia Guerra</a>).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyBIffG7qfhNPDXYRIW7H7yt7Bma2PqIp12C7x-hp8es_nv3pBLifWyVP2beRctqVgBJn2bHc6In-nujB0t0IP7H4ps2itt1QfhxZ38UZBjWRqQ9yTWhOlkC44yOmXdnLGItNhyphenhyphenJ5Kmc/s1600-h/DoctorWhoForgottenIssue1Cover.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240009424877073522" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyBIffG7qfhNPDXYRIW7H7yt7Bma2PqIp12C7x-hp8es_nv3pBLifWyVP2beRctqVgBJn2bHc6In-nujB0t0IP7H4ps2itt1QfhxZ38UZBjWRqQ9yTWhOlkC44yOmXdnLGItNhyphenhyphenJ5Kmc/s320/DoctorWhoForgottenIssue1Cover.jpg" border="0" /></a>Now this is more like it!<br /><br />Going in, I was a little wary of <em>Doctor Who: The Forgotten</em>’s premise. If you’re unaware of the basic idea of the mini-series, please allow me to explain. Basically, The Doctor and Martha are somehow stranded, TARDIS-less, in a mysterious museum that is dedicated to The Doctor’s nine previous incarnations. On top of this, The Doctor suddenly begins losing his memories, prompting Martha to try to jumpstart his brain by showing him items from the museum that relate to his earlier incarnations. Each of these items spurs The Doctor to remember one untold adventure of each of his previous forms. Intriguing premise for old-school <em>Doctor Who</em> fans, yes – but it could also be a recipe for disaster. First off, this set-up includes quite a few unexplained plot contrivances. How did The Doctor end up without his TARDIS? Why is there a museum dedicated to him? What force could erase his memories one by one? And who is the mysterious, so-far-unseen puppet master who is keeping an eye on The Doctor and Martha on a bank of monitors, turning dials, and talking to himself? These are questions that need to be (and hopefully will be) answered by the end of the series, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Tony Lee has a coherent plan. Secondly, even ignoring the set-up contrivances, I was afraid that the story’s flashback-of-the-month device could get old. If the flashbacks are just inconsequential, unrelated vignettes, then the forward momentum of the overarching plot could get lost in a wave of nostalgia.<br /><br />I am happy to report that, for now, my reservations have been allayed!<br /><br />Perhaps the best compliment I can give to Tony Lee’s writing is that The Doctor actually sounded like The Doctor. I could almost hear David Tennant saying the lines in my head. As for the story, none of the mysteries that I mentioned above were answered, but I will give Mr. Lee the benefit of the doubt for now. After all, it’s only the first issue! The “current” portion of the comic did a good job of setting the stage while the flashback adventure with Susan, Barbara, and Ian in ancient Egypt was cute and enjoyable. I really enjoyed the infusion of a more modern sense of humor to The First Doctor and to Ian and Barbara. Seeing these characters enlivened with slightly updated sensibilities made me wish that we could get a <em>Classic Doctor Who</em> TV series (running concurrently with The Tenth Doctor series) where we could go back and revisit the previous Doctor’s adventures with updated writing, acting, editing, and special effects. How fun would it be to see a new actor playing the curmudgeonly First Doctor traveling with new actors as his 1960s-era companions? It would be great to see Susan, Ian, and Barbara visit the Incas or the Daleks with today’s special effects – or visit the present and be totally amazed by cell phones and the Internet. But back to the comic at hand! I got the feeling that the flashback story would somehow tie in with the overarching plot, which helped it to feel more substantial than its relatively few pages would normally warrant. Next issue will have two flashbacks (to The Second Doctor and the Third Doctor, naturally), so we’ll see if they can both maintain relevance on their own while forwarding the main plot. I also quite enjoyed the scene where Martha expressed surprise at the idea that The Doctor basically abandoned Susan on a war-torn future Earth and that he was unsure what ever became of Ian and Barbara. This interaction harkened back to Rose’s discussion with Sarah Jane in the Series Two episode “School Reunion.”<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWgRjYRKzL3UTEmwHoDsObr9eJQukaR_GuFKpc3hakv4I2mOGBxzsPdmxnM1hgtH2bZpaGMXiebC795HaQfIOZx7YlQT9Xu_nHfhPLYspySoPor-zdG01h85R_9oREkFBOh5yQF4pYkx8/s1600-h/DoctorWhoForgottenIssue1Page1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240010227560273330" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWgRjYRKzL3UTEmwHoDsObr9eJQukaR_GuFKpc3hakv4I2mOGBxzsPdmxnM1hgtH2bZpaGMXiebC795HaQfIOZx7YlQT9Xu_nHfhPLYspySoPor-zdG01h85R_9oREkFBOh5yQF4pYkx8/s320/DoctorWhoForgottenIssue1Page1.jpg" border="0" /></a>One thing I was absolutely not wary about coming into this series was the art of Pia Guerra. As a fan of <em>Y: The Last Man</em>, I was already familiar with her spectacular pencils. Check out the first page to the right for an example! Pretty great drawing of The Tenth Doctor, eh? She really captures the subtle tics of each of the characters. Susan, for example, has that same sort-of-scared, sort-of-bewildered expression that she always seemed to have when traveling to a new place with her beloved grandfather. I do wish that the flashback adventure had been in color instead of black and white, but I understand why the creative team made that choice. Still, it seems kind of odd given that The Doctor would have lived all of his adventures in color (even if we didn’t see them that way on our TV screens).<br /><br />Overall, the first issue of <em>Doctor Who: The Forgotten</em> was a great deal of fun and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the mini-series. Given what a difficult time I had finding the issue (it was sold out at all four of the comic book stores I checked last week), I can only speculate that the combination of great art from the popular Pia Guerra with the nostalgia factor of seeing The Doctor’s previous incarnations in comic form has driven up demand. Hopefully the mini-series will do really well for IDW Publishing so we can get more Doctor Who comic books of this caliber in the future.Corey Michael Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328367289538333678noreply@blogger.com0