Cynical Ben didn't like the first episode of the two-part finale to David Tennant's tenancy of Doctor Who, objecting to the two-part set-up, amongst other things I can't be bothered to go and check.
I do like the scope achieved by taking the time and (relative dimensions in) space to explore the nuances. Ben's a short story fan though, so I understand his point. However, I did enjoy these episodes. Yes, the first one was preparatory, but they both worked. I agree with Ben that Russell T. Davies has probably run out of steam, but he, and Tennant, deserved their indulgent, emotion-wringing farewell.
The last episode was backed with nods to the canon, flashbacks to previous episodes, and constant references to Hamlet, a play which has exerted considerable influence on this incarnation of the Doctor, faced as he has so often been by difficult choices - and in which Tennant has been performing to great acclaim recently.
I've enjoyed Davies's nerdy but passionate take on Who - but Stephen Moffat's got the dramatic skills needed to keep each episode gripping: he wrote my favourite one of all, Blink. The future's bright. Though so is the past, given that a time machine is involved.
Licence fee: vindicated.
4 comments:
Can I just clarify that I didn't object to there being two parts, I objected to the first part being so overwhelmingly superfluous. I thoroughly enjoyed part two but still feel that part one was essentially the worlds longest advert for part two.
You need to expand your Hamlet thoughts. Personally I cannot think of two characters less related than Tennant's portrayal of Who (extrovert, full of wonder, in love with humanity) and Hamlet (introspective, suicidal, paranoid, borderline mysanthropist) so I am interested to hear your argument fleshed out a little there.
OK, I tend to agree then - a single two hour episode would have done the job.
The Hamlet thing is because Tennant's Doctor became less extroverted as the story arc drew to a close - and there were plenty of early episodes which touched on his pysche, particularly the Rose ones. Hamlet's problem is persuading himself to act when hope is gone, and to conquer his own tendency to vacillate. I wouldn't say that Who is Shakespearian, but this tension was definitely raised in the last episodes, though I wasn't persuaded at any point that the Doctor would ever act less than heroically.
Yeah. That makes sense.
It was comforting not to see K9 on the advert for the new series too wasn't it?
K-9: the original Poochie?
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