Going Through Doctor Who (Spoilers all Eps aired on BBC/BBCA)

[rushy]

*sigh* It'd be nice to have an interactive audience...
Fine, Web Planet it is.

[rushy]

Due to unforeseen technical difficulties, there won't be any new reviews til April(when I'll watch The Day Of The Doctor).

[dipsofjazz]

Due to unforeseen technical difficulties, there won't be any new reviews til April(when I'll watch The Day Of The Doctor).

I enjoy reading your reviews, and look forward to you continuing in April.

[The Flyattractor]

*sigh* It'd be nice to have an interactive audience...
Fine, Web Planet it is.

I love Web Planet. It is a very good ALIEN story. Granted it suffers from HORRIBLE effects I still find it a very good story.

[rushy]

I've been pondering for a few weeks now about an inconsistency I found in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth.
In The Daleks, the crew arrives at the end of what I believe was a 1000-year war between the Daleks and the Thals. The chemicals used in the war altered the Daleks' appereance and personality to the point where they went from poets and scientists to killing machines.
However, in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, the Doctor says that that took place millions of years in the future which is easy enough to understand, but he adds that "what we're seeing now is about the middle history of the Daleks". I'm sorry, what? How come the Daleks were already crazed pepperpots then? And where did they get saucers that weren't mentioned whatsoever in The Daleks? Did the war take place over millennia and included space travel? How and why were they even on Earth? If they were there because of events that the Doctor will eventually cause, how come they didn't recognise him?

[cosmichobo]

I've been pondering for a few weeks now about an inconsistency I found in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth.

Now, there's your problem right there... Going ahead trying to reconcile Dalek history... It's a job only a madman with an esky full of really fine scotch whiskey should ever tackle... and then only on the eve of the summer solstice.

[rushy]

Ahh, as we draw closer to April, I am getting both anxious and scared.
Anxious because I just can't wait to get back to the Hartnell stories(I really, really love watching this show) and scared because everything I've seen and heard of The Day Of The Doctor shows that it's pretty much The Wedding Of River Song 2.0 i.e. one of the worst episodes of Doctor Who I will ever have to endure.

Every spoiler I've heard and most scenes I've caught all point in that direction. It might prove me wrong like Series 7 did, but by god, a bomb with a conscience and free control over time and space? Gallifrey still being around(so if it wasn't time-locked, how come the Doctor couldn't time travel back to it)? The round things(even I know what they are and I've only seen bits of the full show)? All Daleks in the whole TIME WAR being in one system at one time to conveniently blow each other to bits? No Could-Have-Been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Neverweres? A retired Tom Baker(thus removing any possible credibility to the Doctor getting killed in the show)? No Ian Chesterton cameo? John Hurt as a Ninth Doctor-wannabe?

On a more positive side, An Adventure In Space And Time(which I likely won't be watching because I'm not really into that kind of movies) had this wonderful scene of the First and Eleventh Doctors meeting. Now THAT should've been the plot of the 50th, not all this Gallifrey nonsense.

I hate to review something before I've even seen it, but I've bottled up these things for several weeks now in the midst of a horrible string of exams.

[P-90_177]

Ahh, as we draw closer to April, I am getting both anxious and scared.
Anxious because I just can't wait to get back to the Hartnell stories(I really, really love watching this show) and scared because everything I've seen and heard of The Day Of The Doctor shows that it's pretty much The Wedding Of River Song 2.0 i.e. one of the worst episodes of Doctor Who I will ever have to endure.

Every spoiler I've heard and most scenes I've caught all point in that direction. It might prove me wrong like Series 7 did, but by god, a bomb with a conscience and free control over time and space? Gallifrey still being around(so if it wasn't time-locked, how come the Doctor couldn't time travel back to it)? The round things(even I know what they are and I've only seen bits of the full show)? All Daleks in the whole TIME WAR being in one system at one time to conveniently blow each other to bits? No Could-Have-Been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Neverweres? A retired Tom Baker(thus removing any possible credibility to the Doctor getting killed in the show)? No Ian Chesterton cameo? John Hurt as a Ninth Doctor-wannabe?

On a more positive side, An Adventure In Space And Time(which I likely won't be watching because I'm not really into that kind of movies) had this wonderful scene of the First and Eleventh Doctors meeting. Now THAT should've been the plot of the 50th, not all this Gallifrey nonsense.

I hate to review something before I've even seen it, but I've bottled up these things for several weeks now in the midst of a horrible string of exams.

In actual fact, Day of the Doctor was one of the finest pieces of television I have ever had the good fortune to watch. It is frankly near perfect. And yes there could have always been ways it could be better, but all in all it is a fantastic journey, and hopefully you'll see it that way too.

I suspect you may not particularly like The Time of the Doctor though.

[rushy]

FIREWORKS!!!!
FanTAStic news, ladies and gentlemen! I've fixed my computer!
The reviews will continue!!

Mind you, The Day Of The Doctor is still scheduled for April, but til then, I've got as much classic Who as I please.

[rushy]

The Web Planet is probably Doctor Who's biggest case of "what could have been had the budget been better". In its current condition, it's boredom on a galactic scale with perhaps the exception of Episode 1.

The Doctor and co land on an alien moon where two insectoid races are at war. One of the races, the Zarbi are mind-controlled slaves of some kind of... web... spider... combo thingy and the other race are the Menoptera(and their retarded brothers, the Optera).

It's very confusing. But let's start with the positives. Episode 1 is brilliant. The echoing and the tub of vaseline on the camera lens create a spooky atmosphere. Ian and the Doctor share some great dialogue(when don't they?), we get to see more of the TARDIS(including those weird-shaped beds we last saw in The Edge Of Destruction) and even the Zarbi are pretty cool. Most people blame them for this story's reputation, but they actually look rather good(except for the legs I guess) with sweet sound-effects.

Also, the cliffhanger was just shocking: the TARDIS has disappeared! Yes, it doesn't sound too much, but what makes it shocking is Hartnell's reaction. He stares into the empty space and says "My ship... my TARDIS..." in a tone and expression that makes you think his entire world has just fallen apart. And in a way, it had. Now compare it to the scene in The God Complex where the TARDIS also vanishes. The Eleventh is like "Oh well. I guess I'll find it at the end. That's how it works, eh?". The new series can be just pitiful at times.

Onto the bad parts now. While the Zarbi were a bit goofy, they really go overboard with the wasps who are just stupid, plain stupid. And just when you think it can't get worse, the Optera hop into this story.

The plot is very hard to follow. There's some stuff about a spearhead attack, the Doctor reversing the polarity of gold or something and Ian's completely pointless detour(it's like The Daleks all over again).

And whatever happened to the breathing issues mentioned in Episode 1? Everyone just got used to breathing in low oxygen? Makes sense I suppose, but they could've elaborated on that.

One thing I'd also like to know is what's all the fuss about the First Doctor's ring? He seems very irritated to have to give it up in The Reign Of Terror and here he's almost saying "bring it back or don't come back" to the Menoptera. Is it his version of the Master's "come-back-for-second-try" ring from The End Of Time?

All in all, great concept, horrible execution. Doubt I'll watch this again any time soon. Coming next: Dr. Who And The Daleks.
Yup, it's time for some parallel-universe action.

[rushy]

Dr. Who And The Daleks... ohhhhh my gooood...

Let me just start with a big, necessary, overdone yet still valid... WHYYYYYY?!?!? WHY WAS THIS MOVIE MADE?!?

Now that we got that out of the way, let's start.
Peter Cushing gives a somewhat annoying, but still all-around likable performance as Dr. Who. There's nothing really special about him, no memorable quirks or anything except his gorgeous costume(I'm a bit of a dandy, so I can appreciate such things better than others).

As a character, he's pretty much Hartnell, if he was lazy. And had a moustache. However, the one problem I have with him is that... wait for it... wait for it... he's human!! And before you get any ideas, it's not that he IS human, but how Dr. Who is written as a human. We were fine with the First Doctor playing that fluid link trick on the TARDIS crew and taking them into the city, because 1) He's an alien, 2) He's selfish, 3) His granddaughter knows the risks and 4) He doesn't care about the humans.

However, Dr. Who is NOT an alien, his granddaughter is seven or eight years old and doesn't know any better and since he's human, he obviously has to care about Ian and Barbara. As such, it is appalling that he takes them to this voyage to an alien planet.

As a cherry on the cake, in the original version of the scene where Susan is forced to return to the TARDIS, you believe that it's the only way because the Doctor is in delirium, Ian is paralyzed and Barbara is pretty much down too. However, in this version, Dr. Who is very much awake and seems strong enough to do the trip if he had any willpower. But no, all he does is mumble "no, it's too dangerous for her" in the same tone Willy Wonka used to stop the naughty kids in his chocolate factory. Several minutes after Susan left, Ian walks around fine. And Barbara never had any trouble whatsoever.

Roy Castle plays Ian Chesterton(my favourite companion!) as an idiot. Fair enough, he has a few good moments(particularly one where he sarcastically invites a Dalek into the cell) and it seems like they tried to develop him into the hero he was on the show, but at the end of the journey, he's back to his old slapstick self.

Barbara is utterly forgettable. In the original show, Barbara works because Jacqueline Hill made the character a moral center for the crew and thus a vital part of it, but here, she's totally worthless. And there was no point in making her Ian's girlfriend because they have no romantic connection throughout the movie whatsoever.

The detour of Ian and Barbara going through the caves is as pointless here as in the original version. I really hoped that would be cut out, but alas!

My favourite part in the entire movie was definitely the TARDIS. Now, believe it or not, but I might actually like Cushing's TARDIS better than Hartnell's. HIS windows light up when you open the door! And the interior is pretty cool and makeshift too, a bit reminiscent of Matt Smith's.
Fun trivia: Dr. Who is the only Doctor to open his doors outside.

The ending of the movie I found hilarious. I won't say what happened, but it was definitely a plus.

Overall, as a children's movie it's decent enough and harmless, with a hidden moral about wars, but compared to the actual Doctor Who, it's very mediocre. Sure, it's a LOT faster and better filmed than the serial itself, but the acting and writing makes that point nil.

Coming next: The Crusade.
Richard Lionheart meets up with the Doctor. And it's better than this movie. That's all I know.

[The Flyattractor]

Have you seen its sequel yet?

[rushy]

Have you seen its sequel yet?

No, and it's likely that before The Smugglers, I won't.

[cosmichobo]

Dr. Who And The Daleks... ohhhhh my gooood...

.../
Overall, as a children's movie it's decent enough and harmless, with a hidden moral about wars, but compared to the actual Doctor Who, it's very mediocre. Sure, it's a LOT faster and better filmed than the serial itself, but the acting and writing makes that point nil.

Bwar huh??

But, but surely you are forgetting the fact that Dr. Who & The Daleks was in COLOUR! And, and, didn't you notice they had an established movie actor playing Dr. Who!? A movie actor! And... The Daleks were in COLOUR! And they were big and bad and shot flames fire extinguisher foam! Fire extinguisher foam! And they had even bigger skirts and eye bits and egg whiskey things!

No no no, this was the absolute pinnacle of Doctor Who... I mean... style always trumps quality, right?

/sarc



I like Dr. Who & the Daleks cos it's fun.

[rushy]

Bwar huh??

But, but surely you are forgetting the fact that Dr. Who & The Daleks was in COLOUR! And, and, didn't you notice they had an established movie actor playing Dr. Who!? A movie actor! And... The Daleks were in COLOUR! And they were big and bad and shot flames fire extinguisher foam! Fire extinguisher foam! And they had even bigger skirts and eye bits and egg whiskey things!

No no no, this was the absolute pinnacle of Doctor Who... I mean... style always trumps quality, right?

/sarc



I like Dr. Who & the Daleks cos it's fun.

Color does not guarantee success. Time And The Rani is proof enough. And honestly, it wasn't that entertaining(one major exception was the Daleks trolling Ian with that door) to me. It's a bland, child-friendly remake of the original serial.
And what was up with the Daleks' flasher thingies? Sometimes they were matching dialogue, other times they were just rhythmic.