06 May 2013
What's wrong with "Doctor Who"?
The first half of last Saturday's Doctor Who episode ("The Crimson Horror") was the best I'd seen since Amy & Rory left. The problem with that is that neither The Doctor nor Clara appeared in the first half of that episode. It was all Madame Vastra, Jenny, and Strax investigating.
I've really been struggling to enjoy Doctor Who since Clara arrived, and I wasn't sure if I was just getting burned out, or if I didn't like Clara, or the general writing style, or what. "The Crimson Horror" made me think it's probably a combination of Clara, the way The Doctor's being written right now, and the interactions between Clara and The Doctor.
It's not just me, either. I've started seeing articles/recaps talking about the problems with the current run of Doctor Who episodes. For instance, this recap of "The Crimson Horror" begins: "It says a lot of things, none of them good, when, after a good twenty minutes of episode without the Doctor, I get vaguely disappointed that he’s finally shown up and now the episode is going to revolve around him."
This article flat out asks "What is wrong with Doctor Who"? I disagree with their criticism of Sherlock, but I think they make some very good points about how the balance between Doctor and companion has shifted in the Steven Moffat era.
Recently BBC-America aired one of their Doctor Who specials, and they had people talking about what they liked about the various companions. Rose, Martha, and Donna (all from the Russell T Davies era), were described by what they did and said. Amy (first in the Moffat era) was glorified for her looks alone. Now, her hair is VERY pretty, but shouldn't she be more than that? Amy eventually grew on me, but mostly because I enjoyed the Rory-and-Amy dynamic. Clara is just .... blah. She doesn't seem to have much personality at all, and I don't feel like I know her. In "Rose", "Smith & Jones", and "The Runaway Bride" -- the first episodes for Rose, Martha, and Donna -- I felt like I already understood who they were. But Clara's been around for six episodes (or eight, if you count the other versions of her that were in "Asylum of the Daleks" and "The Snowmen") and I still have no idea who she is. She's good with kids... I guess? She's a little feisty.... sort of?
This Tumblr post is scathing of Steven Moffat, and I don't agree with it all, but there's still plenty I think they got right.
River Song is a Moffat creation, and I didn't like her, then I loved her, and then her story pretty much stunk to high heaven. Actually, her death (when she first appeared) stunk to high heaven, too. But between her initial appearance in season four and the end of season six, she was WONDERFUL. And then she wasn't.
Bah. I want my awesome Doctor Who back!
I've really been struggling to enjoy Doctor Who since Clara arrived, and I wasn't sure if I was just getting burned out, or if I didn't like Clara, or the general writing style, or what. "The Crimson Horror" made me think it's probably a combination of Clara, the way The Doctor's being written right now, and the interactions between Clara and The Doctor.
It's not just me, either. I've started seeing articles/recaps talking about the problems with the current run of Doctor Who episodes. For instance, this recap of "The Crimson Horror" begins: "It says a lot of things, none of them good, when, after a good twenty minutes of episode without the Doctor, I get vaguely disappointed that he’s finally shown up and now the episode is going to revolve around him."
This article flat out asks "What is wrong with Doctor Who"? I disagree with their criticism of Sherlock, but I think they make some very good points about how the balance between Doctor and companion has shifted in the Steven Moffat era.
Recently BBC-America aired one of their Doctor Who specials, and they had people talking about what they liked about the various companions. Rose, Martha, and Donna (all from the Russell T Davies era), were described by what they did and said. Amy (first in the Moffat era) was glorified for her looks alone. Now, her hair is VERY pretty, but shouldn't she be more than that? Amy eventually grew on me, but mostly because I enjoyed the Rory-and-Amy dynamic. Clara is just .... blah. She doesn't seem to have much personality at all, and I don't feel like I know her. In "Rose", "Smith & Jones", and "The Runaway Bride" -- the first episodes for Rose, Martha, and Donna -- I felt like I already understood who they were. But Clara's been around for six episodes (or eight, if you count the other versions of her that were in "Asylum of the Daleks" and "The Snowmen") and I still have no idea who she is. She's good with kids... I guess? She's a little feisty.... sort of?
This Tumblr post is scathing of Steven Moffat, and I don't agree with it all, but there's still plenty I think they got right.
River Song is a Moffat creation, and I didn't like her, then I loved her, and then her story pretty much stunk to high heaven. Actually, her death (when she first appeared) stunk to high heaven, too. But between her initial appearance in season four and the end of season six, she was WONDERFUL. And then she wasn't.
Bah. I want my awesome Doctor Who back!
Labels: Doctor Who
# posted by mamurd @ 8:58 PM 
