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doctor who tv

At Last, New Who

Thanks to my friend Zalia, I have at last gotten to start watching season 11 of Doctor Who. This is the first time in YEARS I’ve been excited about watching new Doctor Who, and it’s entirely because of Jodie Whittaker. I had so many hopes that the Doctor being a woman would signal a pivot away from the god complex with a not-like-the-other-girls companion wish fulfillment that has basically rendered everything since The Waters of Mars nearly unwatchable for me.

My hopes were not dashed. From the first four episodes at least, I left feeling Doctor Who has redirected, and very much to the better, I think. I grew up watching stitched-together episodes of old Who on PBS, and in a way, this new Who makes me think more of what I loved about those, combined with the production values of the newer series. The Doctor has returned to her roots as a deeply humane, compassionate, anti-violence person, and the stories feel like the more episodic, simpler kind of plots that are intended for all ages. (And it gets downright educational and aspirational in the episode Rosa.)

But honestly, I think it’s better than the Who I grew up with, and not just because the monsters are not obviously people who have been wrapped in green-painted bubble wrap. The set of companions are absolutely delightful, and feel the most like equals to the Doctor than in any other series. They’re there because the Doctor plainly wants friends–and you can’t truly be friends without there being equality between people. The Doctor seems so much more concerned with what they’re going through emotionally as well as physically–her concern for Yaz and Ryan and the situation they’re placed in because of their races in Rosa is a huge contrast to the position Martha is in during The Family of Blood, as one example. And watching the companions all get along with each other and be concerned for each other and just be very supportive is a pleasure as well. I also wasn’t expecting Graham to be the sort of character he’s turned out to be, a delightful man in the running for Grandfather of the Year.

I am still trying to get used to the sort of production style of this new season. It’s not utterly campy like in previous years, or twee. The episodes I’ve watched so far have felt more Fringe-y than anything else, with light-heartedness provided by the characters and the dialog rather than practical effects visual gags. That’s also a bit different, visually, but I think I’m digging it. Honestly, I’d be happy with anything as long as I get to keep this cast and their dynamic.

Also, I fucking LOVE Whittaker’s Doctor, even if her sartorial choices still make me a little sad inside. She’s so solidly written as The Doctor, not as Ooh Look A Lady Doctor. She acknowledges her different gender when it’s funny and relevant, and otherwise I could just as easily imagine David Tennant or Christopher Eccleston saying the same lines and doing the same things, and that makes me So Fucking Happy.

Mini opinions on the episodes I’ve seen:

The Woman Who Fell to Earth – Pretty solid as a first episode for a Doctor goes, I think, since it hits the regular “who am I?” beats. Though I do like that in discovering who she is, the Doctor emphasizes her creativity and compassion. I also love that this first episode is relatively low stakes. There’s the lives of a few people at risk, but it’s pretty low key, all things considered, and gives the Doctor a chance to once again re-emphasize a point that’s been lost in the past: individuals matter. I did get a bit lost in the different sorts of aliens and MacGuffins and the like, thought.

The Ghost Monument – Solid, got the job done, didn’t really stand out that much to me. I would have liked a little more development for the end conclusion, but I’m glad of the time we got to spend with the Doctor and her companions for unraveling the mystery of the planet.

Rosa – Holy shit, this episode. The entire plot revolves around the Doctor and her companions making being part of Rosa Parks’s story, but not in charge of it, so to speak. They’re there to support her, and it was so different in that way. Like the Doctor has to help by not doing things for once. Ryan finds his inner activist and Yaz plans and hopes and really runs the show. And Graham, trying to be the best grandad he can be, and trying to protect Ryan while being so plainly disturbed by his own position in the system… It was good stuff, basically.

Arachnids in the UK – I might have liked this one more than I should have because the American billionaire villain guy was just so utterly awful and hilarious… with the horrible punchline being that as terrible as he was, he’d still be a better president than the one we currently have (who he’s planning to fictionally run against, fueled by antipathy). Also, watching Yaz deal with her family was kind of great. Like sure, an environmentalist message involving giant spiders. I’m on board.

Looking at these four episodes, the thing that strikes me the most is that they’re all comparatively low stakes. Even Rosa, which threatens to alter the course of history, doesn’t pretend that it’ll destroy all life if the Doctor et al don’t fix things. In episode 2, the stakes are incredibly important to the two characters involved–they both have a reason for wanting to win the big race they’re involved in–but again, the world isn’t going to blow up either way. I think getting back to these relatively smaller stories is incredibly important, because it does highlight the thesis of the show that the lives of individual people are important. And also, honestly, it’s a lot harder to write lower-stakes stories because you have to convey to the audience why it’s so important to the characters and get them to buy in. I’ve been impressed so far.

Ultimately, I’m looking forward to Doctor Who again. I can’t wait to watch more. I’m sure it’ll have its ups and downs, but I’m starting to have faith that I’ll enjoy the journey through this whole season without mentally checking out like I have in recent years. It feels like as the Doctor truly likes and respects her companions, so does the show like and respect its audience again. I can’t wait to watch more.

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tv

The Thirteenth Doctor

The thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor has been announced, and it’s Jodie Whittaker.

I’m having a lot of feelings right now that cannot be expressed by just screaming endlessly on Twitter, so I’m putting them down here.

I grew up watching Doctor Who on PBS. It’s been as huge a part of my life as Star Trek. Until new Who showed up, Seven was my doctor. A big part of that was because of Ace, who was cool and amazing and I wanted to be her for a long time. Her relationship with the Doctor was different, somehow. Looking back on it, I think it’s because she had Donna-esque levels of taking absolutely zero shit off the Doctor, while still being young enough that his relationship with her was more avuncular to downright fatherly. And because she was absolutely brilliant, and the Doctor supported her in that. To the extent that he wanted her to go to the academy on Gallifrey and become a Time Lord. I think that last thing is something that’s been heavily retconned in new Who, but the idea that you don’t have to actually be from Gallifrey to be a Time Lord, and that Ace could be a Time Lord? Sign me up.

And then there was Romana. Between her two incarnations she was in seventeen episodes, but she stands out in my mind because… holy shit, a female Time Lord. Traveling around and having adventures. I loved Romana II because she got to be on equal footing with the Doctor, and had her own sonic screwdriver – I mean, how cool is that?

Looking at new Who, my favorite companions have been the ones (particularly Donna) who were able to put themselves on more equal footing with the Doctor. I think I’ve always been searching for women in the series who have that independence, who are as close to being the Doctor as they can get without actually being allowed to be the main show. The companions I liked the least were the ones who were basically doormats that existed to be the Dr. Watson-esque plot receptacle. (And you’ll notice in modern retellings of the Holmes stories, Watson’s become a much more active character in his own right, whose main purpose is no longer being the person who exists to ask dumb questions so the great detective can explain himself.)

Because let’s be honest, when I was a kid and playing pretend, I didn’t want to be the Doctor’s companion. I wanted to be the Doctor. That was why I loved Romana and Ace so much. And yes, you can pretend as many things as you like, but for all children are intensely imaginative, they’re also weirdly pedantic in certain ways. If you don’t ever see a girl being the Doctor, you come to feel that the Doctor is not something you’re allowed to be. Like when the young son of a friend of mine sadly informed one of his female classmates (this happened before we had Ahsoka and Rey, mind) that she couldn’t play Jedi with him and his friends, because girls aren’t Jedi – his parents corrected him on that one, but he made a perfectly logical conclusion from what he’d observed.

And even when you’re an adult and far more capable of saying “fuck your unspoken rules,” that comes coupled with the ability to better read those subtextual signposts about what stories you’re allowed to be the protagonist for. A better ability to fight to get out of that box also means you know how goddamn high the walls are.

Which all comes down to why I’m tearing up over the casting of Jodie Whittaker, and I wish I could tell this one to kid me. Look, one of your heroes you want to be isn’t just a (cis) man. The Doctor really can be any gender the Doctor pleases. Look, you can have adventures in time and space and be the person with the sonic screwdriver and the blue Police Box, and not just the person there to be less clever than him. And I honestly never thought this would happen, after seeing the ever-escalating manbaby shit storm each time a new Doctor was cast and someone said hey, wouldn’t it be great if the Doctor wasn’t white, or wasn’t a man, or (gasp) both? (Still waiting on the first/third of those items, and that should not be forgotten.)

Maybe I’m more surprised than I should be because I haven’t watched the last several seasons of Doctor Who after being so solidly lost by the Matt Smith episodes. I’m definitely going to go back and try the most recent season, now. I want to see the set up. I’m on board for this. I keep trying to come back to Doctor Who (have not been able to care about the show since about a year after Moffat took over) because it was a staple of my childhood, and maybe this time I’ll stick.

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doctor who tv

[Doctor Who] Time of the Doctor

Obviously, SPOILERS.

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doctor who tv

The Day of the Doctor

Okay, spoilers. Duh. Big duh.

Though I will say this… out of all the fiftieth anniversary stuff for Doctor Who, I actually liked the An Adventure in Space and Time far better than the actual special episode. An Adventure in Space and Time is a mostly historical drama about the start of Doctor Who as a TV show through the time the first Doctor changed over to the second. It was interesting, and funny, and David Bradley as William Hartnell made me cry like a baby, that bastard. If you get a chance to watch it and you’re any kind of Doctor Who fan, I really recommend it.

Anyway, The Day of the Doctor

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doctor who liveblog stuff in the uk

Liveblog of the 2012 Doctor Who Christmas Special

Yes, I am in England, which means I get to see it before most of my friends HAHAHAHA

Needles to say, SPOILERS.

1715 Snowflakes with sharp teeth. This feels so Nightmare Before Christmas!

1715 When an evil snowman with the voice of Sir Ian McKellen asks a creepy loner if he wants help, magical things are bound to happen.

1716 “I said I’d feed you. I didn’t say who to.” Even his grammar is evil.

1717 Scariest snowman ever. I love it. They have sharp teeth and angry eyes.

1719 SCREAM IT’S MADAM VASTRA. Who is wise to the Doctors terrible habit of picking up chicks everywhere he goes.

1720 And we have a show name! “Doctor? Doctor who?”

1720 Matt Smith in a top hat is a lovely sight. I approve.

1720 “Ice remembers.” I’m sensing a theme here.

1721 HAHAHA ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE BASED SHERLOCK HOLMES ON MADAM VASTRA. “A woman and her suspiciously intimate companion.” Eeeee and Vastra is married to Jenny so she resents the implication of impropriety.

1723 Alien snow? “When you see something new… what’s the next thing you look for?” “A grenade!” I love this little Sontaran (Strax) so very much. He’s my favorite “psychotic potato dwarf.”

1725 After all that time saving the Earth and the Earth doesn’t care. Aw, poor Doctor needs a hug.

1727 Don’t think about snowmen! And then they melt if you think about it hard enough, which seems a bit silly.

1730 The invisible staircase is very pretty. But also very impractical. Neat way to get to the TARDIS though, floating on a cloud.

1732 “Tomorrow the snow shall fall and so will mankind!” Oh Doctor Who, you are so silly. Never change.

1733 In-carriage costume change! And suddenly she’s gone to a prim governess. Apparently she’s Mary Poppins?

1735 TMW your employer calls you pretty and then says he just meant young. SUBTLE.

1737 “Do not attempt to escape or you will be obliterated. May I take your coat?” STRAX I LOVE YOU.

1738 Madam Vastra wants one word answers. Two questions like why. Oh but she is good.

1740 And then an even tougher one. Oh my god Madam Vastra is so cool. Explain danger and why he should help in only one word. The answer of “pond” is a real punch in the stomach, ain’t it Doctor.

1741 LOL AND THEN THE DOCTOR PRETENDS TO BE SHERLOCK HOLMES. And he is so utterly terrible at it.

1741 …what is that pun even. No. Bad Doctor.

1742 “Shut up I’m making deductions it’s very exciting.” OH GOSH.

1744 “Madam Vastra wanted to know if you needed any grenades… she might have said help.” STRAX I LOVE YOU.

1744 “I’m the clever one. You’re the potato one… you’re not clever or funny and you’ve got tiny little legs!”

1745 Even the Doctor’s own hand doesn’t listen to him.

1747 An evil governess made of ice. That’s a new one.

1747 Not sure how I feel about the Doctor and hand puppets.

1749 “It’s okay I’m your governess’ gentleman friend and we’ve just been upstairs uh… uh… kissing!” YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG, DOCTOR.

1749 “Hello I am a lizard woman from the dawn of time and this is my wife.” Maid: SCREAMS Us: Squeal with delight.

1752 Wow, getting the kissing on early I see.

1753 Stupid is the Doctor’s thing. That’s amazing.

1754 “My eyes are always front.” “Mine aren’t.” And thus Clara says the thing all women have been thinking ever.

1754 The staircase is taller on the inside. Oh that is clever.

1755 Now sure how I feel about the redo on the decoration for the TARDIS. The central column makes me think of a carousel.

1756 Aha callback to the other episode the actress was in. Well we knew Steven Moffat would desperately find some link. Guess we’ll see it. Wow, and he’s already giving her a key? That was quick. “Me, giving in.” Awwww.

1757 And apparently we were so busy being cute we totally forgot about the evil ice governess and… there goes Clara really? Well that was even quicker. They’ve introduced this woman twice and killed her both times. Yeesh.

1759 Oh Strax. You are the most comforting.

1805 Ah, the return of the memory worm. That’s fun.

1805 Somehow I doubted it would be that easy. It’s Sir Ian McKellen for goodness sake.

1806 …winter is coming, really? I think nerdpanties everywhere just got wetter.

1808 An all it took was a whole family crying on Christmas Eve? That’s a bit… yeah.

1810 Another reference to souffle girl.

1811 The woman keeps dying! “Remember, we shall meet again.” Oh, that’s kind of fun. “Watch me run.” Yeah this could be an interesting series. Wonder if they’ll kill her in every episode like Kenny.