Its happy birthday to Dru, Peter Vinton and Nikola Tesla! You can now listen to Browncoats Redemption: Live Q&A sessions every Thursday on uStream. On Warehouse 13, H. G. Wells is a WOMAN, the Escher Vault is kinda cheesy but cool. On Eureka – 1940’s time travel, and now they’ve changed the world. Take Cover! Our friend Harlan Ellison is selling his books! Joining us for the whole show is Tracy Hickman to talk about his latest project. Check his personal site here and the Dragonsbard site here .
Comment on this post with your opinion on this season of Doctor Who in order to win Peter Vinton’s print, Bad Wolf.
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Excellent, enlightening and dashing live show tonight!!
I won’t deny that I had problems with Season 5. It didn’t feel as polished as it could have, it lacked a lot of technobabble, there were loose ends that I wanted tied up that weren’t, I had issues with some of the directorial and musical choices….. But in spite of all that, I enjoyed this season greatly! A lot of this was due to Matt and Karen and their wacky energy and fantastic chemistry, but most of it was the stories themselves. The only two episodes I didn’t care for were Victory of the Daleks and Vampires of Venice, and VotD could have been redeemed by a little technobabble and lack of technicolor Daleks (which I wouldn’t have a problem with if their armor didn’t look so cheap and plastic-y). As far as VoV goes, I think Toby Whithouse should just not be allowed to write any more, because he likes to come up with story ideas that should be awesome, but then he ruins them with crappy dialogue and unmemorable, unlikeable characters. But let’s face it – disliking only 2 episodes out of 13 is pretty remarkable. Especially when you consider that I disliked 5 episodes from Season 1, 4 from Season 2, 4 from Season 3, and 3 from Season 4. Which means that when I consider the ratio of good-to-bad episodes, Moffat’s run is seriously ahead so far.
On top of that, the episodes that had me the most worried this season turned out to be my favorites! Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone had me biting my nails that The Moff was planning to bring back both River Song AND the Weeping Angels, not only so soon, but in the same episode. Outcome? LOVED. IT. I immediately declared it to be the first episode since the reboot in 2005 that felt like an episode of Old Who. But my favorite episode of the season? The Lodger. Hands down. They took what should have been a ridiculous concept, and infused it with wit, insight, humor, horror, and romance, and solidified in my mind that it is in the small, intimate moments, that Matt Smith truly shines.
And then. AND THEN. As if all that weren’t enough. Most episodes of previous seasons I have a limited capacity for. There are very few that I enjoy watching multiple times in short succession. But this season, I have watched every single episode (except for VoV, because it makes my teeth ache) at least 3 times, some of them more, and not only enjoyed them just as much on re-watching, but for the most part, enjoyed them MORE.
So I say bravo, Mr. Moffat. The show is in good hands. The kinks have been worked out, the rough edges smoothed, and I anticipate great things for Season 6.
Wow Emily,
Ever thought of a career in the incredibly low paying world of Blogging?
Ya got a lot to say, and you do it well. Welcome to Sci Fi Saturday Night!
Dome
You know, I still haven’t been able to quite pin point my
problems with this new series of Doctor Who. I think it is
mostly culmination of little things; some of it poor writing,
bad dialogue, lack of or poor use of music, some what
more two dimensional characters, plots that felt
a little weak and a series arc that took too much focus
away from each individual episode. However, looking at
the big picture, I’ve realized that have been making all
these judgments in comparison to the previous five years.
The relaunch or Doctor Who in 2005 was miraculous in the
first place. It seemed like modern day television and
science fiction wouldn’t allow a concept as wacky as
Doctor Who; not to mention that the show had been aired
for 26 series and had already failed at an attempt to be
relaunch….. regenerated (tee hee). It was a general
acceptance that Doctor Who was done.
However, with an excellent crew, an experienced
and enthusiastic Russle T. Davies, and a few good people
at the BBC, there was one last chance to once again give
Doctor Who new life. With the casting of Christopher
Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as the companion,
the show got the publicity it needed for the public to
tune in.
The result was a brand new and absolutely amazing new
Doctor Who; with excellent directing, sharp writing,
wonderfully well placed musical scores, a fun and
sexy new companion in Rose Tyler, and, most importantly,
a Fantastic 9th Doctor. All of this lead to compelling and
entertaining stories, emotional moments and an absolutely
mind blowing series finale; which of course gave us a new
Doctor in David Tennant.
The trend continued to run with the 10th Doctor. More
incredible stories, more amazing new companions and
more incredible finales. The David Tennant Doctor became
so Brilliant and so popular that he became only the second
actor to become the iconic image for the Doctor.
The show was up and running stronger than ever before as
the world rejoiced in the new Golden Age of Doctor Who;
without a doubt the best show on television.
Now we have an entirely new-new age of Doctor Who. An
entirely new crew has been assigned, a new head writer in
Stephen Moffat, a new main companion with Amy Pond
and a brand new Doctor in Matt Smith. The feel and
direction has changed and it is difficult to become
accustomed. The new team seems a bit rusty and
inexperienced, and i have not quite felt the same about it
as I have in the Davies era.
However, it is still good in it’s own right. Is it as good as it
was? No. Will it be? Of course not! The Davies era was
absolutely was as close to perfect story-telling as it gets.
Unique circumstances lead to an absolute dream team of
writers, actors, directors, producers and stage crew that
is rarely seen in this day and age and can never be
reproduced. So to even try to compare this new series to
previous is unfair. Stephen Moffat and Matt Smith have had
giant shoes to fill. Coming off of the End of Time and right
into their ownera was an amazingly difficult task. There
were bound to bumps and bruises along the way and we
should expect such.
Is Stephen Moffat revolutionary? No. Does the show
still pack the awe inspiring punch? No. Is Matt Smith’s
Doctor absolutely Fantastic or Brilliant? No.
But you know what? That’s OK. Stephen Moffat is clever
and imaginative. The show is still unique, intelligent and
fun. And the 11th Doctor is quirky, hilarious and…… cool.
Yes, I too say Bravo Mr. Moffat. You’ve managed to keep
the ball rolling despite extenuating circumstances. It will
never be as good as it was, but when you compare it too
everything else, it is still the best damn show on television.