Things I've Been Watching
belantana asking me about Classic Who reminded me that I'd given up reporting on my rewatching in order (that I started about four years ago now - so long that I'm just pining for One, Ian and Barbara by now.)
This was because I kept watching bits of serials and only finishing them months later in a very unorganised way, so here goes, nevertheless:
(Naturally, there will be 1978 spoilers).
Firstly, despite my sorrow at saying farewell to Leela, how can I not appreciate Romana I? (Though I missed Leela so much I did contemplate imagining an AU when she was in S16. It's as well I had so long a break that I forgot).
The Ribos Operation
This is one of those stories that nobody ever mentions much, and yet it's really good. I love the fantasy-but-not-fantasy setting, and the background world-building that goes on, both with the empire, Garron and Unstaffe's schemes as well as Ribos itself. There's a very bad monster, but this is par for the course. And Mary Tamm is about the only person who could follow Leela, her entrance being very entertaining, making an immediate impact in stunning white. (I think it has to be said that Romana I is the high point in DW glamour). Her way (through this and the other serials) of remaining both smug, very knowledgeable, capable of dealing with the Doctor, and yet also with a certain innocence and vulnerability that makes her still very likeable is great. And it doesn't take her long to join forces with K9 in making fun of the Doctor - an essential quality.
The Pirate Planet
How can I say this? There's so much good in this; it's a fantastic ep for Romana pwning the world, great concept, one-liners and the "What's it for?" scene is rightly one of the greatest. And I enjoy it. (You can sense the but coming, can't you?) For some reason, despite all this, I'm watching with a slight sigh and counting down of episodes... How soon till The Stones of Blood, people? I've tried to put my finger on why, because it is very good, huge fun and clever and I do like it, don't get me wrong. I think a big part of the reason I have a 'but' to my love for it is:
a) I have a feeling that other perfectly competent episodes I've found nevertheless dull also turned out to be directed by Pennant Roberts (although I'd have to check that - I may be maligning him unfairly). The initial scene with the new prosperity being declared has a 'crowd' of about five being entirely unenthusiastic. I'm not sure whether this is intentional, but it doesn't come across well. I'm often v. amused by similar things, but this one is irritating.
b) Dare I criticise the almighty Tom? He seems under-involved until things start getting serious towards the end. This may be plot-related, with Romana going from strength to strength, but... I don't know. I remain undecided. He's stunning once everything does come together though. The last ep speeds by, suddenly. (As I said, don't get me wrong - I like this story!)
c) The actor playing Mr Fibuli is not taking any of this seriously, either, and it's annoying. Everyone else is, and it's noticeable. I may be alone here, because people praise the Captain/Mr Fibuli double-act, but sorry. He is playing along and, while he could be part of this double game of the Captain's, that's not how it comes across to me.
d) Generic rebels. Although David Warwick really does do his best to make Kimus interesting and likeable. (Leela would so have run off with him, never mind the girlfriend. Sorry, did I think that aloud? :lol:)
The Stones of Blood
And then, where this one has obvious, gaping flaws, I just love it. Obviously, I have no taste whatsoever. I even love the hyperspace trial. I saw an objection somewhere to this because it's silly for the Doctor to have a wig in his pocket. (Er, really? :lol:)
As for why:
a) Professor Emilia Rumford
Isn't she wonderful? If I hated everything else in this, I'd still love it for her. Her interactions with the regulars are great - and given how small the guest cast is this time round, that's just as well. She should have been a companion, if that hadn't been impossible. She should definitely turn up in fanfic all the time.
b) The bizarreness of suddenly having Classic Who go fem-slash on you. Even if like me, that's not your sort of thing, this one is... well... I always get very entertained when old-fashioned Who does things you think would never have happened in Classic DW. Although, maybe if you read it that way, you'd have to throw 'sexist' accusations at David Fisher, but please don't let's spoil anything.
c) Random nasty camping death! Completely random and throwaway and scary.
d) There are big scary rocks! It gets away with polystyrene rocks that kill you. That is an achievement.
e) K9 is a hero! He goes through several battery recharges in this, and a complete dodgy rewiring, bless him.
f) All right, so Romana nearly falls off a cliff, but she makes up for it with everything else, even with her unsuitable shoes that become a recurring joke.
g) So shoot me, I like the hyperspace prison with old baddies languishing about; the by-now-typical gothic DW being turned on its head and the Doctor getting put on trial by sparkly lights. I shouldn't, but maybe I always wanted to get lost in a theoretical absurdity, too.
The Androids of Tara
I'm only halfway through this, but I have seen it far more times than any of the above (and how mad is stopping a rewatch halfway through this? I must sort myself out at once) so I can still comment.
My love for the previous ep is a bit inexplicable, but this one is marvellous. DW does the Prisoner of Zenda & the plagiarism homage is completely shameless. (With a random, really bad monster: see above). The Doctor goes fishing, Romana meets her double, and there's sword-fighting and... Count Grendel. (All together now: "Next time I shall not be so lenient!") There's a joy to it; most of it is shot on location in the sunshine. I don't think I've anything new to say about it. It's not serious in the least, but it's great fun. And I may have watched it too many times because of this.
(The only thing that could make this better was if someone wrote a short story sequel in iambic pentameter featuring Seven, Benny, and the Kandyman - oh, wait, someone did.)
The below are as spoiler-free as I can manage, though:
The Company of Friends
I also listened to this Big Finish audio. I'd love to see them do more like this - I really enjoyed the short stories; very easy for listening to. It's good to see Benny with the Doctor; I really hope they let Fitz out to play again, now they've found a voice for him - that was an amusing short story; Izzy - now, I liked this story, and I followed Izzy in the comic strip, but at times she sounded so young in this, I thought there was supposed to be some strange alien effect going on. But I wouldn't mind seeing more of her. Mary Shelley - yes, definitely more please! It was a strange story, but the pairing really worked.
The Shadow of the Scourge
And I finally finished this one, too. Having read my way through an awful lot of the NAs, I was keen to hear the team in action. When I started, it took me a while to get used to, because Lisa Bowerman was so not the Benny voice in my head. However, by the time I came back to it, I'd heard her in Company of Friends and come around, and just enjoyed it. It was both the NA team in action and also a loving send-up of the era. I still haven't quite got my head around what was going on with the cross-stitchers (although I can see Seven claiming to be one), but I enjoyed the rest. And the relationship between Benny and Seven was spot on at the end. I was aww-ing under my breath for her not leaving him and her dealing with him in such a characteristic way. It was an odd one in many ways, but getting at the cliches of the NAs and letting Benny shine without taking away from Seven and Ace's scary closeness. Sometimes, I have to wonder if Benny wasn't the best friend he (n)ever had.
(Did I say my reviews are boring as I mostly like things? It's true.
This was because I kept watching bits of serials and only finishing them months later in a very unorganised way, so here goes, nevertheless:
(Naturally, there will be 1978 spoilers).
Firstly, despite my sorrow at saying farewell to Leela, how can I not appreciate Romana I? (Though I missed Leela so much I did contemplate imagining an AU when she was in S16. It's as well I had so long a break that I forgot).
The Ribos Operation
This is one of those stories that nobody ever mentions much, and yet it's really good. I love the fantasy-but-not-fantasy setting, and the background world-building that goes on, both with the empire, Garron and Unstaffe's schemes as well as Ribos itself. There's a very bad monster, but this is par for the course. And Mary Tamm is about the only person who could follow Leela, her entrance being very entertaining, making an immediate impact in stunning white. (I think it has to be said that Romana I is the high point in DW glamour). Her way (through this and the other serials) of remaining both smug, very knowledgeable, capable of dealing with the Doctor, and yet also with a certain innocence and vulnerability that makes her still very likeable is great. And it doesn't take her long to join forces with K9 in making fun of the Doctor - an essential quality.
The Pirate Planet
How can I say this? There's so much good in this; it's a fantastic ep for Romana pwning the world, great concept, one-liners and the "What's it for?" scene is rightly one of the greatest. And I enjoy it. (You can sense the but coming, can't you?) For some reason, despite all this, I'm watching with a slight sigh and counting down of episodes... How soon till The Stones of Blood, people? I've tried to put my finger on why, because it is very good, huge fun and clever and I do like it, don't get me wrong. I think a big part of the reason I have a 'but' to my love for it is:
a) I have a feeling that other perfectly competent episodes I've found nevertheless dull also turned out to be directed by Pennant Roberts (although I'd have to check that - I may be maligning him unfairly). The initial scene with the new prosperity being declared has a 'crowd' of about five being entirely unenthusiastic. I'm not sure whether this is intentional, but it doesn't come across well. I'm often v. amused by similar things, but this one is irritating.
b) Dare I criticise the almighty Tom? He seems under-involved until things start getting serious towards the end. This may be plot-related, with Romana going from strength to strength, but... I don't know. I remain undecided. He's stunning once everything does come together though. The last ep speeds by, suddenly. (As I said, don't get me wrong - I like this story!)
c) The actor playing Mr Fibuli is not taking any of this seriously, either, and it's annoying. Everyone else is, and it's noticeable. I may be alone here, because people praise the Captain/Mr Fibuli double-act, but sorry. He is playing along and, while he could be part of this double game of the Captain's, that's not how it comes across to me.
d) Generic rebels. Although David Warwick really does do his best to make Kimus interesting and likeable. (Leela would so have run off with him, never mind the girlfriend. Sorry, did I think that aloud? :lol:)
The Stones of Blood
And then, where this one has obvious, gaping flaws, I just love it. Obviously, I have no taste whatsoever. I even love the hyperspace trial. I saw an objection somewhere to this because it's silly for the Doctor to have a wig in his pocket. (Er, really? :lol:)
As for why:
a) Professor Emilia Rumford
Isn't she wonderful? If I hated everything else in this, I'd still love it for her. Her interactions with the regulars are great - and given how small the guest cast is this time round, that's just as well. She should have been a companion, if that hadn't been impossible. She should definitely turn up in fanfic all the time.
b) The bizarreness of suddenly having Classic Who go fem-slash on you. Even if like me, that's not your sort of thing, this one is... well... I always get very entertained when old-fashioned Who does things you think would never have happened in Classic DW. Although, maybe if you read it that way, you'd have to throw 'sexist' accusations at David Fisher, but please don't let's spoil anything.
c) Random nasty camping death! Completely random and throwaway and scary.
d) There are big scary rocks! It gets away with polystyrene rocks that kill you. That is an achievement.
e) K9 is a hero! He goes through several battery recharges in this, and a complete dodgy rewiring, bless him.
f) All right, so Romana nearly falls off a cliff, but she makes up for it with everything else, even with her unsuitable shoes that become a recurring joke.
g) So shoot me, I like the hyperspace prison with old baddies languishing about; the by-now-typical gothic DW being turned on its head and the Doctor getting put on trial by sparkly lights. I shouldn't, but maybe I always wanted to get lost in a theoretical absurdity, too.
The Androids of Tara
I'm only halfway through this, but I have seen it far more times than any of the above (and how mad is stopping a rewatch halfway through this? I must sort myself out at once) so I can still comment.
My love for the previous ep is a bit inexplicable, but this one is marvellous. DW does the Prisoner of Zenda & the plagiarism homage is completely shameless. (With a random, really bad monster: see above). The Doctor goes fishing, Romana meets her double, and there's sword-fighting and... Count Grendel. (All together now: "Next time I shall not be so lenient!") There's a joy to it; most of it is shot on location in the sunshine. I don't think I've anything new to say about it. It's not serious in the least, but it's great fun. And I may have watched it too many times because of this.
(The only thing that could make this better was if someone wrote a short story sequel in iambic pentameter featuring Seven, Benny, and the Kandyman - oh, wait, someone did.)
The below are as spoiler-free as I can manage, though:
The Company of Friends
I also listened to this Big Finish audio. I'd love to see them do more like this - I really enjoyed the short stories; very easy for listening to. It's good to see Benny with the Doctor; I really hope they let Fitz out to play again, now they've found a voice for him - that was an amusing short story; Izzy - now, I liked this story, and I followed Izzy in the comic strip, but at times she sounded so young in this, I thought there was supposed to be some strange alien effect going on. But I wouldn't mind seeing more of her. Mary Shelley - yes, definitely more please! It was a strange story, but the pairing really worked.
The Shadow of the Scourge
And I finally finished this one, too. Having read my way through an awful lot of the NAs, I was keen to hear the team in action. When I started, it took me a while to get used to, because Lisa Bowerman was so not the Benny voice in my head. However, by the time I came back to it, I'd heard her in Company of Friends and come around, and just enjoyed it. It was both the NA team in action and also a loving send-up of the era. I still haven't quite got my head around what was going on with the cross-stitchers (although I can see Seven claiming to be one), but I enjoyed the rest. And the relationship between Benny and Seven was spot on at the end. I was aww-ing under my breath for her not leaving him and her dealing with him in such a characteristic way. It was an odd one in many ways, but getting at the cliches of the NAs and letting Benny shine without taking away from Seven and Ace's scary closeness. Sometimes, I have to wonder if Benny wasn't the best friend he (n)ever had.
(Did I say my reviews are boring as I mostly like things? It's true.