TV: Dr Who (Season 2)
A couple of nights ago I blockbustered the last three episodes of Season 2.
It was a good season finale – no real cliffhangers, tightly written, and the not-necessarily-permanent end of Rose Tyler. I hope that this will allow the latest Doctor to roam free, no longer overshadowed by the Londoner Billie Piper and the crass over-Britishness of the new visioning (sp?). I hope so, because otherwise Season 2 of the relaunched Doctor Who will be the last for me. ‘Who’ was never a definitive quality series (although it was defining), but it was eccentric, meaningful, and it never (in its previous lives) ever attempted to be contemporary. Although maybe the 3rd Doctor was and I came so late it seemed quaint in the reruns. However the sheer ra-ra Englishness and Union Jack flag-waving of the new version is too much. Too Bush, too New Labour. If you want contemporary reality, go watch Spooks or the Six O’Clock News. If you want science fiction, then sadly Dr. Who isn’t the place to be. Currently.
There is hope however. Eccleston was cleverly cast to relaunch the franchise but was never going to be a classic Doctor. Tennant, however, has potential. So let’s give him interesting supporting companions, some offworld non-Earth stories, and maybe a longer but not dominating ark to use the new longer episode time (and I don’t mean a cheap Bad Wolf/Torchwood branding). As the Dr. Who geek at work says – “Torchwood should allow for enough UK focus”.
Until then I bless Season 2 with 3/5, despite the joyous return of the Cybermen (consider that *+1*) as the crap British stories and poorly explained Dalek nonsense was hard to bear (*-1*). I don’t even mind he’s now the last Time Lord, although sometime I would like that explained to me, even though it’s buried in franchise off-season novels somewhere.
Doctor Who – Season 1 imdb, amazon, Season 2 imdb
Spooks – imdb, amazon
Christopher Eccelston – imdb
Billie Piper – imdb
David Tennant – imdb
The last Time Lord/the Time War – wikipedia
Cybermen – wikipedia
Daleks – wikipedia
Doctor Who – wikipedia
Torchwood – blog, wikipedia
