tari_roo | Dr Who 5.1 to 5.5 and H-50 Gifs (Reply)

Dr Who:
Like most sci fi fans, I have been aware of Dr Who (through a general process of osmosis I suppose) for many years, but could never quite bring myself to watch the old series (Sheldon Cooper I am not). Old style sci fi with campy acting and hackneyed special effects just doesn't do it for me. I have not been able to watch the original Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica either, but that is a topic for another post (old style sci fi).

Back to Dr Who. When BBC relaunched the new series in 2005, my ears pricked up with potential interest, and I was prepared to give it a go. However, by the time it made its way onto local cable channels, my excitement had waned. I caught the odd episode and never really got into it. The 9th doctor and Rose just didn't - grab me.

David Tennant though... oh, he looked really interesting. Next to Josh Groban, he's my favourite host on Nevermind the Buzzcocks. Scottish (in RL) and darn cute on screen, I was keen to give him a shot. I saw the episode when he 'arrived' as the new Doctor, and rather enjoyed it. However as the rest of the season rolled on, I again lost interest. The same issues I have with a lot of British shows applied to Dr Who. A little too OTT, too twee, too much melodrama. So, I let Dr Who remain a sidebar in my sci fi fan mind. I knew enough to talk about it as needed, and still caught the odd episode.

However... as so often happens with me, I can't resist the lure of a good sci fi show :) And when Matt Smith became the 11th Dr, well.. I thought, maybe its time to give it another chance. Not because I knew who Matt Smith was, or Karen Gillan for that matter, BUT the odd clips from multi-fandom fan vids intrigued me, the general idea of the plots going on, and well... I thought, just do it. Giving shows another chance had paid off with Moonlight, and Numb3rs so ... I did. I watched 5.1 - Eleventh Hour on Saturday - and loved it!

I liked it so much, that I thought 'hey, lets go back and give David another chance!' (I haven't yet)

Perhaps it was because Amelia Pond and I were meeting the Doctor for the first time, and as a result I found him quite entertaining. The juxtaposition of an interdimensional being (nay, escaped prisoner) in a small english town with a scottish girl as the local kissing-gram, was delightful. I got swept up into the story, loved that the Doctor had been turned into Amy's imaginary friend, that he liked fish fingers and custard. And then the whole return of the once imaginary to actual weirdness and Amy gives him whatfore - this "Then why did you say 5 mins!" and a cricket bat to the head. And proceeds to leave her fiance for a mad, old, gentle, last of his kind Timelord in a flying telephone box. Who wouldn't?

So, I gave 5.2 a chance. And loved it!

Interesting premise and situation. Very V for vendetta-ish with an excellent twist! I saw the parallel between the space whale and the doctor coming a mile off, but it still worked. The mystery, the perpetual queen, the sacrifice of a old, gentle, last of his kind being.

So, I dashed onto 5.3 and ... loved it!

At first I was hesitant. I've always found the Daleks to be well... borderline ridiculous. How can any species, let alone a robotic one, function without arms (let alone hands). Ray guns and creepy voices make for scary villians (note the sarcasm) but come on, really? But, as far fetched as this one was, as wild and OTT, I still liked it. Perhaps because it was my alterna-history geek, or my love of arch nemesis vs arch rival. Or Amy saving the day again. Yes, the Daleks getting away was inevitable, and their 'new' improved forms still borderline ridiculous, but whatever... I liked it.
So, I happily clicked onto 5.4 ... 5.5 and (in an effort to avoid repetition): I don't mind low budget special effects. Farscape and I are good friends. So, the premise of your MOTW being a stone angel I can accept. I was however impressed that the production team actually managed to make the Angels menacing and creepy. Slow moving monsters aren't usually worth anything more than a laugh, but the tense atmosphere,the more being stalked than pursued made it all gel. I can however picture the scenes between takes when an army of techies rushed in to move the statues to their next position each time. Somehow I actually caught part of the episode with Dr Riversong in S4 before so I knew she knew the Doctor, and I like the mystery around her. It was the best horror movie I've seen in ages (and I hate horrors and watch Supernatural).

Matt Smith seems to be a very admirable Doctor. His energy and enthusiasm and quirkiness are delightful. And Amy doesn't annoy me! In fact I like her, esp that she's Scottish and practical and won't take crap. I think I'm sold. I've downloaded the rest of the season and season 6 and well, here's another show to get involved in :)

and now for some GIFs - all due to more delightful tumblr browsing: (ah, fans, how I love you)