Doctor Who 2008: Sontarans cometh, RTD Ood 'ave 'im etc.

That was teh rubbish, I think you're all being a little too forgiving. Save for the ending, it looked like one of those cheap filler episodes. Tate and Mum and Voice of Buzby also all highly irritating and pointless.

Tennant was fine, though, and looking forward to better things, etc.

I can't imagine RTD's prose style being particularly good, but maybe I'm wrong.

I thought it was fine up until the stupid boning scene.

Generally speaking, the authors whose writing impressed me the most amongst the 90s novelists were Lawrence Miles, Ben Aaronovitch, Dave Stone and Jonothan Morris. Paul Cornell had a tendency to allow some unforgivably twee bullshit mess up an otherwise fantastic story and Kate Orman was a little too into Doctor torture porn to be consistently good. Many others started out well than began believing their own press, turning their later work into incredibly self-indulgent messes (Lance Parkin was the biggest offender like this), plus there were those who were so pleased with themselves for being all postmodern and random that, without someone else to reign them in, they tended to write incredibly stupid things that didn't really hang together very well (Paul Magrs, who co-wrote what may be the best book in the series in The Blue Angel but was also responsible for some of the dumbest, most irritating books in the line, aka The Scarlet Empress and Mad Dogs and Englishmen).

I think I've mentioned this before, but Magrs was my academic advisor at university.

Funnily enough my strongest memory of him is him mischeiviously reading self-penned Doctor/Dalek slash at an open mic night in a pub.

P4ul C0rn3ll walked into my elbow last night (but then it was my fault for standing in a doorway, except the people in front of me were also not moving).

One of his books is the sum total of my Who-book reading (thought I'd make the effort to appreciate my smalltown's local talent). Is the thing of "I have this totally awesome pet character in my head but nobody will publish my novels so I'm going to write a Who book which is mostly a vehicle for my own pet character and incidentally has some Tardis-whooshing stuff thrown in" par for the course? If they all have book-exclusive companions rooting away on stakeouts then I guess it is.

PS I like the guy's TV episodes a lot (the two-parter is possibly my favourite nu-Who, up against Blink and the WWII two-parter; too indecisive to vote on the other thread) and am sadface at not getting one this season, so I am not just here on a personal grumbling mission.

I'm guessing the way UK TV shows are written are different from the way most are done in the US (table-written by committee, split scenes, usually led by the head writer or showrunner), since it does seem like the well-written Who episodes tend to be consistent by writer. Someone clue me in?

I could be wrong, since I think RTD wrote half of all the new Who eps, and the ones he's written vary widely in quality (just look at the last three episodes of S3 vs. Voyage of the Damned). But then you (I) realize the guy who wrote Family of Blood also wrote Father's Day (both quite good), not to mention it seems Moffat wrote all the best eps (Empty Child / Doctor Dances, Girl in the Fireplace, Blink).

I think Dr Who stories are all basically authored purely by the credited writer, with RTD doing tinkering along the way. The trouble with him is that he's undoubtedly a talented writer, but he spreads himself too thin and has quite poor jugement when it comesto his own work.

Hahahahaha aps, which book did you read?

One of the B. Summerf13ld ones, maybe the first one seeing as it read like it was introducing her. I was hoping that seeing the title would jog my memory, not realising that there were more than 40 with her in! Well, if she was that popular I guess I'd better take it back.

Love & War? Did it involve a sentient fungus that was infecting and taking over a planet and were they stopped by the Doctor getting Ace's new boyfriend to blow himself up in their midst? Regardless, I just knew you were talking about Benny hahahaha.

Of Cornell's books, his best is EASILY Human Nature. There's good stuff going on in a lot of the rest of them but most of the time his own infatuation with twee silliness gets in the way (the only one where I think it full-on works is Oh No It Isn't! because it's a self-knowing panto pastiche and incredibly funny as a result).

That sounds like the one. I'd be interested to read HN after enjoying the TV episode of that name so much. Meanwhile my mind is being kinda blown by web synopses of "No Future".

Speaking of panto I saw Clive Rowe doing a turn as Dick Whittington's mom (I almost said "doing Dick Whittington's mom") at the Hackney empire this year! He was SO GOOD it was outrageous. I'm just watching the last Who Xmas special for the first time although sort of half paying attention but I heard that voice and was like.. Sarah they're pinching your patties!

Say what you like about RTD, his episodes are a gag a minute. after watching Clive Rowe fall to a fiery death off the rickety bridge they're clinging onto but must cross, his wife is urged by the Doctor to get across it. "No! What's the point? I can't live without him." Tennant takes her by the shoulders and does his looking-you-in-the-eyes thing and says "What would HE want you to do?" "HE doesn't want anything, he's DEAD!" she says, collapsing in tears.

And the Doctor on Xmas: "It's a long story. I should know. I was there! Had a nice room."

Also for the first time I wondered how anyone knows what "years" means if they're all from other planets.

Yes, I did like the banter in the new ep rather more than the storyline, which had some good ideas a bit wasted.

"I'm not really a cat person." "No, you're not. I've met cat people. You're nothing like them, really."

"I just want a mate." "You just want to mate?!! [...] You long thin streak of, of, of nothing!" etc etc

RTD is very very variable. Some of his stuff is great, some woeful. I really wish the last Christmas episode had been better. Writing the thing specifically for Kylie Minogue ("The only time I've written specifically for a specific actor!"), who has all the presence of toilet paper, didn't help.

Putting this here, might come in handy later:

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/2008/yoyoux3.gif

GUYS, SOME BBC BOOKS HAVE BEEN REPRINTED

INCLUDING LEGACY OF THE DALEKS BY JOHN PEEL LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Legacy of the Daleks, War of the Daleks, Gallifrey Chronicles, Time Zero, Wolfsbane

2 out of fucking 5 for quality there

And can ayone explain why the sonic screwdriver didn't work on the 'lock down'? Then did work further down the building?

i think he used the pen that the nursery woman had instead after he nicked it from her.

Yes but I thought the sonic screwdrivers were identical, isn't that what he said when he jammed them up against each other? I also didn't get why he just tosses hers once everything's over. He's always going on and on about not losing his own - why not have a spare?

I got the impression that her sonic pen had different 'permissions' than his sonic screwdriver, if you get what I mean.

I can't help but think putting it in the bin means it's going to turn up later on again in some fashion

Do not question the sonic screwdriver. It is the universe's mightiest weapon of never having to think about plot continuity.

(Was initially pleased to see the woman have one as a sort of "lol same way out of this one as every week, amirite? OH ZOIKS NO not this week!" but Tracer OTM. Also ambivalent about "just like old times" re inevitable corridors-and-staircases running scene - amused at acknowledgement of tired blueprint, but can we have something else next week please? Time for a ban on any building with more than 3 floors. If it's enough for Blink it should be enough for everyone.)

...xposted

You can't be suggesting an embargo on corridor running in Doctor Who? Come now...

You're right, what was I thinking? Well, I'll see how it goes next week in not-so-highrise ancient Rome. Maybe I'll be begging for the corridors back. Generally the pre-C20 historical episodes aren't my favourites, so I am just being unreasonable here.

I see RTD as an impresario, a PT Barnum type who doesn't give a rat's ass about plot or character or anything like that -- instead he creates a framework into which he can cram as many gags and set-pieces and bits of schtick as he possibly can. It's like total showbiz. If every episode were like that the show would get tiring and tiresome but it's a lot of fun in doses.

95% agreed there - though i think he does care about character.

Ha, he's Stan Lee - a gifted conceptualiser/overseer working with far more artistically talented collaborators, for whose work he inevitably gets assigned some of the credit.

That's true but the character stuff is written SO ham-handedly that in itself it almost feels like schtick. The Doctor's guilt, Martha's crush... yada yada!

xpost

have you seen Queers As Folk, TH?

another classic rogue pluralisation there...

this japanese piggybank made me think of doctor who:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/144127-11/10_cool_gadgets_you_cant_get_hereyet.html

btw, bbc4 are currently showing the first dalek series at about 7:30. only you've missed the first 4 now (and i missed the first 3 of those due to set top box wonkiness)

I have a Tardis piggybank. Goes "whooHOOOSH whoHOOOSH whoHOOSH" with flashing blue light when you put a coin in. YES!

Ooh I liked that one, good combination of new and old-skool values, and I can't tell you how relieved I was when the curtain was pulled back because I'd been expecting annoying spider-monster thing to be behind there.

Kind of wanted the Doctor to be ice-cold and not save the family though.

disappointed by lack of reference to TARDIS as "chariot of the sky!" but yeah that was decent

capaldi's "so vulcanic...like a...volcano" moment was hyper groany

Not as groany as "TK Maxximus" but yeah.

Poor. Weak jokes and shouty nonsense.

LOLs at the Cambridge Latin Course refs. "People will remember you..."

Not Evelina though :(

Middling. Better than last week. The premise was kind of similar (aliens growing new bodies inside people). Tate's not very good at the serious bits. On the plus side, the production values were very good (leftover sets from Rome according to the guide).

Shot in Cinecitta, Rome - leftover sets from every other ssword'n'sandal epic you've ever seen in your life.

It was just a shame the director made it look like a cramped set in the corner of a Cardiff studio.

Curate's egg. A couple of really nice ideas completely choked by rubbish.

^^^ 21st century Who in a nutshell

rong

LOLs at the Cambridge Latin Course refs. "People will remember you..."

I think Rose herself might be the Bad Wolf/Torchwood thing, maybe she'll crop up in the background for a couple of seconds on most episodes.

"Doctor... she is returning."

I liked that ep. Shitty jokes aside, thought it was much better than last week's and can't wait for next week's with the Ood. I hope they make the Ood as creepy as possible.

I enjoyed that, and way better than the Shakespeare rubbish that did for the let's go back in time with the probationary companion episode last year.

The bad jokes were wonderful! Dr Who is all about terrible jokes! Isn't it?

Thought the Doctor SLIGHTLY overdid his blithe-and-chatty-blind-eye-to-deadly-danger stuff (i.e. we need to actually feel scared), but Tennant's so good at that stuff it must be nigh impossible for the writers to control themselves.

Strangely, when Donna really tries to burrow into the never-explained distinction the Doctor makes between historical events that are in flux vs "fixed" events (the former of which he can/will alter, the latter of which he can't/won't), when she asks the very sensible question "How do you know the difference?", the Doctor 99% of the time would give some deflective, cavalier "timey wimey" answer but this time he turns serious as night, levels his gaze at her and practically pronounces himself God, saying something like "I know what has passed, what will come, and what must never be. For that is the burden of the Timelords."

Of course, five minutes later he realizes that he's actually responsible for the destruction of Pompeii.

Also, and I'm excusing this on account of the compressed iPlayer audio, I have no idea what was going on with those circuit boards.

The lava joke was played perfectly.