THE GOOD AND THE BAD ABOUT NEW WHO
Hi everyone.
So, in this blog post, I'm going to talk about five things I think that are really good about the new series as a whole and five things that are not so good/ bad, so overall, it's ten things.
This has all come about because I was thinking the other day, with a brand new series of Doctor Who coming onto our screens and the first episode going out this Sunday, I thought I would look back on and have a think about the good and the bad.
So, without much ado. Let's get to it.
THINGS WHICH THE NEW SERIES DOES WELL.
1. Developed Companions
We certainly get much better and more developed characters as companions in the new series than in the classic series. That's definitely a positive. If you think about character's such as Dodo, Katarina, Victoria, and Zoe, all of which don't have much to them and are people certain fans don't really care about very much. Here, we have characters who have families, history, desires and ambitions, and a whole number of various attributes and qualities which make the audience invest in them and make a character. The only character in the classic series who has a background to her character is Ace.
But in New Who it really does come into fruition, starting with Rose. "Fathers Day" is a brilliant exploration of her character and allows the audience to get to know a bit about her history.
2. Story Arcs
Now I have seen a lot of people, and I have said this in the past as well, 'oh fed up with story arcs, can we just go back to having individual stories' but television doesn't work that way anymore. Story arcs exist in television series in some way, whether it be through a character arc or a minor subplot, there will be something in series these days that will continue out throughout the series. They're there to hold the audience's attention. Television audience's nowadays are very fickle, they like to flick in and out of channels. The retention of the audience are what television publishers are most interested in.
An example of this was BAD WOLF in Series One, that was a brilliant story arc because it was done incredibly well. It has you on the edge of your seat.
3. The TARDIS Dimensions
By this, I mean you open the TARDIS doors and you can see a console room, you can see the wall right at the back. You couldn't get that in the classic series. It was simply black. The set of the TARDIS was a back wall, and two side walls etc. The set was limited, whereas, in the new series, the TARDIS dimensions and the set is much more improved.
4. Visual and Special Effects
Kind of along the same lines as the last one, but the visual effects are so much better than what we get in the classic Who. I mean, yes, classic who was Doctor Who made with love and on a budget of peanuts so you'll have to forgive what some people might call lousy special effects. But for the most part, the visual and special effects in the new series are very much improved and better than the classic series. However, various model shots in the classic series do work really well and are brilliantly designed. And models do look more realistic than CGI.
5. Doctor Who being more popular in the US and globally.
I'm pleased that Doctor Who has taken off and has become more popular on a global scale, and more people know about it and love it. There are Doctor Who fans all over the world now, and people become much more a part of the Whoniverse.
THINGS WHICH THE NEW SERIES DOES NOT DO WELL.
1. Romance
I don't mean this in the context of everyday characters, I like Rose and Mickey, Amy and Rory, Clara and Danny, that's all fine. I'm talking about the romance between the Doctor and his companions. So the Tenth Doctor and Rose is a good example to name, the Doctor and River Song, marrying the Doctor off. I personally don't think you should cross the line and try to imply that there is a deeper relationship between the Doctor and his companions, there are lines you shouldn't cross and this is one of them.
2. The Doctor's language
"Big Sexy Woman!" The Doctor's lexicon in the new series is terrible. The Doctor should never say 'sexy', he should never call the TARDIS 'sexy', in "The Doctor's Wife" the Eleventh Doctor calls the TARDIS 'sexy thing'. The past few years, the doctor has unfortunately been written very poorly. No matter which actor or actress is playing the part, the writers always seem to write something in the script that doesn't ring true to the doctor's character. It doesn't sit well with whose playing the part now and what's been before. I just think the doctor talks and acts like your best mate, a certain essence of his character has gone.
3. Annoying Companions!
I'm talking about the overconfident and bulshy companions. All the companions now have a subtitled name. Clara Oswald "The Impossible Girl" - Amy Pond "The Girl Who Waited" etc. I don't mean this about all the companions, just the ones who are really overconfident and cocky. Now, I don't like Amy. I hate Amy Pond, I'm sorry to the people who do like her, I just think she's annoying and not a nice character, but I could write another blog post explaining why I don't like Amy Pond.
An example is in "Vincent and the Doctor" and there in the cafe and she's chatting up these men in a big, obnoxious, bulshy way, there was no women's limb in that time of the 1800 and women were treated differently back then, they didn't really have a voice. It actually weakens the Doctor, he just comes across as being more diminutive. Amy could make a comment which would put the Doctor down and the Doctor wouldn't come back with a throwback comment.
River Song, thinking she's gods gift and owns the place! :( The show is called "Doctor Who"
Rose to some extent, only in Series Two. She's fine in Series One. I haven't got a problem with Rose is Series One, it's just in Series Two when she starts to get too big for her boots, it annoys me a lot.
4. Messing around with / Ruining the 'Golden Oldies' Monsters
Not just in design, but also in characterization.
The Cybermen - the 2006 design, I thought was very good, I didn't like the C on their chests. The stomping wasn't great and they came across as clunky, the "Delete" catchphrase to give them a catchphrase for the Daleks "Exterminate". I'm pleased Steven Moffatt dropped the delete, but the Cybermen have got worse in design, "Nightmare in Silver" they're completely unrecognizable, they just look and come across as just robots. It was made better in "Death in Heaven" they were walking like they used to, some of them had a power walk. It's not good.
Silurians - The silurians need to have a mention. I wasn't keen on their new design when I first saw it. It is possibly, the worst redesign out of all the monsters that have returned from the classic series because they look so unrecognizable, they could almost look like a new monster. It's a shame that the design and the story didn't live up to expectations.
The Sontarans - too short and too blue, and Strax as well. Strax is an annoying character in my eyes, never found him funny and just very sad how the Sontarans have been made into a joke in the new series.
5. The Sonic Screwdriver
It's used far too much. I mean it has been a staple for Doctor Who since the 1970's, but it was a tool. It was simply a piece of equipment that the Doctor used every now and again to open doors or to get out of a tight squeeze. It's used far too much now in the new series. It's the magic wand. It's overblown and overdone, to the extent where it's got beyond silly. By no means get rid of the sonic, although the fifth and sixth doctors did without one for a time. Just tone it down a bit, use it less.
The Doctor has other gadgets, or if in doubt, make up your own.
Those are my what's good and bad review of the new series.
I'll be tuning in on Sunday evening to watch Jodie Whittaker's debut "The Woman Who Fell To Earth". Just starting to get a little bit excited now!
