I enjoyed it for the most part, although in an "entertaining fluff" sort of
way.
Post by CovenantPost by David A McInteebut not a true classic, and I wonder how many people
will desert it after the sound-screwup.
Not on my TV it didn't !
Nor mine.
Post by CovenantPost by David A McInteeIt felt pretty much like Dr Who about 90% of the time (and like a weekday
childrens' show the other 10%)
Interesting how "Dr Who" and "weekday children's show" are two separate
things, in your mind. I always took Dr Who to be a children's show that
adults might not be completely put off by, than anything else.
Post by CovenantPost by David A McInteewhich is more than the TVM managed!
Yeah, espec. the bits with the boyfriend...
He was acting like he was in a bloody pantomime !!
Well this *is* Doctor Who. It's never going to get any acting awards. I
didn't mind him really; sure, he was hamming it up a bit, but it didn't
seem out of line with a lot of the rest of it. The mother's acting (or
scripting, maybe) was just as bad, and the whole thing scene with the
"attack arm" was just silly. But in an enjoyable way. Nice to have some
self-deprecating humour, I think.
He was really good. Seemed to click as The Doctor straight away.
Post by CovenantPost by David A McInteeNeither impressed nor
unimpressed by Billie.
Ditto. Well she's OK to look at, I guess, which is chief reason for her to
be there, after all.
Post by CovenantPost by David A McInteeIt was a bit of a thin romp - not much actual story - but a good way to
What I'm concerned about is, is this whole series gonna be *one off*
episodes?
Well... here's my problem. *I* understood what was going on because I'd
seen "Spearhead from Space" (the first Dr Who I ever saw, as it happens)
and to a lesser extent "Terror of the Autons", so I knew what an auton was,
and what the Nestene Conscienceness was all about. But I challenge anyone
who *didn't* know the back story to make head or tail of what was going on.
I guess they had to do character intros as well as having a "Dr Who" story,
but I guess this is why quite often the pilot for a TV show is double
length. This story should definitely have been told across twice as much
time. And especially as Dr Who has a precedent of having stories that take
100-odd minutes to tell, it wouldn't have been unacceptable to continue
this trend, at least for the pilot.
Post by CovenantI think Who was always at it's best over mutli parts... What better than a
screen full of Daleks coming straight for the screen, metallicaly screaming
"Exterminate!" and then the theme tune HAMMERS in !
I also think one of the strengths of Dr Who was the cliff-hanger endings.
But I guess TV has moved on since then (and attention-spans reduced).
Post by CovenantPost by David A McInteeAnd thank God it didn't have that bloody shaky-cam direction that seems to
infect everything these days.
GOD, yes!
Well everything in moderation. I thought when NYPD Blue started doing it
(this was the first show I noticed it in) I found it rather jarring, but
they settled down slightly and thenceforth the camera work became more an
extension of when the characters are doing, rather than just a means to
record it.
The opposite can also be a problem, as demonstrated in the side-on static
scene composition for the wheelie bin FX shots, which was jarringly poor.
And obviously due to limitations of the FX (~ budget). I know they're
trying to demonstrate that they're not doing all the FX with cardboard egg
cartons these days, but at least when they *did* used to rely on that sort
of thing, it was congruous with the rest of the rest of the camera work
(mostly). In last night's ep, that wheelie bin scene stuck out like a sore
thumb, pretty much announcing "look! special effects!!". Missing the point
that improved special effects are supposed to stand out *less*, not *more*.
Post by CovenantHmm.... I think it's okay.
I had got the impression from press I had read that it was only going to be
a passing nod to the original tune. Seemed pretty much the same to me,
just arranged differently. It was fine. If anything, though, I though the
visuals looked *more primitive* than the latter "original series" ones.
Post by CovenantPost by David A McInteePost by CovenantOnly low points in it involved characters which I hope we'll never see
again. (*Rose's* mum and boyfriend.)
I *liked* the way they did the auton version of the BF. Except the
unnecessary Max Headroom stutter, which I thought was unnecessary. *We get
the idea, already*.
I don't have a TV, so I made a special trip to a mate's house to watch it
last night. It was not sufficiently good to make me make a habit of doing
this (and it's not just around the corner, it was W2 to SE15 - a bit of a
cross town hike). In fact it wasn't sufficiently good to make me
habitually watch it on a *Saturday* night in favour of doing something
else, even if I *did* have a TV. I would watch it if it happened to be on
when I was in front of a TV screen, but that's about it.
However I will follow the press it gets, and will keep an open mind as to
whether to acquire it on DVD when/if it avails itself.
--
Adam