The Three Doctors

So, after stalling on The Aztecs, I have continued my occaisional exploration of classic Doctor Who with... dum dum dum... The Three Doctors!

I figured that I hadn't yet seen any Jon Pertwee or Patrick Troughton, so why not do both at the same time! And I really enjoyed it.

I got to see the Brigadier and Jo Grant, both of whom I had only seen in the Sarah Jane Adventures befor this, which is not quite the same.

Dear Bod, I love Jo Grant! She's utterly adorable. Yes, okay, she can be a bit ditzy, but I don't really mind that. And she and Benton just made me squee in all the scenes they had together. I got all mushy.

I don't know enough about science to judge the possibility of the story (and black holes frankly scare the hell out of me), but I quite liked the story. It was light and fluffy-ish, but I like my Doctor Who like that.

I'm not entirely sure what else to say about it. It was a good intro to some Doctor's and companions that I had yet to come across (the Brig not being able to handle the concept of multiple Doctors was hilarious) and I enjoyed it.

Toodles!

SPOILERS - The Power of Three

Another good one from Chris Chibnall this week. The plot itself was a little light on, I must admit, but this was more a character piece than anything.

It was about how the Doctor relates to the real world, how he affects his companions and all the other people he comes into contact with. I was most touched by the character of Kate Stewart - Daughter of the Brigadier. I've never seen an episode with the Brig, apart from his turn on the Sarah Jane adventures, but I understand that he definitely viewed things from a military point of view. Yet, through meeting and working with the Doctor, he brought his daughter up saying that 'science leads'. Brilliant. This is the more traditional role for the character, rather than the angry, vengeful man that was in A Town Called Mercy, although I think both sides of him a perfectly valid.

While I'm discussing Kate, her gentle, dry sense of humour was fabulous."Yes, I've got officers trained in beheading, also, Ravens of Death."

Ravens of Death! Ha!

There was a lot of gentle reflections on Doctor Who's past in this. A reference to K9 and the conversation between the Doctor and Brian where the Doctor was forced to disclose the fates of previous companions. Of course, Brian is worried about Amy and Rory. But it is a much gentler worry than, say, Jackie Tyler. The forshadowing at the end was once again fairly obvious though. It's been happening all season, and I really think it could be subtler. We know Amy and Rory are leaving. We don't need a dramatic pause everytime it's referenced.

Another moment, that was very Doctor-ish and touching was his referring to humans as 'creatures of hope'. Even though the Human race can make him so angry sometimes, he still thinks we're amazing.

I didn't have any issues with the fate of the villains - as far as I can tell, not actual people were really killed. Even the alien was an 'automated interface'. But then, having a villain wasn't really the point.

I think all my other comments are random moments of amusement. The Doctor being disdainful of Twitter, the Doctor playing the Wii and being unable to keep still. Brian being the complete opposite and being happy to sit there, staring at the cube day after day. The Doctor's pathetic little 'run' before the explosion. I found Brian's sitting up like a startled rabbit on the trolley hilarious! A perfect bit of physical comedy by Mark Williams.

I think that's pretty much it. I suspect I may need tissues on hand next week...

SPOILERS: A Town Called Mercy

I’ve been holding off on this review for a bit, trying to sort out what exactly I think about it. I’m still not entirely sure, but maybe writing it out will help.

I certainly liked the episode, let’s make that clear. But something doesn’t feel right.

It’s entirely possible that it could just be me, I mean, September and I don’t get along, as a rule. Maybes it’s just the fact that A Town Called Mercy was a much more serious episode then even Asylum of the Daleks.

Here, we’re considering the very heart of the show. What kind of man is the Doctor?

I listen to podcasts and I read the occasional blog or facebook post. The general view of the Doctor seems to be that he will not kill. This is reinforced by moments such as in The End of Time, when Tenth Doctor is constantly refusing to take the gun that Wilf is pressing on him. There are definitely moments throughout the show where this crops up. But there are also moments when the Doctor has a choice to make, and that choice is not always the best one.

There is also the fact that the Doctor is somewhere around 1,200 years old. He has led a long, adventurous and sometimes violent life. He has destroyed the Dalek race (multiple times) not to mention his own race. He ensured the Pompeii eruption and sucked the Cybermen into the void. He’s watched the Master subjugate the earth and countless other enemies kill people that he cares about.

And he never responds well to travelling alone, something Donna notices the first she meets him in The Runaway Bride.

There are interesting parallels to Captain Jack Harkness in Children of earth, where it is revealed that half way through his century long wait for the Doctor, just didn’t care anymore and gave up 13 children on orders. Jack is another immortal. Perhaps it is simply the fact that by living so long, a person is always going to have moments where everything becomes too much.

I don’t know if I’m making any sense, so I’m going to stop.

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship! **SPOILERS**

I was somewhat torn about this episode in the lead up. On one hand, it was stuffed full of stuff guaranteed to interest me - dinosaurs, Queen Nefertiti, Ruper Graves. On the other hand, while I don't spew forth the vitriol about Chris Chibnall that much of fandom seems to, I've never been particularly impressed by his Doctor Who episodes.

What do you, know, Chibnall managed to come through!. I thoroughly enjoyed that. There may have been nothing startling about the plot, no high brow concepts to explore, but it was good, rollicking, traditional Doctor Who adventure. And the acting of everyone (and there was a fairly large guest cast) was excellent. I was thoroughly enthralled.

Speaking of which, Chibnall managed to make sure that all the guests had a purpose, had something to do. Rupert Graves probably had the least important role, to be honest, yet it still wouldn't have been quite the same without him.

There were a few of great quotes. "I've got a gang. Yes!" "Just don't wake the baby" (In reference to a sleeping T-rex) "Spelling it out is hereditary, wonderful."

Was Amy's jealousy over the Doctor possibly having companions other than her and Rory really necessary. I suspect it's one of those hints that are leading up to the end of the Ponds in episode 5. There were a few of those in this episode I think. Amy's obsession with the Doctor can be a little scary sometimes. It's not really healthy. Another of the hints was right at the end of the episode. When the Ponds and Brian were looking out over the Earth, the Doctor was standing behind them, and his face kind of fell. He looked a bit left out. The danger of allowing companions to have lives separate to him I guess.

Speaking of Brian Williams - Mark Williams was excellent in this as Rory's Dad. There were enough similarities to show that they were relatives (see quote above about spelling it out), but he was his own character. In the, end, he was there for a reason as well. I liked the way it linked back to the idea of gene chains and there for father and son were the ones flying the ship. Brian was so very, very English (sitting in the TARDIS door eating a sandwich and having a cuppa while looking out over the world) and obviously set in his ways, yet still able to have his horizons expanded by the utterly bizarre experience that he was going through. I loved the fact that after they got back he went travelling, sending Amy and Rory postcards from all over the world. It reminds me of Donna's plans after The Runaway Bride, but with a happier ending (we hope!).

Amy was in pretty good form this episode, without being overly perfect, which I like. She's still a flawed character, as the jealousy and her issues with the Doctor show. However, she got the chance to be the Doctor, complete with her own companions, and she did a good job. Loved the comment about learning from the Doctor that when you walk into a strange place, you press buttons. She, Nefertit and Riddell managed to find some key information and let the Doctor know what was going on.

I loved the character of Nerfetit, and that she was willing to sacrifice herself for innocent creatures and her friends. She was truly noble, yet also feisty. I love the fact that Amy is a bit of a Nefertiti fangirl. I suspect it will be a case of bring on the Nefertiti/Riddell fanfiction. Rupert Graves had just the right amount of sleaziness for Riddell.

Now for the villain of the piece. Not a redeemable feature of him. So icky. Killing the triceratops (who, btw, was absolutely adorable, rather like a puppy) made me so angry. To be honest, even more so than the genocide of the Silurians, probably because we were given a chance to connect with the triceratops. And the insinuations about 'breaking in' Nefertiti made me feel dirty. Ugh! So horrid. Which meant, in the end, when the Doctor behaved so coldly, leaving Solomon to die, and was almost triumphant about it, I didn't have a problem with it. It wasn't a very Doctor-ish thing to do, but then, he's always had a dark side, it just takes a lot to set him off. This guy managed it.

A couple of small points to finish off. The Doctor not being identifiable by the computer system, was much more subtle than the Daleks asking 'Doctor Who' last week. I definitely prefer subtle.

Is the Doctor being one of the musicians in a piece of music going to be in every episode now? Because I suspect that will getting annoying if it becomes a 'thing'.

Asylum of The Daleks - SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

So, thanks to ABC iView, I was able to watch the brand new episode of Doctor Who as soon as I woke up this fine, but chilly, Sunday morning, instead of having to avoid the internet for a week until it airs on TV here in Australia next Saturday.

Oh.

My.

God.

I don't think I've ever shrieked at a computer screen quite so much. I don't know how they managed to keep it a secret, but new companion, Jenna Louise Coleman, made her appearance a few months early.

As a psychotic Dalek who believe's she's human (well, she used to be).

*major flailage moment*

Okay, now I've spoiled it, let's reverse back to the opening, to a woman's voice telling her daughter, Hannah, a story. We open on a very miserable Skaro, a cloaked woman and the Doctor. It is, of course, a trap and the woman is a Dalek drone (the eyestalk coming out of people's foreheads? Very creepy.) The we flash to the Ponds, who are getting dovorced, Rory having turned up at Amy's modelling shoot to get her to sign the papers. (this was hinted at during the prequel Webisodes - Pond Life). They are also kidnapped by dalek drones. Oh dear.

So, the Dalek parliament (Daleks have a PM now?) is terrified because the security on they're Asylum world, where only the most mad and crazy Daleks are imprisoned, has been breached. They want the Doctor to go in and let down the shield so they can blow the place up. Right.

By the way, the Daleks finding hatred beautiful? So perfectly horrid.

Now, not being a Classic series expert, I couldn't really pick out all the classic daleks. But I am very pleased the the Dalek Wiggles barely made an appearance, apart from the white Supreme Dalek. And I've just noticed th connotations in that. Huh. I much prefer the bronze Daleks.

There was a lovely little character moment through all of this, where Amy was doing a running commentary on what the Doctor was thinking based on his facial expressions and body language. Very funny.

While all this is going on, the lovely JLC is trapped in a room, listening to Carmen and baking souffles (or trying to) while Dalek voices can be heard outside a barricaded door.

So, off go the Doctor and the Ponds, with little wrist bands (sensing a theme here Moffatt) to protect them from the nanocloud (also a theme). Rory of course gets seperated, Amy and the Doctor run into the now dead and turned to drone crew of Oswin's (JLC's) crashed ship, the crazy Daleks start to wak up... and Amy loses her wristband and starts turning into a Dalek.

Oh Dear.

Ther eis lots of running about, the Doctor manages to trick Amy and Rory into sorting out their issues (nice moving little scene there), then walks through the intensive care ward, which is full of Daleks who have survived him. Excellent fear acting by Matt Smith when the Doctor is begging for Oswin to open the door as the crazy Daleks surround him.

Oswin, mnages to delete all knowledge from the Doctor from the Dalek hive mind. Huh. The door opens...

...and reveals the fact that Oswin has been turned into a Dalek but has convinced herself that she is still human.

At this point I'm fairly sure I started shrieking loudly enough to wake my neighbours.

Oswin saves the day and drops the shield, the Ponds (now reconciled) and the Doctor teleport back to the Dalek parliament (but manage to aim at the interior of the TARDIS)... and we discover that OSwin managed to wipe knowledge of the Doctor from the whole Dalek race, not just the crazy ones.

Cue the Daleks asking 'Doctor Who?'

Phew!

So... loved it! Still not particularly scared of the Daleks, but it was a much better use of them than there has been in recent times. I'm very glad that the Ponds marital issues have been sorted in one episode... it dragging on all series would have been plain annoying.

I am intrigued about the Christmas special and JLC's companion character now - I note that the Doctor never actually saw what Oswin looked like.

I do believe I am going to grab some breakfast and watch it again. Otherwise...

BRING ON DINOSAURS ON A SPACESHIP!