In case you didn't see it, the Doctor Who Christmas special was pretty damn minty. There are a few things I like about the new Russell T. Davies regime, though I wonder exactly how much they may begin to grate on hardened fans.
First, Doctor Who is much funnier than he used to be. I can imagine that quite a few long-time lovers of the series may find this irritating (GCB: "..it's just NOT the SAME. Doctor Who isn't supposed to be FUNNY. It's supposed to be SCARY. I may be 47 years old, but I STILL want to feel like hiding BEHIND THE SOFA when it's on because I'm SO SCARED.")
On Boxing Day the papers were full of the political slant the Christmas special took. But for me the absolute highlight was David Tennant's doctor asking Billie Piper's Rose if he was ginger. Is it only me that sees a Chris Evans gag lurking there?
Second, the references. This may be evidence of my inner geek making a bid for freedom, but I had a whale of a time spotting all the sideways nods to other science fiction series. We had Star Trek (transporters), The Empire Strikes Back (the Doctor getting his hand cut off in a sword fight on the edge of a precipice) and The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy - Doctor beamed aboard alien spacecraft that's about to destroy humanity wearing only his pyjamas and a dressing gown. It says something for the quality of the writing that this particular gem wasn't spoiled by Davies having the Doctor spell it out.
Third, everything's going a bit meta. Eccleston's Doctor was a good distance from Eccleston's character in the RTD-scripted Second Coming. But the new doctor seems to owe quite a lot to David Tennant's starring role in the RTD-scripted Casanova. OK, Tennant's Doctor is a little harder at one extreme and a little softer at the other than the smooth, compromising Casanova, but the core of the two characters - or at least their behaviours - is very similar. Mind you, a lot of writers spend their careers endless rewriting a single character in multiple guises. Perhaps that's what's happening here.
In summary, top marks to the BBC.
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Published by Earthman
on Tuesday, December 27, 2005 at 10:49 AM. First, Doctor Who is much funnier than he used to be. I can imagine that quite a few long-time lovers of the series may find this irritating (GCB: "..it's just NOT the SAME. Doctor Who isn't supposed to be FUNNY. It's supposed to be SCARY. I may be 47 years old, but I STILL want to feel like hiding BEHIND THE SOFA when it's on because I'm SO SCARED.")
On Boxing Day the papers were full of the political slant the Christmas special took. But for me the absolute highlight was David Tennant's doctor asking Billie Piper's Rose if he was ginger. Is it only me that sees a Chris Evans gag lurking there?
Second, the references. This may be evidence of my inner geek making a bid for freedom, but I had a whale of a time spotting all the sideways nods to other science fiction series. We had Star Trek (transporters), The Empire Strikes Back (the Doctor getting his hand cut off in a sword fight on the edge of a precipice) and The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy - Doctor beamed aboard alien spacecraft that's about to destroy humanity wearing only his pyjamas and a dressing gown. It says something for the quality of the writing that this particular gem wasn't spoiled by Davies having the Doctor spell it out.
Third, everything's going a bit meta. Eccleston's Doctor was a good distance from Eccleston's character in the RTD-scripted Second Coming. But the new doctor seems to owe quite a lot to David Tennant's starring role in the RTD-scripted Casanova. OK, Tennant's Doctor is a little harder at one extreme and a little softer at the other than the smooth, compromising Casanova, but the core of the two characters - or at least their behaviours - is very similar. Mind you, a lot of writers spend their careers endless rewriting a single character in multiple guises. Perhaps that's what's happening here.
In summary, top marks to the BBC.
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