Doctor Who

Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:16 am

No, Stewart was excellent. He played him as much more introspective, almost a bit Hamletish if I recall correctly. I disagree that it's more tragic if MacB is young; it's a different kind of tragedy but not not a lesser one. Stewart's had a very clear understanding. He knew what was happening, what it meant, and that made for a very different MacB than the usual power-mad one. The actress who played Lady M, though, was quite a bit younger and that made for a very interesting dynamic considering that she's the one who's urging him to act on the prophecy.

Di -- I loved that tap! The gushing blood was completely unexpected. What a fantastic moment. One of my favourites was the replaying of the scene both with and without Banquo's ghost. I apparently never wrote up my impressions of the show and now I'm really kicking myself for that one. I can't remember those lines you mention and oh, how I wish I could.

You're so right, solictr, Stewart would be an excellent Julius Caesar. He's got the gravitas for it. Although I'd be interested to see what he did with Brutus, too.

Post by **solicitr** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 4:47 pm

Although I'd be interested to see what he did with Brutus, too.

Now there I couldn't concur. To me Brutus is near-essentially a young man's role, full of naive idealism.

Ah- and the reliably hammy Ken Branagh as Antony. Just play the Funeral Oration in your head!

Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:26 pm

I agree he's too old for it; That's more wishful casting than anything else.

Kennneth Branagh is forever stuck in my head as Iago thanks to that deliciously overwrought "I hate the Moor" monologue.

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:11 am

I am not up to date but I did see David Tennant's last show.

I found it pretty depressing. "I don't want to go!!!" The whole last bit when he was saying goodbye to the companions and stuff. They just dragged out the depressing stuff (also, I did not like that Martha got Rose's leftovers). It was depressing enough when the Doctor decided to travel without a companion after Donna. Most the special was pretty good except those drawn out depressing parts (I was pretty depressed at the time I watched and I expected it to make me feel better. No luck). I guess we will see how the next guy does.

Apparently CBC's support of the show has declined which explains why they were not advertising it. Now it's going to be on the SPACE channel (although I know that when Dr.Who had their relaunch SPACE was not interested in Dr.Who. Obviously things have changed.)

I have only been watching Doctor Who on and off due to school, and the CBC was extremely inconsistent with their scheduling and they never advertised when the season would start so the only time I ever knew if Doctor Who was on is if my sister called me 5 minutes before. I have seen some the Christmas specials and some episodes actually on TV when CBC aired it but, mostly through my sister taping stuff for me (this sucks when it's a 2 parter and I never get to see the conclusion).

I never thought I would watch Doctor Who, as when I was little my big sister would watch it and at 5 years old, the theme song absolutely terrified me!!!!!! Totally. Completely. Utterly. I even remember trying hiding since the music and the visual scared me sooooooo much. I was thinking as long as I don't see the void I could escape, because void + music = 5 year old frozen with fear. Seriously (I have noticed with the newer version of the theme song they have added quite a bit of orchestration.)

I am pretty sure I am going to miss Tennant since he was pretty good.Every episode I saw with him in it I enjoyed (I now appreciate him more after seeing a particular episode) Did anyone ever see him on Extras? He was so funny with the goofy faces.

Our anime club president recently forced the club to watch some Doctor Who as we have access to a huge screen and projector (she did the same thing with Dr.Horrible). The president, a couple, and myself were the only ones familiar with Doctor Who. You know how much fun it is watching Doctor who with people who have never seen it before?

The first episode we watched was Blink, where people were screaming when they figured out what the statues were doing (Blink is so good on the big screen).
Then our president picked an episode I had never seen before called Midnight (thanks CBC for never advertising). ZOMG everyone was riveted. Then the building was closing with 20 minutes of the episode left!!! We had to clean up so we kept the lights off and watched the screen while trying to stack chairs. (We all ended up crashing into each because we were still eagerly watching to see what happened to the Doctor and not watching where we walked, yep it was that good.)

Since the building closed we had to stop the episode on a shocking moment. We all crammed into someones tiny living room on residence and saw the end of the show on a laptop computer. We were all stunned! That episode was so creepy, I think I am going to have nightmares!! Now the anime club is thinking about having a Doctor Who marathon. (Also the ep really made me appreciate Tennant, for the rest of the anime club it's the only Doctor they know.)

Post by **WampusCat** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 4:08 am

I recently saw "Blink" for the 3rd (maybe 4th?) time, and it STILL made me jump. Creepy, and yet emotionally quite moving! "Midnight" is great, too. Nice way to start a relationship with the Doctor.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 7:41 am

Going to go dig through the DVDs and find those two episode and watch them while Mr. Prim is out of town, and the boys are off to school, and my daughter has mandatory late evening rehearsals for the new show opening the following weekend.

Nothing like watching or reading really creepy stories when you're alone in the house, I always say.

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 5:56 am

I actually found this link which has several of the Doctor Who theme songs over the years. The 1974 one is the one that makes me tense up the most. I was too scared to see any visuals with youtube. It just takes me back to when I was little.
The older versions emphasize the creepyness (with primarily electronic music) while the new version (mostly played by an orchestra) emphasizes the drama.

Also I watched quite a few episodes I had missed and I now can say I really love David Tennant's portrayal of the Doctor and he is my absolute favourite!!!

The new guy is going to have some very very very big shoes to fill. In the episode Midnight there is a certain part near the end where the guy doesn't blink!! In one ep where he is explaining what a happy prime is (What the?), he explains it speaking very fast with an accent that is not his own, and has to be understandable to the audience!!! It was even pointed out that in one of the episodes where he plays a different sort of character he even walks differently!!

Speaking of which in that same episode there is a part where Martha (his companion at the time) watches a video of instructions for her and she fast forwards through most of it. Want to see what she fast forwarded through?

Also, Doctor Who is a children's show? What is it with the BBC deliberately traumatizing small children? With all the scary monsters it seems at least a show for early teens.

Oh and I finally understand what all the Shakespeare talk is about.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:31 am

Thanks for linking that YouTube, Wilma! It was, of course, adorable. And I can tell I'm going to spend some time burning through the other links this weekend.

I've still got to watch those two episodes.

Post by **WampusCat** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:47 am

Watch them!

I loved the link, Wilma (and checked out some others that it led to). Thanks!

Post by **Pearly Di** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 2:42 pm

Prim! You have not seen Blink or Midnight???!!!!

You MUST watch Blink and Midnight.

Blink is probably my favourite Doctor Who ep of all time. It trumps Pyramids of Mars (Baker/Sladen) and even the exquisite Family of Blood ... OK, make that a tie between Blink and Blood.

The concept in Blink is so awesome it deserves a whole franchise of its own. And Stephen Moffat gave it all to Doctor Who. YAY!

It's really clever, quite emotional and witty (as always). And it stars Carey Mulligan, a rising young star.

Midnight is scary. Really scary.

And with not a monster in sight ...

*waves to Wilma*

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 3:24 pm

OOooh Pearly Di!1

I think Midnight is my favourite!!! I have seen it two more times and each time I am on the edge of my seat even though I know what happens!

SPOILERS
I mean really, mind rape while being murdered!!

Being forced to repeat the words that will usher your own death!!

Holy Fudge!! The Doctor is rendered utterly helpless!! That is high octane nightmare fuel!!!

In fact TV Tropes sums up the high octane part better then I can:

"An unknown and unseen intelligence that repeats absolutely everything said, possessing a woman, causing claustrophobia on a space shuttle and leaving the Doctor completely helpless and broken for once.

* That sentence cannot do Midnight justice. For about an hour after watching that episode, this troper was wandering around the house in a daze. It's not the monster that's scary, it's the fact that it Mind Rapes the Doctor and then convinces six ordinary people to murder him, and does so very easily.
* That isn't even the worst part. The worst part is that the Doctor is forced to repeat everything the monster says...including her commands to kill him. He is literally made to beg for his own death.

Imagine being completely paralyzed, as several people physically drag you to your death, and hearing your own voice say, "Faster!" "

My emphasis added.

Still aftre seeing that episode I kept hearing the Doctor in my head saying, "Throw him out!!" and "Do it faster" All the while he is paralyzed, looking utterly terrified and not blinking!!! The only thing that slowed them down was that he was too big to drag quickly. They do this weird not quite slowmo but freaky slowness to the action!!! Even his foot getting caught on the chair looked creepy!!

(In the confidential they show they used a pillow sometimes to stand in for Tennant to save on back pain)

*shudder*

Prim you have to watch Midnight.

Does anyone watch the Doctor Who confidentials and video diaries? Those are very very interesting. Russel T Davies actually does a little analysis on Midnight and I think he is totally right. (The stuff the Doctor usually says does not work, and we see how important a companion is for him. Midnight totally explains why the Doctor should not travel alone!!!)

Blink, Human Nature and Family of blood are very very close seconds though. In the new season I think we see the weeping Angels again. (I am really not too sure about this new guy, but we will see.)

I think the only special I have not seen is The Waters of Mars. I am reluctant to watch it as it seems it's the last new stuff of Tennant as Doctor Who that I will get to see.

[off topic]
One of the anime club members is a big fangirl of Tennant and she has told me all kinds youtube stuff she has found. Fangirls are weird!!

(She even convinced me to watch Friday Night Project

I do not totally get British humour). But thanks to her I found this

I saw Hamlet and it was a lot better then I thought. Usually the language throws me off, but I actually understood most of what they were saying and I actually cared about the characters! Actually for one of the scenes I almost cried (Hamlet with his mother after the incident with Polonious. They looked so sad and depressed.) I was actually interested in what was going on and I could follow the dialogue. I even gasped at quite a few parts!!! (Usually some of Shakespeare goes over my head but not this time!! WooT!!)
I even realized some of the inappropriate talking that was happening and I actually cared!!(Once I realized what Hamlet was saying before the play starts I was thinking, Ophelia run away!!!) Tennant's portrayal makes the language easy to understand for some reason and Patrick Stewart

Heck I even loved the guy who played Horatio. He was wonderful!!!

From what I have read, PBS will be airing it in April.
[/off topic sort of]

Speaking of Shakespeare and Doctor who, here is something for those who have not seen it. It was sometime after The Runaway Bride was filmed.

I will confess I hated him in Harry Potter (still do) and and that initially put me off of Doctor Who for a little bit. I am so happy to have my mind changed!! I dunno it's just his portrayal of some stuff actually energizes the audience somehow.

EDIT: Had to get rid of quoting code as it gets rid of the text colour change.

Post by **ToshoftheWuffingas** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 6:39 pm

Lesley Sharp is a very fine actress, good in every single thing she does.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 6:48 pm

Hey, I've seen Blink and Midnight; I never miss an episode of Doctor Who! But I haven't watched them since the first time, which is why I want to see them again.

My daughter just showed her boyfriend et al. "Pyramids of Mars," the one "old" episode we have on DVD, and they were blown away. They like the Tennant Doctor but have little or no knowledge of the old episodes.

(We'd have more of them if they weren't so darned expensive: a couple of them cost as much as buying entire seasons of other shows! In fact I recently got ALL of Farscape for about $70, or the price of three old Who episodes. . . .)

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 8:45 pm

70$ for a episode?
*faints*

Post by **Pearly Di** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 9:28 pm

Yay Wilma, Midnight and Lesley Sharp!

btw, I'm British and have never even watched The Friday Night Project. Sounds like I shouldn't.

Wilma wrote: Blink, Human Nature and Family of blood are very very close seconds though.

Oh, yeah.

In the new season I think we see the weeping Angels again.

I hope so!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of Shakespeare and Doctor who, here is something for those who have not seen it.

I've not actually seen that before! OMG, that is fantastic!

to Catherine Tate's comic timing.

"Are you disrespecting the House of Cooper?"
"Bite me, alien boy!"

I love Tennant with his real Scottish accent, I love him with his English 'Who' accent. It's all good.

I wrote a drabble in honour of the new guy.

People who have not seen Tennant's final outing might not wish to read this, as it's very spoilery, so the text is in 'spoiler '' white:

The Advent of Eleven

He can hear himself yelling, yet no sound comes out of his mouth. A galaxy of images is swirling in his red-hot brain. Rose – Martha – Donna – Wilfrid – so much pain, so much regret --- Sarah Jane …

Let it go. Let them go. Something new is happening.

Every cell in my body has been reborn.

Suddenly he registers the fact that the TARDIS is whirling like a dervish in time and space and plummeting back towards Earth.

He throws back his head, his new, brown hair flopping vigorously. All he feels now is a crazy exultation. He whoops, joyously:

“GERONIMO!”

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:38 am

I love how Catherine Tate says Boy Jamacian style!!!!!!

Not to mention the teachers look when she is doing her Shakespeare speech. He looks impressed and confused at the same time!

I love how the the other students laugh at Lauren Coopers jokes.

There is trailer or preview for Doctor who season 5 and I am sure they show the Weeping Angels again (they are shown at least twice).

About older Doctor Who (I will watch if I ever get over the theme song, I am still scared), I am a little confused about the plot and some fanboys kind of scare me when they explain stuff.(I have witnessed some hardcore fan debates

) It seems in the older series the Time Lords were around and the Doctor went on trial and stuff? What was happening there? (I do remember Tom Baker as the Doctor when I was little, although I blocked the episodes out of my mind. I know for sure I watched them though as my big sis told me I was there.)

I am sure I could borrow some DVDs or tapes as I meet some hard core Doctor Who fans at least once a year.

You know Di for some reason I have found Scottish accents and some West Indian accents very homey. Like a nice cozy blanket. Ever since I was very very little. The West Indian one with my parents of course (and I find Trini accents very homey too), but I don't know how I got that associated with Scottish accents. *shrug*

EDIT: I was mistaken, $70 for 3 episodes? That is pretty bad, I think that is almost equally as bad as how anime is sold on DVD in Japan. $60 or more for 3 20 minute episodes of anime!!! I know what Japan's excuse is (just they can get away with it), but maybe the BBC has a valid reason as the older might be more difficult to put on DVD. Are there any extras? I know there were reasons why the first set of Farscape DVDs were initially quite expensive.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 2:02 am

The Farscape DVDs? Yes, they've got 15 hours of extras, and all the recordings have been remastered (apparently they're much clearer than the DVDs I have).

I didn't buy them for me, so I don't really know how they compare except that they were a LOT cheaper than buying them piecemeal as I did. The set does not include the Peacekeeper Wars for rights reasons, so I bought it separately; can't have the story without the ending, after all.

(My son's moving out on his own soon, starting graduate school next fall and not dependent on us any more. So I got him Farscape as a birthday present, since he can't take my DVDs with him.

)

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 3:01 am

Oh I was asking about DVDs of older Doctor Who. I know about the Farscape ones

Post by **Pearly Di** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:54 am

Wilma wrote:I love how Catherine Tate says Boy Jamacian style!!!!!!

She does it so well.

And Lauren is like every nightmare teenager you've ever met.

There is trailer or preview for Doctor who season 5 and I am sure they show the Weeping Angels again (they are shown at least twice).

Oh, yes, you get a glimpse.

About older Doctor Who (I will watch if I ever get over the theme song, I am still scared), I am a little confused about the plot and some fanboys kind of scare me when they explain stuff.(I have witnessed some hardcore fan debates ) It seems in the older series the Time Lords were around and the Doctor went on trial and stuff? What was happening there? (I do remember Tom Baker as the Doctor when I was little, although I blocked the episodes out of my mind. I know for sure I watched them though as my big sis told me I was there.)

Wilma, I'm not a Who geek and I'm afraid I don't know anything about the Time Lord/Gallifrey mythos.

I've just watched the show for years and I love the stories. But I didn't watch the show consistently, not even during the Baker/Sladen era. I don't think I've missed one episode of the new Who though, in its four year run to date.

You know Di for some reason I have found Scottish accents and some West Indian accents very homey. Like a nice cozy blanket. Ever since I was very very little. The West Indian one with my parents of course (and I find Trini accents very homey too), but I don't know how I got that associated with Scottish accents. *shrug*

I love the Scottish accent too, and know what you mean about West Indian accents being 'homey'.

Post by **ToshoftheWuffingas** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 4:23 pm

The West Indian accent is the most musical, delightful form of English on the planet.
I never understood why the children of the 1950's immigrants in London adopted the most ridiculous English accent

Itz wikkid innit.