Two Sarahs To Distract
Nov. 4th, 2008 10:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakWhat to do on the day Americans vote: distract oneself by tv shows, of course. It's the two Sarahs day!
Okay, this was hands down the best of the season so far. And since I like to pay attentions to scriptwriters, here's my Joseph Lidster hit list, in best to worst I've seen/heard to so far:
Torchwood: A Day in the Death - my favourite TW season 2 episode. I love you, Lidster.
Doctor Who Audio: 100 - i.e. Lidster's contribution among the four Big Finish anniversary stories: by far the scariest. Brilliantly disturbing. Can't say I love it due to its nature, but was mightily impressed, and it offered some awesome acting vehicles.
Torchwood Radio Play: was okay and lovable in places, but not spectacular.
Doctor Who Audio: Master: interesting failed experiment. Meaning it has some good ideas and some excellent scenes but also some bad ideas, and above all fails as an exploration of the title character, which it was meant to be (compare it to Davros, which actually does manage to come up with good Davros character stuff, and when I like the Davros CD better than the Master CD despite my feelings about the respective villains, you know there is a problem). But hey, it was his debut.
We've yet to see how the second part will hold up, but the first part of Day of the Beserker is directly below Day in the Death in my personal estimation and gets ranked equally if the second part is as strong. This apparantly being the Sarah Jane lite episode of the season (as last year's Whatever happened to Sarah Jane? was), we get character and family dynamics exploration for both Clyde and Rani, with Luke playing a supporting role but not being neglected, either. If Rani's parents are the first in the New Who verse to be presented as together, functional and both likeable, Clyde's parents firmly reverse the Pete/Jackie, Alan/Chrissie, Sylvia/Wilf and to some degree Cliff/Francine dynamic of presenting the father (grandfather, in Wilf's case) as the more likeable or approachable parent and the mother as the strict/nagging and/or clueless one. Not that Clyde's father is demonized, or his mother presented as a saint: but in this case, the narrative is firmly sympathizing with the mother who raised Clyde. I'm impressed by the psychological realism of divorce children Clyde saying that at first when his father left, he blamed his mother, Clyde being quite aware now that his father was the one to blame but still wanting to know him again and to impress him.
Meanwhile, Rani's scene with her father was brilliant as well, because it was disturbing from the start, and both Rani being briefly swept away by being able to command her father to do anything - that dream of a child - and Rani getting sobered up and realizing just what was happening and how wrong it was was played perfectly. So far, this is the episode which gives us the best idea of what Rani is like as a person. And speaking of psychological realism, I liked Clyde listing himself and Luke and Sarah Jane, but not Rani when talking to his father; not that he doesn't like her, but their friendship is new, and he wouldn't think of her in the same way as Maria yet. (Nice continuity with the holographic message to Maria, too.)
Clyde's father thinking of commercial use when spotting the amazing alien artifacts takes up a DW topic, but as opposed to The Long Game (still my least favourite New Who episode bar none) doesn't piss me off while doing so. (Again, if the second part ends with a returning Sarah Jane punishing Langer Senior by leaving him with a dangerous alien device in his head and this being presented as funny, while before this happens Clyde's dad is given some anvilly lines about how close and meant to be Clyde and Luke are, I might revise my opinion, but I think that's a bit unlikely.) Again, we get a real situation amped by a sci-fi fantasy element when this divorced father at the end of the episode is suddenly given the chance to do what divorced parents wanting to win their kids back might wish they could do - make their children forget all those other ties. As opposed to Rani's flirt with all powerfulness, however - or for that matter Jacob's -, Clyde's father isn't shocked out of it by the results and carries on, setting up the next part.
Speaking of Jacob: okay, the opening sequence was a homage to Hush and Joss Whedon, y/y? I approve, Joseph Lidster.
The title: Day of the Berserker - so far, we haven't seen Berserker rage, but we saw the ominous tattoo growing, so I'm assuming that if you use the amulet long enough, you'll be taken over entirely by the force inhabiting it, which will lead to Berserker behaviour.
Trivia: I'm very amused by Sarah Jane thinking of locking up Mr. Smith and putting an answering machine on instead. Also, the episode does a nice job of displaying the close friendship between Clyde and Luke and sketching out for us the relationship between Clyde and his mother - he obviously got his sense of humour from her, and she likes to embarass him a bit, but they're close - which is important since given the nature of the cliffhanger ending, Clyde's father-induced amnesia will test both and the audience will feel for both Luke and Clyde's mother.
A Whoeverse link, before I move on to the other Sarah, which has to do with the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wondgal put up a great Best of Ten and Tennant post, here, and the episode clips she hunted down, whether it's the Doctor meeting Sarah Jane again (aka David Tennant being the happiest fanboy who ever fanboy'd), introducing himself as James McCrimmon or meeting Donna again, I'm just aglow with fannish affection. As for the bits where David Tennant and Catherine Take are big West Wing dorks, I've said it before, I'll say it again: we've got good actors in the past, we'll get good actors in the future, but we'll probably never get another who is such an unabashed and joyful geek. I ♥ you, DT.
Now, off to the Terminatorverse.
Not so good as the previous episodes for my taste, and the biblical title justification was really stretched, but as always, there were good things to be found. I loved the Ellison subplot best, and think we just got handed another reason to suspect that T-Catherine is not completely on board with the current Skynet agenda. (And that what she's planning to do with the Turk might have the result of changing the nature of Skynet once it "grows up" in this timeline.) Which isn't to say that Catherine Weaver is "good"; she's still an unabashed killer (what do you want to bet that police officer she impersonated is still alive? Thought so). But then, so is Cameron.
Cromartie was also intriguing, and I wonder whether the Terminators are able to act independently from the Skynet main directive based on their own judgement (i.e. in Cromartie's case figuring that leaving Ellison alive to have a lead to the Connors is better than replacing Ellison by a Terminator) because in the past, they are not directly connected to Skynet anymore? And his brief teaming up with Cameron's not-friend was effective black humour. (Though like Riley, the girl was incredibly lucky. For the second time.)
I'm speculating right now that Jesse - who has photos of Derek and John, after all - was the one who directed the unfortunate thieves to the Connor's house, via Moishe, and that was why she killed him in the end, but why is still an open question.
Okay, this was hands down the best of the season so far. And since I like to pay attentions to scriptwriters, here's my Joseph Lidster hit list, in best to worst I've seen/heard to so far:
Torchwood: A Day in the Death - my favourite TW season 2 episode. I love you, Lidster.
Doctor Who Audio: 100 - i.e. Lidster's contribution among the four Big Finish anniversary stories: by far the scariest. Brilliantly disturbing. Can't say I love it due to its nature, but was mightily impressed, and it offered some awesome acting vehicles.
Torchwood Radio Play: was okay and lovable in places, but not spectacular.
Doctor Who Audio: Master: interesting failed experiment. Meaning it has some good ideas and some excellent scenes but also some bad ideas, and above all fails as an exploration of the title character, which it was meant to be (compare it to Davros, which actually does manage to come up with good Davros character stuff, and when I like the Davros CD better than the Master CD despite my feelings about the respective villains, you know there is a problem). But hey, it was his debut.
We've yet to see how the second part will hold up, but the first part of Day of the Beserker is directly below Day in the Death in my personal estimation and gets ranked equally if the second part is as strong. This apparantly being the Sarah Jane lite episode of the season (as last year's Whatever happened to Sarah Jane? was), we get character and family dynamics exploration for both Clyde and Rani, with Luke playing a supporting role but not being neglected, either. If Rani's parents are the first in the New Who verse to be presented as together, functional and both likeable, Clyde's parents firmly reverse the Pete/Jackie, Alan/Chrissie, Sylvia/Wilf and to some degree Cliff/Francine dynamic of presenting the father (grandfather, in Wilf's case) as the more likeable or approachable parent and the mother as the strict/nagging and/or clueless one. Not that Clyde's father is demonized, or his mother presented as a saint: but in this case, the narrative is firmly sympathizing with the mother who raised Clyde. I'm impressed by the psychological realism of divorce children Clyde saying that at first when his father left, he blamed his mother, Clyde being quite aware now that his father was the one to blame but still wanting to know him again and to impress him.
Meanwhile, Rani's scene with her father was brilliant as well, because it was disturbing from the start, and both Rani being briefly swept away by being able to command her father to do anything - that dream of a child - and Rani getting sobered up and realizing just what was happening and how wrong it was was played perfectly. So far, this is the episode which gives us the best idea of what Rani is like as a person. And speaking of psychological realism, I liked Clyde listing himself and Luke and Sarah Jane, but not Rani when talking to his father; not that he doesn't like her, but their friendship is new, and he wouldn't think of her in the same way as Maria yet. (Nice continuity with the holographic message to Maria, too.)
Clyde's father thinking of commercial use when spotting the amazing alien artifacts takes up a DW topic, but as opposed to The Long Game (still my least favourite New Who episode bar none) doesn't piss me off while doing so. (Again, if the second part ends with a returning Sarah Jane punishing Langer Senior by leaving him with a dangerous alien device in his head and this being presented as funny, while before this happens Clyde's dad is given some anvilly lines about how close and meant to be Clyde and Luke are, I might revise my opinion, but I think that's a bit unlikely.) Again, we get a real situation amped by a sci-fi fantasy element when this divorced father at the end of the episode is suddenly given the chance to do what divorced parents wanting to win their kids back might wish they could do - make their children forget all those other ties. As opposed to Rani's flirt with all powerfulness, however - or for that matter Jacob's -, Clyde's father isn't shocked out of it by the results and carries on, setting up the next part.
Speaking of Jacob: okay, the opening sequence was a homage to Hush and Joss Whedon, y/y? I approve, Joseph Lidster.
The title: Day of the Berserker - so far, we haven't seen Berserker rage, but we saw the ominous tattoo growing, so I'm assuming that if you use the amulet long enough, you'll be taken over entirely by the force inhabiting it, which will lead to Berserker behaviour.
Trivia: I'm very amused by Sarah Jane thinking of locking up Mr. Smith and putting an answering machine on instead. Also, the episode does a nice job of displaying the close friendship between Clyde and Luke and sketching out for us the relationship between Clyde and his mother - he obviously got his sense of humour from her, and she likes to embarass him a bit, but they're close - which is important since given the nature of the cliffhanger ending, Clyde's father-induced amnesia will test both and the audience will feel for both Luke and Clyde's mother.
A Whoeverse link, before I move on to the other Sarah, which has to do with the
wondgal put up a great Best of Ten and Tennant post, here, and the episode clips she hunted down, whether it's the Doctor meeting Sarah Jane again (aka David Tennant being the happiest fanboy who ever fanboy'd), introducing himself as James McCrimmon or meeting Donna again, I'm just aglow with fannish affection. As for the bits where David Tennant and Catherine Take are big West Wing dorks, I've said it before, I'll say it again: we've got good actors in the past, we'll get good actors in the future, but we'll probably never get another who is such an unabashed and joyful geek. I ♥ you, DT. Now, off to the Terminatorverse.
Not so good as the previous episodes for my taste, and the biblical title justification was really stretched, but as always, there were good things to be found. I loved the Ellison subplot best, and think we just got handed another reason to suspect that T-Catherine is not completely on board with the current Skynet agenda. (And that what she's planning to do with the Turk might have the result of changing the nature of Skynet once it "grows up" in this timeline.) Which isn't to say that Catherine Weaver is "good"; she's still an unabashed killer (what do you want to bet that police officer she impersonated is still alive? Thought so). But then, so is Cameron.
Cromartie was also intriguing, and I wonder whether the Terminators are able to act independently from the Skynet main directive based on their own judgement (i.e. in Cromartie's case figuring that leaving Ellison alive to have a lead to the Connors is better than replacing Ellison by a Terminator) because in the past, they are not directly connected to Skynet anymore? And his brief teaming up with Cameron's not-friend was effective black humour. (Though like Riley, the girl was incredibly lucky. For the second time.)
I'm speculating right now that Jesse - who has photos of Derek and John, after all - was the one who directed the unfortunate thieves to the Connor's house, via Moishe, and that was why she killed him in the end, but why is still an open question.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-11-04 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-04 09:53 pm (UTC)