More Dr. Who, more Enterprise
Jun. 20th, 2005 11:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakWatched more Dr. Who, and more Enterprise. Regarding the later, I decided to skip the conclusion of the Nazi!Aliens! two parter after the teaser made me disgruntled again and went for the next episode, i.e. 4.03. Which I liked, not surprising given that Family is one of my all time favourite TNG episodes, and this one was obviously modelled on it. I don't mean in the sense of ripped off, I mean in the sense of paying homage, and following the same basic principle - let the characters deal with the aftermath of catastrophes and the like. Archer realizing he had lost the explorer part of himself might not have moved me in the same way Picard's breakdown over having been Locutus did, but that's because I'm not as emotionally invested in Archer. It did give me a better sense of the character. And I liked his old friend/flame a lot. Behold, a mature woman in command who is a positive character (and incidentally not model-like beautiful; she looked eminently real).
The plot with T'Pol and Trip on Vulcan I'm in two minds about. On the one hand, I appreciate they didn't just go with a replay of Amok Time with reversed gender roles, or followed the tired old cliché of the regular tied in a formal engagment which she breaks/is rescued from at the last minute. Otoh, I'm less than enamoured with the entire concept of a society like the Vulcans having these type of engagement and marriages to begin with. (Strangely, I never minded with the Centauri, but then the Centauri do not value logic.) I suppose we're stuck with this due to series continuity. But still. Letting T'Poll marry so her mother could have her job back was just a tad too bodice ripper novel-like to me, and she should not be like the heroine of a romance novel. I can see what Jolene Blalock meant.
Seeing Vulcan again was great, though. Be still, my old Trekker heart.
As far as Dr. Who episodes go, I watched until and including "Dalek" before I had to break it off. Loved them. . The End of the World managed to unite the zany and the serious. I thought for a while that actress who played Jabe the Treelady might be Josette Simon (aka Dayna in Blake's 7), but upon checking the credits later found out I was wrong. In any case, I love that you care in this series when characters of the week like her die. In terms of overall continuity, her bringing up that all the Timelords are dead was of course very important for the Doctor's characterisation (and also news to me, but then as I said earlier my Whovian knowledge is sporadic). And in the denouement, we saw the Doctor display something of that cold ruthlessness which both #7, the Sylvester McCoy version, and the Colin Baker one (5 or 6?) had in the episodes I saw when dealing with Cassandra.
The Unquiet Dead was of course lovely Dickensian (as well as reminiscent of The Talons of Weng-Chian, one of the two Tom Bakers I saw), and it was great to see Simon Callow again, and as Charles Dickens, too. (I saw his one man show about Oscar Wilde on stage, but sadly not the Dickens one.) (Plus his Charles Laughton and Orson Welles biographies are splendidly written, and have that advantage of an actor writing about actors and the theatre which few can compete with.) Providing a sci-fi explanation for the ghosts but offering a touch of the supernatural through Gwynneth was just right, and Rose and Gwynneth hitting it off came across as credible. Again a mention of the time war, and signs the Doctor feels responsible and guilty somewhat.
Aliens of London and World War Three: you know, this is where Rose's mother and Mickey become real people, rather than just the comic relief characters they were in the first episode. Indeed, one felt for Mickey as the Doctor kept picking on him, and I was glad he and Rose's mother were crucial in solving the crisis. Indeed this two-parter is that rare thing, a genre story which manages to let the leading regulars be heroic but emphasises the heroism of the "ordinary" people at the same time. Harriet Jones the ignored MP was another great guest character, and ensured that the (very funny) satire on politicians didn't become cheap, as she embodied the politician who cared (without coming across as unreal or saintly). And of course all the shots at Tony Blair and his government had me in stitches. (45 seconds, "he made it all up", "just like last time", weapons of mass destruction - yes, it wasn't subtle, but it was fun. No, I don't think this improved relations between the BBC and the British government.)
Dalek: wow. Even a sporadic viewer like me was filled with fuzzy nostalgic feelings at the sight of the little bugger, and the whole idea of the Doctor and the Dalek as the last of their kinds (that they know of) really worked for me. The tricky question of how to make a Dalek more dimensional without ruining the basic premise, left by dear Terry Nation (aka he who created B7 as well) was solved via Rose, but even earlier, before the Dalek absorbed some of her, the sight of it being tortured was unsettling and disturbing, just as any torture scene should be (even if it involves a tin box). Rose and the Dalek in the sunlight was incredibly moving, and yes, I had Mina-and-Mr-Hyde (in Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) associations. Conversely, the episode showcased the dark side of the Doctor, the scars the time war left. Now in the earlier mentioned displays of ruthlessness by Dr. #7 I had the impression we were meant to see this as somewhat dark but ultimately approve, as the purpose was good, whereas clearly here we're meant to side with Rose and be concerned about what #9 is developing into, whether he isn't in the process of losing himself as surely as the Dalek, just in the other direction.
(Sidenote: and we're clearly in the post-Whedonian age in the display of shirtlessness.*g*)
Van Statten was a one-dimensional villain, but entertainingly so, and besides, the more dimensionality was taken up by the Dalek. Whose ruthlessness was not brushed aside, either; I think even completely new viewers got an impression of what the Daleks are capable of when it wiped out the squadron via the sprinklers and some electricity. As to the new boy, I have no opinion yet. We'll see.
The plot with T'Pol and Trip on Vulcan I'm in two minds about. On the one hand, I appreciate they didn't just go with a replay of Amok Time with reversed gender roles, or followed the tired old cliché of the regular tied in a formal engagment which she breaks/is rescued from at the last minute. Otoh, I'm less than enamoured with the entire concept of a society like the Vulcans having these type of engagement and marriages to begin with. (Strangely, I never minded with the Centauri, but then the Centauri do not value logic.) I suppose we're stuck with this due to series continuity. But still. Letting T'Poll marry so her mother could have her job back was just a tad too bodice ripper novel-like to me, and she should not be like the heroine of a romance novel. I can see what Jolene Blalock meant.
Seeing Vulcan again was great, though. Be still, my old Trekker heart.
As far as Dr. Who episodes go, I watched until and including "Dalek" before I had to break it off. Loved them. . The End of the World managed to unite the zany and the serious. I thought for a while that actress who played Jabe the Treelady might be Josette Simon (aka Dayna in Blake's 7), but upon checking the credits later found out I was wrong. In any case, I love that you care in this series when characters of the week like her die. In terms of overall continuity, her bringing up that all the Timelords are dead was of course very important for the Doctor's characterisation (and also news to me, but then as I said earlier my Whovian knowledge is sporadic). And in the denouement, we saw the Doctor display something of that cold ruthlessness which both #7, the Sylvester McCoy version, and the Colin Baker one (5 or 6?) had in the episodes I saw when dealing with Cassandra.
The Unquiet Dead was of course lovely Dickensian (as well as reminiscent of The Talons of Weng-Chian, one of the two Tom Bakers I saw), and it was great to see Simon Callow again, and as Charles Dickens, too. (I saw his one man show about Oscar Wilde on stage, but sadly not the Dickens one.) (Plus his Charles Laughton and Orson Welles biographies are splendidly written, and have that advantage of an actor writing about actors and the theatre which few can compete with.) Providing a sci-fi explanation for the ghosts but offering a touch of the supernatural through Gwynneth was just right, and Rose and Gwynneth hitting it off came across as credible. Again a mention of the time war, and signs the Doctor feels responsible and guilty somewhat.
Aliens of London and World War Three: you know, this is where Rose's mother and Mickey become real people, rather than just the comic relief characters they were in the first episode. Indeed, one felt for Mickey as the Doctor kept picking on him, and I was glad he and Rose's mother were crucial in solving the crisis. Indeed this two-parter is that rare thing, a genre story which manages to let the leading regulars be heroic but emphasises the heroism of the "ordinary" people at the same time. Harriet Jones the ignored MP was another great guest character, and ensured that the (very funny) satire on politicians didn't become cheap, as she embodied the politician who cared (without coming across as unreal or saintly). And of course all the shots at Tony Blair and his government had me in stitches. (45 seconds, "he made it all up", "just like last time", weapons of mass destruction - yes, it wasn't subtle, but it was fun. No, I don't think this improved relations between the BBC and the British government.)
Dalek: wow. Even a sporadic viewer like me was filled with fuzzy nostalgic feelings at the sight of the little bugger, and the whole idea of the Doctor and the Dalek as the last of their kinds (that they know of) really worked for me. The tricky question of how to make a Dalek more dimensional without ruining the basic premise, left by dear Terry Nation (aka he who created B7 as well) was solved via Rose, but even earlier, before the Dalek absorbed some of her, the sight of it being tortured was unsettling and disturbing, just as any torture scene should be (even if it involves a tin box). Rose and the Dalek in the sunlight was incredibly moving, and yes, I had Mina-and-Mr-Hyde (in Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) associations. Conversely, the episode showcased the dark side of the Doctor, the scars the time war left. Now in the earlier mentioned displays of ruthlessness by Dr. #7 I had the impression we were meant to see this as somewhat dark but ultimately approve, as the purpose was good, whereas clearly here we're meant to side with Rose and be concerned about what #9 is developing into, whether he isn't in the process of losing himself as surely as the Dalek, just in the other direction.
(Sidenote: and we're clearly in the post-Whedonian age in the display of shirtlessness.*g*)
Van Statten was a one-dimensional villain, but entertainingly so, and besides, the more dimensionality was taken up by the Dalek. Whose ruthlessness was not brushed aside, either; I think even completely new viewers got an impression of what the Daleks are capable of when it wiped out the squadron via the sprinklers and some electricity. As to the new boy, I have no opinion yet. We'll see.
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no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 10:23 am (UTC)Interesting comments on Dalek. I hadn't realised the Mina/Edward parallels until now. but it really works. There were a lot of both positive and negative responses to the episode from BtVS fans who saw it as analogous to, if not a deliberate approving allusion to, Redemptionista ideas of Spike. I was also getting overtones of Vader's death scene from Jedi, especially the Dalek opening itself up to the sun.
I actually saw Dalek as in some way a subversion of the earlier Seventh Doctor story you allude to, but there was some interesting comments on the issue on my original LJ post (http://www.livejournal.com/users/londonkds/100108.html) on the ep. I know linking to your own posts is a bit smug at times, but to save space here can you just read it and tell me which of the two positions on the Dalek's dying words you tend to? I'd be interested to know. (I've checked, and there is nothing in the post or the comments that spoils episodes you haven't seen.)
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 11:30 am (UTC)The Dalek's dying words: I took it to have the second meaning when watching the scene. Maybe I'll change my mind upon rewatching, but that was my impression.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 11:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 04:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 12:46 pm (UTC)The British Board of Censorship (I think that's what it's called) refused a child-safe classification to the DVD this episode is on because of the torture scene, fearing it might set a bad example. This lead to snarky remarks from the fandom to the effect that it was good to know Daleks would be safe from torture if they invaded the playgrounds of Britain *g*. (I also rolled my eyes, because the series has plenty of scene of people being killed, exploded, turned into zombies, etc. The torture scenes are intentionally disturbing, and it should be clear to anyone watching that the Doctor is doing a bad thing there.)
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 02:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 02:34 pm (UTC)You've just seen the two things that bugged me the most about the new series: the revelation that the Time Lords are all dead, and the "Dalek" episode, both of these being, imo, instances of woobification overkill.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 04:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 04:27 pm (UTC)Indeed. And, what's more, in different eras of Doctor Who itself it wouldn't have happened this way at all. Leela, for instance, would have been first to try to kill the Dalek once it had escaped. I can't think of any previous companion that would have been as sentimental as Rose was here, and, more importantly, if they, had their position would not have been supported by the narrative, because it's one thing to feel sorry for someone being tortured, and another to excuse that person's mass slaughter just because they can't kill you personally. (This reminded me far too much of the whole Spike storyline on BtVS.) And the Doctor would have had more sense himself, because he wouldn't have been subject to the PTSD personality affects Nine has, which stem from plot annoyance #1, the destruction of the Doctor's entire people. Urgh.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 03:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 04:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 04:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 06:31 pm (UTC)>Archer realizing he had lost the explorer part of himself might not have moved me in the same way Picard's breakdown
I do not think it was meant as being moving. I read it as a rather straightforward "sorry, fans, we did a rotten third season which presented doubtful values"
but I was writing because of something else: I have now finished correcting the class test based on your story. Thanks for letting me use it in the first place :-). Would you be interested in seeing one or the other result?
Frank
no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 06:54 pm (UTC)