Not seen it yet, but wondering about other people's opinions

[andrewducker]

[Poll #1166394]

Comments

[laserboy.livejournal.com]

Stupid kiddie plot, annoying music and wretched moments.. but Donna was fine and quite cute as the new companion. Shades of Sarah Jane.

[zz]

best alien threat ever :>

[johanna-alice.livejournal.com]

I actually groaned when I saw Russell T. had written it. Baby blobbies we downright weird, but not totally unretrievable. Sadly though the plot didn't go there...

That said I like Donna as the companion far more than Rose or Martha, and not just because her hair style is similar to mine :) She's a lot more believable. But why-o-why does there always have to be a mother. It's just the same old plot line over again. But Donna's Grandad turning up from the Christmas Special was quite cool as a recurring character.

As for the bit just before the end (Without spoilering it): no, No, NO, NO!

Any luck and it will get better when the sensible script-writers get a look in.

[broin.livejournal.com]

It was genuinely difficult watching that.

But hey! What's that, one episode in three seasons I'd show to a non-fan? Oy.

[andrewducker]

I'd make it three or four. But not more than that.

[broin.livejournal.com]

Those other three? I'll bet I could guess them. I tried. When you sit down to watch them with non-fans, they're pantomime.

[andrewducker]

Of course they're pantomime. Dr Who is kids TV. RTD has made it very clear that he's aiming the show squarely at the 9-11 year olds. There's enough stuff in there that older people can enjoy it, so long as they remember they're watching a kids TV show, but if you're comparing it to adults TV then it's not going to compare well at all.

[broin.livejournal.com]

I should have been clearer - crap pantomime. I've seen good pantomime. And I watch a lot of kids tv. I've watched Who with kids, and I think it talks down to them. I think it's patronising, shallow and with questionable lessons.

There's a couple of nice bits about 'look up' and 'science is fun' but they're few and far between.

It's a shame, given the slot and the soapbox.

[andrewducker]

Aaah. So far as I can tell the kids love it. Certainly the kids I've talked to about it (only a few) love it to bits.

But then the kids loved Jar-Jar, so what do _they_ know?

[broin.livejournal.com]

Ach, there's adults running and shouting, and bangs here and there. But it's awffy shallow. It's a cartoon - ahem - a bad cartoon. No education, just explosions.

In all seriousness, what *themes* have you seen you'd want your kids to pick up on, for whatever set of values you have?

[andrewducker]

I'm fairly sure that I never watch TV for the values/themes, nor am I terribly interested in kids watching them for that reason. I can't think of anything, bar The West Wing, where I really cared about the values of the show that much. Hmmm, maybe with 24, where I feel that the values are the so far out of whack with what I care about.

I've seen a fair bit of old Who, and that didn't have educational value either. I ended up watching some old Tom Baker stuff that I had fond memories of, and lots of it is even worse than present day Who.

[broin.livejournal.com]

I'm not using 30 year old bad tv as a benchmark for what tv can do now. Why are you? :)

I didn't ask if you watched tv *for the themes*, I asked if you'd seen tv *with themes in it*. You don't sit down to watch Scrubs for the moral at the end - you watch it for the lulz. Then they sneak in a theme while you're not paying attention, and the moral's often an interesting one. Sometimes pat, sometimes lame, but sometimes interesting. Ditto Buffy, Six Feet Under, some Trek.

For example, a friend's son recently was offered Evangelion to watch. Lapped it up. He had plenty of isues with the storytelling and the effectiveness of it all. But inbetween the monsters and mecha, there's some extraordinaily interesting themes - childhood, sex, etc.

[andrewducker]

Aaaah. In which case the themes of sense of wonder, resisting evil, treating people well (especially if they're weaker than you), the importance of friends/family, and respect for other people in all their forms are all things I'd approve of.

But those are generally minor background things. I largely watch Dr Who for pure childish fun and the occasional scary bit.

[broin.livejournal.com]

Well! Wouldn't it be cool if at the end of an episode with scary aliens, they turned out to be misunderstood? That would really do it for me in an episode.

The Doc/Jack kiss was cool, but felt more like fanservice than addressing something important. Maybe that's a good thing - treat it casually and wait for society to catch up.

Great themes, btw.

[andrewducker]

Oh, absolutely. I don't feel that it tries hard enough, or grapples significantly enough. I largely view it as trivial fun.

The Doctor/Jack kiss was ok - and the bit in The Empty Child where The Doctor refers to most people in the future as omnisexual was quite nice.

There's a nice bit in Boom Town where The Doctor and Margaret Blaine have a discussion about morals and behaviour. And the Sarah Jane/Rose bits in School Reunion were nice (where he talks about leaving people behind). But they're all tiny bits that could largely have done with expanding - and there could have been a lot more of them.

[taromazzy.livejournal.com]

I like the new companion. I'm glad they've hightlighted the 'they'll just be friends' thing, I was thinkin if yet ANOTHER female companion fancies him..........aaargh!

[andrewducker]

Yup, absolutely.

I'm conflicted about Rose though...