You knew it was coming...

[lirazel]

Hey!  It’s another one of those posts where I come to a TV show incredibly late and love the heck out of it and then document my experience and y’all get to relive your love for it through mine!  Right? 

 

Well, I tell myself that that’s the way it works.

 

So here we go:
 

 

First off, you need to know about my background with Doctor Who.  A few years ago, I was flipping channels late at night (this was right after we got cable for the first time, and the power of dozens of channels instead of seven was going to my head) and stumbled upon the episode that I later learned was “Father’s Day.”  I sat there and watched it and thought, “Wow.  This is lame.”  I have to admit, the low-budget special effects really irked me.

 

Fastforward a year or so, and suddenly all the people whose opinions I most respect when it comes to television are madly in love with this show.  And I say to myself, “Well, maybe I should give another chance.”  And I put it on my to-watch list (which is always ridiculously long).

 

And every couple of months I think, “I should really watch Doctor Who.”  But I never found the time.

 

Well, guess what, y’all?  I’ve found it.  I’ve now finished Series 1, and wanted to share some thoughts.

 

The first half of the first season, I was a bit disappointed.  I mean, it was enjoyable, but it seemed more fun than emotionally resonant and I require my television to be both.  I liked the Doctor and Rose, but I was kind of “meh” about the whole thing.  “Rose,” with the mannequins trying to kill them, felt a little bit too much like season 1 of Buffy.  Which I think is a really good comparison.  The first few episodes of Doctor Who = Season 1 of Buffy.  Enjoyable, charming enough, good characters, a little cheesy. 

 

I was pretty enthralled by the Doctor’s backstory in “Dalek.”  That was a pretty good episode.  And I may have flipped out a whole heckuva lot when I realized that Simon Pegg and Anna Maxwell-Martin were in “The Long Game.”  That episode disappointed me a lot, but I did really like the way it popped up again in the last couple of episodes.

 

But I’ll tell you when I decided that I really, really liked the show.  It was in “Father’s Day.”  Which is so ironic, because that’s the one episode that made me not want to watch the show in the first place!  But this show is like Buffy in another way, too.  If you watch an episode or two, you have no idea what the big deal is.  You might even wrinkle your nose at it.  But watch whole seasons at a time, and you’re suddenly hugely invested in it.  Now, I’m not saying that my Doctor Who love is anywhere near the level of my Buffy love (at least not yet).  But it’s a comparable thing.

 

Because “Father’s Day” was the episode where I really felt like I got to really invest myself in the emotional life of the characters.  I really, really began to like Rose, mostly because she’s so incredibly ordinary.  On paper, there’s nothing special about her at all.  But placed in the right circumstances, she shows great courage, while still being fallibly human (her dad was like that, too.  And even her mum, come to think of it).  And her sheer joy in getting to see so much of the universe is so contagious.  And even when she makes bad mistakes, like she might have in “Father’s Day,” those mistakes come from such a human place inside of her.  I can totally see why the Doctor thinks that the human race is worth fighting for if it produces people like her.

 I also really loved "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances."  John Barrowman is pretty awesome.  And the scary pod-gas-mask people are SO CREEPY!  I got so freaked out.  But I loved the mixture of WWII and the sci-fi stuff, and I loved Nancy and the kids all going in to eat dinner during the bomb raids.  And the Doctor and his "Just this once, everybody lives!" joy at the end owned my soul.  I cannot even tell you.

The last two episodes were not what I was expecting.  The whole Bad Wolf thing, but it was a nice twist, and having the Dalek come back again was cool, too.  The crazy insane mixture of reality TV culture with the apocalypse was something that could only be done on this show, and I really appreciated that.  And the really cool part with Rose turning all glowy and then the kiss and the Doctor transforming...very well done.

I also have to admit how much I love Jackie.  Whoever casted her deserves every single award ever.  Camille Coduri is perfect.  She got on my nerves so much at the beginning, and I don’t even really know when that began to change, but by the time I saw “The Christmas Invasion” (more on that anon), I was as happy to see her as the Doctor was.  Like Rose, she’s not a character, she’s a human being.

 

Poor Mickey.  I feel like he’s got a bit of Spike thing going on.  Not in the hotter-than-should-be-strictly-legal way or the greatest-redemption-story-ever way, either.  But in a “I may be love’s bitch, but at least I’m man enough to admit it” way.  He just keeps waiting and waiting for Rose, and it really breaks my heart.  I really disliked him at the beginning of the show, but like everyone else, he really grew on me.

 

And Nine?  Pretty kick-ass.  I like his big goofy ears and big goofy grin.  I like his leather jacket and how snarky he can be.  I like how impatient he gets with Jackie and the fact that he calls Mickey “Rickey.”  And I mostly like how Christopher Eccleston can flip a switch immediately: one moment he’s grinning and being charming and the next moment there’s real darkness there.

 

Now, I could be proved wrong about this, but that’s the one thing I’m hesitant about in reference to David Tennant.  I watched “The Christmas Invasion” and was very charmed by him, but I don’t know that he has the darkness lingering in him that Nine did.  Like, I would watch Christopher Eccleston, and I would totally believe that he destroyed all of the Dalek and watched his entire race be wiped out.  Totally believe it.  I’m not sure that I do with Ten.  But, like I said, I’ve only seen the one episode with him, and I may well be proven wrong in the future.

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And as for "The Christmas Invasion"....

 

I kind of really loved it.  I love the episodes where they go crazy places in time and space.  But I might love more the ones where they’re back in London.  A lot of that has to do with Jackie and Mickey and even Harriet Jones (brilliant character, btw).  I don’t know where the rest of it comes from, though.

 

At the beginning of the episode, I was all “Really?  They got attacked by a Christmas tree?  Try harder, writers.”  But by the end I really loved it, and I think several of you were right: it really makes Rose and Ten’s bonding process make a lot of sense.  I love her vulnerability and the way she didn’t believe it was him because he never lets her down (SO SWEET!).  And watching her just give up for really the first time was really interesting, too.

 

I think the moment I really first loved it, though, was when he burst out of the Tardis (all he needed was a cup of tea!  See, Jackie is always right!) and just started talking.  It made me totally and completely flaily.  He wants to be a ginger!  He’s rude!  He’s making ridiculous Lion King references!  He knows Arthur Dent!  He’s a total badass!  He’s flirting with Rose!  He gets righteously pissed off when Harriet blows up the ship!  He talks really fast and everything he says is quotable!

 

Yeah, that was great.  And then the sudden serious turn at the end of the episode where Harriet, who we’d never had reason to doubt before suddenly does the wrong thing.  And he calls her on it.  I think that scene might have been a bit more powerful with Eccleston’s darkness behind it, but it was still really great.

 

And yes, yes, I’m very charmed by David Tennant.  Very charmed.

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So.  There we go.  My thoughts on the first series and the first (or 0 episode?  WTH is up with that? Is it a British thing?  Or just a Doctor Who thing?) episode of the second series of the show!

Also, I'm going to be needing some icons.  I need them kinda now.

 

Comments

[shamoogity.livejournal.com]

I had a pretty similar reaction to DW. Thought it was silly fun at first, but the more episodes I watched the more I enjoyed it. And then upon rewatch of season one, I realized that the first few episodes are actually some of my favourite ever. Weird. I also had a similar reaction to David Tennant. Didn't think he could pull off the dark stuff like Eccleston. But he definitely grew on me.

PS Barrowman's American accent is real. He grew up in the States.

[afterthree.livejournal.com]

Tennant's Doctor is definitely a different man. He doesn't go to the dark place so much as the lonely place. Where Eccleston's Doctor was all bright whites and shadowy blacks, Tennant's is more fickle yellows and gloomy blues. I find Tennant's Doctor less dark, but more lonely. I find his Doctor seems older, somehow (which sounds ridiculous, I know). Where Eccleston's eyes were magnificent at translating the dark place, Tennant's are good at reminding you it's been a long, lonely life for this space-man.

Glad you enjoyed it, though! I'm a recent convert myself.

[moonlightrick.livejournal.com]

Doctor Who is <33 for me, as you know, so I'm very glad you're enjoying it. And I agree with you, starting out with the early s1 episodes--re-watching it, I love them not just for nostalgia; but Dalek and then The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances is when I fell madly in love with it. But do you know, I haven't watched Father's Day all the way through yet? Which I'm ashamed to admit, because it's so important, but I couldn't find it--or something--first go 'round, and since then I've been worried the whole way through to watch everything get so mucked up, even if I've watched so many parts of it that I think I've seen...most of it. I'm kind of random like that. But I loved the s1 finale.

And Nine? Nine, I think, will always be my favourite Doctor. Eccleston was just...perfect, and raw, and a mess who absolutely needed to find Rose when he did, and he owned the character's darkness and quirkiness like whoa.

So about Ten: I promise you, you don't see it right away? But he has all that darkness. Like...really really. And it's something that will peek through gradually--actually, after hearing some others' opinions, that thing with Harriet? And how he dealt with it? More above-the-humans than you might first think, and not necessarily in a good way. He's very charming, very geeky, *very* funny, but...just wait for it. The happy-go-lucky is real, but it's also a mask--a more effective one than Nine's leather armour jacket. Actually, in some ways, he goes darker than Nine at some times--Nine was broken, and occasionally amoral, and acted god-like, but he was brutally honest about it. Ten will surprise you--so in some ways the contrast is more startling. And...we'll talk more as you've watched more, because I don't want to spoil anything you might have managed to miss ;) I have too much to say about Nine (whom I loved) vs. Ten (who I do love, but, there are issues).

ANYWAY.

I love Jackie, too! I underestimate how much until I see her again/rewatch her scenes, and then I'm grinning way too much again. Mickey, urm. I like him better than I used to, but. I'm not really as sympathetic as a lot of people seem to be, I'll leave it at that unless you want to chat about him (else this comment might get unduly rambling :P).

I love the episodes where they go crazy places in time and space. I think DW is the crackiest show I have ever, ever watched. It's hilarious for that, alone. (Which would explain why I thought the murderous Christmas trees were hilarious *g*)

I think the moment I really first loved it, though, was when he burst out of the Tardis (all he needed was a cup of tea! See, Jackie is always right!) and just started talking. Hee, exactly! That was my favourite part of The Christmas Invasion. Too funny.

This is how I know that papers are done: my words come unblocked :P

[madcap-shiny.livejournal.com]

Originally I wasn't going to upload this icon, but I felt I should. Just for this entry.

IIRC, Ten does go to the scary place sometimes, but overall he does come across as a bit more...chipper, despite having plenty of CRY MOAR moments to his own name.

[cordykitten]

I have some in my LJ memories... (Icons)
You can start with these:

http://crazypandabear.livejournal.com/tag/tv:+doctor+who

[sarahlovesa.livejournal.com]

It is a long time since you wrote this, so I hope that by now you have seen Series 2-4 of Doctor Who and can see that David Tennant is GOD. Well, actually James M as Spike is God, but there are times when his title of my absolute favourite TV character ever has to be shared with the 10th Doctor. Tennant is not my type physically, but then neither is Spike. On paper I should be supporting Angel and the 9th Doctor - tall, dark, brooding - just my thing! But Spike and Doctor Who 10 - well, I worship the ground they walk on and that is not really how I normally behave - I am too old for crushes, for a start!

What really kills me about these 2 characters - and the actors who play them - is the level of emotional complexity and truth they convey, even amidst wild and fantastical settings - who knew stories about aliens and vampires could be so REAL and so heart-wrenching?

The whole Rose-Doctor arc, the look on his face when he knows he can't be with her, the aching sense of loss when he has to let her go off with the Doctor clone ... sometimes I can't breathe when I am watching it. The finale of Series 4 of DW when all his companions leave him and then he has to make Donna forget him – I had to turn off the TV at the end of it, lie down and eat lots of chocolate to recover – it was so emotional, and I just wanted to tell someone that was the best TV writing ever. At Christmas, I had to leave the room halfway through the episode where the Doctor dies, because it was all too much and I actually could not bear to see him go, even though I really do know that it is not real! Honestly, I am not generally such a drama queen and I am quite a pragmatic person in everyday life - but the quality of the writing and the acting - nothing matches it, except maybe those parts of BTVS involving Spike and his love for Buffy. Sometimes just the look on his face will be enough to make me start blubbing. ‘When I say I love you, it’s not because I can’t have you....’ Well, what can I say? Either people watch that and get what is at the heart of TV shows like that, or they will never understand and I just feel sorry for them!

By the way, I had toyed with the idea of writing some BTVS fan fiction, but when I read Prism and Kaleidoscope, I decided not to waste my time because I could never, ever write anything of that quality and I really hope that you are a writer in real life, not just on the internet, because I would be very happy to buy a book written by you. And I say that as someone who is an English teacher and an obsessive reader!