I rewatched this last night for the first time since Christmas Day last year (original reaction post here) and I have to say I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than I did the first time.

I liked David Morrissey this time. I thought he acted the part brilliantlly (though possibly a fraction too tearfully) and there was lovely chemistry between him and David Tennant. And the story of how he 'became' the Doctor was excellent. I do wish they had left the reveal until later, though, because Jackson Lake's story really was the interesting part of the episode and all the Cybermen stuff really should have been just an excuse for him to become overloaded with the datastamp.

I still thought the Cyberking stuff was boring and not a good climax to the show (though at least it did make a bit more sense to me this time as I heard Ten explain that it was actually a spaceship) and not just a ridiculously large Cyberman, which is what I'd previously thought. *g* But I still prefer my drama on a smaller scale - a human scale - and preferably one that doesn't make one wonder why the history books have never mentioned this enormous Cyberman stomping all over London on Christmas Day 1851!

I also didn't like Jackson declaring that the Doctor had never been thanked for saving people. I'm sure that's a downright lie. All right, maybe he hasn't had loads of people cheering him like that before, but individuals have thanked him, haven't they?

Also? Calling the episode 'The Next Doctor' doesn't make any sense, because he's NOT the next Doctor. The episode isn't actually anything about the next Doctor, and even the real Doctor only thinks Jackson is the next Doctor for about the first quarter of the episode! It should have been called 'The Other Doctor' or something like that.

Anyway. I enjoyed it, and now I'm off to see if Planet of the Dead is better than I remember too. :-)

One good thing that came out of me being so tired and out of it last week was that I actually sat down and watched quite a bit of telly. I watched several episodes of Torchwood, one of Buffy, two of Angel, one of Dollhouse, and finally The Five Doctors. So have a review!

( Review of The Five Doctors )

Wow. Oh wow.

I remembered it being good, but I didn't remember how good. So much there. Fabulous characters, loads of fantastic lines, lots of tension and suspense - especially the continuing question of how were the seers seeing the future so clearly, and I loved the explanation that they weren't seeing the volcano erupting because in that timeline it wasn't going to - and an absolutely brilliant expansion on the Doctor/Donna relationship. I adore the dynamic between them here: Donna continuously questioning everything the Doctor usually just does automatically, and being exactly what he needs. That's brilliant.

And the moment where he has to make the choice to kill 20,000 people to save the Earth, and all the echoes that must have of having to destroy Gallifrey to save the universe... And the fact that this time he has Donna there to make the choice with him, put her hand over his on the lever, that this time he's not alone... That's just. Wow. Made me shiver.

I watched this ahead of schedule because I am role-playing Jack/Rani and I thought it sensible to learn more about the character. And a fantastic character she is too - cool and sexy and utterly fascinating as a villain who's not intrinsically villainous like the Master but merely absorbed by her science and not at all concerned about the effects of it on anyone else. And the interplay between her and the Master is hugely entertaining, even if they do both give in to the Doctor a little too easily.

Unfortunately, the Rani and the Master are by far the best things in this serial. (Oh, and the scenery of Blists Hill museum, which I visited on a family holiday not that long after this serial was made in 1984.) I'd been interested to see how I liked watching the Sixth Doctor again, because when I first watched his stories (as a pre/early-teen) I thought Colin Baker rather hot. Not as hot as Peter Davison, of course, but still rather hot. But in the snippets I've seen since then, however, I didn't like him. And, yeah, I didn't like him in this either. He has the same arrogance and rudeness that all incarnations of the Doctor display, but in him, rather than being cool or funny, they're just annoying. I couldn't like him.

And as for Peri... What is the point of her character? I don't think it's Nicola Bryant's fault - I've seen her in other things since and she was all right - as much as the writers/directors. All she seems to do is state the obvious, look frightened (which she admittedly does very well *g*) and get in the way/fail to save the Doctor. I don't think she actually did anything useful, apart from collect the plant for the sleeping draught, and even that involved getting caught in a minefield and getting a rather handsome young man turned into a tree!

It's a shame, because it's a relatively good story and it was beautifully shot. Mind you, don't get me started on those atrocious 'northern' accents! *g*

ETA: Nearly forgot to mention, this was my first good look at the Master's TCE and wow. Could that thing be any more phallic????

Also: Has anyone ever slashed Ainley!Master/Avon? Because they should.

Voyage of the Damned: Not a lot to say, really, except that I enjoyed this a hell of a lot more than I remembered enjoying it the first time. Possibly because the first time I'd been waiting months since the end of the last series, so there was a lot more weighing on it, whereas this time it was just something to get out of the way so I could see Donna. *g* But it wasn't bad. It was quite good fun, and there were some great characters, though it was a shame so many of them were killed along the way.

Partners in Crime: I really, really enjoyed this. There's not really a hell of a lot to it, but it works very well as a re-introduction of Donna and her family, and I am completely in love with her grandad, bless him. I loved the cleverness of the Doctor and Donna missing each other so very closely whilst investigating. I enjoyed Sarah Lancashire's performance. The journalist who kept getting tied up was fun. The Adipose were unbelievably cute, for little balls of fat. And Donna just seems to bring out a great performance from DT. And I loved the Doctor's attempt to save the nanny at the end. That's just so him.

(My original, one-line, review of Partners in Crime is here - and heh, that was 6 April last year - very nearly a year ago!)

NB Still need a Donna icon. Must go icon-hunting soon!

Wow. I just rewatched TSoD and LotTL for the first time in far, far too long. I deliberately left it for a long time because I'd overwatched them early on, and I wanted to get my enjoyment back - and it definitely worked. They are two amazing episodes. So much going on there.

On the other hand, I spotted several things that mean I'm going to have rejig some of what I've written for the latest chapter on Master Plan. I mean, that's why I watched, because I'd forgotten a lot of the details, and I'm glad I did, and it's given me some new ideas for Masterly and Doctorly sneakiness, but... yeah. Some things just aren't going to work the way I've written them.

Still. Yeah. A very enjoyable evening of telly. :-)

I really, really enjoyed this series. It's seven episodes long but the story kept going and didn't feel as if it was dragging at any point. And it kept you thinking too. A great moral dilemma – humans v. the creatures who were there first and wanted to take back the earth. I loved the Doctor trying so hard to get both sides to work and live together, and then, when that didn't work, at least getting the Silurians to go back into their stasis – only to find at the very end that the Brigadier was blowing them up.

Fantastic expansion on the relationship between the Doctor and the Brigadier in this one. Where is the Doctor/Brigadier slash? There must be some, surely? Especially with the Doctor looking so damn sexy in his white t-shirt and jeans and all those muscles… d'you know, I think Three is actually the 'fittest'-looking Doctor of them all, really! Not bad, at Jon Pertwee's age!

Other things spotted:

Bessie!!!! (Bessie is about the only thing I remember about Three.)

Avon!!!! (All right, Paul Darrow – a very young Paul Darrow, as one of the Brigadier's soldiers. It was his voice that made me recognise him. You can't miss that grating voice.)

Geoffrey Palmer!!!! (I don't think I'd ever seen him looking so young.)

And an interesting little note to add to the Doctor's confusion about his age: "You know, I'm beginning to lose confidence for the first time in my life - and that covers several thousand years." I suppose he could be talking about the several thousand years that he's visited over his lifetime, but it's a bit odd. They really should have paid more attention to canon as they were writing it! :-)

(NB. Must get a Three icon. I've still got another three serials with him in! Maybe a 'Three iz fit' icon. Hmmm...)

(Or perhaps I should be referring to it as the 51st DW serial. I'm not sure which convention is used!)

Wow. I don't think I've watched any of the Third Doctor serials (oh, except a short bit of The Mind of Evil on YouTube, in black and white) since I've been an adult. As a consequence, I had no idea that Jon Pertwee was so damn sexy!

( The rest is under the cut )

Overall, very enjoyable and I'm glad I bought it. I've still got the commentaries (I think there's one for each of the four episodes!) and a few extras to watch, too!

And now it's late, I'm tired, and so I'm going to bed. :-)

(aka I've now finished the box-set of the first three serials)

There are some great extras on the Edge of Destruction DVD – on that one because the serial's only two episodes long.

There's a 45 minute documentary about 'The Origins of Doctor Who', which was a fascinating look into how it was thought up and started production and almost got cancelled after shooting the first episode etc. etc. Some interesting shots of 'Studio D' where it was filmed and some of the sets.

There's also a half-hour look at the rather complicated plot etc. of the Edge of Destruction, which works better than a commentary on this one because it gives you a chance to focus visually on some of the things you might have missed first time round.

Then there are other short documentaries about the TARDIS set, the creation of the Doctor Who theme tune (which was fascinating – the whole thing was created by splicing bits of tape together!), and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, which created all the sound-effects and some of the music.

Throughout most of the documentaries there are interviews with several of the behind the scenes people, and also with William Russell (Ian Chesterton), who looks great and is a real sweetie, and Carole Ann Ford (Susan), who looks pretty awful, I have to say! They were on most of the commentaries too.

Finally, there's a very condensed (7 episodes condensed to 30 minutes!) version of the Marco Polo serial which followed Edge of Destruction. Its recording has been lost, but the audio track remains and they've cleverly used parts of this along with a lot of still photographs to make it work perfectly well as a story. I really enjoyed it!

And I'm going to miss the First Doctor, and Ian and Barbara and Susan. I haven't got any more with them on. :-(

My Second Doctor story (Tomb of the Cybermen) hasn't arrived yet so I'm not sure what I'll watch next. I have a feeling I might be tempted to skip to something with the Master in... *g*

A very unusual (and short - only two episodes) serial - especially because it takes place entirely on the TARDIS with no extra actors other than the regulars. I'm not sure I entirely understood what was going on, but they certainly had a lot of fun, with acting amnesia and OOC (making us think they'd been taken over by something, though that was a red herring) and accusing each other of messing with the TARDIS' systems etc. etc.

(Wiki entry here if anyone wants a synopsis - they explain the story better than I could!)

( Interesting/fun things under the cut )

Hmmm. I never know what icon to use for these reviews. I need one of those with lots of Doctors on. Or a generic 'Classic Who' one, or something! :-)

( Cut for length )

Anyway, in summary, I really, really enjoyed this serial. It's well-written, well-acted and a great story!

I watched the commentaries last night and one of the most interesting things was when they talked about the TARDIS internal set. Apparently the guy who created it didn't want to do it and did it all at the last minute - which is pretty impressive when you consider just how much of that original design has lasted right up until now! He came up with the idea for basing it all on hexagons - the hexagonal console and the round/hexagon-shapes on the walls.

( Cut for length )

A very mixed reaction to this one. It was fascinating to see what the very first DW serial was like - and about - but to be honest, the fact that it was about a tribe of cavemen meant that to me it was pretty damn boring. Cavemen really aren't my thing. Not to mention the complete absense of worry about timelines and showing the cavemen how to make fire etc. etc.!

( Cut for length )
And next, I get the Daleks! Yippeee!!! :-)

Watched The Next Doctor last night with hubby and we both thought it was rather crap, to be honest. Neither of us likes David Morrissey, and we're both really fed up with Cybermen. Though the Queen thing was pretty cool. The special effects of the super-sized Cyberman were absolute pants and completely boring since there was no emotional investment – in the whole episode, really.

The only good bit was the last few minutes. The Doctor admitting that "They break my heart" (though shouldn't it have been 'hearts'?) was soul-wrenching, and I liked the fact that he actually went off to dinner with Jackson. And that he had someone to share memories with. That was kind of nice. But the episode relied far too heavily on the 'tension' of wondering who the other Doctor actually was and while I liked the reveal, it meant there wasn't much left afterwards.

I really can't think of anything else to say. Will catch up at some point with what everyone else thought of it!

I watched these again last night and wow, I'd forgotten how amazing they are! I really don't think I've got anything to add to my original reviews last year:

Human Nature
The Family of Blood

Definitely some of the very best episodes of the new Doctor Who so far. Very, very good.

( Review here )

-------------------------------

On an unrelated note, I'm shattered and braindead and I think I'm going to spend the best part of the evening watching Human Nature/The Family of Blood. I have no brain left for RP.

I have, however, got a ficlet off to beta and written another 300 or so words of Master Plan today. Which feels good!

Oh, and I love our first floor living room with huge picture window. We're getting a great fireworks show from the comfort of our own sofa!

Not a great episode by any means. Mainly, I think, because Martha's family just don't interest me. Leo's quite amusing but Tish is just dumb and Francine is incredibly annoying.

Lazarus himself just doesn't really interest me. I think I'd find him more scary if he didn't keep reverting to the CGI creature. I'm more interested in villains with brains and cool dialogue than random creatures chasing you and trying to eat you. His wife, actually, was a better character. Much scarier.

No really great stuff for the Doctor either, except looking nice in a suit. And I liked Martha's dress.

God, there must be more to say about this episode than that!

Oh! There's the Saxon stuff. I have literally only seen this episode the once, when it first aired, and it was interesting coming back to it after having rewatched the Master episodes so many times because although I knew there was obviously a connection between the Master and Lazarus, I'd forgotten about the guy coming up to Francine and trying to use her to turn Martha against the Doctor. That's really interesting. Is that really the Master trying to change his own timeline???

6/10

I watched the first of this double-parter last night, which turned out to be extremely apt as it's set on 1st November! (Okay, 1930, but still…)

I never wrote a review first time round and I'm afraid I still don't have very much to say (mainly because it's late and I'm tired) but I'm determined to actually post something!

Like Gridlock, I enjoyed these a lot more than I did the first time. Yes, there are some pretty awful characters (Tallulah and Laszlo spring immediately to mind) but there are some really cool ones too, like Frank and Soloman. (And the guy who plays Soloman was a character in my absolute favourite episode of Press Gang many, many years ago, which is pretty cool!)

The first part is a pretty standard episode, but it kept the interest going and I enjoyed it. And the second part had some really interesting stuff. The Daleks making humans into Daleks and the way that debate kept going back and forth, and the Doctor being so damned cool giving himself up to the Daleks at Hooverville, and his desperation when he lost his screwdriver trying to get the Dalek panels off the top of the mast, and clinging to the mast so the lightning would go through him too - very cool! (Though I do think they missed a bit of a trick there, in that the 'new race' were therefore part Time Lord – they could have made more of that – a spark of hope in the Doctor that he now wasn't entirely alone, before they wiped them all out!)

And how cool was the Doctor going down afterwards to face off Dalek Caan? (Or is it Kahn? Suddenly, I can't remember!) The Doctor had a lot of really cool moments in this one. It really was DT's episode.

Daleks in Manhatten – 6.5/10
Evolution of the Daleks – 7.5/10

I have to admit that Gridlock is where I stopped writing reviews on my first viewing of Season 3, because I found it incredibly boring. And I don't know what was different this time except that possibly I'm a bit emotional (hormones) but this time I really enjoyed it.

Yes, the couple who kidnapped Martha were still very wet, and all the car stuff was a bit boring, and I still want to know where the hell they came from if they had only just started travelling and yet everything but the motorway had been sealed off for 24 years, and how no-one had seen the sky when there was definitely sky in that alley with the street-sellers – it was raining, so there must have been sky! – but yeah. I enjoyed it.

Especially the Doctor. DT gives a stellar performance in this episode. From the bit at the beginning where Martha's asking him about his home world and he's pretending it's still there, to his desperation when he loses her only three episodes after losing Rose, to the fun of his interaction with the various passengers of the cars he passes through, to the sheer ache of his meeting with the Face of Boe, to his exhilaration at saving everyone, to the pathos of Martha finally making him talk about Gallifrey. I cried. He is a very good actor.

And then there's the Face of Boe. I deliberately went into the episode this time with an open mind about the Jack/FoB stuff, and actually, the idea that that's Jack, looking after the people of (New) Earth in the Doctor's absence (yeah, that sounds familiar) and giving everything he has to save those people… that idea is definitely growing on me. There's even the fact that, as Nurse Hayne tells us, he wired himself into the mainframe and 'gave his lifeforce' to power it. Hmm. That sounds distinctly familiar, doesn't it?

Anyway. Definitely better than I remember. 7.5/10