The New Who Review
Posted By Kathleen David on March 18, 2006
Hi there.
I am sure you are wondering where my reviews for the first two episodes of Dr. Who are since I said I would talk about them after they aired. Of course probably some of you are not expecting me to say anything on my blog until Monday since I went to Luna Con. And yet others of you are wondering why I chose this form of narrative voice to write this entry.
LunaCon has been lots of fun and will be more so that I finally got some solid sleep. Friday I got up very early with Caroline and didn’t get my usual nap. The drive was fine except two accidents along the way which snarled traffic while at one people going my direction were rubbernecking and at the other the cops stopped traffic to get the med-vac helicopter in to the accident. One the chopper had landed then I managed to get out of there with out too much trouble. I felt very sorry for everyone on the side with the accidents. Traffic was at a stand still for miles. I got to the hotel and met my friend Mary Aileen who I am rooming with. We made the smart move and got our work into the art show and had dinner at a very nice local diner. I then did a couple of panels and went to the artists’ reception afterward. I caught up with some old friends and news of their lives. I went to bed about midnight and had a horrid night of lack of sleep. I kept waking up about every half hour and then it would take me about half an hour to go back to sleep. This went on until about 8:00 where I finally said sod this and got up. I did a couple more panels after getting a decent breakfast at that diner we were at last night but my brain felt like it was in a fog all morning. Finally after lunch I went up to the room and took a pretty solid nap. So my brain feels much better now then it did before I took the nap. I have the snake to deliver for the costume call tonight which I hope to see with the usual gang of suspects.
I am grateful I am going to be able to watch Dr. Who with my daughter.
Behind the cut are my thoughts on “Rose” and “the End of the World”
Rose
Rose is an interesting piece because you have to introduce a whole new generation of people to the Doctor, the TARDIS, and the basic concept of the show. I think RTD did a fine job of it. It was pointed out to me that at no point were the Autons referred to by that name. There are a number of other tips of the hat to old time fans as well. It is a good starting out point to relaunch the Doctor. I also love Billy’s swing of peril with her comments about her schooling. Caroline apparently watched this grinning ear to ear except when she hid under her blanket because the Autons were chasing Rose. Another generation is born.
The End of the World
This was a very interesting episode that shows potential for the series. I loved the variety of aliens we were presented with and notice that they are not all shaped like humans with strange bumps on their head. Cassadra was wonderful as the villain of the piece. Rose dealing with the concept of time travel was very interesting. It was great to see someone finally point out how going back in time knowing how it will all end is a life changing event. And Rose being left with a sense of futility until the Doctor explains how it really doesn’t matter at her point in the timeline because it will happen but it will happen so long down the road as not to matter. Caroline had no problem with the various aliens that were portrayed in the show.
I’ve actually had to acclimate myself to the 45 minute format before I could pass judgement on the new series. As a lifelong fan of the show, it just seemed more natural to view a story told across 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. The Sci-Fi airings are the first time that I’ll have seen any of the new series. After watching Rose and The End of the World a few times, I’m learning to relax and enjoy them. The pacing of Rose seems hyper-kinetic at times. On PAD’s website the discussion of narrative pacing is well underway in the V for Vendetta thread (a good movie that I just saw last night that…but I digr…umm, you get the picture). Anyway, the amusing thing is that halfway through TEOFTW I felt like I was watching an 80’s episode of Buck Rogers. Nothing bad, mind you, but just a sense of mismatched nostalgia. I think there is some shared campiness in there somewhere. People on the gallifreyone and scifi forums encourage newbies to the series to stick with as it gets better. I will. It’s cute to hear that Caroline is enjoying it. I’ve also thought about sharing it with my 5 year old niece who I’ve briefly introduced to the first Doctor once. Although, the ninth Doctor is certainly more modern, I can’t help thinking she would appreciate the familial relationships that the first Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Susan shared. After The Beginning DVD set comes out, I may have to show her both and let her decide.
Stephen
The intiial ratings were very good for the series, at a 1.6 rating point for each episode. The regular SciFi Friday shows vary between 1.4 and 2.1 and have recently been in the middle of that range, so a 1.6 is pretty good for an acquired series.
And yes, the episodes get better as the season goes on. Consider that the British fans (and pre-SciFi airings US fans) just nominated THREE (actually four, one is a two parter) episodes for the Hugo awards, which correspond to episodes 6, 8, 9, & 10, things only get better.
Lee Whiteside
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2006 Nebula Awards Weekend Chair