Doctor Who (Doo wee wooo)

[The Skarzs]

Four.

[Jetthebinturong]

I finally finished watching through the Pertwee years. He went out with a bang didn't he? Almost literally.

You know, after The Silurians, I don't think there was a single bad Pertwee story. Death to the Daleks was a bit iffy, but overall solid. I expected Invasion of the Dinosaurs and Planet of the Spiders to suffer because of the production quality, but the stories more than made up for it, bar some very poor acting from the villagers in Planet of the Spiders.

Now, a top ten, because I'm obsessed with ranking things:
10. Frontier in Space
9. The Mutants
8. The Green Death
7. Planet of the Daleks
6. The Sea Devils
5. The Ambassadors of Death
4. The Three Doctors
3. Inferno
2. The Time Warrior
1. The Curse of Peladon

The Liz and Jo episodes I watched ages ago, so these are my raw thoughts having only watched them once each. The Sarah Jane episodes are fresher in my mind.

Can't wait to dive into the Tom Baker years. I didn't really like Tom in Pyramids of Mars, but I've seen bits and pieces of other episodes that I liked, and I've heard that he had issues with the staff when filming that particular story, so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

EDIT: Robot was a wonderful introduction to Tom's Doctor. He's so full of life and energy! I suppose Pyramids really was just a departure from the norm. And to think he was only a caretaker at the BBC before he got the role. It's amazing.

[Jetthebinturong]

So I've finished Tom's first season and wow what a fantastic start for his Doctor. So I've decided I'll be doing mini reviews for each season of Doctor Who. I'll start with Season 12, and go all the way up to Season 26, then the TV movie. After that I'll probably rewatch Jon Pertwee's seasons (Thats Season 7 to Season 11), and after that the modern series. Not sure what I'll do about Hartnell and Troughton. I might just review individual stories if the season isn't completely recovered.

Without further ado, here is the review of Season 12.

Robot: An absolutely fantastic introduction to Tom's Doctor. He commands the role instantly, even in some of the more stupid scenes. The story itself is strong, with some great twists and great characters. Some of the acting is a little spotty and the conclusion to the story is fairly weak, but overall a strong start for the season.

The Ark in Space: A fairly interesting story which is unfortunately hampered by the production values and some rather strange bits of acting. A rather mixed bag. The main cast, that is to say, Tom, Ian and Lis, continue to give some absolutely stellar performances, and I much enjoyed getting to see the famous ventilation shaft scene (although it's actually just a conduit, not a ventilation shaft). It was also intriguing getting to see the similarities between the hypnotised Sarah and how Lis later acted when she was possessed by Androvax in The Sarah Jane Adventures. It really drove home that this was the same actor playing the same part, and I think that's wonderful.

The Sontaran Experiment: A perfect little story that really seems to be a prototype for the modern two-parter. A strong story with some good performances from the cast, and of course the main cast are as good as usual.

Genesis of the Daleks: What an episode! Just fantastic. Michael Wisher and Tom Baker give the stand out performances as the Doctor and Davros of course, but the rest of the cast also deliver fantastic performances, especially Nyder and Garman. The production values for this episode were also fantastic, and the daleks seemed to run smoothly for the first time ever. The sets were fantastic too. If I had one complaint, it would be the performances of Raven and the thal woman. Some of the scenes outside the domes also dragged on for a little too long for my liking as well. But this is definitely one of my favourite classic stories I've seen so far.

Revenge of the Cybermen: A very interesting case. On the one hand the story and production values were absolutely amazing, with fantastic sets and costumes. Unfortunately this episode is hampered by some rather diabolical acting, especially in the first two episodes, and some terrible lines. Even the main cast give a few dud performances in this story. There's also some obvious reuse of footage that aggravated me slightly. I'd love to read a novelisation of this story, just to see what it would be like if I could ignore the moments of terrible acting that plagued this otherwise fantastic script.

Overall, Season 12 was great. It was an incredibly strong start for both Tom's Doctor, as well as Harry Sullivan. The stories were mostly well-written and compelling, and the acting of the supporting cast was, for the most part, strong.

If I were to rank the stories, it would be:
5. The Ark in Space
4. Revenge of the Cybermen
3. The Sontaran Experiment
2. Robot
1. Genesis of the Daleks (was there ever any doubt?)

I look forward to diving into Season 13 with Terror of the Zygons.

[The Skarzs]

Interesting.


Not to disrespect the originals, but would anyone like to see some of the old stories redone?

[Jetthebinturong]

Not really. I'd only really want to see the special effects remastered, the acting and stories were generally superb, and the designs for the costumes were great.

[Jetthebinturong]

I've finished my review of Season 13: https://verdes-random-reviews.tumblr.com/post/170236186921/doctor-who-review-season-13-1975-1976

[Jetthebinturong]

And here's my season 14 review: https://verdes-random-reviews.tumblr.com/post/170542789376/doctor-who-review-season-14-1976-1977

[Jetthebinturong]

And season 15: https://verdes-random-reviews.tumblr.com/post/170925922486/doctor-who-review-season-15-1977-1978

This review is the most angry so far.

[The Skarzs]

Hey, Jet, I haven't really seen much of the classic Doctor Who. Is Peter Capaldi's character at all similar to any of the previous Doctors? And if not, what do you think has made him so different?

It may just be the actor, trying his best but still coming across as an angry cynical Scotsman, or it may be the Doctor reacting to his previous lives in a different way.

[Jetthebinturong]

I think Capaldi really embodies the character of the Doctor. He was my favourite before I'd watched the classics, but now that I've seen some, I have a new appreciation for the layers in his performance. Capaldi certainly hearkens back to Tom Baker in particular in that he's unpredictable and ruthless when he needs to be. He's like the perfect blend of the classic and modern series. One of his quotes really sums it up. "Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones, but you still have to choose." The Doctor does what needs to be done because no one else will. It also needs to be understood that Capaldi has basically just relived the Time War and been forced to confront his actions during that period, hence his hatred of soldiers - because he was a soldier and did terrible things.

Something about Capaldi's portrayal of the Doctor is that he has a proper character arc in a way that Tennant and Smith, and perhaps even Eccleston, didn't, so I have the benefit of hindsight in that I can see how brilliantly his arc was done. Capaldi at the start of series 8 is not the same man at the end of series 8, and that man is not the same man at the end of series 10.

It helps that Capaldi is the most pedigreed actor to ever play the role, and can convey an amazing amount of emotion without saying a word. It's been said by someone, I can't remember who, that you can always tell what his Doctor is thinking just by his expressions. It might have been Moffat. And I definitely agree. Capaldi has several less than stellar episodes, but he's always the best thing in them. He steals every scene he's in.

Also I like the angry Scotsman bit anyway.

I loved Capaldi immediately, but there are some people who took a while to warm up to him. But nearly everyone is swayed to his side by Series 8, episode 8. It really encompasses what Moffat was trying to do with Capaldi's Doctor.

[The Skarzs]

Very good points. He definitely does portray his emotions well, despite his eyebrows.

There was that one (The Time of the Doctor?) where Tennant and Smith were described as the "man who regrets and the man who forgets" I think. In a way it's more of the Doctor acting like he is someone else to try to hide from himself.

Your post was very thought-stimulating. Thanks!

[Delthion]

You mean he portrays his emotions well BECAUSE of his eyebrows.

Defense Exhibit A:

The Most Majestic of Eyebrows

[close]

[HeadInAnotherGalaxy]

Tvaz Ze Day O' Ze Doctor vhere zey vere dezcribed az zat. After 'avin' zeen Zeriez 10 und zen finally Tvoice Upon A Toime, Ah really loike 'iz Doctor majorly. It alzae 'epz zat 'e vaz ze firzt bezoidez John Hurt'z tae nae 'ave characterz (Particularly ze companionz) favin' in love viz 'im. Very Major epizodez vere Lizten, Oxygen, Zleep No More, und Death In Heaven, along viz pretty muc ze rezt o' zem. Ah loiked Zeriez 8 a lot, Zeriez 9 viznae 'az good tae me az Zeriez 8 und Zeriez 10, but Ah dae agree zat tiz neccezzary fer ze entire ztory fer zat. Zeriez 10 iz by far my favourite o' ze nev zeriezez. (Ezpecially becauze o' Nardole'z character, und alzae becauze ze entire zin' viznae juzt zeveral tva-part ztoriez. Tvoice Upon A Toime vaz a good, major Doctor Vho zpecial tae bring ze ztory tae ze next vone. Ah viz zuggezt vatched William Hartnell'z ztory Ze Tenth Planet (Ze lazt o' 'iz ztoriez) afore vatchin' it zough zae ye can better underztand av o' it. Ah cannae vait fer Zeriez 11!

[Jetthebinturong]

Reviews for Season 16 (The Key to Time) and 17:
https://verdes-random-reviews.tumblr.com/post/172016727416/doctor-who-review-season-16-the-key-to-time
https://verdes-random-reviews.tumblr.com/post/172807365016/doctor-who-review-season-17-1979-1980

Just to reiterate, there's no spoilers or NSFW stuff in any of my reviews.

[The Skarzs]

You mean he portrays his emotions well BECAUSE of his eyebrows.

Might be a reason why I have trouble with that.

Hey. @Jetthebinturong
Season 9 of the new series now.
This is what happens when I'm ill.