Dr. Who premiere

[wickednick]

Anyone watch the the season premiere of Dr. Who on BBC this weekend, I really enjoyed it. The new guy I was kinda skeptical about, but he turned out to be very enjoyable to watch (I still can't get over the fact he looks like the kid from Mask though).
I like the new companion Amy Pond, she's got a feisty side to her I really like.
The story was good, weird and British like usual, but hey thats why I like these shows. The aliens were great although I still have no idea what the Doctor was trying to do wish the computer virus.

[Newt]

I watched it twice, with different family members. It was far better than I expected it to be.  I'll confess I was all set to dislike the new Doctor, and he won me over despite my resistance.  I see hints of previous incarnations in him (which makes a sort of sense, I suppose), but I have a feeling he will settle into the role a bit in subsequent eps and make his own mark.

[Trevor]

Tom Baker is still the best Doctor for me and *sigh* Louise Jameson still the best Companion. 

[Doggett]

The story was good, weird and British like usual, but hey thats why I like these shows. The aliens were great although I still have no idea what the Doctor was trying to do wish the computer virus.

The virus turns everything into a zero which the aliens would have picked up on and would have realised that their prisoner was still on Earth. It was a message basically.


Oh, I love the new Daleks !!!!

[AndyC]

Yup. I'm very happy it's airing in Canada on Space this time. CBC ran the other seasons months after they aired in Britain.

We were pretty wary of the new Doctor. Both my wife and I liked Christopher Eccleston, and we liked David Tennant even more. But Matt Smith was an instant hit with us. He has just the right mix of likeability, eccentricity and arrogance.

I have noticed they seem to be trying to tie this season even more into the continuity of the original series. The new logo, the new intro, even the new theme arrangement all hearken back to earlier years, but with a more contemporary feel. And the images of all the past doctors near the end. That's what I love about Doctor Who - the actors change, but each one is still the Doctor after he leaves.

The new companion is also very nice, although I wish I could have seen more of her in the police uniform. A pretty Scottish redhead who seems like she can handle herself in a scrape - I like that.

Of course, we're now getting to the point where there are enough current Doctors to do a two-part "Three Doctors" type episode. Heck, with all of the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff going on, they could come up with an excuse to throw in Tom Baker or any of the other surviving first-run Doctors. It was already done for that 15-minute special with Tennant and Davison.

[Newt]

I don't like the 'new' Daleks.  They look softer - inflated and less threatening.

[AndyC]

I don't like the 'new' Daleks.  They look softer - inflated and less threatening.

Yeah, I like that they've finally resurrected the real Dalek empire, but I'm not sure about the new look. The 2005 Daleks we've seen so far were, for me, the best looking yet. They had the classic Dalek look, but more metallic and more detailed. They actually looked harder than the original Daleks. The new ones remind me of household appliances or compact cars - all smooth and rounded and shiny and colourful. I actually liked the way the Daleks looked painted flat khaki green.

[Doggett]

I don't like the 'new' Daleks.  They look softer - inflated and less threatening.

Yeah, I like that they've finally resurrected the real Dalek empire, but I'm not sure about the new look. The 2005 Daleks we've seen so far were, for me, the best looking yet. They had the classic Dalek look, but more metallic and more detailed. They actually looked harder than the original Daleks. The new ones remind me of household appliances or compact cars - all smooth and rounded and shiny and colourful. I actually liked the way the Daleks looked painted flat khaki green.

I have nothing wrong with the colour. I love the yellow Dalek. I like that they're bigger and they have colour to show rank. Maybe the colours are a little too bold for some people, I can understand that. Perhaps they should be toned down a little.



Oh, man, I love that yellow Dalek soooooooo much !

[Newt]

The colours are not a big deal; as AndyC said it's the rounded look that does not sit quite right.

[Doggett]

Over protective parents are already complaining:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1271051/Is-Doctor-Who-getting-scary-kids-Children-sofa-vampires-strike.html

[AndyC]

The colours are not a big deal; as AndyC said it's the rounded look that does not sit quite right.

The colours actually reminded me of the Peter Cushing movies, which wasn't so bad. It is mainly the shape I don't like. The heads seem too small and the bodies too big and round. They almost look inflated.

I have liked Matt Smith so far. He settled right into the role and became The Doctor with no trouble at all as far as I'm concerned. Nice combination of whimsy and seriousness, eccentric curiosity and righteous rage. I thought "The Beast Below" really gave him a chance to show that. For me, his two best scenes in that episode were informing Amy that they were standing on "a great big tongue!" and after he's figured out what's going on - "Nobody human has anything to say to me today!"

[wickednick]

So far Dr.Who has been turning out pretty good. I didn't care much for Victory of the Daleks. It was just average and the whole part with the fighter planes flying around space was laughable.
But the two new episodes about the Weeping Angels are really good. So far the Angels are my favorite bad guys. Their such a original, actually scary enemy.

[Newt]

Over protective parents are already complaining:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1271051/Is-Doctor-Who-getting-scary-kids-Children-sofa-vampires-strike.html

Oh get real, people! Kids love a good scare; chills are good fun  - especially when you know you are safe.  Part of the charm of Dr Who has always been that you absolutely know The Doctor will protect you and save the day! 

My kids (granted, the youngest is 12 and was a Dalek for two Hallowe'ens running) - OK the whole family - have taken to quoting the Daleks (growly mechanical voice and all) saying, "May I offer you a cup of TEA?".  Deliciously incongruous!

"The next word is a scary word..." LOL!  And Sir Winston asking the android if he is a man...pure gold.

[AndyC]

And the scares in Doctor Who have always been good scares. There has never been anything cheap or excessive, just good scary monsters and dangerous situations. That's important for an adventure series. I can remember getting scared by episodes like The Brain of Morbius, Image of the Fendahl and Terror of the Zygons as a kid, which is why they are among my favourite classic episodes today.

And wasn't that always Doctor Who's reputation - the show kids watch from behind the couch?

The interesting thing is that I was just having a talk with my daughter the other night. She's finding that although she likes movies, they all have scary people in them. We're talking Captain Hook scary, nothing too serious. I had to explain to her that the good guys need a bad guy to defeat, and when the bad guy is is a little bit scary, it's all the better when the good guys win. This is why most kids' movies, and most movies in general, have a villain of some sort. The story wouldn't be very exciting without one. She seemed to understand.

[Newt]

Very good point, Andy.

The whole 'scary adversary' scenario has been an essential part of storytelling since before we were scribbling on the cave walls.

I was always struck by the confidence of the Companions.  It almost came off as cockiness, but seemed to be rooted in a supreme assurance that they and the Doctor could cope with anything the universe threw at them.  One would think, in these days of constant harping on bolstering self-esteem, that that attitude would be appreciated as a model.