Gotta talk About Doctor Who

We are two weeks into the new season of Doctor Who and I figured I should chime in with my thoughts on it all.

I saw the premiere on the big screen at a special event hosted by Denver Comic Con at the Sie FilmCenter.
I ended up winning first place in both the costume contest and the trivia contest they held that night. It was a fun way to begin the new season.

This season introduces Peter Capaldi as the latest regeneration of the Doctor. I am going to come out and say I have not fully formed my opinion on his Doctor yet. They are very much still forming the character and may be doing so through out the season. In his second adventure I get the impression that he has still not pulled himself together. He is a darker Doctor than the last few have been. He is also the oldest Doctor since William Hartnell took on the role as the first Doctor over fifty years ago. So far he has come off as a bit of a jerk, quick to give insult and highly condescending. In some ways he is much like the Sixth Doctor, who was one of the harder ones to enjoy. Capaldi's Doctor at least seems to be trying to work on this where the Sixth Doctor seemed indifferent. It does feel as if this regeneration may take all season to stabilize. Don't know if that will be a good or bad thing.

 There is a lot of potential here, so I am ready to wait it out and see how things develop.

 One of the big things that is clearly going on is the mirroring of past episodes. In the first adventure, 'Deep Breath' we saw clear connections to 'Girl in the Fireplace' and references to 'The Fires of Pompeii'. The second adventure 'Into the Dalek' felt similar to the 9th Doctor's adventure 'Dalek', with some of the same questions regarding Dalek morality. Knowing some of where this season is supposed to go, I am expecting most of the episodes to have these kind of connection. It can work if done right. If they can balance the episodes as being fully original stories that are all their own, but still feel connected to what has come before it can actually be a very strong season. These first two adventures have done this well.

 One of my big hopes for this season is that Moffat actually pulls off the big reveal of the overall storyline. So far that has not been his strength. Too often the way the storyline gets tied up over the last few seasons have just lacked the drama it needed to really deliver. They have felt more like added in aspects rather than actual thought out storylines.

 I am looking forwards to seeing just where the new season will take us and I have faith that in the end it will be an enjoyable journey.

Comments

  1. Missouri mountain manAugust 31, 2014 at 1:11 PM

    2nd Capaldi episode developed the character some - the main part was so much action that you couldn't identify the Doctor as a distinct person except by his knowledge of Daleks - they did hint at the movie, Fantastic Voyage, in the shrinking and moving through the system of the patient. One difference was that no busty sexy movie star was in this one. I'll remember her name sometime.
    Seems like the Doctor will be taking us all on a new voyage of discovery -- seems he will be an "everyman" type of people in general, discovering that darker side of us and, hopefully, discovering how to deal with it, the attitude toward Daleks being an example, where before they were the Ultimate Evil, now, thanks to the new companion, he is taking a second look and seeing them differently, and the patient Dalek eventually bears out that there is good even within the most evil.
    The Doctor as a distinct individual, apart from humans, didn't seem to show up until the last -- the end scenes finally developed that. This Doctor to me, shows a lot of hope and could be one of the top docs.

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