Richard's Online Journal

I really liked The Next Doctor, although I preferred both Christmas Invasion - mostly for everything after Ten steps out of the TARDIS - and Runaway Bride. It’s close, though. Ten was nicely jovial, and the interaction between him and The Doctor was great. Dervla Kirwin was great too. Shame about the companion, but I suppose you can’t have everything. I thought the explanation for The Doctor was annoyingly recycled from Journey’s End, though.

Also, I’ll bet the entire population of OG messed themselves at all ten Doctors appearing.

I find that My Family is worth watching, barely, for Robert Lindsay. Always liked him.

Posted by Cradok on Friday 26th December

Also, I’ll bet the entire population of OG messed themselves at all ten Doctors appearing.

Except any that are still trying to pretend that the TV movie never happened, of course…

On the first cyberday of Christmas, my cyberlove gave to me… a plexiglass windscreen for my doom facto-reeeee

Posted by Richard on Friday 26th December

I’m slightly surprised. I found the episode mostly rather dull. I chose that word specifically - it seemed to be aiming for dull in every aspect, from aesthetics to pacing to story. And that’s ignoring that the lazy old bugger dragged out the bloody Cybermen AGAIN.

It wasn’t objectionable, beyond the terrible acting from David Morrissey and Velile Tshabalala, until the end. But you know what, I’m racking my memory but I can’t remember the history lesson on the 400ft killer space robot that destroyed swathes of central London in the 19th century. You’d think it would come up: the spinning jenny, 400ft space robot in London, First World War…

My only remaining theory is that RTD is performing the equivalent of shitting in the office drawer he’s handing over to Moffat. Not only has he destroyed 40 years of effort to have present-day humans be unaware of the Doctor and that which he saves us from, but now he’s made sure humans knew about killer space robots 150 years earlier too. It was *crucial* that we have the one connection to the series - the familiarity of our own present day. That’s obliterated now. Have fun getting out of that idiotic mess, Moffat!

And was the Miranda Rich… Dervla Kirwin storyline RTD’s attempt to write about feminism? Is there any reason left not to take to him with smallpox-infected baseball bats?

Posted by John Walker on Sunday 28th December

I would like to apologise and correct:

“and that from which he saves us”

Also, I’d like to add: How lovely it was that the assistant’s storyline ended with her making for a useful servant. How lovely, RTD. Well done. Compare and contrast with Moffat’s writing for Martha in a similar time.

In fact, compare and contrast RTD’s obvious, desperate attempt to be a bit like Moffat with the not-Doctor character. It was like watching him try and recreate one of Moffat’s oil paintings with a wax crayon.

Posted by John Walker on Sunday 28th December

And that’s ignoring that the lazy old bugger dragged out the bloody Cybermen AGAIN.

I was too busy giggling at the people draped in carpets pretending to be a (cough) Cybershade to notice. They’re one of the least interesting Who villains as far as I’m concerned, but they’ve only appeared twice in the new series that I remember - the Age of Steel and Doomsday episodes.

Not only has he destroyed 40 years of effort to have present-day humans be unaware of the Doctor and that which he saves us from, but now he’s made sure humans knew about killer space robots 150 years earlier too.

I took the comment about nobody forgetting what he did as being ironic. The show’s always played seriously fast and loose with the masquerade element, and by and large the public in Who is still pretty oblivious to the wider universe. Aside from the odd throwaway comment like the old woman muttering ‘Bloody Torchwood...’ in its second, slightly less horrific season, or the gags in the Christmas specials about London clearing out every year just in case, it’s still behind the scenes. As an example, even after the starship Titanic almost smashes into Buckingham Palace, Wilfred Mott’s character is still seen as a litle strange for believing in aliens.

(IMO, the worst thing he’s done in that respect is that the Doctor never fixes the Toclafane, meaning that humanity’s ultimate destiny is still to become a bunch of psychotic floating orbs...)

The connection that springs instantly to mind is how the people of Sunnydale never directly acknowledged the fact that they were surrounded by demons and vampires and the need to know what the plural of apocalypse was, but it was still heartwarming when Buffy’s class took the time to thank her for whatever it was she’d been doing behind the scenes of it all.

That’s not a defence of some of RTD’s writing - much of which I can’t stand - especially since the way he’s done it is to make the country a bunch of oblivious morons, but I don’t really see him as breaking the present day recognisability. Now, if the world starts shrugging off things like the Daleks as ‘Must be Tuesday...’ or riding around in floating magitek cars or something by the end of the specials, different story…

And was the Miranda Rich… Dervla Kirwin storyline RTD’s attempt to write about feminism? Is there any reason left not to take to him with smallpox-infected baseball bats?

I haven’t got the faintest clue where he thought he was going with Hartigan. At the very least, surely she’d have demanded to be Cyberqueen instead…

Also, I’d like to add: How lovely it was that the assistant’s storyline ended with her making for a useful servant. How lovely, RTD. Well done. Compare and contrast with Moffat’s writing for Martha in a similar time.

Think you mean Cornell - the Family of Blood episodes. Agreed, although there was a pretty clear hint that she wasn’t likely to just be the nursemaid for long. Or presumably dressed like a Spanish flamenco dancer/pirate tavern wench for whatever reason. What the hell was going on there?

Posted by Richard on Sunday 28th December

“terrible acting from David Morrissey”

I think DM was very good and he would be my choice for the next Doctor.  Sadly, his role in the Christmas special probably rules that out.

Posted by Scylla on Sunday 28th December