Oct. 8th, 2018

danieldwilliam: (Default)
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.
danieldwilliam: (Default)

This weekend has mostly consisted of going to a wedding in  Glasgow, some slightly damp rugby and watching Doctor Who.

I have been fighting off a nasty cold. It was Year End Round One last week so little opportunity to take it easy. MLW has also been working over the weekend.

Saturday featured it being not our turn to take kids to football so I got up and made waffles for the boys and then had a nap whilst MLW went to the gym. We are a convenient rallying point for the P4 football ferry so we often have one or two of the Captain's class mates join us on Saturday morning.

More naps happened after lunch. The Captain had a mate round for the afternoon and then we headed off to  Glasgow for the evening reception of a wedding. I like weddings. It was nice to be part of this one. It was on a boat on the Clyde. There were rum cocktails and lots and lots of drama folk to chat to which was all good fun. MLW made a series of compounding errors when ordering a taxi through Uber so we ended up on the last train home from Glasgow. This was a bit rowdy but okay and I'm well experienced with trains from Newcastle (who can forget, or even remember, Dong, from Newcastle?)

The boat was quite good fun as a party venue although the accoustics were a bit compromised by the size and shape of the internal spaces.

On Sunday I got up with the Captain, a bit of breakfast, then back to bed for a nap. Then second breakfast. The Captain had a birthday party then off to rugby for a round robin with various Edinburgh teams. That went okay. These things never run to time unless you have someone whose job it is to make them run to time. The Captain played well. In fact most of his team played well. There are still a few kids who aren't comfortable with tackling and a few kids who are messing about at training. One of the visiting teams suffered a serious implosion when playing against the Captain's team.

The weather was damp.

MLW was off at the cottage so the Captain and I were on our own for the afternoon which featured a big bowl of pasta, watching Strictly Come Dancing, then Doctor Who and then Strictly Come Dancing.

I'm still a bit poorly and this week is Year End Round Two.

Profile

danieldwilliam: (Default)
danieldwilliam

May 2025

S M T W T F S
    123
45678910
11121314151617
18 192021222324
25262728293031

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 3rd, 2025 06:24 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios