Doctor Who 1.11 (5/19/06) Boom Town (current-ep spoilers)

Aesthetic Monk · May 20, 2006

I may be in the minority, but color me "meh" on this one. Maybe it's just that I'm starting to get tired of the "you're just like me" motif that's been lathered on this season, but I found the Margaret/Doctor conversations to be on the tiresome side, and the whole thing to me felt like an exercise rather than an hour of drama. There's a bait-and-switch that goes on wherein the nuclear power plant problem is swapped for interpersonal angst and some true Silver Surfer-type wackiness.

By now I do get that the Doctor is alone/like an orphan/wanting redemption/a relucant killer, and I thought all of that was handled better in Dalek and the last two-parter. I dunno. Maybe the Slitheen were just about my least favorite part of this season and I just am inclined to see much to dislike, when there were in fact some truly funny bits (e.g., the Doctor fending off Margaret's attacks; "She's climbing out the window, isn't she?"). I'd also feel the whole "Rose-is-a-jerk" idea if Mickey weren't played as such a whiny twit. I'd leave him, too, if I were her.

My Classic Who trivia knowledge may be betraying me here, but don't we effectively get a rewrite on the TARDIS power source this week? I thought it ran off of a limitless supply of energy from a mini black hole. I don't care, mind you, if that's a change, but it did slow me down for a bit.

The next episode, Bad Wolf, isn't for two weeks (6/2), btw.

Villano · May 20, 2006

You're not alone. I have to admit I was only really half watching it. The only bits I found interesting were the "Rose is a jerk" parts. They actually made me like Mickey a little bit more.

I didn't like the Slitheen character at all. So, she should be shown mercy for allowing a pregnant even though she was going to blow up the planet? Um, wouldn't that woman have been killed, too? The fact that everyone was so upset that they were taking her to her execution didn't feel very realistic. She tried to kill them numerous times. I could understand it if she was portrayed even slightly sympathetically, but she came off as a sociopathic serial killer.

I also don't really care for Jack. I was trying to figure out what it was about him that rubbed me the wrong way. Finally, I realized that it was because he was a time traveler. It takes something of the specialness away from the Doctor.

Felon · May 21, 2006

Villano said:
I didn't like the Slitheen character at all. So, she should be shown mercy for allowing a pregnant even though she was going to blow up the planet? Um, wouldn't that woman have been killed, too? The fact that everyone was so upset that they were taking her to her execution didn't feel very realistic. She tried to kill them numerous times. I could understand it if she was portrayed even slightly sympathetically, but she came off as a sociopathic serial killer.

I think you did miss a lot of what was going on, since the points you make were touched on. The doctor wasn't planning to let her off easy

I enjoyed the "My Dinner with Andre" elements. It was a nice change of pace from the confrontations with one-dimensional enemies like the Dalleks, Cybermen, and so many of the monsters the Doctor has been confronting of late. The Doctor's speech about "sometimes you let one go" was the exact sort of insight we don't see much in mainstream fiction. All too often, characters are redeemed or condemned through a single decision, transformed instantly and irrevocably. This isn't the case here. "Margaret" lets the pregnant woman go, but ultimately would have reverted to type and sentenced all of earth to death.

The Jack character blows. For me, the deal-breaker is the lousy fake American accent.

Viking Bastard · May 21, 2006

Felon said:
The Jack character blows. For me, the deal-breaker is the lousy fake American accent.

Seeing how he was raised most of his live in Illionois, that's actually closer to his real speech than a brit accent.

He does exaggerate it a bit, though.

Goodsport · May 21, 2006

Felon said:
The Jack character blows. For me, the deal-breaker is the lousy fake American accent.

Viking Bastard said:
Seeing how he was raised most of his live in Illionois, that's actually closer to his real speech than a brit accent.

He does exaggerate it a bit, though.

What's funny is that when I first heard him speak in The Empty Child, I thought that while his American accent* was pretty close to real, that it was ultimately a case of a British actor exaggerating it somewhat. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that while John Barrowman was born in the U.K., he actually spent most of his life in the U.S.

Then again, it's not like the British accent wasn't ever distorted in American productions.

Ironically, the guy who played the American multi-billionaire Henry van Stratten in the episode Dalek had the most exaggerated American accent of all the American characters in that episode, yet it turns out that he was one of the episode's few (if not only) actual American actors.

-G

* Though believe it or not, there are many different dialects/accents across the United States.

Richards · May 21, 2006

My favorite part was definitely the dinner scene, with the Doctor easily anticipating and countering all of Margaret's assassination attempts.

Now that that plot line is tied up, I personally hope we don't have to see the Slitheen ever again. I'm not overly fond of them as an alien threat. (I think it's mostly the "baby faces" they have in their true form - it makes it difficult to see them as much of a threat.)

Johnathan

Felon · May 21, 2006

Goodsport said:
What's funny is that when I first heard him speak in The Empty Child, I thought that while his American accent* was pretty close to real, that it was ultimately a case of a British actor exaggerating it somewhat. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that while John Barrowman was born in the U.K., he actually spent most of his life in the U.S.

Well, don't let what the IMDB tells you take precedence over the evidence of your own ears.

He's doing a heavy "BBC-American" accent, like taking all those soft "ah" sounds that Brits do in words like "bath" and then harshening it like mad.

Incidentally, bear in mind the guy's about 40 years old. Supposedly, he moved back to the UK in 1990.

Anyway, Jack's just a little too smarmy for my tastes. Heck, you guys who are still on "Boom Town" haven't seen the worst of him yet. Wait a week. It'll be one of those moments where you'll either decide you love'im or hate'im.

Felon · May 21, 2006

Richards said:
Now that that plot line is tied up, I personally hope we don't have to see the Slitheen ever again. I'm not overly fond of them as an alien threat. (I think it's mostly the "baby faces" they have in their true form - it makes it difficult to see them as much of a threat.)

Not particularly crazy about the slitheen, but from everything I've seen so far, I can't take opponents that will actually talk for granted.

Viking Bastard · May 21, 2006

Felon said:
Well, don't let what the IMDB tells you take precedence over the evidence of your own ears.

I am speaking from my ears (eh.. wait). I've seen interviews with the guy. He pretty much talks like that. Sure, it's not quite as pronounced, but his speak is very american.

It's that kinda thing you hear a lot in european TV. Americans (usually played by Americans) sound that extra bit American, beacause that while the accent may be correct, the dialogue is all wrong. It's either not-American at all: British with an American accent, or Over-The-Top American lingo.

It's the same as in U.S. TV, where the brits always sound that extra bit British.

Villano · May 21, 2006

Felon said:
I think you did miss a lot of what was going on, since the points you make were touched on. The doctor wasn't planning to let her off easy.

Yeah, I did miss some bits and pieces. I usually tape it as I'm watching it, just in case something comes up and I have to step away from the TV. Normally, I rewatch it in such cases, but this week I really didn't care enough to do that.

And I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thought Jack's accent was off.