a fic rec and yet more Doctor Who babble

[rusty_halo]

Fic rec: A nifty Doctor and Donna adventure, Leap in the Dark by nonelvis. This is the kind of story that could easily be an episode. It uses time travel in an original way, plus has a really cool setting and great characterizations of the Doctor and Donna.

***

Happy Birthday, jaydk!

Tonight, we're going to see Patrick Stewart in "Macbeth." I am super excited. :)

We had another Doctor Who night on Saturday, in which we watched:

* The latest Torchwood. I like it slightly better when it just runs with the cracked out nonsense instead of attempting to be serious. That said... I'm still slightly horrified to see "I like" and "Torchwood" in the same paragraph. (Also, jaydk promised me it would be like Evil Dead. It was not like Evil Dead! I want blood spewing everywhere and possessed evil hands and Bruce Campbell hamming it up and Ted Raimi as a witch! Don't try to lure me in with Evil Dead references and then not deliver.)

* Old Doctor Who. We tried starting from the beginning, so we watched Barbara and Ian following Susan to the junk yard, and then a bunch of interminable caveman politics (how many arguments about fire can you have?!!) and then some really creaky Daleks, and the whole thing was permeated with this weird sexist 60s thing where Susan and Barbara were cowering while Ian yelled at the Doctor. And um, it was so boring we had to stop in the middle of the Dalek episodes, sorry. (Even though the old Daleks were really cute.)

I'm close to giving up on old Who entirely, although paratti recommended some Master episodes, so I'll try those first.

* Continuing our new Who rewatch: "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit." I really love these episodes; they almost feel like a full-length movie, the way the ensemble is so well-written. It totally feels like you're jumping into a group of people who already know each other and have their own relationships and conflicts.

I also love the Doctor in these episodes, that he sees the good side of having his beliefs challenged because it means he has more to learn. One of my favorite things about him is that he's so open to new knowledge and experience. I'm so sick of anti-intellectual heroes; the Doctor is a great contrast in that he's so unashamedly intellectually and philosophically curious.

It's cool that these episodes aren't just action; they really spend time on that interesting philosophical conversation between the Doctor and Ida. And it's amazing that the climax is just David Tennant yelling at a silly CGI beastie, but Tennant's performance is so good that you never get bored.

I keep hearing people say they want Ida back, but I vote for Zach. Especially after seeing the excellent chemistry between Shaun Parkes and David Tennant in Casanova. Plus, I think he's the best of the characters; in just two episodes he gets a whole character arc, where you see him growing from uncertain about his authority to confident as a captain.

Oh, and I love the Ood! I can't figure out which are cuter, Ood or Daleks. I just want to squee over them both.

***

I'm finally finishing my re-read of Dorothy Dunnett's Queens Play. (I know, it's been months. I've been reading in tiny increments on the subway). And it finally hit me that the scene at the end, where Lymond smashes his fist through the glass, is probably his first migraine. He starts to put his hand to his head for no (explained) reason, and right before he punches through the glass he thinks something strange is happening to him and he doesn't know if his eyes are open or closed.

And there's no way you'd know what's going on unless you've read the rest of the books and realized he has these blinding migraine episodes. I'm getting so much more out of the re-reads than I got the first time around. Dorothy Dunnett, you are sneaky!

(I also couldn't help thinking about the Doctor during that whole conversation between Lymond and O'LiamRoe at the end, which is all about how Lymond inspires people to hero worship him, then they try follow his lead and become better people, but half the time the danger gets them killed and Lymond feels all guilty. And there's the whole question of how much responsibility he has to the people who follow him. And his whole "I can't let myself get close to anyone because it hurts too much to lose them"--is Christian Stewart his Rose?)

***

Also, LOL:

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Comments

[cheesygirl.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I love the Ood!

You need to watch the Confidential for those episodes. Tennant was fascinated with the Oods' heads and couldn't stop caressing them. I think at one point he said he wanted to chew on them. :D

Don't let those earliest DW episodes deter you. The First Doctor isn't the most interesting or likeable of the classic Docs, IMO. Four and Two are my favorite classic Doctors, and Three and Five have some wonderfully cracktastic adventures.

[fauxkaren.livejournal.com]

Oh God. First Doctor episodes. I've only ever been able to force myself through one of his serials. GAH. So horrible. The best Old!Who Doctors are the Fouth Doctor and the Seventh Doctor, in my opinion. Which serials have you already watched? Just the First Doctor ones?

If you haven't given the Fourth Doctor a shot, I think that the serials for the Key of Time series are pretty good. The Stones of Blood are probably my favorite, but I also like Androids of Tara. Possibly I just like these serials because Romana I is one of my favorite Old Who companions. Genesis of the Daleks with Sarah Jane, Harry and the Fourth Doctor is pretty good too.

As for the Seventh Doctor, I kind of love him and Ace. The Greatest Show on Earth and The Happiness Patrol with them in it are pretty good. But I think I just like them because they're full of 80's camp.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Tennant is weird. Luckily it's in such a cute way. ;)

I do have to admit, if I was in a room with the Ood I probably wouldn't be able to stop touching them either. There's something so simultaneously adorable and disturbing about them.

I keep hearing "You must watch old Who! You must watch old Who!" and nothing's clicking. What old Who episode(s) would you recommend as most likely to entertain a modern day girl with a short attention span?

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

We watched "The Curse of Fenric" a few weeks ago. I liked Ace, but was mostly unimpressed. And then we watched these first Doctor eps. So I actually haven't seen much old Who at all.

Thank you for the specific recs! I may check out some of those.

It feels really weird to jump around, since I'm used to watching stories in chronological order. But I suppose with Doctor Who it's probably necessary unless you want to get bogged down in years and years of old stuff.

[paratti.livejournal.com]

Have a great time wit hPartick Stewart.

The Dalek Invasion of Earth is by far the best of the suriving Hartnell Dalek stories, and Barbara rocks in it. But I suspect you'd love Two far more. He's a lot more like the Doctor you know and lots of New School fans find he clicks. His relationship with Jamie is unbelievably slashy. Zoe is super smart and saves the world with her brain in The Invasion. And The Mind Robber is filmed crackfic before crackfic was even invented.

DD did superb arc before superb arc was invented. Bows down to the Mistress.

[bippy24.livejournal.com]

I just watched The Impossible Planet/Satan's Pit last night with my friend. She's never seen Doctor Who , so we're making our way through the seasons so she can be caught up for Season Four. I'm with you on the Zach love. I really liked all the supporting characters in these episodes, but he's my favorite. I love when he and the Doctor hug, heh. The best part, though, was that my friend was so worried when the Doctor lost the TARDIS. She thought he was going to cry, haha.

[cheesygirl.livejournal.com]

Two--"Tomb of the Cybermen", because it's got some wonderful Two/companion interaction and old school Cybermen are fucking creepy.

Three--"The Green Death": giant hissing maggots with teeth, the Brig happily hanging out with hippies, and the Doctor in drag. Need I say more?

Four--"Destiny of the Daleks". Romana II and lots of snarky banter between, well, pretty much everyone. There are also aliens with Rick James 'dos and lots and lots of exploding Daleks. Oh yeah!

Five--"The Caves of Androzani", which is Five's last story, and there's Peri and her awful American accent to bear, but this is Peter Davison at his best in the role.

[violet-lane.livejournal.com]

Eesh, I hated the First Doctor. His stories were boring and he was such a grumpy old man. xD

I love all of the Fourth Doctor stories (and his main companions Leela, SJS, Romana I and Romana II) were some of my favorites. The third Doctor also rocks for the kick-ass Liz Shaw, Jo Grant, and Delgado!Master, who, along with John Simm, is one of my favorite Masters ever. Delgado!Master and the Third Doctor have awesome chemistry and were close friends in real life and I think it translates well on the screen. I haven't seen much of the second doctor, but I hear he's awesome too (if only for the awesome Jamie and Zoe). The Fifth Doctor was allright too, even though his companions got annoying after awhile. I'd steer clear of the Sixth Doctor stories, as Colin Baker was so obnoxious and Peri was grating. >___<

TSP/TIP are definitely some of my favorite episodes of New Who. The supporting cast kicked ass and each character got an arc, even though each episode was under 45 minutes. Frankly, I want to see the entire cast back, but Zack would be awesome, as that actor was amazing in Casanova. And the Ood are adorable. xD

[chloris67.livejournal.com]

I like it slightly better when it just runs with the cracked out nonsense instead of attempting to be serious.

So...are you coming around to the dark side??

Old Doctor Who

I can't help you with this. I loved 3, 4 and 5 when I was young but I recently rewatched the Key To Time with 4 and I enjoyed it but it wasn't great. It was slow and Romana was too much of a damsel for me.

"The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit."

Tennant was great in these! I loved watching the Doctor put it all together and Rose taking charge of the remaining crew members. I vote for Zach too, but Ida and Zach would be even better. The writers did a wonderful job of making the whole crew three dimensional and memorable.

[mikelesq.livejournal.com]

Old Who, huh? Yes, some of the early eps are rough, especially since they didn't seem to know what to do with the women characters.

I found the earliest story arc that really got me into it was "Genesis of the Daleks." It's got Four, who is really the easiest to see in the role for a new introduction to the older incarnations, simply because of the images that permeate pop culture. Also, it's got Sarah Jane, and trust me, she does a lot more in this arc than scream for help. Finally, it's the origin story of the Daleks, and, arguably, the first battle of the Time War. So it all ties nicely into the current stories.

As for One, I'd try either "The Aztecs" (you kind of see why he's more of an observer, when Barbara decides she can stop a whole civilization from committing human sacrifice by basically saying: "Now you stop that!" At the same time, she calls One on a lot of his hypocrisy; she's hardly the damsel in distress in this one) and/or "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" (where the Daleks are NOT cute, and the Doctor loses his first Companion [no, I'm not telling], so you kind of get a sense of his first taste of loss).

[http://users.livejournal.com/peasant_/]

How did you like Patrick Stewart? I know it had tremendous reviews but I have to say I was not greatly impressed. He has some good moments but other parts he just threw away - I was especially disappointed with 'Out brief candle' and the overall result felt very uneven.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Nifty. Thanks!

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I may have to check out the slashy stuff. :)

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Aww. It's fun to watch DT angst, even though you know he'll always get back to the TARDIS in the end.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Heh. I didn't hate the First Doctor, I just literally started to fall asleep. At least if I hated him I'd have been emotionally engaged. ;)

I might have to watch some of this Third Doctor/Delgado!Master stuff....

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

So...are you coming around to the dark side??

Alas, not really. I still find the whole concept (beyond the law, armed against the future, LOL at civil liberties, yay torture) to be revoltingly offensive. As is Jack's shoot-first-ask-questions-later attitude. And despite the nifty meta I read on my FL, I don't actually think the writing is particularly sharp; usually I can't tell if they're being morally ambiguous on purpose or if they're just too lazy to think through the implications of what they're writing.

It might be balanced out if I loved one of the characters, but I haven't connected with any of them at all. I'm an OTC type person so if there's no character for me to get into, I'll never be drawn into a fandom. :(

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

I have a hard time imagining the Daleks not being cute. Even when they're killing people, their combination of frantic hysteria and snide rudeness is just adorable. It's like the Terminator with a major inferiority complex. And a plunger.

Thank you for the recs! I think I've given up on One but I might try Three or Four.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

I agree that it was uneven. I usually empathize with Macbeth, feel trapped in a downward spiral with him, but here I felt removed because he was kind of just weird/crazy from the beginning. (Although he was funny at some moments where he usually isn't, so that was good, though it was an uncomfortable socially awkward kind of funny.)

I thought the "Out brief candle" was okay--he really downplayed it, which was better than taking it too over the top. But it didn't have a huge impact as it should have.

I really liked Macduff--in comparison, HIS sorrow I totally felt.

And I ADORED the witches. They were by far my favorite version of the Macbeth witches, actually. They looked like they'd been snatched out of a Nine Inch Nails video, with the strobing visuals and loud industrial noises and the rhythmic way they chanted the lines. Usually the witches are kind of sexed-up cliches, but here they were kind of unsexual mechanized zombie nurse witches, which I thought was far more disconcerting and cool.

I thought a lot of the loud noises were over the top and drowned out the actors, unfortunately. But that part worked really well with the witches.

I enjoyed it overall, but it was nowhere near as awesome as Ian McKellen in "King Lear."

[violet-lane.livejournal.com]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3uTMBLnAwA

Have you seen this D/M vid to Space Dementia by Muse? Most of it's Simm/Tennant, but there's some great Delgado/3 in there. =)

[chloris67.livejournal.com]

Ah, I understand. I'm not actually sure how I got into it. If I hadn't started posting of LJ, I'd probably just be watching it casually. I love Ianto but he's really not enough to hang a show on.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

This is WONDERFUL. Thank you so much for linking it. :)

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

I thought Macbeth was played a little too sarcastically (and I was talking about this with KoT afterwards: the Stalinist symbolism in which this show was drenched sort of constrained Stewart, I thought. Because the point is that Macbeth doesn't start out as a bloody tyrant - he starts out as a good and trusted soldier, who's drawn ever more deeply into murder until he becomes a murderer and not a soldier any more. And his murders are very personal betrayals of friendship and family - not really comparable to Stalin, IMO!) I thought the Bean version I saw was much better at emphasizing how someone like, well, Sharpe, could go so badly wrong. (And I thought Bean and samantha Bond had much more of the necessary sexual chemistry and Stewart and this Lady M. did.)

The witches were AWESOME - I loved how they were the servers at the banquet and in one vision they're holding knives behind their backs while in the next version, they're just servers. That part was great.

And although jaydk said she didn't like Macduff, I thought he was excellent! (And very nice - we ran into him at a coffee-shop afterwards and chatted with him for a while.)

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a good point about the limitations of the Stalinist symbolism. Because, yeah, I usually feel the emotion of it more strongly--that Macbeth is a good guy who makes mistakes and ends up caught in this spiral of evil. But I didn't feel the tragedy of it here because he was never very sympathetic to begin with.

I loved how they were the servers at the banquet and in one vision they're holding knives behind their backs while in the next version, they're just servers. That part was great.

I know! So cool. And I love how they appeared throughout the play, like they were lurking in the background (observing? manipulating?) throughout. >:)