Doctor Who
Part One in A Review Series
This is the part where I review my favorite-ever TV show. Just thought I'd get that out there right away - point the finger at myself and scream "YOU'RE BIASED!" before I even start. Yes, I am. However, despite the fact that I love this show more than a fat kid loves gummy worms or a New Mexican loves green chili or a college student loves free pizza (I'm kind of hungry right now...), I don't think it's perfect. Like any other TV show, there are bothersome bits. Hence, I will hereby endeavor to sit on the rabid fan in me (the one wearing Tardis converse, a bowtie, and a fez) long enough to take a stab at a rationalish overview of the series.
Preliminary note
For those who are unaware of the premise of the series, the main character is called "The Doctor," travels through time and space in his ship (the TARDIS), has adventures, fights bad guys, saves planets, etc. He is almost always accompanied by one or more friends, to whom he enjoys showing off the universe.
Plot
Because this show has been running since the sixties and there are about 230 episodes, over 100 writers, and 11 doctors, it is hard to write a one-size-fits-all analysis for the whole shebang. However, by focusing on the "new" seasons (those that resumed in 2005), we can narrow it down to roughly 74 episodes, 20ish writers, and 3 doctors. Of those 20ish writers, the two head writers and executive producers were Russell T. Davies (2005-2010) and Steven Moffat (2010-present). So here is the plan for the next few posts: I'll do my best to critique Russell Davies' production, then Steven Moffat's, make a few general observations, and wrap up with the characters. Spoilers ahead. As they say, "Geronimo!"
Typical Davies Episode
"Tooth and Claw" (Season 2, Ep. 2)
Episode Trailer
A band of "monks" arrive at a Victorian mansion, take it over, and chain the inhabitants in the basement, accompanied by a caged Thing. Sir Robert, the master of the house, is compelled to obey them to protect the hostages, and the monks disguise themselves as servants.
The Doctor and Rose come face to face with a convoy belonging to Queen Victoria, who is persuaded to invite them along with her, and they all stop for the night at the aforementioned mansion, Torchwood House, into which the Queen carries a secret box. Sir Robert takes them to an observatory, where there's a mysterious contraption made by Sir Robert's father. The Queen says that the man was a good friend of her late husband's, an astronomer and folktale expert.
The "servants" give the Queen's guards a drink which renders them unconscious, then take Rose to the basement before she can tell the Doctor, who is at dinner with the Queen and Robert. Victoria persuades Robert to tell the story of a "local wolf." This, with accompanying scenes in the basement, reveals that once every generation, a local boy vanishes and is taken by the wolf, which is actually an alien who wants to gain power by passing into Queen Victoria and leave history smoking in its wake. Robert's father had spoken with it and learned its purpose, but was shut up by the "monks," who had turned from the true God to worship the wolf instead.
The caged Thing turns into a werewolf, Rose helps the hostages escape, and the Doctor realizes that the "servants" are the wolf worshipers, who sabotaged the Queen's train on purpose to bring her to Torchwood. Mayhem ensues. Robert, Rose, the Doctor, and the Queen lock themselves in the study, where, in a cursory examination of its contents, they discover confirmation that the wolf is an alien that fell to earth 300 years before and has survived in successive hosts since then, awaiting its chance for power.
The Queen, anxious about her secret treasure, reveals that it is the biggest and most valuable diamond in the world, which she had been taking to get re-cut as per her husband's tradition. The Doctor realizes that A) the wolf worshipers laid a trap for the Queen in Torchwood, B) Robert's father and the Queen's husband had known they would, and had laid a trap of their own to catch the wolf, and C) the diamond is the key to spring that trap. They run to the observatory, which Robert defends with his life; the Doctor inserts the diamond into the contraption, which reflects and intensifies the moonlight onto the wolf, dissolving its physical host.
The Queen discovers that she is bleeding, but won't allow the Doctor to examine the wound, saying she was cut in the chaos. She knights and then banishes the Doctor and Rose, saying that they are magical, terrifying, and a threat to her world. They leave, speculating about the historical fact that Queen Victoria had hemophilia, a disorder of the blood. Was she actually bitten by the werewolf? Could hemophilia be a Victorian euphemism for werewolfness? ARE THE ROYAL FAMILY WEREWOLVES???
Thoughts
Like most of Davies' episodes, this one relies heavily on A plot development (events), without a whole lot of B plot development (emotional connection to the characters). There are a few glimpses: Rose tells a terrified housemaid that "The Doctor can help," displaying her own unquestioning trust in him. The Doctor, when he first sees the werewolf, pauses in flight to admire it, exclaiming, "Oh! That's beautiful." Here, as in many episodes, his character is driven by wonder. Wonder at the universe (and all it contains) is what makes him tick. We are also given an emotional connection to the Queen as she reminisces about her deceased husband:
Doctor: You must miss him
Queen: Very much. Oh, completely. And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it?...hope of some contact with the great beyond. We all want some message from that place, and it's the Creator's greatest mystery that we are allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent. And we must wait.
Other than these few bits, however, the plot is mainly driven by action. The imbalance is made slightly more noticeable by weak points in that action. For instance, the wolf is supposed to be allergic to mistletoe, which is oiled into the study door, which is why it can't get in. What?! Werewolf versus...mistletoe?? What happened to silver?? Nice try, but...fail. The special effects used for the wolf itself look like a much lamer version of the already lame Harry Potter werewolves, making it much less scary. In fact, the only time the wolf did catch my attention as legitimately creeptastic was when Rose spoke to it in its human form in the basement, hooded and black-eyed, and it told her, "I carved out a boy's soul and sat in his heart."
Iffy as it sounds, I was actually okay with the werewolf's dissolution by moonlight - it had a legitimately ironic tang to it. The idea that Queen Victoria was a werewolf amused me, as well. And, although Davies was much worse than Moffat about writing season/series-long story arcs, he did pull in a few references to preceding and following episodes: the werewolf tells Rose that "There is something of the wolf about you," referring to the arc of season one; and at the end of the episode, we learn that Robert's lady sells Torchwood estate, which becomes a legacy for Torchwood Institute, an alien research facility set to become a thorn in the Doctor's side.
Conclusion
Bad stuff: Over reliance on A plot
Weak points in that plot
Cheesy effects
Good stuff: B plot that snuck in was decent
Connection to other episodes
Competent dialog
Overall, with Davies, entertainment is usually achieved, though there is almost always too much running and things exploding and rather cheeseball aliens. Tune in next time for a comparison with the current executive producer, Steven Moffat.
