Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The Day of the Doctor

Hmmmm....


I'll admit to having a bit of a falling out with the Doctor Who series. I haven't really kept up all that well since the end of the 5th season, and I think that's because it was starting to get a bit too much for me. I think it has a lot to do with what they keep doing with each new season and how they keep on 1 up-ing the last one in terms of stakes. I like the first season finale quite a bit because of how contained the whole situation was even though they had to go up against really tough challenges. Then, the next one involved a war on Earth that got a bit out of hand but it seemed to take place in just one area. The next one involved the entire world being enslaved with the final fix being a rewind button. The next one involved all of time collapsing, though, they actually did get pretty clever in their solution. The next, next one involved an even bigger collapse of time that involved Pandorica's Box and...stuff happens in order to fix that.

It just gets pretty tiring, following a series when it bends and breaks all of the newly presented rules from each new episode.

Still, with how incredibly popular this show has gotten, it's easy to see why it has been working so well even if plays fast and loose with what can happen(pretty much anything can happen long as The Doctor ends up preventing time from collapsing). It's because of the emotional connection that's in every episode. The reason why The Doctor has a companion with him is because that companion acts as a surrogate for your understanding of this strange new universe. These are the people who are incredibly eager to go on these adventures just as much as your eager to wish that there was a Doctor that can take you on these kinds of adventures. A Journey through Time and Space with new interesting planets, life-forms, and technology. That, and the show is also really well written.  Even the filler episodes that don't really affect the overall arching plot line of the series will be some of the best stuff you'll see on television.

So, while I haven't been keeping up too much with Doctor Who lately, I still looked forward to this 50th anniversary special where they bring every doctor in order to fight the good fight. And, no, I'm not going to get into anymore details into the plot if you haven't seen it already. But, suffice it to say, it's pretty damn incredible.

The one word I've heard described after the first time viewing this episode(yeah, I saw it twice. Once at home, the next at the movie theater), the word I heard described was "Epic." When I thought about it, it's kind of an unusual word to describe this particular episode, because most of it takes place in just a couple of rooms where people have long conversations with each other. Yes, there are a lot of glimpses of epic battle scenes, but a lot of the drama and conflict comes from The Doctor...and the other Doctor....and the other other Doctor. It's what's great about this series; it's able to bring out these high stakes and epic moments by conveying it all through just the characters. While most of the plot line revolves around other characters than the title character himself, this episode exclusively focuses on The Doctor.

Weirdly enough, the world didn't blow up when they showed David Tennant(yes, he's back again as The Doctor) and Matt Smith in the same scenes. And their time together is an absolute riot. I've always kind of felt like that these two actors were sort of playing the same kind of Doctor just by the fact of how quirky they like to act(maybe Matt Smith goes a bit on the quirkier side). The way they wrote both of these characters into the story doesn't necessarily confirm that they're playing the same kind of person, but I wasn't wrong to think og how similar they are. Either way, this episode goes to show how great either of them are as The Doctor. I think, by this time, people have finally settled into the fact that Matt Smith really is a good Doctor; he just had the misfortune of having to follow up on David Tennant, even though they both do exceptional jobs(I actually might kind of, sort of like Matt Smith just a little bit more than David Tennant and I'm going to miss him when he's gone, though, I'm looking forward to the new actor).

If it's anything this 50th anniversary special does is that it reminds us of why we like this show in the first place(much in the same way the recent Bond movie did that with its 50 year anniversary special). The creators of the show are just as excited of showing us a new episode as a lot of people are in watching these new episodes. The Day of the Doctor is here to commemorate the show and all of the Doctors and of all of the fans of the show as well. This episode has gotten me excited enough to maybe even get back with the series. The show definitely seems to be looking forward to the shows progress in the future. So, bring it on!

Also, as long as we're on BBC British Television Shows...



Hell...Yes!!!

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