The new Doctor Who

[mirrorshard]

Well, they've announced it. It's another young white guy.

I was dubious when I heard they were starting up the franchise again, and then even more so when I heard it would involve Billy Piper. But Ecclestone was great from the moment he appeared, and Piper was much, much better than I feared. When they changed over to Tennant, I was rather dubious, and when I heard Catherine Tate was involved it took me ages before I could bring myself to watch it. And then I was hooked - Donna Noble was wonderful.

So every time I was worried or annoyed at their choices, it turned out really, really well. So this time, I'm not going to bother being irritated or worrying that it won't be as good as before - I'm just going to look forward to Matt Smith's Doctor.

Comments

[psych0naut.livejournal.com]

I thought you said you didn't watch TV. And you said you also didn't watch TV shows on the Internet because "that's also TV". So by what convoluted logic are you now permitting yourself to watch and enjoy Dr. Who? ;)

[mirrorshard.livejournal.com]

Dr Who gets in under a grandfather clause, and also because people want to show it to me. I'm prepared to watch specific things (from a very small list) when provided with the files (ie. no time-locked stuff or streaming nonsense) and when my watching it significantly increases someone else's enjoyment. Or, alternatively, when it is necessary for me to watch it in order to accurately decrease someone else's inappropriate enjoyment.

Is that convoluted enough for you?

[psych0naut.livejournal.com]

I am very much interested in learning the circumstances under which your watching a television show would decrease someone else's enjoyment of it, as it is difficult for me to fathom such a situation.

[mirrorshard.livejournal.com]

That would be when they have what I suspect to be Bad, Wrong views on it (or when they are using it as an example to promote Bad, Wrong views of their own) and knowledge of it is required to refute this.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Is it part of the canon that the Doctor gets younger every time he incarnates? It certainly seems like it.

[mirrorshard.livejournal.com]

No, but it would make sense. I think Seven was older than Six, and I'm not sure about the Six/Five changeover, but the rest fit with that.

I suspect it's a combination of wanting a character that their principal target demographic (at a guess, 12-25 males) can identify with, and wanting one that their real demographic (women) can appreciate. Also, probably, something to do with the kind of relationship the production crew want to have with the lead actor.

[psych0naut.livejournal.com]

Makes one wonder how a balding foreigner pushing 50 ever got cast as the lead in another famous and nearly equally long-lived science fiction television series…

[mirrorshard.livejournal.com]

Who do you mean?

[psych0naut.livejournal.com]

Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Because Patrick Stewart is made of so much awesome that everyone knows it.

[psych0naut.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but did everyone know that at the time he was cast, way back in 1987?

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Anyone who'd seen I, Claudius did! ...which is a bluff, I haven't actually seen I, Claudius. *sheepish*

More honestly, he wasn't as well known but he did have a fair amount of experience in film and television, and more on stage. He'd already done Claudius in one of the best film versions of Hamlet by that point, and an excellent one it was too, only bettered by his current take on the role.