Are You My Mummy?

[the_gneech]

We've finished disc three of the Eccleston Doctor Who now; on the whole I'd say it was quite a step up from disc two. While "The Long Game" was mostly forgettable (aside from the squickiness of having an access hatch in your forehead), "Father's Day" was very effective. All about Rose as always, but in this case it actually had a good reason to be and worked very well. (Milk that death, Rose's Dad! Milk it!) The "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances" two-parter was excellent all around, with one tiny gripe, which is that "The Doctor Dances" is a terrible title.

For that matter, "World War Three" (the second part of "Aliens of London") wasn't exactly a great title either ... personally I think the multi-parters should just stick with a single title, such as "The Empty Child, Part One" and "The Empty Child, Part Two." Partially because it feels more like classic Doctor Who, but also because the second parts tend to have weak names, it seems.

Only three more Eccleston episodes to go now. I would have liked for him to stay around a bit longer, or possibly have been Paul McGann the whole time, but he was an all right doctor. I don't think he'll ever rate as high as Baker or Pertwee, but they were a hella hard act to follow, weren't they?

-The Gneech

Note to myself: Some interesting stuff here. http://andrewrilstone.blogspot.com/2006/05/doctor-who-season-2-episodes-1-3.html

Comments

[vamour.livejournal.com]

Tennant's a better Doctor than Eccleston, all round.

Out of the whole 'first' series, I think that "The Empty Child" and "Fathers Day" were probably the real highlights. You still got "Boom Town" to go in this season, which is another one that's pretty much forgettable, and "Bad Wolf" is a two-parter that rather reverses the pre-established formula of the season so far, with the first episode being rather underwhelming before the second one really gets going.

When you get into the next season, eyes open for "Girl in the Fireplace", "The Impossible Planet" and "Army of Ghosts".

[kailucidricwolf.livejournal.com]

i hear the woman he snog'd in 'Girl in the fireplace' is his real life wife.
that ep's ending still makes me cry a little. ;.;

[dhlawrence.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, the multi-parters in the beginning all had individual names in addition to collective names. An Unearthly Child also carried the name 100 000 BC.

I liked The Empty Child too. The historical ones interest me more than the "futuristic" ones, probably because the historical ones have an excuse for being only on Earth.

[ccroft.livejournal.com]

I'll also add my voice to the "I think your nipples will explode with delight when you see Tennant in action" crowd.

... the finale of the Eccleston era will overload you with british pop-culture references XD

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Well, I've seen "The Christmas Invasion" and "New Earth" and liked those...

-The Gneech

[bovil.livejournal.com]

Tennant season 1 (I've seen it all) has a few really great episodes, a few really shaky episodes, some shaky chemistry and a lot of really shaky writing...

...until you get to the end. Then it all becomes clear. Most of the shaky bits were towards a purpose.

How's that for a spoiler-free summary?

[kailucidricwolf.livejournal.com]

Cuz they had to get rid of an actor who didnt want to be type casted!

[mouser.livejournal.com]

"The Long Game" is actually more important than you know...

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I hope I won't be expected to remember any of it...

-TG

[hossblacksilver.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really enjoyed The Empty Child as well. Though one thing for the BBC, after the Doctor starts up with "Are... you... my... mum-meee?" and they then cliff-hanger it. Yeah, thanks, didn't need that pair of underwear anyway.

[cyberhorn.livejournal.com]

yep the empty child "shivers" okay
but the doctor dances is actualy aptly named in the end its all about the happy happy joy of saving a child and reuniting him with his mummy 'shiver' sorry :D

tom baker and pertwee are impossible to follow as dr who they brought such depth and personality to the charicter that many now can only identify the dr with them or just baker alone

though i see tom as the evil wizard of sinbad fame as well

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I certainly agree that "The Doctor Dances" is an -accurate- title -- but it's still not a good one. It doesn't entice, create tension, or make one curious. It just tells you what happens. A title should make you interested in the story, not summarize it for you. ;)

Plus, I'm just a curmudgeon about Doctor Who being about the plot, not the relationships. So IMO a better title would have been something like "The Misrepaired" or "A Phone Call From Nobody" or some such thing.

-The Gneech

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

I loved The Empty Child. I kept threatening to phone my friends and ask whether they were my mummy :)

The early Hartnell stories had episode titles, so in a way it's a throwback to the very beginning...

[wardy.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough I had a nightmare about that bloody child last night. Woke me up at 6am...

Wardy

[wardy.livejournal.com]

I agree that the series would have been better without Rose. At best she's headstrong and the rest of the time she's a ditzy pain in the arse. We need more Ace-esque characters - now she was a great companion.

Wardy

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

Hear, hear! I also thought her relationship with McCoy was genuinely touching, while Rose and Ecclescake's is just creepy.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Ecclescake?

-TG

[larksilver.livejournal.com]

The Empty Child episode creeped me out, totally, even when it began to make sense in the 2nd half.

I enjoyed the Ecclescakes episodes (he's quite hawt for a Who), and I think it's a shame he didn't stay in the role longer. I was, in fact, resistant to the idea of David Tennant's portrayal, for as Barty Crouch I just wanted to smack him... but he's won me over. He's clearly having the time of his life playing the Doctor, and he groks it, based on what I've seen so far.

There's really only been one or two of the Doctors that I didn't like, and I think that was mostly because they seemed to sap all the fun out of things. What's the fun of the Doctor if, well, he isn't fun? Right?