San Francisco, 3:38 AM
Mon Dec 21
12 posts in the last 24 hours
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It was either 20 minutes too short, or 20 minutes too long. I'm not sure which. Either way, there was an awful big leap between "I can't alter fate" and "I can save anyone I want!" without any sort of bridge where we see the change actually happen with the Doctor. IMHO.
I just re-watched the scene where he comes back to save the the base, and while we are all remembering the scariness of him after he succeeds, you can see while he's explaining that the people in charge (The Time Lords) are gone - "They died. They ALL DIED!" - that he basically means well but is simply at the end of his rope. It's hopeful for about 3 entire seconds and then turns immediately heartbreaking and then just plain scary.
Maybe it's all subjective, but I just really loved the whole thing.
OK, not the whole thing. I agree the water spurting from the arms could have been done better.
@Lassus: That's very much how I feel about the show (this episode in particular, but also more generally). To me, it's barely a science fiction show (let's face it, there ain't much science in there). It's a character drama.
I can agree with the RTD criticism - overblown finales, deus endings, etc. But I don't CARE.
Whether it's one of the specials, or the season finales or the most compelling episodes (for me - Girl in the Fireplace, Midnight, Blink, Turn Left and a couple others), the show makes me FEEL for the characters, particularly the Doctor. I'm not a particularly emotional person but I get worked up when I see what the Doctor goes through and knowing what he's previously been through. I DO feel the heartbreak the Doctor does, as well as the pain and the fear and all the other struggles.
This is a FUN and sometimes silly show, which just makes those dramatic moments more impactful than some program where the hero just faces down the monster of the week.
Compelling characters are RTD's specialty, IMO. He's writing characters - he's not really writing science fiction other than as a backdrop. Which is for better or for worse depending on your perspective.
Personally, I've had a wonderful run with the program and can't wait to experience the final episodes of Tennant's time (*snicker*) as the Doctor.
Graeme, what a BRILLIANT idea to do a call-back! Weekend Editor Victorious!
A friend of mine once described a couple of pieces of literature as similar, Joyce's "The Dubliners" and Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities". They seem to move along in the most (granted WAY above average) regular effectiveness of the authors, almost lulling you into a sense of warm complacency for their skill and narrative effectiveness, the goodness you expect. And each, at the very end, in the last 10% of the story, make such a sharp turn up the y-axis into off-the charts excellence and heartbreak you're left with a feeling of unreality at what you've just experienced. You weren't expecting it at all, you thought it was pretty great the whole while and then you're hit with such successive pulling together you end up agape without even knowing it.
I'm not going to compare RTD to Dickens or Joyce I'm not that much of a fanboy, but story-wise, this one left me feeling the same way. You go from the regular (oh, look, a great call-back to canon, oh, he has to let everyone die, oh monsters, oh he really likes this woman) to the exhilarating (he's back, we're saved!) to really being unsure, ever-so-briefly, if this is going to work (whoops, nuclear countdown), or even if it HAS worked before the last commercial break. And while this is all going on, the chills you're feeling are bizarrely dulled. (Does the Doctor seem a little weird all of a sudden during this come-from-behind victory? "I'm a winner"?) Then OMG, whew, he saved them.... Then things really just start to go off the rails in a way I admit I didn't sense was coming
Now, harking back to the previous thread, I do think that - upon some reflection - that a level of the criticism laid upon this episode was not without merit. There are some "Well why didn't he just do..." to be dealt with, a bit of floating Dalek, the idea of leaving them in the future, and last Tennant does gnaw on the scenery a bit more than usual. Honestly, I just can't help it but I'm forgive all of that. The narrative and story arch wins out here, and even the faults are not holes that big. Maybe I'm too forgiving, but I don't think so.
I, personally, would count this as one of the best episodes of the new run.
Good setup for the Doctor's regeneration and shows why he needs a companion. There were some parts I didn't care for and I would have liked a slower ramp up to the Doctor Victorious, but still good.
@Janglesatwest: Well said, I felt that even with the seeds planted earlier in the episode it was still too sudden a change and too much. Though at least they made sure to point out that he knows he's dying and that was part of his decision making process.
@Mary Ratliff: I know -- dude goes completely 180 degrees in the space of a couple hours? Or, really, in like one scene? They should have stretched that out.
This opens up a great new opportunity for stormtroopers to appear in other films. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, now with stormtroopers! The Wizard of Oz with flying stormtroopers! Or perhaps a retelling of Gone With The Wind? "Miss Scarlett! The stormtroopers are burning Atlanta!" Too bad Spielberg couldn't have waited to do Saving Private Ryan until now. He could have saved a lot on all those Nazi uniforms.
@AmishJohn: Bollocks. This is the right decision. Otherwise, I'm gonna make a film full of near future safety gear, and charge anybody who wishes to wear a full suit of it.
I think it helps to use the phrase "Arts and Crafts" to delineate what has happened here, and why.
Whatever is the product of 'Art' (I won't even attempt to define that, but there are plenty of possible definitions here [en.wiktionary.org] ), is protected by 'copyright' for 70 years (if it was considered to be sculpture, in this case).
Whatever is the product of 'Craft' (much 'easier' to define [en.wiktionary.org] ), "the skilled practice of a practical occupation", is protected by 'copyright' for 15 years.
What appears to have swung the judgement, is the fact that although Andrew Ainsworth was an 'industrial designer' when he was employed to produce the Stormtrooper helmet back in '76, he was not paid to exercise this 'art'.
Instead he was paid only for producing the product of this 'art', in the form of a rate of £20 a piece, for 50 helmets.
Because they didn't treat him as an 'artist' and pay him for his 'art', what they got wasn't art.
It was the 'product' of a 'craft'.
This is a colossal win for 'artists' of any sort, producing any sort of 'art' for pay.
If they don't treat you right (and pay you right) at the beginning, they don't get treated right (and payed right) at the end.
@SJ_Edwards: Thats a bunch of nonsense. Industrial Design is a form of artistic expression. Saying it's not eliminates a sizeable portion of the value of that particular profession.
I think the court made assumptions on the manner in which the person was treated. If he is not considered an artist, then certainly they would have felt free to hire janitors to produce these right?
@SJ_Edwards: Thanks for getting into the details of how this court came to its decision.
I personally disagree with its decision, but I do appreciate the argument. The court conceded that Ainsworth doesn't own the design, which leads one to believe that the design itself IS a copyrightable thing, but that the design for the physical costume is something "industrial" or distinct seems silly to me. I am not a fan of Lucasfilm's heavy-handed, greedy practices, but I think they have a legitimate claim against Ainsworth. Let's see what the British Supreme Court does, if anything at all...
@SJ_Edwards: Yeah, great explanation. At first I was thinking "uh, wait, that can't be right..." but I remember hearing about that, when the guy who originally made them tried to make more and sell them to fans (which may be where this lawsuit came from), and that makes total sense. Under that logic, the only sci-fi "being" that I can think of that can definitely be defined as "art" is the Xenomorph from Alien, so I imagine this may have long last effects on the industry.
People seem to be missing the point. Who cares about the nitpickey bits of copyright law, this means they're going to make Stormtrooper costumes on the cheap! And without fear of the thunderous hand of Lucas crushing them!
What about clone trooper armor? Mandalorian? The bounds are endless!
this article minces a few words in its report. the stormtrooper from star wars was not deemed utilitarian. the stormtrooper replica helmets that an independent british man was making were deemed utilitarian and not art. the guy made the helmets for lucas and the star wars film, his props were used in the movies, and he retained the mold he made himself to spec from lucas. he already lost a case in california to the tune of 20 million. the ruling establishes the creation of props as a utilitarian adventure, however the usage of the image would still fall under 'art' as defined by british law. it's a little hairy but it's as if the court ruled the the man isn't breaking the law by creating and selling the helmets but anyone that buys them would have to be really careful how they used them to avoid breaking it.
While I think that the post-Millennium Act (or whatever it's called) went too far in protecting copyrights, I completely disagree with this court's ruling. What if, instead of live action movies, Lucas made animated films or a series of comic books using Ralph McQuarrie's original designs as the basis for his Stormtroopers? Would it be considered art then? McQ's design here: [www.originalprop.com]
Anyhow, not the first court ruling I've disagreed with, and I'm sure it won't be the last.
I'm pretty sure this only applies to the look/design. So, you couldn't have a Meet the Stormtroopers show based in the Star Wars universe ... you could simply have a character that is dressed as a Stormtrooper, but the first time you begin to riff off of the still copyrighted movies/books/comics/etc, you're at risk.
03:07 AM
12/20/09
12/20/09
Maybe it's all subjective, but I just really loved the whole thing.
OK, not the whole thing. I agree the water spurting from the arms could have been done better.
12/20/09
I can agree with the RTD criticism - overblown finales, deus endings, etc. But I don't CARE.
Whether it's one of the specials, or the season finales or the most compelling episodes (for me - Girl in the Fireplace, Midnight, Blink, Turn Left and a couple others), the show makes me FEEL for the characters, particularly the Doctor. I'm not a particularly emotional person but I get worked up when I see what the Doctor goes through and knowing what he's previously been through. I DO feel the heartbreak the Doctor does, as well as the pain and the fear and all the other struggles.
This is a FUN and sometimes silly show, which just makes those dramatic moments more impactful than some program where the hero just faces down the monster of the week.
Compelling characters are RTD's specialty, IMO. He's writing characters - he's not really writing science fiction other than as a backdrop. Which is for better or for worse depending on your perspective.
Personally, I've had a wonderful run with the program and can't wait to experience the final episodes of Tennant's time (*snicker*) as the Doctor.
12/20/09
12/20/09
12/20/09
12/20/09
A friend of mine once described a couple of pieces of literature as similar, Joyce's "The Dubliners" and Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities". They seem to move along in the most (granted WAY above average) regular effectiveness of the authors, almost lulling you into a sense of warm complacency for their skill and narrative effectiveness, the goodness you expect. And each, at the very end, in the last 10% of the story, make such a sharp turn up the y-axis into off-the charts excellence and heartbreak you're left with a feeling of unreality at what you've just experienced. You weren't expecting it at all, you thought it was pretty great the whole while and then you're hit with such successive pulling together you end up agape without even knowing it.
I'm not going to compare RTD to Dickens or Joyce I'm not that much of a fanboy, but story-wise, this one left me feeling the same way. You go from the regular (oh, look, a great call-back to canon, oh, he has to let everyone die, oh monsters, oh he really likes this woman) to the exhilarating (he's back, we're saved!) to really being unsure, ever-so-briefly, if this is going to work (whoops, nuclear countdown), or even if it HAS worked before the last commercial break. And while this is all going on, the chills you're feeling are bizarrely dulled. (Does the Doctor seem a little weird all of a sudden during this come-from-behind victory? "I'm a winner"?) Then OMG, whew, he saved them.... Then things really just start to go off the rails in a way I admit I didn't sense was coming
Now, harking back to the previous thread, I do think that - upon some reflection - that a level of the criticism laid upon this episode was not without merit. There are some "Well why didn't he just do..." to be dealt with, a bit of floating Dalek, the idea of leaving them in the future, and last Tennant does gnaw on the scenery a bit more than usual. Honestly, I just can't help it but I'm forgive all of that. The narrative and story arch wins out here, and even the faults are not holes that big. Maybe I'm too forgiving, but I don't think so.
I, personally, would count this as one of the best episodes of the new run.
12/20/09
12/20/09
12/20/09
12/20/09
12/20/09
12/19/09
12/20/09
12/19/09
Whatever is the product of 'Art' (I won't even attempt to define that, but there are plenty of possible definitions here [en.wiktionary.org] ), is protected by 'copyright' for 70 years (if it was considered to be sculpture, in this case).
Whatever is the product of 'Craft' (much 'easier' to define [en.wiktionary.org] ), "the skilled practice of a practical occupation", is protected by 'copyright' for 15 years.
What appears to have swung the judgement, is the fact that although Andrew Ainsworth was an 'industrial designer' when he was employed to produce the Stormtrooper helmet back in '76, he was not paid to exercise this 'art'.
Instead he was paid only for producing the product of this 'art', in the form of a rate of £20 a piece, for 50 helmets.
Because they didn't treat him as an 'artist' and pay him for his 'art', what they got wasn't art.
It was the 'product' of a 'craft'.
This is a colossal win for 'artists' of any sort, producing any sort of 'art' for pay.
If they don't treat you right (and pay you right) at the beginning, they don't get treated right (and payed right) at the end.
FTW!
12/19/09
12/19/09
I think the court made assumptions on the manner in which the person was treated. If he is not considered an artist, then certainly they would have felt free to hire janitors to produce these right?
12/19/09
I personally disagree with its decision, but I do appreciate the argument. The court conceded that Ainsworth doesn't own the design, which leads one to believe that the design itself IS a copyrightable thing, but that the design for the physical costume is something "industrial" or distinct seems silly to me. I am not a fan of Lucasfilm's heavy-handed, greedy practices, but I think they have a legitimate claim against Ainsworth. Let's see what the British Supreme Court does, if anything at all...
12/19/09
12/19/09
What about clone trooper armor? Mandalorian? The bounds are endless!
12/19/09
12/19/09
Anyhow, not the first court ruling I've disagreed with, and I'm sure it won't be the last.
12/19/09