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davesangel...
I watched the last episode of the new Doctor Who series with Jack amdmadangie last night.
I have to say it was the perfect end to a perfect season. The ultimate showdown between good and evil. The final end to the Time War (rematch). Captain Jack gets to show what he's made of. Mickey and Roses's Mum get to come good. The Doctor gets to kick some shiny metal Dalek butt, and show when it comes down to it he can't bring himself to take down the human race, even to save the rest of the universe. And Rose saves the day, and makes the epiode and the series her own.
This series has really been about Rose at least as much, if not more so, than the Doctor. She has held the series together, and never been afraid to disagree with the Doctor. She may have felt out of place at times, but her heart was always in the right place. She is a complete departure from previous assistants, where we were often left wondering why the Doctor bothered hanging around with such tossers. At times the only reason for them to be there was to get into trouble and have to be rescued. At times they did save the day, but it was always the Doctor calling the shots. Rose is different. In many cases she's in the driving seat, with the Doctor tagging along behind. Other times she's out of her league, but she's never waiting around for the Doctor to rescue her. In the finale she trnscends the Doctor in many ways, rescuing the Doctor and putting things right when he's defeated.
I agree with some of the criticisms of the series, particularly that for the entire season they never get further than Earth orbit, but as a whole I think it a lot more right than wrong. There is mention of other worlds, but I think for at least one episode we should have got to see one. Having said that, the show is primarily about the Doctor's relationship with humans, so most of the episodes enevitably end up being about Earth. But for the next series he really needs to get as far away from Earth as possible for a while.
One of the earliest criticisms was the lack of a regeneration in the first episode. I think this was the right approach, as you'd have a lot of Time Lord history and detail to introduce to a whole generation of new viewers, and you wouldn't really add anything for old fans, since we have no emotional attachment to a doctor who only appeared in one fairly rubbish TV movie. Introducing the regeneration at the end of the season, when we've picked up enough snippits of Time Lord history to not be totally thrown by it makes much more sense. I did like the subtle reference in the first episode, when he looked in the mirror in Rose's house.
There was som criticism that not many of the old baddies got a look-in. I don't feel strongly either way on this one. I think there would be a danger that the show could just become a vehicle for rolling out one old villain after the next. The Daleks appear in three episodes, and of course there was a reference to the Cybermen. For me, this was enough. If you look back, most seasons only had one or two stories about an established enemy, with plenty of one-off enemies making appearances, and personally I hate shows where it's always the same villain behind everything.
I really liked the Bad Wolf theme, and I thought it was really clever that Rose was the Bad Wolf not the Doctor, or the Daleks or some other bad guy. Thinking about it, it should have been obvious, as the series was always as much about Rose as the Doctor. I'm surprised to say that I think Billie Piper did a first class job, and was an ideal match for Chriss Eccleston. and really became the focus of the series. It's an interesting departure for Dr Who, and one which has to be welcomed - some of the assistants in the past really left you wondering why they were there at all.
I think we have to treat it as the first series of a new show. The past is important, but it has to facilitate it moving forwards, not constrain it like a straightjacket. I think Russel Davies has struck a good balance between respecting the past and gently bringing new fans in.
And Jack, at age five, loves it, which has to be a good sign.
davesangel...I watched the last episode of the new Doctor Who series with Jack amd
madangie last night.I have to say it was the perfect end to a perfect season. The ultimate showdown between good and evil. The final end to the Time War (rematch). Captain Jack gets to show what he's made of. Mickey and Roses's Mum get to come good. The Doctor gets to kick some shiny metal Dalek butt, and show when it comes down to it he can't bring himself to take down the human race, even to save the rest of the universe. And Rose saves the day, and makes the epiode and the series her own.
This series has really been about Rose at least as much, if not more so, than the Doctor. She has held the series together, and never been afraid to disagree with the Doctor. She may have felt out of place at times, but her heart was always in the right place. She is a complete departure from previous assistants, where we were often left wondering why the Doctor bothered hanging around with such tossers. At times the only reason for them to be there was to get into trouble and have to be rescued. At times they did save the day, but it was always the Doctor calling the shots. Rose is different. In many cases she's in the driving seat, with the Doctor tagging along behind. Other times she's out of her league, but she's never waiting around for the Doctor to rescue her. In the finale she trnscends the Doctor in many ways, rescuing the Doctor and putting things right when he's defeated.
I agree with some of the criticisms of the series, particularly that for the entire season they never get further than Earth orbit, but as a whole I think it a lot more right than wrong. There is mention of other worlds, but I think for at least one episode we should have got to see one. Having said that, the show is primarily about the Doctor's relationship with humans, so most of the episodes enevitably end up being about Earth. But for the next series he really needs to get as far away from Earth as possible for a while.
One of the earliest criticisms was the lack of a regeneration in the first episode. I think this was the right approach, as you'd have a lot of Time Lord history and detail to introduce to a whole generation of new viewers, and you wouldn't really add anything for old fans, since we have no emotional attachment to a doctor who only appeared in one fairly rubbish TV movie. Introducing the regeneration at the end of the season, when we've picked up enough snippits of Time Lord history to not be totally thrown by it makes much more sense. I did like the subtle reference in the first episode, when he looked in the mirror in Rose's house.
There was som criticism that not many of the old baddies got a look-in. I don't feel strongly either way on this one. I think there would be a danger that the show could just become a vehicle for rolling out one old villain after the next. The Daleks appear in three episodes, and of course there was a reference to the Cybermen. For me, this was enough. If you look back, most seasons only had one or two stories about an established enemy, with plenty of one-off enemies making appearances, and personally I hate shows where it's always the same villain behind everything.
I really liked the Bad Wolf theme, and I thought it was really clever that Rose was the Bad Wolf not the Doctor, or the Daleks or some other bad guy. Thinking about it, it should have been obvious, as the series was always as much about Rose as the Doctor. I'm surprised to say that I think Billie Piper did a first class job, and was an ideal match for Chriss Eccleston. and really became the focus of the series. It's an interesting departure for Dr Who, and one which has to be welcomed - some of the assistants in the past really left you wondering why they were there at all.
I think we have to treat it as the first series of a new show. The past is important, but it has to facilitate it moving forwards, not constrain it like a straightjacket. I think Russel Davies has struck a good balance between respecting the past and gently bringing new fans in.
And Jack, at age five, loves it, which has to be a good sign.
