tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7452303.post7851322084880692969..comments2024-01-09T12:26:53.045+00:00Comments on Howeswho: Doctor Who - 42Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13752147546933122889noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7452303.post-41307373808511298742007-05-22T19:29:00.000+01:002007-05-22T19:29:00.000+01:00You hit the nail on the head! I was prepared for t...You hit the nail on the head! I was prepared for this as the TORCHWOOD stories by Chibnall were also empty and just going from plot point one to plot point two and so on and so on. The main reason this was bad though was that there was no characterization. Why do we care about these characters on the ship? Just because they're there? I don't know why he keeps being hired to write scripts. Very dissapointing. <BR/><BR/>-Erik EngmanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7452303.post-52493351260699548022007-05-22T09:01:00.000+01:002007-05-22T09:01:00.000+01:00Ah, but do we?I'm not sure I do anymore. New Docto...Ah, but do we?<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure I do anymore. New Doctor Who is all about style over substance. There have been a couple of occasions where the light shines through (Empty Child/Parting of the Ways/Impossible Planet)but generally its all forgettable.<BR/><BR/>New Doctor Who seems to be revelling far too much in the fact that a British TV show finally has access to decent special effects and is chucking them down our throats at every possible opportunity - at the expense of good characterisation and story-telling.<BR/><BR/>The acting and direction is fine, the music has its moments and, as we all know, it looks fabulous. But isn't it all just a bit vacuous? Yes, old Doctor Who had more than its fair share of clangers, but it had more imagination, took more risks and was more entertaining on its shoestring budget and ridiculously tight deadlines than anything I've seen in the new series so far. (this one was Planet of Evil, Evolution of the Daleks was Evil of the Daleks and Tooth & Claw was Horror of Fang Rock - DWs Greatest Hits anyone...?)<BR/><BR/>I so DESPERATELY want to love New Doctor Who. Lets face it, its what fans have been after for years! But I've ultimately felt disappointed with almost all of it. Perhaps 16 years of expectation was just too much for the new show to ever live up to?<BR/><BR/>Oh, and I completely missed the Hitch-hikers Guide reference. I thought it was a particularly unsubtle attempt to invert "24", as they had 42 minutes to solve the mystery. Another pointless pop culture piece of bobbins... :-(Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07955130887775079826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7452303.post-64187050932290754822007-05-21T14:14:00.000+01:002007-05-21T14:14:00.000+01:00As ever, your comments are spot on. I hadn't thoug...As ever, your comments are spot on. I hadn't thought about it that much having suspended disbelief at the sound of the first diddly-dum. The only thing that grated with me at the time was the notion of an entire sun being a living being. Why not just have a race of plasma creatures that live on the surface? They could view the 'plasma scoop' as being a hostile act and decide to wage war on the agressor until 'captives' are released. Much more believable, IMHO.<BR/><BR/>The constant pointless 'out of time' pop references also annoy me. Elvis? Beatles? You might as well ask Joe Public in 21st century Britain who sold most sheet music in the 19th century.<BR/><BR/>But at the end of the day, this is Doctor Who and we love it despite the faults!Kopichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14593823987164944416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7452303.post-10539933718332719582007-05-21T12:24:00.000+01:002007-05-21T12:24:00.000+01:00I fully agree with your analysis of 42. It struck...I fully agree with your analysis of 42. It struck me that it was more to set us up for what was to come. The team have done well to bring back Dr Who, so they can be fogiven the odd blooper. David Tennant is giving great performaces despite this, which is at least pleasing.<BR/><BR/>Congratulations on your new job.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7452303.post-13174532504507299062007-05-20T23:21:00.000+01:002007-05-20T23:21:00.000+01:00when I first started to read your review I thought...when I first started to read your review I thought 'David's being a bit unfair - I didn't think 42 was that bad'.<BR/>But as usual by the end of your review I have to admit you had a point (well quite a lot of points actually).<BR/><BR/>Also what were the mysterious agents of Mr Saxon up to? It looked as though the woman was trying to trace the call as she indicated to Martha's mum to keep the conversation going. That should be interesting as Martha was calling from the future and half the universe away!<BR/>But then if all of the rumors that are flying around about Mr Saxon (and who he is) are true I suppose he could possess the technology to do that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7452303.post-37015563576003377302007-05-20T19:54:00.000+01:002007-05-20T19:54:00.000+01:00I downloaded this episode overnight and watched it...I downloaded this episode overnight and watched it this afternoon. Modern technology is amazing! When I first moved out to this part of the world I was entirely cut off from the latest broadcasts in Britain.<BR/><BR/>I agree with you entirely that this was a real clanger. Superbly produced, mostly well-acted, but what a ridiculous story! The similarity to The Impossible Planet/Satan's Pit was heightened for me by the fact that I only watched that story for the first time last week. I wasn't particularly fond of that either - a Pseudo-religious version of Alien with a touch of The Moonbase/Ice Warriors thrown in.<BR/><BR/>For me, 42 had all the worst characteristics of the present series: the "cool" references to popular culture, starting with the Hitch-Hiker's title. A lot of running and shouting. A dash of alien possession. A goodly mix of male and female characters (missing the ethnic mix a bit this time). To cap it all, we witness the fastest love affair in TV history - the character finds his soul mate in a woman whom he's known for all of three quarters of an hour.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and of course, the moral. Greed is wicked. Very profound. Go and mine a sun for its energy without asking and you're likely to be scorched by a big bad fire-monster. <BR/><BR/>It seems to me that Doctor Who is really losing its way. I think back to the classic stories that I found the most meaningful, and find nothing of them reflected in the present series. Would Russell T. Davies have allowed Terry Nation to preach his anti-pacifist message of The Daleks? Would he have allowed the time to develop the moral web of The Silurians? Or the great suspense of The Web of Fear? <BR/><BR/>In Russell T. Davies's world, human beings are reduced to action cyphers, while human emotion is brought into harsh relief for instant message. Perhaps this is the right ingredient for the age of the Instant Messenger. But I find the motives suspect, and I similarly find something worrying about a man for whom earning a living and raising a family are not a meaningful pursuit (see the end of Love & Monsters). <BR/><BR/>In short, I am growing increasingly disappointed with this series as it goes on. Too many gimmicks and not enough good story-telling. I sincerely hope that some new writers will be brought on board who have a slightly different perspective on the world.Abu Yairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00981609965230714389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7452303.post-34328795346031448442007-05-20T17:44:00.000+01:002007-05-20T17:44:00.000+01:00I thought this episode was awful.Dreadful acting, ...I thought this episode was awful.<BR/>Dreadful acting, the story was too 'in yer face' and the added on scary line "burn with me" was pretty rubbish as well. However was this episode made for me, if I'd had seen this in 1982 as a 14 year old I probably would have loved it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com