... an ending which was a reset button ending, like you spoke about, but also managed to give some closure, like the Dark Tower series you mentioned. Plus I think it's a great series that I think might appeal to you.
My word George, that was an excellent video! I'd definitely agree with you that this series has been the weakest of the revived series. I completely agree with you about about the series being inconsistent with it's own previously established mythology, in particular the part where the weeping angels MOVE IN FULL VIEW OF THE CAMERA! ARGH! Incidentally, have you ever seen the anime series Serial Experiments Lain? Because the ending of that series was, in my humble opinion, a good example of ...
Sci-Fi TV should NOT be about reality as much as RTD and to a lesser extent now Moffatt seems to think it should be.
I don't care about the companion, really. They are just there to be a sounding board. They are NOT the stars. Yet since even JNT's era, they've become even more important than the Doctor.
RTD set the tone for the new series....which is unfortunate.
And yes, again you have a point about how Amy saved the day in only her second episode. But that is not a knock or a detriment to her character at all. Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy. These should all be individual characters with individual beliefs. The BIG difference with Amy as compared to Rose is Amy was the Dreamer: she has dreamt up these tales in her head for years, so when given these new worlds to explore, she is mentally prepared for it. Where Rose was a normal girl doing normal things -
Again, the issue I have here is one of credibility; I get that Amy is significantly different from the other companions, which is fine; it is to be expected, but when she started procrastinating on how the space whale is this and not that, I felt the story-teller in me recoil as if travelling in a car that'd stalled. It felt jarring and wrong, especially since the story had only seconds before set up a genuine tension with the Doctor having to decide between...
...rendering the Space Whale vegetative or allowing it to be tortured for the rest of its life. That was a concept that could've been the dramatic focus for the episode; very dark, yes, but no moreso than some of the decisions the Doctor has been presented with in the past. Instead, it did the lazy and patronising thing by removing the decision completely in a moment of incongruous exposition: Amy, having just been dragged away from her quiet little life into the far future...
...having been nearly killed multiple times by marauding space monstrosities, suddenly has a moment of epiphany that removed me entirely from the story; I could feel the writer's pen moving as she spoke, feel the narrative convenience rasping away like a cheese grater on my soul's tender bits. It's something I despise in almost any fiction; the writer not giving their audience enough credit to handle the difficult situation. I know that there are certain standards and...
...traditions in Who of things turning out generally okay, but what impressed me about prior seasons is the sheer braveness of the writing; there are episodes in which very difficult, very engaging decisions have to be made by the Doctor, his companions, the characters they meet, and they often result in, at best, ambiguous results. This is monstrously courageous for what is ostensibly a "family" show, and one of the many things that has kept me anchored to it through the...
...acceptable hiccups of the past. Unfortunately, this season generally seems to have dropped that particular ball in favour of condescending conciliation. Which is surprising given Moffat's previous proclivities for writing the darker, more dangerous episodes.
Bloody video stopped again! :( Gonna have to disagree with you with the character of Rory. Yes, I agree with what you say about him leading up to his "Death" but that character grew away from the stereotype he was saddled as. By the time the Big Bang happened, he became someone I could care for: he overrid his programming as an Auton and embraced his humanity, no matter how small it was, let alone artificial. He came into his own! No, I don't want him in every episode, but he is not that bad.
Hey there Mat, alot of people seem to be having the same trouble; doesn't seem to have been processed properly by YouTube yet. Rory...my principle problem with the character is that I simply didn't believe him, Not only could I feel the writing behind him, the actor didn't sell him for me. I saw an actor reading his lines in the write places rather than a character. That may be something to do with the new "style" the show is heading for; the sets were, for the most part...
...similarly self consciously "theatrical" in nature. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me; I want the world to draw me in and eclipse waking reality for a brief period of time. I want to believe that these characters genuinely feel they are in bizarre situations, jeopardy, danger. But I just didn't get that from Rory. I thought that the way they initially resurrected him was good; much better than simply undoing the "original" Rory's death, as it introduced a whole host...
...of complications that, frankly, should've been followed through; it would've made a wonderful dramatic tension for the next series with Amy having concerns about him not being the "real" Rory etc. Instead, they did precisely what I feared they would and went for the conservative option: BIG RESET!!!! I would''ve been much, much happier with the character's story arc if it was the Nestine "plastic" Rory who survived and went on with Amy and the Doctor.
I got a little farther than Timey did George, got the start of the topic shift... personally I've always thought the women timelord from end of time was meant to be Susan.
I totally understand where you're coming from with "The Big Reset Button" way out of a situation like you mentioned in the Venice episode (haven't seen S5 yet). But I feel I have to defent the Master's Paradox Maschine. The Tardis was used to keep the changed reality in place which fades when it's switched of. Similar to a life support system that preserves life unless you turn it off. Yes there are still problems but it makes more sense then the Venice button.
At the very least in that instance they bothered to set up an explanation as to why The Big Reset occurred. I still didn't like it; again, I thought it absolved the audience of responsibility for the atrocities the Master had committed, but at least there was that. More bothersome than The Big Reset in that episode was the vomit-inducing Messiahnic stuff.
One thing I would say about the Daleks: they just aren't scary anymore. I loved them in the Christopher Eccleston season, and it all culminated pretty damn well in my opinion.
But after that? How many times can the supposed 'superior' race that are the Daleks have their arses handed to them by the last remaining Time Lord before people think "What a bunch of overhyped sissies".
It's the same damn thing Voyager did to the Borg: "This week, let's attack another weak-ass Borg ship!"
I think with the Daleks, the Borg, and any other race of indestructible doom machines is that they have to be used sparringly. The more you use them, and the more plot contrivances you use to defeat them, then the less terrifying they become.
Daleks in Manhatten? No worries. The Doctor will beat them. Daleks and Cybermen in London? Not a worry. The Doctor will beat them.
I think that a reason I stopped watching Doctor Who.
It is an issue when you have entities as powerful and capable as the Daleks are painted; there is a very real danger that entire storylines are dedicated to hobbling them so that they don't automatically destory everything in their path. It's a problem that shows such as Heroes suffer from enormously; the introduction of one uber-powerful entiity after another, meaning that entire story-arcs are dedicated to containing or ham-stringing them sufficiently...
...so that the story can progress. This is what we have with the Daleks. That said, I still think there are ways of writing them elegantly that maintains their sense of threat. Personally, I think the appearance of the Daleks should be a massive event in the Whoniverse; something that sets entire races quaking in their boots, including the Doctor.
@ExaggeratedElegy Oh, definitely. As I said, the whole build-up in the Eccleston series I really did enjoy. It's just that, since then, it seems that the Daleks are being used when they can't think of some other big bad evil to throw at the Doctor.
I suppose once, just once, I'd like there to be some big, powerful, ultimate race of doom, and for the good guys to not win. Granted, it'd remove the chances for a sequel/series, but even so... :-)
I'm going to go out on a limb here & say best (new) Doctor, worst (new) series. I agree with you when you say Matt Smith does have a bizarre ability to portray someone that looks young but acts in a way that makes him seem almost ancient ( complete with periodic absent minded stretches) but again to agree with you, the writing was the problem. The last episode is the reason I now have a spoon jammed into my forehead, & I shall never forgive Moffat for that : D
I agree completely. Matt Smith mesmerised me throughout this season; the fact that he kept me watching when i found the rest so ultimately disappointing is a testament to just how good he actually is.
Yes, the story-teller in me spit its coffee across the carpet at that point. they hadn't even bothered to set up the explanation properly; just some throw-away line about pseudo-scientific magic bubbles created by the equally ludicrous "Living Bomb."
Precisely. I mean, I am a fan of Doctor Who, and to an extent I will completely ignore a lot of what I call "magical science bullshit", but the magical space spitfires were just a step too far I think. The fact that it was the climax of the episode/the big solution made it worse. The fact that the pilot, who was from the 1930's, knew how to pilot a spacecraft IMMEDIATELY and wasn't totally in awe of the concept of going into space, was so stupid.
The problem with writing intelligently is it can be hard to follow, as the viewer needs enough intelligence to follow the plot. Doc is written for mass appeal so is aimed at the lost common denominator. You're outside the mean of intelligence, being too smart, to be enjoy the story as it wasn't written for you. I laugh at all these people who get upset at kids shows being stupid.
Sorry George, blooming video decided to quit on me after the 17 minute mark. I'll try and watch the rest later.
I completely agree with you about the endings of each season (But I do dissagree with you about the Season 5 finale, even though it is guilty of this too), the Master storyline is the worst offender of the lot though, and I especially hated Tennant's "Jesus Christ Superstar" moment. I thought that was way too much.
The moment Tennant started floating, wreathed in light, arms outstretched, I wanted to scrape out my own eyes with a rusty fork. And as for the "I Forgive you" nonsense, the Master should've simply looked at him funny, pulled out a gun and shot him. Or something. Because he deserved it at that moment for being a condescending, self superior prick :)
I was almost going to disagree with you on the "pig men", but after you explained yourself it made sense why you feel the way you do.
I must say, I was going "wow" throughout this critique. You made me feel almost too lazy when it comes to my scifi viewing LOL. This isn't a bad thing actually... I should expect better, especially from scifi, since I've always seen it as being above most other genres.
The Pig Men were one of those instances where I felt the creators simply had the idea for a creature and decided to shoe horn it in for fun's sake, which is fine if it fits. If another race were responsible for creating them, then I could have taken it just fine. But the Daleks are racial and genetic supremacists; they actively abhor other life forms, so creating a new one simply doesn't sit right with their ethos.
...people regard as such (Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who etc) wouldn't classically be considered as such, as science fiction by definition deals with the possibilities and potential of science; it is Phillip K. Dick and Isaac Azimov and the like. Who, Trek, Galactica etc are more sci fantasy; mythic archetypes and traditional oral tales wrapped around in a sci fi motif. Either way, it's a meta-genre I love, from the pulpiest pulp sci fi to the high brow Blade Runner...
...Ghost in The Shell stuff. I think it's a genre whose potential is enormous; it quite literally encompasses almost anything you can conceive of, and has a certain visionary quality that seems to attract writers who percieve far, far beyond the constraints of preconception most people operate under.
... an ending which was a reset button ending, like you spoke about, but also managed to give some closure, like the Dark Tower series you mentioned. Plus I think it's a great series that I think might appeal to you.
All the best,
BoogiepopPrime
BoogiepopPrime 1 year ago
My word George, that was an excellent video! I'd definitely agree with you that this series has been the weakest of the revived series. I completely agree with you about about the series being inconsistent with it's own previously established mythology, in particular the part where the weeping angels MOVE IN FULL VIEW OF THE CAMERA! ARGH! Incidentally, have you ever seen the anime series Serial Experiments Lain? Because the ending of that series was, in my humble opinion, a good example of ...
BoogiepopPrime 1 year ago
George, you are quite right.
Sci-Fi TV should NOT be about reality as much as RTD and to a lesser extent now Moffatt seems to think it should be.
I don't care about the companion, really. They are just there to be a sounding board. They are NOT the stars. Yet since even JNT's era, they've become even more important than the Doctor.
RTD set the tone for the new series....which is unfortunate.
vengeance1701 1 year ago
Damn I love the Doctor. Damn this was long. Damn... I watched it all.
renegade4dio 1 year ago
@renegade4dio
XD
Your staying power is most commendable, sir.
George
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
- And thus, quite right would be blown away by her travels. Now you are spot on with the character of Wilf, so I cannot begrudge you that.
Timey2Wimey 1 year ago
And yes, again you have a point about how Amy saved the day in only her second episode. But that is not a knock or a detriment to her character at all. Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy. These should all be individual characters with individual beliefs. The BIG difference with Amy as compared to Rose is Amy was the Dreamer: she has dreamt up these tales in her head for years, so when given these new worlds to explore, she is mentally prepared for it. Where Rose was a normal girl doing normal things -
Timey2Wimey 1 year ago
@Timey2Wimey
Again, the issue I have here is one of credibility; I get that Amy is significantly different from the other companions, which is fine; it is to be expected, but when she started procrastinating on how the space whale is this and not that, I felt the story-teller in me recoil as if travelling in a car that'd stalled. It felt jarring and wrong, especially since the story had only seconds before set up a genuine tension with the Doctor having to decide between...
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
@Timey2Wimey
...rendering the Space Whale vegetative or allowing it to be tortured for the rest of its life. That was a concept that could've been the dramatic focus for the episode; very dark, yes, but no moreso than some of the decisions the Doctor has been presented with in the past. Instead, it did the lazy and patronising thing by removing the decision completely in a moment of incongruous exposition: Amy, having just been dragged away from her quiet little life into the far future...
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
@Timey2Wimey
...having been nearly killed multiple times by marauding space monstrosities, suddenly has a moment of epiphany that removed me entirely from the story; I could feel the writer's pen moving as she spoke, feel the narrative convenience rasping away like a cheese grater on my soul's tender bits. It's something I despise in almost any fiction; the writer not giving their audience enough credit to handle the difficult situation. I know that there are certain standards and...
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
@Timey2Wimey
...traditions in Who of things turning out generally okay, but what impressed me about prior seasons is the sheer braveness of the writing; there are episodes in which very difficult, very engaging decisions have to be made by the Doctor, his companions, the characters they meet, and they often result in, at best, ambiguous results. This is monstrously courageous for what is ostensibly a "family" show, and one of the many things that has kept me anchored to it through the...
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
@Timey2Wimey
...acceptable hiccups of the past. Unfortunately, this season generally seems to have dropped that particular ball in favour of condescending conciliation. Which is surprising given Moffat's previous proclivities for writing the darker, more dangerous episodes.
George
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
Bloody video stopped again! :( Gonna have to disagree with you with the character of Rory. Yes, I agree with what you say about him leading up to his "Death" but that character grew away from the stereotype he was saddled as. By the time the Big Bang happened, he became someone I could care for: he overrid his programming as an Auton and embraced his humanity, no matter how small it was, let alone artificial. He came into his own! No, I don't want him in every episode, but he is not that bad.
Timey2Wimey 1 year ago
@Timey2Wimey
Hey there Mat, alot of people seem to be having the same trouble; doesn't seem to have been processed properly by YouTube yet. Rory...my principle problem with the character is that I simply didn't believe him, Not only could I feel the writing behind him, the actor didn't sell him for me. I saw an actor reading his lines in the write places rather than a character. That may be something to do with the new "style" the show is heading for; the sets were, for the most part...
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
@Timey2Wimey
...similarly self consciously "theatrical" in nature. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me; I want the world to draw me in and eclipse waking reality for a brief period of time. I want to believe that these characters genuinely feel they are in bizarre situations, jeopardy, danger. But I just didn't get that from Rory. I thought that the way they initially resurrected him was good; much better than simply undoing the "original" Rory's death, as it introduced a whole host...
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
@Timey2Wimey
...of complications that, frankly, should've been followed through; it would've made a wonderful dramatic tension for the next series with Amy having concerns about him not being the "real" Rory etc. Instead, they did precisely what I feared they would and went for the conservative option: BIG RESET!!!! I would''ve been much, much happier with the character's story arc if it was the Nestine "plastic" Rory who survived and went on with Amy and the Doctor.
BTW, massive...
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
@Timey2Wimey
...congrats to Soph on her run!
Regards,
George
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
I got a little farther than Timey did George, got the start of the topic shift... personally I've always thought the women timelord from end of time was meant to be Susan.
destrond69 1 year ago
hey George
I totally understand where you're coming from with "The Big Reset Button" way out of a situation like you mentioned in the Venice episode (haven't seen S5 yet). But I feel I have to defent the Master's Paradox Maschine. The Tardis was used to keep the changed reality in place which fades when it's switched of. Similar to a life support system that preserves life unless you turn it off. Yes there are still problems but it makes more sense then the Venice button.
ciao - Vince
VincentWomack 1 year ago
@VincentWomack
Hey there Vince,
At the very least in that instance they bothered to set up an explanation as to why The Big Reset occurred. I still didn't like it; again, I thought it absolved the audience of responsibility for the atrocities the Master had committed, but at least there was that. More bothersome than The Big Reset in that episode was the vomit-inducing Messiahnic stuff.
George
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
One thing I would say about the Daleks: they just aren't scary anymore. I loved them in the Christopher Eccleston season, and it all culminated pretty damn well in my opinion.
But after that? How many times can the supposed 'superior' race that are the Daleks have their arses handed to them by the last remaining Time Lord before people think "What a bunch of overhyped sissies".
It's the same damn thing Voyager did to the Borg: "This week, let's attack another weak-ass Borg ship!"
(cont)
GrannyGoddy 1 year ago
...
I think with the Daleks, the Borg, and any other race of indestructible doom machines is that they have to be used sparringly. The more you use them, and the more plot contrivances you use to defeat them, then the less terrifying they become.
Daleks in Manhatten? No worries. The Doctor will beat them. Daleks and Cybermen in London? Not a worry. The Doctor will beat them.
I think that a reason I stopped watching Doctor Who.
Good vid.
GrannyGoddy 1 year ago
@GrannyGoddy
Hey there Granny,
It is an issue when you have entities as powerful and capable as the Daleks are painted; there is a very real danger that entire storylines are dedicated to hobbling them so that they don't automatically destory everything in their path. It's a problem that shows such as Heroes suffer from enormously; the introduction of one uber-powerful entiity after another, meaning that entire story-arcs are dedicated to containing or ham-stringing them sufficiently...
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
@GrannyGoddy
...so that the story can progress. This is what we have with the Daleks. That said, I still think there are ways of writing them elegantly that maintains their sense of threat. Personally, I think the appearance of the Daleks should be a massive event in the Whoniverse; something that sets entire races quaking in their boots, including the Doctor.
George
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
@ExaggeratedElegy Oh, definitely. As I said, the whole build-up in the Eccleston series I really did enjoy. It's just that, since then, it seems that the Daleks are being used when they can't think of some other big bad evil to throw at the Doctor.
I suppose once, just once, I'd like there to be some big, powerful, ultimate race of doom, and for the good guys to not win. Granted, it'd remove the chances for a sequel/series, but even so... :-)
GrannyGoddy 1 year ago
The time has finally come-the hour long ExaggeratedElegy rant has come!
BigTransFan 1 year ago
@BigTransFan
Be afraid...be very afraid...
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
I'm going to go out on a limb here & say best (new) Doctor, worst (new) series. I agree with you when you say Matt Smith does have a bizarre ability to portray someone that looks young but acts in a way that makes him seem almost ancient ( complete with periodic absent minded stretches) but again to agree with you, the writing was the problem. The last episode is the reason I now have a spoon jammed into my forehead, & I shall never forgive Moffat for that : D
TheTempusFugitive 1 year ago
@TheTempusFugitive
Tempus!
I agree completely. Matt Smith mesmerised me throughout this season; the fact that he kept me watching when i found the rest so ultimately disappointing is a testament to just how good he actually is.
George
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
I do agree with what've said. But I still perfer this season of Who to the last 2 under RTD. And no way was it anyway near as bad as Torchwood!
D1g1talMess1ah 1 year ago
Oh God, the magic space spitfires... my biggest "Wait, what?" moment of the entire series.
CaptainDisaronno 1 year ago
@CaptainDisaronno
Yes, the story-teller in me spit its coffee across the carpet at that point. they hadn't even bothered to set up the explanation properly; just some throw-away line about pseudo-scientific magic bubbles created by the equally ludicrous "Living Bomb."
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
@ExaggeratedElegy
Precisely. I mean, I am a fan of Doctor Who, and to an extent I will completely ignore a lot of what I call "magical science bullshit", but the magical space spitfires were just a step too far I think. The fact that it was the climax of the episode/the big solution made it worse. The fact that the pilot, who was from the 1930's, knew how to pilot a spacecraft IMMEDIATELY and wasn't totally in awe of the concept of going into space, was so stupid.
CaptainDisaronno 1 year ago
The problem with writing intelligently is it can be hard to follow, as the viewer needs enough intelligence to follow the plot. Doc is written for mass appeal so is aimed at the lost common denominator. You're outside the mean of intelligence, being too smart, to be enjoy the story as it wasn't written for you. I laugh at all these people who get upset at kids shows being stupid.
D1g1talMess1ah 1 year ago
Sorry George, blooming video decided to quit on me after the 17 minute mark. I'll try and watch the rest later.
I completely agree with you about the endings of each season (But I do dissagree with you about the Season 5 finale, even though it is guilty of this too), the Master storyline is the worst offender of the lot though, and I especially hated Tennant's "Jesus Christ Superstar" moment. I thought that was way too much.
Timey2Wimey 1 year ago
Comment removed
destrond69 1 year ago
@Timey2Wimey
The moment Tennant started floating, wreathed in light, arms outstretched, I wanted to scrape out my own eyes with a rusty fork. And as for the "I Forgive you" nonsense, the Master should've simply looked at him funny, pulled out a gun and shot him. Or something. Because he deserved it at that moment for being a condescending, self superior prick :)
George
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
You have an excellent mind for science fiction. PLEASE write a movie :)
BespokeGroupUK 1 year ago
I was almost going to disagree with you on the "pig men", but after you explained yourself it made sense why you feel the way you do.
I must say, I was going "wow" throughout this critique. You made me feel almost too lazy when it comes to my scifi viewing LOL. This isn't a bad thing actually... I should expect better, especially from scifi, since I've always seen it as being above most other genres.
great to see you again, been far too long.
tattooskin72 1 year ago
@tattooskin72
Michael!
The Pig Men were one of those instances where I felt the creators simply had the idea for a creature and decided to shoe horn it in for fun's sake, which is fine if it fits. If another race were responsible for creating them, then I could have taken it just fine. But the Daleks are racial and genetic supremacists; they actively abhor other life forms, so creating a new one simply doesn't sit right with their ethos.
Sci Fi...it's an odd term, really. What most...
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
@tattooskin72
...people regard as such (Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who etc) wouldn't classically be considered as such, as science fiction by definition deals with the possibilities and potential of science; it is Phillip K. Dick and Isaac Azimov and the like. Who, Trek, Galactica etc are more sci fantasy; mythic archetypes and traditional oral tales wrapped around in a sci fi motif. Either way, it's a meta-genre I love, from the pulpiest pulp sci fi to the high brow Blade Runner...
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago
@tattooskin72
...Ghost in The Shell stuff. I think it's a genre whose potential is enormous; it quite literally encompasses almost anything you can conceive of, and has a certain visionary quality that seems to attract writers who percieve far, far beyond the constraints of preconception most people operate under.
Regards,
George
ExaggeratedElegy 1 year ago