First Impressions of the 11th Doctor Who 379
Mirk writes "The first episode of Doctor Who's new series 5 has just aired on BBC1 in the UK. This is an important episode for the show because so much has changed: Matt Smith plays the new Doctor, replacing David Tennant, and Karen Gillan portrays a new companion, Amy Pond. Maybe most important, Russell T. Davies is replaced as showrunner by Stephen Moffat, who is known for acclaimed Doctor Who scripts including The Empty Child and Blink. Here is an early review of the new Doctor, companion, showrunner, and series."
Re:The Companion (Score:2, Interesting)
This is definitely +1 informative. She is indeed.
I am also sold on Matt Smith now after being initially disappointed that it wasn't Simon Pegg.
The New Tardis (Score:5, Interesting)
While Matt Smith seems capable of playing the Doctor, the new TARDIS on the other hand really was disappointing.
I'm sorry but a pinball plunger, an old typewriter and a decor that looks ripped from a kid TV show just doesn't suit the supposedly alien look of the inside of the TARDIS. Too many earth parts, levers and buttons too obvious. The new TARDIS is a pale joke compared to the previous one.
Re:Watched it, impressed! (Score:3, Interesting)
Lovely and Scottish! (Score:5, Interesting)
"We saw some amazing actresses for this part. But when Karen came through the door, the game was up - she was funny, clever, gorgeous and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it. A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too." -- Steven Moffat
And it will only take you a million years... (Score:5, Interesting)
The Doctor is 900 years old. There are dozens of seasons.
Start with 2005, work forward. THEN go back and watch some of the classics. I like Tom Baker, but an Unearthly child is also worth a look.
Also, if you've seen even one episode, this [youtube.com] is priceless.
Re:Watched it, impressed! (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm fairly certain the reason the multiform taunted the Doctor about it was because the Doctor, or at least the Timelords, are the root of the problem. I'm aware he's supposedly the last Timelord alive, but we've seen how thinking you're the last often turns out... Of course, they could pull the whole alternate reality thing again. The Doctor never was clear about how alternate realities come to be, just that they're meant to be sealed off. I'd say alternate realities are the convenient writers-block fixer: Out of enemies? Bring an ancient and long-since-defeated enemy back from another alternate reality! The damaged Cyberman in the preview says it's at least possible. What I'm most curious about is the English-flag-stamped Dalek; though it's probably just some military immitation, and not a true Dalek...
And it's in HD (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:The Companion (Score:3, Interesting)
and 1 outside Earls' Court [ukattraction.com] in London
Re:William Hartnell & Patrick Troughton (Score:5, Interesting)
Sorry, but your opinion is in my eyes bullshit.
I think the current series is really great
Sure, it’s not on the story complexity level of Revolver or the wow effect of Fight Club, or the thrills of Matrix...
But I don’t expect that from a weekly TV show.
And no, you don’t know more about good stories than I do, because I learned what makes a story good because of my job. (Of course I also don’t consider you bad. Because I don’t know you.)
By the way: Wannabe experts always thump that the story is so important. But in reality, the story is only one aspect. It is really the whole experience. A rollercoaster ride has no story at all, but is still a lot of fun.
So the aesthetics (including sound, behavior, everything that is styleable) are an important part.
And the technique/technology too.
In full games there also is gameplay as a fourth part.
Those parts strengthen each other. So even the charm of a character can be an essential part of what makes a whole show great.
Plus, it is very important to note, that every story has two parts: The part that Spok would enjoy. And the part that Troi would enjoy. A movie can have a complex emotional story, that us logic-loving male geeks would not even see as a story at all. Nonetheless it is just as important.
Ok, maybe that helped you get some perspective. If not, please enjoy life anyway, OK? You only have one! ^^
Just finished my third viewing. (Score:3, Interesting)
Doctor Who is my one weakness. Well, my big weakness, anyway.
It's what makes me a NERD! -Not just some garden variety geek fanboy, but a full-on Nerd. My girlfriend looks at me funny and wonders where the other me went when Doctor Who comes up. I don't expose that part of myself to her very often, but I did make her watch a couple of episodes just to show her what I was all excited about. She liked "The Girl in the Fireplace", and I described the Rose arc to her. -Her reaction to that was the correct one, (no, she didn't walk out on me. She fell into story-listener mode and caught her breath at all the right parts as I described them. I tell stories fairly well and can sometimes even do decent voices. This was one of those times). And I made her watch the first twenty minutes of this new Matt Smith show. Figured she'd like the food-tasting scene. She did.
Best two scenes in the episode. . .
Amelia: "I'm not scared!"
Doctor: "'Course your not, you're not scared of anything! - Box falls out of the sky, man falls out of the box, man eats fish custard... and look at you. Just sitting there. So you know what I think?"
Amelia: "What?"
Doctor: "Must be a helluva scary crack in your wall."
And. . .
Doctor: "Twelve years! I'm not six months late. I'm twelve years late."
Amy: "He's coming!"
Doctor: "You said six months. Why did you say six months?"
Amy: "We've got to go!"
Doctor: "This MATTERS. This is important! Why did you say six months?!"
Amy: "WELL WHY DID YOU SAY FIVE MINUTES?!"
Wonderfully done! When big, important characters meet each other for the first time in a story, it's important to make it explosive or at least interesting. This was one of the reasons in the Phantom Menace, when Obi Wan and Anakin first met, it was stunningly stupid. (Remember how that went? It was a hand shake.) But this meeting was fantastic!
Anyway, as I figured, it takes about three viewings to "click" with a new Doctor, assuming that the Doctor is worth clicking with. And I think he is; the production values, casting, writing and acting were all top-notch for Doctor Who, but the Newness of it all takes a bit getting used to and certainly colors a viewer's reactions. The first Tennant episode, for instance, left a sour taste in my mouth the first time I saw it. But after a season of Who, going back to it was a joy. This leads me to thinking that the enjoyment of a show or film is far, far more than the sum of its parts. This is where Joseph Campbell and his various theories regarding mythology come into play. By the third viewing, the characters become familiar and comfortable. Matt Smith was very well cast; he's confident enough to walk through a scene and own it, and the new girl is going to challenge him nicely. And I hope to see some of the people of that little town become semi-regulars in the future. (I really like the new idea that family and friends matter in the DW universe.)
This is going to be a wonderful ride, I think! Hats off to everybody who put this together. -And thank goodness for 'pirate' distribution. The US broadcast version was cut down, I heard, to fit in more commercials. Lame.
-FL
Re:The New Tardis (Score:4, Interesting)
Anyway, the new Tardis is kinda SteamPunk, and I can't argue with that.
Eh, it's not that good compared to the control room [wordpress.com] that the 8th Doctor had.
Re:Watched it, impressed! (Score:4, Interesting)
It certainly appears from the previews that the Weeping Angels have become recurring villains of a sort.
Re:The New Tardis (Score:5, Interesting)
Dr. Who on the Net? (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't keep a television in my house. Is there anywhere on the net to watch Dr. Who streaming that anyone could recommend?
I reviewed it, too (Score:2, Interesting)
http://doomedtoretweetit.wordpress.com/ [wordpress.com]
Re:Introduction to Dr. Who (Off-topic) (Score:4, Interesting)
Moffat also did The empty child/The doctor dances in the first season and Silence in the library/Forest of the dead in season 4. Considering he consistently made awesome episodes in the past I was very pleased that he's now main producer of the show.
Personally I consider both Blink and Girl in the fireplace to be extremely good. For me Blink wins out by a bit; but that's just me. What's fascinating is that Blink doesn't follow the normal Dr Who cast all that much, but he manages to introduce us to several new people and make us care more about them in 45 minutes than most shows manage for their standard cast in several seasons.
For starting Doctor Who I'd recommend going with the 2005 reboot. Every season after that kind of builds on top of it, and while the episodes are largely separate there are a lot of continuing plots as well. If you want some of the backstory I recommend watching the "Doctor Who Confidential" episodes as well. There is one for every episode and it's as 1 hour per episode. These give a lot of information and flash backs into the vast Dr Who library as well as interviews with the cast and former cast of the show. It really is an impressive "behind the scenes" presentation.
Why can't (Score:4, Interesting)
..Hugh Laurie be a Doctor? That would be interesting.
Re:The Companion (Score:3, Interesting)
This is definitely +1 informative. She is indeed.
More like "+0 stating the obvious". Followed by "She is, but not quite as hot as you think she is". Despite my fondness for redheads, I'd have preferred to see the return of Michelle Ryan [wikipedia.org]'s Lady Christina de Souza [wikipedia.org] - but that wouldn't have worked with the (excellent) story.
I am also sold on Matt Smith now after being initially disappointed that it wasn't Simon Pegg.
I'm still undecided about Matt. When he was first announced, I was "oh no, that's the end of it" - but he admitted himself quite well on Saturday. I'll give him time to sink or swim before I make up my mind. This may (or may not) bode well for Mr Smith - I wasn't overly keen on Tennant at the start of his tenure; now I think he's one of the best doctors (and I've seen 'em all; I'm even old enough that I saw Troughton in first-run on the BBC)
Simon Pegg would have been an interesting choice (although I think he's now too well known to be able to carry it off). John Simm would have been even more interesting (not least because of his appearance as the Master)
Compilation of reviewer opinions (Score:2, Interesting)
One of them compares the regeneration of the Doctor to the appointing of a new Archbishop of Canterbury.
Re:post title (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, I thought the exact opposite.
The sets/makeup/costumes all finally look like they were designed to be filmed in HD (and I don't even watch it in HD -- the 2005-era sets must have been made on an incredibly low-budget)
The CG/compositing work is also definitely improved (there's one shot toward the beginning that shows the Tardis zooming through London that I thought was particularly well-done). The Atraxi did look a bit low-budget, but not embarrassingly so -- I liked them, and wouldn't mind seeing them (or their awesome booming voices) recur in future episodes.
The direction and camerawork seem to have been improved -- most of the lingering "soap opera" feel is gone, and everything feels a whole lot more "mature."
That all said, I'd like to see more Mickey and Jack in the current series (especially since Torchwood seems to be on indefinite hiatus). Paradoxically for a sci-fi series, DW has very few few strong male characters apart from the Doctor himself.