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As far as I can tell, when most people think of Doctor
Who, they think of a blurry show from the seventies on late-night
PBS starring an eccentric-looking British actor wearing
a scarf running down countless hallways pursuing (or being
pursued by) very low-budget monsters. In 2005, the BBC rebooted
the show, which had been off the air since 1989. The new
show…is pretty similar to the old one, except the Doctor
doesn’t wear a scarf anymore.***
Not that that is a bad thing. The old Doctor Who was
quite good, its lack of special effects and sets offset
by very strong writing. (Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy
creator Douglas Adams was one of the writers). The new Doctor
Who looks a little better—the costumes have improved from
middle school Halloween party to ScyFy Channel original
movie level.***
Just like the old show, though, it doesn’t really matter.
Doctor Who has some of the best TV writers around. The head
writer for season six is Steven Moffat, who has written
six Hugo Award nominated episodes for the show. The sixth
season (or the first half of the season; the second half
is currently airing on the BBC), shows Moffat at what might
be his best.***
(As far as the lack of special effects go, it isn’t
noticeable in a show that can make decorative statues, darkness,
and what appear to be giant metal pepper shakers into genuinely
terrifying villains).***
The idea behind the show is that the Doctor, a mysterious
alien Time Lord, travels around the universe in the TARDIS,
which functions as time machine and is stuck in the shape
of a blue police call box. Every once in a while, the Doctor
dies and regenerates into another actor.***
The current Doctor is Matt Smith, and he might be the
best Doctor since the show was created in 1966. He looks
young for his age, and he’s only twenty-seven to begin with,
but is somehow able to project the wisdom, experience, and
confidence that comes with being a 900-year-old Time Lord.***
Also outstanding are Karen Gilliam and Arthur Davrill
as Amy Pond and Rory Williams, the Doctor’s loyal companions.
Amy is smart and sassy and leggy; her husband Rory is less
impulsive and less bright but also utterly loyal to his
wife. Alex Kingston plays River Song, a clever, mysterious
time traveler who has a past with the Doctor. Both of them
being time travelers, they are traveling through time in
different directions, so the last time River meets the Doctor
is the first time he meets her, and vice versa. Together,
the four make up a brilliant ensemble with incredible chemistry,
especially considering that the current cast has been together
for only a season and a half.***
Even the weakest episodes of Doctor Who have at least
a few strikingly original ideas, while the strongest episodes
are probably the best science fiction on TV. The first half
of season six has no weak episodes. (The weakest is probably
The Curse of the Black Spot, and that episode is only flawed
in comparison to the brilliant ones surrounding it, such
as The Impossible Astronaut and A Good Man Goes To War).
The writing is as strong as ever here—Steven Moffat is easily
the best writer on the show, and he wrote three of the seven
episodes.***
The very first scene of the first episode shows the
Doctor being gunned down by an astronaut. The second introduces
possibly the creepiest of the show’s villains, the Silence,
a species that is instantly forgotten after they are encountered.
Then Amy gets pregnant, and River Song knows more about
the Doctor than he knows about himself. (Not surprising,
since she’s met him in his future). Sometimes all the plot
threads become a little too confusing to handle, and the
first half of the series ends with the audience knowing
far too little about antagonists’ motivations.***
But for the most part, the show flows quite well, balancing
well-written stand-alone episodes with show-altering revelations
reminiscent of Lost or Twin Peaks. Doctor Who is like no
other show on television today. It is always smart and original,
and season six might be the best season yet.***
Video and Audio:
The DVDs look good; the color is crisp and sharp. The
show’s special effects people always make sure the show
looks good on screen and that attention to detail shows
here. The sound is good too, with the dialogue easy to hear.
Murray Gold’s score is good, but fortunately never overwhelms
the dialogue.***
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