Quantcast
Channel: Tardistopia.net » Dinosaurs On A Spaceship
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 3

Doctor Whooligan: Matt Smith Is Leaving, Season Seven Recap, Simm Speaks Out, BBC Books Update,Vengeance On Varos On BBC America, Darvill On Broadway

0
0

It was officially announced on Saturday that Matt Smith is leaving the TARDIS. Any time a Doctor announces he is leaving it plunges Doctor Who into a sense of chaos and excitement. Chaos because the producers have to scramble to tie up loose ends and in many cases change scripts. Excitement because the excitement of what is to come is alluring.

26895

I have suspected for a while now that the events that have unfolded would play out in this manner. I expected Matt Smith to depart at the end of the Anniversary Season since he is a star on the rise and clearly wants to make films.

What I did not anticipate however was the U-turn that came our way. It was announced previously that Smith was returning for Season Eight. Whether or not this news  is a gaffe in information distribution or just a change of heart(s) by Smith remains to be seen.

This is sad news. Smith’s departure is so sad because he was a popular Doctor. He was lucky enough to be in the TARDIS at a time when the show went international in a big way. Thus Smith got arguably more exposure in the role than any of his predecessors.

This is why he decided to exit when the time was right and capitalize on this fame for a possible Hollywood career. Hs tenure has also seen him display an amazing range as an actor. He’s been able to tweak and develop The Doctor as he wanted which has  greatly helped him become a performer who is in demand.

Smith’s exit does seem to signal an abrupt end for his character that means that many of his Doctor’s plot points may go unanswered. This is sad since I think Moffat had a bigger picture for Doctor Number Eleven.

I am bummed about this but look forward to the excitement that occurs with the start of a new Doctor. Brave heart.

Doctor-Who-A-Town-Called-Mercy-04

Smith commented on his decision to leave.

Doctor Who has been a brilliant experience for me as an actor and a bloke… I’m incredibly grateful to all the cast and crew who work tirelessly every day, to realise all the elements of the show and deliver Doctor Who to the audience.

The fans of Doctor Who around the world are unlike any other; they dress up, shout louder, know more about the history of the show (and speculate more about the future of the show) in a way that I’ve never seen before, your dedication is truly remarkable. Thank you so very much for supporting my incarnation of the Time Lord, number Eleven, who I might add is not done yet, I’m back for the 50th anniversary and the Christmas special!

It’s been an honour to play this part, to follow the legacy of brilliant actors, and helm the TARDIS for a spell with ‘the ginger, the nose and the impossible one’. But when ya gotta go, ya gotta go.

angels-take-manhattan-promo-pics-7

Linkapalooza:

The Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/article/doctor-who-news-matt-smith-is-leaving-the-show

The Guardian: http://guardianlv.com/2013/06/matt-smith-is-leaving-dr-who-taking-his-last-trip-in-the-tardis/

From The BBC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UqJIenf3o0&feature=player_embedded#action=share

BBC America Press Release: http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2013/06/matt-smith-to-leave-doctor-who/

Seattle Post Intelligencer: http://blog.seattlepi.com/thepudgereport/2013/06/01/matt-smith-leaving-doctor-who-at-the-end-of-the-year/

Metro: http://metro.co.uk/2013/06/01/matt-smith-to-leave-doctor-who-after-four-years-as-the-time-lord-3824933/

Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rt-doctor-who-televisionmt1thewrap94871-20130601,0,7604177.story

MINCHIN ON SEASON EIGHT

Executive Producer Brian Minchin has not been on the job all that long, but yet he cannot help but be excited about the upcoming season of Doctor Who.

tumblr_mm2sjhj5AI1qijoeyo1_1280

Minchin is interviewed in the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine (#461). In that interview he talks about settling in to his new job.

My main job now is staring in awe at the 50th Anniversary Special and wondering ‘How the hell do we follow on from that?! Then, when I stop gawking and wondering, ‘How did they do that bit, and that one, and that bit!’ I will start work on the Christmas episode, written by Steven Moffat himself.

He also elaborated a little bit on his prep work for Season Eight.

I can tell you that I have just spent a very happy few days meeting some scarily clever writers, and we have an incredible set of stories to work on. More adventures ahead!

5OTH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL BITS

Multiple reports claim that Omega is also be involved in 50th Anniversary Special. Some cast credits list John Hurt as Omega. This could go a few different ways, it could be true, it could all could be a clever leak by The Moff’s team to divert attention to what is really going on or it could just be a big rumor.

doctor-who-50th-anniversary-special-tennant-smith-570x380

Jemma Redgrave has commented that the special will ‘break your heart.’

Some of the story is set in 1963.

NIck Hurran is directing with the episode.

The special has been shot in 3D.

ROGER MOORE WANTS TO BE IN DOCTOR WHO

A brief Twitter exchange between Sir Roger Moore and writer Mark Gatiss has caused a stir in the last few days. It began with a Gatiss Tweet on May 19th and continued earlier this week with a reply from the former 007.

rogermooreliveandletdie

Here is the Gatiss’ tweet from May 19.

Isn’t Roger Moore wonderful in ‘The Man Who Haunted Himself’? I have such a soft spot for the film.

On May 25th Moore answered.

@Markgatiss thank you. I might be equally wonderful in Dr Who or Sherlock if asked!

Add MediaGatiss then replied on May 26th

@sirrogermoore My life is complete! Will be I’m touch. My Dad was once mistaken for you by two old ladies in Whitley Bay

So yes it is really early to plan on seeing Moore in an upcoming episode. However, the exchange does illustrate how much famous actors and actresses want to appear in the show.

It would be quite a coup to get Moore as a guest star,

SIMM TIRED OF FANS?

Based on recent comments you would think that John Simm would rather live a life on Mars rather than a life on Earth with Doctor Who fans.

Simm has been in a row with The Radio Times this week after an interview they ran with him that did not cast Whovians in a particularly favorable light.

In that interview Simm was quoted,

 I do get a lot of Doctor Who. God almighty, I’ll be so happy when that’s gone from my life. They’re lovely, I’m sure, but I won’t miss it,” he moaned. “It’s great to be into something, but for goodness’ sake, really? I’m not the Master, I’m not that evil Time Lord who rules the galaxy, I’m just in Tesco with my kids. Leave me alone!

Once that quote hit the papers Simm was furious, claiming his comments were taken out of context. He took to Twitter to explain himself.

cghjkcghjm

The Radio Times has really done a number on me re Dr Who ‘quote’. Thanks for that! Suffice to say It was taken out of context AGAIN.

I haven’t done an interview for them for many years, because of this. Nasty, spiteful, trouble causing ‘Journalism’. I meant no disrespect to ‘Whovians’ or whoever. It’s a non story. I always try to be polite to fans and am v proud of my time in the show. You can choose to believe what you like but I really meant no offence. I’ve obviously p***ed off some bored journalist coz I wouldn’t do an interview.

Stopped doing print interviews a while ago coz of this, if you see one it’s either old or thrown together. TV Radio or here. rest is bulls***. And I don’t fkin shop in Tesco. (BUT THAT’S NOTHING AGAINST TESCO) .

From The Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/i/page-3-profile-john-simm-actor-8633619.html

From The Guardianhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/may/29/john-simm-beware-wrath-doctor-who-fans

No matter what your thoughts are on Simm’s comments you can understand that although he is a celebrity he still does want a modicum of privacy. However he should have known better than to say anything that would exacerbate the situation.

But the plot thickens. The Radio Times is not budging an inch. They responded to Simm’s allegations with resolute confidence.

Far from ‘doing a number’ on John Simm, Radio Times published a wide-ranging 1,200-word interview with an actor our readers admire, who, as we said in the piece, is unquestionably on top of his game.

We didn’t even ask John a question about Doctor Who, he chose to bring it up himself.

The interview was conducted almost a year ago on set in South Africa while John was shooting the new series of Mad Dogs. It’s running in this week’s issue of Radio Times because the programme is now being broadcast on Sky One.

If he was indeed misquoted it is unfortunate that his happened to him. However when he even broached the subject he had to know he needed to tread carefully.

It will be interesting to see what, if any, backlash ensues from all of this.

BBC BOOKS REVS UP FOR ANNIVERSARY

BBC Books are ramping up for the forthcoming celebration of five decades of Doctor Who by releasing two hardback titles just in time for The Doctor’s birthday.

The Doctor: His Lives and Times 

The Doctor: His Lives and Times by James Goss and Steve Tribe is coming out in the UK on September 28th.

tumblr_mnd2h2xIJT1sok7zso1_500

The book features contributions from Neil Gaiman, Russell T. Davies, Carole Barrowman, Waris Hussein, Tim Berners-Lee, Nicholas Briggs, Jenna Coleman, Paul Cornell,   Terrance Dicks, Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Bonnie Langford, Laila Ward and Marcus Wilson. As far as Time Lords go, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Paul McGann and Matt  Smith have each made contributions.

BBC Books Synopsis

I’m the Doctor. I’m a Time Lord. I’m from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. And I’m the man who’s going to save your life.”

He’s made a mark on almost every era of history, and he’s touched millions of lives across space and time. In these pages you’ll find just some of the stories behind those brief encounters, each of them addressing the question that must never, ever be answered: “Doctor Who?”

This is the story of an impossible life – of a man who borrowed a spaceship, travelled through time and continually saved the universe – as told by the Doctor’s friends, by his enemies, and by the man himself. Letters, journals, trial records, secret government files and the occasional bit of tabloid journalism reveal the never-before-told story of Gallifrey’s last Time Lord.

The Vault

Marcus Hearn is a lucky bastard! He was granted access to the BBC Archives and select private collections in order to cull through unseen, forgotten and iconic material for his new book, The Vault, due out on October 24th in the UK.

Hearn is the author of The Hammer Vault, a similar book chronicling the history of Hammer Horror. He also has written about Pink Floyd and The Avengers TV series.

This book sounds amazing!

BBC Books Synopsis

The Vault is an unforgettable journey through 50 years of Doctor Who, via carefully selected photographs, props, costumes designs, production memos, letters, scripts and more.

image.php

This is the full and official story of Doctor Who, from the first pre-production memos in 1963 to the most recent props created for the 2013 series, including interviews with key players and scores of prop photos, design sketches and behind the scenes stills from every decade of the show’s production. Taking you year by year through the world’s
longest running science fiction series, Marcus Hearn explores the show’s groundbreaking innovations as well as its impact on popular culture through books and comics, magazines and toys, merchandise and ephemera.

The Vault is a collector’s dream, and the ultimate celebration of Doctor Who.and October 29th in the UK.

VENGEANCE ON VAROS ON BBC AMERICA

BBC America has announced that they will screen Colin Baker’s Vengeance On Varos  on Saturday, June 29th at 7:30pm ET as part of their Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited series.

Airing as part of Season 22 in 1985 the story  remains one of the best examples how politics and social commentary seeped into the program during the Thatcher-era 1980s. Also of note is the appearance of Jason Connery (son of Sean Connery) appears as a guest star along with Nabil Shaban as Sil.

varosTARDIS

The Doctors Revisited special on the Sixth Doctor will feature Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Bonnie Langford, Steven Moffat and others.

Synopsis

The Doctor visits the planet Varos to obtain the rare ore Zeiton-7, vital to the functioning of his TARDIS. But Varos is a dangerous place, where rebels are tortured on live television and executions are used to win votes from the public. Trapped in the dreaded Punishment Dome, the Doctor and his companion Peri must fight for their lives – and save the starving population from the machinations of the villainous reptilian Sil.

DARVILL IN ONCE

Rory Williams is still in New York. Sort of. Arthur Darvill, who  joined the cast of the hit musical Once this past April, has been dazzling audiences on Broadway with his performance in the Tony Award winning play. Darvill was on hand as the musical recently celebrated its 500th performance.

Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman attended the show on May 21st  at the  Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.

1.165171Read: http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/05-2013/broadways-once-celebrates-500th-performance-and-we_65259.html

Read More: http://www.oncemusical.com/

PLANET OF THE DALEKS 

AudioGo is releasing an audio version of Jon Pertwee’s Season Ten adventure, Planet of The Daleks. Written by Terrance Dick this 1973 story is read by  Mark Gatiss with Nicolas Briggs providing the voice of The Daleks.

dalek-planet-cd-2

Synopsis

After pursuing the Daleks through Space, the Doctor and Jo land on the planet Spiridon, in the midst of a tropical jungle…and finds more than Daleks. Vicious plants spitting deadly poison, invisible Spiridons attacking from all sides and, in hiding, a vast army of Daleks waits for the moment to mobilise.

THE DALEK GENERATION

If you want more Daleks then you may want to listen to Nicolas Briggs latest audio adventure, The Dalek Generation. 

9781471329852

Synopsis

Sunlight 349 is one of countless Dalek Foundation worlds, planets created to house billions suffering from economic hardship. The Doctor arrives at Sunlight 349, suspicious of any world where the Daleks are apparently a force for good – and determined to find out the truth. The Doctor knows they have a far more sinister plan – but how can he convince those who have lived under the benevolence of the Daleks for a generation? But convince them he must, and soon. For on another Foundation planet, archaeologists have unearthed the most dangerous technology in the universe… 

DESTINY OF THE DOCTOR

AudioGo continues their celebration of Doctor Who with a new installment of their Destiny Of The Doctor audio series. Colin Baker is again joined by Nicola Bryant as Peri in Trouble In Paradise,  an original story written by Nev Fountain

dw_trouble_in_paradise_f_600

Synopsis

Responding to a desperate summons from the Doctor’s future self, he and Peri find themselves on a sailing ship in 1492, where the crewmen are gripped by superstitious fear. They say the Devil walks among them, stalking and striking them down. Even though they have landed in paradise, they fear that ‘El Diablo’ himself will drag them over the edge of the world and into the depths of hell. When the Doctor and Peri meet the captain of the ship, they both discover that heroes can sometimes behave un-heroically. Peri’s reaction leads her into deep water, and soon the Doctor fears not only for her life but also for the existence of the ship, the paradise island, and the Universe itself....

SEASON SEVEN OVERVIEW

Last year I asked several fans I knew for their opinions of the season in order to create an interesting context for examining Season Six. This year for Season Seven I wanted to do something different. So I asked two of the most knowledgeable, creative and scholarly people I know for their opinions of Season Seven.

My aim was to frame a summary of Season Seven in an academic light this time since the last two years have seen an increased explosion in scholarly studies of the program. I also wanted to ask a professionally published SF author and Whovian  for her thoughts.

ku-xlarge

I asked Paul Booth, PhD about the Season. Paul is the Assistant Professor of Media and Cinema Studies/Communication Technology for the College of Communication at DePaul University. Paul organized A  Celebration Of Doctor Who, an academic colloquium that examined the program from an academic. perspective without losing the sense of fun we as fans derive from watching it.

Here are his thoughts about the season:

I generally like long, complex, serialized narratives. I thought Season 6 was excellent, from the Timey-Wimey opening, to the miniaturized Doctor inside the Doctor, all the way to the Doctor’s wedding. So when I heard that Moffat was going to simplify this season by making a lot of stand-alone episodes, I was not anticipating liking Season 7 quite as much as I have in the past

And I was right. While there were occasional gems (Asylum of the Daleks was phenomenal, as was The Snowmen), for the most part I was underwhelmed. This isn’t to say that any episode was particularly bad, rather that nothing truly excelled. I, for one, like my Doctor Who to take chances – I would rather an episode fail spectacularly than fall flat. For the most part, I didn’t think the episodes of Season 7 took chances. They played it safe – and while most of the episodes were good, not many of them were truly great.

But of course, this was the Season we (finally) got to say goodbye to Amy and Rory, a couple who’s swan song took half a season too long. I thought they should have left at the end of Season 6 – I didn’t find their half season compelling, nor did I think their “breakup” was very well done. That being said, I can’t think of a more iconic, more breathtaking, or more supremely satisfying image than that of Rory’s dad Brian sitting on the edge of the TARDIS, eating his sandwich. If I met someone who had never seen Doctor Who and they asked me to show them what Doctor Who WAS, I would show them that image. It was magical. 

tumblr_ml6kx1iKpA1qb27jeo1_500

I really enjoyed Clara, and I thought the second half of the Season was stronger than the first. Hide was particularly excellent, and I enjoyed The Crimson Horror quite a lot. Gaiman’s Nightmare in Silver was compelling and a thoroughly good romp.

However, I absolutely loved The Name of the Doctor. I realize many fans will loathe the rewriting of the series history, but I think Doctor Who thrives on this sort of change and adjustment, and I found it thrilling. Not every bit of knowledge in Doctor Who has always been written in stone – the Doctor’s history, as they say, can be rewritten. And I found it exciting, adventurous, and – most importantly – daring. I am not ashamed to say I rewound the opening a few times – and I’m quite happy to say I squeed in the last few minutes.

4168108-high-doctor-who-series-7b-660x439

I’m excited for the fiftieth anniversary, and think The Name of the Doctor was an exciting and vibrant lead-in. And, no matter what, it’s just great to be watching Doctor Who!

Kathryn Sullivan has been writing science fiction and fantasy since she was 14 years old. Some of her short stories escaped into fan zines, print zines and ezines, but those are now together again in Agents & Adepts (available electronically and in paper). She penned  The Diplomat’s Story for the collection Short Trips: Repercussions. She has written other works for Big Finish and authored The Crystal Palace series.

Here are her thoughts;

Weelllll, there were bits I liked of each episode, but there were quite a few moments of ‘wait, what?’ that threw me out of the story.

For example, ‘Name of the Doctor’, it would have been nice to see how Clara fixed what the GI ruined. I had some friends tell me that Clara overwrote what the GI did, but then that didn’t explain the First Doctor scene (which unfortunately came across as Moffat undercutting Gaiman – no wonder the TARDIS didn’t like Clara). And Jenny died because she was stupid enough to leave the door unlocked?? Couldn’t they have just broken in?

And once again (as in previous seasons), there were questions raised that were never answered. Why didn’t the TARDIS like Clara? Why were the Clara echoes stronger personalities than Clara Prime? Is the GI now erased from time, other than its appearances with the Second Doctor?

4000117-high-doctor-who-series-7b

As for me I felt the season was a bit of a let down. The idea of making the season a fast paced tour de force adventure of the week seemed like a great idea on paper but in the end it was that essential element of the season that may have been its undoing.

The Matt Smith era has always played fast and loose with plots, stories and character development. it has always seemed like a high octane race through time and space which has been tough for fans of the old series to take at times. However it has never relented from being entertaining television. But this year tested all of that.

For the most part fans have come along for the ride. But the recent dilapidated modes of pacing and style have been off-putting, shoddy and generally crap. I liked a lot of moments of Season Seven but overall  things just seemed a bit lackluster, even hurried.

Maybe the break in the season caused some momentum to run out. Maybe the break also stunted some creativity. For the most part I enjoyed the first half of the season’s stories better. Although I think Matt Smith was better in the latter half. I also think the companion/Doctor dynamic worked better once Clara came aboard the TARDIS.

26876

My real beef is that I really wanted more from the season. You cannot fault Matt Smith,  he was solid through the entire season and he brought new complexities to The Doctor in his performance. No matter how much you slag off the season you must admit that Matt Smith really did kick some acting ass this past season.

4198421-high-doctor-who-series-7b

I love Mr. Moffat but I think with S7 his peculiar fondness for making simple plot points  over complicated became way too intrusive this season.While I  think The Moff picked some good writers for S7 it was sad to see the end results. Neil Cross showed great promise and I am looking forward to seeing more from him.  But I do want tighter scripts from him in the future. As a writer he was one of the few that gambled and took some audacious risks. Mark Gatiss did some good things and brought back the Ice Warriors in a convincing way. He showed up to the 50th Anniversary Season to play ball.

Neil Gaiman was, well Neil Gaiman. I think he did a good job but the telefilm of the week format of this season handcuffed him somewhat. Fox example I wanted more backstory for the Emperor and how the Cybermen evolved after their war with humanity.

It was interesting to see the use of a narrator so much in the season. While I didn’t like it at first, upon hindsight it did a lot for exposition and moving the stories along. Scriptwise Matt Smith had some great things to build on. I think the writers had lost their voice for Amy Pond after the first three stories. Especially since Brian and Rory Williams really made some headway in the first part of the season. They took some of the action of of Amy.

Asylum Of The Daleks

This is everything you want a season opening Doctor Who story to be. Introducing Clara was a great surprise and it was nice to see a decent Dalek story. We didn’t get a lot of details at the beginning about Amy and Rory’s deteriorating relationship but they did a decent job of conveying what was happening so the story could move on.

Dinosaurs On A Spaceship

Rupert Graves completely steals this story. Once again the incidental characters are more interesting oftentimes then the leads. This was simply a romp of fun and it worked because it didn’t pretend to be anything other than that. It also showed the first signs that the production team was infusing more comedy into the season. This story was also so likeable because it felt like classic Doctor Who.

A Town Called Mercy

The highly touted episode filmed in Spain. It was good to see a Western in Doctor Who and this story was off kilter in the right way. Scott Bakula was almost cast in it. You can tell The Doctor is having a lot of fun in this story. It also had a lot of subtleties that reminded me of classic Who.

The Power of Three

I liked this one. It had just the right balance of humor and drama and it shed an interesting light on the character of The Doctor by putting him in a domestic setting. Karen Gillan was terrific and Mark Williams was again a delight. Brian Williams was an energizing addition to the first half of the season.

Hooray for Jemma Redgrave. I think the Kate Stewart aspect of this story really worked well and I am looking forward to seeing more of her. They also brought UNIT in a believable way. it also was a nice nod to Nick Courtney.

The Angels Take Manhattan

The Angels Tale Manhattan was perhaps one of most hyped moments in the history of the program. It fell apart and made no sense. Characters came and went without any real reason and it had some of the worst dialogue of the season. Arthur Darvill was in top form and Karen Gillan was top notch. The fundamental problem is that it tried be a lot of things; part historical story, part River & the Doctor, part swan song for the companions and part horror film. Thus I believe it would have benefitted from a second part because it was horribly hurried. On the bright side, the scenes with Amy and The Doctor in the beginning were very endearing.

o-DOCTOR-WHO-THE-ANGELS-TAKE-MANHATTAN-570

The Statue Of Liberty angle needed to either be developed better or thrown out. River Song was tragically bad here. Alex Kingston is not to blame however, her role in the story was a jumbled mess.

I think the story really illustrates the largest part of my issues with the season; overall the exposition was shoddy, slap dash and structurally feeble.  Can we rest The Weeping Angels now too? They have become a cliché.’

The Snowmen

This was a story that did a lot. Richard E. Grant was a dastardly delight. Clara’s re-introduction was great and there was some magical things in her character.  Strax was a show stealer and Jenny and Vastra were paradisiacal. Again we see some nice comedic flourishes in the narrative. The focus on characterization was a welcome touch.

 

I also liked the design changes. The new opening, the new TARDIS interior sets and even the sense that the show was going in a new direction.

 

The show needed to open the windows and air out the room and this episode did that with panache.

 

Lastly, the reference to The Web of Fear was convoluted.  From the moment she said’ It’s smaller on the outside’ I was totally okay with Clara as a companion.

 

 

 

The Bells Of St. John

The formal introduction of Clara mark three was a big success. She was a bright beacon in a story that was a jumbled mess. Again we really have no fixed idea as to what what the Great Intelligence was doing. We assume he needed to harvest human souls but it is never really clear. Also, who and what are the Spoon Heads? The Amelia Williams book was fun.

The TARDIS phone ringing is never really explained very well and it comes off as bad plot point. I am guessing the woman in the shop who give Clara the Doctor’s number is either Rose or River. That also was a nice touch.

The best part of this story was the very touching, almost immediate chemistry between the Doctor and Clara. From the start it was infinitely better than the Amy/Doctor introduction. You could tell they were going to have a lot of fun.  I didn’t mind the motorcycle riding through London all that much.  I think it was a nice throwback to the 3rd Doctor in many ways since the Doctor does love his gadgets. I also think that if there was an alien in the WiFi UNIT may be all on top of that. I guess they were not. Monks are not cool.

The Rings Of Akhaten

 

Perhaps the most divisive episode of the season. Those who liked it liked it a lot and those who hated it really hated it. I liked the nice shout out to Susan and its old school feel. I also liked the uncumbersome plot. The singing was also good. Matt Smith was again having Troughtonish fun and he threw in some serious melancholy. This story also nicely delved into what it was like to be as companion.

Matt Smith’s monologue was one o f the highlights of the season. Sadly the story was a bit wonky.

 

Cold War

A few bad things…..David Warner was underutilized. The Soviets would never tolerate Western music on a military vessel and the Russinas would not have been that welcoming.  Having said that it was a fun, fun, fun episode. The return of the Ice Warriors was plausible and really worked. Clara further developed as a companion and the tempo was great. This may be my favorite story of the season.

Hide

Hide did some really great things and not having layers of background musical scoring really enhanced it. I loved Dougray Scott and Jessica Raine but their love story was a bit of a stretch. It was nice to have an adventue that relied mostly on the theater of the mind. This is what makes any ghost story really work. The atmosphere was nicely set up.

Journey to The Centre Of the TARDIS

 

 

In my humble opinion it didn’t deliverThe most useless plot point fo the season was in this story. The robot brother angle misfires and brings the house of cards down. It was great to go inside the TARDIS but they didn’t spend a lot of time in interesting places. It would have been nice to see more of the library or even older console rooms.

Somehow the TARDIS seemed more strange and weird in the old days then now. Th current series TARDIS interior is sort of battleship grey with these funky industrial corridors that are not very appealing. They are quite drab when compared to the console room. I do however think that here Team Who  did a fairly good job of explaining and exploring just how dangerous of a place the TARDIS is. The zombies were stupid. Oh yeah we saw the crack in time again. What’s all this then? I really wanted so much more from this.

 

 

The Crimson Horror

A great story for the most part. Rachael Stirling and Dame Diana Rigg were wonderful. This felt like a Jules Verne yarn at times but it also was quite grim and dark.  It delivered a great story without a lot of detail mainly because like previous S7 Vastra.Jenny and Strax stories rely on characterization more than plot.

How did all the pictures of Clara end up on the internet? Who put them there? How did Mrs. Gillyflower meet Mr. Sweet?

I liked the Tegan references.

Nightmare In Silver

Neil Gaiman wrote a story that reinvented the Cybermen in entirely new ways while creating a role for Warwick Davis that pretty cool new character. he also made the Cybermen ruthless and scary again. The ‘Best of Both Worlds’ elements of the story aside it was a showcase for Matt Smith’s acting that also served a s away to strengthen Clara as a character and bring the Cybermen into the fold again as really menacing monsters. Gaiman also brought some much needed horror and techy science fiction elements and introduced some new ideas.  Nightmare In Silver was bold and ambitious and it set up the finale really well.

The Name Of The Doctor

I hated building up to this. There was no way they would reveal his name. but they didn’t explain why divulging his name was such an important event.

Ok I really liked this. I am not sure why. Maybe it was just great to see the tempo and pacing work properly or the fact that Moffat had so many balls in the air here that all came together and executed a terrific thrill ride of a story. Matt Smith completely killed it. Just when you think he can’t do anything else with the character he lays this on you. He was fantastic.

4198577-high-doctor-who-series-7b

I liked how they brought in the other Doctors but was bummed that a lot of elements from The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang were resued. Stars went out, there was a much hyped ‘death’ that was not really a death. there was a darkness in The Doctor and again some serious timey wimey craziness. In facts as with a lot fo the season finales the theme of death is everywhere seeping into every aspect of the story. Also does every season finale have to have the Doctor sacrifice himself or his notoriety to save the universe?

Alex Kingston was used perfectly and it appears river is back on track as a character again. The production team also did a smart thing by not answering every question in the episode. Straz, jenny and Vastra were once more again showcased and one wishes they would just get their own show.

Some great old school shout outs to classic SF was in order while the show really ramped up some new elements. From a design standpoint the effects were done well. Onscreen Trenzalore just felt like a bad, bad place, The Whispermen were awfully frightening and stylish. Richard E. Grant was again uber creepy but underused,

John  Hurt had very little screen time but he made the most of every second of it by just looking like a bad dude. If he is The Doctor and all subsequent Doctors rolls forward one what happens to ‘the fall of the eleventh’ we heard so much about?

So since the events of Dorian’s prophecy have not yet seemed to happen will we see Trenzalore again? This episode sidestepped a lot of that.

So overall I think it was a pretty satisfactory season but not a great one. It had some really wonderful moments which were often lost in the shoddy (lack of) detail to plot structure. I think the hassle of running two shows is one of the reasons why this happened on Moffat’s watch.

From a performance point of view the regular cast was good and the guest stars were good for the duration of Season Seven. But the one glaring problem is that many of the best characters were underused. I liked the scoring for parts of the season but near the second half it got really heavy handed in places almost to the point where it kept you from hearing spoken lines.

The return of The Daleks, Ice Warriors and Cybermen worked. The return of the Great Intelligence was lackluster at best. this is important because the basic mission of the series was to set up the anniversary and give some throwback love to classic fans while continuing to dazzle the newer ones.

 

I realize Doctor Who is not high theater however there were some real clunkers. I blame this on the action movie model they established for each week. With that much running around something has to go. In most instances it was plot development. The focus on a movie of the week theme is probably a byproduct of the show gaining such a wide American audience these days.

To make things right for Season Eight there needs to be better stories, better plots and a more unified cohesion overall. I like the idea of standalone stories and want that to continue but I also want a team that is not afraid to make an episode that is drawn out in order to tell the best story possible.

 

These weaknesses made this the weakest of Matt Smith’s seasons. Maybe the changeover will revitalize the story telling aspects of Doctor Who  that bugged me so much. I know a lot of fans are disillusioned with Steven Moffat right now. I am holding out hope..for now.

Next time..More On Matt Smith’s departure.

The post Doctor Whooligan: Matt Smith Is Leaving, Season Seven Recap, Simm Speaks Out, BBC Books Update,Vengeance On Varos On BBC America, Darvill On Broadway appeared first on Tardistopia.net.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 3

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images