Charlie Brooker sums it up nicely:
...a new series of Doctor Who (Sat, 7pm, BBC1) starts this evening - a phrase that never fails to cheer me up, because it means I get to gurgle like a delighted child every Saturday for the next 13 weeks. I like the way it coincides with the start of British summertime, so the Doctor arrives just in time for the warm, sunny evenings. Hopefully when climate change kicks in, and the entire year is one long warm, sunny evening, the series will expand to 52 weeks accordingly. Might take our minds off all the polar bear skeletons that'll be cluttering the streets by then.
Anyway, preceding series of "New Who" have had a wobbly start with their premiere episodes. This one bucks the trend by including all the right ingredients - monsters, peril, eccentricity - in just the right quantities. And Martha, the new assistant, has confounded my expectations already. It's a big fat smile of a programme, and hooray for that. If you don't like it, you can piss off. My love affair continues.
4 comments:
Ah yes, always the time for joyous felicitations. Keeps you and the Drummer off the streets as well.
Speaking of whom...
I thought it was excellent fun. The drummer and ms drummer and ms drummer's boy all watched it together in silence, just like the old days...great experience. I'm going to reserve judgment on Martha for a bit but I did like the gags, the excitement, the Judoon (they reminded me of the Vogons) and the sense, which I think is going to be developed over this series, of the Doctor's loneliness and essential melancholy. "you have a brother?" "Not any more..." (or something).
Terrific stuff. And an overnight rating of 8.2m is pretty hot stuff too.
Going on first impressions, I think I prefer Martha to Rose. Perhaps because she's a bit older? A slightly maturer and more restrained companion might keep the wackiness factor down to tolerable levels.
As for the episode itself: wow. The scenes of the hospital being taken to the moon and the arrival of the Judoon were simply awesome. It looks like they've ramped up the SFX for the new series, though, crucially, it never overshadowed the story or characters.
The only thing that bugged me was the resolution to the plot: the people in the hospital and half of the Earth are going to have their brains fried, unless... someone unplugs the machine.
I can't wait until next week though.
Yes the plot was a bit crap but I agree on the SFX and more crucially the characterisation: I think RTD & hopefully others are getting into the Tennant Doctor and really developing him as a character in a way which has not been possible since St Peter of Davison.
BTW: in terms of screen time Tennant is now the longest serving Dr since Davison (56 25 min episodes as opposed to 44 for C Baker and 42 for McCoy). Rumour has it Tennant is doing the whole of Series 4 too but chickens and eggs and hatchings and all that (if only Mestor had thought like that).
Post a Comment