(no subject)

[danieldwilliam]

Didn’t hate the Doctor Who season 7.2 final. Didn’t love it.

Thought the idea that the bit of a Timelord that is entombed is his or her space time stream was clever.

Clever enough for me to overlook some of the ropier bits.

I still think the whole thing is rushed and compensates for the rushing narrative with more soliloquy and sonic screwdriver waving then I’m happy with.

I was going to post a longer piece on it but I’m not sure I can be bothered. Does the world need another disgruntled former fan summoning up the courage to stop watching the programme?  Probably not. Probably not.

Comments

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

There’s definitely something to this. Doctor Who has changed and I’ve changed too and it may be that the two things have changed in ways that mean they don’t work as well together as they did. Which is fine, if a little sad.

I’m currently seeking out new SF to broaden my horizons. Kindle helps, impulse buying and cheaper prices help me get over my “How can I buy this book, it’s not Banks?” sticking point.

That said I think there are some definate structural problems with Doctor Who that detract from my enjoyment of it on its new revised terms. The rushed pace of the narrative and the constant littering of the narrative with post-it notes sayings “Look Here!!” and “Fan Reference 49.”

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Agreed on structural problems from my POV, but I can see them as advantages for people who a) value pace over coherence and/or b) enjoy the fan service.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

Yeah you could frame it as an advantage like that but, defective production no matter how pacey, is worse than no production. I guess I’m grumpy because it could be a better show (both objectively and in my opinion) were it done differently and it feels like it is being done in a slightly shonky way because that suits the writing and directing team rather than for a positive reason to do with the audience. But then 8.9m people can’t be wrong. (1) I have no evidence for my supposition that the structure of the show is designed for the writing team rather than the audience except intuition. I’m not getting the feeling that they’ve looked at the audience and gone – they want fast paced action with some sonic screwdriver action and Alex Kingston in a corset. I more get the impression that they don’t want to censor themselves, so everything goes in, not just the good stuff.

(1) 10.7 million people voted Conservative at the last election.