And so, the block-viewing of Doctor Who continues. We made it through the rest of the Ecclescake series and are now towards the end of series two.
Some further notes then, both on the episodes and the comments on the last entry:
- If red is indeed the universal colour of campness (cf The Empty Child), is the Dalek Supreme the campest of all the Daleks?
- Mickey and Rose would have done better to erect an A-frame in the TARDIS console room to redirect the pull of the truck in Parting of the Ways
- I agree with Stu_N that Christopher E really had trouble with the fun bits, but was great at the darker moments
- Euros Lyn is a lot better than I recall, except for on The Idiot's Lantern
- Joe Ahearne is a really good director, but he's the “anti-Harper” - sort of “less energy… and action”. He's great with the character moments and he's not afraid of a close up, but things really look like they've been made on a budget with him and without much energy, unfortunately. I can understand why they didn't hire him again, but a little disappointed because some of his work was very beautiful
- Murray Gold: when he's good, he's very very good, but when he's bad, he's horrid. His work on The Girl in the Fireplace and most of The Impossible Planet is phenomenal, but the rest of the time, ahem, not so good. Shame.
- Some people, for some reason, like Sylvester McCoy. Did we suffer through Delta and the Bannermen and The Happiness Patrol for nothing? Never forget.
Overall, I'm finding series two less impressive than series one, and Rose and the tenth Doctor really are as irritating together as I recall. Lovely wife is reckoning that about 30% of the episodes are good, 30% okay and 30% not good; I've yet to get her to commit on the remaining 10%.
Being the competitive and dedicated sort, she's also committed herself to getting fully up to speed with 45 years of Who continuity and then to exceed my knowledge so that she will be the master (not The Master). I wish her luck.
Meme of the day: What are your favourite three episodes of nu-Who and why? I'm going to go with:
- Turn Left: Because it's so bleak and miserable, Catherine Tate's really good in it and Bernard Cribbins is a god
- The Family of Blood: because it's heart-breaking and because the ending is so very, very dark and
- Utopia: because it's so surprising, it speaks to my inner fanboy and because it's so bleak and miserable.
Leave your faves below or on your own blog, leaving a link below
Updates and related entries
July 18, 2008:
Which three guest stars on nu Who have been the best
July 14, 2008 | Reply
Ooh a meme... Will do it when I get a mo. Probably not today as I haven't really got a mo today. Shouldn't be here right now, but you are my virtual water cooler moment for the times when I am suffering writer's block.
I did really like series 2 and I didn't find Rose/The Doctor irritating. My least favourite episodes were the Absorbolof and Fear Her which I thought were crap. I loved The Girl in the Fireplace which is probably my favourite nuWho episode, but I need to give it some thought.
Is Bernard Cribbins going to become one of your blog gods? I think he should be considered for the pantheon.
July 14, 2008 | Reply
The Happiness Patrol remains the single scariest experience I had involving Doctor Who as a child. Even now it creeps me out as the concept of the entire world, the forced happiness, the dystopian pink sets, the horrible Bertie Bassett Robot and the killing of people with pink fondant suprise. I recall for the three weeks it aired everyone I spoke to in my school were a bit freaked out by it.
But my favourite three episodes of Nu Who are very easy to list.
1. Blink
The single creepiest episode in Doctor Who history imo. Utterly brilliant, especially considering that there is precious little of The Doctor or Martha on screen. Carey Mulligan carried the episode with great ease and you can put me on the list of people who'd like to see Sally Sparrow return to the series.
2. Family of Blood
I like this pretty much for the same reasons you've listed Rob. I also felt that Jessica Stevenson/Hynes was fantastic towards the end of this episode.
3. The Girl in the Fireplace
Another wonderfully bittersweet episode that manages to touch on how strange and difficult the life of a time traveller can be. It's not perfect, but it's so enjoyable that I can forgive it.
(Honorable mentions go to Turn Left, Empty Child, The Age of Steel - where Mickey grows a pair and Army of Ghosts/Doomsday - because of the awesome way Mickey returns and the fantastic Cyberman/Dalek conversation).
July 14, 2008 | Reply
I accept your meme challenge! My Top 3 after the jump: http://danowen.blogspot.com/2008/07/meme-top-3-nu-who-episodes.html
July 14, 2008 | Reply
Three favourite New Whos? Easy peasy in view of the lack of competition...
1. Human Nature/Family of Blood
Only episode of Dr Who ever to make me physically cry - and in front of the boy too, which was a bit embarassing.
2. School Reunion
Mickey gets his best lines, the Sladen/Piper stuff works perfectly, and it has K9 making the big sacrifice
3. Fires of Pompeii
The moment when I realised that, even amongst all the dross, RTD had created the best companion since SJS.
July 14, 2008 | Reply
Isn't red the colour of "not-likely-to-make-it-past-the-first-fifteen-minutes"? Or is that Star Trek? I fell in love with Sylvester McCoy a couple of weeks ago during a television interview when he said he carried the large umbrella to defend himself against Colin Baker fans...
Yes, Rose and the Tenth Doctor could be vastly annoying, behaving like a couple of popular high school kids looking down their noses at everyone else. This was particularly bad in Tooth and Claw, Rise of the Cybermen and Idiot's Lantern. I think, though, it was intentional, to draw a line under the cost of travelling with the Doctor.
I tend to judge Doctor Who episodes by how much I'm eager to see them again. In Season Two, the one I never really want to see again is Fear Her which was just lame and clichéd. I hated Love and Monsters on first viewing, but it grew on me (despite Shirley Henderson's ridiculous fate as a concrete fluffer for Marc Warren). Other than that, The Girl in the Fireplace, School Reunion, The Christmas Invasion and the season finale pass my test for watching again. The rest...meh...
Best Nu-Who's? There seems to be a pattern forming. I'd go for The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink for Moffat's extraordinary Mobius-strip plots, and give the prize for Human Nature/Family of Blood for the top-notch acting of all concerned. And yes, I'm including Freema Agyeman, whose third season Martha I've always enjoyed. Not sure about the UNIT Martha of the fourth season.
Speaking of the fourth season, I probably won't know until I have my sticky fingers on the box set (which won't be until nearly next spring in Canada, due to the CBC's delaying Who transmission until well after the Olympics) whether I'd put any of those episodes in the top three. I doubt it somehow. It wasn't a terrible season by a long shot, but so far, I prefer Season Three.
July 15, 2008 | Reply
I'll give that meme some proper thought before I answer. Here's something else I've been mulling over though: I can't remember which episodes are DT ones and which are CE. Funny, because I can tell the two actors apart pretty easily...
July 15, 2008 | Reply
I never found the Doctor and Rose irritating in series two, I just found their relationship supremely uninteresting. Yes, it was sweet and epic and saving-the-world-y, but I preferred the rapport between Rose and the Ninth Doctor, as they were at odds more often, and there was this sense of their personalities changing, shifting, as a result of each other. Series two was a bit stale in that regard, really. There was nothing new to introduce.
As for the favourites, it has to be The Empty Child and the The Doctor Dances; clever, scary, filled with brilliant moments, and introducing Jack for the first time. I've watched those two episodes more times than I can count and still love them to bits.
July 15, 2008 | Reply
Tough to choose, but I've posted mine here ...> http://fazzinchi.co.uk/2008/07/15/meme-de-jour/
July 15, 2008 | Reply
I keep changing my mind about this, but -
1. Family of Blood two parter, definitely. This is the only one I'm sure about. One of the most interesting and emotional of all the nu Who. Cried my little eyes out.
2. The Christmas Invasion. Such a long tease as to when DT would wake up, and then, when he did....!
3. New Earth. Yes I know this is one of the "bad" ones. I don't care. My affection for this episode has just grown and grown the more I hear people use it as an example of rubbish Who. All the body swapping with Cassandra was hilarious. Tennant gets wet. And I love the cat nuns, so there!
July 15, 2008 | Reply
Season 2 is still my favourite, even though I happily acknowledge it has more flaws than the other series. Tennant and Piper never really worked well together, filming the huge Cyber-block mid-series did seem to drain a lot of energy from the cast and crew and 'Fear Her' is beyond awful. But it was all huge fun, and has seven episodes that I adore.
But as for my top three ...
3) Blink.
2) Girl in the Fireplace
1) Love and Monsters.
Just behind come Utopia, The Empty Child, Midnight and Gridlock.
July 15, 2008 | Reply
I'm having Girl In The Fireplace-based remorse.
July 16, 2008 | Reply
Oooh, I'll have to give this some thought...
July 16, 2008 | Reply
All good choices and I'm starting to see a consensus forming. The good thing about three (rather than five) is it forces you to be ruthless and decide which ones are really the best.
New Earth really is poor though but nothing in comparison to the horrifying badness of Fear Her. I do have a soft spot for Love and Monsters, simply because it's an episode of some other show that's a documentary about fans that's been mysteriously inserted into the series.
As for Ms Rosby, I can only shudder at today's education system if she gives a two-parter as her favourite three episodes ;-)
July 16, 2008 | Reply
1. Blink. Underneath all the Moff's clever timey-wimey stuff and narrative bedazzling, a classic horror story.
2. Turn Left. In which RTD proves he can write more than one good episode a series, and Catherine Tate acts the socks off everyone else in the cast. Yes, even Cribbins.
3. Human Nature/Family of Blood. A two parter where the second part is just as good as the first part. Far too many disappointing second parts in new Who so far.
July 16, 2008 | Reply
OK, Rob, finally done it. But only three??? Not fair...
http://maniacmum.blogspot.com/2008/07/dr-who-meme.html
July 17, 2008 | Reply
So I finally rose to the meme challenge and posted my O'Bservations here:
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2008/07/adherent-of-repeated-meme.html
PLUS! I've added my own related meme challenge in the same post.....
July 17, 2008 | Reply
Good lord I come late and look what I miss!
I'll give due thought and get back to you all...
July 17, 2008 | Reply
Don't worry, I'm still thinking! Too easy just to go for three Moffatts...
July 17, 2008 | Reply
My top three:
3: Boomtown - Margaret is AWESOME! A truly great actress
2: Blink - scary and moving
1: Girl in the Fireplace - This is my all time favorite and is also in my top five of the entire series. David's absolute best acting.
July 17, 2008 | Reply
Oh dear, Stu-n. It appears I am very easy. :-)
July 27, 2008 | Reply
Damn, damn, damn. It is just too hard.