Everybody Loves Saturday Night

Doctor Who: Shakespeare Code

OK, there was no "What the..." callback, which was a little disappointing.

But otherwise, a solidly fun episode. They do tend to go either way: it's either mostly dark and/or serious with occasional moments of fun (The Empty Child/Doctor Dances of S1, which remain my favorite episodes of the whole new series so far) or they're mostly fun with occasional moments of darkness (again from S1, the Long Game, I think? Where they all wind up in future versions of reality TV? "Ladies...your viewing figures just went up."). And I can see how the writer stayed away from the "What the..." mark in order to make the point that our daily vocabulary is still well peppered with Shakespeare. So I did enjoy very much the "Good line, I'm going to use that" back and forth. It reminded me of Jasper Fforde.

And I also loved the nods to academics everywhere, and not just with the Doctor's "57 academics just punched the air" line--which was HILARIOUS, if a bit out of place. I did like that the play in question was, of all plays, Love's Labours Lost, which isn't exactly from Shakespeare's Greatest Hits, aka those which everyone reads in high school. Moreover, it does have a problematic ending, making the idea of a sequel (because what else would Love's Labours Won be known as?) really funny.

Also loved the shout outs to Harry Potter, particularly with Martha's "Expelliarmus" suggestion at the end, and that the Doctor introduces Martha as being from Freedonia. And casting Christina Cole from Hex was brilliant.

Martha continues to impress, though I wish she'd get over the Doctor. I've read some chatter about the Doctor's continued "obsession" with or "pining" for Rose getting to be a bit much (mostly on TWOP, and yes I am incredibly sad that the recaps are not continuing, because they were brilliant), especially considering that all the previous Doctors never really talked about previous Companions to their current ones. Except that the Tenth Doctor got a pretty serious talking to from Sarah Jane Smith, didn't he? About just going off and leaving, without saying goodbye, like he never cared about them, and probably just forgets them? So I see the Doctor's repeated mentions of Rose in the first couple episodes as coming from that place, a place of regret, of striving to remember, and a way of acknowledging that he's learned something. Human.

Loved Martha's attempt to speak Elizabethan English, with the Doctor stopping her: "Don't do that." Just like when Rose attemped a Scottish accent. Also loved that Queen Elizabeth comes in at the end and recognizes the Doctor as her sworn enemy--just like Queen Victoria does in S2. Will we find out what he does?

I liked what this show did for me regarding Shakespeare as well--making him and his work seem and sound new again. And, of course, I did really enjoy the central theme of the show, that words have a power that most of us will never fully comprehend, to change our minds, to change the world.

At long last, Tennant.

And the return of Mr Tennant to my TV screen as The Doctor on a weekly basis is a welcome thing, indeed.

I was less than enthralled, however, with the Christmas "Runaway Bride" episode. It fell flat for me, and I believe the reason was because I saw little to connect it with the series in general. There was the return of the robot Santas, fine, and frequent bittersweet reflections on Rose and her family, but otherwise...I guess since I knew that the bride, Donna, would not become his new Companion, I couldn't get involved in her story, and I just wanted the season to start already. Perhaps this is also because Donna was the polar opposite of Rose and 90 minutes is too much to spend with her. And perhaps I would have felt differently if this episode were actually between seasons here, instead of the way the new season launches.

Still, it was nice that the script allowed the Doctor to grieve for Rose. That was recognition that it's hard for us to accept that this season will be without her as well. And I liked the parallel to the first season with Christopher Eccelston--he takes Rose to the end of the world, while Tennant takes Donna to the beginning of it. Nice.

I love Rose. I miss Rose dearly. But I have to say that Martha, the new Companion, is going to work splendidly. She's got a sharp analytic mind--evidenced by recognizing that all the air would've been sucked out of the window cracks immediately, and she's compassionate--evidenced by her closing Dr. Stoker's eyes before leaving him. And she was also plenty psyched to be up on the moon. Add it all, and she's perfect. I like her family drama situation too, and the way it was laid out for us--she's got plenty reason to want to, um, travel a bit.

Loved the little time travel bit that tied back in with the beginning. And I loved the exchange about the sonic screwdriver, when Martha asks if he also has a laser spanner, and the Doctor says that he had once, but "Emmy Pankhurst" took it from him. British cultural references that I understand! My graduate degree is not worthless!

So next week they meet Shakespeare. Now, when the Ninth Doctor met Dickens, at one point Dickens exclaims, "What the Shakespeare is going on?!" because, you know, "What the Dickens" hadn't been coined yet. So I want to know, who will Shakespeare invoke?

Weekend TV

What a bonus: Friday night the Sci Fi channel showed TWO episodes of Doctor Who--"Christmas Invasion" and "New Earth." Both were excellent social commentaries and both did a nice job referencing season 1--especially with the whole "I'm not sure if I'm going to like this new Doctor" bit that most of "Christmas Invasion" focuses on.

The good: Harriet Jones, Prime Minister!  And a nicely done first contact story, with England in the driving seat instead of the US. And a nice FU to Bush as well, even though PM Jones winds up blasting the aliens in the end anyway.

In "New Earth," The best part was simply, the Face of Boe. When you have the Face of Boe, you don't need much else. I thought the return of Cassandra was a little tiring, but she ended well. And if anything the return of Cassandra and her jumping between Rose and the Doctor gave both David Tennant and Billie Piper the chance to show their comedic chops. Otherwise, it was an excellent narrative, asking all the right questions: if you could find the cures for all the illnesses ever to affect humanity, but had to do so at the expense of people, is it worth it?

The eh: I wish Tennant wouldn't mumble so much. But he is so very pretty.

Speaking of which, this Sunday he's going to appear on Masterpiece Theater as Casanova the Younger. Hello.

The Amazing Race: Have I mentioned how tired I am? I hardly have the energy to write anything more than this: Duke and Lauren got the WORST. NATIVE GUIDE. EVER. Wowsers. They were too nice, too--I would've left immediately after the guide said "I'll be right back." That they didn't trust themselves enough to make it on their own pretty much means they were ready to leave the show, but still...ouch!

Doctor Whoooooo, (hey!) Doctor Who

So, on a tip from Laurel I recorded the second-to-last episode of the new Doctor Who show running on the Sci Fi channel. And then I let it sit there for a couple days because I was still afraid it would be disappointing.

Standard disclaimer: I watched about three seasons' worth of the Tom Baker shows when I was a kid. Enough to know a lot of the basic quirks and most of the backstory of the show. I tried watching the Peter Davison shows, but it just wasn't the same without that curly-haired scarf-wearing jelly-baby-loving wit. I know I'm not alone in that.

The new Doctor Who is pretty freakin' awesome. It follows the old formula wherein each episode stands alone yet may also be part of a larger plot line, and like before, it didn't take me long to figure out enough of what had happened before I started watching. Plus, Daleks! They look exactly the same and yet somehow they're totally creepy instead of campy.

Chris Eccelston makes an excellent Doctor. His face has just enough sneer in it to make you doubt if his intentions are really virtuous and true, while he delivers lines with impeccable timing. The Doctor's companions I'm not too sure about--I'll have to go back and watch the reruns to make sure.

But what I'm really excited about is the introduction of The Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant. Yum.