04 April 2010

Doctor Who: "The Eleventh Hour" (no spoilers)

Watching these new series of Who makes me wonder how different the old ones would have been if they'd had the same budget. There were many quite serious episodes in classic Who, but you'll not ever achieve quite the same gravitas with cardboard sets and bad makeup.

A good series opener, with both new Doctor and new companion giving a strong showing. Fortunately it doesn't look like the Doctor is going to be mopeylonelygod Doctor this season. Clear setup of the overarching arc with the 'cracks in the Universe', and outright statement of Moffat's vision of the Doctor as 'more fairytale'.

Male companions/repeat characters seem to be becoming a real issue in the new series, though. There seems to be a requirement that they're ineffectual and almost hen-pecked. Only Captain Jack's brief episodes stand out as an exception. Few writers seem to understand that you can have strong women without removing the strong men. [The Doctor is the major exception, of course, but his mopeyness undercuts his strength, and the tendency of the female companions to fall for him in turn undercuts them.]

I miss Donna. But looks like the new season will be fun.

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