I'd intended to write about the 2006 series of Doctor Who a while ago -- apparently since early July, given the creation date of the above image! -- but the Dalek madness took hold of me and I'm just now getting around to it in response to yesterday's review from TAB. I began writing the following remarks as a comment on his post, but then figured I might as well use the above image and post them here.

I agree with TAB that Series 2 was better than Series 1, but only because its somewhat lighter tone and Eccleston's slightly more emotive portrayal didn't make the Doctor seem so much like an asshole when people started dying. Even though the words themselves rang sort of hollow, the way David Tennant solemnly intoned, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," upon encountering human corpses at least shows that his Doctor acknowledges the deaths of others, whereas Chris Eccleston actively and recklessly contributed to their demise and then bounced around all giddy like on more than one occasion. (By contrast, he was visibly upset when a hotwired pig was killed.) It's hard to say who was the better Doctor, since it's almost like comparing two different characters. I found Tennant's Doctor to be more appealing, but again that probably has more to do with the tone of the Series 2 episodes than either actor's skill in the role. Eccleston is probably the better actor overall, though.

In retrospect, however, it's kind of odd that I like Series 2 better, seeing as how it had some exceedingly stupid episodes. In fact, looking over the list, I only really liked about half of the thirteen eps: "School Reunion", "The Girl in the Fireplace" (my favorite of the season; almost reminded me of the Douglas Adams serials of old), the "Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel" two-parter, and the two-part "Army of Ghosts/Doomsday" finale. The other eps were mostly just bland, but then there were a few with outright terrible shark-jumping plotlines.

For example, in one two-part serial that borrowed extensively from Event Horizon, the Doctor killed Satan. Another episode ended with him taking up the torch and lighting the Olympic Flame at the 2012 London Olympic games. And all throughout the developments and characters went out of their way to praise the Doctor, which got kind of irritating after a while. Yes, he's the titular character of the show, and he's always been portrayed as a more/less noble sort of fellow, but the show never went to such great lengths to insist upon his greatness before. I mean really, killing Satan? Bleh. There were also abundant references to "Torchwood", the upcoming spinoff series, which oftentimes made the show seem like an elaborate commercial. It was frequent enough to get pretty irritating, but it might make for a good drinking game if one were to host a Series 2 marathon.

Also, TAB writes, "...and when Rose finally departed the series at the end, for the first time ever on the program, the Doctor shed tears. Perhaps as he gets older and exposed to the race, the character becomes more human?" On the contrary (and barring the possibility that the Doctor is, in fact, half-human on his mother's side), I think it has more to do with the writers being way too melodramatic. That tearful goodbye scene lasted far too long and wasn't terribly moving considering the number of companions the Doctor has had and will continue to have in the future. TAB mentions Elizabeth Sladen's return to the show as Sarah Jane Smith -- and while their reunion on the show was neat (Sladen looks fantastic for her age), recall that the Doctor nonchalantly dropped her off on a street corner without so much as a second glance. Hell, he left his own granddaughter stranded on a post-apocalyptic Earth with a love interest that she had met only several days earlier!

So the way Rose went on boo-hooing about how great he is and how he has to travel the universe alone? Rubbish. The case for him being a perpetual loner makes sense, given the perspective and distance that his 900+ years would give him, but he's never physically alone for very long. It's also worth noting that the Doctor could theoretically visit any of his old companions any time he wants, seeing as how he's got a freaking time machine at his disposal! I can understand the writers trying to inject some emotion into the departure of a major cast member -- admittedly, the way previous companions just sort of walked off without so much as a hug or a handshake seemed kind of odd -- but I don't think they succeeded.

Other gripes: Rose. Billie Piper is sort of attractive, but Rose was mostly useless. To be fair, so was Sarah Jane and a bunch of the Doctor's other companions, but still. The Doctor needs to find better companions. What ever happened to tough girls like Leela and Ace?

But the worst thing about Series 2? There were not nearly enough Dalek appearances. Dalek Sec had better be in like every episode of Series 3. The Dalek empire must survive!