On Monday evening, a teary David Tennant stared out at 10 million of us, wailed “I don’t want to go!”, lit up like a Swedish straw goat and turned into Matt Smith (above). For the 11th time, British TV has a new Doctor Who.
The New Year’s Day episode also marked the departure of Russell T Davies, responsible for the shape of the last four seasons. It’s been a fairground ride: thrilling, colourful, scary, really noisy and occasionally making you want to puke…but always a fun romp. There’s nothing like it on British TV. Doctor Who is unique.
Now we have a new take on the last of the Timelords. In an ideal world this means:
- The orchestra will stop playing like they’re scoring a Carry On film.
- Aliens in human form won’t give themselves away by farting.
- The Russell T Davies rhythm of plotting will be put to rest.
Yes, I’m generally a Who fan. And I have great respect for the resurrection and re-mainstreaming of the show in recent years, mostly thanks to Mr Davies.
But.
Ripping wildly from his Wikipedia page:
- “Rose” (2005)
- “The End of the World” (2005)
- “Aliens of London” / “World War Three” (2005)
- “The Long Game” (2005)
- “Boom Town” (2005)
- “Bad Wolf” / “The Parting of the Ways” (2005)
- “Doctor Who: Children in Need” (Children in Need mini-episode, 2005)
- “The Christmas Invasion” (2005)
- “New Earth” (2006)
- “Tooth and Claw” (2006)
- “Love & Monsters” (2006)
- “Army of Ghosts” / “Doomsday” (2006)
- “The Runaway Bride” (2006)
- “Smith and Jones” (2007)
- “Gridlock” (2007)
- “Utopia” / “The Sound of Drums” / “Last of the Time Lords” (2007)
- “Voyage of the Damned” (2007)
- “Partners in Crime” (2008)
- “Midnight” (2008)
- “Turn Left” (2008)
- “The Stolen Earth” / “Journey’s End” (2008)
- “Music of the Spheres” (BBC Proms mini-episode, 2008)
- “The Next Doctor” (2008)
- “Planet of the Dead” (with Gareth Roberts) (2009)
- “Doctor Who: Tonight’s the Night” (Tonight’s the Night mini-episode, 2009)
- “The Waters of Mars” (with Phil Ford) (2009)
- The End of Time (2 parts, 2009)
That’s a list that covers much the best and most of the worst of 4 years of Who. Take the last two entries: The Waters of Mars was an astounding piece of writing. The first part of the End Of Time was….a real mess. And then the second part was amazing (give or take the odd scene with Bernard Cribbins shooting down intercontinental ballistic missiles). Silk purse, sow’s ear, silk purse again. And again, and again.
My gut feeling: when a bad Davies episode comes along, it feels like he’s not taking the whole thing seriously.
Time for the defence to state their case. “It’s not meant to be serious. It’s a kid’s show!”. Russell T Davies has said this again and again, and he’s highly vocal on the need for TV slanted at children. Stephen Moffat (responsible for the very best episodes of the last few years) says “if Doctor Who doesn’t address kids then it’s not Doctor Who“. This isn’t quite saying that it’s aimed solely at kids – just that it’s a family show. There are adult references aimed over the heads of children (“well hello there, I’m Captain Jack Har….”, “STOP IT!”), and absurdly designed wobbly aliens meant to make anyone under the age of 7 gurgle with laughter. It’s a clever tightrope the writers walk, and a unique one, because Who has always had this duality, this ability to dip wildly into whizz-bang-boom TV and adult drama alike. We all get that.
My bias is simple: I’d love the whole damn show to be written by Stephen Moffat – which is why I capered like a fool when I heard he’s taking the reins. The Eleventh Doctor’s course through space and time will be directed by Stephen Moffat – and he’s promising that it will be truer to the “classic roots” of the show. (Whatever they are, remembering that Moffat has 700-odd episodes to cherry-pick from).
Mainly, I’m glad it’s him because I think he has a much better understanding of the difference between childish and childlike. His scripts brim with fun without descending into farce. They’re wise and poignant without being glum, and they’re witty and vibrant without being superficial. Kids like being scared: these scare the pants off the adults. They absolutely nail the tone of Who. And so they’re already classics.
David Tennant is a hard act to follow. But behind the scenes, it looks like Doctor Who is already in safer, surer hands.
Image: comicvine.
I’ve never watched more than a few minutes of an episode, but I love the theme music!
Courtesy of the majesty of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop…and one of the most famous signatures on British TV:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_theme_music
If ever there’s a piece of music that makes a Brit want to stand up and salute, that’s the one.
i haven’t any idea what this show is and i feel like i’m missing out.
It’s extraordinary. Sometimes extraordinarily daring, sometimes extraordinarily daft. But always like nothing else out there.
I can recommend giving it a try – probably the most accessible point being 2005′s “Rose”, the point where they restarted the show after a long hiatus.
And yes, you *will* find it on Netflix. It’s big over here. Very, very big!
I grew up with the Dr. I cried at the end of the episode where he re met Sarah Jane, because she’s us, we get old and he leaves us behind (well, not entirely, yet, but I’m now middle aged with a daughter of my own, and I’d have loved to have been a Companion). It was very strange seeing a sexy Dr, who’d be a mate, or perhaps a lover, when he’d always been the Mad but Favourite Uncle figure before. The storylines in the last four series have been science fiction nightmares, with no regard for coherence, logic, or even half way beleivable plotting, (Torchwood was possibly worse in this regard!) And yet. I still watch it. Because, as you say, there’s nothing like it on tv, British or otherwise, and it is, more or less, science fiction, which there is not enough of (in my opinion), and because….its a link with the past. The Dr, if he was real, would still know us, still remember us as when we were kids, and that’s the appeal. He’s still our friend, and we know he changes his face, its part of what makes him special, a symbol of all the rest.
Now I just have to get used to the 11th one looking like a 10 years older version of my nephew….¬_¬
Beautifully, poignantly put.
Yes, some of the last 4 years of Who / Torchwood…unforgiveably bad. And yet some of it better than I ever would have hoped. One to the other, again and again, flip flip flip. Take the awfulness of most of season 1 of Torchwood and contrast it with season 3 (Children Of Earth) which was rightly hailed as a BBC major event of the year. Excitingly unpredictable but also frustrating.
The new one is a bit young-looking, isn’t he? A worrying trend. Starts in his 60s (Hartnell), gets younger and younger, now he’s twenty-something. I know it appeals to a younger audience and is therefore a wise move for reinvention…but it also puts a great weight on Matt Smith’s shoulders to find the flashes of wisdom and maturity that the long-term Who fans will need. He still need to be our old friend.
Did you see the fuss kicked up about his “hah! I’m still not ginger” comment?
Sometimes I thought I was the only one who’d noticed the gaping plot-holes in RTD’s episodes. Roll on spring and Matt Smith’s proper debut!
Hello sir.
Long time no see.
No, you weren’t the only one. I’ve seen a lot of complaints about the worst of his episodes – when they were bad, they were *really* bad. More than that, he green-lighted some atrocious work by other people, like the Planet Of Death special which instantly gives me a headache when I remember it. Michelle Ryan is a good actress (Bionic Woman had terrible scripts, but she almost carried them off) and has a lot of charm, but…what was going on in that episode?
I reckon if RTD had continued, Doc Who’s credibility would have suffered. Even the penultimate episode was semi-nonsense and not terribly well received. Thank the lords of time that the episodes before and after it were so solid.
I’m very glad David Tennant was allowed to shine like that.
Well I’ve just watched the first episode, he looks nothing like he does in that picture. But god, he is awesome! He’s nothing like David Tennant, if anything he behaves more like Tom Baker and very much alike Slyvestor McCoy too! Doctor Who will carry on with Matt Smith because after all Matt Smith (judging purely from the first episode) IS Doctor Who!