Doctor Who

every story* (even the Doctor-lite episodes) has the Doctor in it, which alone makes it worth watching. as well, even most of the "Time and the Rani" quality stories seem to had the effort to do or show something not seen or done on the series before, even if they fail. or at least to overwhelm you with spectacle. (some of the season finales retread previous season finales. they made up for that in other ways.)

• - except for "Mission to the Unknown"

I'm not sure. Although I usually strongly oppose the use of the term "Filler" to mean "an episode I don't like" or "a non-arc episode"(especially in a series without strong arcs anyway), I do think that some old-Who stories had Filler episodes, or at least episodes with a lot of stuff added in for time - six-parters that don't really have enough story to fill it out, for example. Occasionally Episode 3 in a four-parter can fall into this. That episode of Planet of the Spiders with the endless car-chase... though wasn't that supposedly more a case of Actor Appeal for Pertwee?

I present to you the worst version of the Doctor Who theme ever.

It's more weird and creepy than bad. The Doctor Who theme is out there as it is.

Does anybody have any ideas as to how the sonic screwdriver works?

It's sonic.

Well, first you have to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow...

It's psychic and does whatever the Doctor wants it to do.

The power of plot.

Spirals.

I always kind of assumed it created special vibrations of some kind. And presumably these vibrations are magic.

He's a Wizard after all.

Oh, well, I'm back, and I can pretty solidly say that Doctor Who is the new thing no one wants to hear me talk about.

But it is So Oo Oo O good...

Anyway, I've been working through an internet archive, and I just wanted to say that I just watched "The Doctors Daughter." And cried. Hard. It's kind of awesome like that.

Too bad David Tennant's leaving, isn't it? Sure, he plays the only Doctor I've ever seen, but... he's my favorite .

What do y'all think about the new guy? Matt something-or-other. I mean, there were probably tons of people gunning for the role, so he's got to be good, but I won't really believe it 'till I see him act. The interview left me unimpressed.

The new guy reminds me of Robert Pattinson and that makes me very sad.

I don't mind the fwoopy hair. Or even so much that he does look like Pattinson, a little, (and I promise, I *don't* like Robert Pattinson) but he just looks vaguely dead. Maybe it's the skin-tone, maybe it's his eyebrows, or maybe it's because I'm comparing him to David Tennant, but... well, he's going to be compared to David Tennant whether it's fair or not, and I just think Tennant is loads more expressive. It's part of what makes him so awesome. The new guy doesn't look like he's got the range of facial expression to pull it off. 'It' being... acting.

Well, I haven't seen him in motion, so I don't know about that. But from one article I read my understanding is that they cast such a young guy because they wanted someone who still had the same energy that Tennant had. I think they should've gone with an approach that contrasts more.

I dunno, maybe he'll turn out to be great (and I do have faith in the people running the show); it's probably too early to judge. And the new companion looks really cute, incidentally.

On a completely different subject I don't mind Robert Patterson. From what I heard he got into the twilight movie when he thought it was going to be an little indie movie, and then got freaked out by the twilightians and his character. My sisiters were watching the commentary of the film and I overheard this:

Bella: You won't hurt me.

Edward: You haven't ask the most basic question yet. What do we eat?

Robert (voiceover): Cheeseburgers...?

Edit: Oh and Dae? I am ALWAYS ready to talk about Who. Don't worry about that.

edited 22nd Sep '09 6:51:02 AM by wellinever

Well...I don't want to turn this into a discussion of Robert Pattinson, but either way I don't think it's a very good look for the Doctor.

Then again, I'm sure there were people who said "zomg the Doctor shouldn't be a guy with a crew cut in a leather jacket", and that worked out pretty well. Certainly a character amenable to reinterpretation...maybe I should keep an open mind.

edited 22nd Sep '09 9:51:35 PM by Haven

Agreed about the crew-cut skepticism, but I don't really mind having my expectations ridiculously low, because this way I'm nearly guaranteed to pleasantly surprised.

hey the next special is coming out this October, isn't it? Or is it November?

Let me start out by saying I *like* Who.

But people saying it's better than Trek or Stargate, especially Who at its worst compared to Atlantis at its best? What the fug?

Maybe it's a matter of different sci-fi for different audiences, but... I'm a person who can stretch my Plausible Deniability a long way, but never do I have to stretch it more than when I'm watching Who. Even the serious stuff on Torchwood takes a lot of handwaving.

I'm not going to argue that Trek or Stargate operate from a better point scientifically, but they at least started from a reasonable point in science and then pushed a little more and more over time. There are points when they go too far, but at least they know when that's happened. (Warp10 isn't even canon by the *creators* any more.) Who is unapologetic.

Even just talking about the writing, no, I still don't think Who is any kind of beat-all. It's got okay writing, but half the time it's hokey, or has a bit too much Mood Whiplash for me to get into any particular emotional state. I've only felt genuine fear once, and that's because it was a total unknown. For me, fear comes from a situation where the possibilities are truly overwhelming. It could be one monster or a hundred million enemy soldiers, but the Doctor is too Mary Sue to *ever* be threatened by anything, and that takes a lot of the possibilities out for me.

Next special is due around Halloween as I recall. So end of October/start of November.

@ Warlock... well, yeah. They're flying around in a telephone booth, it's more about charm than plausibility. And the blue flashlight of plot? Awesomeness, because while I would wonder if all the doors and windows the Doctor ever ran across were just open, with the screwdriver it's just kind of funny. I am not saying that Doctor Who is the best sci fi, but I personally (and I'm sure plenty of other people) just tune out when Star Treck spews warp factors. They might as well be making it up.

I was the one who made the Atlantis comment and I stand by it. Stargate atlantis may not be as cheesy but the characters in who are infantantly more likeable. I will allow the doctor his timey-wimey stuff just because he's a better character than the four main ones of atlantis combinded. I can't even remember their names they're so bland.

And of course YMMV.

Willinever was spot on about the characters (though I've never watched Stargate Atlantis, and, to be fair, you don't know the main character's name in Doctor Who either) but, regardless, the characters in Who are one of my favorite parts. Never mind the doctor (who, it goes without saying, is awesome), but those bystanders who are probably never going to show up again have what I consider to be a remarkable amount of, if not development... importance, I guess, without having them overshadow the rest of the plot.

Oh, and I finished my "The Angels have the phonebox" shirt today.