Sunday, April 13, 2008

Another Doctor Who post - I'll leave the spoilers out until a certain point, where they will be noted, for those of you who want to avoid such things.

Ok. Doctor Whoniverse Season 30. The word I would use to describe this season is ambitious. Everything is playing out on a grander scale. Everything seems slightly more intense. And part of that, at least from my perspective, is that they're playing off things we've been introduced to in previous adventures. The Doctor's new companion for example, had already appeared in 2 episodes ("Doomsday" & "The Runaway Bride"), so we didn't really need an introduction to the character, we just learned more about her, which is something that other 'new' companions have had to do later in their seasons. And Donna's family were also featured in previous adventures; her mother in "The Runaway Bride" & her grandfather in "Voyage of the Damned". The season as a whole (including Torchwood & The Sarah Jane Adventures) brings back a stunning number of previously introduced characters and storylines...all leading up to something that FEELS epic and organic to the series as a whole.

Another thing that I'm noticing is that they're taking more risks, which could possibly lead to failures, but I'll take an interesting failure over a dull success story any day of the week. And when the risks pay off, they lead to stories and adventures the likes of which we've not yet experienced, which is always exciting and worthwhile.

And now we're moving into spoiler territory.

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This new Season of Who. We've now seen 2 of these episodes, and already you can see how the series has changed. The first 2 creatures of the season have been remarkable creations; one of them cute, and the other one rather grand. They weren't amazingly scary on any level, but they felt like new things we'd not experienced before, and I get the sense that the crew were experimenting with new technologies, which will lead to even better creations down the line.

And the Pompeii adventure (filmed in Rome, on the sets for the cable series "Rome") was gorgeous. They really made the most of that shoot, and I think that the trip to Rome was well worth it for what they got on that shoot!

And Donna. I love her. To me, she was a wonder the moment she was introduced, but Catherine Tate is digging in, and proving to be my favorite Companion. Now, I love Rose, and I feel that she and the Doctor belonged together, to the point that having them not together has proved extremely painful, but Donna's role as companion is astonishing, and we've still seen very little of it. In her first appearance I just thought it rather nice. In this latest appearance I found it beyond brilliant. Her teary eyed pleading with the Doctor had me teary eyed as well!

And all these references to past things and odd mentions that apparently, most likely, are leading to something... The Medusa Cascade. The Shadow Proclamation. There's something on Donna's back? "She's" returning? Do they mean Rose, or something more sinister? And have you noticed all the planets seem to be going missing? And what is that ATMOS thing about? There are just so many things popping up, and we're only 2 episodes in... It's really exciting.

The Sarah Jane Adventures were surprisingly dark for a series aimed at young children, with the finale to that series putting Sarah Jane through the emotional wringer... Torchwood was as dark and delicious as ever in it's 2nd Season, with a heartbreaking ending ("You're breaking my heart" - brings me to tears each time) - and I'm getting the sense that this season of Doctor Who (the final segment in this trio of programs making up Season 30 of the Whoniverse), will be the most emotional, intense, heartbreaking experience of them all... how could it not be, when it will also be uniting the 3 programs in it's final episodes?

Oh. Also, in the 2nd episode, the Doctor references the Great Fire of Rome and how he may have had a little bit to do with it. This is a reference to the 1st Doctor story "The Romans", in which the Doctor is accidentally responsible for that blaze!

I'll stop with the rambling now.

   posted by Bald Jason at 09:55 AM
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