Doctor Who Marathon Night 4

"Bad Wolf / The Parting of Ways"

Location: Satellite 5 ------ Time: 200,100 ------- Enemy: Dalek Emperor

Here we are. After only four weeks we are done with Season 1 of Doctor Who. It wasn't perfect but hopefully enough to keep you interested in watching the rest of the series (Trust me, it gets better). Let's get down to it.

Moffat Vs. Davies

Last week we watched Doctor Who in its finest, written by the man who was born to write Doctor Who: Steven Moffat. This week we get two episodes written by the man who brought Doctor Who back to BBC, Russell T. Davies. In some ways these writers are not so different, but it is in their small contrasts that make all the difference in the world.

The mistakes Davies makes in these episodes are stark. First of all he brings the Doctor into a world that is so unbelievable. First of all he is trying to convince us that 190 thousand years in the future humans will still watch Big Brother and Weakest Link on television. This future perfectly mimics the fads of London television in 2005 in a way that even six years later this episode seems dated to us. Only someone obsessed with BBC television in 2005 would get most of these jokes. That excludes most Americans and most people living in 2011. Lesson- Fads should not dictate Science Fiction.

Look at Captain Jack Harkness as further proof for my case. In Moffat's two-parter Jack is Han Solo. He's sly and a bit cheeky. He is one step ahead of Rose and the Doctor. In Davies episodes Jack is a cocky Ken-doll who is simply there for sex appeal and to crack jokes at inappropriate times. "Try saying that when you're drunk"" He's like a frat boy. And how can the man take down three armed guards by kicking them in the face one after the other?

The final thing that really bugs me is that when Moffat brings so many nuances into an episode he is able to tie up everything in the end. Davies? Nothing makes sense! Why have the Daleks created a world where humans watch TV all day? Why not just wipe them out and then take Earth? Bad Wolf? All that set up for what? Why did Rose need to leave herself clues?

The Good?

There were a few moments that shined- Mostly Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor. The moments near the finale of the first part really resonate "No weapons... No defenses... No plan" Also when he reprimands the TV gal who was just doing her job, "With that sentence you've just lost the right to even talk to me" - also "The Daleks call me the Oncoming Storm" (I think that phrase is repeated next season as well)

I do appreciate the choice that The Doctor had to make in this episode. Could he sacrifice the lives of the human race like he sacrificed his own people? No, I guess not -"Coward any day"

Ushering in a New Era

The good side to a bad finale is the promise of a fresh start. Just the last few seconds of David Tennant of saying "Barcelona" is enough to excite the viewer. I can't say that I am sad to see Eccleston go. I might have been the first time I watched this episode, but few will deny watching the 10th Doctor is a lot more fun than watching the 9th.

Things to Watch For

I think this is the first episode to reference "Torchwood"

"The Face of Boe" also keeps popping up.

Captain Jack is revived by Rose. This may have more implications than you think.

R.I.P.

Lynda with a Y. Could she have been a new companion if she hadn't have bit the Dalek-laser?

Brock's Final Rating: 4 out of 10

This may have been the worse 2-part episode in the last seven years of Doctor Who.

The second hour is a little better than the first.

Next Week:

Children in Need (7 minute episode)

The Christmas Invasion &

New Earth

Doctor Who Marathon Night 3

"The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances"

Location: London ---- Time: 1941 ---- Enemy: An Empty Child

Steven Moffat, ladies and gentlemen, the man born to write Doctor Who. This two parter gives Steven his first shot ever at his dream job and he is Fantastic! Moffat gives us a real adventure story. War time london, bombs flying everywhere, a strange boy, a strange girl, a crashed ship, and a 51st century man called Jack.

Moffat knows how to scare an audience. Moffat knows how to be funny without being cheesy. Moffat knows how to write characters the audience can feel for. Moffat knows Doctor Who and has a vision of what they show can be (what the show should be).

The Good

It's almost as if Moffat is a Manatee writer (South Park reference). He has a million things he wants to work into it and then he tries to find ways to blend them together (and succeeds). At the end of this episode you are left with a satisfying conclusion.

Some of these scenes are not only memorable, but beautiful): Rose hanging from a barrage balloon with planes flying at her, Jack and Rose dancing to Moonlight Serenade on top of a spaceship tethered to Big Ben, Jack, Rose, and the Doctor surrounded by gas-mask zombies in a creepy, abandoned hospital. Pure brilliance!

Jack's character is brilliant here. He is Doctor Who's Han Solo (the Han that shoots Greedo first) and I long for the day he can be written for Moffat again (fingers crossed). In the future appearances of Jack (under the pen of Russell T. Davis) he is still Han Solo, but the Han Solo where Greedo shoots first (not quite as cool).

The Bad

There are few things wrong with these episodes, though the first one is the stronger one. The second episode is a little slow and featured Jack Harkness riding a bomb (pointless and silly).

Sex and The Doctor

This episode highlights a big character change for our Doctor and we owe this to Moffat. In the sixties, seventies and eighties (during the shows first run) the Doctor took in many companions but never, well... danced. In this episode Moffat changes the course of the show. He introduces the Doctor's jealous side; the Doctor's sexy side. The Doctor is falling for his companion.

Cool Quote

"1941. Right now, not very far from here the German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like Dominoes. Nothing can stop it, nothing until one tiny, damp little island says "no". No, not here. A mouse in front of a lion. You're amazing. The lot of you. Don't know what you do to Hitler, but you frighten the hell out of me. Off you go, then. Do what you got to do. Save the world. "

Bad Wolf

Couldn't find it. Look closer and learn German. "Schlechter Wolf" is penciled on the bomb that Jack sits on

Things to Watch For

-Bananas are good is also featured in the next Moffat episode in Season 2.

-Volcano Day is mentioned again in Season 4 when the Doctor travels to Pompeii

-Also in Season 4 "Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead" are companion episodes to these ones.

-Want to know more about Jack and why he's lost some of his memories. His spinoff show is called "Torchwood"

R.I.P = Nobody "Just this once, everybody lives"

Brock's Rating - 10 out of 10.

Next week we finish off Season 1 with "Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways" so you can skip the Slitheen episode.

Doctor Who Night 2

"Dalek"

Location: Utah . Time: 2012 . Enemy: Dalek

Few seasons of Doctor Who have passed without the Doctor fighting this master race. The Doctor first encountered the Daleks in 1963 and has scarcely stopped fighting them since. Sometimes the Daleks are scary and sometimes they are just silly. But I would argue that this one was pretty intimidating- A cold killing machine if there ever was one. This Dalek gives validity to the race in general, which isn't easy as they are giant pepper pots with plungers.

The Good

The relationship between The Doctor & Rose, The Doctor & the Dalek, and the Dalek & Rose were the strong points in this episode. First of all Eccelston's terror / glee / madness when he first encountered the Dalek told us everything we need to know about the time war.

"I watched it happen. I made it happen!"

The Doctor's anger was a powerful central plot to this episode. Both Rose and the Dalek call him on his ruthlessness.

"What the hell are you changing into" ~Rose "You would make a good Dalek" ~Dalek

You never see Tennant's Doctor or Smith's Doctor this ruthless.

The Bad

Von Staten. Obviously this is the most annoying character of this episode. He's suppose to be powerful, but he's just whiney and annoying. I honestly wonder if this character could have worked under a different actor like, say, Michael Emmerson, for instance.

The other thing I didn't like was Eccelston's sacrifice of Rose. Tennant and Smith would never, in a million years sacrifice a companion that easily.

Kyle's Britishisms: "Blimey" "God-smacked" "Nutters"

R.I.P: Heroic Butch Lady- Next time... run!

The Geeky: The Cyberman helmet is from 1975, the Fourth Doctor's Era

Bad Wolf sighting: Helicopter Pad is called "Bad Wolf One"

Brock's rating = 8 - Would have been 9 without Van Statten

"Father's Day"

Location: London . Time: 1987 . Enemy: Reapers

The Good

This isn't just another "Monster of the Week" episode (We've been skipping most of those). This is Rose really dealing with something big in her life, something we don't get enough of in Doctor Who. Rose breaks the rules in this episode, but The Doctor is really the one to blame. He sets her up: not once but twice. It's like her wanted her to save Peter. Maybe he feels bad because he can't go back and save his people.

It's also rare (but not unheard of) for Doctor Who to deal with paradoxes. This is a classic "trying to go back in time and change things" time travel episode and we don't get many of those. Usually things are time-locked and The Doctor can't do much.

I think the best piece of this episode is how Pete is so flawed. He knows it he is but to Rose he is perfect, none-the-less. She has never met him, but truly believes that he would have been the best father in the world.

The Bad

There is nothing specifically bad about this episode other than it's a little slow. There's nothing too exciting about being locked in a church in the 1980's.

Cool Quote: "I've traveled to all sorts of places. Done things you couldn't even imagine, but... you two... street corner. Two in the morning. Getting a taxi home. I've never had a life like that." ~The Doctor

The Geeky: This episode employs the Monster POV technique that made Who so famed in the 60's - 80's. Also "Watson... Come here... I need you" Not sure how the first phone call fits in with this episode, but still kinda neat.

Bad Wolf Reference: Energize poster near beginning of episode

RIP: Pete Tyler. He's dead... He is! Well...

Brock's Rating = 8

Next week:

Join us for Steven Moffat penned / Hugo Award winning episodes "The Empty Child" & "The Doctor Dances"

It's going to be Fantastic!

Doctor Who Marathon Night 1

And so it begins. Have you ever gone back and looked at old photos of yourself and thought, "I was really a different person back then." When I first started watching Doctor Who I was living with Corey Scharrer and a girl named Heidi in a small apartment. I never dreamed that a few years later I would be married and living in China. But I'm not the only one who has changed: Looking back on Doctor Who, it is truly a different show.

Let's get down to it, shall we?

"Rose"

Location: London Time: 2005 Enemy: The Autons

The Bad

Walking mannequins, burping trash cans, and a plastic Mickey. Writer, Russell T. Davies really shows his cornball side in this first season. But corniness isn't the thing that hurts this episode the most, somehow there is a lack of excitement. I can't put my finger on it, but i'm just not "feeling it". Thank God the series gets better or it would never have survived.

The CGI was also... not good.

The Good

Christopher Eccelston (The Doctor) has some great moments in this episode including this line:

"I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet spinning at a thousand miles an hour. And the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at 67,000 thousand miles an hour and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me. Clinging to the skin of this tiny little world"

It's moments like this that save Russell T. Davies episodes of WHO. The Doctor is enigmatic enough to keep the audience watching just one more episode, one more season. And believe me, it is worth your time.

The Geeky: The Doctor first fought the Autons in the 1970s during the Third Doctor's first episode

Nods to the future:

"The Shadow Proclamation"

Cool Quotes:

"The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He brings a storm in his wake and he has one constant companion: death"

British-isms:

Half the time I still can't understand what characters are saying:

"Mucking about" "Beans on Toast" "Eat Chips" "Go watch the telly"

R.I.P. Clive: Conspiracy Theorist till the end

Brock's rating = 7 (Rose tries hard but misses the mark)

"The End of the World"

Location: Platform One Time: 5,000,000,000 Enemy: Cassandra

Now this is more like it! Yes its cheesy but the overload of sci-fi masks this a little

The Good:

"The End of the World" has more palpable excitement in the first minute than "Rose" did in it's entire episode. It was like the Cantina bar scene in "Star Wars" meets "Armageddon".

"This is who I am! Right here, right now! Alright? All that counts is here and now and this is me!"

I think that The Doctor is best when he gets angry. That doesn't go for every actor who has played the timelord but at least every actor that has played him in the last ten years.

The Bad:

"Sun Filter Falling, Sun Filter Rising. Destruction of Earth: 10 Seconds"

It seems that to this day Doctor Who is still full of annoying computers that repeat things and don't shut up. I wonder if this is related to the London Underground "Mind the Gap"

Nods to the Future:

The Face of Boe becomes important. Very important some would say.

Bad Wolf reference. Did you hear it? The little blue guy said it.

Cool Quotes:

"It's better to die than live like you; a bitchy trampoline."

R.I.P. Tree: An interesting character but, ultimately, made of wood

Brock's Rating = 8 (Gives us just enough interest to keep us watching)

Next Time

We will be skipping episodes 3 - 5. If you would like to watch farting aliens go ahead and watch these. Otherwise join us next Sunday with episode 6 and episode 8:

Dalek & Fathers Day

Who is The Doctor

Who is The Doctor?

Every British citizen knows Doctor Who. Even if they don’t watch Doctor Who, they know it. It’s like how every American knows the Simpsons. Yes, it is that big. Most British people under the age of seventy grew up watching Doctor Who when they were children.

We’re talking about 60 million people on the Island of Great Brittan (not to mention the Kiwis or the Aussies). My father-in-law built a Tardis in his back yard. So why don’t Americans know Doctor Who? The change starts now.

Today, Doctor Who is a big-budget British television show with worldwide acclaim. Some of you may have seen the advertisements on SyFy or BBC America. Maybe you recognize the face of David Tennant or Matt Smith looking all geeky. Doctor Who is more popular now than it ever was, but the show has a long history. Let’s travel back through time a little, (if you will.)

1963: Sydney Newman, the head of BBC drama, imagines this character: A crotchety old man piloting a stolen time machine, on the run from his own far-off future world. William Hartnell, who was in his late-fifties when he took the role, first played The Doctor. And yes, he was a grouchy old man. But after only three years of playing the part, Hartnell’s health was failing him. The Doctor needed a makeover.

You see, the Doctor is a Time Lord (an ancient alien race) and Time Lords have a remarkable ability to cheat death. Now don't get me wrong, Time Lords can die. They can be shot in the head or blown up or eaten by a space beast, just like us humans. But there are some things they can survive better than us humans, when Time Lords are seriously injured and they have just a moment to prepare themselves their bodies can heal. The only problem is that every cell must change. The Doctor must change into an entirely new person: New face, new personality, same memories, but new quirks.

The second man to play the doctor was Patrick Troughton. Since the actor was in his forties, the second Doctor was less grumpy and more of an adventurer. He was witty and silly and almost entirely different from the first Doctor. And here lies the greatest formula for the success of Doctor Who- the show can change. The man can change.

These are big concepts for television at that time. Americans were busy watching Andy Griffith and Mr. Ed and the closest thing they had to Sci-Fi on their tubes was The Jetsons. How could a show with such a big concept work with a small TV budget? Answer: Tardis.

Time And Relative Dimensions in Space (TARDIS). The Tardis is The Doctor’s time machine. On the outside it looks like a little blue phone booth (or a police box to lock criminals into), but on the inside it’s, well, bigger- huge even. There are endless corridors, a library, a swimming pool -oh, it's big. But 99% of the time all the audience sees is the Console Room. Ah, yes. The room with all the moving parts and controls that makes The Doctor jump from one place and time to another.

Let’s travel to 100,000 BC or meet Marco Polo or the see the Aztecs. Let’s go to a planet of mutants or to the Sea of Death or maybe climb aboard an Alien spaceship. Let’s see the French Revolution- All this in just the first season of the 1963 show.

One man and his little blue box- for twenty-six seasons, seven actors took their turn playing The Doctor. The show grew and evolved: sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. By 1989 the show had lost many viewers. It’s low-budget sci-fi cheesiness of the last-eighties finally wore too thin and BBC cancelled the show.

Doctor Who was as good as dead. Throughout the nineties, the adventures of The Doctor would be restricted to comic books and audio adventures- with the exception of one made-for-TV film produced by Fox for American audiences (see previous post). It seemed like all hope was lost that Doctor Who fans would ever see the show revived. But remember that a time lord can always regenerate. Let’s take another time jump.

2005: March 26th. Millions of fans eagerly await the transmission of the first Doctor Who episode in 15 years. This isn’t a brand new television show, but a continuation of a forty-year-old series. The new Doctor is played by Chris Eccleston- a man in his forties. He is the Ninth incarnation of the Doctor. The opening credits are rolling and he is about to be Brilliant!

This is where our journey begins. Two weeks from today we will watch "Rose", the first Doctor Who episode of the 21st Century. We will then watch the second episode entitled "The End of the World". Download the first season of the 2005 series and watch along with us!

Upcoming Marathon

Here it is folks. We are ready for our Doctor Who Marathon. It is going to be many months of Timey-Wimy-Awesomeness. Chances are you fall into one of these categories...

1) You've seen the entire new series (maybe even the old series) of the show and you want to rewatch it. Remember what the show was like before Moffat took over.

2) You've never seen the series. Your American, you have no idea what it's all about. You think you might want to know.

Here's some background. Doctor Who was a low-budget Sci-Fi British television show in the 60's, 70's and 80's until it was cancelled. The Doctor is a time traveler who gets a new body every time he dies and therefore an new actor plays him every few years.

The series came back on in 2005 and has a nice budget now. It's also freaking-awesome!

Now here are the ground-rules. We will not watch every episode. This is going to be "Doctor Who Abridged" meaning we will leave out some of the lamer episodes or some that don't fit in with the overall story arc. We will watch two episodes a night every Sunday night. Here is the schedule for the next few weeks

The Ninth Doctor

Week One – October 16^th 2011

1. Rose

2. The End of the World

Week Two – October 23rd 2011

3. Dalek

4. Father’s Day

Week Three – October 30th 2011

5. The Empty Child (1)

6. The Doctor Dances (2)

Week Four – November 6^th 2011

7. Bad Wolf (1)

8. The Parting of Ways (2)

As you can see we are only watching about half of the first season. I left some of the cornball episodes out (Yes, the Siltheens) to spare new viewers. We will be getting back to these episodes at a later time, but for now let's have fun with the better of the season's episodes.

So that's it. Everyone who wants to can follow the basic schedule and we watch Doctor Who. Some of us are in China, some of us are in the U.S. and some are somewhere else, but what better way to enjoy a Time Travel show than across Space and Time

See you in October!

~Brock

The Eighth Doctor

Have you ever watched something that was so bad that it physically hurt you to watch it? The Star Wars prequels are a good example of this. Doctor Who: The Made for TV Movie that Fox produced in the nineties is another.

I don’t remember it being this bad. Maybe my threshold for pain was greater while I was still in college, but everything about the film is so damn bad.

Let’s start with the writing. Matthew Jacobs certainly has no claim to fame other than this and the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Part of the reason this doesn’t work is a British man is trying to write American characters interacting with a British man, and then making jokes about the fact he is British. It feels quite campy.

Let’s face it. The writing sucks. It doesn’t make a lick of sense and it alienates both new viewers and longtime fans. The creators of this thing are British. They should know that The Doctor can’t read people’s futures just by looking at them. Why would they make The Doctor half human? Why is the Eye of Harmony inside of Tardis and why can’t The Doctor look at it? It doesn’t make sense.

Onto characters: The character, Chang Lee, is ridiculous. His motives are ridiculous (He wants a paper bag from some dead guy? Really?) and he is gullible to a degree of utter stupidity. At the end of the film he runs off with two bags of gold. Come on!

The Master, who I don’t like at the best of times, is also easy to hate in this film. Since when do time lords have green eyes and can turn into Snake-Goo-Monsters? It surprises me that this film came out only a decade after Eric Roberts was nominated for an Oscar. Of course Roberts is in everything. This is one of his thirteen films in the year 1996.

Now let’s get to the good guys. Grace Holloway is not my least favorite companion in the history of this television show, but she is close. The actress herself is charming enough, but from her opening scene to her closing scene, you just can’t find a way to like her. Sort of like the actress from Temple of Doom.

The movie hurts the brain for the first hour, but the headache really ramps up in the last twenty minutes. It’s unwatchable. It is so far over the top that you want to hunt down the people responsible for this mess. It makes Russel T. Davis look subtle! Seriously!

Enough with what is horrible. Let’s talk about what’s good about it. First of all, Paul McGann somehow turns his lines into something enjoyable. His Doctor is charming and youthful. There are parts that totally fit with Matt Smith. I want to see more of Paul in Doctor Who. The Eighth Doctor needs another shot! Say it with me folks “Time War”

The special effects are also pretty good. Not sure what the budget was for this catastrophe, but the CGI is awesome for a 90’s made-for-tv film. Think of what Moffet could do with this kind of budget.

There are little things that make this film ok. This is the first time we ever see The Doctor kiss a companion (paving the way for Rose). It's the first time we see the Tardis in the time vortex. It’s the first time we see The Doctor emit time-energy from his mouth while regenerating (also seen in Christmas Invasion). The moment where The Doctor tries to save The Master seemed to be an echo of things to come (what’s a reverse echo? A revecho?) I think that RTD took note of this film and saw some things that went right before re-launching the series (At the very least, looking at what went wrong).

The bottom line? Throughout its history, Doctor Who has never been perfect. Low budget monsters can make the show seem cheesy. But the majority of the cheesiness in the show came from low budget monster costumes, not from the writing or the acting. And at least there were monsters and planets and robots in the show. This film took a big budget and added it up to… mindless noise.

Of the three viewers of the film my wife, Cathy, liked this movie the least (She’s British, what can I say). My friend Kyle and I couldn’t help but laughing the whole way through. I would not recommend this film to someone who has never seen Who. If you are a big fan and have never seen it… tread carefully.

Until next time, fellow Whovians!