Today's update is a review of last week's North American DVD release of The Ark. Check it out on the Reviews page.
Next Week: Review of The Seeds of Doom - a Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) adventure
16 March 2011
09 March 2011
Confession #7: I've Learned to Like Six
As I was first learning about the pre-RTD Doctors, I heard a lot of love for Three, Four and Five, and a lot of hate for Six and Seven. Although I've never understood why Seven was so reviled (perhaps because my first experience with him was Remembrance of the Daleks
, which included Ace, who was to become one of my all-time favorite Companions), I must admit that I took an instant dislike to Six, as I'd come to expect I would.
I suppose it was partly a self-fulfilling prophecy, but when you consider my first exposure to Six (not counting the regeneration scene) was in Vengeance on Varos
- in which he is exceptionally snotty to Peri (who, granted, kind of deserves it, but not that much...) - perhaps it's not surprising I didn't take to him right away. All I got from him was egomania and disregard for his Companion - not a Doctorly attitude at all. It wasn't till much later that I discerned any sort of affection for Peri underlying the banter.
Since those first few months, though, I've come to appreciate him as a great character in his own right. Mostly, this is due to the brilliance of Rich Morris, artist and web comic writer extraordinaire, who penned the epic fan comic The Ten Doctors (also available in PDF format here). It was through Rich's work that I was finally able to see the beautiful potential of Six, who really had been done a disservice by his writers, in my opinion. (Not to mention the costume designer - what is up with that nasty outfit? Why couldn't they have gone monochrome?) The Six of TTD was extremely clever, yet never out of acerbic character from the televised episodes. He was somehow simultaneously grumpy and charming. I had a lot of respect for that version of Six, and was able to superimpose the positive qualities exhibited there onto the on-screen Doctor afterward. (In fact, I learned a lot about Doctor Who as a whole from both TTD and the associated forums, which are populated by some really knowledgeable folks in what is probably the friendliest community on Teh Intarwebs.)
It also helped when I was finally able to watch Trial of a Timelord. In his second series, Six finally came into his own. (Getting rid of Peri - my all-time least favorite Companion - was a step in the right direction, too. ...though Mel wasn't much of an improvement.) There's finally a real, noticeable warmth between Six and Peri (at least before the brain scrambling incident in the second sub-story), and he radiates confidence without arrogance in the adventures viewed through the Matrix. He's still kind of a prat in the courtroom on Gallifrey, though, faced with the Valeyard's vitriol. It seems that being under fire brings out the worst in him (though having recently taken a couple of hits at work, I can't really blame him); when he can't be the one in charge, he gets huffy. However, when things clearly go awry as the Doctor tries to make his own case, his discomfiture affords him a bit of humility. Without all that smug self-satisfaction, Six is actually rather engaging. Perhaps it's that it gives him just enough of the "humanity" that the Companion (largely absent in court) usually affords the viewer. Whatever the case, by the end of Trial, I was much more willing to cut Six some slack, and count him among "Doctors I Like," rather than have him all alone on the other side of that tally sheet.
Sometimes it takes someone else's perspective to make you take another look. That experience changed my mind. If you've never had an appreciation for Six, maybe it's time for you to look again, too.
, which included Ace, who was to become one of my all-time favorite Companions), I must admit that I took an instant dislike to Six, as I'd come to expect I would.I suppose it was partly a self-fulfilling prophecy, but when you consider my first exposure to Six (not counting the regeneration scene) was in Vengeance on Varos
- in which he is exceptionally snotty to Peri (who, granted, kind of deserves it, but not that much...) - perhaps it's not surprising I didn't take to him right away. All I got from him was egomania and disregard for his Companion - not a Doctorly attitude at all. It wasn't till much later that I discerned any sort of affection for Peri underlying the banter.Since those first few months, though, I've come to appreciate him as a great character in his own right. Mostly, this is due to the brilliance of Rich Morris, artist and web comic writer extraordinaire, who penned the epic fan comic The Ten Doctors (also available in PDF format here). It was through Rich's work that I was finally able to see the beautiful potential of Six, who really had been done a disservice by his writers, in my opinion. (Not to mention the costume designer - what is up with that nasty outfit? Why couldn't they have gone monochrome?) The Six of TTD was extremely clever, yet never out of acerbic character from the televised episodes. He was somehow simultaneously grumpy and charming. I had a lot of respect for that version of Six, and was able to superimpose the positive qualities exhibited there onto the on-screen Doctor afterward. (In fact, I learned a lot about Doctor Who as a whole from both TTD and the associated forums, which are populated by some really knowledgeable folks in what is probably the friendliest community on Teh Intarwebs.)
It also helped when I was finally able to watch Trial of a Timelord. In his second series, Six finally came into his own. (Getting rid of Peri - my all-time least favorite Companion - was a step in the right direction, too. ...though Mel wasn't much of an improvement.) There's finally a real, noticeable warmth between Six and Peri (at least before the brain scrambling incident in the second sub-story), and he radiates confidence without arrogance in the adventures viewed through the Matrix. He's still kind of a prat in the courtroom on Gallifrey, though, faced with the Valeyard's vitriol. It seems that being under fire brings out the worst in him (though having recently taken a couple of hits at work, I can't really blame him); when he can't be the one in charge, he gets huffy. However, when things clearly go awry as the Doctor tries to make his own case, his discomfiture affords him a bit of humility. Without all that smug self-satisfaction, Six is actually rather engaging. Perhaps it's that it gives him just enough of the "humanity" that the Companion (largely absent in court) usually affords the viewer. Whatever the case, by the end of Trial, I was much more willing to cut Six some slack, and count him among "Doctors I Like," rather than have him all alone on the other side of that tally sheet.
Sometimes it takes someone else's perspective to make you take another look. That experience changed my mind. If you've never had an appreciation for Six, maybe it's time for you to look again, too.
02 March 2011
Confession #6: The Fourth Doctor Kind of Bugs Me
If Confession #3 irked a few Neo-Whovians (and yes, I did catch some flak from the Ladies), then this one is sure to incur the wrath of some Old Skool Whovians. Tom Baker, aka Four (you know the one - "all teeth and curls," perpetually wrapped in a ridiculously long scarf), is one of the best-loved Doctors of all time. In fact, before David Tennant's stint, he was the most popular Doctor ever. However, though I do generally enjoy him, a lot of times Four just sort of rubs me the wrong way.
First, there's the way he seems to work so hard on being weird. Sure, the googly eyes give him a head start, but that's the least of it. There are so many instances where he'll just repeat! someone else's line enough to startle ("of course!"), and then come down from that vocal high still as confused as ever ("nope - still don't know what you're talking about") that it ceases to either surprise or amuse (a trait Tennant borrowed for Ten, though I don't believe he wielded it as often). I think it would bug me less if it weren't such an ongoing gag. It's something that feels like it started as one of Baker's many attempts to make the cast and crew lose their composure and start laughing on set - except that once it worked, he kept inserting it as one of Four's quirks, and it lost its effect (file under: funny once).
What really irritates me, though, is how rude he is to everyone. He frequently cuts off his Companions mid-sentence, usually when they're trying to tell him something important that he needs to know. It doesn't matter who it is - Sarah Jane, K-9, even Romana (who's supposed to be as clever as the Doctor) - all suffer the same indignity and implication of insignificance. Again, every once in a while it can be amusing, but it seems to happen nearly every story. His self-centeredness in this sense feels very anti-Doctor to me, and makes me wonder: where's the Doctor who loves and values his Companions? Oh, I know he does, but as the saying goes, he has a funny way of showing it...
Not all of these annoying traits crop up in every story. Occasionally, none of them do (like The Invisible Enemy
- Nu-View pending). Yet somehow, the pall of them tends to color my enjoyment. Maybe I've seen a few too many interviews on DVD extras or something, because Tom Baker and Four seem indelibly intertwined, even outside the studio. That makes it difficult to know how much of Four's posturing is Tom Baker's larger-than-life personality coming out, and how much is just the way he chooses to play the character.
I've also gotten the impression from various accounts that Baker was very jealous of "his" role, and didn't exactly play well with others at conventions and such, having made Four so iconic during his tenure. For example, at one convention, he reportedly greeted his fans on an entirely different floor than the other Doctors present. I suppose my opinion of the character has thus been a bit influenced by what I've learned of the actor.
On the other hand, I'm certainly not going to stop watching him. He delivered a whole lot of really good stories, and - especially after my recent viewing of Meglos
(DVD review sadly scrapped) - I have plenty of respect for his acting chops. When you can see how distinct the Doctor is from another character Baker is playing, it makes even the over-the-top bits more palatable - Four as caricature rather than alter-ego is somehow less off-putting. So Four's stories will most definitely stay in my "happy to re-watch it" queue. I just need to make sure I'm in a properly off-the-wall mood.
First, there's the way he seems to work so hard on being weird. Sure, the googly eyes give him a head start, but that's the least of it. There are so many instances where he'll just repeat! someone else's line enough to startle ("of course!"), and then come down from that vocal high still as confused as ever ("nope - still don't know what you're talking about") that it ceases to either surprise or amuse (a trait Tennant borrowed for Ten, though I don't believe he wielded it as often). I think it would bug me less if it weren't such an ongoing gag. It's something that feels like it started as one of Baker's many attempts to make the cast and crew lose their composure and start laughing on set - except that once it worked, he kept inserting it as one of Four's quirks, and it lost its effect (file under: funny once).
What really irritates me, though, is how rude he is to everyone. He frequently cuts off his Companions mid-sentence, usually when they're trying to tell him something important that he needs to know. It doesn't matter who it is - Sarah Jane, K-9, even Romana (who's supposed to be as clever as the Doctor) - all suffer the same indignity and implication of insignificance. Again, every once in a while it can be amusing, but it seems to happen nearly every story. His self-centeredness in this sense feels very anti-Doctor to me, and makes me wonder: where's the Doctor who loves and values his Companions? Oh, I know he does, but as the saying goes, he has a funny way of showing it...
Not all of these annoying traits crop up in every story. Occasionally, none of them do (like The Invisible Enemy
- Nu-View pending). Yet somehow, the pall of them tends to color my enjoyment. Maybe I've seen a few too many interviews on DVD extras or something, because Tom Baker and Four seem indelibly intertwined, even outside the studio. That makes it difficult to know how much of Four's posturing is Tom Baker's larger-than-life personality coming out, and how much is just the way he chooses to play the character.I've also gotten the impression from various accounts that Baker was very jealous of "his" role, and didn't exactly play well with others at conventions and such, having made Four so iconic during his tenure. For example, at one convention, he reportedly greeted his fans on an entirely different floor than the other Doctors present. I suppose my opinion of the character has thus been a bit influenced by what I've learned of the actor.
On the other hand, I'm certainly not going to stop watching him. He delivered a whole lot of really good stories, and - especially after my recent viewing of Meglos
(DVD review sadly scrapped) - I have plenty of respect for his acting chops. When you can see how distinct the Doctor is from another character Baker is playing, it makes even the over-the-top bits more palatable - Four as caricature rather than alter-ego is somehow less off-putting. So Four's stories will most definitely stay in my "happy to re-watch it" queue. I just need to make sure I'm in a properly off-the-wall mood.
18 February 2011
Schedule Adjustment
In the interest of maintaining the quality of my posts (and my sanity), I have decided to change my posting schedule, starting next week (Wednesday, 23 Feb 11). Rather than trying to post a Confession every week and squeeze in Reviews and Nu-Views as they arise, I will only post something from one of those three classes every week, depending on DVD release schedules and WhoFest session dates.
Partly, this allows me to "ramp up" to my intended eventual tripartite blog structure. A revised, custom site is under construction (don't ask about a release date for that; I've no idea at this stage) in which each type of post (Confessions, Reviews, and Nu-Views) will have its own blog-stream. You'll be able to follow the RSS feed for any one of them, or all of them. If I gain a real Readership, I might even consider adding a forum. It'll be cool; just wait and see.
Another thing I hope to improve with the upcoming site is giving readers the ability to post comments on Reviews and Nu-Views as well. Not that there are many comments yet... (C'mon, people! I can see you in my stats! I know someone's at least loading my pages!) I recognize that episode reviews are probably the most likely to inspire chatter, so that's one of the main reasons I wanted to blog-etize all three sections. In the meantime, please feel free to comment about any section of the site on the Confessions page.
Now just because I've declared that I will only post in one category a week, it doesn't mean I won't occasionally post to more, if I get inspired. Sometimes I'll want to write a lot - I do get slightly obsessive about things like blogging. And, of course, there's Series Six coming up. So pull up a chair and settle in. There's plenty to come.
Partly, this allows me to "ramp up" to my intended eventual tripartite blog structure. A revised, custom site is under construction (don't ask about a release date for that; I've no idea at this stage) in which each type of post (Confessions, Reviews, and Nu-Views) will have its own blog-stream. You'll be able to follow the RSS feed for any one of them, or all of them. If I gain a real Readership, I might even consider adding a forum. It'll be cool; just wait and see.
Another thing I hope to improve with the upcoming site is giving readers the ability to post comments on Reviews and Nu-Views as well. Not that there are many comments yet... (C'mon, people! I can see you in my stats! I know someone's at least loading my pages!) I recognize that episode reviews are probably the most likely to inspire chatter, so that's one of the main reasons I wanted to blog-etize all three sections. In the meantime, please feel free to comment about any section of the site on the Confessions page.
Now just because I've declared that I will only post in one category a week, it doesn't mean I won't occasionally post to more, if I get inspired. Sometimes I'll want to write a lot - I do get slightly obsessive about things like blogging. And, of course, there's Series Six coming up. So pull up a chair and settle in. There's plenty to come.
16 February 2011
Confession #5: I Have My Own Theories About River Song
This is more an "admission" than a confession, but hey - it's my blog.
Especially with Series Six coming up in a matter of weeks, and a promise that "everything changes," ideas about who River Song "really is" are as abundant as fans who watch Nu-Who (if not more so). I figured now was as good a time as any to put forth my own.
Perhaps I should start with a brief list of the most common hypotheses that I don't buy. For example:
Ever since Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead, I've been firmly convinced that knowing his name is the big key. There's something extremely unpleasant behind River's relationship with the Doctor. Why else would she preface the revelation of her knowledge with "I'm sorry; I'm really very sorry..."? That's the most telling exchange we've yet seen, in my opinion. While some people interpret Ten's admission that "there's only one way I would ever tell anyone my name. There's only one time I could" as evidence to support the Wife Hypothesis, I find it all more sinister. (It also clearly debunks the Future Incarnation Hypothesis, as he would never need to tell himself his name.) In what circumstances would it be critical for someone besides the Doctor to know (perhaps to preserve) his name?
I think it has something to do with his thirteenth (and canonically final) incarnation. Somehow - though through what mechanism I'm not creative enough to contrive - I believe River is involved in extending his regenerations beyond the "normal" limit, probably needing to end his life as Thirteen in the process. I'll be the first to admit that this is an incomplete idea at best, and utterly off the mark if Moffat's plans don't extend beyond Eleven's tenure. Given River's off-handed comments about "all [his] faces," I prefer to believe she'll be with us at least until Twelve, and Moffat has assured us that River's entire story will play out on screen. Whatever the case - and I'm perfectly willing to adjust my own hypothesis as more clues come to light - I cannot be swayed from my conviction that there is something really dark in the Doctor's future with River.
Maybe we'll learn more in the middle of Series Six*, when "everything changes."
*I have a sneaking suspicion that the upcoming mid-series cliffhanger will be all about River and her portents.
Especially with Series Six coming up in a matter of weeks, and a promise that "everything changes," ideas about who River Song "really is" are as abundant as fans who watch Nu-Who (if not more so). I figured now was as good a time as any to put forth my own.
Perhaps I should start with a brief list of the most common hypotheses that I don't buy. For example:
- She's the Doctor's wife. Yeah, right. They may act "like an old married couple" and there have been hints dropped left and right that they are, but I just can't credit it. Undoubtedly, there's a romantic (or even just sexual) component to the relationship, but if River is the Doctor's wife, then that is only a fraction of the whole story. Otherwise, the rest makes no sense.
- She's a future incarnation of the Doctor. This idea clearly comes out of certain fans' long-standing desire to see a female Doctor, but River Song is no Valeyard
. While she clearly knows how to handle herself in the TARDIS and such, she's much too comfortable with violence in general, and guns in particular, for me ever to believe she's the Doctor.
- She's another Time Lord. I'm more willing to believe this one than some of the others, but it still doesn't ring true to me. If she's traipsing around the 51st century, why is the Doctor convinced all through the rest of Nu-Who that he (or, for a time, the Master) is the last of the Time Lords? Supposedly he can sense other Time Lords, regardless of where (or, presumably, when) they are. None of that fits with what we know of River.
- She's the Doctor's mother/daughter. Are these people on drugs? There is nothing either maternal or filial in River's attitude toward the Doctor. If there were, then other comments would be distinctly incestuous in nature, which is far too creepy for someone like Moffat to include in a show that is - at least in Britain - specifically aimed at a family audience. I'd sooner believe the Woman in White from The End of Time had either familial relationship with the Doctor (most certainly not my interpretation) than that River does.
Ever since Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead, I've been firmly convinced that knowing his name is the big key. There's something extremely unpleasant behind River's relationship with the Doctor. Why else would she preface the revelation of her knowledge with "I'm sorry; I'm really very sorry..."? That's the most telling exchange we've yet seen, in my opinion. While some people interpret Ten's admission that "there's only one way I would ever tell anyone my name. There's only one time I could" as evidence to support the Wife Hypothesis, I find it all more sinister. (It also clearly debunks the Future Incarnation Hypothesis, as he would never need to tell himself his name.) In what circumstances would it be critical for someone besides the Doctor to know (perhaps to preserve) his name?
I think it has something to do with his thirteenth (and canonically final) incarnation. Somehow - though through what mechanism I'm not creative enough to contrive - I believe River is involved in extending his regenerations beyond the "normal" limit, probably needing to end his life as Thirteen in the process. I'll be the first to admit that this is an incomplete idea at best, and utterly off the mark if Moffat's plans don't extend beyond Eleven's tenure. Given River's off-handed comments about "all [his] faces," I prefer to believe she'll be with us at least until Twelve, and Moffat has assured us that River's entire story will play out on screen. Whatever the case - and I'm perfectly willing to adjust my own hypothesis as more clues come to light - I cannot be swayed from my conviction that there is something really dark in the Doctor's future with River.
Maybe we'll learn more in the middle of Series Six*, when "everything changes."
*I have a sneaking suspicion that the upcoming mid-series cliffhanger will be all about River and her portents.
09 February 2011
Post-poned
Due to the unfortunate encroachment of Real Life, Confession #4 will need to be postponed until next week. With yesterday's release of The Movie and The Mutants, there should be some new reviews in the next week or two, as well.
My apologies if I've disappointed anyone (with my vast, single digit readership, I'm sure there's somebody...). I'll get back on track as soon as possible, once these pesky RL issues are resolved.
My apologies if I've disappointed anyone (with my vast, single digit readership, I'm sure there's somebody...). I'll get back on track as soon as possible, once these pesky RL issues are resolved.
02 February 2011
Confession #4: I Hate the "Standard" Regenerations
Warning:
This site (specifically, this post) contains profanity. If you can't handle that, turn back now.
When Nine regenerated into Ten, Rose looked on in consternation as all the energy of the Time Vortex streamed back out of him as a bright, shining light pouring from his arms and head. It was dramatic, it was beautifully done, and it was appropriate. So what the hell was going on when the same effect turned the Jacobi-Master into the Simms-Master? He'd just been shot, for shit's sake - why would he get all glowy?
Former Head Writer/Executive Producer Russell T. Davies (commonly known as RTD) would have us believe that there needed to be a sense of continuity about the regeneration process, or new viewers wouldn't understand that it was the way all Timelords change their bodies whenever they near death. Give me a fucking break. Are we really so stupid we can't figure out that a body change is still a body change? How does it make sense to have all regenerations the same, no matter the cause? If a Timelord dies of a paper cut, should his regeneration cause him to stand up from where he's collapsed and shoot golden light out of every orifice? Hardly. That's clearly something else coming out of one of RTD's orifices, if you ask me.
Who knows what current head honcho Steven Moffat (aka The Grand Moff) will decide to do when it's time for Eleven to become Twelve, but I sincerely hope he gives fans a bit more credit in the mental capacity department. He always challenges us to pay attention to little details in order to get to the heart of one of his twisted plots, so I'd like to think he'll be willing to throw this RTD-era relic of "standard" regenerations in the bin where it belongs. I advocate the return of the Unique Regeneration - a process that is specific to the place, time, and method of the Doctor's (or other Timelord's) death.
Just look back at the history. From One through Seven, we witness each Doctor undergo regeneration from a new cause of death, and each time it's a little different. Check out the details to see what I mean:
One to Two - Apparent ill health / old ageCompare these to the Nu-Who regenerations we've seen so far:
morph while collapsed
Two to Three - Decreed by Timelords
off-screen; new Doctor stumbles from TARDIS
Three to Four* - Radiation poisoning
K'anpo "kick starts" process, morph where collapsed
Four to Five - Fell from a height
Watcher merged with Four, became Five
Five to Six - Spectrox toxemia; antidote given to Peri
Hallucinations, morph where collapsed
Six to Seven* - Cranial(?) trauma when TARDIS hijacked
morph when rolled over by a Tetrap
Seven to Eight - Cardiac surgery gone wrong
morph on slab in morgue fridge
*These are regenerations I've only seen in snippets on YouTube, rather than in full episode context.
Nine to Ten - Absorbed all the energy of the Time VortexDoes anybody else see anything wrong with this picture? Why is there no correlation between the manner of death and regeneration in Nu-Who? Worse, why is there a brilliant connection in the first case, and nonsensical repetition ever after? Once again, this feels like a case where RTD's fanboy'er-than-thou attitude has gotten the better of him. In the land of Russell Knows Best, Classic canon has been chucked out the window (let's not review the Doctor's purported age too closely in that light, shall we?) and RTD's poorly-thought-out vision inflicted on all of us. Let's just hope the Grand Moff sees the not-shooting-golden light.
standing morph; golden light of Time Vortex shooting from head, arms
Jacobi-Master to Simms-Master - Shot by companion Chan Tho
standing morph; golden light shooting from head, arms
Ten to Ten Point Two* - Shot by Dalek
standing morph; golden light shooting from head, arms
Ten to Eleven - Extreme radiation exposure
standing morph; golden light shooting from head, arms
*Hardly counts as a regeneration; merely setting the stage for the Timelord-human metacrisis.
Maybe I'm being a bit hard on RTD (lord knows I'm not the only one); he did, after all, do a lot of things right, not the least of which is bringing the whole shebang back to our screens and introducing a whole new batch of people to Doctor Who (THANK YOU!). But I'm sticking to my guns on this one. Regeneration is as individual as death; every person experiences it differently, and as we are all well aware, every Doctor is a unique person. Let's do them each the honor of allowing their final moments to be truly distinct.
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