This Is The Dawning Of A New Era

[alexsarll]

Welcome, 2007! Mental soundtrack for NYE was the Mountain Goats lyric "I am going to make it through this year if it kills me", interspersed with excerpts from Jason Webley's partying-in-the-face-of-the-abyss masterpiece Against the Night. And make it through I did. Too soon to judge the new year yet, of course - and peculiar to spend NYD sober - but if nothing else, 2006 is done.

Given how long we spent without any new Doctor Who broadcast at all, it's truly remarkable that from Christmas Day to New Year's Day, the BBC transmitted seven new episodes of Who universe drama - if slightly worrying that the other four were all so thoroughly better than the supposed core series. True, Radio 7's Blood of the Daleks shared far too much with Runaway Bride, opening as it did with an obnoxious peon played by an alleged comedy actress being beamed aboard the TARDIS without the Doctor's consent. And yes, it then went into an unutterably generic Dalek plot. But at least the script had some flashes of wit (especially the McGann wig joke), the rest of the cast were pretty good, and the Doctor didn't come across as a pathetic, affection-starved bunny-boiler.
The Sarah Jane Adventures was the sort of broad-brush storytelling we've come to expect (or do I mean fear?) from Russell T Davies - but in an actual children's programme, that's easier to forgive. And crucially, it was *fun*, and at least made a sort of sense on its own terms. Although - wasn't that alien poetess the same species as Torchwood's telepathic space lesbian?
And yes, Torchwood, whose two-part finale was finally the programme I'd wanted it to be. Trauma! Chaos! Sapphire & Steel ambience! Boykissing! If only a certain member of the supporting cast had been left dead, that would have been perfect.

Comments

[kiss-me-quick.livejournal.com]

wasn't that alien poetess the same species as Torchwood's telepathic space lesbian?

Yes! I forgot about that but yes, it was definitely the same. They obviously didn't have enough budget to create a new one.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Well, why not use the same alien more than once? And it's nice to know that Sarah Jane's all about the muff that planet's inhabitants aren't all such rogues.

[kiss-me-quick.livejournal.com]

Well yes, it's fair enough that more than one of them exists and has made it to planet earth, but I bet they did just want to save money.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

A slow-witted black bad guy on a BBC drama, truly we are in the post-politically-correct age. I thought it was alright, or something. Anyway, eight pieces, the best was the New Year's Eve Vicar of Dibley, where Alice was maid of honour dressed in a perfect replica of David Tennant's costume. It was clear once Geraldine said "what about the bridesmaids" that there would be daleks walking up the aisle (or, possibly, down the nave). CBBC has a really badly filmed Buffy clone coming up, I was tempted to set the video.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

And the black girl in SJA was pretty annoying too, come to think if it.

Are you thinking MIHigh? Surely that's more Alias than Buffy?

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Oh well maybe, I've only seen the trailer, and she was fighting really lame Zombies and so on.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

The scuttling hand did look v.poor, it's true.

[ksta.livejournal.com]

please to fill out mine poll, when you get a minute.

[puzzled-anwen.livejournal.com]

I am hoping that the vision turns out to be true as originally seen after all.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

YES!

[kiss-me-quick.livejournal.com]

What's wrong with Rhys? I like Rhys!

Problem with Rhys

[pippaalice.livejournal.com]

BO-RING! he is not fit for the name...

[puzzled-anwen.livejournal.com]

He's annoying and he did that thing with his bottom and also it would just be a bit INTERESTING if an actual regular actually was dead rather than randomly resurrected for no particular reason with no memory of what happened.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

He's NORMAL and BORING and would have no place in any social grouping worth knowing, much less taking up screen time that could be used on CAPTAIN JACK! and co.

[juggzy.livejournal.com]

I loved Sarah Jane - I thought they were doing something very clever with a midle aged spinster, there (although that may be just porjection on my part) in contrast to the BBC's usual policy of making out that there is nothing more fulfilling for a woman than following her Biological Destiny and having a Baybee (re: Every episode of Eastenders since the dawn of time).

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Yes, I did like the 'wasted life' stuff and its utter rejection - though I wasn't sure how much the tinies would get from it. Oh well, catch 'em young, I suppose!

[juggzy.livejournal.com]

I applaud it because it's putting another option in front of them, not yer usual Connie-clone in flat boots with a 'I'm only doing this until I get married' sign around her neck; but someone visibily older who is refusing to be categorised by the usual platitudes, and is just getting on with saving the world, but still funky and attractive. Actually, I might have to write in and ask that she wear stillettos - they shouldn't be confined to villainesses.

Although I suspect that she's going to end up getting shacked to the junior sidekicks's dad.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Oh no. Oh please no. A little will-they-won't-they, maybe, but not a relationship! Apart from anything else, he looks closer to his daughter's age than Sarah Jane's.

Although I would like to see the mother being gutted by a Weevil or sthg.

[juggzy.livejournal.com]

Also: 'Luke'. Martin clone or what?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I was just disappointed they didn't go for the obvious name - Archie.

[juggzy.livejournal.com]

Heh. And such he shall be known as, in my mind, anyway, forever.

[gregjames.livejournal.com]

Interesting. This is the first positive review I've read of the Torchwood finale. Everything one I've asked about it has said it was hammy wank with some gay cliches mixed in.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Hammy? Perhaps, but I don't mind a bit of overwrought melodrama if it's done well. And compared to Catherine fvcking Tate or even Tennant's festive performance, everyone in Torchwood deserves an Oscar.

(Then again, when you look at some of the people who actually have won Oscars, Tate's probably a shoo-in)

[davegodfrey.livejournal.com]

Blood of the Daleks, and the series that BBC 7 will do will (apparantly) lead up to the Eighth regeneration into Mr Grinny-Ears. Hopefully it'll be pretty good.

Quite frankly the Big Finish Audio ones on BBC 7 have been far better than the new TV ones.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I don't think that's wholly fair - sure, Sword of Orion was better than any of Tennant's Cybermen stories, but I think 'Girl in the Fireplace', 'Impossible Planet' and 'Satan Pit' all outclassed any of the recently aired ones, and indeed bear comparison with the heights of Who in any format.

I hadn't heard that about these stories leading up to the Time War, and I have to say, I hope you're wrong - if only because a story of that magnitude deserves a better companion than this witless Two Pints of Lager refugee.

[davegodfrey.livejournal.com]

Now RTD has used his evil mind control device talent to influence all aspects of Who it is now against the laws of physics for a companion to be anything other than a chav.

The problem I have with the new Who is the format. There just isn't enough time to develop the characters and the concepts they're trying to introduce other than in the 2-parters.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Hang about, from what little we've seen of Martha thus far she is a well-spoken medical student! Besides being TV Who's long-overdue first non-white companion*.

And while some of the new stories are rushed, when watching/listening to many of the old ones you realise quite how much fat was there to be trimmed. I think both incarnations could have done with more flexibility.


*No Kamelion or K-9 jokes, please.

[davegodfrey.livejournal.com]

If they did make the storylines longer you'd have fewer stories per season, and hopefully cut out some of the dross- Doctor saving the olympics while fighting kiddies drawings, for example.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

But (disgusting pro-Olympic agenda aside) many of the problems with that story were budgetary; it was using cheap sets to save money for the finale. Ditch it and all you'd likely get in exchange is one of those tiresome escape-run-around-corridors-get-recaptured episodes. And frankly, I don't think there have been any stories in the new series which would have been improved by being longer.

[sbp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Captain Jack should never have survived after defeating the end of level Boss devil monster with his Buffy amuletlife force.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Hem hem! The suspicion that some wrongheaded loon would deliberately misread me thus was present in my ever-cynical mind, which is why, while avoiding full spoilers, I carefully said "If only a certain member of the supporting cast had been left dead."