the bbc network – Seven Inches of Your Time

FAN FRICTION: DOCTOR WHO SERIES 8 PREMIERE

Sira — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 20:00:27 +0000

SPOILERS ABOUND.

When Peter Capaldi was announced, I was ecstatic. Not because I knew who he was (because honestly, I didn’t) but because he was so unlike any of the New Series Doctors. He was older, a bit wiser looking and there was something that was so exciting about getting back to a Doctor who wasn’t fresh out of puberty.

I stayed away from all spoilers (aside from new companion/villain casting) and I refused to read about the script leakage (Shame on them!) let alone go in search of the scripts themselves. I was bracing myself, I was ready, I was convinced it was going to be awesome season because I (stop your groaning) love Clara and wanted her to finally be able to step out of Amy’s shadow and maybe that could happen with a new Doctor. Unfortunately, that was one of the only things that happened in the Series 8 premiere that was worthwhile. (I don’t care what anyone says, Clara is awesome and the restaurant exchange between her and Capaldi’s Doc was phenomenal).

Now I know the premiere was a few days ago, but I controlled myself and didn’t watch it until I went to a proper screening last night with a lifelong Whovian (who like many others, is a diehard Tom Baker fan). But when leaving the surprisingly full AMC theatre, we were both shocked at how underwhelmed we were.

The story that this long ass episode tried to tell, was a hot mess. Starting with a dinosaur roaming Victorian England, ending with some funky-freaky incarnation of the Clockwork Androids from one of my favorite episodes of television ever (S02.E04 “The Girl in the Fireplace”, also written by Moffat) jumping out of the TARDIS and spearing himself to death. The episode was a disaster when it started and a disaster when it ended.

Like many of Moffat’s episodes since he took over as show-runner, it tried to do too much in a short amount of time and instead of blending together as one cohesive and intriguing mystery, it was too many different ideas and not enough of any of them. Between the unnecessary dinosaur, Capaldi’s absolutely beautiful exchange with the homeless man, Clara being interrogated by Madame Vastra, and the Doctor and Clara trying to figure each other out at the same time as solving the mystery of “what the restaurant was”… It was just wrong and it did not work.

In addition to the many storylines that didn’t weave together, I, and I suspect many others, were also more preoccupied in figuring out this new Doctor and who he is (which became increasingly more difficult as the episode went on) rather than investing in the ridiculous story. The first episode with a new Doctor is always challenging to get through – whether it’s because you can’t let go of the last one (I’LL NEVER LET YOU GO, MATT SMITH) or because the Doctor has spent the majority of the episode passed out and regenerating (I’m looking at you, Tennant), but Moffat made it extremely difficult on us this time. Capaldi’s inner dialogue that was very much outer dialogue for the entire episode was beautiful and tragic and interesting…but is that really who this Doctor is? Answer: Apparently, given the closing scene between him and Clara.

All that being said however, Peter Capaldi did a wonderful job embodying our beloved Doctor. He had the weight of the world on his 2000 year old shoulders and commanded every scene he was in, not to mention his comedic timing and humor was just perfect (as was the writing for those particular moments: so many good one-liners and jokes, especially about being Scottish.)

But unfortunately again, none of Capaldi’s excellence in performance changes the fact that the problems in writing outweighed even the best of the funny. To add insult to injury, DOCTOR WHO has also become a bunch of green screen and CGI. I’m all about improving quality of TV, what? One of the great things about DOCTOR WHO was the kitschy sets and people dressed in monster-costumes, and now we’ve moved onto gigantic computer-generated dinosaurs and horrible shots of dead androids (which, by the way, were completely superfluous and crude for the nature of the show).

Basically it comes down to this: I have been Team Moffat since he took over DOCTOR WHO three series’ ago; I have stuck by him, defended him, and supported him but I’m starting to feel as if that time in my life is coming to a close. While SHERLOCK is only getting better, Moffat doesn’t seem to have a grasp on what he’s doing with DOCTOR WHO (although, I do love that they finally addressed the question of who gave Clara the TARDIS phone number) and I’m crossing my fingers that he doesn’t take us down yet another road that completely eradicates past storylines. He better make a big change and real fast if he expects to keep this particular Whovian happy.

Get it together, Moff, and quick.

Fan Friction: The Regeneration of a Time Lord

Sira — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 16:00:53 +0000

NO, REALLY. THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD. There is so much debate about Time Lord regeneration lore and how many Doctors there really have been. Some consider upcoming Peter Capaldi to be the 12^th Doctor following Matt Smith, others think he’s the 13^th because they include John Hurts’ War Doctor. And yet still some argue he is the 14^th Doctor because Ten (though apparently Eleven, also known as David Tennant) regenerated and kept the same face (remember the hand thing in Series 4?) Coming up on Series 8, all canon and Time-Lord mythology has been shred to bits courtesy of Moffat and the 50^th Anniversary Special “The Day of the Doctor” so where does that leave us? (Through Steven’s own admission Capaldi is apparently the 14^th Doc, FYI). The limit of 12-regenerative cycles was not part of the Time Lords’ natural life-cycle, but rather a law they imposed upon themselves to limit their time alive and essentially keep them from becoming Gods. Now that Moffat has disregarded that and is apparently going to find some way to give the Doctor another full cycle of 12 regenerations (of which he will already be on number two assuming Mr. Moff stops breakin’ all the rules), we are left to wonder when the next hiatus from the Doctor will come, and if it should come at all. When DOCTOR WHO was cancelled back in 1989, it was only ever meant to be on “hiatus” yet it’s reported that all the big-wigs at The BBC network back in the late 80’s hated the show and were finding any reason to put it out to pasture. It then took 26 16 years (forgive my horrible math) for it to make another appearance on the network, and is now one of the most loved shows The BBC has ever produced. Letting the fans sit on DOCTOR WHO and wait for a over a decade for the TARDIS to reappear on their TVs had to have been a contributing factor to how well the show is doing currently (absence making the heart grow fonder and all that) but now with canon being broken and the entire premise of this new generation of DOCTOR WHO having been re-written: Nine/now Ten/Christopher Eccleston was a Doctor who believed he was the last of his race and he carried that weight with him until Twelve/Tennant and Thirteen/Matt Smith discovered the truth of what happened to Gallifrey thus changing the entire groundwork of the recent series, 2005-current… You have to wonder, maybe it’s time to take another break and revisit the Doctor a few years down the line. When Steven Moffat was casting the [apparent] 14^th Doctor there was so much hope and speculation that he might cast a man of color, or even a woman. When he chose not to do either but instead cast an older white gentleman in the spirit of the original Doctors, one of three things happened to every Whovian: Some who wanted a racially or gender-diverse actor caused an uproar, most commended him for not “changing who the Doctor is” and yet still others were angry that he cast an “old guy” (I suspect those particular Whovians may have been female). But this is not about who was cast, but rather who could be cast in the future.

Fan Cosplay of the 7th Doctor

That 16 year break gave the network, the show runners, writers they brought on board, and the fans at home a chance to reinvent the Doctor and modernize him in a way that may not have been possible had he remained on the air that entire time. Everyone was given a fresh perspective and outlook on a most beloved character and most fans seemed to be more than happy to have the Doctor back, regardless of who had been cast. Of course, there are always fan-based ideal casting choices; everyone has their preferences and that’s absolutely fine – the point here is that the majority of fans were just glad to have the Doctor on screen again – they’d take him anyway they could have him. And maybe it’s time for that again. Maybe if we say goodbye to the Doctor for a few years (five or even ten) when we bring him back we can revive him into a black man, or a middle-aged woman and it would be ok because people would be thankful just to have the Doctor back again. A hiatus spanning 3-5 years would give everyone – the writers, studio, and actors – a chance to really develop this new series starring a whole different brand of Doctor. It would offer those involved on the inside the opportunity to advertise and market this new Doctor however they saw fit in keeping with the tradition of who the Doctor was at [his] core, beneath all the scarves and fez’s. Now, I’m [surprisingly] not saying that a female Doctor specifically is the best, most awesome idea ever… But I am absolutely open to it if the time was taken to do it properly, with the right woman in the role and the right show-runner (who I do not believe is Moffat. My previous article on Moffat’s female characters notwithstanding. I do like him enough, but I’m not sure he would be able to change genders and lead a successful show, especially considering what he’s changed with the current one – which is everything.)

Fan Cosplay of the official 13th [Matt Smith] Doctor

DOCTOR WHO is a timeless love for most fans and we will follow the Doctor through thick and thin, those we love and those we hate, the companions we cry for and companions we wish hadn’t happened at all. I believe that given a length of time to grieve over the loss of our show due to another hiatus, we would welcome in a diverse Doctor of any background or gender. There are so many talented actors and actresses out there that would make brilliant, heart-warming, and captivating Doctors that it seems a crime we would exclude them and deprive ourselves from all the possibilities on a technicality. Every regeneration The Doctor is written to check to see if his gender changed and wonder if he’s ginger – and if the stars align hopefully one day he’ll find one of those things has finally happened.