I Got A New Rose, I Got Her Good

[ggreig]

Episode 1 of the new season of Doctor Who - Rose - wasn't bad. As expected, it had pretty good effects and acting (certainly on the BBC scale of such things) and it looks like it has the potential to do well. On the whole, I enjoyed it.

I did feel that it was a bit short - maybe even a bit lightweight - at forty-five minutes, though it managed to cram a lot into the time it had. I wouldn't want to go back to the pace of the older series, which is unfortunately just too slow to compete as modern television, but I reckon the two-parters that make up some of the rest of the season have the potential to be more satisfying - and, of course, include a proper cliffhanger!

I was a bit surprised to note that Doctor Who Confidential wasn't plugged straight after the broadcast, so let me do so now. There are half hour programmes about the old series and the making of the new series being broadcast immediately after each new episode, over on BBC 3. Assuming you have access to BBC 3, it is probably worth switching over. They're being narrated by Simon Pegg, fanboy and star of Spaced and Shaun of the Dead, who also appears in a later episode of the series himself.

Watch out, too, for a new live performance of The Quatermass Experiment next weekend on BBC 4 shortly after Doctor Who Confidential ends. That should be very interesting to watch on a number of levels.

Comments

[sharikkamur.livejournal.com]

I am sooooo going to have to investigate BitTorrent. :(

[ggreig]

Looks like it's coming out on DVD in three episode chunks, starting in May and probably on a monthly release schedule (that bit's a guess based on the second one being due to appear in June). There's also talk of a boxed set later in the year (round about September, I think).

If you don't mind the certainty of spoilers - and you have decent bandwidth - you can watch Doctor Who Confidential in its entirety on the BBC web site and it looks like the other instalments will turn up as they're broadcast.

[scottymcleod.livejournal.com]

Caught up with the show this morning while keeping Andrew amused until Jan was catching up on her sleep. Jan seems vaguely negative while I enjoyed it and am looking forward to seeing more.

[myceliumme.livejournal.com]

Was your music choice inspired by the Episode title by any remote chance?

BTW, isn't the BBC pandering to my taste in allowing promoting download of the sound of the wheelie bin burping? Should this be allowed?

[ggreig]

Was your music choice inspired by the Episode title by any remote chance?

Maybe just a tad :-)

Should this be allowed?

"Disgraceful! It Ought Not To Be Allowed." Mr. Growser

[msinvisfem.livejournal.com]

I know this is a bit late but a combination of night-shifts and real life kind of zapped any energy I had to respond sooner. Anyway I really liked the first episode, which can be mainly attributed to the toned down acting and the special effects (which were definitely up to a standard I am used to, so a standard I expect, from a sci-fi series). I was so entertained in fact that I didn’t miss not having commercial breaks… (WTMI but I needed to use the bathroom seconds before the show started but decided not to go because I thought, ‘Surely there would be a commercial break five minutes into the show…’ Obviously I forgot that Dr Who was on BBC1 which doesn’t run commercials.)

I did feel that it was a bit short - maybe even a bit lightweight - at forty-five minutes, though it managed to cram a lot into the time it had.
As it was I thought they provided the viewer with an interesting story, so I am not sure what you were expecting.

I also now see what you meant about the first Doctor you see being the one that you like best (or at least that is the way it seems to be going in my case). I was fully expecting the show to be an incongruous combination of truly over-the-top acting and horrendous CGI (not only badly done but over used **urgh**). What I mean by incongruous is that usually cheesy acting is used to make up for a lack of special-effects while CGI use tends to have the opposite affect on acting, IME - so I was prepared for the absolute worst.

I am glad that you mentioned that Dr Who Confidential can be watched online or I might have tried inconveniencing you further… **ominous pause** :-) Anyway Spaced was great. It has a very wacky, pop-culture referential style which I personally find very funny. This could be because it is a style I identify as American which is therefore familiar to me and because many of the references weren’t UK-centric. FYI there were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments while watching Spaced, however, I definitely think the first series was much funnier than the second series.

[ggreig]

Glad you enjoyed Doctor Who. I did too, but it's always most interesting to pick at the bits you had some some doubts about :-)

I don't think they could have fitted more into the 45 minutes, and it was never less than entertaining. However, one of the trademarks of the older series was that at its best it had a degree of plot development which is probably impossible to fit into 45 minutes. Although Rose was enjoyable, it left questions unanswered - for example, how did the Nestene Consciousness manage to establish itself in a prime location by the Thames? Previously, it's needed human or alien help establishing itself before it can produce the Autons to serve it.

However, it's not a big niggle - it's just that I look forward to seeing what they do with stories of more than one episode. The season consists of a mix of one- and two-parters.

On the over-the-top acting front, I think his grin is a bit over-done, but otherwise I agree - it was good.

I'm glad you enjoyed Spaced too, and I think you're right about seasons one and two.