For those not in the know, Doctor Who is back, and he’s bigger and…better?…than ever before. If you’re not familiar with the UK Sci-Fi time traveling hero, he’s an almost immortal being who goes on adventures to save galaxies and worlds, especially earth, with people by his side known as companions. He has a tendency to find danger and on occassion, die and get brought back as a totally different person with all of the memories and even an all new personality. If you haven’t given this show a test run, I highly recommend just one episode, and many will agree with me, watch “The Girl In the Fireplace”. Man, just thinking about it gets me all flustered, because that is one quality episode. And of course, there is “Blink”, where every statue you see from here on out will be second guessed as an alien trying to take you away. It’s also an episode with very little Doctor but a lot of Carey Mulligan, and really, anything with her in it is worth watching.
Now I think I talk about Doctor Who about every six months. It’s hard not to when the world is full of people who are into the show. Now with the nerd and geek community becoming stronger (with subcultures taking on the ridicule nerd’s used to get), Doctor Who, in turn, is getting more and more popular, and I couldn’t be more…disappointed. Now it’s no secret that I’m not a fan of the 11th Doctor, and I sarcastically (kind of seriously) explained that it was because he and Pond never made babies. Yes, I’m a fan of the very attractive Karen Gillan, who apparently is being replaced by the equally attractive Jenna-Louise Coleman, but still, that’s not really why I’m not a fan of the 11th. It’s just that he’s missing something! He’s…a bump on a log and kind of boring.
David Tennant, who is considered by many to be their favorite Doctor, is a man who ran away with the idea that being the Doctor was not only heavy on the conscious, but because of that, became heavy on the funny. He played with the right mix of childish glee and vengeful seriousness that he stole the show almost all of the time. That is how I feel the Doctor should be. Even Christopher Eccleston, who was brooding and bad ass was also light hearted and cheerful at times. Then…there’s Matt Smith. A seemingly personable actor who made Doctor Who into this kind of…dark, humorless, spaz. It’s hard to explain, because sometimes he’s really great, but a lot of the time, he just goes crazy for the sake of being crazy. A random fez, a random bowtie. Tennant’s Who never had to explain the 3D glasses, he just wore them until the right time. Smith’s Who just…does stuff, and it’s cute, but feels like filler.
So now onto why I wrote this damn thing in the first place. The new season has begun, and I have seen the first two episodes, well, three episodes by the time this gets out there, and well…the premiere was awesome. It was such a great mix of funny, fun, running, and more running. Everyone had a such a great role in the overall story. The Ponds were both dramatic and you felt for them, the Doctor was quirky and quippy, and then there was the incredibly likeable other character, which I guess would be a spoiler if I gave it away. Hmm, well, moving on. The Dalek’s were cool, and though they did not play as big a role as was hinted, their terror and scare factor were spot on. I would not want to be stuck in a small closet with them, let alone a space ship. Everything about that premiere episode clicked. My expectations were high!
Then…Episode 2 comes along, and it was just…how do I put this…boring. The Doctor and the Ponds and a couple of other weird stragglers come along to investigate this strange ship that’s headed towards Earth. Harry Potter fans will find it cool that there are cameos from Mr. Weasley and Groundskeeper Willy (What?), and I too thought it was a nice touch, but I could not help but just wish the episode was over. It started off unusual, with the Doctor recruiting a Queen of Egypt and a Big Game Hunter alongside Amy and Rory and Rory’s dad, all to go to a place that was dull . Also that’s a lot of people. And then they run around what looks like a claustrophobic space ship, and they have their adventure with dinosaurs. Amusing, yes, but it just did not mesh and meld like the last episode. It felt haphazard. Then the special effects…meh.
Okay, maybe I’m complaining for all the wrong reasons, and I should not expect Hollywood quality special effects, but it was such a mediocre episode. And it’s not special that it’s a bad episode, it’s just that it started off so promisingly from the start, and then, kaput. Hopefully this third episode is back to form, because I actually had hope that this season would be fantastic. I’ve endured two seasons of mediocre, with a few exceptional exceptions, and with the anniversary around the corner, you’d think they’d take it up a notch.
Then there’s this: Doctor Who? DOCTOR WHO!? We get it! We get it! At least in the previous seasons they would mix it up a bit with saying the title in the show. “Doctor? Just Doctor?”, or, “You said you were Doctor. Doctor who?” or something to that effect. Not the million repeats of “Doctor WHO!?!?!??!?!?!” No one knows who he is, that’s cool and all, but we don’t need everyone to say the title of the show. Next thing you know, someone is going to hum the theme song! It’s just kind of frustrating to hear it over and over.
Well, either way, here’s hoping this season with it’s new companion and the farewell to the Ponds proves to be a return to form and improves as we get closer to the Christmas Special. There’s optimism yet, because it’s only the beginning…or…just regenerate the Doctor and the WRITERS already.
