Re: Dr. Who New Series 4/Christmas Special

[nacho]

Oh!  There are 13 episodes this season. Silly me.  So today's episode will be a cliffhanger as well... I'll watch it in the morning and report back to myself because nobody reads this thread.

And next week is a 65 minute finale.

The early reaction from today's episode is bloggy/forumy freakout... Oh my god, Tennant is dead!  Aahh!  Except...we know he's on through 2009, and he was just offered a gazillion dollars to stay on in 2010.

It worries me that such a final feeling comes out of the second episode.  That means the finale next week will be gay and reboot everything like the last three years.

[nacho]

The Stolen Earth

Since I don't watch any of the spinoffs, I'm a little alarmed that Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures are so extraordinarily gay.  But this is the coming together of all the spinoffs as we gear up for the finale, so whatever.  And I guess Sarah Jane is meant for kids, anyway... Ugh.

I don't mind the parade of former companions, but I'm not really happy with all of the characters who are only in the spinoffs.  So we suddenly have the Torchwood team and Sarah Jane's sidekick son and, well, who the hell are they?

UNIT has strived since the 70's to be comprised of no-name cannon fodder soldiers and scientists, so Martha's fine when she crosses over.

Though I'm glad to have them there so we get some excellently performed reaction shots when the Daleks reveal themselves.  How those silly monsters can still be so effective after this long is beyond me.  Outmoded 60's design, fucked over brutally by the new series, and still they can appear as an army and it's no problem.  Instant serious enemy.  And one of the few Doctor Who baddies allowed to get away with on screen mass murder without having everything rebooted in the final act.

Harriet Jones returning is nice.  She's been poorly handled throughout the series.  I don't know if she's had a life in the spinoffs, but it's a fun turn to have her as the surprise hero.   Though she only gets a few minutes before biting it once and for all.  (Again, I'm hoping we don't get a reboot next week.)

So I see why the blogs and Dr Who forums were exploding...hell of a climax.  The Doctor in mid-regeneration, the Torchwood supporting cast and Sarah Jane about to get blown away.  Lovely.  Until next Saturday!

[nacho]

Yeah, I'm holding my breath until Saturday night...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWos8c6usxQ

So is Tennant regenerating?  Have they managed to hide a new Doctor from us?  Because, if so, jesus...that's the first time a TV secret has been kept.

The finale will be 65 minutes... And, man, it's going to rock.  The only person we know who lives in the Doctor (though now there's doubt) and Captain Jack (since Torchwood is coming back next year). 

[nacho]

Ho-ho!  Download complete.  Rewatching last week, then I'll get into the 65 minute finale.

I'm a little disheartened that the hardcore Doctor Who blogs are confused about the Shadow Proclamation.  They've been around since the very first episode of the new series, and have been repeatedly referred to for the last four years.  Maybe these fans watch every other episode or something...

Anyway, time for freak-out!

[nacho]

Journey's End

Well, they pulled a few punches, after spending the episode trying to prove that they weren't going to pull punches.  It's the theme of the new Dr. Who that hurt it the most, with weird twists that don't make sense, and struggling really hard to angle towards a happily ever after sort of thing.  Except never with the Doctor, who's left alone and moody.  A final scene that, thankfully, isn't ruined by the finale tradition where something amusing happens to set the Doctor up for the Christmas episode.

Not the best episode but, considering the previous season finales, it's just fine.

So ends regular episodes of Doctor Who until April 2010.

[Reginald McGraw]

So ends regular episodes of Doctor Who until April 2010.

Why?

[nacho]

So ends regular episodes of Doctor Who until April 2010.

Why?

Tennant wants to pursue his stage career, which is his first love.  So, instead of switching Doctors, Russ Davies decided to put the show on hiatus.  So we'll get four two hour movies in 2008 (Christmas) and 2009, and then it returns for a regular season in 2010.  Though Davies is retiring, so it'll be a whole new crew running the series...