[TV] Doctor Who

[Morrus]

See, the fact that the screwdriver's effect is expedient is what makes it matter. For instance, if a monster's chasing the Doctor, there's suspense. It's breathing down his neck. He doesn't have time to pick a lock. BZZZT! Open door. BZZZT! Seal door. Monster escaped.

If someone's captured, restrained, and in some kind of peril, there's tension. Only moments to act. How can the Doctor possibly rescue them with the bad guy right there? BZZZT! Restraints gone. Victim saved. Turn attention to foe. He can even due this to non-mechanical stuff like webbing.

Fair enough; I guess everyone's "line" is different. The sonic screwdriver falls below the line for me - I just find it a convenient narrative device to move the story along rather than have him circumvent a computer for 10 minutes or pick a lock or what-have-you. But I can appreciate that it may bug other people!

Of course, one should bear in mind that you are watching a kids' TV show. The target audience is 12 years old.

P.S. I keep thinking Bill Murray whenever I see that picture you're using.

That's a picture of me drawn by Claudio Pozas.

 

[Mouseferatu]

One line of technobabble and the problem is fixed. I doubt anyone at the BBC even sees it as a problem. "I used to have 13 regenerations, but the Time War changed all that" [or any of a thousand other possible lines]. Fixed in under 3 seconds; say line, move on, never mention it again.

They could do that. They probably will do that.

But it's not the route I want them to take. I'd rather the Doctor believe his 13th incarnation is his last... Only to have him regenerate a 13th time, and have no idea how he did it! Then tie in his efforts to figure out what's happened, and what's changed, to the ongoing plot of that particular season of the show.

(Heck, if they really want to showcase that something truly unnatural/bizarre has happened, let him regen back into a previous incarnation--something that's obviously not supposed to happen, and perhaps suggests something really temporally funky going on--for just the one season. It'd be an excuse to bring back an old favorite for a "limited engagement"--Tennant's the obvious choice, but I'd love to see a little more of Eccleston--and then move on from there to a brand new regen under whatever the newly discovered "new rules" are.)

 

[Morrus]

They could do that. They probably will do that.

But it's not the route I want them to take. I'd rather the Doctor believe his 13th incarnation is his last... Only to have him regenerate a 13th time, and have no idea how he did it! Then tie in his efforts to figure out what's happened, and what's changed, to the ongoing plot of that particular season of the show.

That could be interesting, as long as they come up with a strong storyline and good resolution for it.

(Heck, if they really want to showcase that something truly unnatural/bizarre has happened, let him regen back into a previous incarnation--something that's obviously not supposed to happen, and perhaps suggests something really temporally funky going on--for just the one season. It'd be an excuse to bring back an old favorite for a "limited engagement"--Tennant's the obvious choice, but I'd love to see a little more of Eccleston--and then move on from there to a brand new regen under whatever the newly discovered "new rules" are.)

They won't get Eccleston; Tennant might be willing to do it if he's not busy, but he seems fairly determined to forge a new career now. Either way, it's a couple of Doctors away yet, so who knows what those actors will be doing in ten years' time?

 

[Mouseferatu]

They won't get Eccleston; Tennant might be willing to do it if he's not busy, but he seems fairly determined to forge a new career now. Either way, it's a couple of Doctors away yet, so who knows what those actors will be doing in ten years' time?

Oh, it's quite some time away, so this is all just speculation and wishful thinking on my part.

That said, do you know something I don't regarding Eccleston? I know he only signed on for the one season, but is there some reason to assume he'd never even consider doing it again?

 

[Felon]

Of course, one should bear in mind that you are watching a kids' TV show. The target audience is 12 years old.

You really think so? I'd say the show is family-oriented, but there's a lot of material that wouldn't be there if your target audience was prepubescent.

Sarah Jane Adventures was the show for kids.

 

[Morrus]

You really think so? I'd say the show is family-oriented, but there's a lot of material that wouldn't be there if your target audience was prepubescent.

Sarah Jane Adventures was the show for kids.

SJA is for even younger kids. It's on the CBBC schedule, which is all for the under-10s, and surrounded by shows with puppets and talking animals.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I'm not really all that bothered by it. There were two "inconsitencies" that folks seem to cite:

1) Neck snapping. Explained by "they need the bodies for something", which turned out to be to talk to the survivors to lure them in.

2) The vision thing. Explained originally by the statues having no eyes due to decay, which is a fine explanation. Latter explanation, I agree, was a bit weak ("they're focussed on running away from the anti-time wave, and so will instinctively act as though they can be seen if they believe they can be") - not a strong explanation: basically they're so used to unwillingly freezing when seen that they actually act like that anyway if they're distracted by something else. But I can let it go.

You're forgetting the one which is the real biggie for me - that angels who are looking at each other are forever stone (the conclusion of Blink). These angels all look at each other all the time without problem.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

You're forgetting the one which is the real biggie for me - that angels who are looking at each other are forever stone (the conclusion of Blink). These angels all look at each other all the time without problem.

I always understood that "forever" only meant "until the light goes out". The Doctor did notice that these Angels were different in that they weren't mere scavengers, so maybe that changes also how well they can recover from it.

 

[Morrus]

You're forgetting the one which is the real biggie for me - that angels who are looking at each other are forever stone (the conclusion of Blink). These angels all look at each other all the time without problem.

You misunderstand me; I'm not trying to sell it to you or convince you you're wrong. I'm just saying that I liked it, and why. I'm cool with the fact that those things bothered you.

However, since youa sked, I'll give it a go: the ones in the tombs had no eyes. They didn't have eyes until they got to the forest. At that point, they only moved when the lights were out (wich is why they were disabling the tree-borgs); most of the time they were all looknig the same way.

As I recall, anyway. I'd have to rewatch it to make sure that none of the Angels were looking at each other post-eye-growth. I could be wrong. But, like I said, I still thought the episode was fantastic.

 

[Plane Sailing]

It did encourage me to dig out Blink and rewatch it. The story was just as nrlliant as the first time, with the mystery, suspense etc. I'd still rate Blink as one of my all time favourite episodes.

I'm looking forward to seeing flashes of brilliance like that episode again in this series - for me, there are normally 1-3 stand
out episodes in each series. I wonder which they will be this tome round?