On Doctor Who for a New Generation

[danieldwilliam]

So the Captain and I watched Doctor Who on Sunday and it was okay.

If okay sounds like faint praise I would point to the seething rage I still feel about Moffat. Okay is a long way better than I had expected it would be.

I thougth Whitaker was okay. A few moments in her performance jangled for me a little. That's okay. The first episode or two of any new Doctor both the actor and the new character are finding their feet. The character is in a jangly state of mind and body. So if the performance isn't spot on (or entirely to my taste) then I'm okay with that being an artifact of the transition of actor and character. The important thing is how the performance and the character shape over the coming months and years. I continue to think that Whitaker it is a very good actor based on my limited experience of her work.

The story was okay. It had a begining, a middle and an end. Again, if this sounds like faint praise then Moffat. But also, and mostly, there is a lot to fit in to the opening episode. A new Doctor, this time round new Companions, perhaps some important set up for later (where is the TARDIS?). The actual story doesn't have to do much. Well done to Chibnall for realising this and not trying to do too much. Less, if not exactly more, is certainly ample in this situation.  The baddy was quite clearly a baddy (kidnapping people, holding them hostage and also *cheating* in their own election campaign. Why do the aliens kidnap humans as part of their leadership selection process? Doesn't really matter, but once you accept that they do, then the actions of the alien are coherent.

So, the first episode worked okay. What I think is more important is how it all shapes up over the next few months. Whether Whitaker is consistently good to very good in the role. Whether Chibnall consistently has internally coherent plots and finishes what he starts. Importantly for me, whether the cast and crew stick diligently to their work. It really, really pissed me off that Moffat couldn't deliver a season of Doctor Who every year. I don't really have the energy to hang around for 18 months waiting for the production team to trouble themselves to produce a second Whitaker season.

What went well, and which is much much more important than a few niggles about the way Whitaker waggles her head is the Captain enjoyed it. He watched the episode curled up on my lap. He put his hands over his eyes when the toothy villan revealed his face. He was excited about this being the first time he's watched a new Doctor and asked me what "my" Doctor was like. (Golden Age of Science Fiction being 12). He was engaged and interested and wanted to share the experience with me. That was nice.

So, so long at Whitaker and Chibnall are competent I can continue to watch and enjoy the programme with my son. Which is about all I had the energy to hope for.

Comments

[miss_s_b]

* hug *

[danieldwilliam]

Thanks.

I did really enjoy snuggling up with the Captain on the sofa. He was delighted. It was a nice counter-point to an afternoon of watching him intimidate other 8 year olds with his rugby tackling.

[miss_s_b]

This is the first episode of Who daughter has enjoyed since Amy Pond left, I think. She half-heartedly watched some early non-Amy-Smith, and then just refused to watch PCap at all.

[danieldwilliam]

Do you know why she didn't want to watch it?

[miss_s_b]

Her identification figure was Amy. SO she could kind of cope with Smith-without-Amy but wasn't as keen... But then when even Smith was gone, she just gave up. But new Doctor sounds like us! So it was worth giving it a go.