While most of the professional critics, broadly speaking give it a thumbs up, a lot of the self appointed experts on all things Who are a little more reserved on their judgement.
Well, as a medieval monk, John Lydgate once famously said, '.. you can't please all the people all the time', and while I can't begin to address the self appointed experts' concerns, I think that for me, regardless of whether elements of effects or story etc. are good or bad there must be a lead actor in the role who I feel is right.
I do confess I really did enjoy the opening episode and was keen to see Peter Capaldi's interpretation of The Doctor. As I've said in previous posts my personal preference is to see an older actor play the part, and found 'Matty watty' Smith's antics quite juvenile. Obviously, his tenure as The Doctor appealed to a lot of fans, especially female ones it would seem who, quite bizarrely, found him attractive! The same people probably felt the same about David Tennent. They may well have felt the same about Christopher Eccleston, I don't know.
So,on to yesterday's story. Regeneration episodes I've seen over the years are usually a little chaotic as everyone tries to find their feet, and 'Deep Breath' was no exception. There was a few things I found a bit dodgy. Returning character Madame Vastra who's able to wander through Victorian London clearly accepted by the Victorian public as someone who has a rather nasty facial disfigurement. I suppose if you've got the Elephant man, a crime-fighting lesbian lizard ninja is a stroll in the park.
Clara, quite naturally looked a bit confused. Her young dashing Doctor had turned into an old senile Scotsman before her eyes. But after Matty Watty's Doctor phoned her from the past, it all became totally clear to what she had to do - and, no doubt to all the Matty Watty fans who were mourning his passing. I'm not sure why we had to endure this daft cameo as I've every confidence in Peter eventually making the role his own.
And to the star, Peter Capaldi. As I said before regeneration stories are there to experiment with the character. Things haven't quite fallen into place yet as Peter's Doctor begins to form. There were comic moments.
Doctor: "I'm going to have to relieve you of your pet"
Coach Driver: "You're what?
Doctor: "Shut up, I was talking to the horse!"
In fact The Doctor told quite a few people to shut up throughout the episode. Will this be a plot point in a future episode, we'll have to wait and see. Seriously, there was a few intriguing story points that will develop into part of the story arc - the Doctor's choice of face for instance.
There was the usual 'Doctor to the rescue moment, as he ripped off his disguise, a mask made of skin, to save Clara from certain death at the removable hand of the baddie.
Actually they looked pretty good to me, quite scary, and their leader, the grotesque Half-Face Man was very effective, visually. Although to be fair the most disturbing scene was the ninja lizard woman giving a full open mouth kiss to her 'wife' under the guise of first aid!
Actually, I do make these comments with, my tongue firmly in my cheek. Its not easy to put together a mega popular show like this and there's a lot of time, work and effort gone into it to get it right.
I'm sure Peter Capaldi has the abillities and talent to be a popular choice, and I'm wishing him and team around him all the best - and lets not forget, next week's episode features Daleks!
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ReplyDeleteThere's undoubtedly a lot of time, work and effort put into getting it right, which makes it all the more baffling when they fail to do so. I'm all for Peter Capaldi as the Doctor - the best choice in years - but there was still a bit too much of the humorous buffoon about him. I want to see an enigmatic, hard, ruthless, curt, arrogant and rude Doctor. As Hartnell first was before they softened his character in later episodes.
ReplyDeleteNot quite a hit with you then, Kid.
ReplyDeleteI'll try it again next week, before deciding whether to bother in future.
ReplyDeleteEntirely agree with Kid's comments, but I suppose I'm biased as I grew up watching Hartnell.
I couldn't agree more with the review. I can't wait to see the Daleks next week!
ReplyDeleteFor those only familiar with the 'rebooted' Dr.Who incarnations of Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith (and a well-due nod to John Hurt), Mr.Capaldi will be somewhat of a return to the more 'removed' persona portrayed by Tom Baker and his predecessors.
ReplyDeleteThat said, anyone notice the overlook of Collin Baker's doctor in the brief retrospective of the character during Peter Davidson's interview with Peter Capaldi ?
It was alright i suppose, if you like nu-who.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if you were hoping for a coherent plot, dramatic tension, engaging sci-fi ideas, futuristic electronic music, and er, ropey special effects – you’d best stick to the old ones. I will be.
Things that erk me with the new ones; take for starters our Silurian friend and her lesbian wife. In the 70’s, when the writers wanted to make points about social issues, they fleshed ideas out into entire stories, with characters representing different viewpoints (thinking for example of racism in ‘the mutants’, and environmentalism in ‘the green death’). It made for quite an intelligent show for ‘kids’. There was a lot of dialogue in this episode about the Silarian being married to Jenny, but no real point to it? I sit there thinking ‘whoop-de-do’, you’ve taken an intriguing species from the 70’s series, and turned her into a comedy lesbian – cheers.
I could rant on, but obviously some folks like the new style. I enjoyed Eccleston, then steadily felt it went wrong from there. Its kinda saddening, being a massive ‘classic’ Who fan, and then you have to distance yourself from the new stuff.
I’m hoping, off screen, Capaldi can give Moffat a blast of ‘thick of it’ style foul-mouthery, and get the show in order!
With Moffat at the helm, its de riguer now to have some kind of homosexual reference in there I havent a problem with that in itself, but I cant quite see how it relates to the story, or why a party of overtly alien beings were happily living in victorian London, without being noticed. Even a rampant T Rex barely brought a ripple of fear amongst the massed crowds. Was this a different time stream that the Doc had arrived in, or were the classically reserved Victorians actually quite blase about alien intrusions?
ReplyDeleteAnd again, why take the delightfully ugly Silurian race and glam them up to the point where an entirely different reptillian and primordial species becomes little more than a pretty woman with advanced acne?
Given the current trend for reboots into sugar coated schmaltz with the occasional hard centre, its hardly surprising that an english staple show like Who should be deconstructed and lashed together like a badly fitted flatpack kitchen unit. The cupboard doors may open and the drawers work, but at the end of the day, its never going to be Chippendale furniture, no matter who wields the screwdriver, sonic or otherwise.
Having seen the preview of the daleks next week and the flying eyes, im worried already. Last seasons eyestalks jutting out of human foreheads was a step too far. Some elements should be left alone. But, resistance is as they say, futile. Regeneration happens. At least Capaldi is a tough, believable and potentially sinister central figure, not like that sweaty, rubber faced goon Smith.
Well fellas, I think I pretty much agree with most of what was said there. The lesbian silaurian is a bit of a sticking point with me too. It's like the writers seem to have an agenda to shoehorn a reference to homosexuality in there somewhere with little regard to any point they're making. The lesbian kiss, which lets be honest that what it was; seemed to be just a blatant attempt to grab a headline. I admit I do like the characters of Madame Vastra and Jenny, and their bizarre interspecies relationship, but the story , such as it was, wasn't about them.Or are the writers just putting in these characters to 'brainwash' viewers into simply accepting these things without explaining the complexities around them.The BBC doesn't have good reputation these days of how in the past it has 'accepted' and allowed certain behaviour from some of its employees, and while I'm not comparing fictional relationships on a family series to the hideous actions of certain real people I think writers, with albeit good intentions should, in my opinion tread with a little care.
ReplyDeleteWhat next for Doctor Who, a cross dressing Cyberman!
It was the blatant sexual content and seemingly flagrant moral ambivalence that did for Torchwood. Considering the cross dressing Cyberman, the Daleks, though apparently asexual, all seem to have a male intonation to the voice. I reckon the next thing we'll see is an especially sadistic Queen Dalek, skidding about and squealing in a disneyesque tone, "Off with their heads!" nothing is safe these days!
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