Thus revealed, the creature buried its nose in the tire-tilled soil...
March 18, 2006
Doctor Meh.

So at the request of TAB, I watched the new "Doctor Who" show on the SciFi Channel last night. I look forward to reading his review of the new show -- I'm curious about how it compares to the old version -- but I can't say I found anything to be terribly interesting about these eps. I suspect that the show's appeal for a lot of people will be based upon its connection to the old show and the simple fact that it is science fiction, but when I get into scifi -- or anime, or horror, or anything really -- it's not just for the sake of the genre, but for more the more substantial stuff. I really dug the neat alternate Earths to which they traveled in "Sliders", for example, but that would've meant diddly without complex, likable characters and a pleasant group dynamic. Buffy worked not only because of the interesting life metaphors presented in her battles with the undead, but also, again, because of likable characters and the group dynamic (until the latter two seasons, which is one of the reasons that they pretty much sucked). People have recently expressed surprise at my affection for the earlier seasons of "Dawson's Creek" -- but given that it was largely founded upon (again!) likable characters and the group dynamic, it's really not all that shocking. Same deal with "Teen Titans", Ninja Turtles, X-Men (at least in the comics and the cartoons; the lack of these elements in the live action movies is one reason that they've been such disappointments), etc., etc. Hell, in addition to the batshit insanity, the interplay between characters was even central to the appeal of "Pee-wee's Playhouse" .

Anyway, with the new Dr. Who, you get a goofy dude making Pee-wee faces and a displaced girl with a connection to each other that is shallow at best (yeah, I know, first episodes and all, but even the depiction of the bonding efforts between the two was extremely superficial) and situations that aren't terribly different from stuff I've seen before. Mindless mannequins might as well be zombies (and next week's episode actually features zombies, so whoop-dee-doo), and processions of wacky aliens making passing references to current pop culture is pretty standard fare even in popular scifi. Maybe "Battlestar Galactica" deals with "deep, philosophical questions" (I kinda doubt that, and seeing as how it would cost me in the neighborhood of $40 to find out I doubt that I will anytime soon...), but this Dr. Who seems like pure conceptiovisual geekery. Which is to say that people will simply get off on the wacky visuals and the idea of this guy traveling to alternate universes, because that's pretty much all the show has going for it thus far. Maybe things will change as the series progresses, but these initial episodes lead me to doubt it.

Speaking of things I doubt, following the parenthetical link in the first paragraph (or just clicking here) will take you to an article in which I explain why I doubt that X3 will be worth watching at all. Scary-Crayon has been plugged. All for now -- ja ne, minna-san!

-posted by Wes | 2:04 pm | Comments (8)
8 Comments »
  • Nick O'Malley says:

    Hey Wes. I have a hangover and am about to engage the rest of the day away from people, sunlight, and submit to the walls of my room playing Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. Anyway, I've always wanted to watch Doctor Who because I heard that to make up for cast shifts of the Doctor, they'd make up some random bullshit story about why he looks different. The only BBC scifi/action shows I've seen were The Avengers and the awesome The Prisoner. Both of which give Star Trek a run for it's money as implausible. Also I've only seen a couple episodes of Battelstar Galactica (what a mouthful) but I haven't thought of it as deep or philosophical more like it just has alot of characters, some defending their ship others with political agendas. Truly a Space (soap) Opera. It's also jarring to see Edward James Olmos playing a starship captain after years of seeing him in movies and tv shows as the up right Mexican. The X3 trailer doesn't look like it was assembled but more like it was farted out. The Last Stand is a generic title. I hope its a Mexican Standoff...

  • Greg says:

    I saw the 1996 Dr. Who made-for-television movie, which was horrible, but I understand that it's the entire movie is the Jar Jar Binks of the Doctor Who universe.

  • Dave says:

    They don't make up a bullshit reason. The Doctor is a timelord, a race which regenerates into another body with a new personality when they're killed. It's part of their power. It's thoughtful, and hadn't been done before. It has happened 10 times in 40 years, not every couple of episodes.

    The new series is dripping with modern sci-fi conventions. However, If you're an old fan, it's not hard to ignore all that and watch to find out what happened in the background story , or show history. In the new series, it's a biggie. Very satisfying, if a weak ending.
    I have zero interest in any modern sci-fi (unless lost counts). I feel like I'm ignoring a bunch of really stupid stuff because it's Doctor Who, and I want to know what's happening with the hero.

    But the appeal of Doctor Who - the universe in which he dwells - has always been buried under a lot of bad writing and poor special effects.

    So, anything wrong with the series is actually not contrary to the old series. The show has had great episodes, but I don't think that's where appreciation of the show comes from.

  • Becky says:

    "conceptiovisual geekery"? You so need to write reviews for a living...

  • T.A.B. says:

    "Those that understand, do. Those that don't, never will."

  • Wes says:

    Way to cop-out there, TAB! ;P

  • De says:

    Having seen the first five episodes already, I find the series to be a lot of fun. It's hardly groundbreaking stuff, but I dig it.

    As for Battlestar Galactica, this season hasn't been doing it very well but the previous season did ask a lot of "deep, philosophical questions" like what makes a person a person and what drastic steps will you take to ensure your survival. In fact, the whole premise of the Cylons in this version stems from the question of has humanity run its course and is it time for humanity's replacement. While the miniseries that kicked off the show has its moments, I'd probably recommend that you skip ahead to Season 1.

  • dave says:

    Well, in 1963, when Dr. Who first did it, it was groundbreaking.

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