Doctor Who and the conflict that wasn't

[donnaimmaculata]

Okay, so I'm the first to admit that I've fallen out of love with Doctor Who. I still watch it, but it's on a rather meh basis.

But: I did watch The Day of the Doctor (and am meh about it):

a) I, um, didn't understand the central conflict: I mean the reason why the Doctor in the time window between Eight and Nine did what he did was because he wanted to annihilate the Daleks and put an end to the war and the killing once and for all, right?

But Ten and Eleven knew that the Daleks would be back at least once per season. So... why not mention it casually at some point? Did it not occur to anyone that this might be an argument worth considering under the circumstances? Certainly a better argument than having Rose and Clara* whine wide-eyededly to think about the children.

b) I miss David Tennant. He was so hawt as the Doctor, it's unreal. I never knew how much I missed him until I watched him being delightful in Day of the Doctor. Shame one of his seasons was wasted on him being unbearable with Rose and another on him being horrible to Martha. I will have to rewatch the Catherine Tate series, she was a good companion.

c) I am looking forward to Peter Capaldi. I never realised how little I care about Matt Smith's Doctor until I saw him in company with the others. I hope Peter Capaldi will bring back some of my old love for the Doctor, he's usually very good at making me love him in anything he does. He's very talented like that.

*I don't see the point of Clara. I know many people like her, but she's so... wide-eyed and cute. And good with children. And... that's it. Once upon a time, her special skill was "being good with computers", but that hasn't been mentioned lately.

Comments

[trobadora]

But Ten and Eleven knew that the Daleks would be back at least once per season.

You know, that's a really good point.

Also, last we heard the Time Lords hat become so bad as to be indistinguishable from the Daleks. And the Doctor punted them all right back into the time-locked Time War for a reason, back in The End of Time. But now finding them again is just suddenly all of the good?

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

That's probably a different type of Time Lords. The ones in The End of Time were all evil megalomaniacs who had to be punished, whilst the ones in The Day of the Doctor were all innocent families who had to be saved. The whole retconning thing creates quite a few characterisation problems.

I just wanted somebody to point out that both the Daleks and the Time Lords would be back, even if the Doctor pushed the button, so that the War Doctor could have made an informed decision. I know it's a children's show, but the focus on sentimentality before reason was jarring in this case, seeing as a proper, solid, important argument did exist.

[ellensmithee.livejournal.com]

I thought the special was a bit too fan service-y to the point where it tore me out of the story again and again, but I liked it for the most part. I also realized that I'm pretty much "over" Doctor Who, after 33 years of being a fan. S7 was just terrible and I wasn't sure if I wanted to see Capaldi, but the special made me more inclined to give him a chance.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

I don't even remember S7! I've literally just read the recaps on TVTropes to remind myself what happened.

However, on a positive note: The Day of the Doctor made me realise that I just don't care for Matt Smith's Doctor at all (I already knew I didn't like Clara). So, chances are that I will be able to like the show again once Peter Capaldi takes over. I've seen him in loads of things and he's never failed to charm me.

[ellensmithee.livejournal.com]

I was the opposite - I liked Matt Smith, but not David Tennant (though I loved the season with Donna). I'm also not overly fond of Clara - I'm hoping she's not around for much longer than a season and they introduce a new companion soon.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Well, I liked David Tennant's Doctor because he was hot, whereas Matt Smith failed to impress me. I'm very shallow like that.

As to a potential new companion: I am sick of the cute young women we've been blessed with so far (with the exception of Donna). I'm hoping the next one will be different, older, or perhaps an alien.

[shocolate.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed it so much, and she wasn't Rose, so that was ok, and I kept gasping and feeling joy.

But on the whole, the joy was all Tennant, and the silly timey wimey plot would have 'worked' exactly the same with War and Eleven and their screwdrivers.

So, loved it, because of a Ten.

Alons y, on a horse.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Yes! That she wasn't Rose made me happy, too. But mainly, David Tennant! He was such a delight. I am glad that he left the role when he did, but this appearance reminded me of why I watched and rewatched every episode he was in back in the days.

The bits with Ten being all lovely were good, but mainly, I was meh about the whole thing. I just don't care for Eleven and Clara and Gallifrey. Which, admittedly, is not the episode's fault.

And he brought Arthur along!

[contrariwise.livejournal.com]

I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. What I really really want now is a series about the War Doctor.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

I've been saying for years that I'd love someone old, grumpy and grandfatherly to be the Doctor. He could travel with a cocky young whippersnapper who resembles Ten or Eleven. Or with Donna's granddad. It'd totally watch a show about the War Doctor and Donna's granddad. But I guess that wouldn't appeal to kids these days, who don't know what grandparents are.

[iibnf.livejournal.com]

Liked seeing Tom Baker, but I would have liked some Eckleston.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

I never saw Old Who, so my first encounter with Tom Baker was as the drunk, mad, legless and pee-drinking captain in the Blackadder episode Potato. As first impressions go, thas was quite a powerful one.

I'm afraid I just don't have enough reverence for the legacy of Doctor Who, either due to a character flaw or to cultural divide.