Doctor Who Two
I’ve tried, I really have. I’ve given him a good chance to prove himself, but I just can’t warm to David Tennant as Doctor Who. For me, he just doesn’t have the charisma of Eccleston. He either seems to be wildly mugging or staring googly-eyed. There’s none of the suppressed sadness or danger of Eccleston’s Doctor, and despite the gratuitous snogging, I also don’t see the chemistry between Rose and the Doctor that was so striking in the previous series.
I don’t know if it’s just because I don’t like Tennant as the Doctor, but I don’t even think that the writing is as good this series. I’ve found myself bored in some episodes, which isn’t something I ever felt in the previous one. Oh well, I suppose I’ll have to go back to my recordings of ‘the golden series’. Thirteen episodes of perfection is pretty good, after all (as Firefly proved, though that was 16).
1
I never really took to Eccleston, either, to tell the truth. I agree about this series getting off to a less than compelling start, but then it was the wartime London double episode that changed the first series for me.
Maybe part two of the Cybermen will perk things up? It was certainly good to get a cliff-hanger ending again.
by Em³ @ 15/05/2006 5:06 pm • Permalink •
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Now you see, I can't agree with you. I hated the first episode of the series - it was just such a slim story. But there have been great moments in all of the episodes since. Tooth and Claw felt like a bit too much of a setup for Torchwood, but it was nice to have a good historical episode... School Reunion was super with the musings on the Doctor and his companions... TGITF was very cleverly written, although I had misgivings about the sudden appearance of mindreading powers.
I was looking forward to the Cybermen episodes since they were always my favourite villains, but then I think Earthshock happened at a key time in my childhood! Not sure I approve of them redoing the back story, but the Doctor's line this week "because it hurts!" was spot on. I settled in with Tennant suprisingly quickly. In fact I'm amazed at how much I've enjoyed both series one and two, given my devotion to the earlier stories.
by andyp @ 15/05/2006 8:06 pm • Permalink •
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Only been an occasional follower through the Doctor's variuous incarnations but I do distinctly remember seeing the very first episode and the appearance of the Tardis, which was a pretty freaky concept for 1963 (?). I also remember being terrified of the daleks. Showing my age I suppose :-(
I still cannot watch Christopher Eccleston without thinking of 'Our Friends in the North', so he is already typecast, for me anyway!
by Woodlet @ 15/05/2006 10:06 pm • Permalink •
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I see your point. I had a long entry about this on my blog, my general disatisfaction with the scripts this season - they have just had too many logic questions, cringey moments, and unoriginal ideas that have impeded on my enjoyment. In "New Earth," I didn't buy the explanation for Cassandra's survival at all - and a zombie episode had already been done, so that wasn't very exciting. In the second one, I thought the ninja monks were a bit contrived and illogical - and Victoria's speech at the end was embarrassing. Actually, I think "School Reunion" might have had the biggest problems - the whole set-up with the Doctor as a teacher in the school didn't make any sense at all, nor Rose as a lunch lady. I did like all the Mickey/K9 stuff though. They end up undercutting a lot of good idea through bad execution.
I like Tennant, though not as much as Eccleston, but he can't carry a show - nor should he. I finally did see the fourth episode, however, and that is the one I loved. It was different and well-written. I hope they can keep up the quality that this one established.
by John @ 15/05/2006 10:06 pm • Permalink •
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My partner and I watched series one via a friend of a friend who recorded them in London and then sent them to us in the States. (We even bought a region-free DVD player for the occassion.) We both loved it -- Eccleston, Piper, the writing. "Better than we deserve," we kept saying.
This time around, rather than being months behind, we're torrenting the episodes hours after they air in the UK and then watching them over Sunday breakfast, so we're up to date. (I suppose I should be paying the BBC some kind of broadcast tax to be on the up-and-up, but there we are.)
I was also hesitant about Tennant at first. But I've come to love him. I do miss the melancholy, the palpable otherness of Ecceleston. And the Tenth Doctor does not, indeed, seem to be quite as in love with Rose as the Ninth Doctor was. For the Ninth, Rose was everything. But the Tenth Doctor is a different person. Less lonely, but also more mercurial. Tennant has a wider range than Eccleston, and for that reason I find him a bit more absorbing.
Regenerations are a funny business, and I think Davies is (smartly) starting to explore the consequences of what happens when the Doctor remakes himself. Whether he follows through with that exploration -- and follows through successfully -- remains to be seen.
As for the writing this season. Yes, it's been uneven. New Earth was incredibly weak, I thought, for the reasons already mentioned. I desperately wanted to see New New York (or New^16 York), and I resented Davies for sticking us in a bland hospital to find ridiculous Cassandra (again) and zombies who made no sense.
Loved Tooth and Claw, however -- especially Victoria's speech at the end! With apologies to John, I thought it was immensely clever and very real that someone like Victoria would simply reject the Doctor, for his cavalier attitude and for the dangers he brings to the people who come into his orbit. Again, Davies did something new and modern and utterly unlike the Classic Show. Whereas before people would have said friendly goodbyes and thank-you's, Victoria banished them!
Yes, Torchwood is everywhere, but it is the season's Bad Wolf. And the Doctor (effectively) created it. Brilliant! I suspect the TARDIS crew are on a collission course with Torchwood late in the season, which should be quite interesting. Anyone else notice the recurring sound effect of an alarm bell in all the episodes, as if a warning is being sounded?
School Reunion was lovely. Very true to Sarah. So good to see her! And very melancholy all around -- companions have to leave the Doctor, and the Doctor must live on. From his perspective, out of time, all of his companions are dead. They are alive only while they are with him. Into their past, and they don't yet exist. Into their future, and they have perished. Sad and wonderful.
I could go on and on about The Girl in the Fireplace. It was marvelous -- though it was clear that Moffatt had read "The Time Traveler's Wife" (a novel I highly recommend).
The Cybermen story is so far pretty weak. I find it hard to get invested in parallel universe stories, and it feels a little too "old school" for me. But I suspect kids will love it, and that's important too.
So those are my two cents. BSAG, I can't argue you into liking Tennant, but please don't give up.
by Ed @ 16/05/2006 3:06 am • Permalink •
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A small point, but it is unreasonable to expect the BBC to find another actor with Eccleston's charisma, as that quality is as rare as hen's teeth. In trying to think a comparable UK actor, I can only come up with Sean Connery, and I doubt he would be interested!
by ThoughtBadger @ 16/05/2006 6:06 am • Permalink •
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I really don't agree. I find Ecclestone boring. For me casting David Tennant has been a brilliant move, and it has turned me into a real fan. He has the right geeky weirdy touch about him.
by Ingrid @ 16/05/2006 12:06 pm • Permalink •
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The new series almost feels like a parody of the early Doctors to me. I thought the best episode of Eccleston's Doctor was the first Dalek episode. That gave me nightmares! By contrast, with Tenant we have a one-off reunion with Sarah Jane and K-9, and an introduction to the Cybermen and a revelation of their creation that so far gives no explanation of how they get from their alternate universe (which is supposedly blocked off) to ours. Of all the previous Doctors, I think Tenant reminds me the most of Colin Baker.
by michaelnp @ 16/05/2006 3:06 pm • Permalink •
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There still all set on earth right?
To me thats the big downer of both series
as for which one is better? who cares the whole show needs an overhaul to match the wonderfull tackiness that is doctor who..
by Boardski @ 17/05/2006 1:05 pm • Permalink •
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I thought it wold be a controversial opinion---most people seem to like Tennant as the Doctor. Yes, there are some really weak bits of plot in this series. I thought that 'mind-melding' in The Girl in the Fireplace was really ridiculous and came from nowhere, and they really wasted the drama of the TARDIS dying. I initially thought that was very effective and genuinely moving, since the TARDIS is definitely another character in the series, but two seconds later, the Doctor was blowing on a crystal and all was well. Pah.
I guess I'll watch the second part of the Cybermen story, but I'm not encouraged.
by bsag @ 17/05/2006 3:06 pm • Permalink •
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So come on, what did you think of the second part?
I found it quite disturbing, actually. The whole conversion thing was pretty scary, highlighted when they met the converted Jackie. The disappointing part was that there were too many deus ex machina moments, the key one being the way they escaped from the cliffhanger from the previous episode.
Sounds like there are more Cybermen stories later in the series. Will be interesting to see how they tie it together with the parallel universe thing. I assume that the "normal universe" Cybermen continue to follow their existing backstory about Mondas and all that stuff.
One review I read pointed out how much this story made the Cybermen like the Daleks - wheelchair-bound creator, eternal life, delete/exterminate...
by andyp @ 21/05/2006 9:05 am • Permalink •
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andyp: Ack! I was away for the weekend so recorded the episode, but starting reading your comment before I got a chance to watch it. I had to close the email quick before the spoilers got me :-D
Now that I've watched it, I think it was definitely the best of this series. The pace was much better, and it was a bit scarier (particularly when the Doctor and Mrs. Moore were in the underground tunnels). And the bit at the end was genuinely quite touching.
But I still don't like David Tennant. I kept thinking how much better the ep. would have been with him.
by bsag @ 22/05/2006 5:06 pm • Permalink •
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I think that David Tennant is a brilliant additon to the Doctor Who family. I wasn't at the slightest bit interested in the previous series with Chris Eccleston. I found he was uninterested in what he was doing at times, which dulled my viewing pleasure. I am seriously into all of the old school episodes such as the daleks, but I just couldn't settle when Eccleston was The Doctor. When Tennant came along, I was interested, but the episode that really did it for me was The Girl In The Fireplace. This was a stormer of an episode and my interests and loyalty has stuck to this series and this Doctor since then. As for people such as John who find that aspects of this series regarding plot lines offputing, I say this. People must not forget that this is as much for children as it is for adults, and so we have to let ourselves be absorbed by the plot a bit more, rather than being so crytical when a question is left unanswered, or something is a little confusing. Lastly, I hope David Tennant stays on longer than his predecesor.
by Crazy Who fan @ 24/06/2006 8:07 pm • Permalink •
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Can i just say, I really miss Doctor Who. i couldnt stop crying when it ended. I do miss Eccleston and i agree that tennant didnt seem to love Rose as much as Eccleston. However I think tennant is good as the doctor, hope he stays longer than just 2 series.
by Heather @ 28/07/2006 12:08 am • Permalink •
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I have a slightly different take than some. In the US we didn't even get season 1 (sorry, series 1) until this past winter on the SciFi channel. But before it started I downloaded The Christmas Invasion and watched it. So my first taste of the new Doctor was Tennant. I thoroughly enjoyed the episode and later found Eccleston a bit dark. I eventually warmed to him and wished he did at least 2 years. Still, I find I enjoy Tennant much better. There have been a few episodes for each doctor I didn't care for, but all in all I am very pleased.
by Billy @ 28/07/2006 4:07 am • Permalink •
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