Doctor Who Season 2--10/13/06
Truth Seeker
Adventurer
Actually, it is not...due to licences fees and so forth.
Thurbane said:
Fast Learner
First Post
That doesn't make it not-odd, just not-inexplicable.Truth Seeker said:
Templetroll
Explorer
Morrus said:
My daughter had never seen the earlier K9 episodes but fell in love with the character immediately. We all agreed that this was an excellent episode. We were a Buffy fans so seeing Anthony Head as a bad guy was a blast!
Tuzenbach
First Post
I'm going to have to deviate from the rest of you.....
As originally written 30+ years ago, the character of Sarah Jane Smith was decidedly that of a feminist. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but in my experiences with feminists, they ordinarily don't do the whole "waiting around for the guy to return" thing. It's simply contrary to their nature & political ethos.
In the original series, Sarah Jane was very strong-willed, independent, and free-spirited. Sure, "School Reunion" makes mention of the fact that the Doctor couldn't take Sarah to Gallifrey. However, it FAILS to bring up the point that Sarah was planning on leaving anyway.
"School Reunion", IMHO, paints a very biased view of Sarah and, in effect, totally rewrites her character. There's no way she ever intended to "wait around" for the Doctor to come back. Remember, she stowed away on the Tardis in the first place, and it looked as if her own freewill was going to be responsible for her leaving. And, to a certain extent, it half-way was.
I'm also going to digress on the "jealousy" motiff between Rose & Sarah. 30+ years ago, the show was a sci-fi/drama mix of about 60%/40%. These days, however, the show has morphed into a 30%/70% mix. Is this bad? Perhaps, perhaps not. But (again, IMHO) I've found that the more "dramatic" a piece of television is, the less enduring it becomes. Thus, it's great the first time you see it, but re-runs just don't do it justice. I see the new Battlestar Galactica series in this way, though its sci-fi/drama mix is 10%/90%.
In short, the "jealousy" plot device, while seemingly engaging at first, really isn't anything that would inspire me to own these stories on DVD. And when I say "these stories", I'm talking about the new series stories that have used jealousy as a primary plot device. Honestly, all this "Mickey can't stand the Doctor" business is better left to shows like 90210, Dawson's Creek, Buffy, & similar tripe. The show survived for 26 seasons without reliance on such trivial & dismissive plot devices. Why does it feel the need to utilize them today? Please remove the soap from my science fiction!
My ranking of series 2 thus far:
The Christmas Invasion = 5.5/10
New Earth = 4.5/10
Tooth & Claw (or was that "Tooth & Nail"?) = 5.5/10
School Reunion = 6/10
As originally written 30+ years ago, the character of Sarah Jane Smith was decidedly that of a feminist. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but in my experiences with feminists, they ordinarily don't do the whole "waiting around for the guy to return" thing. It's simply contrary to their nature & political ethos.
In the original series, Sarah Jane was very strong-willed, independent, and free-spirited. Sure, "School Reunion" makes mention of the fact that the Doctor couldn't take Sarah to Gallifrey. However, it FAILS to bring up the point that Sarah was planning on leaving anyway.
"School Reunion", IMHO, paints a very biased view of Sarah and, in effect, totally rewrites her character. There's no way she ever intended to "wait around" for the Doctor to come back. Remember, she stowed away on the Tardis in the first place, and it looked as if her own freewill was going to be responsible for her leaving. And, to a certain extent, it half-way was.
I'm also going to digress on the "jealousy" motiff between Rose & Sarah. 30+ years ago, the show was a sci-fi/drama mix of about 60%/40%. These days, however, the show has morphed into a 30%/70% mix. Is this bad? Perhaps, perhaps not. But (again, IMHO) I've found that the more "dramatic" a piece of television is, the less enduring it becomes. Thus, it's great the first time you see it, but re-runs just don't do it justice. I see the new Battlestar Galactica series in this way, though its sci-fi/drama mix is 10%/90%.
In short, the "jealousy" plot device, while seemingly engaging at first, really isn't anything that would inspire me to own these stories on DVD. And when I say "these stories", I'm talking about the new series stories that have used jealousy as a primary plot device. Honestly, all this "Mickey can't stand the Doctor" business is better left to shows like 90210, Dawson's Creek, Buffy, & similar tripe. The show survived for 26 seasons without reliance on such trivial & dismissive plot devices. Why does it feel the need to utilize them today? Please remove the soap from my science fiction!
My ranking of series 2 thus far:
The Christmas Invasion = 5.5/10
New Earth = 4.5/10
Tooth & Claw (or was that "Tooth & Nail"?) = 5.5/10
School Reunion = 6/10
horacethegrey
First Post
Sorry, but I'm gonna have to disagree with Tuzenbach here over his objections of the new series dramatic focus. I think the drama and occasional comedy really give the new series some life. It grounds it in reality in a way that all the set design and special effects in the world can't.
You say you can't stand Mickey because his dislike and jealousy of the Doctor grates on you. Well how would you feel when your girl runs off with some alien bloke on some strange adventure (or misadventure)? What Mickey feels about the Doctor is a natural reaction to all that is happening, and if I must say, prefectly believable. And another note, Mickey, and by extension Rose's mother Jackie, are a constant reminder as to how travelling with the Doctor can affect not only a companion's life (in this case Rose), but the lives of the people closest to them. Now I've not watched much of the old series, aside from the few serials I *cough*downloaded*cough*. But from what I saw, the Doc's companions by and large had no personal history of their own, and as such no focus was placed on them, but solely on the Doctor. Now this I feel was a missed oppurtunity, as they could have dedicated some episodes to focus on the companions, how they feel about traveling with the Doctor and what effect it had on their lives. Instead they feel like some excess baggage the Doc takes with him on his journey through time. Rose, on the other hand, doesn't feel like excess baggage, as she plays a large part in some of the Doctor's adventures, and also, in his own life.
As for your complaints on Sarah Jane, well, it's been 20+ years since she last saw the Doctor. She could have changed her views on him during that time. And another note, Liz Sladen (who plays Sarah Jane) always disliked the way Sarah Jane was written in the old series, which is why she enjoyed how the new series portrayed her.
You say you can't stand Mickey because his dislike and jealousy of the Doctor grates on you. Well how would you feel when your girl runs off with some alien bloke on some strange adventure (or misadventure)? What Mickey feels about the Doctor is a natural reaction to all that is happening, and if I must say, prefectly believable. And another note, Mickey, and by extension Rose's mother Jackie, are a constant reminder as to how travelling with the Doctor can affect not only a companion's life (in this case Rose), but the lives of the people closest to them. Now I've not watched much of the old series, aside from the few serials I *cough*downloaded*cough*. But from what I saw, the Doc's companions by and large had no personal history of their own, and as such no focus was placed on them, but solely on the Doctor. Now this I feel was a missed oppurtunity, as they could have dedicated some episodes to focus on the companions, how they feel about traveling with the Doctor and what effect it had on their lives. Instead they feel like some excess baggage the Doc takes with him on his journey through time. Rose, on the other hand, doesn't feel like excess baggage, as she plays a large part in some of the Doctor's adventures, and also, in his own life.
As for your complaints on Sarah Jane, well, it's been 20+ years since she last saw the Doctor. She could have changed her views on him during that time. And another note, Liz Sladen (who plays Sarah Jane) always disliked the way Sarah Jane was written in the old series, which is why she enjoyed how the new series portrayed her.
horacethegrey
First Post
Tuzenbach said:
It may be tedious, but for me it's still an important point. Despite Rose's wishes to travel anywhere with the Doctor, there are still people back on Earth who'll worry about her fate. Jackie and Mickey's concern over her well being provides some conflict that the series needs.
Tuzenbach said:
Um, how's that exactly? How is my *cough*downloading*cough* of a few episodes of the old series qualify as a loss of credibility?
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