And back we go to the countdown. Hopefully, my little break to do a review of Series 11 didn't get in the way of your enjoyment of this end-of-the-year tradition. I'm even more hopeful that you found an 85% positive review of the season to be refreshing. Perhaps, even, liberating! I imagine there are other people out there who had no real problem with this latest season and, like me, are feeling just a bit stifled by the haters.
Anyhow, back to the countdown....
NUMBER THREE:
Once more, I find myself appreciating a specific episode because of the role it has played in the history of the show. Just like Rose, however, the importance of An Unearthly Child isn't the only factor that influences my fondness for it. It's also just a really well put-together episode.
An Unearthly Child has the same job to do as Rose. It has to build up a certain level of intrigue that will entice viewers into wanting to follow the series. It has to create a central premise that is solid enough to seem interesting. It has to lay a foundation that can sustain the show indefinitely. Both of these episodes accomplish this magnificently. An Unearthly Child is higher on this list than Rose because it ticks all these boxes at a fraction of the budget.
A policeman walking past the front gates of 76 Totter's Lane on a foggy night which then open to reveal a humming police box hits us with a stronger impact than a high-tech speed-lapse montage of a day in the life of Rose Tyler. That's no sleight against the opening scene of Rose - it's still a great sequence. But the beginning of Unearthly Child is true televisual art. It takes so little and uses it to its maximum effectiveness. That single scene drips with so much atmosphere that we can't wait to see what happens next. That's some damned good directing from Waris Hussein. We have to applaud the guy for taking the negligible resources he's been handed and making something truly magical.
That's how you can describe, pretty much, every scene in this episode. Ian and Barbara's discussion in the lab, meeting Susan for the first time, the wait outside Totter's Lane in the car with flashbacks that illustrate Susan's peculiarity, the first appearance of the Doctor and, finally, entering the TARDIS. Every single one of these sequences do an incredible job of drawing you in. You want to learn more about this set of characters and the strange ship that is transporting them away. It doesn't matter how grainy and scratchy the old black-and-white footage is, you watch this episode and you want to keep running with it. And that is the primary function of Unearthly Child. It performs that task to perfection.
"But Rob," some of you might be saying, "we only appreciate An Unearthly Child as well as we do from a retrospective perspective. We enjoy it because we know it is the first episode of a successful TV show that has lasted 55 years. It begins a cult show that many of us have a deep love for. So we can't help but find it so good."
That theory might almost hold water if you don't bother to go back to the accounts of people who were around when the episode first aired. Even the Great Colin Baker, himself (best Doctor ever!), recounts how he just happened to be walking past the television as it was running An Unearthly Child and had to stop and watch it. For the next 23 minutes, he stayed exactly where he was. You'll find any number of anecdotes from other people who were around when Doctor Who premiered all those years ago. It's just a very potent piece of television. Whether viewed retrospectively or in the moment.
Just for fun, I watched the unaired pilot that had been initially filmed and compared it to the episode that actually went out. The differences are subtle but do make a huge difference. Even the tiniest of "fixes" - like the boy in the hallway at Coal Hill hitting his cue and mocking the girls - improve things dramatically. There's some much better camera set-ups in the second version. Particularly in Ian's lab. That scene looks sooo much better when it was re-shot. Most importantly, the pacing works better in all the performances. Not only was Hartnell able to put in a bit more charm into his role (he laughs more jovially at the accusations of the schoolteachers in the second version rather than argue with them), but Ian and Barbara seem much more likeable, too. In the first version, they're just sort of nosey. In the re-taping, they seem much more caring. Both bring a lot more "twinkle" to their characters. I honestly have to say that if they had not been allowed to do the episode again, Doctor Who might not be around, right now.
Probably the best fix that's done between the two versions was removing certain aspects of dialogue. Particularly the "I was born in the 49th Century" line. Keeping the Doctor and Susan's origins as mysterious as possible was the best choice the production team could make. Specific details about where or when they came from would mar that effect. The story points concerning their past that make it into the second version were all that we needed.
I also love how often key locations from Unearthly Child get revisited later in the series. And not just during anniversary specials. Both the scrapyard at 76 Totter's Lane and Coal Hill appear in less significant stories. Coal Hill even shows up in a spin-off show. This is, perhaps, the best testament to the effectiveness of the episode. Future production teams pay tribute to it over and over.
Some interesting things were done with Unearthly Child during the 50th anniversary year. Yes, it features prominently in An Adventure In Time and Space but that's not all. Someone actually produced the episode as a live play. Which showed the story is strong enough to be translated into other forms of entertainment. I only saw a few brief scenes of it but it looked really cool.
But the most interesting experiment that year was done with a classroom of young children who were shown the episode. Children who had been accustomed to TV shows and movies whose plots moved at breakneck speeds and were visualized with state-of-the-art computerized effects. Kids who, normally, wouldn't be able to sit through something shot in black-and-white. According to everyone involved in the experiment, the entire classroom stayed as riveted to the screen as good 'ole Colin Baker had when he saw it the first time. This is what impresses me the most about An Unearthly Child. No matter how old it gets, it still holds an audience's imagination.
That's some damned good television.
And the countdown will continue shortly. We'll try to get one more entry in before 2018 ends. But I'm pretty sure we won't find out what Number One is until the new year.
Here are the other entries:
Number 6:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/11/book-of-lists-top-six-doctor-who.html
Number 5:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/12/book-of-lists-top-six-doctor-who.html
Number 4:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/12/book-of-lists-top-six-doctor-who_14.htm
Friday 28 December 2018
Saturday 22 December 2018
UNADULTERATED BOORISH OPINION - A FEMALE DOCTOR - PART 3
Well, the first season featuring the most controversial casting choice in the history of the show is done. We've got a New Year's Special just around the corner (personally, I think Chibnall deciding to eliminate Christmas Specials was a brilliant idea) and then it looks like we've got nothing for quite a while after that. Which could be a good idea. I think we all need some time for reflection and even some re-evaluation. I have to say: I'm a bit embarrassed for Fandom, right now. Some of us are not showing our best side.
A lot of harsh words have been said about Series 11. And the people who have disagreed with those words have also, quite frequently, been treated rudely. Like, if we enjoyed something that you didn't we needed to, somehow, be berated for it. It wasn't a good way to handle disagreement. It's made a lot of people with positive attitudes reluctant to express themselves'. Which is not cool. Nonetheless, I want to express how I felt about our first season with a female Doctor. We'll see how the Comments section looks after I post this. Hopefully, we can all be nice.
SERIES ELEVEN - MY OPINION ON IT (FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH):
I will just come out and say that I felt that Series Eleven was particularly strong. Even quite outstanding, in places. Was it the best season of New Who? No. Series One or Five probably still hold that award. Was it the worst? Not by any stretch of the imagination. That will probably always go to Series Two (although I'm only so fond of Series Four).
Series Eleven sits somewhere in the middle of it all. Which might be part of the problem with how it's been received. The show was going through some of its most radical changes ever. We were, perhaps, expecting something that was going to blow us away. It's what we got when Moff took over, after all. As I just mentioned in the last paragraph, I regard Series Five as one of the best seasons since the show re-started. Many fans would actually agree with me (a rare phenomenon, I know). So we had similar expectations for this latest era. When we got something that was still quite solid (in my opinion, at least) but not ridiculously amazing like Series Five was - it made it a bit harder to appreciate.
When we consider just how much Chibnall altered the show from what it was, however, we should still be seriously impressed. I have greatly enjoyed all that Moffat did when he was in charge - but the show definitely needed shaking up. I know many fans would have preferred to see a few familiar monsters to help them accept Whitaker better - but I totally love that the Head Writer vowed to stay away from such things. Doctor Who felt beautifully fresh because of that. It was a bold choice to make and I applaud him for it. It must have been tempting to want a Zygon or a Cybermen or something like that in there somewhere. But I appreciate that he resisted the tactic. It forced the whole direction of the show to change and, if I dare say so, improve.
I enjoyed that new direction and am more-than-happy to see it continue going that way. Yes, Chibnall will start drawing from the show's mythos again here and there (we know, already, the Daleks are coming for the New Year's Special). But if we keep getting episodes that are mostly trying to explore corners of the Universe the Doctor has yet to see, I do think this will give us a better show. Moff was allowed to give us the fanwank that he did as his era ended. But now we need to stay away from the past as much as possible.
This whole series felt a bit like watching Paradise Towers back in the 80s. Towers may have not been the best story ever (but it's still pretty damned good - I consider it an Unsung Classic https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/02/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-unsung.html ) - but I must admit: it was really nice to see a story that stood on its own two feet. For quite a few years before Paradise Towers, the show had been relying quite heavily on elements from its past. I was happy to see no surprise appearances by Daleks or the Master or sequels to unseen adventures on Karfel or with Commodore Travers. It was a completely new adventure for the first time in a while. The whole of Series Eleven generates that emotion for me. And I loved that a lot.
WHITAKER, HERSELF
As for Jodie's performance, she continues to play the role to perfection. I need a bit more time with her, but she just might replace my beloved Matt Smith for best New Series Doctor. As I said in my last entry on this subject (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/10/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-female.html), she hits the ground running. She is absolutely the Doctor right from the moment that she drops through the roof of the train. This continues throughout the season. She makes the stretch of seeing the Doctor in a different gender almost unnoticeable. I do feel she's absolutely fantastic in the role. As far as I'm concerned, she's welcome to beat Tom Baker's record.
I also adore how they're writing her. The Doctor's moral compass is fully intact in this incarnation. We haven't seen this since the Eighth Doctor, really, It's nice that it's back. Things got murky for a bit as we had scenes like the Ninth Doctor just allowing the Lady Cassandra to die. Or the Tenth offering no second chances to the Sycorax Leader. And who can forget what Eleven did to Solomon in Dinosaurs On A Spaceship? And, to the best of our knowledge, the Twelfth Doctor flat-out murdered a cyborg in Deep Breath. I don't dislike any of these sequences or others like them. They have made the Doctor an edgier hero. But it is nice to see the protagonist of my favorite show back to being the type of person that refuses to kill under any circumstances. Some of the best moments in the season have been when she draws that line in the sand. Hurting others - particularly the villain of the piece - is just not going to happen. She'll always do her best to preserve life whenever she can. I really like seeing that trait in the character, again.
There's a nice vulnerability to the Doctor now, too. I love that she actually gives up in Ghost Monument and thinks that they're all going to just die in the desert. Or that she becomes somewhat ineffective for a while in The Witchfinders when King James has her bound. Little moments like these haven't been seen since the Peter Davison days. A fallible Doctor makes the story a bit more realistic. It even raises the stakes a bit. She doesn't just rush in and take over every scene that she's in. There's much more give-and-take between her and other characters in the story. Particularly her companions. Which leads me, of course, to my next topic:
THE COMPANIONS
As much as certain sections of fandom might be bitching, right now - I think we all, pretty much, agree that this is the best TARDIS crew since the show re-launched. Quite possibly, the best set of companions ever. Chibnall crafted all three of these characters magnificently.
Ryan and Graham were given this beautiful arc of grieving the loss of a woman they loved dearly and trying to develop a proper bond together in the wake of her passing. We were pretty sure that fist-pump was going to happen before the end of the season but how they got to that point was a great journey. I especially liked that there were times when Ryan was ready to reach out and Graham would actually turn the offer down.
While Yaz didn't have such an interesting ongoing storyline, we got to meet her family and learn more about her background, in general. I liked that Chibnall crafted things that way. All three companions having big arcs to work on would've seemed too forced. This was a good balance.
I especially like how much they all work as a team. When a problem presents itself in an adventure, they are quick to break up into smaller groups and take on specific tasks. They know that travelling with the Doctor can be lots of fun. And they enjoy themselves' whenever they can. But they're also not afraid to right the wrongs around them when they arise. It's a great dynamic.
Of the three, I think I like Graham best. That makes me feel vaguely sexist and/or racist but his charm is difficult to resist. I loved how he started keeping sandwiches on him. And his final moral conflict that he faces in Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos was brilliant. A great way to round out the character as the season comes to a close. Again, all three of these companions are wonderful. But Graham wins my heart just a little bit more than the others.
ACTUAL OBJECTIONS
I've been saying a lot of really positive stuff about the season even though I'm claiming that, overall, it was a "middle of the line" series, this year. Surely there must have been some things I was displeased with?
I did find both The Witchfinders and Kerblam! to be a bit weak (I know a lot of fans will disagree with my feelings about Kerblam! Sorry, it might have had an "Old School Who" feel to it - but it seemed a bit weak on plot). The stories weren't terrible. There was no In the Forest of the Night this season. But these two tales only impressed me so much. Believe it or not, I tended to enjoy the stuff that Chibnall wrote better (another sentiment many will disagree with, I'm sure). He had a very clear idea of how he wanted this season to look and so, naturally enough, his stories were most in line with that vision. I really liked what he was doing with the show so it stands to reason that I will probably like his stories best.
Many are remarking on an over-reliance of the sonic screwdriver. Which I can't disagree with. She did seem to be waving it about far too often. Fandom seems to insinuate that this is a problem that has only been happening in this season. Which I'm a bit baffled by. It's been a problem throughout most of New Who. But it did certainly irritate me a bit throughout most of the stories, this year. One almost wishes some Terileptils would stop by.
My other big beef is not only a problem that's been going on in Who for quite some time but sci-fi, in general. A sort of "speed-writing" is being used where certain story elements don't get a proper explanation. Plot holes almost seem to get glossed over. I think we're meant to perceive this as something being left intentionally ambiguous but it seems more like sloppy exposition.
The strongest example of this in Series Eleven would be that, once more, the TARDIS interior gets ruined for no readily apparent reason (other than the desire for the production team to change the way the set looks). Fandom has come up with a theory that when the Doctor holds back a regeneration but then finally releases it, it causes this damage. Which is a nice theory. It might be nicer, however, if the Head Writer gave us just a little bit of dialogue to help establish this.
FINAL WORD
Just to re-state: I'm very happy with what was done in this season. I can get behind most of - if not, all of - the drastic choices Chibnall made, this year. I'm particularly pleased with the decision to give us less episodes that ran longer. Finally, modern Doctor Who can "breathe" a whole lot more. One of my greatest loves for the Classic Series was the way it had time to really explore its supporting characters. We weren't really getting much of that, nowadays. Even in a lot of the two-parters, things could feel very rushed, sometimes. But these beautiful 50+ minute episodes always seem to take the time to let us get to know everyone in the story, properly. I have really savored the many "character moments" we've gotten this season.
I see some definite Classic Who influences in this season that I have greatly relished. The very "hard sci-fi" tones that have been displayed in several stories hark back to the style of story-telling Christopher H. Bidmead employed in Season 18. And there are definitely some strong elements of Season 19 in there, too. Not just because we're back to three companions - but a lot of the tales told in Series 11 are done in a similar fashion to 19. Superficially, the plot seems quite straightforward. But there are a tonnes of layers put in underneath that give the whole thing a great sense of intelligence and sophistication. Kinda, for instance, is really just about an evil psychic creature that's trying to find its way back into our reality. But there is so much going on with various themes that are being examined throughout the course of those four episodes that we end up getting something much richer. We could say the same thing about many of the episodes of Series 11. Ghost Monument paints a vivid picture of an advanced civilization near the point of collapse because of a wealth gap. The Tsuranga Conundrum is a drama that follows a distinct set of characters as they try to face various levels of challenge that have come into their lives. And then there's the absolutely brilliant Rosa. The jewel in the crown of this season. On the surface, it's just about making sure history goes the right way. But, just like Kinda, there's so much more.
I have great fondness for Seasons 18 and 19. These feelings are not just nostalgic (they are two of the first full seasons of the show that I watched as a young lad). I think both of these seasons gave us some of the best work ever done on the show. So if Chibnall hands me something that has much the same feel as these two Classic seasons, I'll take it.
I have a feeling that the negative issues that did occur in Series 11 were teething problems caused by such radical shifts in tone and structure from what we had before. When Series 12 comes, many of those mis-steps will be better polished. And the Chibnall-Whitaker Era will shine all the more brightly.
Okay, back to the Fave Episode Countdown. Although I may still write a Part 4 to all this where I address some of the more ignorant aspects of Fan Reaction that I've seen in regards to Series 11. Admittedly, it could be kinda fun to rant in such a manner....
Missed the other two parts of this particular series? Here they are:
Part 1 :
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/07/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-female.html
Part2:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/10/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-female.html
A lot of harsh words have been said about Series 11. And the people who have disagreed with those words have also, quite frequently, been treated rudely. Like, if we enjoyed something that you didn't we needed to, somehow, be berated for it. It wasn't a good way to handle disagreement. It's made a lot of people with positive attitudes reluctant to express themselves'. Which is not cool. Nonetheless, I want to express how I felt about our first season with a female Doctor. We'll see how the Comments section looks after I post this. Hopefully, we can all be nice.
SERIES ELEVEN - MY OPINION ON IT (FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH):
I will just come out and say that I felt that Series Eleven was particularly strong. Even quite outstanding, in places. Was it the best season of New Who? No. Series One or Five probably still hold that award. Was it the worst? Not by any stretch of the imagination. That will probably always go to Series Two (although I'm only so fond of Series Four).
Series Eleven sits somewhere in the middle of it all. Which might be part of the problem with how it's been received. The show was going through some of its most radical changes ever. We were, perhaps, expecting something that was going to blow us away. It's what we got when Moff took over, after all. As I just mentioned in the last paragraph, I regard Series Five as one of the best seasons since the show re-started. Many fans would actually agree with me (a rare phenomenon, I know). So we had similar expectations for this latest era. When we got something that was still quite solid (in my opinion, at least) but not ridiculously amazing like Series Five was - it made it a bit harder to appreciate.
When we consider just how much Chibnall altered the show from what it was, however, we should still be seriously impressed. I have greatly enjoyed all that Moffat did when he was in charge - but the show definitely needed shaking up. I know many fans would have preferred to see a few familiar monsters to help them accept Whitaker better - but I totally love that the Head Writer vowed to stay away from such things. Doctor Who felt beautifully fresh because of that. It was a bold choice to make and I applaud him for it. It must have been tempting to want a Zygon or a Cybermen or something like that in there somewhere. But I appreciate that he resisted the tactic. It forced the whole direction of the show to change and, if I dare say so, improve.
I enjoyed that new direction and am more-than-happy to see it continue going that way. Yes, Chibnall will start drawing from the show's mythos again here and there (we know, already, the Daleks are coming for the New Year's Special). But if we keep getting episodes that are mostly trying to explore corners of the Universe the Doctor has yet to see, I do think this will give us a better show. Moff was allowed to give us the fanwank that he did as his era ended. But now we need to stay away from the past as much as possible.
This whole series felt a bit like watching Paradise Towers back in the 80s. Towers may have not been the best story ever (but it's still pretty damned good - I consider it an Unsung Classic https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/02/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-unsung.html ) - but I must admit: it was really nice to see a story that stood on its own two feet. For quite a few years before Paradise Towers, the show had been relying quite heavily on elements from its past. I was happy to see no surprise appearances by Daleks or the Master or sequels to unseen adventures on Karfel or with Commodore Travers. It was a completely new adventure for the first time in a while. The whole of Series Eleven generates that emotion for me. And I loved that a lot.
WHITAKER, HERSELF
As for Jodie's performance, she continues to play the role to perfection. I need a bit more time with her, but she just might replace my beloved Matt Smith for best New Series Doctor. As I said in my last entry on this subject (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/10/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-female.html), she hits the ground running. She is absolutely the Doctor right from the moment that she drops through the roof of the train. This continues throughout the season. She makes the stretch of seeing the Doctor in a different gender almost unnoticeable. I do feel she's absolutely fantastic in the role. As far as I'm concerned, she's welcome to beat Tom Baker's record.
I also adore how they're writing her. The Doctor's moral compass is fully intact in this incarnation. We haven't seen this since the Eighth Doctor, really, It's nice that it's back. Things got murky for a bit as we had scenes like the Ninth Doctor just allowing the Lady Cassandra to die. Or the Tenth offering no second chances to the Sycorax Leader. And who can forget what Eleven did to Solomon in Dinosaurs On A Spaceship? And, to the best of our knowledge, the Twelfth Doctor flat-out murdered a cyborg in Deep Breath. I don't dislike any of these sequences or others like them. They have made the Doctor an edgier hero. But it is nice to see the protagonist of my favorite show back to being the type of person that refuses to kill under any circumstances. Some of the best moments in the season have been when she draws that line in the sand. Hurting others - particularly the villain of the piece - is just not going to happen. She'll always do her best to preserve life whenever she can. I really like seeing that trait in the character, again.
There's a nice vulnerability to the Doctor now, too. I love that she actually gives up in Ghost Monument and thinks that they're all going to just die in the desert. Or that she becomes somewhat ineffective for a while in The Witchfinders when King James has her bound. Little moments like these haven't been seen since the Peter Davison days. A fallible Doctor makes the story a bit more realistic. It even raises the stakes a bit. She doesn't just rush in and take over every scene that she's in. There's much more give-and-take between her and other characters in the story. Particularly her companions. Which leads me, of course, to my next topic:
THE COMPANIONS
As much as certain sections of fandom might be bitching, right now - I think we all, pretty much, agree that this is the best TARDIS crew since the show re-launched. Quite possibly, the best set of companions ever. Chibnall crafted all three of these characters magnificently.
Ryan and Graham were given this beautiful arc of grieving the loss of a woman they loved dearly and trying to develop a proper bond together in the wake of her passing. We were pretty sure that fist-pump was going to happen before the end of the season but how they got to that point was a great journey. I especially liked that there were times when Ryan was ready to reach out and Graham would actually turn the offer down.
While Yaz didn't have such an interesting ongoing storyline, we got to meet her family and learn more about her background, in general. I liked that Chibnall crafted things that way. All three companions having big arcs to work on would've seemed too forced. This was a good balance.
I especially like how much they all work as a team. When a problem presents itself in an adventure, they are quick to break up into smaller groups and take on specific tasks. They know that travelling with the Doctor can be lots of fun. And they enjoy themselves' whenever they can. But they're also not afraid to right the wrongs around them when they arise. It's a great dynamic.
Of the three, I think I like Graham best. That makes me feel vaguely sexist and/or racist but his charm is difficult to resist. I loved how he started keeping sandwiches on him. And his final moral conflict that he faces in Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos was brilliant. A great way to round out the character as the season comes to a close. Again, all three of these companions are wonderful. But Graham wins my heart just a little bit more than the others.
ACTUAL OBJECTIONS
I've been saying a lot of really positive stuff about the season even though I'm claiming that, overall, it was a "middle of the line" series, this year. Surely there must have been some things I was displeased with?
I did find both The Witchfinders and Kerblam! to be a bit weak (I know a lot of fans will disagree with my feelings about Kerblam! Sorry, it might have had an "Old School Who" feel to it - but it seemed a bit weak on plot). The stories weren't terrible. There was no In the Forest of the Night this season. But these two tales only impressed me so much. Believe it or not, I tended to enjoy the stuff that Chibnall wrote better (another sentiment many will disagree with, I'm sure). He had a very clear idea of how he wanted this season to look and so, naturally enough, his stories were most in line with that vision. I really liked what he was doing with the show so it stands to reason that I will probably like his stories best.
Many are remarking on an over-reliance of the sonic screwdriver. Which I can't disagree with. She did seem to be waving it about far too often. Fandom seems to insinuate that this is a problem that has only been happening in this season. Which I'm a bit baffled by. It's been a problem throughout most of New Who. But it did certainly irritate me a bit throughout most of the stories, this year. One almost wishes some Terileptils would stop by.
My other big beef is not only a problem that's been going on in Who for quite some time but sci-fi, in general. A sort of "speed-writing" is being used where certain story elements don't get a proper explanation. Plot holes almost seem to get glossed over. I think we're meant to perceive this as something being left intentionally ambiguous but it seems more like sloppy exposition.
The strongest example of this in Series Eleven would be that, once more, the TARDIS interior gets ruined for no readily apparent reason (other than the desire for the production team to change the way the set looks). Fandom has come up with a theory that when the Doctor holds back a regeneration but then finally releases it, it causes this damage. Which is a nice theory. It might be nicer, however, if the Head Writer gave us just a little bit of dialogue to help establish this.
FINAL WORD
Just to re-state: I'm very happy with what was done in this season. I can get behind most of - if not, all of - the drastic choices Chibnall made, this year. I'm particularly pleased with the decision to give us less episodes that ran longer. Finally, modern Doctor Who can "breathe" a whole lot more. One of my greatest loves for the Classic Series was the way it had time to really explore its supporting characters. We weren't really getting much of that, nowadays. Even in a lot of the two-parters, things could feel very rushed, sometimes. But these beautiful 50+ minute episodes always seem to take the time to let us get to know everyone in the story, properly. I have really savored the many "character moments" we've gotten this season.
I see some definite Classic Who influences in this season that I have greatly relished. The very "hard sci-fi" tones that have been displayed in several stories hark back to the style of story-telling Christopher H. Bidmead employed in Season 18. And there are definitely some strong elements of Season 19 in there, too. Not just because we're back to three companions - but a lot of the tales told in Series 11 are done in a similar fashion to 19. Superficially, the plot seems quite straightforward. But there are a tonnes of layers put in underneath that give the whole thing a great sense of intelligence and sophistication. Kinda, for instance, is really just about an evil psychic creature that's trying to find its way back into our reality. But there is so much going on with various themes that are being examined throughout the course of those four episodes that we end up getting something much richer. We could say the same thing about many of the episodes of Series 11. Ghost Monument paints a vivid picture of an advanced civilization near the point of collapse because of a wealth gap. The Tsuranga Conundrum is a drama that follows a distinct set of characters as they try to face various levels of challenge that have come into their lives. And then there's the absolutely brilliant Rosa. The jewel in the crown of this season. On the surface, it's just about making sure history goes the right way. But, just like Kinda, there's so much more.
I have great fondness for Seasons 18 and 19. These feelings are not just nostalgic (they are two of the first full seasons of the show that I watched as a young lad). I think both of these seasons gave us some of the best work ever done on the show. So if Chibnall hands me something that has much the same feel as these two Classic seasons, I'll take it.
I have a feeling that the negative issues that did occur in Series 11 were teething problems caused by such radical shifts in tone and structure from what we had before. When Series 12 comes, many of those mis-steps will be better polished. And the Chibnall-Whitaker Era will shine all the more brightly.
Okay, back to the Fave Episode Countdown. Although I may still write a Part 4 to all this where I address some of the more ignorant aspects of Fan Reaction that I've seen in regards to Series 11. Admittedly, it could be kinda fun to rant in such a manner....
Missed the other two parts of this particular series? Here they are:
Part 1 :
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/07/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-female.html
Part2:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/10/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-female.html
Friday 14 December 2018
BOOK OF LISTS - TOP SIX DOCTOR WHO EPISODES - NUMBER FOUR
Another New Who Episode. A fairly obvious one, too. What can I say? Sometimes I do conform to Popular Fan Opinion!
NUMBER FOUR:
Blink was held in pretty high regard for quite some time. Everyone ranted and raved about it for several years after it came out. It won a Bafta and some other impressive awards like that. In one of the many surveys in Doctor Who Magazine, it came in as the second-best Doctor Who story ever. It really was considered a pretty phenomenal piece of television for quite some time. And it deserved quite a bit of the praise it was getting.
Which is why it has ranked in this particular countdown. In fact, when I compiled my Top Ten Favorite Stories a few years back, Blink came pretty close to making it into that list, too. But I liked Logopolis just a little bit better. So it got bumped out.
Which is why it has ranked in this particular countdown. In fact, when I compiled my Top Ten Favorite Stories a few years back, Blink came pretty close to making it into that list, too. But I liked Logopolis just a little bit better. So it got bumped out.
For some reason, we stopped going on so much about Blink a few years back. Who can say why? It could be that Moffat just wrote some better stories since Blink that have caused us to forget about it. Or, it could be the exact opposite. Maybe some fans have disliked his writing so much since Blink that it's caused the story to lose a bit of its shine. It's hard to tell. Fans are a mercurial lot and their opinions can shift so easily!
Blink, for me, has always held about the same place in my heart. It's an excellent single episode and a pretty damned good story, overall. If I have any objection to it - it's that it is just a bit too simple in plot (yes, many of my favorite episodes keep the story very streamlined but it is possible to go too far with it). The Doctor is, basically, just trying to get his TARDIS back. He's doing it in an immensely clever manner - but that's really all he's up to. But the fact that the story does such a great job with causality helps me to disregard the fact that it is just a bit too simple. It's hard not to fall in love with the whole premise as you start creating that graph in your head of how events in the present and the past are affecting each other. I'm pretty sure we all do that as we watch Blink, don't we? We have put our geek brains into overdrive to make it all coherent. Do a bit of extra homework to get it all to make sense.
And that's one of the funnest parts about Blink: it gets you thinking. Not about deeper themes or messages the author might be trying to say. I mean, yeah, there's a bit of that in there. But, moreso, it asks you to give some serious consideration to the whole thing just to properly understand what the hell is going on. And that's a very innocent and straightforward way to be thought-provoking. A bit of a breath of fresh air, really. Some fans are complaining about the undertones of Series Eleven and how it's trying to have Big Messages behind every story. But the truth of the matter is, Doctor Who has always been like that. Sci-Fi, in general, tries to be allegorical and deliver all sorts of hidden or not-so-cleverly concealed social observations. So it's nice to have a story that asks its audience to devote extra attention to the story threads rather than the meaning behind them. That's very refreshing.
I quite enjoy the, overall, innocence of this tale. The Weeping Angels aren't meant to represent something else. Sally Sparrow is not an analogy of some sort. The Doctor's machine that goes ding really is just a machine that goes ding. This was, perhaps, one of the smartest choices Moff makes in the crafting of the adventure. It may be insanely non-linear - but, at the same time, it's quite straightforward.
Of course, this not the only thing that makes the story great.
Sally Sparrow is, without a doubt, the best supporting character in the entire history of the show (even better than Richard Mace!). She is excellently written. She gets great lines like "sad being happy for smart people". The journey her character takes as she deals with all these paradoxes is a nice subplot that helps fill the plot out a bit better. But what really immortalizes her is the acting abilities of Carey Mulligan. Sally has to go through some serious swings in those 40+ minutes. She loses her best friend in the most crippling of ways. Flirts with a man who she must watch die of old age just a few minutes later. Interacts with the only person who can save her through an Easter Egg. And must, finally, confront the show's creepiest monster. She nails all of these moments perfectly. And we fall deeply in love with her because of it. I especially like the sort of "gritty" edge the Carey brings to the portrayal. She is a very strong woman without making it a feel like some sort of feminist message. She's just tough and happens to be female.
And then we have those Weeping Angels. The only New Who Monster that seems to have the same level of gravitas as Great Classic Series Titans like the Daleks, Sontarans and Cybermen (who, incidentally, are still in the nursery compared to Time Lords). It's a well earned title, I feel. All the return appearances that they have made have been quite strong but their premiere episode is still the best. They are a wickedly simple concept: Don't look away or something bad happens to you. But Moff does a beautiful job of dressing them up into something more complicated and abstract so that it feels like intelligent sci fi rather than just an elaborate game on the playground (I love that modern day kids do actually play "Weeping Angels" in schoolyards in the same way that children of the 60s pretended to be Daleks). I particularly enjoy how Moffat set up all the expositional dialogue that reveals in tiny bits and pieces how the Angels work and, roughly, where they came from. Tennant does a great job of rattling off those explanations, too. I'm not sure why, but I just find this to be the most effective way a monster in Doctor Who has been introduced.
But the creep-out factor of the Weeping Angels is still their best selling point. That statue coming ever closer when you're not paying attention was an absolutely terrifying effect. And just when you think they can't be any scarier, we discover they can turn off lightbulbs. The sequence where the lights flicker on and off and statues are slowly approaching each time they turn back on will be indelibly stamped on my memory. There is a sheer brilliance to how the whole moment is contrived that makes that scene all the more enjoyable. It's the stuff of nightmares made smart.
If I had to pinpoint the best part of the story, though, it would have to be the Easter Egg (I love that there's an Easter Egg on the DVD that enables you to watch the Easter Egg in all its entirety). Never has anyone come up with a more clever central premise to not only a Doctor Who story but any story on television ever written. It's a fantastic hook that wins over the heart of anyone that should ever bother to watch this episode. Whether you're a die-hard fan like me or never watched an episode ever, - it's impossible to not get drawn into this story because of the level of intrigue the Easter Egg creates. You may want to disagree with some of Moff's choices as a writer (and, to be honest, I rarely do), but you cannot deny how fertile of an imagination he has in the crafting of this tale. Building the whole adventure around an Easter Egg on a DVD is a rare and twisted sense of brilliance.
We do get one more great moment that merits mentioning. Having clearly established how the Weeping Angels work, their own energy gets used against them during a very clever resolution of the conflict. It is truly awesome as the four Angels freeze forever when the TARDIS dematerializes between them. Sometimes, a great episode can end very flatly. But Blink doesn't do this. It maintains its cleverness to the very end.
And then pushes the horror one last time as we get shot after shot of statues we can find all around us. Are they also Weeping Angels? Can we ever trust statues again?
No. No we can't. And that's one more thing that gets us to love Blink all the more. A common day item now represents the potential for absolute horror. Doctor Who is always at its best when it can do that. Steven Moffat remembered that fact and exploited it to its fullest.
We may be taking a quick break from this Countdown. At the time of writing this, Series Eleven has just finished. I promised I would write up a review of the full season during my last post on A Female Doctor (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/10/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-female.html) so I think I'll do that next.
What did I think of the season that introduced us to the first female Doctor? You'll have to wait and see....
Sally Sparrow is, without a doubt, the best supporting character in the entire history of the show (even better than Richard Mace!). She is excellently written. She gets great lines like "sad being happy for smart people". The journey her character takes as she deals with all these paradoxes is a nice subplot that helps fill the plot out a bit better. But what really immortalizes her is the acting abilities of Carey Mulligan. Sally has to go through some serious swings in those 40+ minutes. She loses her best friend in the most crippling of ways. Flirts with a man who she must watch die of old age just a few minutes later. Interacts with the only person who can save her through an Easter Egg. And must, finally, confront the show's creepiest monster. She nails all of these moments perfectly. And we fall deeply in love with her because of it. I especially like the sort of "gritty" edge the Carey brings to the portrayal. She is a very strong woman without making it a feel like some sort of feminist message. She's just tough and happens to be female.
And then we have those Weeping Angels. The only New Who Monster that seems to have the same level of gravitas as Great Classic Series Titans like the Daleks, Sontarans and Cybermen (who, incidentally, are still in the nursery compared to Time Lords). It's a well earned title, I feel. All the return appearances that they have made have been quite strong but their premiere episode is still the best. They are a wickedly simple concept: Don't look away or something bad happens to you. But Moff does a beautiful job of dressing them up into something more complicated and abstract so that it feels like intelligent sci fi rather than just an elaborate game on the playground (I love that modern day kids do actually play "Weeping Angels" in schoolyards in the same way that children of the 60s pretended to be Daleks). I particularly enjoy how Moffat set up all the expositional dialogue that reveals in tiny bits and pieces how the Angels work and, roughly, where they came from. Tennant does a great job of rattling off those explanations, too. I'm not sure why, but I just find this to be the most effective way a monster in Doctor Who has been introduced.
But the creep-out factor of the Weeping Angels is still their best selling point. That statue coming ever closer when you're not paying attention was an absolutely terrifying effect. And just when you think they can't be any scarier, we discover they can turn off lightbulbs. The sequence where the lights flicker on and off and statues are slowly approaching each time they turn back on will be indelibly stamped on my memory. There is a sheer brilliance to how the whole moment is contrived that makes that scene all the more enjoyable. It's the stuff of nightmares made smart.
If I had to pinpoint the best part of the story, though, it would have to be the Easter Egg (I love that there's an Easter Egg on the DVD that enables you to watch the Easter Egg in all its entirety). Never has anyone come up with a more clever central premise to not only a Doctor Who story but any story on television ever written. It's a fantastic hook that wins over the heart of anyone that should ever bother to watch this episode. Whether you're a die-hard fan like me or never watched an episode ever, - it's impossible to not get drawn into this story because of the level of intrigue the Easter Egg creates. You may want to disagree with some of Moff's choices as a writer (and, to be honest, I rarely do), but you cannot deny how fertile of an imagination he has in the crafting of this tale. Building the whole adventure around an Easter Egg on a DVD is a rare and twisted sense of brilliance.
We do get one more great moment that merits mentioning. Having clearly established how the Weeping Angels work, their own energy gets used against them during a very clever resolution of the conflict. It is truly awesome as the four Angels freeze forever when the TARDIS dematerializes between them. Sometimes, a great episode can end very flatly. But Blink doesn't do this. It maintains its cleverness to the very end.
And then pushes the horror one last time as we get shot after shot of statues we can find all around us. Are they also Weeping Angels? Can we ever trust statues again?
No. No we can't. And that's one more thing that gets us to love Blink all the more. A common day item now represents the potential for absolute horror. Doctor Who is always at its best when it can do that. Steven Moffat remembered that fact and exploited it to its fullest.
We may be taking a quick break from this Countdown. At the time of writing this, Series Eleven has just finished. I promised I would write up a review of the full season during my last post on A Female Doctor (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/10/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-female.html) so I think I'll do that next.
What did I think of the season that introduced us to the first female Doctor? You'll have to wait and see....
Number 6:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/11/book-of-lists-top-six-doctor-who.html
Number 5:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/12/book-of-lists-top-six-doctor-who.html
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/11/book-of-lists-top-six-doctor-who.html
Number 5:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/12/book-of-lists-top-six-doctor-who.html
Sunday 9 December 2018
BOOK OF LISTS: TOP SIX DOCTOR WHO EPISODES - NUMBER FIVE
The end-of-year countdown continues. This time, we're looking at a New Series episode.
Normally, New Who is at a disadvantage in these. There is so much more Classic Who to choose from that Law of Averages dictates stories from that era will just show up more. But New Who is made up mainly of single episodes that tell a complete story whereas the episodes of the Classic Series are always part of a larger tale. Episodes from 2005 and onwards are more likely to make a stronger impact on their audience because of this.
So we will see a higher percentage of New Who stuff making it into this list because of this. Hope that doesn't bother you Classic Who Purists, out there....
NUMBER FIVE
Some might say that a story like Rose has an unfair advantage in countdowns like this. It's an episode you're going to notice more just because of the importance it holds in the history of the show. That if it had just shown up somewhere in the middle of Series One it would have been appreciated in an entirely different manner. To some extent, people who might believe this are a bit right. Rose does stand out for me more because it is the very first episode of the New Series. For this reason, alone, it does make a very strong impact.
Fortunately, we have the 96 Telemovie as evidence to contradict some of this claim. Paul McGann's one-and-only foray into Televised Who should hold a special place in everyone's heart because it also represented an attempt to resurrect the show in the same way that Rose does. And yet, I'd be given to bet that the 96 Telemovie is pretty low on anyone's list of all-time favorite episodes. For some of you, it might even be damned close to the bottom!
What this says to me is that, regardless of the importance an episode might play in the history of the series, it still needs to actually be good. Rose, without a doubt, is a very good piece of television. As first episodes of a new show go, Rose does an excellent job of introducing the central premise of the series to its audience. It displays some interesting characters that we definitely want to learn more about. And it promises that more fun is to come if you keep watching.
But this isn't the full extent of Rose's job. Yes, it is introducing a show to a new audience. But it's also re-introducing a series to its old fans. A far more complex task. But, again, it accomplishes this with great finesse. The nods to its past re-assure us that this is the same show and not a re-boot.
First and foremost, it uses a well-loved monster that we've seen a few times in the Classic Series. It makes a couple of very conscious visual nods to Spearhead From Space while doing so. The opening shots in both stories are quite similar to each other. There's also another magnificent tracking shot in both stories where the camera follows two characters walking together and talking. Referencing Spearhead made good sense. Both herald a very new era in Doctor Who. One might also say that the use of symphonic scoring and very filmic cinematography link it quite nicely to the 96 Telemovie where we see these sort of effects being employed for the first time.
But the most beautiful touch of nostalgia was the fact that they found the same audio effects for when an Auton's hand hinges open and fires. My fanboy heart burst beyond its rib cage for just a moment when I heard that sound for the first time. As someone who has loved Doctor Who to death for so many years of my life, hearing that noise showed me that serious measures were being taken to keep New Who in the same continuity as its previous 26 seasons. That meant a lot to me.
We've got another very simple plot, here. But, with the amount of work the episode has to accomplish with all its introducing and re-introducing, the Doctor trying to hunt down the Nestene Consciousness and confront it is all the room the story has for a plot. We're perfectly happy with this. The fact that an absolutely beautiful monologue still manages to get squeezed in to all this business, however, is absolutely splendid.
That monologue is truly a magical moment. But it's not the only one. And this is another factor that really ingratiates the episode to me. My heart still goes ever-so-slightly aflutter during specific moments. Rose first entering the TARDIS would be another moment like this. Or Clive getting all spooky as he postulates on the Doctor's nature. Or, best of all, the Doctor grabbing Rose's arm and proclaiming: "Run!". It's just such a great way to meet him for the first time.
There are a slew of moments like this. Which makes re-watching the episode great fun every time. It puts me back into what I went through the first time I saw it. How I sat there fervently hoping they would get it right. As Rose starts running into those TARDIS doors at the end of the episode, a huge feeling of relief washed over me. They did get it right. I still feel that every time I enjoy this story.
I didn't always agree with the choices RTD would go on to make with the show. But I am thankful that he totally nailed it with Rose. It led to a triumphant re-birth of my favorite television program, ever. Sixteen years of sadness was well and truly over. And that's one more thing I feel every time I watch this episode. It's hard not to put Rose into a list like this. It's an important story that recognizes what it needs to accomplish and knocks it out of the ball park. Which is an amazing thing to see.
That's Number Five. We'll be back again shortly with the next one. Another New Who episode, in fact. Which one? Wait and see....
Didn't catch Number Six? Here it is:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/11/book-of-lists-top-six-doctor-who.html
Normally, New Who is at a disadvantage in these. There is so much more Classic Who to choose from that Law of Averages dictates stories from that era will just show up more. But New Who is made up mainly of single episodes that tell a complete story whereas the episodes of the Classic Series are always part of a larger tale. Episodes from 2005 and onwards are more likely to make a stronger impact on their audience because of this.
So we will see a higher percentage of New Who stuff making it into this list because of this. Hope that doesn't bother you Classic Who Purists, out there....
NUMBER FIVE
Some might say that a story like Rose has an unfair advantage in countdowns like this. It's an episode you're going to notice more just because of the importance it holds in the history of the show. That if it had just shown up somewhere in the middle of Series One it would have been appreciated in an entirely different manner. To some extent, people who might believe this are a bit right. Rose does stand out for me more because it is the very first episode of the New Series. For this reason, alone, it does make a very strong impact.
Fortunately, we have the 96 Telemovie as evidence to contradict some of this claim. Paul McGann's one-and-only foray into Televised Who should hold a special place in everyone's heart because it also represented an attempt to resurrect the show in the same way that Rose does. And yet, I'd be given to bet that the 96 Telemovie is pretty low on anyone's list of all-time favorite episodes. For some of you, it might even be damned close to the bottom!
What this says to me is that, regardless of the importance an episode might play in the history of the series, it still needs to actually be good. Rose, without a doubt, is a very good piece of television. As first episodes of a new show go, Rose does an excellent job of introducing the central premise of the series to its audience. It displays some interesting characters that we definitely want to learn more about. And it promises that more fun is to come if you keep watching.
But this isn't the full extent of Rose's job. Yes, it is introducing a show to a new audience. But it's also re-introducing a series to its old fans. A far more complex task. But, again, it accomplishes this with great finesse. The nods to its past re-assure us that this is the same show and not a re-boot.
First and foremost, it uses a well-loved monster that we've seen a few times in the Classic Series. It makes a couple of very conscious visual nods to Spearhead From Space while doing so. The opening shots in both stories are quite similar to each other. There's also another magnificent tracking shot in both stories where the camera follows two characters walking together and talking. Referencing Spearhead made good sense. Both herald a very new era in Doctor Who. One might also say that the use of symphonic scoring and very filmic cinematography link it quite nicely to the 96 Telemovie where we see these sort of effects being employed for the first time.
But the most beautiful touch of nostalgia was the fact that they found the same audio effects for when an Auton's hand hinges open and fires. My fanboy heart burst beyond its rib cage for just a moment when I heard that sound for the first time. As someone who has loved Doctor Who to death for so many years of my life, hearing that noise showed me that serious measures were being taken to keep New Who in the same continuity as its previous 26 seasons. That meant a lot to me.
We've got another very simple plot, here. But, with the amount of work the episode has to accomplish with all its introducing and re-introducing, the Doctor trying to hunt down the Nestene Consciousness and confront it is all the room the story has for a plot. We're perfectly happy with this. The fact that an absolutely beautiful monologue still manages to get squeezed in to all this business, however, is absolutely splendid.
That monologue is truly a magical moment. But it's not the only one. And this is another factor that really ingratiates the episode to me. My heart still goes ever-so-slightly aflutter during specific moments. Rose first entering the TARDIS would be another moment like this. Or Clive getting all spooky as he postulates on the Doctor's nature. Or, best of all, the Doctor grabbing Rose's arm and proclaiming: "Run!". It's just such a great way to meet him for the first time.
There are a slew of moments like this. Which makes re-watching the episode great fun every time. It puts me back into what I went through the first time I saw it. How I sat there fervently hoping they would get it right. As Rose starts running into those TARDIS doors at the end of the episode, a huge feeling of relief washed over me. They did get it right. I still feel that every time I enjoy this story.
I didn't always agree with the choices RTD would go on to make with the show. But I am thankful that he totally nailed it with Rose. It led to a triumphant re-birth of my favorite television program, ever. Sixteen years of sadness was well and truly over. And that's one more thing I feel every time I watch this episode. It's hard not to put Rose into a list like this. It's an important story that recognizes what it needs to accomplish and knocks it out of the ball park. Which is an amazing thing to see.
That's Number Five. We'll be back again shortly with the next one. Another New Who episode, in fact. Which one? Wait and see....
Didn't catch Number Six? Here it is:
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/11/book-of-lists-top-six-doctor-who.html
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