TV/Movies Megathread

[Barrister]

With all the hoopla around the Doctor Who special, I felt somewhat depressed.  I religiously watched Who in my youth when a cable station (YTV) was showing every episode in order.  I think I caught everything from the mid-70s through to the final episode.  But when the new series started I just wasn't able to catch the first few episodes, then didn't want to just jump in the middle - the parts of a couple of episodes I saw did catch seemed to show a reasonably complicated and ongoing narrative going on.  So I've stayed away.

But then yesterday, out of curiosity, I checked Netflix.  Yup, it was on there.  Why was I not informed of this sooner?

So since giving reviews of tvs and movies years and decades after they have aired is the rage here, I'm going to start reviewing Doctor Who episodes, starting with

Rose, 2005

It's immediately obvious that the production values are far, far above the earlier show.  You don't feel silly by just watching this stuff.  The whole episode is from the point of view of Rose, who pretty obviously is going to be the Doctor's new companion once he shows up.  Her "working class" background is somewhat ham-handed, but is not a bad plot idea (usually Doctor Who characters tended to be rather upper crust types, either on Earth or Gallifrey).

The story itself is basic, but serviceable.  It introduces an old enemy, the Aurons.  To be honest, I didn't remember these guys.  I thought the writers were actually taking a sly joke at the shows history of having whole series of enemies which were obviously actors in funny rubber suits, by making an enemy which was literally funny rubber suits.  Perhaps the writers were still making that joke, but now by nodding at Who lore.  Anyways, with the need to spend a lot of time introducing Rose and the Doctor, the plot is resolved fairly simply.  The final battle where the mannequins attack the shopping mall was good fun though.

Eccleston's Doctor seems interesting.  Obviously a more action-y take on the character, and a whole lot less emphasis on funny clothes.  Interested to see where he goes with the character.

All in all, I give it:



Four police boxes out of five.

[Ed Anger]

Nerd.

[Barrister]

Nerd.

D'uh.

[Admiral Yi]

He spelled duh with an apostrophe.  What a geek.

[Barrister]

He spelled duh with an apostrophe.  What a geek.

[lustindarkness]

The Wolverine, liked it, pretty good way to kill a couple of hours on a slow day.

[crazy canuck]

You are in for a real treat BB - right up until Tennant's last season.  Then you need to struggle through until this last special.  But it will be worth it.

[dps]

You are in for a real treat BB - right up until Tennant's last season.  Then you need to struggle through until this last special.  But it will be worth it.

Nah, Matt Smith's first season was pretty good, on balance. 

[Barrister]

You are in for a real treat BB - right up until Tennant's last season.  Then you need to struggle through until this last special.  But it will be worth it.

Nah, Matt Smith's first season was pretty good, on balance.

Since I'm coming at this pretty cold (other than knowing who the different doctors are) I'm going to ask you guys to not spoil it for me (or use spoiler tags).  I know I'm watching 8 year old episodes, but that's my humble request.

You haven't spoiled anything so far, to be clear.

[Neil]

I support BB's Who reviews.

I've been watching that Almost Human show.  Karl Urban might be America's greatest treasure.

[katmai]

Uh.....

[CountDeMoney]

Maybe he means Keith Urban, but that would be wrong too.

[crazy canuck]

You are in for a real treat BB - right up until Tennant's last season.  Then you need to struggle through until this last special.  But it will be worth it.

Nah, Matt Smith's first season was pretty good, on balance.

Yeah, I will give you that.

[Neil]

Maybe he means Keith Urban, but that would be wrong too.

I mean Karl Urban.  He's working in the US right now, right?

Although I suppose that technically, the US supply of dreadnoughts is your country's greatest treasure.

[Barrister]

Okay, so tonight I watched:

Doctor Who The End of the World, 2005

The second show of a new series is often bound to be a bit of a disappointment.  Your pilot sets up the big premise, but now you have to get into a routine of an 'episode of the week', all while saving the big plot development for later on down the road.

The initial setup is good - if you have full access to a time machine, going to the End of the World actually sounds like a pretty good time to go to.  Also gives the episode a Douglas Adams The Restaurant at the End of the Universe feel to it, which is a good thing.

Ah, the aliens.  They look... terrible.  Although the 'last human' Cassandra, a big stretched out piece of skin, is pretty amusing, and is a good special effect.

As with Rose, the plot feels a bit simplistic.  It's not quite clear why Cassandra would want to stage this elaborate hostage taking, and the resolution, with the Doctor having to dodge a bunch of fast-moving fans, feels like something out of an 8-bit computer game.

I was going to give it slower grade, but then the episode shows it's real purpose... having witnessed the destruction of earth, the Doctor tells Rose that his planet, too, is dead, and he is the last of his race.   That, together with Rose talking across time with her modified cell phone with her mother, sets up what seems to be the theme of the new season/series - ideas of home, loss, and separation.  Note I could be completely out to lunch on this.

I give this episode:



Three sonic screwdrivers out of five.