The New Doctor
Matt Smith was announced as the new Doctor Who this evening, and the internet went crazy. Mostly with 'who?'. I remember him from the BBC's Sally Lockhart adaptations1, which is good, given that he wasn't a main character. I can see that he looks the part, too. No reason to think he won't be cool, and Steven Moffat seems to like him, so that's fine with me. I'll miss David Tennant, though.
- incidentally, what's happened to those? I really liked the first two, and was looking forward to The Tiger in the Well this Christmas, but it never turned up. Maybe Billie Piper spent this year filming Call Girl and being pregnant. [↩]
Crap evening for entertainment news
Well, that sucks. I enjoyed both of those people very much. A twitter friend suggested Steven Moffat should invite Russell Brand to be the next Doctor, which would be tremendous.
I guess it's not too surprising that David Tennant's leaving, but I was hoping the lure of Steven Moffat scripts would be enough for at least another series. Oh well.
It's ridiculous that RB was forced to resign. An apology was obviously appropriate, but demands for resignation? Get a grip. It's all a right-wing BBC-hater's wet dream, and their cacophony of outrage doesn't ring true.
And I bloody wish they'd stop calling them 'prank' phone calls - that's a broken definition of 'prank'. It wasn't set up, preplanned, or, imho, intended to be malicious. Calling it a 'prank' call gives completely the wrong impression. Call it thoughtless, say they should have known better, demand apologies, etc.. But calling it a 'prank' is undeniably unfair.
I still think the whole event is entirely explicable as a regrettable mistake without intentional malice, and that anyone listening to the show would see this. But maybe that's too subtle for the rabid prudes and BBC-haters. Not that everyone who complained can be classified as such, obviously. But many undoubtedly can, and they're very, very loud.
(edit) His resignation video is impressive and worth watching, imho. It confirms the impression I had of the guy, too.
*grump*. The story has caused some fun around here, mind: my Brand / Ross / Sachs post got linked to from Radio 4's Today Programme website yesterday, and that plus Google searches nearly killed the webserver.
Back home
Back home, and I had a really good time. The others were great at making sure I didn't feel isolated, and I almost always had someone to dance with. People are so nice 
I have to confess I went to Blackpool in the end. It was...the same. But I was invited, which was kind, and I did get to ride a carousel, which I try to do whenever possible. I also walked past the Doctor Who museum, outside of which hangs this:
Go figure.
Looking for things to do in west Lancashire
I'm going to St. Annes this weekend. It's with my dancing group, and I've been twice before, but this time it'll be without any of my regular partners. I wasn't planning on going, but a couple of other people in the group talked me into it at the last minute1. Which was actually really flattering, and I was quite touched.
But while it's lovely that they asked me, I'm still going to stand out like a priapic Beefeater. I'm, um, a fair bit below the average age, and the only person not in a couple. I'm also hardly the life of the party at the best of times, what with my tendency to go quiet when nervous, and I don't want to be the dude who hangs about making everyone feel slightly awkward. This could all be in my head, but I'm worried nonetheless.
There'll be dances on the Friday and Saturday evenings, and I reckon they'll be ok. At least, if the Friday is terribly awkward I'll bow out of Saturday and go take photos of the seafront or something. But during the day on Saturday / Sunday I'll feel bad about latching onto someone, so I figure I'll disappear off somewhere else. I might try and talk someone into riding The Big One. And then maybe go to Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Actually, no. I just wanted to write that. Blackpool is, um, not my favourite place in the world. In fact, twenty minutes on the promenade and I'll happily lobotomise myself with a spade. If there is a hell, Blackpool has a franchise. Lots of people find its apparent isolation from the last fifty years quaint and charming, and I'm glad, but one visit was almost enough to turn me Catholic2 and that'll do, thank you3.
So I don't really want to go there. So, erm, to anybody I haven't offended: any recommendations for interesting things in west Lancashire? I haven't had a proper look around as yet. I could head up to Kendal or thereabouts, but that seems a bit OTT. Plus I've been there before. Hmmm.
After five minutes of googling:
Oh, no. There's a Doctor Who Museum. In Blackpool. Oh god.
Doctor Who Series 4
That went fast. Maybe I'm used to the big story arcs of the US dramas, but I felt there was scope for another ten episodes. If only.
Regarding the finale, I thought Catherine Tate stole the show. Everybody who was sniffy about her, including me, should be appropriately chastened. Her final ten minutes, from the delighted exuberance of DoctorDonna to the total horror of realising the only way out, were perfectly played and, for me, moving.
The more I think about Donna's resolution, the more awful it becomes. They did a good job of showing the character's evolution over the series, and the final stark contrast between knowledge and ignorance was heartbreaking. But the Doctor had no redemption either. Davros was right: he leaves a trail of death and tortured souls, and ends up alone in the bleak final moment. Abandoned by everybody he loves, there was no 'what? what!' to take the edge off. That was brave.
The rest of the episode, whether you liked it or not, was fairly inconsequential, but I think Donna's exit will linger. It's as haunting as the final moments of series 2, imho.
The surrounding events were ok, I thought. It's a shame Rose didn't do anything (although I'm pleased she had a happy ending), and I'm always a touch disappointed by internally-resolving plots - Bonkers Dalek was controlling it from the start, so the Doctor was really just an actor - but it was still a hell of a spectacle, with plenty of great moments. I'm going to learn my Catherine Tate lesson and say nothing about Mickey heading for Torchwood1. And Gwen still rules.
I thought it was another excellent series. Pompeii and the Sontaran & Library episodes stand out, but I didn't dislike any of them. David Tennant was good as ever, regularly making me laugh out loud yet able to switch to deadly serious at the drop of a screwdriver, and the surrounding cast were rarely less than impressive. There was plenty going on behind the scenes, too, with stories benefitting from (but not needing) knowledge of previous events, which is all great geek fun. I've always liked Doctor Who's series-long story arcs, and this season felt a little more structured and planned, which was nice.
I've recently seen a little more of the 'original' Doctor Who, and I think you have to salute Russell T. Davies for the work he's done. I don't know whether the 1980s Doctors seemed as contemporary and interesting, but I doubt it. I read comics, and know that no matter how much potential a character has - and a time-travelling ubergeek adventurer has a lot - it needs a good pair of hands to actually work. Bringing Doctor Who up-to-date can't have been easy, but RTD managed it with style, and I'm very grateful for the four series of entertainment.
There are good things to come. Four specials next year, then the new broom. I'm a total sucker for romantic, epic grandeur, which Steven Moffat's episodes have thus far exemplified, and I'm excited to see where he takes it. Hopefully David Tennant will stick around for a bit, as I do so enjoy watching him. And more James Moran, please.
- other than I really, really hope Tosh and Owen wanted to leave, and weren't killed off to make way [↩]
Last night’s Doctor
Spoiler warning.
Stonking. Four things to say:
- Who didn't well up, even just a little bit, when the Doctor turned to see Rose? Anyone?
- I love how the only non-Doctory person to figure out the truth was Richard Dawkins.
- The twist at the end was quite the shock, but it took me out of the episode a little. Mainly because I was thinking 'Nooooo, David Tennant is the best Doctor ever - please don't leave!'. Given that a new actor wasn't introduced at the end, I'm guessing he doesn't, but I'm totally intrigued as to how they'll get out of it...
- Gwen rules. And many thanks to RTD for the crossover - such things make a geek very happy.
In case you doubt Mr Tennant's credentials as Doctor, here he is recording a message for Martha. It's from 'The Family of Blood', and, as will become apparent, the script calls for Martha to fast-forward the middle section:
Forest of the Dead
Regarding last night's Doctor Who, I'm simply going to invoke the Bad Astronomer:
Steven Moffat is made of awesome.
That is all.
Episodes like that are the reason I watch TV. Spoilers follow.
Steven Moffat taking over Doctor Who
Russell T. Davies, the executive producer of Doctor Who, is stepping down at the end of this series. Steven Moffat, my favourite TV writer after Aaron Sorkin, will take over.
He's a brave guy. And brilliant. His four DW episodes have been, in my opinion, stunning, and Blink was a nigh-on perfect piece of television. So good, in fact, that I can't imagine an entire series keeping it up - it's not that I doubt the guy's ability, it's that most episodes of everything are worse than Blink. Which is why he's brave, because the loudest of the Doctor Who online fans are savage to the point of insanity, and they'll turn on you in an instant.
Spend more than a few minutes investigating Doctor Who online and you'll find many people trying to make scriptwriters cry. You know, in the name of criticism. They're fans who deserve high quality entertainment, and will throw around the strongest of adjectives if you don't meet their standards. Honestly, you'd think the world was at stake: throwaway lines are 'unforgivable', scripts are turgid or (horror of horrors) sentimental and writers have agendas and are worthless. I read these people for a while, before realising they don't, in point of fact, know shit. But they're loud and, when eloquent, very good at inducing deference.
Some can enter the fray with a wry smile and a kevlar sensibility, but I lack the self-confidence to be a part of an online community with critical bully-boys at its centre - it wears me down, and I start to doubt myself. I don't bother any more; I simply watch and enjoy. I'm sure Mr Moffat doesn't have this problem, and is more than capable of dealing with rabid 'fans', but he'll inevitably come in for a large amount of abuse, and that's nobody's idea of a good time.
Doctor Who is taking a break next year, so Steven Moffat's series won't begin until 2010. I'm looking forward to it already.
Richard Dawkins in Doctor Who
Weirdest news of the day: Richard Dawkins is apparently guest starring in Doctor Who this series. His wife Lalla Ward is an ex Doctor's-companion, but Russell T. Davies is an atheist and fan, too. Could be entertaining, one way or another.
Mainly posting this to warn against reading the explanatory Independent article, which is full of spoilers. Bastards. It would have killed them to put a warning at the top?
Time Crash
There are a lot of naysayers, and they're all full of it. I guess part of being a critic is enjoying being critical, but online Doctor Who 'fans' seem incapable of liking anything, any more. Time Crash is just lovely.
Hello!
Hey, thanks for coming! I'm Andrew, and this is where my headthinks come to breed. They often meander around humanism and photography, but they're flighty and you can't trust them, so anything is possible.
Do feel free to email me - I get lonely:
Your hair looks swish, by the way - have you done something new?
Recent Comments
- vicky: going up this weekend having done all the welsh peaks except 4 snowdon, cant wait
on Climbing Snowdon. - vicky: what, how can u live in the 21 c and say that, probably a sexist thing
on Climbing Snowdon. - vicky: da iawn laura, cant believe what im hearing, all this fuss, anyway love the site, and i agree, normal people who swear and curse clomb mountains cos we live in the...
on Climbing Snowdon. - Andrew: Did a few quick test shots to check the light levels, then balanced the camera on the arm of a bench, set it for a 20s exposure and hoped for the best
on ISS. - lynsey: Wow, how did you take that photograph?
on ISS.
