Dr. Who – Oh Yes!
Apr
21
2010

Last night we caught the first episode of the new Dr. Who season on BBC America. My husband and I have watched Dr. Who since our youth – both of us via public television. Tom Baker and his crazy scarf was the first Dr. I fell in love with, and each one after that has offered his own unique blend of quirky intelligence and bravery to the series.

I must admit feeling two ways about the renewed Dr. Who series but with Christopher Eccleston, I had hope. Hope that they would not turn the show into some One Tree Hill version of television when all that mattered about the Doctor was his looks, how tricked out the tardis was and some hot sexxoring with his assistant.

I gotta say, the BBC did a great job and Eccleston was an awesome Doctor. The scripts were good, the acting was awesome, the connection between the Doctor and his assistant – a totally important foundation for the show, also good. Special effects have come a long way from the old days, but not so much that it’s was all flash and no substance. In short, the Doctor was back and I was so pleased.

Then came Tennant, who is adorable and quick witted and he did a great job too and I loved his version of the Doctor. But he left, as ALL Doctors do and this is when my cranky came out. Doctors change. This happens sometimes after a single season, sometimes after several, but part of the show is that the Doctor may just be another actor next time and that actor will fill the role in a wholly different way.

This is part of the joy of being a Dr. Who fan for me. What will the new Doctor be? How will I fall in love with him? What will be be like and how will he inhabit his responsibility? So when I heard whining about how the new choice wasn’t as handsome as Tennant from people who’d watched the show five minutes, it drove me nuts, LOL, because the POINT of the Doctor isn’t how cute he is – you fall in love with each Doctor for different reasons and at a different pace. That’s part of the pleasure – learning his wit, his way of handling danger, etc. Tennant did a fabulous job, but not because he was good looking, FFS.

So I turned my hearing off when people whined about the new Doctor without ever having seen him act in the part (this same thing happened when Daniel Craig was chosen to play Bond and he’s the best one yet). I turned off my hearing and I waited to make my decision until I saw it for myself.

My verdict, after the first episode? WOW. This Doctor is a nerdy badass. Oh how I love that! We haven’t had a nerdy badass in some incarnations so I’m thrilled to see where he takes it next. I love the story about him and Amelia Pond, I love that he was her Raggedy Doctor, I loved his absentmindedness and oh how I loved it when he confronted the aliens at the end and was like, “run” I may have squeed out loud at that point.

Lastly, I absolutely adored that they showed the faces of the other eight Doctors in that last scene.

So you’ve done it again, writers – you’ve created another Doctor who is wholly different than the last, and yet, fits in the long line of Doctors spanning decades. Well done!

Oh and we caught Survivors – a really fabulous post apoc show on BBC America that we’ve been addicted to this season. It’s coming to the end of their season and things are getting even darker. LOVE that.

4 comments to “Dr. Who – Oh Yes!”

  1. Joder
    April 21st, 2010 at 2:15 pm · Link

    You sound like you spent the night at my house. I enjoy the new Doctor, not quite as much as Tennant or Ecclesten, but he’s not near as bad as people feared. I’m not sure I loved the story though, we’ll have to see the writing for a few more eps before I totally pass judgement in that department. And the crack in the story plays an important part this season–it’s the arc I believe.

    And I love Survivors, very gripping. Can’t believe next week is the finale. And very saddened by the loss last night. That character had been through alot and I was just starting to like them.



  2. Natasha A.
    April 21st, 2010 at 4:23 pm · Link

    YEAH! I LOVE Tennant! He was amazing. And I admit, I was worried about the new Dr. He just seemed so young. But damn! I totally agree! He did a fantastic job!



  3. mMm
    April 22nd, 2010 at 7:42 am · Link

    I too, watched Who as a child. And then I only started watching the new BBC version this past year, in which we devoured all the seasons just in time to start watching this one in real time.

    Baker was my first doctor, but I loved Eccleston. I didn’t like Tennant at first — I mean, he was so…frenetic. But then I fell in love with him.

    We watched the first ep last night (finally) and I went in with an open mind — and though I can’t say I love him yet, I’m willing to give him a chance. Nerdy badass indeed. It was too hard to really get a clear picture of who he is going to be, but I know that will happen over time.

    Whatever form the timelord is in, it’s bound to be a good one!

    Also, I saw the ad for Survivors and really wish I’d been watching it all along. That’s the trouble with having too much tv to watch. I never know what’s going to be good until it’s already almost finished.

    M



  4. laurendane
    April 22nd, 2010 at 1:49 pm · Link

    Joder – I agree about the death this week on Survivors. That character had an interesting arc, had come a long way.

    Natasha – if he’d been an emo boy I may have been uneasier, but the funky clothes and the nerdishness about Matt Smith worked for me.

    Megan – Survivors, like a lot of BBC shows has some plot holes and a few characters who make me want to shove them out an airlock – but overall, the characters are great and the writing is quite good. And it’s post apoc which is one of my buttons, LOL.