Reaction(s) post

[tree_and_leaf]

Despite some difficulties (caused by the family, or more specifically, my grandmother), I managed to see Doctor Who on Saturday. I must say, I enjoyed it - the plot was fairly thin, but it worked as a good introduction to Martha, who I rather like, though I hope, possibly against hope, that the tempatation to pursue the unrequited love/ lust/ whatever angle will be resisted. The consultant's name was rather amusingly chosen, given his ultimated fate. I have to admit I rather liked him, despite the fact that he was a pompous ass. Tennant was good - hopefully he's settling down into the role, and his more whimsical moments were better used. A combination of slightly alien behaviour with an element of Peter Wimseyish camouflage, most noticably when he confronted the Plasmavore. ("He was giving the perfect imitation of a silly ass about town." "Then he was either frightfully bored or detecting something.") RTD, incidentally, absolutely sucks at devising alien names and languages.

I'm also wondering how long it will be before someone writes to the papers or complains to the BBC about Martha doing the old CPR procedures!

I finally saw an episode of Life on Mars, and bought last season's box set on the strength of it. Very impressed by the two episodes I have seen, although it's slightly disturbing to discover that my mother has a crush on Gene Hunt (who seems to becoming a bit of a Popular Cultural Icon).

The ITV adaptation of Northanger Abbey was excellent - sharp scripting, I liked the way they used the Gothic imaginings of Catherine, and Emma Grundy (I temporarily forget the actress' real name) was impressive, as was the bloke playing Henry Tilney. The 'Persuasion' was less good - they made Anne too sentimental, and her kiss with Cpt Wentworth was disasterously illl-judged; it tipped over into comedy. Anthony Head was brilliantly selfish as Sir Walter, though, and stole every scene he was in. Sadly, he only had about five minutes screen-time.

Comments

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the interaction between the Doctor, pleased with his bunions, and Florence too. Has the Doctor been working as a postman for fifteen years, I thought, and he's still not over Rose? There's bound to be a subgenre of fanfic about that period somewhere...

[tree_and_leaf]

If there isn't, there will be soon.

Having seen Martha's Myspace page, in which she claims to be a Harry Potter fan, I confidently expect fanfics about Martha writting fanfics....

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the Northanger adaptation heartily (though I'd have forgiven it a lot in any case for including The Monk). The other two...

I hadn't thought of the Doctor's being a Wimseyish camouflage - I shall have to watch more closely. htough I wish he'd answered Martha's "you have to earn the title" with "Good point. What will you be doing your PhD in?"

[tree_and_leaf]

That's an excellent comeback - and one which I could imagine earlier Doctors making.

I didn't see the Mansfield Park - not a deliberate avoidance, as I hardly ever watch telly in Oxford - but I couldn't quite get my head around Billy Piper playing Fanny....

[dolorous-ett.livejournal.com]

*envies you for having watched Dr Who* (I still have no telly!

Nice to see you around again, anyway. Is all well?

[tree_and_leaf]

Everything's fine, thanks!

I'm not sure I would bother getting a telly - well, I don't have one in my room in college, but I have access to one. About the only thing I would miss is Doctor Who (although I have just realised how much I've been missing in Life on Mars)

[snorkackcatcher]

Tennant was good - hopefully he's settling down into the role

I agree -- but didn't he say a while ago that he didn't want to do it much longer? :(

[tree_and_leaf]

I think he was talking about staying on for season four, anyway. Which is about average for later Doctors.... But who knows? I hope he stays for a while, anyway.

[dolabellae.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen any of this (and am going straight to comments since I never did manage to catch up with last year's Doctor, which pains me greatly...) but I just wanted to say hellO!

[tree_and_leaf]

Hello, and hope all's well!

Also that you do manage to see some Who this year...

[legionseagle.livejournal.com]

It struck me as odd to use manual chest compression in a hospital anyway - surely there were better things to hand? Though if the reason a chap's heart has stopped because all the blood which would normally circulate through it has been sucked out of his body I'm not quite sure what any method of restarting was going to do for him. No gas, no va.

... well, yes, what he needed was presumably blood†

[tree_and_leaf]

It may just be necessary to accept that there were all sorts of problems with that scene - one might add that it's vanishingly unlikely that you'll succeed in starting a patient's heart with CPR; the only point it has is to keep them alive until the paramedics/crash team arrive with a defibrilator and an oxygen mask.

† Though I doubt that the NHS is well supplied with stocks of Gallifreyan Type Anything.

Gallifreyan Type Anything

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

also now causes me to wonder why, if the Doctor just wanted to confuse the space rhinos, he didn't take the quicker, more effective option, of just licking his hand and wiping it on her face. Less RTD, hardly more instrustive or, arguably, unpleasant.

Re: Gallifreyan Type Anything

[tree_and_leaf]

Yes, although I suppose one could argue that the kiss method added verismisilitude. (although the more I think about it the creepier I find the whole thing).

On the other hand, I suspect RTD's primary motivation was to wind up the fans, both with the pre-publicity and the thing itself. There are times when I find that sort of thing very tiresome.