sholio | And onwards with the Doctor Who!

We've watched up to 1x10. Still liking it!

Surprisingly, given how cheesy some of the special effects are, this show does creepy very well. The frozen upper level of the space station, with corpses; the freaky time effects after Rose tried to save her father; and then, oh God, the apparition during the Blitz and the gas masks ... EEEEUUUUGH. *shivers*

The writing is creative and fun -- and oh, the characters! Nearly every episode has at least one vivid, memorable guest star: Rose's mom, the tree lady, the reporter in the "aliens taking over London" episode who becomes prime minister, the other reporter (Caprica?) in the space station who saves the day. I love Mickey, and I also love the Doctor's grudgingly won respect for him (and we know the Doctor doesn't give away respect easily) -- then Rose's second boyfriend, Genius Boy, I just wanted to drop-kick to the curb, but OMG, how much do I love that it's Rose bringing home the troublesome space bimbos, with both that guy, and Jack; what a cool role reversal there!

JACK! I already sort of knew about this character, because you'd almost have to be living under a rock in fandom not to have heard of him, but I really didn't know much about him including what he looked like, and I wasn't sure whether I'd like the character or not. Um .... eeeheeeee. I do. ♥ And I was SO sure at the end that they were going to close the episode on his ship cruising off into space with minutes to go on the detonator, leaving it on a vague "will he escape? maybe he doesn't!" sort of note, that I practically squeaked aloud when the camera panned back into the Tardis.

And the Doctor's passing, casual comment about bisexuality being the norm in the 51st century -- yay! for the show, not just for mentioning that, but for consistently remembering that the Doctor's an alien (and an apparently more-or-less asexual alien at that) and that he finds pretty much all human customs equally odd and entertaining, including the sexual mores of the 20th-century West. It's sort of sad that it's worthy of note when an SF show doesn't just parrot back 20th-century morality with its "alien" cultures, but, well, it IS rare.

I also have much love for the Doctor's constant snarkiness, although every so often he does kind of push over the line from "cute entertaining asshole" to "obnoxious asshole". As for Rose ... I like Rose most of the time, but every once in a while she trips my "smack the cheerleader" instinct. *g* Still, on the whole she makes a good Companion.

I also love the show's many little nods to the series' own cheesiness. The Dalek and STAIRS! I imagine that I can't be the only person watching the old show who used to make jokes about Daleks being thwarted by stairs; I laughed so hard at that part. And the Doctor's comment on Companions not staying put when he tells them to. And the whole routine with the sonic gun and the sonic screwdriver and the banana in the episode with Jack! *dies* And, oh, far too many great lines to remember them all, especially with having just watched 5 or 6 episodes in a row.

I imagine I'll get around to something vaguely resembling serious character analysis at some point, but right now, between the stratospheric crack levels of the show and the whole discovering-a-new-fandom feeling, I'm just stuck on my "eeeheehee OMG ^_^" setting.

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"eeheeheee OMG" is the best setting to watch the whole show with, really. ^__^

And Jack. Oh Jack. He's one of those chars who, yes, if you're in fandom you've heard of him, and maybe you'd think you won't like him simply because everyone else does, but then Jack happens and you have no choice but to fall for him, because, well, he's Jack! And that's just the way it goes.

(DW's great way of dealing with sex/sexuality is helped in part by the creator/writer, the producer, and Jack's actor John Barrowman all being openly gay. John Barrowman especially is something of a phenomenon in the UK - he was for a while the leading man on West End - yeah, he sings! - and by all account and interviews I've seen, is as outrageous as Jack in real life. Except that he's happily married!)

I found I needed to rewatch the show just to remember all the great lines! ("My leg's grown back!" "Well, there is a war on, are you sure you haven't miscounted?")

DW's great way of dealing with sex/sexuality is helped in part by the creator/writer, the producer, and Jack's actor John Barrowman all being openly gay. John Barrowman especially is something of a phenomenon in the UK - he was for a while the leading man on West End - yeah, he sings! - and by all account and interviews I've seen, is as outrageous as Jack in real life. Except that he's happily married!

Oh, how cool is THAT! *squees* And I'm so happy that they're actually able to bring it out in the show, too.

Yeah, having heard of Jack (because it's really impossible not to) I wondered how he'd live up to the hype. Um, yes, he does, he does. ^_^

*grin* "eeeheehee OMG" is what Doctor Who was made for! So glad you're still liking it!

The show really does do creepy very well, especially for something airing at 7 PM on a Saturday - they manage to scare everyone, without resorting to violence or gore. Watching the first episode with the gas-mask people when it aired on TV was what got me convinced I had to watch the rest of the show, actually, because of how it creeped me out. You'll be pleased to know that Stephen Moffat, who was the one to write those two episodes, has an episode in each of the following seasons. (He's one of my favourite writers, so I thought I should make a special mention of him. ♥)

Well, it was the creepy that hooked me - and the characters. ♥ Jack! Is just - I couldn't really believe they'd written an omnisexual character like that, and treated it as perfectly normal and acceptable. It's one of the things I really adore about the show - they don't even make a big fuss about "look at us, how edgy/cool/open-minded we are". Alternative sexualities are just there, treated as normal and everyday, because why should those alien to 21st century Earth be following our moral codes?

Oh, and I do love the role-reversal, with Rose being the one to bring along the pretty boys, with all the trouble that follows. I also like how women are just casually there in the show, written in as the random soldier who sacrifices their life for the civilians, or the mechanic, or the local council representative who prevails (I think Harriet Jones, the woman who becomes PM, was some kind of low-level politician, not a reporter?), or a monster in disguise. There are a lot of women around being written as just - people, as individuals, instead of Token Female Characters, and this makes me happy.

The Doctor really is very rude. I haven't seen the original series, but

xparrot tells me that this is something she recognizes from Tom Baker's Doctor? And also - if you go into character analysis, he's sort of got reasons to be all sharp edges. Doesn't really excuse him - he is a bit of a bastard at times, but it does kind of make sense. Of course, I accept that he can be totally obnoxious, and then love him anyway! It gets quite entertaining when he's got people like Rose's mom Jackie around, who don't let him get away with it as much.

I really do need to watch the whole show again! I remember the scene with the sonic screwdriver and the sonic gun and laughing and laughing, but I can't remember any of the lines...!

I also like how women are just casually there in the show, written in as the random soldier who sacrifices their life for the civilians, or the mechanic, or the local council representative who prevails (I think Harriet Jones, the woman who becomes PM, was some kind of low-level politician, not a reporter?), or a monster in disguise. There are a lot of women around being written as just - people, as individuals, instead of Token Female Characters, and this makes me happy.

Oh yeah, thinking back on it, you're right about the woman in the alien episode being a politician, not a reporter; I'd just thought she was a reporter at first in the episode, and it stuck in my head. This is what I get for mainlining episodes at such a rate...

But anyway, yes, I LOVE how the women are just casually there, like the cute little blue-skinned female plumber in the second episode, which is a role that you really wouldn't expect to see played by a woman; but it's no big deal, it just IS. And, so far, IMHO, they're doing a great job with the racial mix of the cast, too -- as far as characters of various ethnicities being cast in a variety of roles. And then, of course, different sexualities, with Jack and then the casual reference to the gay RAF officer. Big thumbs up to the writers and the casting department for being so even-handed with it all, and for keeping in mind that aliens and future people from other worlds aren't going to have the same morality as modern Earth people. (This, unfortunately, is one area that Stargate's not especially good about; I forgive a lot in Stargate because I'm so thoroughly distracted by the pretty-shiny, but just because I'm distracted doesn't mean I don't notice it.)

The Doctor really does remind me a lot of the Tom Baker incarnation. Since that's the definitive Dr. Who for so many people, I think they're deliberately writing and playing him in the Tom Baker mold. I like it; it helps get the point across that this is the same guy wearing a different body. Some of the earlier Doctors were SO different that it didn't really feel like the same person at all.

Okay, you're making me want to put on a "Ninth Doctor Marathon" with the squeeage.

Jack. Yes, just... Jack. How can you resist the phenomenon that is Jack? Guh. I thought the same about the end of his episode, that they were just going to leave us hanging about his fate, but no, they came back for him! And the easy camaraderie between the three of them in the next episode, with the Cardiff mayor and the Slitheen--and how that lasts.

Oh, I could go on and on. But everyone else has said most of what I could say, so I'll just jump and squee with you. ;-)

Oh, there's more Jack next episode? SQUEE! I was expecting him to vanish and not be seen again for a while.

Need husband home from work so I can watch next episode now...

Oh, gods, YES! Jack is there to stay. Wait until you get to the game show episode. Oh, ye gods and goddesses! Jack's Best. Line. Ever.

Damn, I need to get off the net and go put in a DVD...

Have now seen the game show episode. Heeeeee~! Oh, Jack. What's really hilarious about that is how my husband's was complaining all episode that the Doctor really needs to start carrying a gun for situations like this -- and then Jack pulls out his little gun and blows the heads off the robots. You should have seen hubby light up with manic, bloodthirsty glee. *g*

YAY! Just joining in on the squee-fest! JAAACCK! Oh how I do so love him. And the Doctor...and, yeah, is it bad that I've only been into the show a month and already I've found someone else to show it to just to have the excuse to watch it all again? ^_- But...but the Doctor! And Jack!! How can any of us resist, truly?

Ah, fanning, isn't it fun? And so much more fun when shared, definitely.

I think I need to make myself a Jack icon, hmm...

And onwards with the Doctor Who!

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