<![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time - io9 Comments]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time - io9 Comments]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> I'm just sad that by the time I get around to watching the chopped up US version this conversation is long over.

92BuickLeSabre

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> I'm often amazed this is considered a family show. I have a 9-year-old and an 11-year-old who are Star Trek and Star Wars fans and totally up-to-date with Harry Potter books and movies and more thick-skinned than many of their friends, but Doctor Who is too intense and scary for them. We've tried watching with them, and it's clearly too much -- so we watch after they're in bed.

Maybe it's meant for ages 12-and-up or even older? But by those standards you might as well call CSI and House family shows.

superdewa

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Why did he throw the pen away?

Doug Nelson

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> I thought the main problem with the plot was that all the villains problems could have been solved by being truthful. There didn't seem to any problems with with the fat babies, except for that one deliberate death. Im sure tons of fat people would sign up for that system. if it was free there would be even more sign ups, even if there was like a 1 in 1000 chance of death. Look at people getting gastric bypass surgery!

Iax

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @IntoAshes: Of course you're welcome to say whatever you wish, but you're on a review and discussion site and if your first post on a thread is as lazy as it was, you're gonna get trashed. I'm more than entitled to take it or leave it, I'm entitled to critisise it.
That last post however was great, it justified exactly what you said, but I can't read your mind, if you don't post the back up how can I tell that your opinion is even remotely justified, nor does it give me anything to debate with.

Shinju

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @Shinju: Get off your high horse. Seriously. I'm entitled to say whatever I choose to, and you are entitled to take it or leave it. I never attacked you personally, but my comments clearly touched a nerve. Don't define what should or should not be said or done and then accuse me of breaking those rules in the next sentence.

Clearly we have very different frames of reference, and very different definitions of what constitutes entertainment, but I am hardly alone in finding this new incarnation of Doctor Who difficult at times. You chose to respond to my broad statements, which were never directed at you, with thinly veiled ad hominem attacks on my posterior. Fine, but don't think that does anything to convince me or any other critic of this mess that it is anything other than a sensationalized spectacle aimed at the broadest and basest of tastes, something older Who, for all of its other faults, only ever did in dreck like The Chase. New Who achieves it several times a season. RTD has very publicly expressed a deep contempt for and misunderstanding of science fiction, and the episodes he writes for this new series only serve to underline his opinions.

As for my specific complaints with Partners in Crime, well, that whole near-miss thing was clumsily orchestrated and derivative. Perhaps 40 years ago, when the Romans was produced, it wasn't as gracefully done, but then again it probably wasn't as much of a tired cliche as it is now? And you never got the impression that it's writers were patting themselves on the back about how clever and funny it was? Go watch the film Playtime (made over 40 years ago) if you want to see it done better and with more "creativity". Then of course there is the Looney Tunes style demise of the overblown and dull Ms. Foster character, the irritating and forced "mate" scene at the TARDIS door, the bit where Bernard Cribbins is looking the wrong way as the Close Encounters ship sails behind him... all of this would struggle to be amusing in a Carry On film from the 70s, let alone the supposed flagship of the BBC in 2008, and those are just my gripes with the humor. We haven't even touched on the flimsy plot. As I said elsewhere, I have no doubt that the writers of Doctor Who will produce something astonishingly entertaining and of the highest quality this season. They have every season thus far. This, however, was just not up to even the piss-poor standards of RTDs other poor efforts, Love and Monsters excepted.

Look, I love this show, and I will keep on loving it long after RTD has gone back to making the sensationalist "event" programs he built his reputation on. But just because I love it does not mean it is above my or anyone else's criticism. If you want a love-in then perhaps you are in the wrong place. This is a Gawker site, not Outpost Gallifrey.

IntoAshes

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> By the way I'm pretty sure Tennant is leaving the series and I hear RTD might, so maybe next season would be a good time to go with the Dark continuity episodes. Maybe, Steven Moffat will take the job as show runner.

nukethewhalesagain

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> I dislike most of RTD's scripts as much as the next person but you have to give it up for David Tennant and (in this episode at least) Catherine Tate's comedic delivery. I also thought the little Fat babies were cute and funny like a puppy is cute and funny. I wished my kid sister was home to watch it cause I knew she'd get a kick out of that.

As for this incarnation of Doctor Who in general, I prefer their light self-contained episodes than their multi-episode arcs. Season 1's Bad Wolf was a good attempt at continuity that led nowhere (what was Bad Wolf again?) and I HATED everything that came after the first episode with The Master. So, no, I would not like for RTD to try and go all Battlestar Galactica on us.

nukethewhalesagain

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> This episode was fun enough. Donna is a welcome change from the fawning and gaping of Rose and Martha. Face it, this show is not going to change the camp tone and take anything about itself "seriously" until RTD leaves, and maybe not even then. Just enjoy what you can the episodes he pens, revel in the Moffat work, try to find some gems in the remaining ones, and pray that DobbyDoctor NEVER returns all long as we all shall live. Oh yah, and hope against all hope that Moffat takes over as show runner in 2010.

lever2k

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> The replies here are pretty much a repeat of a debate that's been occurring since the New Series started. I think Devin Faraci at CHUD.com has touched on the primary reason for this debate - we've all grown up into mature adults, but the shows we love haven't.

If I wanted to demonstrate to my Non Sci-Fi friends that Science Fiction can be great drama, I would choose Battlestar Galactica without hesitation. I'd never publically admit to loving Doctor Who more than BSG, because that would make me a public laughing stock and a social pariah.

That's what it comes down to in the end, doesn't it? BSG has public credibility and respectability. Doctor Who, as much as I love it, doesn't and never will.

Spacehamster

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @Jack - I have to admit to liking "Love and Monsters" as well. It was a really good episode. I actually cared about the characters, something that doesn't always happen in television, much less Doctor Who. (Think about that horrible woman who was the leader of Torchwood:London, who really cared when she got kacked...or when she came back to fight for Queen and country...just move along...)

btgoss

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @modernboy: It's coming! It might actually be tomorrow morning, b/c I got swamped. And I didn't want to do these back to back.

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @IntoAshes: You don't seem to have actually said which bits of the humour you found so offensive, so may I ask which bits annoyed you specifically?

I'd also like to get one in ahead of time and remark on the similarity between the Donna and Doctor narrowly avoiding each other in Partners in Crime and Ian/Barbara and the Doctor/Vicki narrowly avoiding each other in The Romans. Virtually identical gags and Partners in Crime did it in a far superior fashion, the timing and the editing was much tighter (for obvious reasons) but it was also more creatively done, particularly when Miss Foster was around and they were popping up and down behind the desks in time with her turning around.

And really, anyone who thinks they're in a position to say "you just have incredibly poor taste and are easily entertained." just because their subjective appreciation of humour differs from someone else, and doesn't bother to back it up (whether they can or not) with anything other than venom, really needs a short sharp trip to smacked-botty-land.

Shinju

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> btw where's our torchwood finale recap?? ;)

modernboy

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> wow so many comments to get through. i need to add my two cents in and say that i too completely disagree with this review. i won't get into my issues with BSG and how it takes itself far to seriously to be entertaining. i mean it makes me want to open a vein or end the human race altogether.

this was textbook season opener. get the two characters together somehow (in a hilarious way i might add), put them in peril (the window washer scene was fantastic with donna struggling even when being rescued), and then have them save the day. i thought it was fun and funny. maybe i'm blinded by my love for all things "who," but i thoroughly enjoyed it. my only issues were a couple of the very thin plot points. i have to as, why was it wrong for them to be harvesting fat? no one died until the doctor and donna got involved and miss foster didn't seem like she was planning on killing anyone just meeting her quota. also how irresponsible was it of the doctor to drop that sonic pen in a trash can. lord knows who is going to pick that up. (btw to everyone saying that tosh built that sonic pen they are wrong. even though that woman she gave it too looked like miss foster it was most definitely not. unless something was said in the commentary for the ep i think the assumption is wrong)

anyway i loved it and screamed when i saw rose. i just wish we could go back to the time when rose and the doctor were traveling and having fun. say what you want about "tooth and claw" but the relationship that those two exhibited during that ep was brilliant. there's just something great about watching two people having fun on an adventure, i mean really that's why i watch doctor who to begin with.

modernboy

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> IntoAshes: Quite right I do apologise, my mistake.

Charlie Jane Anders : I guess it's one of the "joys" of fandom. To watch the same thing and to passionately disagree about we both saw! I thought the humour was great and very subtle in parts (A Nanny who can fly but then plunges to her death? Take that Mary Poppins!)

The reason I picked up the Deus Ex Machina quote is it comes up far too often and I'm not sure people actually know what it means. There's something amusing about people accusing a writer of being lazy by reaching for cliche themselves. RTD is all over this series. If you don't like his scripts then you don't like pretty much every episode of new Who as his fingerprints are all over them. Apart from Moffat he tends to rewrite other people's scripts. Daleks in Manhatten shows what happens when the man falls ill for a few weeks!

More generally it's always a shame to enjoy an episode so much and to read such a downer of a review that does (I politely suggest and imho) miss the point. I hoped a general scifi site like io9 might find more joy in all scifi and recognise programmes and films for what they are.

Doctor Who is a blockbuster family show for the BBC on a Saturday night. By reimagining it like this RTD has secured it's future and delivered some amazing sci fi in the process. It isn't BSG because that would lead to it's cancellation. You won't get Doomsday every week whether RTD is in charge or not.
Because the show you seem to want, really isn't Doctor Who. At least not any more.

lovelight

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @seenwithbean: Wait... you LIKED "Love and Monsters"? Though I agree that Sally and BF would have been an interesting choice to make, I feel that Sally got her closure and was fine with it.

Jack

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @KiddChaos Well, the dialogue between Jack and the Doctor happened during the first season of the new series, so I doubt it's going to be completely forgotten - especially as that was definitely one of the more popular two-parters.
I would have said that the sonic screwdriver was much more associated with the Doctor in the past rather than this incarnation - especially as the Master, Sarah Jane, Captain Jack and now Miss Foster have all had sonic devices since the new episodes began airing.

On a completely different note, I wish I knew where the obsession with romantic tension came from - in the previous series there was never a suggestion of an amorous relationship between the Doctor and any of his companions - even when Tom Baker was married to one in real life.

904 to 20 something is a hell of an age gap to bridge.

Discodave

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @selfhatingotaku My son was already asking for one of those Adipose figures, it is primed to be a more mass market vinyl toy. And with him being such a Star Wars LEGO freak, he might get one just to change things up a bit.

btgoss

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> I thought the episode was ok. I'm interested in the fact that from what has been said here and in Doctor Who Confidential that the real enemy of the piece was the alien royal family, not the Nanny. I'm wondering if they might make a return later on. I'd also bet that adeposian baby plushies will be released for the xmas season, as cute characters like those would be worth a fortune.
To be honest i'm quite glad that there will be a restbite from the romantic sub-plots for this season at least as I didn't really like them. Rose, ok I'll give them that, but the fact that apparently every single woman he meets falls in love with him does grate a bit. It'll be nice for Donna and the Doctor to simply stay being pals who can poke fun at each other or whatever. I'd also like to see a male companion again.
With Donna, i'm unsure of what to make of her. When she leaves i'm either going to wish she'll stay on the TARDIS forever because shes so fun, or i'll be singing from the rooftops that this annoyance has finally gone forever.



selfhatingotaku

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @Discodave: I haven't seen the episode yet, so I can't comment specifically about it, but the sonic screwdriver is so iconic and specific to The Doctor (in the new series especially) that if someone shows up holding one, the producers expect the audience to look at that person with a bit of suspicion.

It's sort of like if someone else besides Superman shows up in a Superman comic with an "S" shield on their chest. Is he friend or foe? An imposter? A long lost family member? A cheap gimmick to boost ratings?

KiddChaos

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> WHAT HAPPENED to Doctor Who?

This show was getting nothing but better as it progressed through seasons two and three. After watching the season four opener, however, I felt as if all that progression disintegrated.

Terrible story. Annoying companion. The Christmas special featuring Donna was hard enough to watch as a stand alone, of all the possible companions, why her? I honestly don't want to see her again, but have no choice if I want to keep watching.

WHAT SHOULD have been: Sally Sparrow and her boyfriend join the Doctor as companions - and the writing returns to a level of episodes like "Blink", "Love And Monsters", "Army Of Ghosts", and "Doomsday".

seenwithbean

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @Charlie Jane Anders: If someone calls me out in a childish manner, no matter how passive, for expressing my opinion, I will respond with like.

IntoAshes

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @lovelight: I actually love the fact that Doctor Who is so versatile, and can do the silly comedy one week and the dead serious drama the next... as I said in my review, I'm taking this episode on its own terms and not expecting it to be anything other than a jolly romp... and on its own terms, it was weak. The jollity was forced, the romp was lead-footed. The whole they-keep-missing-each-other thing was unfunny and went on way too long. Some of RTD's humor actually has worked for me -- I liked Love And Monsters a lot, right up until the last 5-10 minutes.

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @KhaiJB: Once again. you have completely missed the point. Some advice: less typing, more reading.

IntoAshes

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @Huxleyhobbes: yeah, exactly. I didn't even get into the "commentary" aspect in my review. The idea that the Adipose targeted the UK becaus there were so many fat people... it just seemed (sorry) heavy-handed.

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @IntoAshes: I know you're poking fun, but please don't get into personal attacks here. Thanks!

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> If anything's "not funny" I believe we should blame Catherine Tate. She's like a humour black-hole. You only have to see her own show to know this to be true.

TokeYo

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @bodmodkub: I saw the humor in the episode and it was poor. Meant to be funny and lighthearted, sure, but two caveats. One: It should actually be funny. Two: It should stop bludgeoning us with socio-political commentary both ill-understood and unecessary.

@Jim (The Canuck One): If you'd watched from the beginning, you'd understand why they are the way they are - and that much of the show is about examining this. I disagree intensely with some of the things done by some of the characters in BSG but god damn if the show doesn't make me sympathise with them for doing it.

Mister Adequate

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @KiddChaos As Nivair said, the sonic devices aren't particularly Gallifreyan - in The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances the Doctor mentions to Jack that he blew up the factory producing sonic weapons in the future and that they grow bananas there now/then/whenever.

@btgoss I think the cap badge Wilf was wearing was probably for the parachute regiment - if he'd been in UNIT there's no way he wouldn't have known about the Doctor years ago.

As to the episode - I kind of enjoyed it - infinitely more so than an episode like Fear Her which was crap of the highest order. Would have been interesting to see that on TV last night given the protests accompanying the Olympic Torch, though...

Discodave

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @IntoAshes: oh dear a nasty man said nasty words about me.

whats next? more nasty words? stamping your feet in rightous indignation that I dare to question your rudeness in the first place?

like your words actually matter to me ;) I don't know you, you don't know me... rather pointless really ain't it?

have a nice day :)

KhaiJB

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Foster's sonic screwdriver was made by Toshiko in the Torchwood episode Fragments.

All I'm going to say on this ridiculous debate about Dr. Who is that it's meant to be funny and lighthearted. If you can't see the humor in this episode, you have no sense of humor, take yourself way to seriously, and need to take the sonic screwdriver out of your booty.

bodmodkub

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @Charlie Jane Anders: Actually, the Master's world-wide dystopia was undone, so that it never happened.

Except for the part where a British guy calling himself The Master executes the President of the United States on international television.

I'd like to see how quickly the world recovers from that.

KiddChaos

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Honestly, the first half of the season in Doctor Who seems to be filled with the weakest episodes. In season one, up until "Father's Day" the whole season was camp and crap; this was when Rose was still full of fail, which didn't get better until season two. In season two, "The Girl in the Fireplace" marked the turning point for quality in that season (which was by far much better, probably because Rose wasn't full of fail and was less annoying). In season three, anything after the horrible Dalek two-parter was great, but everything before was just camp no matter how cool Martha was.

Each season it's own special theme. Season one was all about new beginnings, season two was about departures and letting go, and three was living through time (for poor schmucks who don't have a Tardis) and identity. Usually, the first episode plays heavily with the season's theme. I'm calling this season's theme: Reunion.

Lizfu

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @burlives: Actually, the Master's world-wide dystopia was undone, so that it never happened. Time rolled backwards, etc. So nobody remembers it. And to be fair, RTD acknowledges that people have to have noticed all these alien ships whizzing overhead, unlike the original series which pretended that everybody had no long-term memory whatsoever.

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> A major problem I have with most RTD episodes is that his villains tend to make themselves widely noticeable to the greater London area if not the world. Every week I wonder how people recovered so quickly from Master's world-wide dystopia, or the cybermen attacks or the destruction of parliament.

burlives

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @lovelight: Actually, that was one cirticism I didn't level at this one. I think you will find it was t3knomanser. I've gotten so used to RTD's pat, nonsensical conclusions that they don't even register with me anymore. Also, I think you are missing the point of these criticisms. It's not that there is screwball comedy, it's that the screwball comedy is so poorly executed.

IntoAshes

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @CargoCult: Incorrect. Doctor Who is billed as family entertainment, which is very different from children's television. Sarah Jane Adventures is kids tv, and it succeeds wildly on those terms. Doctor Who is meant to appeal to both kids and adults, something that can be done with intelligence and craft, despite what RTD seems to believe.

@KhaiJB: Don't attack me because you have bad taste. There, is that what you are looking for? You have incredibly poor standards when it comes to entertainment. Isn't there an episode of America's Funniest Home Videos on PAX that you should be watching? A Dane Cook cd you should be listening to? Now I've attacked you personally, so you can properly act like a victim. Happy?

IntoAshes

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> *groans* Did IntoAshes just fling the Deus Ex Machina allegation against RTD again? What is this Outpost Gallifrey?

I think's frustrating about this review is it misses the joy of what Dr Who can do. The horizon is wide open and anything is possible. Embrace it! Enjoy the ride! Screwball comedy this week? Fantastic! And if you didn't like it then next week it's the eternal problem of the time traveller... can you save people from a disaster you know is about to engulf them? As Donna says of the people of Pompeii "They're history? Well so was I to you. Why save us and not them?"

I'm fond of Star Trek but do feel the technobabble while making a self contained universe can limit a show. Luckily I seem to enjoy pretty much everything Doctor Who tries to do (even Love and Monsters) but to those who complain about the tone or the funny monsters one week and demanding every ep should be like their favourite stories... well you're kinda missing the point of the show.

lovelight

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> We all should stop comparing Dr. Who to BSG.

Let's compare it to Flash Gordon instead.

btgoss

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @IntoAshes: I think you'd have to survey a bunch of ten-year-olds to get the proper answer...

(Whatever anyone says, Doctor Who is aimed at children. I'm just amazed that they can still fit some impressively grown-up plots in every so often.)

CargoCult

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @Charlie Jane Anders: except your trying to compare totally different shows. Could you avoid that in the future? it really does no good.

KhaiJB

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @t3knomanser: Actually, original Doctor Who was often quite sloppy, as people have pointed out... And so far nothing RTD has done has made me clutch my head quite as much as Delta And The Bannermen.

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @flexiverse: Dr. Who has always been aimed at kids, but it's often managed to be quite complex and dark as well. Some (but not all, I'll admit) of the Hinchcliffe stories in the 70s stack up against any "adult" scifi show you can point to. And actually if you watch the show's very first season, before Hartnell starts playing his character as a jolly old elf, it's actually quite dark a lot of the time.

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @IntoAshes: Yes, exactly! I think people are missing the part of my review where I say I'm going to take it on its own terms, as a jolly romp, and not expect it to be anything else. And it's still terrible. If you judge this episode the way RTD wants us to judge it, as a fun bit of fluffy comedy, then it's still pretty awful. None of the humor is actually funny.

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @IntoAshes: "if someone finds Partners In Crime incredibly entertaining and funny, then they probably have incredibly poor taste in entertainment and are easily entertained."

your opinion of course. we lesser mortals are of course sorry to bother you.

KhaiJB

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @Jenn2D2: Actually, it's funny... I was just saying yesterday that I love screwball romantic comedies. Bringing Up Baby is one of my faves. But this wasn't a romantic comedy (no romance, for one thing) and it wasn't all that screwball either.

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @Shinju: I completely agree re: humor in Doctor Who. The obvious difference between something like the Romans or the Macra Terror (two of my favorite stories) and Partners In Crime and the other RTD campy comedy vehicles is that the former are funny and the latter aren't. My beef isn't that Doctor Who is becoming something it hasn't been before (apart from the glut of gratuitous celebrity cameos and the pandering kitchen sink sub-plots, some of which actually pay off), my beef is that it is often so poorly done. As I said before, if someone finds Partners In Crime incredibly entertaining and funny, then they probably have incredibly poor taste in entertainment and are easily entertained.

IntoAshes

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Instead of comparing Doctor Who to regular scifi and blaming its faults on being a children's program, why not compare Doctor Who to regular children's programming? (and blame its faults on being scifi)

As far as children's programming goes, Doctor Who is lightyears beyond anything American television has to offer for this age group. What's the last primetime, hour-long, family-friendly American show that anyone watched regularly?

Like Harry Potter, Doctor Who is so much better than most other offerings for children that it transcends its target demographic - and inspires the haters to expect something different from a show that is, fundamentally, a pro-social lesson on the value of creativity, exploration, adventure, improvisation, and the absolute rockingness of the human race.

Lizzie24601

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> I have to say that I'm pretty disappointed in this review. I think it is pretty obvious that romantic comedy isn't something the author enjoys, much less respects. I thought that, on the whole, the episode played well in that light. The pieces of a screwball comedy were all there, from the opening near-misses of Donna and the Doctor, the bits of serious dialogue sandwiched between action scenes, the involvement of a not-so-innocent bystander, and the punishment of the main antagonist at the end.

I think that the current incarnation of Doctor Who stacks up rather favorably against its predecessors. It has been silly, serious, good, cheesy, romantic, and clinical in its time. Some things I could live without (fart jokes) and some are overlooked out of affection (sets that are falling apart), but I don't think either has tainted the overall appeal of the show. Trying to compare it to a show like Battlestar Gallactica or Lois and Clark without paying proper attention to the radically different ways in which those shows are written and presented does a disservice to all three.

Jenn2D2

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Well I have to say I find myself in both camps at the same time, I really enjoyed the new ep, but completely agree with some of the faults people are pointing out about RTD's writing skills.
I disagree that the campiness is anything other than an inherent part of the series, it's not present in every episode (thank god - I couldn't cope with it if it was) but every once in a while (and season openers are an ideal place for it) I like a nice bit of campiness. The problem is, that when people write a camp episode they forget it still has to hang together just as much as any of the darker episodes and treat the plot as though its as frivolous as the idea. It only takes a little more effort to put in the background to make the episode really work.
Mind you, a lot of the comments here are just "I don't like humour - I want serious sci-fi" in which case you might want to either switch series or wait for a review of each episode to see if it'll be a silly one and then not watch. Dr Who is often silly - watch "Robot", or "The Romans" if you don't believe me.

Shinju

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> I watched the show with my family this weekend, and we had a great time. My son was screaming "That's Rose" from the moment you saw the back of her head. Agreed the main story was a little strained, but Rose was there, and that gives us something for the coming season.

Wilf was wearing a red cap with a military looking pin. I wonder if that is a UNIT cap. (From Cap'n Jack asking Martha for a red Unit Cap for Ianto.)

btgoss

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Also, is no one going to mention the hideous, embarrassing end to the episode when Donna and the Doctor open the door to the TARDIS and wave out to Bernard fucking Cribbins??!! Oh, and because he is looking at them through a telescope, you get the old-timey telescope circle around the picture. Up next, an episode where the monster is RTD gleefully masturbating over his own ideas, shot through a glory hole, complete with an old-timey glory hole circle around the picture. Somehow, he still finds room for a Russel Brand cameo, who has a delightful turn as an intergalactic junkie rent boy. Radio Times cover to follow...

IntoAshes

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @wassermelone: Apparently, io9 is being guest edited by the Oscars people today.

@t3knomanser: Never sloppy? Excuse me? I've sat through some atrocious early Who and I've got to say that extending to 4 episodes what should have been a 3 episode arc by having long, interminable chase sequences through the same freaking quarry is sloppy. Now, don't get me wrong, I hate the farting and the blue light effects, and what not just as much as the next person. But for everyone who thinks that RTD is ruining Who, I'd just like to point out that it had just as many faults in its previous incarnation.

To the original post, I don't believe that the sonic screwdriver/pen/blaster is anything more than a token for "not from this world." To my knowledge it is not a specifically Gallifreyan bit of technology. Also, while not overjoyed at the premise, i did find it interesting that the baby Adiposians looked like Pokemon characters ('cause we all know they're evil ;-). And, as I think RTD pointed out in the Confidential, Miss Foster wasn't really the big bad in this episode, the real Big Bad was the offscreen Adiposian Royal Family or whatever their name was.

Jack

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Yeah sorry. I usually agree, but I'm kinda digging on the mime scene.
I like that Dr. Who can get dark, but that's not supposed to be the overall tone of the show.

And no love for Ms. Foster's Loony Tunes like realization that gravity was working again? Really? Not even a chortle?

SomeAudioGuy

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> I think I'm with the Doctor on this one in that I cam not sure how I feel about Donna being along for the ride.

I really liked her in the Christmas special a couple years ago because she was exactly the type of companion that the Doctor wouldn't normally be caught dead with. And she was so wrapped up in her own little world that everything going on around her barely even registered. The juxtaposition with the normal companions was delicious.

But as a regular companion? I'm not sure I see the chemistry there. Maybe she gets killed off to provide some angst for the Doctor. Break him again for the return of Rose. Tennant really is at his best as a broken man :)

Ryan H

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> (And why wasn't Wilf at the wedding anyway?)

Because his character didn't exist at the time. The newsagent was reinvented as her grandfather because the actor playing her father passed away between the script read-through and the filming. (HINT TO EVERYONE: hug the people you love regularly!)

And add my voice to the "Please don't compare Who to BSG" chorus. I honestly tried to watch the BSG season premiere. Why on earth (pardon the pun) would I care about these self-centred, hateful people? The only thing that kept me awake was reaching for the remote to fast-forward through any scene involving Gaius whats-his-name.

Jim (The Canuck One)

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> I know Dr. Who is a kids show but it doesn't always feel like a kids show. I think the best episodes are those that adults can enjoy along with the kids. This particular episode felt like it belonged in a saturday morning kids lineup and not primetime for the entire family.
I'm really not a fan of RTD so I never expected to love this ep, but it's still disappointing to see such crappy writing. nevertheless, I'm still excited for the rest of the season.


krazykarot

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> @IntoAshes: THIS.

Doctor Who was always campy, but it was never _sloppy_. RTD is a sloppy storyteller. He hammers on the same tropes again and again, the day is always won with some deus ex machina.

Jesus-Doctor at the end of last season was an awful idea. It was charming when Sandy Duncan had us clap to keep Tinkerbell alive; it's just tacky now.

You can be cheesy and fun without being retarded. If anything, RTD tries too hard to be dramatic and self-important. While some writers can handle that (Moffat), some writers invent things like Guidalek (the Guido Dalek).

t3knomanser

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Oh my. BSG was all dark and sparkly and ever so grown up. Apart from the massive, gaping fissures in logic that will require nothing short of divine intervention or a rented Star Trek device to plug. Once the mediocre cover of Hendrix covering Dylan in another frakking galaxy does its sinister work, why there's hardly anything to take away from the gritty reality. What next, Get Smart versus Law & Order?

lazlopink

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Eh, anyone can build a sonic screwdriver. I think. I mean, Captain Jack had his own sonic blaster, and Romana had a very chic-looking sonic screwdriver of her own, so I figured it was something you could just build if you felt like manipulating things with sonic rays.

Which doesn't really make any sense, but that's its own can of worms ... ;)

Nivair H. Gabriel

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> The whole dichotomy between tragedy and comedy has been ongoing since the Greeks. I'm glad you've finally solved it.

Alert the masses everyone! Tragedy is the only valid form of drama!

wassermelone

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Oh please... Dr. Who may be a kids/family show, but that's no excuse for the tasteless crap RTD peddled to us as entertainment this weekend. Family and kids shows, flims, books, whatever can still be made with high standards and a smattering of intelligence. If you think that that episode was in any way quality entertainment you either have so much love for the franchise that you can't see its faults, or you just have incredibly poor taste and are easily entertained. This is starting to remind me of the Star Wars prequels and their hordes of delusional supporters. While there is nothing as hideous and embarrassing as Jar Jar Binks in new Who (though that one with Peter Kay in a frog suit came close), at it's worst it is just as lazy and came-obsessed. Instead of young Boba Fett, it's Kylie Minogue, but the shitty principal remains the same. The frustrating thing is that I know there will be at least 3 or 4 episodes this season that will blow my mind. Despite the abysmal episodes in new Who (and Partners in Crime has to rank among the worst), there are still enough people involved with this show to keep it from spinning off into the void. While I will always be grateful to RTD for reviving one of my favorite shows, it's time for him to hand off the reins to someone else, someone who will hopefully put an end to lazy, anti-sci fi writing and gratuitous c-list celebrity cameos.

IntoAshes

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> It would be nice to see a few episodes with a new uber baddie. The Cybermen, the Master and Daleks are lovely but it would be nice to see a fresh recurring super threat to life on earth.

Little Time Bomb

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> I liked the mime scene. I was laughing along guessing what they were saying, complete with english accents.
Its Dr Who so in my books cant be too bad. Just lucky that Davis doesnt write every single episode :P

simmo

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Yes, Donna's grandfather was in Who before - perhaps watching Dr Who Confidential would be useful for anyone reviewing the show.

You would have found out that the actor who played Donna's father was very ill and not able to be in the show and passed away, so they brought back Wilf

Eric

Eric Aitala

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Then there's also the question of where Miss Foster got her own version of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver

Toshiko built it for her.

And yes, Doctor Who is a kids show...but why does it have to be a show for STUPID kids?

KiddChaos

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> I welcome Donna's lack of any romantic feelings for the Doctor. Maybe this will quiet the Rose and Martha shippers once and for all.

Discrete-Daniel

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Not dark enough? Don't forget it was broadcast at 6:20pm on Saturday - several aeons before the watershed...

CargoCult

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Not all the Doctor's companions can be cute young girls. That gets kind of old. Plus, both Martha and Rose will be back later in the season. I'm looking forward to Jack and Mickey begin back, to even out the gender roles a bit. Though it'd be nice if The Doctor picked up a male companion that wasn't intermittent, either.

And yeah, Doctor Who ain't no BSG. And that's a good thing. I really dig both but couldn't handle that much relentless darkness on a Friday night.

Gyrus

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Why in gods name are we comparing BSG which is purely for adults... with a FAMILY SHOW like Dr Who.

Of course its campy, its made to be spooky and scary for kids, while still being family friendly.

Falconfire

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Doctor Who would be immesurably better if it had coherence. Or plot. Or emotion I could get invested in. If it made sense, basically. As it is, the Doctor has good lines and his personality is great when he's not being serious (When he is being serious I want some group of Humans to show up and kick him off Earth until he stops sticking his nose into our business).

Mister Adequate

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> well a companion tracking down the Doctor is a break from how he usually gets companions. In the old shows they were eitehr people who were going nowhere and wouldn't be missed, or were basically kidnapped and then the Docotr would keep not going to the spot in space/time where the new companion should be (like Teegan with the Peter Davidson Doctor). a few just wandered into the Tardis and off they went. Reading back over this, I am struck about how similar the Doctor is to a serial killer. Especially with how many young, not too smart, female companions there have been. So Donna does make a refreshing change

gaygeek

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> Agreed. Doctor Who is a kids / family show.. always has been.

I'm genuinely mystified by ppls need for it to be anything else. It's doing well (great infact) so why change it? other than 'Moron' Grade's shutting down of it's production, it's been around in much the same form for over 40 years!

Must be doing something right eh?

As to those comparing it to BSG. Compare many apples and oranges all day long? Totally different shows, meant do 2 totally different audiences.

it's like comparing football with baseball.

KhaiJB

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> I couldn't disagree more. I know I'm supposed to like BSG as an adult Sci Fi fan, but I just can't manage it. But why compare at all? Dr Who is a bright postitive show about all that's good in humanity, designed for a prime time UK family audience. BSG is totally the opposite and reaches an audience of a few thousand on a UK cable channel. (Although can I just ask why BSG is supposed to be the "mature" show when most of it's actors are so buff and required to removed their clothes or wear so much figure hugging stuff quite a lot of the time?)
Anyway, back to the series opener. As I said couldn't disagree more. It was smart, funny and slick. Fun for all the family, that's what RTD knows is important. He can do dark but not just yet. Meanwhile he teases those fans who hate hime. Catherine Tate too "shouty" in the Christmas special? RTD has her meeting with the Doctor in enforced silence. Alien monsters without guns or a plan to take over the world? That's mature and also going to drive those who can't stand his work nuts.
And still plenty of stuff to keep the more dedicated fan happy. Rose! Where are the Bees?!
Welcome back, Doc!




lovelight

]]> <![CDATA[Doctor Who Keeps Going Backwards In Time]]> oh for christs sake get a grip, Dr Who, always has been a kids centric show, it will always be a Kids show.
Hence the dynamics aren't going to change, why change something that's clearly successful?

If you want dark, go look at Torchwood. Now do you get it?


flexiverse

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