The Idiot's Lantern

The Idiot's Lantern

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Fear Her Review

From Our British Correspondent

The best thing I can say about Fear Her is that it's not bad. The story's not bad, the actors aren't bad, the direction's not bad. There's a bit near the end that's not too good, but otherwise the episode's not bad. Not great, but not bad. The preview for next week's episode was awesome, though. How's that for a review?

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Love & Monsters Review (At Last)

From Our British Correspondent (who is almost caught up)

After the huge scale of the previous story comes an episode that's not only small but also different. Very different. Very, very different. Fans have been ragging on it since it aired. And I loved it.

Love & Monsters marks the return of Russell T Davies as writer, his last episode being the uncharacteristic (for him, at least) Tooth & Claw. Here he gives us a story that's not so much about the Doctor as it is about Doctor Who and its fans. In fact the Doctor and Rose only appear briefly, with the bulk of the story given over to a small group of people with a common interest: the Doctor.

One of the joys of this story for me was recognizing bits of myself and DW groups I've been part of down the years in both Elton and L.I.N.D.A. Like Elton, I met the love of my life in a DW club (3 marriages came out of that club, btw). And music played an important part of the group (Duran Duran, not ELO however). Lots of great memories came flooding back thanks to this episode.

True, bits of it were rather silly, but they were supposed to be. Some fans haven't seemed to catch on, but at least the cast knows what's going on and does a splendid job with it. And special mention must be made of the Absorbaloff (from the planet Clum, which apparently does indeed have a North), the winning entry of last year's Blue Peter Design a DW Monster contest. RTD did a brilliant job of building a fan-related story around a fan-created monster. Thank you, Russell. At least this fan loved it.

Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit Review (Finally)

From Our British Correspondent (back from vacation)

This is a big story. Bigger than anything yet seen on the new Who. But, as they say, bigger isn't always better. I know fans have been gushing about this story of an ancient evil on the edge of a black hole, but for me not so much.

One of the problems is the strong sense of deja vu. The basic premise of an evil entity being the inspiration for later interpretations of the same has already been done twice before in DW (The Daemons and The Awakening) and was originally covered in Quatermass and the Pit. Add to that numerous films (Alien, The Black Hole, Event Horizon, etc) that are referenced and you get a bad case of been-there-done-that.

There are other problems as well. For instance, why do the crew of the base seem so blase' when the Doctor and Rose show up? Considering where they are, you would think it would have caused a bigger stir. And then there is the bit about pumping oxygen through the air ducts. Air ducts with large gratings that apparently don't allow in air somehow. Finally, the situation at the end should have seemed hopeless for everyone. Unfortunately, the solution is set up so blatantly that the climax becomes an exercise in waiting for the obvious to happen. And of course it does.

There are good things about the episodes. Effects and make-up are all excellent and the cast are for the most part good. And its nice to see the Doctor getting all philosophical. Shame about the rest of it.

Friday, June 23, 2006

Doctor Who news

Series One (season 27) in the USA:
Fridays, on the SciFi Channel
Current episode:
Series 1 has finished it's current run. *patiently awaiting news on when series two will air...*

Previous episodes:
13. The Parting of the Ways
12. Bad Wolf
11. Boom Town
10. The Doctor Dances
9. The Empty Child
8. Father's Day
7.The Long Game
6.Dalek
5.World War III
4.Aliens of London
3.The Unquiet Dead
2.The End of the World
1.Rose

Series Two (season 28) in the UK:
Saturdays, at 7pm GMT on BBC1
Current episode:
11. Fear Her

Previous episodes:
10. Love & Monsters
9. The Satan Pit
8. The Impossible Planet
7. The Idiot's Lantern
6. The Age of Steel
5. The Rise of the Cybermen
4. The Girl in the Fireplace
3.School Reunion
2.Tooth and Claw
1. New Earth

Doctor Who gets ReAnimated!
The Second Doctor story, the Invaision, is going to be released on dvd-complete with 2 animated episodes (1 and 4, I believe) Since the soundtracks are still available for both episodes, they are going to animate the two missing episodes and release the full story. I think that's really cool-I hope they release it here in the U.S. as well. I also hope they can do that with other lost stories-it would be quite a project, but a really awesome one!
Click here for the full story. :)

Speaking of Classic series releases, the UK will be releasing the Fourth Doctor story, the Sontaran Experiment on dvd in October. I hope the region 1 edition will follow-then I can get rid of my Sontaran/Genesis tapes, and make more room on my Doctor Who shelf! ;)

More on series 3
Doctor Who will get a new producer for the upcoming third series. Susie Liggat will take over the reigns while producer Phil Collinson takes a much desereved break!

More on last week's spoiler story
No, I'm still not going to say what it's about, but here's a link to some rumors related to last week's announcement.

from the Scifi Wire

I will be on vacation next week-however, my sister does have an internet connection, so I'm going to try to post while I'm away. If nothing else, at least a link to next week's episode in the U.K. :)

TAFN, happy Who watching!

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Tardisode #11: Fear Her

"Crime Crackers. Cracking down on crime." I have to admit, I giggled just a bit when I saw that... *ahem*

Young children going missing, however, is no laughing matter. :(

I find the range of the Fear Factor ratings this week quite interesting:
Amy, the youngest at 5, and the only girl, gave it a 1 (mildly scary). Adam, the oldest at 13, gave it a 4 (chilling) the others were between the two, and the overall Fear Factor score ended up being 3 (very scary). After seeing the preview and the Tardisode, I'm interested in seeing how this episode plays out.

This week the Doctor Who homepage has been featuring art work sent in by children. Be sure to check it out before they change the homepage for next week's episode. :)

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Reminder-Meeting of Doctor Who Columbus this Sunday (6/25)

Doctor Who Columbus will have their next meeting at 1:00 pm on Sunday June 25th at the Upper Arlington Public Library. The library is at 2800 Tremont Rd in Upper Arlington. We will be showing The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit. Following the meeting, we will head to a nearby restaurant for dinner and socializing. All Columbus Ohio area Doctor Who fans are welcome to join in the fun.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Doctor Who news

Series One (season 27) in the USA:
Friday, starting at 8pm EST on the SciFi Channel
Current episode:
Series 1 has finished it's current run. Tonight is a four episode marathon:
Aliens of London, pt. 1; World War Three, pt. 2; Dalek; and The Long Game.

Previous episodes:
13. The Parting of the Ways
12. Bad Wolf
11. Boom Town
10. The Doctor Dances
9. The Empty Child
8. Father's Day
7.The Long Game
6.Dalek
5.World War III
4.Aliens of London
3.The Unquiet Dead
2.The End of the World
1.Rose

Series Two (season 28) in the UK:
Saturdays, at 7pm GMT on BBC1
Current episode:
10. Love & Monsters

Previous episodes:
9. The Satan Pit
8. The Impossible Planet
7. The Idiot's Lantern
6. The Age of Steel
5. The Rise of the Cybermen
4. The Girl in the Fireplace
3.School Reunion
2.Tooth and Claw
1. New Earth

U.S.A. Ratings: The Parting of the Ways generated a 1.14 household rating with an average of 1.4 million viewers. According to the SciFi Channel, the first full series generated an average 1.26 household rating, with an average audience of 1.5 million viewers.

Seem low? Not so-check out SciFi Wire: Doctor Who boosted the network's ratings on Fridays by double digits!! Woo-hoo!!! What does that mean for series 2? Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see!! It's gotta be good though. Don't forget-series 1 comes out on dvd in the U.S. on July 4th!!

Now that the series has ended, rumors have started to fly on when series 2 will air. The biggest comes from ICv2, which has said that Doctor Who will probably return in October on the SciFi Channel. Keep in mind, though-there is still no official word from the SciFi Channel. We can keep our fingers crossed, though. :)

Speaking of series 2 airing 'across the pond', according to Michael over at the Torchwood Institute, series 2 will hit the airwaves in Canada October 9th.

Series 3 News
According to Outpost Gallifrey, series 3 will begin its 34 weeks of filming in July, starting with the Christmas episode.

Also, Stephen Fry, who was slated to write an episode for series 2, which was bumped to series 3, will not be able to pen an episode after all. :( According to Outpost Gallifrey, he had to pull out due to his schedule. Awww...

MAJOR SPOILER ALERT
Okay, I would feel as though I've let my readers down if I didn't report this-seeing as it's major Doctor Who news. However, as I know some people like to be shocked and surprised (I myself was a tad upset when my screensaver gave it away), I will only say both the BBC and the SciFi Wire have reported the news. Here are the links:
from the BBC
and
from the SciFi Wire

If you have an idea about what it is and don't care about being spoiled, feel free to click on them. Don't say I didn't warn ya. ;)

TAFN, Happy Who watching!!!

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Tardisode #10: Love & Monsters

Before even watching the Tardisode for Love & Monsters, I can tell it's going to be a silly episode...well, that's only because the first comment on the Fear Factor page was that everybody roars with laughter. ;) That's ok-I think we need a silly episode to balance out the rather intense ones.

Okay, I've been hit or miss (actually, more miss than hit) when trying to relate the Tardisode to the episode, but I figure it's all in good fun, so as long as no one is complaining...

*heh* I liked the websites-"L.I.N.D.A. is a secret organization, so we can't tell you where..." and the "Primitive Computer Page." The description of the episode tells of an ordinary man who becomes obsessed with the Doctor and Rose...somehow, though-I don't think the guy at the computer is the ordinary man...

By the way, the monster created for this story is the Blue Peter monster from a contest they held where the kiddies got to create a monster to be featured in a Doctor Who story. Congrats to the winner, William Grantham age 9! :)

The kiddies gave this episode a Fear Factor 2 (quite scary).

Sunday, June 11, 2006

June Meeting of Doctor Who Columbus

Doctor Who Columbus will have their next meeting at 1:00 pm on Sunday June 25th at the Upper Arlington Public Library. The library is at 2800 Tremont Rd in Upper Arlington. We will be showing The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit. Following the meeting, we will head to a nearby restaurant for dinner and socializing. All Columbus Ohio area Doctor Who fans are welcome to join in the fun.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Doctor Who news

Series One (season 27) in the USA:
Fridays, 9pm EST on the SciFi Channel
Current episode:
13. The Parting of the Ways

Previous episodes:
12. Bad Wolf
11. Boom Town
10. The Doctor Dances
9. The Empty Child
8. Father's Day
7.The Long Game
6.Dalek
5.World War III
4.Aliens of London
3.The Unquiet Dead
2.The End of the World
1.Rose

Series Two (season 28) in the UK:
Saturdays, at 7pm GMT on BBC1
Current episode:
9. The Satan Pit

Previous episodes:
8. The Impossible Planet
7. The Idiot's Lantern
6. The Age of Steel
5. The Rise of the Cybermen
4. The Girl in the Fireplace
3.School Reunion
2.Tooth and Claw
1. New Earth

It's the last episode of the first series here in the U.S.! For those who haven't seen the end of the series-I can't wait to hear about what you think of the show now. :) Still no word on series 2 for SciFi.

If you haven't already entered, there's still a chance to prove your Doctor Who's biggest fan and when a video iPod. Click here before time runs out!!

U.S. Ratings: Ratings were down a bit again- a 1.02 household rating with an average of 1.3 million viewers. Average to date: 1.27 household rating with an average of 1.5 million viewers.

The Beginner's Guide to Classic Doctor Who. BBC has created a beginner's guide to Classic Who for fans who are new to the series. You can select The Doctor, The Companions, The TARDIS, The Daleks, or Monsters, and you'll get a brief narrative description of each-with different images cycling throughout. Well, except for the Monsters section-with that one, you have a target, and these monsters scroll across the screen-when you fire on one (with Dalek gun sound effects) the monster lights up and you get a description. Overall, I like the guide. At first I thought the Companions section was a little thin (only talking about Rose, Sarah Jane, K-9, Susan, and briefly, Ian and Barbara), but then I remembered this is supposed to be a guide for fans who are new to the series. Trying to explain all of Doctor Who to a newcomer in one setting may overwhelm them. So why not just talk about the current, first, and the two companions who return for an episode in the current series? Hopefully, if they want to know more, they can check out more extensive guides, like the classic one found here. :)

If you haven't done so already, check out the Classic series eBooks. According to the site, all feature brand new artwork and extensive notes from the authors!

Congrats, Billie Piper! She has one another award-the UK TV Actress of the Year award at Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year Awards. :)

Doctor Who Audios Check out The Kingmaker, a Fifth Doctor story with Peter Davidson as the Doctor, and Nicola Bryant as Peri. I hear it's a brilliant story-and absolutely hillarious!

Series 3 Series 3 will begin with the filming of the Christmas special, and will go on for about 34 weeks. Next year, the Doctor will meet Shakespeare!

TAFN, Happy Who Watching! :)

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Tardisode #9: The Satan Pit

There are 2 reasons why this post is quite short:
1: I am still behind in series 2 viewing, so I haven't seen the first part of this story yet. (doh!)
2: Blogger is acting up (again)-it crashed big time-I think I'm lucky I got this post in!!! Took me a half hour before I thought it was safe to even attempt a post (I wasn't able to find any of my old posts-here or at Wandering Through E-Space).

Okay, since I'm not watching this Tardisode (although I hear it's just a rehash of the Impossible Planet), I'm just going to mention the Fear Factor.

The kiddies (ages ranging from 5-13) gave this a fear factor rating of 5: Terrifying. In fact, they were warned that some adults find this episode "especially frightening". Yikes! Time to break out the security blanket...

Hopefully Blogger will be back to normal (or at least working a little more smoothly) for my weekly Doctor Who news post tomorrow.

We shall see!

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Mid-Season Review

Now that the current season of Doctor Who has reached the mid-way point, I thought that it would be a good time to look back on what we've seen so far. On the whole (of the half), the season has been of exceptionally high quality on all fronts, a notch or two above last season. Here's how I rate the stories up to this point ('this point' not including The Impossible Planet even though it has already aired), starting at the bottom:

6- Tooth and Claw. All the elements are there for a great story, but they just don't quite come together as they should. Although the main reason I've put it on the bottom is the pre-credit sequence. Not only some of the worst coreographed martial arts I've ever seen, but pointless to boot.

5- New Earth. Not a bad start to the season really, but did we need to have Cassandra back?

4-The Idiot's Lantern. Great to look at, but too many unanswered questions. Like just who is the Wire anyway?

3- Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel. I was hoping for something more, but what I got was still pretty good. And Mickey finally got a good story.

2-School Reunion. This was everything I was hoping for and then some. Not only was Lis Sladen back, but Anthony Stewart Head was brilliantly evil.

1- The Girl in the Fireplace. Bonafide classic that has everything. One to cherish.

Friday, June 02, 2006

Doctor Who news

Series One (season 27) in the USA:
Fridays, 9pm EST on the SciFi Channel
Current episode:
12. Bad Wolf

Previous episodes:
11. Boom Town
10. The Doctor Dances
9. The Empty Child
8. Father's Day
7.The Long Game
6.Dalek
5.World War III
4.Aliens of London
3.The Unquiet Dead
2.The End of the World
1.Rose

Series Two (season 28) in the UK:
Saturdays, at 7pm GMT on BBC1
Current episode:
8. The Impossible Planet

Previous episodes:
7. The Idiot's Lantern
6. The Age of Steel
5. The Rise of the Cybermen
4. The Girl in the Fireplace
3.School Reunion
2.Tooth and Claw
1. New Earth

RIP, Peter Bryant
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
from the BBC website: Peter Bryant, the producer of some of the most well-loved Doctor Who stories of the 1960s[during the Patrick Troughton years], passed away on Friday 19 May after a long illness.

For more about Peter Bryant, see full story here.

Australia gets series 2!
Series 2 will start airing in Australia on ABC July 8th, 2006 at 7:30 pm. Canada's CBC will air series 2 sometime this fall. Still no word on if and when SciFi will pick up series 2 here in the States.

Cool new toys!
SciFi Weekly has a review of a new Doctor Who toy-a TARDIS Phone Flasher! Put in some batteries and set the TARDIS on your desktop-when someone's cell phone rings within 1.5 meters of it, the blue light will start to flash and you'll here the famous TARDIS dematerialization sound. (you can also have it set to silencer, so only the light will flash) Can you image having that at your desk at work? I'd drive my coworkers nuts!!! LOL.

See the full review here.

Blogger seems to be having issues, so I'm going to have to cut this post short before I loose anything. I'm sorry!!!

Happy Doctor Who watching everyone!

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Tardisode #8: The Impossible Planet

This Tardisode had an unusual amount of dialog in it-more than any I've seen so far. Unfortunately, some of it is hard for me to understand-I listened to it several times and there are still bits that are quite fuzzy.

Although the Tardisode isn't scary (maybe a little unnerving, if you can understand what the alien creature is saying), the kiddies who have seen it have given it an average Fear Factor rating of 5 (terrifying) with a couple of kids giving it a 6. (hmm...I don't think I've ever mentioned their rating system. 1 (mildly scary) to 5 (terrifying). So 6 has got to be bad). Suprisingly, the youngest of the group only gave it a 3 (very scary). If you have the time, I encourage you to check out the Fear Factor section. No spoilers. I think it's interesting to see how the kids react to Doctor Who along side their parents.