Valentine

A Doctor Who valentine by Enjoying Life's Journey.

on the Sixth Doctor

Okay, I've given up on the Sixth Doctor. I never saw him as a kid (being of the sad generation who discovered Doctor Who during the Seventh's era), and I had heard pretty much nothing good. But once I decided to start this blog I became determined, in the interest of having a complete perspective on the show's history, to give him a chance.

And I have to say, its really incredibly bad. The Doctor himself has basically evolved into a complete asshole for some reason. The supreme confidence and endearing surliness of classic Doctors has given way to megalomania and a general sort of disdain for others, particularly humans, and especially Peri. On top of that, he's rendered completely ridiculous because he's going around acting like he's the best and everyone's beneath him, while he's dressed (literally!) like a clown.

And yes, let's talk about Peri. First of all, she's taught me how British people feel when Americans do crappy British accents. Actually, I haven't figured out if her questionably American dialect is a separate problem from how every one of her lines is delivered in the whiniest of voices, or if the whining is part of her attempt at an American persona. Seriously, she's unwatchable. She never has anything to offer except, "But Doctor, what are we going to do now?" and "But Doctor, you can't do that!" She's frequently remembered for her revealing costumes, but it's hard to imagine anyone over the age of 13 getting past how annoying she is long enough to find her even physically attractive.

The sad thing is, despite his infamous firing by the BBC, it doesn't seem like any of the problems with these episodes are Colin Baker's fault. He has occasional moments where his performance transcends the writing and the costume, and you feel like he could have been a really, really good Doctor. It's just that everything is working against him: the writing (particularly of his character), John Nathan Turner's production, the costume designs (not just for the Doctor- every character on the show in this era looks god awful), and Nicola Bryant's performance as Peri.

For the record, I don't care for Mel either, but she's not as bad as Peri. Mel's just sort of a cypher. We never even really get to see how she met the Doctor. She's just suddenly there one day, encouraging him to eat his vegetables and get his exercise (how very 1980's).

I'm going to try to move on to a Seventh Doctor post pretty quickly, in the interest of getting the bad taste out of my mouth by discussing a Doctor I actually like.

Time Crash

Sorry for the delay- I got a little stuck trying to come up with anything positive to say about the Sixth Doctor's era.

So instead, let's talk about "Time Crash," the 8 minute long Children in Need special where the Tenth and Fifth Doctors meet. Let me preface by saying that as an American, I have no understanding of the whole Children in Need thing. I just know it's some kind of charity telethon that's been known to include Doctor Who mini-episodes (which definitely makes it more worth watching than any American telethon I've ever seen).

Anyway, "Time Crash" is a nice bit of fun, and it's great to see a classic series Doctor on the new series (sort of, anyway). And Peter Davison was the clear choice for the crossover, since he's still alive and while he's aged considerably, he doesn't have the Grandpa look that Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy do these days (not to mention the "wow, you've really let yourself go" look of Colin Baker).

The Tenth Doctor's nostalgia is the main thing that makes the segment worthwhile. The way he gazes admiringly at his younger/older self with a big grin on his face just seems so right. Once he recognizes the Fifth Doctor, he's never worried about the situation, because he remembers how it turns out- he's just happy to see himself. This incident is a bit like a personal time capsule for the Doctor- for the last however many subjective years it's been for him since the early 80's, he's known he would get to see that version of himself again.

One thing that strikes an off note for me, on the other hand, is when he says that it was as the Fifth Doctor that he learned to take himself less seriously. This seems odd since the bohemian, jelly baby addicted, always on the lookout for the perfect cosmic vacation spot Fourth Doctor came first. Five's era was actually quite grave by comparison, what with Adric dying and Turlough trying to kill him and Tegan getting fed up and leaving. Ten does have a good point about the suit and sneakers, the glasses, and the squeaky voice, though. And I love the bit about "trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you're young," which is the best explanation of the First Doctor I could imagine.

Also, when Five asks of the Master still has a beard, and Ten says, "Well... a wife," is there any way to interpret that other than the Doctor implying (confirming) that the Master is gay (for him)? I'm pretty sure there's not, which makes it an interesting little tidbit.

I'm not sure how I feel about the idea that the TARDIS has a "desktop theme." I suppose it's an amusing way to account for the control room's changing appearance over the years, but honestly I think the thing that bugs me is how Windows-y the phrase sounds. I hate to think that Microsoft has any stake in timelord technology.

Resemblences

So we all know that the Tenth Doctor's daughter looks a lot like the Fifth Doctor, for some strange reason. But have you ever noticed how much the First Doctor's granddaughter resembles the Ninth Doctor? What's up with that?

My personal theory: The Doctor's Gallifreyan DNA contains the code for not just what he looks like at the moment, but any potential appearance he might have at any time in the future or the past. So his offspring may not look like he looks now- they might look like he used to look, or like he may look one day in the future.

Either that, or it's just one of those things.

the Fifth Doctor

I really want to like the Fifth Doctor. He represents a bold choice to go in a different direction after Tom Baker. He's young and charismatic and more than a little vulnerable, and I must admit the cricket outfit actually works for me (I have my doubts about the stalk of celery on the lapel, though). He also happens to look a little bit like my dad, for whatever that's worth. Not to mention, Peter Davison is really an excellent actor, whereas Tom Baker is just an excellent character, if that makes sense.

So my problem with this era is not the Doctor, it's basically everyone else. Adric, as I mentioned before, is intolerable. Tegan and Nyssa aren't all that bad, but neither of the actresses is particularly talented or likable, to be blunt. Turlough is interesting in concept (a companion who's secretly plotting against the Doctor), but mostly boring in execution. And then at the tail end of the Fifth's tenure comes the single worst companion of all time, Peri Brown. But I'm sure I'll have more to say about her when I discuss the Sixth Doctor.

On the other hand, "Castrovalva" is easily my favorite post-regeneration episode. My understanding (gleaned from the DWO WhoCast) is that it was filmed after the rest of the season, so that Davison actually has his Doctor pretty well figured out by the time the audience first meets him. Compare this to "Robot," in which Tom Baker doesn't quite seem to know what he's doing yet. Also, the inevitable regeneration problems are more interesting than just the "Oh no, the Doctor's unconscious when we need him most!" stuff that "Spearhead from Space" and "Christmas Invasion" are built around. I must confess, I have yet to watch Six and Seven's first episodes, but I'm not particularly expecting either of them to be better than this.

Hey, I know them.

Comic book artist Dusty Abell did this amazing panorama of 1970's television Science Fiction, and of course the Doctor and his TARDIS are included, along with Leela, a Dalek, and some familiar robots (who look quite at home amongst the Cylons).

My only complaint about the picture is that while the men are full of personality and mostly depict the actors who played them perfectly, the women just look like Barbie dolls. Even Leela was never built or attired quite like that. Sadly, this problem is pretty pervasive in comic book art.

Still though, quite an undertaking, and pulled off reasonably well. And Tom looks perfect. Thanks to the Bad Astronomer for sharing.

Fourth Doctor

Tom Baker was the Doctor longer than anyone else has been so far, and at this stage it's hard to imagine anyone surpassing him (although you never know- maybe Matt Smith will stick with it until he's David Tennant's age). His appearance is certainly the most iconic: the curly hair, the hat, the world's longest scarf, the great big teeth. He combined the endearing clownishness of the Second Doctor with the derring-do of the Third.

The Fourth Doctor is frequently discussed as more alien than his predecessors. While his appearance is human, he is, let's be honest, an extraordinarily strange-looking man, and his clothing and behavior aren't exactly normal either. On the other hand, he often shows a very human range of emotions, such as when he doubts his right to commit genocide against the Daleks, or when he frolics across the streets of Paris with Romana.

The thing about the Fourth Doctor is that he was around for so long that it becomes hard to judge his tenure as one whole. Certainly there were moments of brilliance and wonder: the previously alluded-to "Genesis of the Daleks" and "City of Death," as well as "Pyramids of Mars," "Robots of Death," and "State of Decay," among others. On the other hand, there were some real duds, like "Revenge of the Cyberman" and "Meglos," in which the Doctor is impersonated by an evil cactus. No, really. If I wanted to make up the dumbest Doctor Who plot ever, I'm not sure I could do better.

Without going on too much of a tangent, I must mention that while I know it's well-regarded by fans, I have not been able to sit through "The Talons of Weng-Chiang." I understand that it's a product of its time and place, but I have a gut reaction against racist depictions of Chinese characters that I can't just turn off. Maybe I should try again, now that I have a blog in which to vent about the aspects that bug me.

The length of the Fourth Doctor's run also means he had a metric ton of companions, so I'll be even briefer than usual. Sarah Jane was awesome during her season with Pertwee, but she kind of becomes increasingly uninteresting as time goes on, with both her personality and her clothing taking a turn for the girlish and juvenile. A big part of her decline seems to be the addition of Harry Sullivan, who is such a pointless companion that he makes others less appealing in his presence. Leela is an odd fit, but has some great bits (double entendre accidental but endorsed). Romana I is a little too glamorous and haughty for me, but I do like how smart and confident she is. As for Romana II, if you didn't guess from that video, I adore her. She is, in my opinion, pretty much the perfect companion. It's just a shame she came along right before the 1980's started and everything began to suck. Speaking of which, then there was Adric, the Connor of Doctor Who. If they'd actually gone through with turning him into a vampire in "State of Decay," that might have made him an interesting companion.

sometimes I make videos

As a prelude to my slightly delayed post on the Fourth Doctor, here's a video I made (the first thing I've done that I would unapologetically call a "fanvid") highlighting the read-between-the-lines relationship between the Doctor and Romana II. If you want to see a higher res version (quicktime format), you can go here.

Planet of the Dead

If you haven't already heard, info and a couple of photos have been released from the Easter special, "Planet of the Dead," and of course Planet Gallifrey has gathered everything you could possibly want to read on the subject. I don't really have anything substantial to add at this early stage. I haven't seen much of anything Michelle Ryan's done before, but I'm all about her Betty Page hair. I'm hoping she stays on as a companion through multiple specials, but really I'd just like to see someone do that, to give this year a sense of continuity (and having someone to stick around for the regeneration would be nice too).

The Doctor, Jo, and the Master

Yes, this is an actual unaltered moment from a Third Doctor episode ("The Time Monster" to be exact). The Master's first line here makes me laugh every time.