Doctor Who
Apr. 11th, 2009 07:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabeththat was a very big desert.
you could tell.
although, sadly, there is a certain sameyness about deserts that combines with extensive use of computer FX and leaves me with a pervasive feeling of photoshop no matter what I know really happened.
It isn't helped by the way I felt like the story went 'Look! A desert!' and then sort of hung around there for a while and came home.
I felt like, having seen the trailer, I'd seen the episode, and I don't usually get that feeling.
Admittedly it doesn't help that I've been studying Hamlet this week - the gear change is immense - but I felt this story could have done with a bit more character, and conflict between opposing goals, and tension, and people doing things.
The christmas story told an effective and powerful story about family and what the mind can take and power and how the Doctor feels about his own future and loneliness and, well, lots of stuff. And with a giant steampunk robot. And importantly the audience got to follow along and figure out the clues. There was a mystery, there was something needed known, and we got to figure it out.
In this easter story we got a big desert. They were in the desert. They worked together to get out of the desert. We got a 'care about these people' scene, which felt so completely ticky box to me. And we got an hour of 'Lady Christina - cool or so cool?' And ... I don't care. Really. Maybe if we were ever going to see her again and it was a first episode, but it isn't, it's self contained, and we know no more about her by the end than at the start from the name and one line, she's such a cutout.
What was there to know at the end that we didn't at the start?
There was some interesting in the Doctor being all 'don't approve... but I stole the TARDIS'. And then he wouldn't travel with her but would let her out the handcuffs.
Except, well, interesting isn't exactly the word, more like annoying. Like, fly be free little jewel thief! Stealings is just good fun! And PC might say that RTD doesn't want us to follow the Doctor's lead, but the Doctor is always right about surviving and aliens and stuff, so how does that come across?
Fly head aliens were annoying. Not for the creature design. One of the NSFG guys has had much to say about the creature design. Even after the discussion about no spoilers please no really I don't even read the radio times I... thanks, yes, I needed to hear that argh. ANYway. There is nothing wrong with fly head aliens. And they introduced them nicely, like they introduced the flying eaters nicely. Good bits of mystery hand or flashing in the distance, followed by eventual reveal, and being a bit scary, or eating the probe; old school in the good way.
But then we never got to hear what they had to say. Never. And then they got ate. And somehow all my annoyance about the lack of proper alien aliens crystallised around that. It's all very well having proper alien looking aliens and proper alien talking aliens BUT if you never let them speak so the audience understand they'll never seem like proper people and then the message that gets reinforced is 'care about them if they look like us' and WRONG.
I liked the Doctor saying that humans look like Time Lords. I didn't like the story using looks as the dividing line on how people got treated.
I did rather like the burnt to a skeleton bus driver, though wonder that the Doctor couldn't stop him when he's had so much running practice. The effect was rather cool.
The Doctor simplifying for the stupid apes and having them sort out the science bits for him was sort of cool too.
The Doctor being all I'm Lone And Doomed and LOOOOONE and doomed and EVERYONE LEEEEAAAAVES and... that was not cool. That was really annoying. They don't. We know where they are. They're hardly lost if we know where everyone is. He's being a muppet.
Tense moments - Military priorities saying close the wormhole now and Malcolm with his computer keyboard says no. Only moment of both sides being right so an interesting moment. But given that the Doctor does save the world so often I'd call him essential to the continued defence and so letting him get home first is making a lot more sense than close it now. Specially since if he thought Earth would be doomed by waiting he'd be the first to say doom him nowpls. Also since the science guy had been Comedy Science Guy up until then it seemed unlikely anything unfunny would happen. Bit blah.
I may like it more later.
I'm sure if it was somewhere in the middle of a series I'd not mind it at all, think it had some interesting characters, lots of women and black people, shiny monsters, all the good ingredients.
But sitting there on its own it didn't have enough of the character moments I love TV for, the continuing characters, to keep me properly involved.
you could tell.
although, sadly, there is a certain sameyness about deserts that combines with extensive use of computer FX and leaves me with a pervasive feeling of photoshop no matter what I know really happened.
It isn't helped by the way I felt like the story went 'Look! A desert!' and then sort of hung around there for a while and came home.
I felt like, having seen the trailer, I'd seen the episode, and I don't usually get that feeling.
Admittedly it doesn't help that I've been studying Hamlet this week - the gear change is immense - but I felt this story could have done with a bit more character, and conflict between opposing goals, and tension, and people doing things.
The christmas story told an effective and powerful story about family and what the mind can take and power and how the Doctor feels about his own future and loneliness and, well, lots of stuff. And with a giant steampunk robot. And importantly the audience got to follow along and figure out the clues. There was a mystery, there was something needed known, and we got to figure it out.
In this easter story we got a big desert. They were in the desert. They worked together to get out of the desert. We got a 'care about these people' scene, which felt so completely ticky box to me. And we got an hour of 'Lady Christina - cool or so cool?' And ... I don't care. Really. Maybe if we were ever going to see her again and it was a first episode, but it isn't, it's self contained, and we know no more about her by the end than at the start from the name and one line, she's such a cutout.
What was there to know at the end that we didn't at the start?
There was some interesting in the Doctor being all 'don't approve... but I stole the TARDIS'. And then he wouldn't travel with her but would let her out the handcuffs.
Except, well, interesting isn't exactly the word, more like annoying. Like, fly be free little jewel thief! Stealings is just good fun! And PC might say that RTD doesn't want us to follow the Doctor's lead, but the Doctor is always right about surviving and aliens and stuff, so how does that come across?
Fly head aliens were annoying. Not for the creature design. One of the NSFG guys has had much to say about the creature design. Even after the discussion about no spoilers please no really I don't even read the radio times I... thanks, yes, I needed to hear that argh. ANYway. There is nothing wrong with fly head aliens. And they introduced them nicely, like they introduced the flying eaters nicely. Good bits of mystery hand or flashing in the distance, followed by eventual reveal, and being a bit scary, or eating the probe; old school in the good way.
But then we never got to hear what they had to say. Never. And then they got ate. And somehow all my annoyance about the lack of proper alien aliens crystallised around that. It's all very well having proper alien looking aliens and proper alien talking aliens BUT if you never let them speak so the audience understand they'll never seem like proper people and then the message that gets reinforced is 'care about them if they look like us' and WRONG.
I liked the Doctor saying that humans look like Time Lords. I didn't like the story using looks as the dividing line on how people got treated.
I did rather like the burnt to a skeleton bus driver, though wonder that the Doctor couldn't stop him when he's had so much running practice. The effect was rather cool.
The Doctor simplifying for the stupid apes and having them sort out the science bits for him was sort of cool too.
The Doctor being all I'm Lone And Doomed and LOOOOONE and doomed and EVERYONE LEEEEAAAAVES and... that was not cool. That was really annoying. They don't. We know where they are. They're hardly lost if we know where everyone is. He's being a muppet.
Tense moments - Military priorities saying close the wormhole now and Malcolm with his computer keyboard says no. Only moment of both sides being right so an interesting moment. But given that the Doctor does save the world so often I'd call him essential to the continued defence and so letting him get home first is making a lot more sense than close it now. Specially since if he thought Earth would be doomed by waiting he'd be the first to say doom him nowpls. Also since the science guy had been Comedy Science Guy up until then it seemed unlikely anything unfunny would happen. Bit blah.
I may like it more later.
I'm sure if it was somewhere in the middle of a series I'd not mind it at all, think it had some interesting characters, lots of women and black people, shiny monsters, all the good ingredients.
But sitting there on its own it didn't have enough of the character moments I love TV for, the continuing characters, to keep me properly involved.