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Series A: Blake, Avon, Jenna, Vila, Cally, Gan, Zen & Liberator (the ship)
1) The Way Back - Blake Campture & brainwashed.
2) Space Fall - Blake meets Avon, Jenna, & Vila. 3) Cygnus Alpha - Blake & his crew take Liberator. 4) Time Squad - Blake & his crew meet Calley. 5) The Web - Cally unknowingly traps the ship. 6) Seek-Locate-Destroy - Cally captured for bait. 7) Mission to Destiny - The crew come across ship. 8) Duel - Blake faces off against Travis in combat. 9) Project Avalon - She's used to trap Blake & ship. 10) Breakdown - Gan becomes irratic; needs surgery. 11) Bounty - Ship is taken over by bounty hunters. 12) Deliverance - Crew come across ship blowing up. 13) Orac - Blake and his crew receive Orac w/ Ensor. | Series B: Blake, Avon, Jenna, Vila, Cally, Gan, Orac, Zen & Liberator
1) Redemption - The Liberator's owners attack.
2) Shadow -Blake tries to make a deal with crooks. 3) Weapon - Servalan has a new way of getting ship. 4) Hoizon - The crew is captured on this out planet. 5) Pressure Point - Blake trys to hit Earth's "Control." 6) Trial - Travis is put on trial at Space Command. 7) Killer - Crew come across an ancient spacecraft. 8) Hostage - Travis sets trap for Blake to get ship. 9) Countdown - Blake & Avon need to disable bomb. 10) Voice From The Past - Blake feels conditioning. 11) Gambit - Blake looks for new location of "Control." 12) Keeper - Blake finds ruler with location of Star One. 13) Star One - Blake saves Star One from aliens. |
Series C: Avon, Vila, Dana, Tarrant, Cally, Orac, Liberator & Zen (the ship)
1) Aftermath - Blake & Jenna are missing; - - Dana.
2) Powerplay - Fed. soldiers take over ship; Tarrant. 3) Volcano - Avon & Tarrant seek base on Obsidian. 4) Dawn Of The Gods - ORAC takes over the ship. 5) The Harvest of Kairos - Liberator taken again. 6) City at the Edge of the World - Vila opens door. 7) Children of Auron - Servalan unleashes a plague. 8) Rumours Of Death - Avon after Anna's torturor. 9) Sarcophagus - Crew come upon an ancient ship. 10) Ultraworld - Cally's drawn to metalic planet. 11) Moloch - Crew trail Servalan to a strange world. 12) Death Watch - Tarrant's brother competes. 13) Terminal - Avon thinks he found Blake. Cally dies. | Series D: Avon, Vila, Dana, Tarrant, Soolin, Orac, Scorpio & Slave (the ship)
1) Rescue - Terminal destroyed, salvager saves crew.
2) Power - Crew stranded on planet with Scorpio. 3) Traitor - Federation expands with pacifist drug. 4) Stardrive - In need of speed, they look for drive. 5) Animals - Scorpio attacked while Dana planet-side. 6) Head Hunters - Robot takes over Scorpio & Orac. 7) Assassin - Servalan contracts the crews death. 8) Games - Feldon crystal extraction on Mecron. 9) Sand - Servalan and Tarrant are trapped on planet. 10) Gold - Old friend of Avon's makes deal for gold. 11) Orbit - Avon makes deal for new weapon. 12) Warlord - Avon tries to set up an alliance. 13) Blake - Blake's on Gauda Prime; "The Finale." |
***Other Great Sci-Fi Shows? - After watching all of NuWho and dabbling in Classic Who every now and then, I was wondering what else is out there that Whovians find interesting? - Blake's 7 is good fun, bit hit and miss. There are some very low points and some dire effects and acting, but there are some superb eps as well; the finale is utterly brilliant :-) ***
ReplyDeleteI had to limit myself at even watching some of the newer sci-fi epics! I feel compelled to tape them so I stick to what I want to add to my collection! Doctor Who is obviously #1, but a very close #1A is "BLAKE's 7!" It may have been cheesy, but I loved that show! Taped all 52 episodes and still feel compelled to pull them out every once in a while! That finale still gets me "verklempt!" Blake wanted to make sure they could never bring him back! I look forward to off and on plans to bring it back w/ Avon! ORAC is still out there ya know! lol! Also collected "Earth: Final Conflict!"
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I was never a fan of Pertwee even though he stayed in contact with a DW fan group I belonged to back in the 80's! His story lines were immersed with The Master since he was exiled to Earth for so long! The Master always seemed to be behind whatever was happening even if Sea Devils or Silurians were involved! He was behind the scenes manipulating things and it got tiring after a while! I did love The 3 Doctors so I got my 1st exposure to Hartnell and Troughton! Baker is the man of course, but I liked production going to a younger Davison! McCoy was a true Doctor, but the production quality was quite lame! That was hard for me to deal with really cheap sets and bad acting from "Bannermen!" lol! Rani story and "Remembrance of the Daleks" saved his tenure I guess!
***I used to watch some of the Tom Baker episodes on PBS years ago, and I have to admit that I found them to be deadly dull. Very slow moving and somewhat cheesy, so I never got into "classic" Who.***
ReplyDeleteLiving in Chicago, PBS is where I watched and taped all the Doctor Who episodes available! Started with Baker around "The Keys To Time!" They went back to Robot before giving us some Pertwee! Later I saw Hartnell "UnEarthly Child) and Troughton (Wargames) in a few episodes! They had to skip some for obvious reasons! Those tapes were so old and they probably didn't care for them as they would today!
***I have yet to watch the full version of Brain of Morbius, the only version of that I've ever seen was the one that was hacked to bits back in the 70s/early 80s; they tried DW in commercial syndication in the US (as opposed to the PBS broadcasts) and the episodes were edited. ...***
I never knew they experimented with commercial versions in the US! I thought it was all PBS! Wherever I lived Chicago, California, it was always PBS except for the movies of course! I guess I got a peek at the show as a child and didn't even know it! I half way remember those 2 Peter Cushing movies back in the 60's!
***"...Perhaps you could start by watching McCoy's final two series (not bothering with his first, coz it'll probably put you off) where the acting, filming and writing styles were more modern - more modern animatronics, location-based filming, arcs focusing on the companion's development and relationship with the Doctor, etc. before going steadily further and further back - watching each Doctor's full run, starting with the Seventh, then Sixth, Fifth, etc. so that suddenly starting watching a TV series with 1970s style and sensibilities isn't such an off-putting culture-shock. Don't worry too much about story arcs and the like, there's not many that continue from Doctor to Doctor."***
OMG, you're being very kind; modern? Let's just tell it like it was; it was bad! It was bad acting, bad actors, bad sets, & bad story lines! It looked like they just thru up a couple fly-wood walls in a large garage! I still cring at the thought of watching "Delta & The Bannermen!" I taped them and saw them that once! After 25 years, I still have no desire to drag them out of storage! "Remembrance" might be worth it, but I can't tell you how appalled and disappointed I was around that time with those lame episodes! That's the 1st impression, but I should go and check them out! The "Rani's" in there somewhere as well with the Master!
***Personally I'd be more inclined to get McCoy to read some of the dailogue from the Beast Below, b/c it was more similar to the sorts of things his Doctor used to day. But I suppose that would be dull, b/c we already know he's be brilliant with those bits, and pretty much how he'd sound. - I can't understand how people think McCoy had gravitas. Whenever he had to play angry he sounded like an enraged train conductor. I think he's by far and away the worst actor to play the Doctor.***
I'm not going to say McCoy was the worst Doctor, but the production around him was pretty tacky and cheesy! The Bannermen? Ace and her "power" bat? Only "Remembrance of the Daleks" w/ Davros saved his tenure as far as I'm concerned! The Hand Of Omega came into play there! His "Rani" episode was ok too!
I never watched those Colin B. episodes again; esp. that waste of a season with "The Trial Of A Time Lord!" Have we decided if the Valyard is the last regeneration of the Doctor or not? lol!
***I think the least said about Trial of a Timelord the better - Thing I find shocking about Trial of a Timelord is how bloody dull it all is, they got cancelled and then got back on air and instead of swinging for the fences and giving us a strong season, they stuck to their tried and tested bland, routine stories that got them canned in the first place. I'm sorry but I can't seriously think of a season I despise less that the Trial season.***
ReplyDeleteI started out on Baker, then went back to Pertwee! I liked the fact they had finally decided to go young with Davison! He couldn't take the role too seriously since he was doing double duty with DW and "All Things Big & Small!" My least favorite was definitely McCoy! It may not have been his fault, but the effects and sets were terribly cheap looking and the companions and story lines were just as lame! Ace and her "power" bat! Gawd! The Bannermen? "Remembrance Of The Daleks" saved that season anyway! lol! Can never have too much Davros and his renegade Daleks!
***The Bannermen were bad beyond belief. I'm no fan of the McCoy era but at least he seemed to put some effort into it. Davison just looks really laid back and unconcerned. - - 'Terror From The Deep' - The Myrka, what more is there to say?***
They've been using the Doctor as an excuse for every mythology and happening in the history of man! The latest has the Doctor having Nixon record everything in his office! The Myrka was just one more fanciful explanation for it's myth in The Loch of Ness!
***I just watched the episode Hostage, which ends with Blake's giving his cousin Inga a kiss goodbye on the lips. Not that I really blame the man, as Inga was a cutie with her idealism and long, shiny, hippy hair. Still, I'll admit I was a little taken aback. Were they kissing cousins, or did I misunderstand?***
I never really understood that as well! That was his father's, brother's daughter if I heard correctly! lol! I never look back at season 2! They were just getting their "space legs!"
***What season did you prefer?***
Hard to believe, but I liked it better when it was winding down! Garth had jumped ship and Avon took over; more like survivalist or mercenaries than freedom fighters! Nothing Blake did ever made a difference when it came to the Terrain Federation! He was ultimately fooled thinking Control was on Earth and lost a man; Gan! I liked the "hit" on Space Command, but I much rather preferred the leadership of Avon; well at first anyway! By the time they got to Stardrive, Sand, Gold, and Gambit, it was getting even cheesier! How many times can they come across Servalan in space? I sorta knew it was coming to an end; a friend told me about the finale! I stuck it out and really appreciated it's finish and taped them all around '87!
I still get a little verklempt seeing them all getting gunned down one by one in Blake! Even Slave had a nice sign-off calling Tarrant by name! Hoping for a return while Avon is still alive! Orac is still out there! If I had to narrow it down, I'd have to say SEASON 3 was my all time favorite! Avon was in charge, they were still on the Liberator w/ Orac, and they did things more than self interest and for survival! The Tarrant dual roles was good, losing his brother and outwitting Servalan; again! Loved Harvest of Kairos, City At The Edge of the World, Moloch, & Rumours Of Death! It was tight, the story lines were good, and they always got out of a jam even when they lost control of the ship!
***"Pyramids Of Mars" is very well done, but I find myself falling asleep in it as well. "Deadly Assassin" is excellent, though the stuff in the Matrix drags a bit for me. I love the designs for the Time-Lord robes, with their high collars and skull-caps. When Robert Holmes was on form he was the best.***
ReplyDeleteThat had to be my fave era of Doctor Who! There was little carryover, so you got in and got out of a storyline! "The Keys To Time" was my 1st experience in a "story arc!" The Master wasn't responsible for pushing the action along as with Pertwee there for a while! If I had started with "Sea Devils" I might have left for good! lol! I'm glad I started out around "Day" & "Genesis of the Daleks" with Davros! That got me hooked since I remember the 2 movies made back in to 60's with Peter Cushing!
***...A lot of people didn't care much for RTD, but I liked him and his episodes. And David Tennant will always be *my* Doctor :) No matter how long the show continues for.***
I'm easy to please! The only period I was embarrassed for "Whovians" was during those Sylvester McCoy episodes! Delta And The Bannermen? That was painful! The sets and acting was so "back yard!" Looked like poster boards made up the sets! - I'd probably keep the Dalek episode, but you can have the rest of my VHS collection of the Doctor! Beta format already unloaded along with the machine! I just don't remember going back to that season so I can't tell you very much about it! I just remember the "over-acting" and bad sets! Arrrghhh!
So in 2005 Doctor Who returned to our screens for the first time since the 1996 TV Movie and when the show was originally cancelled in 1989.
ReplyDeleteinheriting the TARDIS keys was actor Christopher Eccleston and he was joined by young actress Billie Piper.
in a new format for the new millennium we have 13 episodes generally 40 minutes long.
we begin with the episode Rose which introduces the audiences to both title characters, the shows title character "The Doctor" and the episodes title character "Rose Tyler" like in Jon Pertwee's first episode we get a story featuring the Auton and an attempt invasion of earth. During the first episode we here about some war involving the doctor. By the end of the episode Rose had proven her usefulness and leaves boyfriend Mickey for adventures with this mysterious time traveller.
The following episodes The End of the World and The Unquiet dead take the two into the distant future for the end of the world and then back to Victorian England. Both episodes touch further on the "Time War arc" and "Bad Wolf arc".
I'll get to the two arc's at the end of the review and my thoughts on them.
Next up we get a two parter featuring The Slitheen who are plotting to takeover the British government, whilst this two parter has its moments its ultimately not the greatest of two-parters and the Slitheen are frankly neither frightening or intimidating.
Now we get to one of the series highlights. Dalek. An episode featuring the return of a Dalek for the first time since Sylvester McCoy's "Remembrance of the Daleks". The episode was really well handled showing the fear The Doctor has towards the Daleks especially finding that one had survived the time war.
The next two episodes The Long Game and Fathers Day are really more fillers of the series, The long game introduces the News station cooperation which would later be brought up in the series finale. While Fathers Day gives Rose a chance to see her now dead father one last time and leaves us with a few emotional moments.
The two parter "The Empty child and Doctor Dances" penned by Steven Moffatt are two strong episodes and introduce us to Captain Jack Harkness played by John Barrowman who would remain a part of the TARDIS crew until the end of series. The episodes set in Blitz hit London where a gas-masked child is searching for his mummy "Are you my mummy?" an instant classic line.
ReplyDeleteBoom Town brings back a slitheen left on earth and adds to concept of opening the TARDIS console but other than that we don't have anything special going on and is quite a let down compared to the two episodes before and after.
So here we are the two part finale. "Bad Wolf and Parting of the Ways" a two part epic finale dealing with the now Game cooperation seemingly "killing" contests in games but in reality they would become Daleks serving the Emperor Dalek who'd too survived the time war. The Daleks invade and The Doctor tries to stop them but when his plan leaves him with a choice exterminate every life form on the station and earth but human and Dalek alike or let them win... Rose absorbs the Time vortex resurrecting the previously exterminated Captain Jack and then destroying every single Dalek. The Doctor has to save Rose and takes the vortex from her but causes him to burn up inside and need to regenerate... into the fresh faced. David Tennant.
Episodes Score
1. Rose 7/10
2. The End of the World 6/10
3. Unquiet Dead 6/10
4. Aliens of London 5/10
5. World War Three 4/10
6. Dalek 8/10
7. The Long game 6/10
8. Father's Day 7/10
9. The Empty Child 8/10
10. The Doctor Dances 8/10
11. Boom Town 5/10
12. Bad Wolf 7/10
13. Parting of the Ways 8/10
Average Score: 6.5
Doctor for Series 1: 7/10
Rose for Series 1: 8/10
Story Arc's.
Time War: The first of the two Story arc's of series 1 is The Time War between the Doctor's people The Time Lords and Daleks. Now the idea behind this was for RTD to prevent any continuity errors between "Classic/Old Who" and "New Who" it allowed the removal of the time lords and develop the doctor into this mighty warrior and god like figure... whilst it's debatable if this was a good strategy it initially works for the next few years and leaves audiences desperate to hear more about this Time War.
Bad Wolf: a sort of buzzword that was repeated several times throughout the series, leaving fans curious as to what Bad Wolf was. Of course its revealed to be Rose leaving a message to herself through time leading her to the events at the game station... though why she felt the need to do so in the first place is confusing.
COMING SOON
Series 2 review. Featuring David Tennant's first series and Rose's tearful farewell.
***Rose: I quite liked the story. Did what it said on the tin acceptably enough, and sue me but some of its jokes came off as genuinely funny, and the death of Clive was out of hand and shocking in the right way. I felt I was in for a good, entertaining series based on this starter. The comic tone and comic stereotypes, courtesy of Mickey and Jackie seemed acceptable enough back when I didn't know we'd be putting up with half a season of them. Likewise the way the Doctor coaxes Rose to dump Mickey I could have put down to the fact that Mickey had reacted with fear to the Doctor for being an alien and therefore the Doctor was against the idea of having a more prejudiced companion. God how naive I was, the Doctor was just being a dick.
ReplyDeleteEnd of the World: Already a sinking feeling set in. The Doctor rushing Rose to all these various future locations and not once is she even curious about having a look outside to see what's there, before moving on? That was just unbelievable and killed my suspension of disbelief in the first scene. Then there's the fact that the Doctor seems far too gleeful and amused right in Rose's face about not only the Earth getting roasted, but about the Mox of Balhoon spitting in her face, which just left a nasty aftertaste. The alien characters are abandoned as soon as introduced, meaning there's barely scrappings of substance in the story to chew on, giving the impression that this writer is bored with the sci-fi elements and would rather be writing something else. Also Russell must think his entire cast of characters are idiots. The sunfilters start failing so what do they do? Stay in the room with the biggest sodding window. I was left indescribably hollow by this story.
The Unquiet Dead: Yes this one was brilliant, at the time. The kind of classy story and classy production we'd been waiting for. With hindsight though, the ending is too rushed, and the scene where Gwyneth is reading Rose's mind doesn't seem quite as innovative now that I've seen Enlightenment.
Aliens of London/World War III: Oh dear God. At this point even the worst of classic Who seemed comparatively praiseworthy because at least it sodding tried! Unlike this horrible exercise in laziness and 'this'll do'. The Doctor's childish, petty treatment of Mickey is some of the most witless and unpleasant writing to ever tarnish the show. UNIT is wasted, the Doctor's lamenting of the space pig comes off as false given that it was his shocking incompetence and negligence that got it killed in the first place, there's no gravity for a moment when the Doctor confronts the Slitheen, with the humour being so laboured and asinine that it's utterly tedious.
ReplyDeleteDalek: At the time this was fantastic. A proper mini-movie. In retrospect though, it feels like little more than a trailer for the season finale. The supporting characters are far too stock and shallow, the story feels like it's building to a climax in Saltlake City that never happens, and whilst it's not the story's fault, it's take on the Time War has been undermined since by being discussed to death and then eventually shown in a way that removed all dramatic tension or reason to care from it. Also the Doctor's plan to defeat the Dalek is very questionable indeed- surely evacuating and sealing the base should be his *first* resort, not his last.
The Long Game: Dear God. At this point the Doctor-Rose flirtiness was becoming so obnoxious and adolescent that I was persuaded to betray every principle a fan should have and shout at the screen "oh just shag and be done with it." Nothing Adam does feels realistic he just seems to be completely puppeteered, the moral hectoring about the power of the media is so on the nose I got nosebleeds from it, but it's never conveyed properly beyond that- show don't tell, for God's sake. Some of the characterisation of the Doctor is beyond wrong "let me out of these manacles, you'll see how fun I am.", and of course the way he leaves Adam behind with future technology- what other Doctor would do that!? The Jagrafess is hardly frightening when it can't leave the sodding ceiling, and the CGI on it is awful.
Father's Day: Actually this one has stood the test of time fairly well, and it's refreshing to see the Doctor-Rose dynamic upset and in conflict. The writing is at its sharpest, particularly in the characterisation of Pete. I think the line "I've had all these extra hours, no-one in the world has ever had that" is one of my favourite lines from the season.
The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances: I have to say this one felt a bit too weird and separate from the tone of the rest of the season to warm to the first time I saw it. And even now I can really get into the stories riveting moments, only for the indulgent tackiness of the scenes between Captain Jack and Rose flirting taking me out of it again- Rose just doesn't feel like Rose here at all. But the more I've watched it, the more I've come to appreciate the whole world and culture that Moffat writes here, and how insideous its sense of horror is. There are some fantastic performances, and frankly at this point I'd have welcomed Nancy as companion instead of Rose.
ReplyDeleteBoomtown: Was surprisingly fun to watch at the time, but in hindsight, the whole thing is a cop-out, most of Margaret's arguments about the true nature of the Doctor are almost word for word no different from what Davros will be saying to him three seasons later. RTD really does have only one voice when it comes to his villains doesn't he?
Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways: Mixed feelings about this one. At one point I would have defended the Big Brother/Weakest Link segment as suiting the story's themes of social Darwinism versus collective co-operative action. With the line "do you think anyone votes for sweet" being a deceptively important one. Then it occurred to me watching it again that the whole premise falls apart the moment it's established that when playing The Weakest Link, Rose has to help vote off other members, which means her vote is a death sentence. And yet after the first time this happens, this is never raised again. Once Rose realised this, who did she vote for after each next round? How did she dodge the moral ramifications of this? We're never shown, and it was right then that I realised the story couldn't follow that up and so pretended it wasn't an issue afterwards. The game format didn't suit the story at hand, and it was then that I realised the game format wasn't meant to. The story had nothing to do with it, it was just a cheap ratings ploy.
Same way that the Big Brother contestants are so bubbly or narcissistic and dressed in the most fashionable gear, despite apparently being raised in a dystopian future of pollution and the constant threat of death. It's not aimed at that kind of audience and Russell seems to think that that audience won't be able to relate to realistic depictions of people of the impoverished future. The scene where the Doctor throws his gun at his hostage and tells him "don't be so thick, like I was ever going to shoot" feels like an insult directed at the misled audience who were led to believe he might, by the scene. And his belligerent treatment of the Controller is really quite reprehensible when you consider that she's effectively a victim of child abuse who's been emotionally neutered and had the ability to empathise robbed of her when she was five years old.
I did however love the line "My master, you can kill me, for I have brought your destruction". Except... in light of the second part, it's blatantly false advertising.
Part Two is even more of a frustrating yet tantalising mixed bag. The Doctor's jokeyness with the Daleks in the confrontation in the Emperor's throneroom is just annoying. Reimagining the Daleks as religious zealots is utterly wrong, not to mention pointless, considering that the Daleks are supposed to be the ultimate materialists, and this change has no real point and goes nowhere. And yet there's bits of that Emperor throne room scene that makes it really feel like Doctor Who is back and has unfinished business to deal with.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the battle plans are too mumbled and rushed through to convey the logistics enough to be invlved in the action- Captain Jack's remark about his lazer gun being powerless now despite being so useful in saving Rose is mentioned so off the cuff I spent most of the initial viewing wondering why they don't just make more guns like it. Infact the whole battle is too one sided. There should have been more minor victories for the crew, with the Daleks overcoming them. There shouldn't have just been no opposition to the Daleks- that just became boring after a while.
As did the cutaways to Rose and the Powell estate. Okay the Doctor's hologram message was a beautiful scene. It still chokes me up. My heart did sink actually when Mickey turned up, but then we got the scene in the chip shop where Rose gave a great, inarticulate yet so human speech about making a stand and saying 'no', and how she can't go back to this ordinary life. But then they go on too long and keep interrupting the Dalek action. Lynda's death is actually quite shocking and heartbreaking actually, and the massacre of Rodericks and his lot is appropriately cold-blooded.
But then the Doctor's decision to not press the switch after all that just makes no god damn sense. As does the Daleks' willingness to wait if he will- I kept expecting the Daleks to at least blast the device, and as long as they didn't I kept wondering why the hell the Doctor was surrendering rather than rushing for the button before they got a chance. Russell just doesn't seem to get even his own Doctor. And yet there is something about the Doctor's euphoric acceptance of his fate that's almost beautiful, and Rose saving him with the deus ex machina I could forgive just this once, especially since there is a price he pays as a result.
It's a 50/50 for me, but the scenes that are great really do take my breath away.
With hindsight, I suppose the season was a success, and it did leave me wanting more, which I can't really say for RTD's other seasons. I'd have been happy to be honest if RTD had left here.***
***Following Christopher's regeneration at the end of the parting of ways he was replaced by David Tennant.
ReplyDeleteDavid's first run as the 10th Doctor comes in the CNN special which bridges the gap to the Christmas invasion, this serves as extra introduction to the concept of regeneration, mainly through the eyes of Rose.
The Christmas Invasion see's the new Doctor spend most the episode in bed, this allows for good character development between Mickey, Jackie and Rose and dealing with the monster of the week, The Sycorax. Eventually with the help of some tea The Doctor recovers and immediately quotes the lion king. He finds himself in a sword fight where he loses his hand but still manages to defeat the leader and even a flicker of darkness when he says "No second chances...I'm that kind of a man"
So now onto Series 2, first up we get New Earth and Tooth and Claw. Like with Series 1's Ep's 2 and 3 one is set in the distant future and the other in Victorian England. New Earth isn't the greatest first episodes but it has a few funny moments though would rather Cassandra wasn't included. While Tooth and Claw touches on the Torchwood Institute which was first mentioned in Bad Wolf and then again in Christmas Invasion when the Sycorax ship is destroyed.
The School reunion sees the return of popular 70's companion Sarah Jane Smith played by the late Elisabeth Sladen, while Rose isn't too impressed at first that she isn't the only companion of the doctor she eventually gets on with Sarah. Anthony Head as the lead Krillitane was a great casting appointment and his face off with The Doctor in the swimming pool area is fantastic too see. By the episodes end Sarah declines an invite to stay on but Mickey does join in much to Rose's dissapointment.
The Girl in the fireplace another episode by Steven Moffatt is an absolute highlight of the series. The chemistry between Madamme de Pompedeour and The Doctor is great the Clockwork Robots typically menacing and the few funny moments such as "your not keeping the horse" "i let you keep mickey" brilliant. The ending is so heart wrenching.
Next up the two parter Rise of the Cybermen and Age of Steel. Set in a parallel universe we get a new origin story for the cybermen. Whilst both episodes have some good moments it could have been that much better and i really dislike the clunky redesigned Cybermen and by the end of the two parter Mickey decides to stay behind as sealed away. (Seemingly forever... ha!)
The idiots lantern set during Queen Elizabeth II's coronation is one of those episodes that sit right in the middle of averageness. It has some decent moments but a lot of it seems rather forgettable and seems to further push the doctor and rose "romance"
The second two parter is The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit. On rewatch does seem a much better set of episodes and a good introduction to the Ood and we even get Satan who The Doctor has to come face to face with.
ReplyDeleteI'm now at a point where i could either completely rant or just write nothing but i'll do my best to get through it. We now have Love and Monsters followed by Fear Her. Ugh. Anyway Love and Monsters is the first Doctor lite episode and seems so out of place a group of people trying to find him and we get Peter Kay as a monster of the week, Kay doesn't really suit the bad guy role! Whilst Fear Her doesn't really do anything for the series and again is just very poor. I wish i could be more constructive with my arguments here but i'm really likely just to rant. Trust me i'll give a more compelling argument against certain episodes in the next couple of series.
the series finale Army of Ghosts and Doomsday starts with Rose telling us this is the story of how she dies (Oh no!) the episodes deal with the Cyber-Men escaping the parallel universe into our universe only for them to find a Dalek sphere with the Cult of Skaro and Genesis Ark, Mickey returns and Rose's dad from the parallel universe. The episode ends with Rose getting trapped in the parallel universe but her mum and dad have reunited and she has Mickey too she evens gets a tearful goodbye... a strong ending for Rose's character and a good way to round off her story arc trapped in a universe that nobody can access forever. (hmmm...)
Episodes Score
- Christmas Invasion 7/10
1) New Earth 6/10
2) Tooth and Claw 6/10
3) School Reunion 8/10
4) Girl in the fireplace 9/10
5) Rise of the cybermen 7/10
6) Age of steel 6/10
7) Idiots Lantern 6/10
8) The Impossible Planet 7/10
9) Satan's Pit 7/10
10) Love and Monsters 2/10
11) Fear Her 1/10
12) Army of Ghosts 6/10
13) Doomsday 7/10
Average Scoer:
Doctor for Series 2: 6/10
Rose for Series 2: 5/10
Story Arc's
1) Torchwood: So mentioned several times and a few more than Bad Wolf. It turns out is just an organisation that deals with Alien technology that comes to earth... bit like UNIT. Though it serves more of a device to introduce the audience to the idea before new spinoff series Torchwood starts.
2) Rose death: Again something mentioned throughout the series including Rose wanting to stay with The Doctor forever she even admits she dies in her narration but yet she doesn't die. Well it's claimed she died in the torchwood attack but really she lives happily in her own universe... we'll get two more similar death arc's later and each get worse.
NEXT TIME
Catherine Tate as the Runaway bride, followed by the third season with new companion Martha Jones, how will The Doctor adapt to this new companion... ***
***Doctor Who Series 3
ReplyDeleteThe Doctor’s story continues on with the Christmas special, Runaway Bride with Catherine Tate playing the feisty red-head Donna Noble on her wedding day. The Doctor and Donna have to deal with the Racnoss Queen’s plot to destroy the Earth to free her children. The Doctor is able to defeat her before heading off after Donna turns down the chance to travel with him.
The main series begins with Smith and Jones with, The Doctor using his fake identity John Smith to investigate strange goings on whilst trainee Doctor Martha Jones learns he has two hearts. While we get an invading Judoon army trying to capture the Plasmavore after The Doctor tricks her and she’s captured, he whisks Martha off for one trip.
Like with Series 1 and 2 we once again get the formula of episode 2 in the past, but this time further back to Tudor England and episode 3 set in the distant future. Starting with episode 2 the Shakespeare code we have The Doctor and Martha meeting Shakespeare and dealing with the Carronites who force him to finish Love Labour’s Won, but with the use of Shakespeare’s words and of course Expelliarmus (Good old JK… yeah he really said that!) . Gridlock set on New Earth from series 2 is a rather strong episode with subtle hints on society’s over need for things to make their life better. The Doctor saves the people trapped on the freeway, but the Face of Boe dies telling him “You are not alone.” The episode concludes with The Doctor recounting the story of Gallifrey and how beautiful his home once was.
The two parter; Daleks in Manhatten and Evolution of the Daleks… goes along with the rest of Series 3 it could have been that something special, but falls flat and while it’s good to see Dalek’s again and Peter Parker (well it’s Andrew Garfield pre-spidey). The idea of a human Dalek is quite far-fetched and you’d think the Cult of Skaro could have come up with a more genuine way of saving the Daleks than having a human hybrid. It’s a shame Moffatt couldn’t pen the Dalek two parter, but his episode later in the series is definitely worth waiting for.
The Lazurus Experiment returns The Doctor and Martha to present day England, where he has a run in with Martha’s family and we hear more about this Mr. Saxon we’d previously heard and seen posters of “Vote Saxon”. The episode revolves around Lazurus restoring his youth before changing into a monster seems to be rather pointless… but in fact this episode is just a device to sub a plot idea in the series finale. 42 is the next episode where The Doctor has 42 minutes to save the day and of course he succeeds, it’s one of them episodes which just seems to be filler and only the ending where it’s revealed it's election day and Martha not answering questions about The Doctor to her mother Francine that further sets up the series finale.
Now we get to a run of episodes which are regarded by many as the strongest run of episodes in New Who. First up the two parter Human Nature and Family of Blood. The Doctor on the run from the family uses a fob watch to become human. He hides in 1913 as a school professor John Smith, the family arrives possessing several people in an attempt to find the time lord. During the episodes John falls in love and we get some great moments and the final decision to turn John back into The Doctor really pulls at the heart, it’s David Tennant at his absolute finest.
The Series Doctor lite episode is Blink featuring the Weeping Angels for the first time and of course penned by Steven Moffatt. The episode features the struggles of Sally Sparrow dealing with the loss of her best friend who was transported back to the 1920’s whilst then having to help save The Doctor and at the same time not blinking! It’s truly one of the greatest Doctor Who stories and I’m sure not many will argue against that.*** - (to be continued)
***Doctor Who Series 3 cont,,,,,
ReplyDeleteThe three part series finale features Utopia, Sound of the Drums and Last of the Timelords. With two returning characters… we’ll start with Utopia. The TARDIS refuels in Cardiff and picks up Captain Jack Harkness which sends the TARDIS to the end of the universe. Jack and The Doctor unite and meet up the last humans and Professor YANA who’s attempting to send the rocket of humans to Utopia. However as the episode draws to a close YANA opens a fob watch and regains the consciousness of a Time Lord… The Master. Who is shot and fatally wounded by his assistant Chanfo, but he manages to get inside the TARDIS regenerates and escapes though The Doctor manages to lock to coordinates of the console.
We have Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords. The Doctor, Martha and Jack arrive on present day Earth and learn that Harold Saxon won the election… who is in fact The Master. We get some great two and through dialogue between the two Time Lords. With The Doctor been hunted, however the Toclafane allies of The Master appear and wipe out a tenth of the population. The Doctor captured and aged, Jack killed (seemingly). Martha teleports and escapes. She spends a year telling the people of Earth about The Doctor and apparently putting together a weapon that would kill a Time Lord dead with no chance of regeneration (or you know just kill him mid regeneration two bullets would do). Martha is taken back before The Master before she reveals that the great plan of The Doctor is one seen in Peter Pan… Martha reveals that she told the people of Earth to chant for him in the same way as you clap your hands and say you believe in fairies resurrects them… and yes The Doctor does restore to normal (Thanks Tinkerbell) and defeats The Master before he’s shot and stops his regeneration and dies…. The episode ends with Jack returning to Torchwood and Martha leaving The Doctor for good.
Episode Scores:
- Runaway Bride 5/10
1) Smith and Jones 6/10
2) Shakespeare Code 6/10
3) Gridlock 7/10
4) Daleks in Manhatten 6/10
5) Evolution of the Daleks 4/10
6) The Lazurus Experiment 5/10
7) 42 4/10
8) Human Nature 8/10
9) Family of Blood 9/10
10) Blink 10/10
11) Utopia 8/10
12) Sound of the Drums 6/10
13) Last of the Time Lords 4/10
Average Score: 6.3
Doctor score: 7/10
Martha score: 7/10
Story Arc:
ReplyDelete1) Missing Rose: A major part of Series 3 was The Doctor still upset at the loss of Rose. Now from one point of view I can see why as she was the first companion since the time war and they were very close, however it hurts the Rose character and The Doctor who never overly mourned any companion nearly as much as her which makes this arc quite terrible. Which is unfortunate.
2) Harold Saxon: the main story arc features Harold Saxon who is The Master and in my opinion is the strongest arc of the RTD era. It was well thought out and made sense, though it’s a shame the final execution in the series finale didn’t work too well. This Harold Saxon arc ties into the overall arc of the RTD era the last of the Time Lords/Lonely God. However I really don’t want to touch upon this until my final review of the RTD era.
NEXT TIME:
Kylie turns up on the Titanic… Allons-y Alonso and Donna Noble’s return… before we head to the library to meet River Song all on the way to Journey’s End.***
***Doctor Who Series 4
So here we are the last full series of the RTD era and Tennant’s last full series. Now we can strap ourselves for one last long trip to the Journey’s End. First though we have the Christmas special Voyage of the damned which features a Titanic spaceship with Kylie Monuge as the guest appearance, it’s one of them episodes full of cameo’s yet the whole plot seems rather farfetched, though as it seems to be as silly as the two proceeding Christmas specials, so no change here.
Now we move onto Series four and with the first episode Partners in crime sees Donna Noble return during an investigation the two team up as people’s fat is turned into adipose children to be taken away for the adipose family. Donna is then whisked off into the TARDIS for new adventures. Sticking with the tried tested formula of into future and into the past episodes… firstly we go back in time to Pompeii for the fires of Pompeii and even an appearance by future companion Karen Gillan (though not yet as Amy) Pompeii is a decent episode it’s brought down by the fact Pompeii was started by the monster of the week the Pyroviles. We have a great moment when Donna pleads for someone anyone to be saved by The Doctor and in the end he saves a family from the fires.
The episode in the future is set on the Ood sphere in episode called Planet of the Ood. It’s a mixed bag, but though it has some great moments particularly from Donna again especially the Ood song and freeing the Ood from human’s using them as slaves. At the end of the episode The Ood reveal that the Doctor’s song will soon end the first indication of the Doctor’s next regeneration.
We have the first two parter The Sontoran Stratagem and Poision Sky. Martha calls The Doctor and Donna back to Earth. Martha is now working at UNIT and they have a problem with the ATMOS systems, a device used to poison the Earth to become the new clone world of the Sontorans. We also have The Doctor’s second meeting with Wilfred Mott (first met during the Voyage of the Damned) Wilf is Donna’s grandfather and The Doctor’s surprised to see him again… Poison Sky ends with the destruction of the Sontoran fleet and Martha joining Donna and The Doctor on another trip.
The episode the Doctor’s Daughter features Georgia Moffett (daughter of the fifth doctor Peter Davison and future wife of David Tennant the tenth Doctor) Georgia plays the doctor’s daughter Jenny, who’s actually a female replicated clone of the doctor pre-trained for fighting. The trio learn they are in the middle of a war between the fish like Hath and the humans of the planet, it’s not a bad episode but a few silly moments and Martha is wasted in this episode which was a shame. In the end Jenny sacrifices herself and dies to save the doctor.
ReplyDeleteNow Donna and The Doctor head back in time and meet Agatha Christie and an alien wasp that’s been committing the mysterious murders… it’s a fairly average episode though a great scene where the doctor is poisoned and needs Donna’s help to save him and we’ve got some hilarious antics between them.
The second two-parter sees Donna and The Doctor head to the library were we have the first (and last) appearance of River Song. It’s a great two-parter (one of my personal favourites) we’ve got the Vashta Nerada who live in the shadows feeding on people like piranha and an alternate world where Donna has her own family…River reveals she knows a future Doctor and even tells the current Doctor she knows his real name and its even hinted she’s his future wife but by the episodes end River sacrifices herself and The Doctor manages to save her by putting her the alternate world created by CAL with the others who died in the library.
Now we have Midnight an episode set on the planet Midnight which could be described as companion lite with it centring more around The Doctor. It’s arguably one of the best RTD penned episodes. It even has David Troughton son of second doctor Patrick. The episode deals with an unknown entity that possesses a passenger called Sky and we’ve got some of the best drama of New Who and at its conclusion The Doctor is almost thrown off the ship but is saved by the stewardess.
Now we have the Doctor lite episode Turn Left which deals with the effects of the world if The Doctor died because Donna wasn’t there to save him. It’s an interesting concept . Though we do get the return of Rose Tyler who’s somehow escaped her parallel world to assist Donna in this alternate timeline world the end sees Donna die to put the timeline back on track allowing her to return to the Doctor in the real world where she learns it was a tricksters beetle that had cause the alternate timeline. Donna reveals Rose is back to The Doctor as she warns of Bad Wolf, the two race to the TARDIS as the cloister bell begins to ring. (to be continued)
***Doctor Who Series 4 cont,,,,
ReplyDeleteNow for the two part series finale Stolen Earth and Journey’s End. They feature a crossover with the SJA and Torchwood which means a return for Sarah-Jane and Captain Jack. Martha is too involved and of course we have Rose, Mickey and Jackie appearing in the episode at the end of Stolen Earth The Doctor is wounded by a Dalek and begins to regenerate… (leaving one of the biggest climaxes in the shows history) but in Journey’s End he stops the regeneration by transferring the regeneration into his hand (previously lost in Christmas Invasion) after using it to heal himself… it’s a concept that completely baffles me but I won’t ramble too much why let’s just say it makes little sense! The rest of Journey’s End has the Daleks plotting to destroy the universe with a reality bomb powered by 28 planets another concept which is absolutely ridiculous. Oh something I nearly forgot Donna touches the hand filled with regeneration energy and creates a second doctor who is half time lord half human while Donna gains some time lord knowledge… it’s the third silly idea in one episode it’s getting a bit frustrating now… the new clone Doctor destroys The Daleks and so the real Doctor exiles him into the parallel world with Rose and Jackie. Mickey opts to stay with Jack and Martha. While Donna has to have her memory of the doctor and all her adventures wiped from memory.
Episode Scores
- Voyage of the Damned 4/10
1) Partners in Crime 5/10
2) Fires of Pompeii 6/10
3) Planet of the Ood 6/10
4) The Sontoran Strategem 4/10
5) Poison Sky 3/10
6) The Doctors Daughter 5/10
7) The Unicorn and the Wasp 4/10
8) Silence in the Library 8/10
9) Forest of the Dead 9/10
10) Midnight 9/10
11) Turn left 7/10
12) Stolen Earth 5/10
13) Journey’s End 3/10
Average score: 5.6
Doctor’s score: 7/10
Donna’s score: 7/10
Story Arcs
1)The Missing Planets/The Darkness : Throughout series 4 we hear about planet’s disspearing or creatures having lost their homeworld… I’ve added the darkness theme here as they tie together, we hear from Rose that the darkness is coming as the stars go out. It’s basically the Daleks had activated their reality bomb and the stars where going out and to use the bomb they’d stolen the planets… though if the stars had started going out surely their plan had worked, how is it and the end of the series they were stopped? This is the weakest overall arc of the RTD era in my opinion.
2)The Doctor/Donna: We here a few hints about The Doctor/Donna throughout the series and we even get a prediction from Dalek Caan that Donna was going to die… but like with Rose in series 2 and The Doctor in the specials… those who make prophecies about people dying really should find another career because nobody ever does die… though I could put that down to RTD trying to create good drama but lying like this really isn’t a good way to go about things.
NEXT TIME:
The Tenth Doctor’s final days… and the return of Wilfred Mott.***
***The Beast Below:
ReplyDeleteI like the vision and setting of this story a lot. It feels like a belated sequel to Brazil. But in terms of the story, it comes off as rather too rushed and half-baked. The central concept does raise some interesting moral and political questions about the needs of the wider population, but it also begs the wrong kind of questions about how this kind of society came about, which the story doesn't seem equipped or well-thought out enough to answer, causing the thing to feel, if not on the point of falling apart, then at least like it was a first draft. I also didn't care for the references to the Doctor deflowering virgin queens again, and I found this particular queen to be rather too sub-River Song. I was also quite baffled by and not entirely uncomfortable with the Doctor's apparent and uncharacteristic lack of chivalry here. In what's only Amy's first voyage and what he knows is a sinister police state, he sends her out by herself to investigate without accompanying her. I dunno that struck me as too caddish, and possibly as a backlash too far against the Doctor-Rose love-a-thon. But it is worth watching just for the strong performance of the leads and for the moments where the story glimpses at its greater potential.
Victory of the Daleks:
I quite like this story actually. I found it easy to make allowances for the convenience with which the Doctor keeps escaping death by the hands of the Daleks, and I never really minded the spitfires in space, or the human bomb deactivated by love. I was just very charmed by the story, and even by its pastiche elements, particularly by the interplay between the Doctor and Churchill, and the way the Doctor plays against the ironside Daleks, and the way he just explodes at them. I really appreciated a return to the Doctor's ruthless streak after the sub-Davison era pacifist drivel of the Tenth Doctor. It has its problems yes. I'm no fan of the Telletubby Daleks, but I can live with them. I kind of liked the 'would you like some tea' routine of the ironside Daleks, but in repeat viewings I do yearn for more of the nastiness at the heart of these creatures. I also hated the way they were fooled by a jammy dodger and submitted to their fate almost gleefully when the new Daleks executed them. It does feel inevitably rushed though, and like it would have been better as a two-parter (you could write a thesis on how this story's problems are the antithesis of Raynor's two-part Dalek story which was thinly stretched and uneventfully dull). And it doesn't really hold much in the way of new rewards in repeat viewings. But I like to watch it again when the mood takes me.
The Time of Angels/Flesh & Stone:
So close to perfection it hurts. The banter between the Doctor and River is beautiful and funny. The scene where Amy is menaced by the hologram Angel is very scary indeed, but just when it looks like a mere incidental that was easily resolved, it turns out it's planted a deadly seed and things become a spiralling descent from there. The pacing of the base under siege chase in part two is brilliant and very exhilarating, and the scene where the Doctor saves Amy's life when she's only seconds away from death.... it's one of those rare and euphoric magic moments where the Doctor truly is as inspiring and heroic as he's made out to be, in his ability to pull victory right out from the jaws of defeat. (to be continued...***
***...A lot of people complained about the changed rules with the Angels being able to be fooled by Amy pretending she could see them, but to me it doesn't dent how the Angels are terrifying because of their unknowability. If there are new rules it simply proves how little we know them, and that's what makes them scary. We're the kind of prey to them that doesn't even know we're prey, and doesn't know their abilities. Also the whole point is that the plan was a desperate gamble that could go wrong and the Angels just might not be fooled by it... and furthermore, that's *exactly* what happens.
ReplyDeleteThe only things that slightly bring it down for me are that the crack, whilst a nice, logical and neat resolution, is still ultimately a bit too much of an easy way out for the Doctor, which especially hurts given that for the most part this was looking like a story in which there'd be no such thing, and I know that Moffat actually could have shown the Doctor use his greater wits and intelligence to get out of this. It's that kind of thing that makes me long for seeing a version of this story where the crack didn't turn up. Also I never liked the hints that River was going to kill the Doctor one day- it just felt like a desperate and needless attempt at injecting more mystery into the character than was already there. What we had with River was enough, it doesn't need this added to her. Also the scene where Amy throws herself at the Doctor at the end so aggressively does feel wrong to me, simply because of how sinister that scene would look if the gender roles were reversed. Other than that though, this was the point where I fell in love with the show, and it finally sunk in that RTD and his corrosive, illiterate philistine influence over the show had gone and I was at last dealing with an era with solid plot foundations and logical mechanics and narrative sincerity that wasn't going to cheat me. Finally I could care about what happened onscreen because there were genuine stakes.***
+++BLAKE'S 7+++
ReplyDelete***Just saw "Star One" again and I picked up on something that I was only vaguely aware of before. Travis and Servalan are working very closely together in "The Keeper" to locate Star One. As of the beginning of the Star One episode, that Travis has a working relationship set up with the Andromedan aliens seems strange... (when did he have time to set this up?)
But here's the main question... did Servalan and Travis assist the Andromedan invasion as a step in a bigger picture? Was it to serve Servalan's ulterior motive of seizing greater power during the tumult of an invasion?... (an invasion that she helped instigate?) ...It definitely feels like there's missing material here.***
Travis had gone insane, but Servalan still tried to utilize him in "Weapon;" (S1.ep3) and after "Trial" by authorizing him a ship with 3 Mutoids! His animus towards mankind was absolute, all center around Blake! He just didn't care anymore if his own people survived! Heaven knows how he communicated with the Andromedan invasion forces and how they got into Star One to begin with! I don't think even Servalan went "off the rails" enough to betray mankind like that! She wanted to rule this galaxy and the Terran Empire! She was legitimately surprised by the message from Blake that Star One had been compromised! I seriously doubt they could have gotten there in time to do much! The place was on the outskirts of the galaxy! Even Liberator wasn't fast enough to get across the galaxy that fast! As for missing material, you're kidding right? This was a kid's program on a shoe-string budget where it all had to be editted into 50 min. w/ credits! Missing material indeed! That was the season finale; action packed with so many fronts!
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Back in the 80's I would have been all over "Once Upon a Time!" I remember buying a new tv just b/c the series "Beauty & The Beast" & "Max Headroom" was playing in the store! I was only giving a ride to a dept. store to a friend and ended up spending more than him! Back then I was big on collecting "V" & "Codename: Foxfire!" A staple in my collection is sci-fi stuff like "Doctor Who" & "Blake's 7!"
I loved that final season! They all had to be the best to survive all alone it seemed! Their ship was little more than a freighter! Slave helped make it seem more technological advanced, but it could be taken down by a shuttle! Hell, even those little ships made for the Space Rats could have ended them! The Star Drive helped immensely just so they could at least "run" if necessary! - Avon did order Slave to sacrifice everything to "blast" an orbiting satellite related to black hole created by Feldon crystals; "Games," S4!
ReplyDelete----
***I remember an old movie that had a couple that were escaping from someone or something and they were linked together by some kind of collars around their necks so that if one of them got more than so many feet from the other it would blow both their heads off. That isn't the movie, but I throw that in because it's
like (sorta like) the movie I'm remembering....***
Yeah! The thing with the collar was an element in a "Blake's 7" episode! It was in the 1st season! It was entitled "Bounty;" ep 11! The ship was taken over by bounty hunters, the leader knew and worked with Jenna in the past!
The movie was made starring Rutger Hauer and called "Wedlock!" He had been in a min. security prison which kept the inmates in line with the collar that would blow their heads off if they ventured outside of the prison! He supposedly found the one person who could trigger his collar and they escaped together! I saw it years ago! I don't remember anything about the collars floating away unless the plot used more times than we can count! lol!
I'll have to think on it some more! Checked with that other thread and it said it wasn't "Wedlock!" I know it'll come to me sooner or later! Give me some time!
***I just watched the episode Hostage, which ends with Blake's giving his cousin Inga a kiss goodbye on the lips. Not that I really blame the man, as Inga was a cutie with her idealism and long, shiny, hippy hair. Still, I'll admit I was a little taken aback. Were they kissing cousins, or did I misunderstand?***
ReplyDeleteI never really understood that as well! That was his father's, brother's daughter if I heard correctly! lol! I never look back at season 2! They were just getting their "space legs!"
***What season did you prefer?***
Hard to believe, but I liked it better when it was winding down! Garth had jumped ship and Avon took over; more like survivalist or mercenaries than freedom fighters! Nothing Blake did ever made a difference when it came to the Terrain Federation! He was ultimately fooled thinking Control was on Earth and lost a man; Gan! I liked the "hit" on Space Command, but I much rather preferred the leadership of Avon; well at first anyway! By the time they got to Stardrive, Sand, Gold, and Gambit, it was getting even cheesier! How many times can they come across Servalan in space? I sorta knew it was coming to an end; a friend told me about the finale! I stuck it out and really appreciated it's finish and taped them all around '87!
I still get a little verklempt seeing them all getting gunned down one by one in Blake! Even Slave had a nice sign-off calling Tarrant by name! Hoping for a return while Avon is still alive! Orac is still out there! If I had to narrow it down, I'd have to say SEASON 3 was my all time favorite! Avon was in charge, they were still on the Liberator w/ Orac, and they did things more than self interest and for survival! The Tarrant dual roles was good, losing his brother and outwitting Servalan; again! Loved Harvest of Kairos, City At The Edge of the World, Moloch, & Rumours Of Death! It was tight, the story lines were good, and they always got out of a jam even when they lost control of the ship!
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Just added more clips from Blake's 7 including 2 radio telecast w/ same characters! The story lines are different POV's like Blake during that period after Star One, Travis on the run once escaping judgement to that massacre, and an alternate finale where Avon lives and continues the fight against the Terran Federation! Enjoy!
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Thanks a lot! It may seem blasphemous, but I may be more of a devotee of Blakes7 since my college room mate talked about it! The episodes were tight, got in and got out of their drama quickly, then moved on in just 50 min. on PBS back in the mod 80's! It came on every weeknight at 10 pm! I got every episode, rain or shine, working or not, power outage overcome by running a tape over to a friends, and even "gerry rigging" an antenna thru a conference tv/vcr to get one episode! I believe it's a perfect 50 episodes through that tear-jerking finale! I still get a little verklempt; about as emotional as when Adric was killed aiding the Doctor! I only download a half dozen videos a day, so for a reward, I'll devote my time and resources to posting some Blake's 7 clips! Thanks! - OBTW, if anyone's interested, you can have those 8 VHS tapes with a Dalek episode as a filler if time was left on it! That room mate sent me the complete collection on disk! I have extra vcr's if you need one to play them! Need to start getting rid of this massive collection of tapes going back to '81; Beta format! lol! If you live Chicago, it's a done deal upon receipt of a mailer! Thanks again for the posts!
***No doubt in my mind that Firefly and Serenity were influenced by Blake's 7. In particular... By the end of B7 the Federation appears to be gaining an insurmountable advantage due to mass pacification of the populace with the airborne drug Pylene-50. In Serenity, we see the Reavers as the ultimate consequences of the same attempts by the Alliance.***
ReplyDeleteDrug pacification has been standard procedure for futuristic society going back as long as I can remember! The 50's had cheesy sci-fi stuff and the first time I saw it going on! I had always read that's what would be done in old sci-fi novels I read! I'm surprised they don't drug us now except we self medicate so much already! We'd start dropping like flies with anything more with the hormonal food supply already causing us ill!
***"I watched a few episodes the other day and I don't see any implied homosexuality in Blakes 7 at all." Gambit, Orbit, Moloch...
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Orbit is very gay. Avon is quite a campy character. Servalan is a gay icon if ever there was one! - "Rescue" -- Dorian's longing gaze at Avon while telling him that he can indulge any vice...***
Well if you go "Captain Jack" from Doctor Who, futuristic society breeds most people to be "Bi!" I understand your feeling about Gambit and Orbit; refresh my memory why Moloch is on your list? Been a while since I've seen it of course, but off the top of my head, I'm drawing a blank!
***It's kind of funny; Roddenberry's vision was of a utopian future, while most of the ST franchise after the original shows Starfleet, and humans in general, are still jerks.***
ReplyDeleteI think there's something in our DNA that makes us proselytize and try to get others to see things our way! We just can't help ourselves! lol!
***I'm cautiously hopeful about Blake's 7 coming back. While I'd love to see a modern version of it, with updated special effects (the hopeful), I'm concerned they'll screw up what made the original so great (the cautious).***
I won't hold my breath on a "Blake's 7" reboot! It would be cool, but I've been listening, reading, and dreaming about it since 2001 or so! It's not that I'm even looking, I'll just come across a thread like this or article/blog online! That show was the best; got in and got out in 50 min.! I have them all on VHS tape from '86 thru '87 when I collected them and dvd discs a friend produced for me several years ago! I won't go cold turkey any time soon!
***How can it be a sequel? Aren't they all dead... but one? - Avon. There was a rumor a couple of years ago that there was going to be a new series of Blake's 7 which would take place 30 years after the final episode "Blake." We saw Avon surrounded by Federation Guards and the only original cast member whom was rumored to be returning was Paul Darrow as Avon.
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As much as I'd love to see a sequel with PD returning as Avon, if they want it to be a success, they will have to re-boot it and completely re-cast (with the exception of a few cameo's if they want). Doing a sequel would be great for the fans, but as the majority of the potential audience have never seen the original, they need to start again. Too long a period has gone by since the original ended.***
***"Blake's 7" (2013) - This could very well be a worthy successor to the Battlestar Galactica reboot if done properly. The original had some themes that might have been even darker than some of the stuff displayed in the new Battlestar. I for one am extremely hopeful for the show and look forward to a quality space opera from SyFy again. I can only take so much reality tv about make-up artists and wrestling on SyFy...I mean seriously, wrestling? What the hell is even remotely science fiction about wrestling? Bring on the Blake's 7, I can't wait.
ReplyDelete---
But it's being made by an American company. I love many American tv shows, but when it comes to British sci-fi, they're guaranteed to mess it up.
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I hear what you're saying. My hopes are still high though just because there has been a huge space opera vacancy for me since Battlestar went off the air. I think if they try to keep BSG in mind as a template for overall mood and tone, then we might have something. I just hope they keep with the original story line, even though Americans don't typically like seeing unhappy endings; sometimes that's just the way things work out. - I remember watching the ending of the series for the first time. My jaw literally dropped. I couldn't believe they went there. It's unlikely the new reboot will be as compelling, though we can hope.***
I still get a little "verklempt" seeing them being mow'd down in "Blake!" I was told it would happen, but I was this happy-go-lucky guy taping an episode every weeknight for over a year, never missing even one, then that ending! OMG, I almost needed counseling! lol! Even Slave had a dying soliloquy that broke me up! I'm optimistic this will work! That's all we can do!
***SyFy Channel will ruin this. - I dread to think what this will turn out like as American tv companies always bugger up British sci fi and turn it into crap. All the main characters will be American [imagine all the Star Trek characters being British ...it would be ridiculous] and it'll probably be watered down and stupid.
Whoever sold the rights from Britain [no doubt to make a quick buck] should be ashamed of themselves. The BBC makes some rubbish [like most of new Dr Who ...which is aimed at 4 year olds], but this should be made by a British tv company who respects the original and knows what they're doing.***
USA Network was the one I heard rumoured to be interested in the "Blake's 7 project several years ago!
ReplyDelete***No one at the BBC sold the rights. The rights to Blake's 7 were owned by Terry Nation (created Blakes, survivors and the daleks) and when he died they passed to his family ( his wife). She sold them to Paul Darrow & some British tv exec's, they formed B7 media and tried to produce a sequel to the original (Blake's 7 TNG) the series with Sky a couple of years back. Paul Darrow left/was chucked out when he found out that Avon would not be appearing\featuring in it. Sky decided to drop the idea and go with some original (new) series instead. B7 Media tried to produce a movie, then some made for TV films but failed to secure the funding needed. So rather than own the rights to something they were unable to make any real profit from they flogged it to the SyFy.
Personally I'm interested to see what they do with it. The three most important things they need to do are to keep to the gritty, dark feel of the original, getting the casting right (esp. Avon, Villa & Servalan) and get the dialogue right. These were the things that made the original work and why it is fondly remembered.
This is a show about a sentient ship crewed by a bunch of misfit anti-heroes led by an idealistic freedom fighter. The closest thing to this in recent years has been Farscape (which nicked a lot of their idea's straight from B7) but ended up being a pale imitation.
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Could the Doctor stay in the Same Location for a While? - No. It was bad enough during the 1st season when the Doctor seemed to stay around Cardiff. I like the 3rd Doctor's 1st season a lot, but part of the appeal of Doctor Who for me is for the Doctor and his companion(s) to jump into the police box and travel through time and space. If you want to see someone stranded in one place for a season, feel free to watch the last season of Andromeda.***
I had totally given up on Andromeda when they went "dark!" It became a huge joke and I jumped ship; so to speak! I picked up on "Earth: Final Conflict" and that was that! Besides, I was ticked off with Sorbo being political! Like most old fashioned twits, he was conservative and his views were at odds with common sense and equal treatment for all! He fit right in with the Bush crowd!
***Would you have liked it had the good guys won? - The events during the whole show lead to the bad ending. Season 4 was very dark and depressing, with rebels failing in everything and with bad luck following them. I actually had a feeling they kind of lost the battle sometimes around the episode "Pressure Point" in S2, when first member of B7 died. - To use a current quote, I think the Federation was too big to fail. Avon and Blake nipped at it some, but for the whole, all they did was cause a little temporary chaos, nothing more.***
ReplyDeleteBlake and his crew were on par with Han Solo, Robin Hood, and other minor annoyances to world order! Most people weren't even aware of what was going on; esp. on the other side of the galaxy! The same thing is going on here now; terrorist fighting for "whatever," but really aren't accomplishing anything!
***True. Personally I would have preferred a less bleak ending. OK, so the good guys couldn't win, but I didn't want to see them ALL dead. Should have left a couple of them alive so you get a feeling that the fight would continue somehow. Making the Federation the winner makes Blake and the rest futile.***
It was left open for the most part; I think anyway! You didn't see him fall! Even if he Avon was shot, with their technology, I'm sure they could bring him around! Any of the crew could still be alive! Going to the ground shot doesn't guarantee death!
***Top 25 scifi or fantasy shows video - - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o-YRjCsd6Y ***
Thanks for the list! Of course I can't agree with the order; half the shows I've never even seen so they can't possibly be better than the classics, but you're entitled! No "Sanctuary?" I only saw a few episodes, but I think it was well done using a lot of "Green Screen" cgi work! Take care!
***Would a remake harm or help the legacy? - I would rather see a continuation. I'm not big on remakes, and keep Ron Moore far away from B7. He already pissed on Battlestar Galactica.***
The continuation was marketed with Avon captured, locked up in a dungeon for 20 years until his rescue or escape to lead the rebellion! That was over 10 years ago though!
***Never seen Sanctuary. ALso just because you have not seen some shows does not mean they cannot be liked more than established classics. Thanks for the link too***
You have to be very young to move classic shows like Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Twilite Zone below the likes of the drek produced these days; even a remake of Battlestar Gallactica! Sorry, that's just not rational! The shows mentioned are still playing on a loop! These new shows you mentioned will be forgotten soon enough; believe it! No offense!
***Stephen Greif - Anyone know why he didn't do series 2? His Travis was brilliant. No disrepect to Brian Croucher of course.***
ReplyDeleteNot everyone wants to do sci-fi space operas! Croucher was already there helping in production so if Greif wasn't happy, they probably said "bye!" Heavens knows Thomas wasn't thrilled about being there! I'm surprised he even has some interviews talking about the old series; so beneath him! He had so much animus; sorta like Chris Eccleston has for Doctor Who now!
***CONNECTIONS BETWEEN Blake's 7 & DR WHO,BBC - People talk about BLAKE'S 7 as rumoured to have been a planned replacement for DR WHO. I don't know if there was any truth in that idea, but it seems obvious that BLAKE'S 7 could not have existed without DR WHO coming first. The skills of the costume and set designs make BLAKE'S 7 look like parts of DR WHO, i.e. the freedom fighters in B 7, "PRESSURE POINT" reminds me of the ones in DR WHO, "DAY OF THE DALEKS."***
The similarities with the show only proved that Terry Nation ruled with an iron hand!
***Sy Fy channel will ruin this. - I dread to think what this will turn out like as American tv companies always bugger up British sci-fi and turn it into crap. All the main characters will be American [imagine all the Star Trek characters being British ...it would be ridiculous] and it'll probably be watered down and stupid.
Whoever sold the rights from Britain [no doubt to make a quick buck] should be ashamed of themselves. the BBC make some rubbish [like most of new Dr Who .....which is aimed at 4 year olds] but this should be made by a British tv company who respects the original and know what they're doing.***
Well like my old mother used to say, "it's better than a sharp stick in the eye!" I'll take any kind of reincarnation at this point! It's been 30+ years! Darrow isn't going to live forever! The transition would go a lot better if they do something now rather than later when it might be too late to capture the era!
***And you can watch all four series of "Blake's 7" as they have been released on DVD in very nicely presented box sets which I highly recommend. - As for 'Shada,' the story wasn't completed, but has apparently been reconstructed recently by Ian Levine.***
ReplyDeleteI still have the original 52 episodes on 7 VHS tapes from the mid 80's! A friend created the disc for me several years ago so I have all 4 seasons saved for all time; maybe have it buried/incinerated with me! That show actually surpassed DW in entertainment value! They got in and got out in less than 50 min., with few arcs! They only had a couple total duds; "Sarcophagus" was awful!
***Actually I thought 'Sarcophagus' was really good and had a strange otherworldly quality about it which was an interesting change of mood for the otherwise gritty space opera 'Blake's 7' usually was. 'Blake's 7' was an incredible show with great characters, lots of tension and a sense of futility and hopelessness in the main characters actions which I always enjoyed and found so unique in televised sci-fi. Also probably the best and most unrelentingly unapologetically bleak ending in the history of science fiction shows!
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Remember how awful the re-boot of the 80's classic series "V" was done? The new series, despite all the superior make-up and special effects, totally failed as as a series. It was dull and listless. But despite that the original series has not been damaged. The fans of the original just do not even acknowledge the re-boot. I suspect if they manage to create an awful BLAKE'S 7 re-boot, the fans of the original will not even blink twice.***
That was how it was for me, never even acknowledged V reboot was ever being produced! When they said Diana (Jane Badler) would make a guest arc appearance, I still didn't watch even a moment! The only reboot I've jumped on board in any capacity is Doctor Who's in 2005! I was a loyal viewer and taped each episode from Tom Baker on...! I've continued to record them, but never rewatch like I would the classic tapes! I would definitely give "Blake's 7 (2013)" a once over after collecting all 4 seasons and 52 episodes; tapes and disc! So far I've skipped other sci-fi classics like "Battlestar Gallactica!" They need to get on the ball; Darrow won't live forever! lol!
***Would a remake harm or help the legacy? - I would rather see a continuation. I'm not big on remakes, and keep Ron Moore far away from B7. He already pissed on Battlestar Galactica.***
The continuation was marketed with Avon captured, locked up in a dungeon for 20 years until his rescue or escape to lead the rebellion! That was over 10 years ago though!
***If a remake is made and it follows this timeline it would mean a 60 yo something Avon coming out of a dungeon. Uhmmm.... Unless you turned him into a patriarch in charge of a younger crew. Otherwise the younger generation would not identify with a much older rebel trying to get back into shape and rustling up some crew mates. Avon was a great character (my favorite!) but he wasn't exactly inspiring the way Blake was.***
***Personally I'm interested to see what they do with a re-boot. The three most important things they need to do are to keep to the gritty, dark feel of the original, getting the casting right (esp. Avon, Villa & Servalan) and get the dialogue right. These were the things that made the original work and why it is fondly remembered.
ReplyDelete---
I'd say they'd have to NOT fall into making to many unnecessary as if they do they might as well not bother calling it Blake's 7. Sure not all the stories were good, and we need better ones, I'm fine with that, but if they change the characters, etc. too much we'll end up with something closer to possibly either Firefly or as others have said something akin to "Farscape." And there will be complaints of the series being Blake's 7 in name only, just like people have with the "Battlestar Galactica" rebooot, which I somewhat agree with, as I though some of the changes in that weren't needed, still liked the series, but I think it would have been better if they had gone a few steps further with the changes, and called it something else.
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Why is there no sexual tension on the Liberator? I know they all have bigger problems on their hands, survival being one, but the female crew are very attractive as well as being intelligent and they wear clothing which is hardly NASA and is supposed to be sexy. The guys never notice seem to notice.***
As you said, survival was pressing and a constant issue! They were being hunted and under stress making up strategems to bring about weakening of the Federation! Without pairing up, they really were aligned in a certain way; Jenna with Blake while Dana and Cally were more loyal to Avon! Vila was too sniveling while Gan just some muscle aboard; just in case needed! Also, for the most part, it is a kiddie program! A deep kiss here and there is more than enough "amour" as far as I'm concerned in sci-fi programming!
***I dunno, I always felt there was something bubbling beneath the surface with Cally and Avon but it kind of soured a bit through season 3 as she became more of a moral voice and avon started making more morally questionable choices (going after revenge on Shrinker for instance) whereas i'm pretty sure Vila tried it on with every woman on the crew (possibly not jenna) but got shot down each time.***
You covered it! There was "something" there or the crew would have been wiped out in "Sarcophagus!" It was Cally's feelings for Avon that saved and got him close enough to take that power ring; IIRC! It has been quite a few years since I've taken the tapes out! That particular episode was skipped on my marathon viewings years ago! It was one of the more lame offerings!
***Would Hal Mellanby have made good replacement for Blake? - "Aftermath" gives Dayna a great introduction, but a lot of emphasis is also given to Hal... Hal gets killed by Servalan, go figure. It adds to the potential of Dayna's character arc, but I would have liked to have seen him as a leader for Avon to spar against...***
ReplyDeleteAvon had people and "computers" to spar with! Tarrant tried his best, Cally challenged him a little, don't forget Servalan, and of course his personal bud was ORAC!
***Hal would have made a good verbal hero. However his limited sight would have kept him from being the action leader that Blake was. - plus he was a bit of a hippy peacenik pacifist type. - Jarvik from "Harvest Of Kairos" would have made a better replacement for Blake.
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I know it was later in the series but I always thought Dorian would have made a great addition to the cast, sadly they went with the non event that became Soolin instead.***
Dorian was too much an egostically vampire to ever lead anyone! I'm surprised Soolin survived long enough to be a mercenary with Avon and his crew! She fit right in and I loved those times; "after Blake!"
***One thing though, at the end - why is it Blake's SEVEN? I can only think of Blake, Avon, Vila, Gan, Cally, and ultimately Orac and Zen - is that it? It also doesn't help that the cast changed a lot during the show, so was it always seven?
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Original 7
Blake
Avon
Vila
Jenna
Gan
Cally
Zen ***
Andromeda was a total rip off of Blake's 7, down to the self-healing herculenium hull and exterior! I wound up appreciating B7 more than DW because "they got in and got out" in 50 min.! In Chicago, my local PBS station played them weekdays in '87, so somehow I got all 52 eps. on tape! Someone put them to disk for me, so the tapes are available if anyone wants them! I watched them over and over on VHS and Beta formats! - I still get verkempt watching that finale with Slave having a death soliloquy! I've been dreaming of a remake while Darrow is still alive and ORAC out there! We'll see it they go through with it!
***I've known about B7 for as long as I've known Doctor Who, and saw the emotional finale where all the main characters were killed off. Firstly, there's how it all started, with Blake arrested and sent off on a prison ship on trumped-up charges, then how he met Avon, Vila, the others, and how they eventually found the Liberator; an amazing ship indeed - I always wondered why fans raved on about it, but it is indeed a great ship, with Zen indeed, b/c of the teleporter amongst other things.
ReplyDeleteI only remember a few eps I've seen in the past few decades, like the giant brain in the space station which also captured the Liberator. And more recently a tale in which Avon and Vila must achieve take-off speed, but they need to lose weight. Orac happily suggests throwing Vila overboard, but Avon sees that a tiny amount of super-heavy stellar material is trapped in a plastic cube which is contributing to the weight needed to be lost, and thus they both escape the planet alive.
Speaking of Orac, I was partially impressed by this brain, but even then I thought he was mainly a clear plastic box of lights with only a few visible small microchips to justify his intelligence - it reminded me of those computer consultants in 'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,' which are also just plastic faces in round metal boxes with a few token microchips.
But Servalan - I thought she was great in those few eps I saw, esp. her Machiavellian ways. I suppose it's b/c I also loved the actress in her DW role as Chessene in "The Two Doctors," and the fact I met her at a convention in Telford, the same one where I met Colin Baker. I've yet to see the other eps of B7, but I've seen Servalan compilation videos on YouTube which gets across how evil she is.
I also recently saw the sad ep with the end of the Liberator, how that space slime they flew through ate through the ship and ultimately disintegrated it, just as Servalan was coming aboard. I also saw how Orac came about, and I suppose I should see more eps to observe his wisdom.***
I could have written this in the past except I saw all the episodes and have them all on tape and disc! Enjoy my pages as a homage to the program! The eps you referenced are "Ultraworld" with the 'big brain' and the ep. where Vila and Avon had to get rid of that weight to gain orbit was actually entitled "Orbit!"
***For some reason I fail to recall the precise moment Blake was elected captain, yet he assumes leadership (only natural given his alpha status). Consider S2, ep #4, "Horizon" where he is told that the crew are suffering from acute exhaustion, fueled by Soma and adrenaline. He finds a Federation occupied planet immediately after and decides to drag the crew along despite their objections. This is simply to sate his curiosity.
Despite these things, a Google search turns up nothing but blind admiration for the man. What manner of man takes sick and infirmed friends and purposefully places them in acute danger for the sake of his own curiosity? I must say however that I'm in love with Blake's 7. Along with "Lexx," it represents some of the most vital dystopian art in the western canon.***
Picard of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" put his ship and crew in danger for curiosity sake tons of time! He was like a child! If he sees a light twinkle in the distance, he'll plot a course to it immediately! I agree, B7 is the best; even though old series! Here's hoping for a remake! Normally I wouldn't want to be bother, missing many like "BattleStar Gallactica" & "V!" Still have the old tapes of B7 and The complete collection of "V," "V, The Final Battle," & series of '84! "Earth: Final Conflict" was good too 10+ years ago!
***In Blakes 7 you had plenty of strong female characters; Cally, Jenna, and Dayna. It's true they were not that well developed, but that wasn't Nations fault really. In season 1, which he had the most to do with, Jenna was very well developed. Its only in season 2, she becomes Blake's girl. Gan's a male character was the least developed of all of the characters in it, but no one mentions that ever. Dayna, whom Nation only wrote the introduction episodes for was really well developed in those first two episodes he wrote. We see here family, her backstory, and establish her relationship with Avon and Servalan. It's only later writers that don't develop her after he has gone. Then there is also Servalan. He had the main villain of his show be a woman, a strong intelligent character, who outwits the hero's and is one of the few who survives the show.
ReplyDeleteI think it's really unfair to say Nation's a sexist. Listen to "Curse Of The Daleks" written by his favorite writer, David Whitaker to see real sexism LOL. Terry Nation probably had a higher percentage of stronger female characters in his work than most writers from that time like Nigel Kneale, Gene Roddenberry, & Robert Holmes. Then again I never really got why Moffat was called a sexist either? I think its easy to call someone who writes a show where there are male heroes a sexist like Moffat and Nation. Also you have to give credit for creating Blakes 7 to Nation surely.
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After season 2, I miss Blake vs Avon - Avon is at his best when spitting at Blake and vice versa. I agree that the political activism gave the show a purpose. But on the other hand it's not that bad to watch them flying randomly around and doing whatever comes to their mind and serves them best - esp. considering that they are still fighting the Federation. You are also right that it's nice that the other characters (esp. Avon) get more place. I don't really mind that the show changed. I'm impressed that it's still just as good as before. Maybe change is what keeps a show fresh - like it does for Doctor Who.***
They ceased having political motivations after Blake and Jenny went missing! The main purpose of the show after season 2 was survival with a little self-serving drama; acquiring wealth, power, and revenge!
***Well, they still say stuff like "We are enemies of the Federation" or "We fight the Federation." now and then. You might be right about the main purpose, but the fight is still there too.
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...somebody who used to call Robin of Sherwood, 'Blake's 7 With Trees' (indicative not of an influence of one on the other, but a shared generic heritage). It's not as if Terry Nation didn't repeatedly describe this show in high-concept terms referencing Dirty Dozen and Robin Hood.***
I like that; Robin of Sherwood, "Blake's 7" with trees! Was that with Jason Connery?
***...Actually, thinking about it, it sort of makes sense that there is less of the political activism in season 3. When the season starts Star One has been destroyed, the Federation's forces are in ruins... to a certain extent (for a limited time at least) Blake had won, it's only once the Federation starts rebuilding that Avon starts to take action. In 'Deathwatch' the crew act to stop Servalan from making a powerplay so anti-Federation activities are still in their minds.***
ReplyDeleteYou sure things weren't running normally during usual operations of the Federation?
- "The Harvest Of Kairos" - Normal capital building of the Federation
- "Children Of Auron" - Servalan poisons people of Auron to extort her cloning
- "Rumours Of Death" - where Servalan assumes the Presidency
- "Moloch" - Servalan travels across deep space to a strange world
***How is no one else here infuriated by Blake?
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Plenty of people are infuriated by Blake. Of all the characters in B7, he has the largest number of “haters.” I think there is a tendency for detractors to keep ...Blake possessed some frighteningly bright and combatative fans! Certainly, old fan club magazines like Horizon featured many letters and articles that were less than sympathetic to the character. There are a number of regular posters on B7 Horizon (the old fan club) forum that are not great Blake fans. ...A rather extreme example of a Blake hater would be an individual called Kalinda001, a women who writes fanfic and is an Avon/Cally shipper. One of her efforts was amusingly entitled “Roj Blake, Teenage bully!"
Personally, I’m a bit of a Blake fan! Capable of warmth, charm and humour, yet arrogant, domineering and possessed of a streak of ruthlessness, what more do you want in a revolutionary? Bear in mind that any "curiosity" on Blake's part is likely to be related to gathering useful information for his cause. Then the question is whether you should put a cause before individuals? If you disapprove of putting a cause before individuals, you are never likely to warm to a revolutionary or idealist really, except a very “fake” one. Blake isn’t nasty or immoral, he just has a very different notion of morality than your average bloke. In any case, the crew are all adults and have the ability to say no, should they so. They are also perfectly capable of deposing Blake from his self-appointed leadership role.
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People have argued about the last episode for years Watching it again, it seems that BLAKE is actually still a rebel, but AVON does not realize this and shoots him. Then AVON faces his final battle with a smile on his face and VILA is almost a hero?***
That was the first and last time Vila took up arms! He was a coward and was well aware of it! I was shocked to see him strike that little girl and pick up her gun! His only featured appearance was in "City At The Edge Of The World" where he came across "Bayban the Butcher," played by Colin Baker!
Blake caused his own death by playing games, forcing people to prove themselves before acceptance! He obviously blew it more than once, taking on a Federation officer as one of his team! I was shocked that Avon didn't give him a chance to explain, but they were all under a lot of stress! Blame Tarrant for it all; "he sold us all, even you!" He snapped and that was that! One of the most memorable finales I'll ever remember! Even Slave had a dying soliloquy! I still tear up over it! I really loved that show and taped all 52 episodes! Anyone want the VHS tapes? All put to disk so I don't need them anymore!
***Last episode question spoilers spoilers spoilers - I only knew by spoiler that they were all going to die except possibly Avon. But I guess it helps that plots are dark and complex on a quite usual base today. And thinking about what you said - maybe everyone was too shocked by the deaths to get all of it when it aired first, too.***
ReplyDeleteI was told they'd all die, but it was still a shock! I bawled; loved that show! As I've noted before, even Slave had a dying soliloquy! It was tear-jerkingly good!
***It was very good, but since I convinced myself adamantly the ship and Slave weren't necessarily damaged beyond repair, Slave's soliloquy didn't affect me as much as it did you, but Zen's did. So I know what you mean ;). The others' deaths too didn't affect me as much. I was prepared to see them die for sure, but there was no blood (except on Blake) and considering Avon's grin, there might have been some kind of trick. I prefer to think that way ;). Apparently they DID originally plan to continue the show so the "deaths" weren't meant as deaths orignally.***
I didn't think of that! I just figured the gun that blew Blake away was just a lot bigger disruptor at such close range which caused an open wound! To this day, I thought only Avon survived, probably sitting in some dungeon and waiting!
***Stephen Greif - Shame he was otherwise engaged. Would be interested to know if he expressed any regret subsequently. To be fair to Mr Croucher, I thought his version did become excellent as series 2 developed. The difference was probably just a bit too much of a culture shock on first viewing of series 2 all those years ago for a 13 year old with very high expectations after series 1.***
ITA about Croucher! He was ok for a while, but after so many failures, it appeared he did go insane and couldn't be reasoned with! Servalen almost condoning his actions showed she wasn't exactly packing a full deck either! She wasn't as far gone as Travis though!
***There is a story on BBC News that suggests Microsoft are remaking this for Xbox Live.***
I miss out on so much! I'm so far behind the times, I've only heard of X-Box with some favorites I might enjoy, but refuse to go over "to the dark side!" Didn't buy my first cell until '09 and still use it! Others think I should at least go to a "smart phone" since typing on tiny keyboard makes it quite frustrating to text! My main format to tape shows to this day is VHS w/ ancient vcrs! Th Beta format was a fave, but couldn't find anything in that mode after the turm of the century! Finally gave away collection and machines to a library in '02! As for the X-box, I can't see it happening anytime soon, but who's to say how I feel at 60?
***If "Blakes 7" means the 7 belonging to Blake (singular), then it should have the apostrophe -- so it would be "Blake's 7". On the DVD covers (British & Australian releases), they have inserted the apostrophe in the title, stylised in the same font as the BLAKES 7 lettering.***
ReplyDeleteWhenever Avon or any of the other crew were questioned or captured, they were always referenced back to Blake as if he did own them! lol! Even after he left the show, in S3 they were always called Blake's men or crew!
***Blake's 7 for instance was the 1st sci fi series to have ongoing story arcs, unsympathetic main characters, have main characters regularly die sudden, violent deaths. All these things pop up in modern series, but not at all back in '78. Influence and breaking new ground, Nations work was also I think very ahead of its time in many ways. Ideas he used in Blake's 7 would pop up again and again in tv series made 10, 20, 30 years later, like Firefly, Andromeda, Babylon 5 and his work has inspired the likes of J Michael Straczyinzki, Joss Whedon, and even Dennis Potter. Thus Nation I feel was more ground breaking and had a wider influence than Whitaker. ...In Blake's 7 we have the likes of Cally, Dayna and Jenna as main characters and the main villain of the show is a woman too, Servalan. Whitakers work is a little bit dated when it comes to female characters more so than Nation who for his time was very progressive. Nation however was probably the most progressive genre writer on tv of his age when it came to women.
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It's been decades since I've seen B7, so I don't remember much about the characters, but my recollection is that with the possible exception of Vila, they weren't very well rounded either. But sure, I'll accept that they were better drafted characters. They had to be, b/c they were recurring characters who had to carry the storyline.***
Hey, bite your tongue! lol! "Blake's 7" was flawless as far as I was concerned! Even the bad CGI showing ships taveling through space didn't bother me! Loved the story arcs, characters, and the fact that they got "in and out" in 50 min! I think I rewatched those 52 episodes more than DW!
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It made sense to always leave someone on board the ship! Only ORAC could operate the teleport on the surface of a planet! If you've seen "Animal" in season 4, you'd find it was a good thing Tarrant was left behind while Dana met with the Doctor! A Federation patrol saw Scopio and attacked it! If no one on board, it would have been captured or destroyed!
***well having someone stay on board the ship was always a good idea and I'm pretty sure that most episodes around the Liberator (except maybe Gambit and Horizon), someone always stayed on the ship. It was more something like Animals you have Tarrant and Dayna go off in Scorpio on the mission while Soolin, Avon and Vila stay back at Xenon base and don't do much for the ep.***
***The only difference being SyFy productions are just glamorized high school productions (with the same lack of acting skills). I don't watch shows on that channel unless I have to. I think the last thing I watched was Tin Man. On the other hand I watch British shows for their quirks. I don't care for CGI, all I care about are the stories.***
ReplyDeleteIf you don't care about bad CGI, I suggest an old British favorite of mines from the late 70's called "Blake's 7!" It was produced by Terry Nation as well! There has been talk about a reboot for them, but I'm not hopeful! It's great as far as I'm concerned with teleport capabilities, warp drives, artificial intelligence in navigation computers, and of course many sci-fi villains! Check the blogs below to get an idea about the series; only 4 years with 52 episodes!
***The 1st half of series 4 is variable, but it was commissioned at the last moment. The 2nd half contains far more hits than misses. Series 3 I almost loathe b/c it feels more like "Star Trek," having lost focus to what B7 was about (series 4 recaptured that threat.)
Avon had endured so many defeats and being duped by Servalan that he was making more mistakes. He couldn't tell anymore, and it was a tragic misunderstanding thanks to Blake that Blake himself gets killed by Avon. Avon had already shown signs of cracking at the end of "Gold" where he cackles over his defeat, and with Blake seemingly turned bad, he pretty much lost it.
I'm thankful Avon's death is off screen, b/c one hears his gun shoot and then there are 9 Federation gun blasts. Just the imagining of that would be brutal enough, never mind being an eyewitness to such a thing.
Vila is usually a shrewd coward, but when the chips are down, even he will have an out of body experience or transcend his usual self. He always had a romantic fondness for Dayna and Soolin, even though both clearly rejected him time and again, so to see Vila respond to Dayna like that is pretty significant. Given he also showed interest in Cally, who also rejected him quite promptly, Vila probably never got into many relationships in his life and always hoped he would find love with someone on the Liberator or Scorpio.***
If you check the Wiki page, it looks as if well over a year had gone by before the show was produced and shown; normally in the spring, but wasn't released until that fall of the last season! Lucky for me, I didn't have to wait! I didn't start watching it until the repeats in '86 on PBS after a friend told me about the show! It was on every weeknight and I was lucky enough to tape all 52 episodes on 7 VHS tapes! Anybody want them? A friend put them to disc for me so I can enjoy them in my old age!
Poor Vila did get one episode centered around him and "got the girl!" It was pretty good and called "City At The Edge Of The World" where we got a chance to see Colin Baker before he took over the role of the Doctor in "Doctor Who!"
***Blake's 7 is one of the best sci fi series ever made. ...I don't know if a remake will work however. Who could you get that would be better for Avon than Paul Darrow? However having said that I still have thought about who I would cast in a remake of Blake's 7 just for fun LOL.
ReplyDeleteFor Blake I would cast Jensen Ackles. I think for Blake you need someone who is both charismatic and a bit dodgy at times. That's the great thing about Blake as a character and Gareth Thomas's performance is that Blake's a great leader, commanding, knows how to keep such a dysfunctional group together, a great strategist, and does have genuinely noble intentions to free people from the Federation. On the other hand however he can be reckless too, obsessive in obtaining his goals to the point where he begins to lose his head. He's often willing to risk every single member of his crews lives. "He's also willing to lie to his team or keep things from them or even play on their guilt and loyalty to him to get them to go along with dangerous missions. Also many times throughout the series Blake resorts to shady, underhanded methods to take down the Federation, viewing any sacrifice as worth it in the long run like working with criminals, threatening to destroy a surgeons hands rather than simply kill him, and butchering millions of innocent people in destroying Star One. He's a complex character and you can't just get someone who will play him as the man in the white hat. You need someone who can capture both sides to him and I think Ackles who plays a similar character on Supernatural Dean Winchester could do that well.
For Avon, well no one could be as good as Paul Darrow, but I would like to see James Marsters play him if we had to have somebody else. ...He's quite good at playing lovable rogues like Avon and I think he could deliver Avon's vicious one liners really well too.
For Villa I would cast Mark Sheppard; best known as Crowley in Supernatural. Some people online have suggested he would be a good choice for Avon and I can see why, but I don't think he would physically be able to play him. Avon does look as though he needs to be able to take care of himself physically. He needs to look like a dirty fighter which Marster would again be better at. Sheppard however would be quite good at Villa. He could be really funny and quite dodgy.
For Servalan I would cast Lucy Lawless. For Servalan you need someone who is good at playing a bitch and who's a complete ham. Jacqueline Pearce was a gigantic ham; "MAXIMUM POWER"!!! and Lucy Lawless is a huge ham too. ...As for Orac I guess Jim Parsons would be perfect as him as Orac and Sheldon have the same personality anyway.
Not sure about who would play the rest. Even though I like their characters I think you could get lots of people to play the other characters. For Jenna all you need is a tough girl like Michelle Rodriguez or Eliza Dushku for Gan a big lug, Travis a villain actor etc. Who would you cast in a Blake's 7 remake?***
It was Darrow who pushed for the reboot; probably so he could reprise his role! Thought and radio telecast didn't kill him off on Galda Prime in "Blake!" He was thrown into a dark, dank dungeon when after 20 years, a revolution is being reconstituted and they need a leader; AVON! Made sense to me since it gave an opportunity to bring back ORAC! Only Avon knew where he hid it along with the key!
***It wasn't the same after the Liberator, Zen and the weird wand guns were part of B7s charm. Once they ditched the Lib for the Scorpio and those crappy plasticky ray guns, it just looked so cheap. Soolin was forgetable and Tarrant was a posh twat. Season D/4 has its moments - but apart from the finale wasn't a patch on the previous seasons.***
ReplyDeleteYou have to realize season 4 almost didn't happen! It took another 6 months to get it produced and released! Lucky I started watching the repeats on PBS in '86 so I didn't have that extra time on my hands waiting for the telecast! It was on every weekday for a couple months and I got all 52 episodes on VHS tape! After all these years I still get "verklempt" with that finale even when I was warned! Only losing Adric in Doctor Who's, "Earthshock" comes close to affecting me as much!
***True, but the decline in production standards didn't help. Did Adric's death really affect you? I thought the end titles on Earthshock were kept silent to give fans a chance to cheer the demise of one of the most irritating characters in the series' history. I don't think I'm alone on that point either.***
I didn't miss Adric because like you said, he was the most irritating companion around, but the way it was produced was great! The end credits with no music and just a shot of his gold star award was quite memorable!
***Yes the end of that ep had more gravitas than the character of Adric deserved - they should have saved it for the death of a more interesting and likeable companion - like, err....Kameleon!
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...Then in "Blake's 7," the main villain Servalan who was the most powerful and intelligent character in the show even more so than Avon, and that's before we get into the other strong female characters in the show like Dayna and Cally.
Also Blake's 7 broke ground in other ways. It was the first Sci-Fi series to have ongoing story arcs like the Star One story as opposed to running in the episodic formula. It was the first sci-fi series to kill main characters off regularly and suddenly too. And finally it was also the first sci-fi series to have somewhat more unsympathetic leading characters.
All of these things that Blake's 7 did pop up in dozens of sci-fi and fantasy series like Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Babylon 5 Xena the Warrior Princess, Andromeda, Lexx, Farscape, Game of Thrones; they all kill main characters off regularly, have unsympathetic main characters and ongoing story arcs, but it was Terry Nation who was the first to pioneer all of that back in '78 with "Blake's 7."***
They've been talking about a reboot of "Blake's 7" for well over 15 years, even generating a page on IMDb; "Blake's 7: (2013)!" I blog it even though there's no current program! People love talking about the show!
***Most attractive crew members? - Jenna and Soolin. I'd say Soolin was better looking but Jenna's character was more developed and had better costumes.***
ReplyDeleteWell it helped that Jenna was an original castmember and had 2 seasons to develop her character! Soolin was rushed in at the last minute for a delayed 4th and final season! She was little more than a "hired gun" with no plans or ideas that contributed to the whole series; just a follower for the most part!
***Yes, that is the issue with Soolin; just sort of there to look good. The character is also too similar to Dayna in some ways, both quick with the gun etc. It's a pity there wasn't one episode centred around her to give her character more depth.***
Well they tried to give her a little something to do in "Warlord!" After the treachery of Zukan, Soolin impersonated his daughter, Zeeona for about a minute back on her homeworld!
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***What if "Terminal" had been the last episode? If the BBC had canceled the show after series 3 and "Terminal" was the end of the story, would you have been satisfied with it as the final chapter for the Liberator crew?***
I wouldn't have liked it at all, but it would have been ok; just wondering about the future for them! Of course we find out Servalan has gone against her word, sabotaging the whole planet so it'll explode! Hard to believe she's so insecure that she would look these poeple in the eyes, warn them about the creatures, but know that the whole place will blow up soon! She's just one horrible villain!
***While it's a good one, it's not a good final episode. I don't think the series would be as well remembered if it did end with "Terminal."
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How is noone else here infuriated by Blake? For some reason I fail to recall the precise moment Blake was elected captain, yet he assumes leadership (only natural given his alpha status). Consider S2, ep 4, "Horizon" where he's told that the crew are suffering from acute exhaustion, fueled by soma and adrenaline. He finds a Federation occupied planet immediately after and decides to drag the crew along despite their objections. This is simply to sate his curiosity.
Despite these things a google search turns up nothing but blind admiration for the man. What manner of man takes sick and infirmed friends and purposefully places them in acute danger for the sake of his own curiosity?? I must say however that I'm in love with "Blake's 7." Along with Lexx, it represents some of the most vital dystopian art in the western canon.***
Kirk and Picard in "ST" fame are just as insatiable and curious (I say nosey)! Relaxing isn't in their nature and they have to take their respective crews along for the ride (so to speak)! Many times Picard has endangered his ship and crew b/c he's just curious; had to know all about something!
But when it came to "Blake's 7" I still watched all 52 episodes again and again when I first recorded them in the mid 80's! As a loyal "Doctor Who" fan since '79, I have to say "Blake's 7" beats them out in my heart! I haven't particularly cared for the reboot of DW on BBCA, but "Blake's 7" was almost magical in comparison to me! They got in and out in 50 minutes! There were few story arcs to make your head hurt! You have our band of "merry men" with their Robin Hood leader holding back the expanding evil of the Federation and "The Sheriff" in the guise of Servalan, Supreme Commander and President!
***I love Nation's writing, I've been a fan of Doctor Who and Blake's 7 since I was 4-5 years old (though recently rewatching B7, I'm surprised my parents let me watch it with all of the adult content).***
ReplyDeleteAdult content? "Blake's 7?" Really? I didn't start watching until I was 28 or so a few years after the final season! Up until then, 'DW' was king, but 'B7' became more than a habit! They got in and got out in 50 minutes and I appreciated that! It moved and didn't have incessant story arcs that confounded and confused the viewers! It was cheesy, but obviously just as enduring as 'DW!' "Bless you Terry Nation!"
***Blake's 7 was quite adult in a large # of ways. ...However Blake's 7 was more adult only in the sense that it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable more than they did. Like I said maybe adult is not the word, edgy, or daring might be a better word for it?.
In the first episode of Blake's 7 Blake is framed for molesting children. I mean for '78 to have your main character framed for something like that is pretty unbelievable. Also there were main characters dying regularly and suddenly w/o warning. ...Also the ending of B7, even by todays standards would still be pretty bleak; everybody dies and they all die pointless deaths, get shot in the back whilst Blake is murdered by Avon over a stupid misunderstanding. That's one of the things that I think made B7 was the fact that it was darker than its contemporaries. Blake's 7 meanwhile is ...really big in the UK.
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Liberation: The Unofficial and Unauthorized Guide to Blake's 7
- http://reviews.newsintimeandspace.net/2013_12_01_archive.html -
Blake's 7 is a series which is dear to my heart and which deserves a look from anyone interested in British sci-fi. It ran for 4 seasons, first airing in early '78, and concluding in late '81 with a grim finale that ruined many a youngster's Xmas.
Although the show now seems very dated by its hairstyles, costumes and makeshift special effects it is by and large a quality effort with excellent plots, characterisation and story arcs. Many joke about the deceptive title of Blake's 'Seven', esp. as the crew line up changed on several occasions as time went on. There were never 7 total human crewmembers, although computers Zen, Orac and Slave all played their part at different points in time.
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Which classic DW stories have the most impressive space ships? Some of the post-Star Wars DW space ship models look very impressive I must say.***
For some reason they just aren't as memorable as the ships in "Blake's 7!" Libertor* and Scorpio* were cool in so many ways!
***The Liberator definitely was; such a distinctive design... Scorpio looked a bit too run of the mill 'spaceship' for my tastes.***
"Slave" made Scorpio more memorable; a talking computer intelligence with it's own death soliloquy after the crash on Galda Prime! Still makes me 'verklempt' after all these years! He actually used the word "hope" concerning Tarrant's survival and called him by name instead of "Master!" OMG, I called Slave, "he!" lol! Slave actually could come up with suggestions concerning the crew's survival!
***Well yeah, Scorpio had Slave, but then the Liberator had Zen who got a comparably moving send off; "I have failed you! I'm sorry!"***
***The old Star Wars vs Star Trek debate has been going on as long as both have been around. ...Star Trek would beat Star Wars in medical stuff. In Star Wars you've got bacta tanks, Emdee droids, and fully functional bionic limbs which might be quite advanced compared to medical stuff in our world, but it's not like the stuff they've got in Star Trek such as healing rays, medical tricorders, and even Emergency Medical Holographic programs which are not only programmed w/ vast medical knowledge, but also have the ability to learn and become even more knowledgeable w/ medical stuff such as the Doctor from Voyager. In ST they can also restore full movement abilities to a fully paralyzed patient such as the case w/ Worf when he broke his neck and w/ the proper medical treatment was able to get back all his movement. So ST clearly beats SW in the area of medical stuff.
ReplyDeleteNow, warfare. This seems to be the big thing that people are always comparing the 2 universes on. Star Wars clearly beats Star Trek in warfare. W/o getting into too lengthy a discussion I will say that blowing stuff up is SW's specialty not ST's. People are always saying that ST is about space exploration, philosophy, and techl marvels while SW is about blowing stuff up. Well that's why SW would beat ST in warfare. Star Wars, also has tech marvels, but most of it comes in the form of weapons and instruments of destruction. In SW you've got a super laser that can destroy planets, giant star destroyers, and even a weapon that a bounty hunter would use such as seismic charges are capable of destroying asteroids that the Enterprise could not blast out of. So Star Wars clearly wins in warfare although warfare isn't everything.
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When you evaluate med. tech, consider that in SW they could make a man who's been horribly burned to the point he needs a perpetually sterile environment in which to live and breathe, walk in a suit made for that purpose, but do anything a man can do plus some added strength. Show me that in Star Trek. The Borg might have something similar, but I haven't seen it in the Federation. I'll venture to say that they may have the ability, though. However, Wars med tech works well enough for them. They don't get into things like diseases and biological weapons (unless you count the Yuuzhan Vong), but maybe they don't need to. Maybe they've mastered the notion of "panimmunity," which would be essential if you have a galaxy-spanning civilization that generally speaks the same language, conducts trade using common currencies, and generally uses the same levels of tech.
Why need replicators or holodecks? If you can traverse the galaxy in hours, days, or weeks, replicators take on the features of redundancy. There's no need for them if everything is working just fine, and you can go from 1 system to the next in a day or 2, and be eating real food on a planet or station very soon. Holodecks similarly aren't needed, but remember that Wars does have holograms, and their computers could probably produce something that interacts with people, esp. if you take into account the Expanded Universe.
Let's talk transporters. Star Trek has contradicted itself on how this thing works, but let's take the original approach. What it does is kill you, break you down molecularly, and then replicates you at another location. Are you the same you after you've transported? Would you really be willing to use this thing? I'd have a lot of misgivings, esp. if you believe in the concept of an immortal soul.
But, what good would they be, even if they didn't do that? For all intents and purposes, they might come in handy for combat, but not in a world w/ weapons and defenses that are adequate to deal w/ any materializing threat. Shields and almost any sort of interference hampers transporters to varying degrees, so that makes transporters kind of redundant.***
***Why does Magneto always own Wolverine? - Magneto has a clear advantage in 'DOFP.' Magneto can fly and move football stadiums and stave off entire armies. He can escape from a plastic prison as long as one of the security guards has too much iron in his blood. When the army knows days ahead of time that he's going to be somewhere and stock up on all-plastic weapons, he responds by moving the Golden Gate Bridge. The guy is an unstoppable demigod.
ReplyDeleteWolverine can take a beating and he can scratch you if you get within four feet of him. That's it. We're supposed to root for Wolverine b/c he doesn't give up on trying to take down Magneto, even though Magneto is so much more powerful. Wolverine doesn't have some kind of advantage, or anywhere close to an even keel, just b/c he doesn't have adamantium all around his skeleton this time. - Exactly. In power chart terms, if you take a '10' as the most powerful hero yet seen on screen, Dr. Manhattan, Magneto's an 8 and Wolverine's a 3. Possibly a 2.***
I wouldn't say Wolverine had any real power! He had limitations and had to make contact with whatever he wanted to achieve! Magneto was thought to be the most powerful mutant on Earth with Storm a close 2nd! "X-Men 3" made Jean "The Phoenix," but the animated series had it being a creature that influence her after entering her body!
***The original "Days Of Future Past" was written back when not every hero like Wolverine or Hulk was damn near immortal. They actually had limits to how much they could take before dying. Nowadays, Hulk can probably take out all of those Sentinels.***
Technically, The Hulk wasn't a mutant! He is pretty much as immortal as Wolverine and can survive just about anything!
***Markus v. Viktor In "Underworld: Evolution" - Early in this movie, Markus kowtows to Viktor. Why? Viktor would be dead had it not been for Markus.***
My guess is he had made a solemn oath to serve and obey! They glossed over a lot of their history, throwing us a bone or 2! It really never made any sense to me either since w/o Markus, Viktor would have died! Even w/ the threat of extinction if Marcus' life was threatened didn't stop Viktor from acting as if he was the true king of the vampires! It was great showing that "middle ages" scene of them capturing William! They never explained where their father was at the time or how Alexander survived all those years w/ no real power or immortality reason!
I loved Marcus' look of indignation when he tries to overpower Selene and she's able to stand her ground in the cavern! Love Curran in "Blade 2" and his role as Vincent Van Gogh in a "Doctor Who" episode years ago; "Vincent And The Doctor!"
***You may be right. The opening segment of 'Evolution' is one of my favorites. I like the shots of Amelia. She has a dark beauty. You are also right about Alexander. The evolution of Markus and William are explained, but how does he become immortal.***
We wouldn't have been able to believe Viktor on anything; such a liar of his own myth! For someone with so much power, it really made no sense to behave as such!
***There should be a movie btw "Rise of the Lycans" and "Underworld." A movie where Emilia is the reigning Vampire and Selene is young (therefore Kate Beckinsale won't play in it). In that movie we will see how Viktor killed Selene's parents and took her under his wings. The rise of her as a talented fighter, the feud btw Lucian and the vampires, Lucian vs Emilia feud, and the end of the movie will result in the pact btw Lucian and Kraven. What am I missing?***
***TNG Warp Scale - I understand that TNG uses a different warp scale than TOS. In TOS, my understanding is that the warp scale is C (speed of light) raised to the warp factor cubed (C^1, C^8, C^27, C^64 and so on). In TNG, warp one is C and warp 10 is infinite speed. So how does that work? Is warp 5 half of infinity or 1000th of infinity or a millionth of infinity? How do they calculate that?
ReplyDelete---
It's an exponential or logaritmic formula, as I recall. (I forget which) The equation approaches an asymptote for WF = 10, meaning the curve will never actually reach WF = 10, but may become infinitely close.
A demonstration of the idea: y = (9xc)/(x-10) w/ X being warp factor, y being physical speed, c being speed of light
When plotted:
WF----Speed
0.0 0.000c
0.5 0.375c
1.0 1.000c
2.0 2.250c
3.0 3.857c
4.0 6.000c
...
9.0 81.00c
10 infinity
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What has bothered me is that in all the years the show was on, they never expanded on who or what Guinan was. I think they could have a great origin story about her and her people. Her species has already encountered the Borg and even Q said to watch out for her people and that she had taken human form. So what was her original form? Troi and Beverly Crusher centric episodes usually blew, Geordi episodes were not much better. Esp. when you had Whoopi Goldberg playing her, I think they missed an opportunity to explain her origins and how her and Picard actually met.***
Well I usually give production a break concerning Guinan since she was created overnight due to her own request to be a part of the show! She was huge back then with her one woman show, nominations for her acting in movies, comedy stand-up, and humanitarian work with the homeless! Supposedly she had a thing for bald men; Stewart IIRC, and role was something totally ad hoc!
***Will the next movie be the platform for the true Phoenix Saga? I read an article somewhere in google saying it might become the foundation the Phoenix saga that was originally intended by Bryan Singer.
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To do the Phoenix saga even half right they would have to involve the Shi'ar and the Imperial guard and even the Kree. I honestly wouldn't count on it and if they even try prepare to be disappointed if you've read the original storyline.***
I agree! After using the name of The Phoenix in X=Men 3, it would lose it's significance! So far in X-Men, there's still no evidence of life outside of Planet Earth!
***X-Men: Days of Future Past practically annulled "Last Stand" and everything else. So the true Phoenix Saga by Bryan Singer might still have a chance.
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Why did Mystique change her mind in the end? - Simple. B/c Jennifer Laurence is the new "it girl;" so they had to make Mystique morally upstanding. It was pretty much bs and ruined the film.***
That's some makeover since I've always thought of her as the most cutthroat of villains w/o a conscience! She's lied to her kids, abandoned them, used them, confused them when it was to her benefit! Is that harsh? lol!
***MAN OF STEEL 2 to be released in 2018 - A rumored release schedule points to Shazam and Sandman releasing that same year; Justice League, Wonder Woman and a Flash/Green Lantern film in 2017; capped off by Man of Steel 2 in 2018. That’s all rumor for now; but a rumor that’s looking more and more likely – in overview, if not pinpoint accuracy. Of course, there’s been a noticeable absence in all this DC movie talk.
ReplyDelete===
Underworld: Evolution (2006) - Early in this movie, Markus kowtows to Viktor. Why? Viktor would be dead had it not been for Markus.***
My guess is he had made a solemn oath to serve and obey! They really glossed over a lot of their history, throwing us a bone or 2! It really never made any sense to me either since without Markus, Viktor would have died! Even with the threat of extinction if Marcus' life was threatened didn't stop Viktor from acting as if he was the true king of the vampires! It was great showing that "middle ages" scene of them capturing William! They never explained where their father was at the time; or how Alexander survived all those years with no real power or immortality reason!
***You may be right. The opening segment of Evolution is one of my favorites. I like the shots of Amelia. She has a dark beauty. You are also right about Alexander. The evolution of Markus and William are explained, but how does he become immortal.***
We wouldn't have been able to believe Viktor on anything; such a liar of his own myth! For someone with so much power, it really made no sense to behave as such!
***He had most of the vampires believing that he was the oldest and strongest, he had Tanis imprisoned b/c he knew that was a lie, he killed his pregnant daughter.... The list goes on and on. I wonder why no one before Selene thought to rebel against his tyranny. Markus could have killed Amelia and Viktor while they were hibernating, then he could have drank Viktor's blood in order to discover the location of William's imprisonment.***
He swore an oath! Markus initially had some honor and loyalty! I don't know why; need to watch it again one of these days! I really liked that early scene several hundred years before! If you don't listen carefully, you miss it; very easily!
***Actually, the original agreement between Viktor and Marcus was that Marcus would make the very ill and dying Viktor immortal (a vampire) in exchange for Viktor using his army-turned-immortal to help Marcus w/ William. But Viktor essentially betrayed Marcus by lying that he was the 1st vampire and then imprisoning William away from Marcus. Marcus was weak and afraid of Viktor. I think it was the Lycan blood and the fact that the other elders were dead that made Marcus so bold and deadly in "Underworld: Evolution." I really enjoyed the flashback in the beginning of this film, too.***
Funny! I loved Marcus' look of indignation when he tries to overpower Selene and she's able to stand her ground in the cavern! Love Curran in "Blade 2" and his role as Vincent Van Gogh in a "Doctor Who" episode years ago; "Vincent And The Doctor!"
***That was a great scene! Knowing that Amelia and Viktor were dead, Marcus felt he could easily overpower any vampire in his path only to discover this 'baby' vamp Selene giving as good as she got.***
***I liked Pulaski on STNG. I think a relationship btw her and Picard, either friends or more would have been way better than the soppy, sad puppy-eyed supposed relationship w/ Dr Crusher. Those 2 were boring.....no chemistry at all.***
ReplyDeleteITA! I thought it was great to have Muldaur since she appeared a few times in the original series back in the 60's! Us old fogies always enjoyed harking back periodically with Scotty, Sarek, and Spock as a bridge to the new series!
***I'm just wondering which of the regular casts (or Nu-Trek cast if you prefer) each of you consider to be the best.
The original series cast is too hard to compare to the rest. Even minor players from TOS feel like legends when they appear on the later shows. It was a different time, different acting styles, and a different dynamic w/ all the attention on the big 3. Still, overall I think the original cast stacks up very well. Shatner may have his hammy moments, but he has energy and star power that most of the later series didn't allow. Nimoy and Kelley were obviously good, and so was Doohan. All the rest did their jobs and had their moments.
My choice from the other 4 series might actually be "Voyager." Mulgrew was let down by the writing at times, but she, Picardo, Russ, Ryan, and Dawson were all obviously talented. Ethan Phillips was good when he had the right material, and McNeill was consistently decent. Garret Wang was the worst, but even he had his moments. When I think of the individual actors, there's a lot of talent there.
'TNG' had a couple of the best actors, but several that were ok at best. 'DS9' had the strongest group of secondary characters. Most of the 'DS9' actors shined at the right moments, but they all had their fair share of embarrassing moments as well. The "Enterprise" cast isn't really worth mentioning. So, opinions?
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Star Trek: Temporal Control
Is the best series. It has:
Spock
Data
Picard
Chapel
Chekov
LaForge
Troi
Sarek
Dukat
Jadzia
Odo
Seven
Kim
Chang
Ursela
B'tor
Khan
Saavik
42 Borg
Duras
Lore
Q
T'Pol
Trip
Chef
This is a crew correcting the time line from its current contamination.
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I thought Shatner's acting was quite good in the 1st 2 seasons, then went bad from then on.
Stewart's Picard was only good in seasons 3-7.
Bakula was good in Quantum Leap, but not Trek's "Enterprise."
Didn't care for Mulgrew or Brooks overacting at all.***
I always wonder what would have happened if Geneviève Bujold had stayed on in the role of Captain Janeway on "Voyager?"
***I've seen her screen test. It's much more subtle, a lot like Helen Mirren in "2010." I liked it a lot, but certainly didn't fit the (then) 'Star Trek' mold.***
Ahhhh, you remember "2010?" Taped it years ago; maybe the first movie after "Excalibur" we see of a fairly young Mirren! I was a fan of the emotional Roy Scheider since "The Seven-Ups" and before "Jaws" series of films!
***...Hyams and Clarke correctly came to the conclusion that they couldn't make anything in the style of '2001'...it would have been doomed to fail. So they kept aspects of the story, but chose a very different artistic style. In the end, it worked pretty well. Scheider, Mirren and Lithgow were all great in it. And after reading the book, I was thrilled that they didn't make 2061.***
***What are some of the most boring episodes of 'STNG;' not necessarily the worst episodes? Just the boring ones. My #1 would be "Too Short A Season." Others would be "The Outrageous Okona" and that episode where Troi's mother becomes a friend of Alexander. Not too many boring ones really though. It was a pretty good show, although it was a bit slow in the 1st season.***
ReplyDelete"Perfect Mate;" another one of those rip off plotlines that really bothered me early on! Wesley also got in the act courting a young lady who's destiny had already been decided! For someone supposedly a genius, it amazed me how often he would lose it; actually drooling on himself over some girl! Why do they do this so often?
***Yup. "The Perfect Mate" was a ripoff of Elaan of Troyus, minus all the exciting parts. Kind of a waste of talent.
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"The Perfect Mate" and the one w/ Wesley in love w/ the alien that can change it's form were pretty boring. I liked "Attached" though. I didn't really care for the story about Picard and Crusher being telepathically linked, but I liked the story about the seemingly peaceful and democratic planet wanting to join the Federation that turns out to be deeply flawed.***
I saw a couple episodes of the animated series a few years ago; interesting, but not on my "must see" list! I much more preferred the couple animated episodes of Doctor Who on YouTube; one reminiscent of "Keys To Time!"
***Probably cancelled. Just like TOS. I find it amusing, that TOS and TAS combined didn't last as long as TNG. That's crazy.
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The Borg Queen was bad enough, but the rot had already set in LOOOONG before w/ Locutus. The Borg are a COLLECTIVE, they ALL act as ONE, they don't NEED individual representatives!***
The last real exposure to the Borg Queen I had was w/ the finale; "Endgame" of "Voyager!" She was supposedly destroyed again by unleashing a neurolytic pathogenin by Admiral Janeway's system!
***CONNECTIONS BETWEEN B 7 DR WHO, BBC - Loved the fact the Daleks said "Seek-Locate-Destroy" at least twice on Saturday's (30-Aug-14) Dr Who. Now that is a Terry Nation full circle.***
I instantly thought of B7 title of ep.6, season 1! I've been waiting for the re-boot! Where is it; been 10+ years since I 1st started hearing about it! Darrow ain't gonna live forever! lol!
***...Scarlet Witch and Polaris' never really stood out to me, unlike Ororo's tiara. I actually thought there's an origin story how she got that black tiara. - Her comic book history says she got it for being worshipped as a goddess in Africa and later for being the Queen of Wakanda.***
ReplyDeleteGoing by the animated series, I never really noticed a tiara! The white/blond hair always stood out more and don't remember ever seeing anything like the head-dress of the Scarlet Witch! Ororo may have worn something like that when she was kidnapped and taken to an alternate universe! She was to become their queen!
***Storm in the animated series was based on Jim Lee's, 90's 'X-Men.' I don't know why she wasn't drawn w/ a tiara, but I guess it didn't match w/ the style that he was going for.***
I was more a DC comics person as a kid and only glanced at X-Men, Fantastic 4, or Doctor Strange if at a friends and hangin' out! I did Superman, girl, dog, horse, and boy, Batman, and a little Green Lantern for the most part unless the Justice League was involved! The animated series of X-Men was well made and very entertaining! I tuned in around "Time Bandit" and didn't understand why scenes were being replayed again and again the first time! Apocalypse's rants were so memorable to me: "I am eternal! I can not be touched! I can not be harmed! Watch me and tremble; for I bring the purity of oblivion!"
***"The Creation Of The Humanoids;" '62: Worst EVER? - The acting is wooden and the directing static. But there are some great ideas in this movie and the overall story is an interesting one. If ever there was a film that was screaming for a proper treatment in a remake, it's this one.
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Yes, it had a collection of very creative people working on it w/ a zero budget. We may only be 40-60 years away from a human like android, although I expect it will be a very different World then.***
You're assuming we make it! I've taken movies like this to heart b/c there's a message it's trying to convey, but you know we're all knuckleheads and will ignore common sense warnings! I grew up an Aldous Huxley fan; "Brave New World!" It's worse than Big Brother where we're truly accepting of conformity! I'm one of the rare people who still hasn't invested in a smartphone, never touched a tablet, and have no desire to change at an advanced age of 57! Even though I'm computer literate, I'm still a mainframe type of guy in a digital world at large! I guess I should expect a knock at the door like in "Equilibrium" w/ my collection of old dreck!
***In the original comic, Kate Pryde's mind was sent back through time thru the telepathic powers of Rachel, who was later revealed to be the daughter of Jean Grey and Scott Summers. However, b/c of some factor, she sent Kate's mind (and later herself) to an alternate- our mainstream- reality (where Jean Grey/Phoenix had died before the assassination attempt), thus leaving their dark future intact (and perhaps ensuring that alternate universe will have a similar future).***
ReplyDeleteTechnically Kitty could have brought Logan back a lot sooner to help defend against the Sentinels in the future! Everything he could have done in the past was over; esp. since Magneto had overpowered and sent him into the Potomac! History was still waiting for Mystique to make her choice, but Logan's part of the mission SHB over! How did Stryker know he was underwater? Stryker made into a mutant when in past movie, he just sired one! It was also a Canadian team Logan was supposed to be recruited for; not the US! Still loved the movie!
***Kitty didn't know that. Logan is the one that has to break the connection to end the mission. ...Whatever changes happened in the past didn't show in this future until the connection was broken. Since she already developed a telepathic ability they should have had her be able to monitor him through the connection to see what's going on.
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The best scene in "X-Men: DOFP" wouldn't even be possible w/o the incentive of beating the MCU in getting Quicksilver to the big screen.***
Again, they got away from comic and animation "cannon!" QS was actually living w/ his mom here when before this movie, he and The Scarlet Witch were orphans until it became known that Magneto is their father!
***Really? I did not know that. So the Avengers Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are more accurate portrayals? And if Magneto is their father (who is the mother?) is he or other X-Men characters going to turn up in whatever it is that Disney is doing w/ their Marvel properties?***
I know it's blasphemous, but I still haven't seen an "Avenger" novie; just the animated series! In it, the mother was no one in particular; Magda! She had no powers! She supposedly ran from Magneto b/c of his cruelty, giving birth to twins in the mountains somewhere in Europe! She died soon after and as a result when they found out who their father was, they disowned him!
***Was the last stand wiped out of continuity even before the movie? Logan has flashbacks of that movie does he not? So it did happen? And Xavier is pretty much incinerated in it and Eric is left w/ no powers. How on Earth does that get reversed so that we get to the post Apocalyptic future that is shown at the start of this movie? Or is this Singer doing another one of his loose sequel things where nothing makes sense like in "Superman Returns?"
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Magneto starting to regain his powers was shown at the end of 'X3' w/ the chess piece in the park. Also Xavier surviving into the comatose patient was in a deleted scene I think?***
Like this movie hinting at Apocalypse at the end of the credits, you saw Moira ...shown on Muir Island look in the direction of an unseen patient and says, "Charles!" Not sure they really care about continuity though; esp. w/ the change in the "time stream!"
***I feel sorry for Beast - He's been downplayed in the movies, but I wouldn't say that he's useless in battle. He's done very well in his fight w/ Azzazel in 'First Class,' and his intelligence was part of the reason he was able to hold his own against him.***
In the animated series, Beast's main duty truly was to protect the Professor since he was wheelchair bound! He was always close at hand ready to mix it up to defend Xavier! This movie is a true extension of the cartoon I used to watch 20+ years ago! All we need now is to go through a storyline involving Apocalypse to complete it for me!
***I did like SuperRogue during her X-Men stint in the 80's and early 90's, but she was in a comic book format and being written by one of the most capable writers in the business who knew how to handle her, during that stint to make her character more relatable and interesting (Genosha, the Siege Perilous, the Savage Land, etc). I haven't read many comic book authors that could do that good of a job w/ her, and I have absolutely no faith in Marvel Studios being able to either w/ a Ms. Marvel movie. It'll be banal and uninspired to be sure.***
ReplyDeleteI preferred the "Super" Rogue of the animated series! She could fly, was a vampire of sorts, and could go toe to toe w/ Cable who's trying to thwart Apocalypse if you remember "Time Bandits!"
***Well, Rogue is only her adopted daughter. = It would be nice to see all of the diverse mutants from the comics have their moments in the films. However, in trying to fit all those characters into 1 movie, you run the risk of having a movie akin to the poor quality of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." ...There were too many character cameos, and not enough time to develop any of them. And, let's face it, it's a Hollywood big-budget film, so the studios aren't strictly catering to hardcore X-Men fans. They need to also cater to people who aren't familiar with the entire X-Men universe, which means they need to make it more digestible; a need to keep w/ the most familiar and popular characters.***
I so agree about "XO: Wolverine!" It was much too busy IMO and I still haven't watched it from beginning to end; same for the follow-up in Japan!
***The follow up wasn't even half as bad as 'Origins.' If anything, 'The Wolverine's' downfall was that it steered way too far from the rest of the X-Men films in that it focused only on Wolverine and the other mutants almost didn't exist. Just go into it knowing that it's not so much an X-Men flick as it is just it's own story. But I don't blame you one bit for not even finishing 'Origins.' A lot of me wishes I hadn't as it just got worse and worse until the end.***
Wolverine did take over for the most part in the animated series I've watched off and on the last several years; one entitled "Wolverine & The X-Men!" The overall storyline included this plot of sending a Consciousness back to the past to change history! The one I watched had Xavier sending his thoughts through time to a past self to warn of impending doom w/ Sentinels! Wolverine watched a facial image of an old Xavier like in "The Wizard Of Oz" while his body lay dormant in both time streams!
***1. Why was she limping? Mystique's healing ability rivals that of Wolverine. That gun shot in the leg wouldn't do much to stop her at all.
2. Mystique should have easily been able to push out the bullet w/ her powers. She can move and shift her cells to look like other people, but can't push out a bullet? That scene w/ her at the doctor's made no sense other to have someone ridicule her for being ugly.***
Nyah, she's always had problems w/ "mortal" wounds; Wolverine's claws still affected her ages later when she was still impersonating Senator Kelly at the end of "X-Men!"
***I think they left out Mystique's ability to regenerate in the X-Men movies for some reason. - ...To me, they weren't much better in terms of writing, directing and acting than ***The Phantom Menace."***
Oh Gawd, "PM" was so over-rated; sorta like "Star Wars" in comparison to "The Empire Strikes Back!" By the time they got to "Revenge Of The Sith," the movie was more animated than a "Road Runner" cartoon! I think it was a genius series, but trying to be more cutting age hurt each film! They were so elaborate in their scenery and a multitude of aliens; 2 by 2 w/ their own languages!
***Which of the characters' deaths affected you the most? For me, they were:
ReplyDelete1. Colossus' death by being ripped apart by the Sentinels. Since Colossus is one of my most fave characters in the X-Men franchise, it was pretty upsetting seeing him get ripped up like that by the Sentinels.
2. Storm's death where she was impaled by the Sentinels. Even though Storm wasn't in this movie that much (due to Halle Berry's pregnancy), it was still pretty shocking seeing her get impaled like that and then thrown out from building.
3. Magneto's death, since this was point in the film where we actually get to see Magneto make amends w/ Xavier and it was sad seeing him go like that just when he made amends.
4. Iceman's death by being beheaded. Well, the scene where he was burned to death was pretty bad too, but seeing him being beheaded at the beginning of the film was pretty gut wrenching to say the least.
5. Bishop's death by exploding. Even though I don't read a lot of comics featuring him, it was still pretty bad seeing him exploding to death.
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Nobody actually died. That kinda took all the emotion out of it for me.***
Knowing that the plot was to change history, I never sweat anyone being killed! It just made no sense to worry about it b/c the mission had to be successful for the "series" to continue! I guess it was necessary for a "Stryker" character to exist after Trask was saved to make sure Logan got claws!
***Even though I know everyone is going to survive in the end, I still can't help but feel bad after Magneto gets impaled, dreading what's coming next. And then, Storm gets impaled and I literally feel like all hope is lost. And I'm pretty sure that's the emotional response Bryan Singer was going for.
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Loved Rogue in the animated series; she was excellent! She's always been one of my fave characters. Maybe in a future version of movie X-Men you'll get Super Rogue and we can both be happy. ...Good story that one, and I think it was the basis for "X-Men 3" (at least the half of the story that dealt w/ the cure, the other half was obviously a watered-down version of "The Dark Phoenix Saga").***
"Time Fugitives" was a very elaborate series, almost to the level of "The Phoenix Saga!" It starts w/ Forge sending Bishop back in time to stop a "mutant plague" before it gets started! We find Apocalypse is behind it, but w/ the help of The X-Men, they prevent the plague, but the X-Men were annihilated by Apocalypse!
In scenes further down the time stream, a temporal storm rages changing events where Cable is fighting Apocalypse w/ mutant rebels! B/c the plague was stopped, those future mutants wouldn't be born and he escaped in time, going back to the past to stop Bishop! I was watching it over a period of time and I wasn't sure what was going on b/c they re-used some action from the Bishop's perspective aqain in respect to Cable who has to stop/kill Bishop and battle The X-Men who are trying to help him accomplish his mission! It's one of my faves and watch it on old VHS tapes or Youtube clips periodically!
***The worst Picard moment was an episode in which he said Data's name like 31 times that made me vomit.***
ReplyDeleteWas that the episode where it was obvious Data was being deceptive, but we find Picard was the one who told him to "make it so?" The ship had lost 24 hours, knocked out, and Picard wanted to know what happened; even if it meant they would be destroyed! Everything has to be explained to him; maybe even magic! He needs to get over himself!
***Saucer separation in "ST: TNG" has a gee-whiz appeal, and in certain crisis situations it makes sense. Per some of the original sources, 1701 was also capable of separating its saucer as a lifeboat. Generations shows this usage.***
The best special effect in the ST franchise happened in "Voyager" finale; "Endgame!" Janeway went back in time to help her ship get back to Earth sooner w/ the use of "future" technology! One effect I can't get enough of was "armor deploying!"
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpc6SwYd8Dg - Deploying Ablative Armor
***Dr. Pulaski was such a bitch: It seems the primary complaint about her is how she mispronounced the name of the Enterprise's major appliance and treated the machine like a machine. I'm going to consider everyone on here a bitch who doesn't refer to the Enterprise as "one thousand, Seven Hundred One D" and correct whomever says "Seventeen Oh One D". "What's the difference?" they will ask.***
Hmmm, more sexist behavior; even in the future I see! Not that I care, but since Muldaur's a woman, she's supposed to have extra empathy; esp. for Data and it's found offensive her lack of same! Hypocrisy at it's finest! There have been men who have tried to treat Data like a toaster before and afterwards; even Riker switched him off and ripped his arm off to make a point in a trial concerning "his ownership!" "Are we watching the same show people?"
***One of the most annoying things in "Nemesis" (among others) is Worf's voice. One of the more bizarre filmmaking decisions, which I have know idea why, resulted in putting in an annoying distortion in Michael Dorn's voice playing Worf. I still like the movie.***
I did to! It made more sense than some of the other offerings; that's for sure! As soon as they had time travel and changing of history involved in "First Contact" and a "Garden Of Eden" scenario in "Generations," they lost me a little! "Nemesis" a lot more in keeping w/ the storyline of all ST; Romulan treachery/coup and looking to destroy the Federation!
***I'm not a fan of time travel in Generations and First Contact either, but Nemesis was a joke and a lot worse, esp. when they're ripping off Austin Powers and Star Wars.***
What is original these days? Hollywood is remaking "the remakes!" When it came to "ST: TNG," I was hesitant and only surfed by periodically b/c it was borrowing from the franchise; storylines and dialogue!
***Marinia Sirtis hated the Troy/Worf love affair. I can see Picard and Data. Lol.***
They tried to give poor Data a real life and it "crashed and burned" each time; the crew member who fell in love w/ him, a kid wanting to emulate him, and of course his own child created called Lal!
***"The Survivors" - loved this episode with the Douwd.***
Loved this episode where it showed the irrational stubbornness of Picard; "he knows best even if you don't!" This episode really showed how much he was willing to put his own ship in jeopardy; and for what? If someone says "leave me alone;" why not listen and abide by their decision? "Tin Man" my other FAVE! "Finally all the voices have stopped!" I can relate to his need for isolation! Stupid people drive me insane; listening and watching their actions!
***...'TNG' Worf, anyway. DS9 treated him w/ much more dignity and respect.***
ReplyDeleteI think I preferred "DS9" over "STNG;" always seemed more grand w/ stories that went over the deep end at times w/ "mystic" or other improbably endings due to The Prophets! Most had reverence for Bajor and it's inhabitants, but being fooled by Kai Winn like that, going over to the dark side w/ The Pah Wraiths still gets my head shaking back and forth!
***I think the darkest moment for me was when Ro betrayed Picard's trust in her final episode. Not only did that raise Picard's ire, but we lost the best character on the show. - Says you, Gabby. Laren's the best? Ha!***
I guess you could say that about any Bajoran character really!
***The New 'Star Wars' Force Awakens trailer - I'm just curious what those around here think of the new trailer released yesterday for the next 'Star Wars' by JJ Abrams?***
Only saw bit of trailer on the news talking about the latest addition to the series! Hard to believe people were flipping out over the "light saber" effect!
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***How would one kill Emma Frost? I'm not talking about breaking that impenetrable diamond skin which was shown to break w/ a little bit of force in 'XMFC.' I'm talking about sneaking up on a telepathic mutant. ...***
This argument about turning telepathy on and off reminded me of an old "STNG" episode entitled "Tin Man!" A Bejoran named "TAM" was in contact w/ an alien creature quite far away! He obviously couldn't isolate his power b/c when he finally left the ship to join w/ the creature he said: "finally all the voices have stopped!" His senses were under constant assault from people he was around!
***That's what makes characters like Xavier and Emma so powerful and Jean such a danger; that control. You see what happened to Xavier once he gained his powers back; went back to rookie status. Also, when Raven left and he got all depressed, he said the voices came back or something.
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Mystique didn't say much in X1-3, but she had a big presence. She was stepped up in 'First Class' and she was at least 3rd in that (but that might have been the actress stealing the show). She moved up to 2nd in 'DoFP' and it looks like she's going to be 1st in 'Brotherhood: Apocalypse.'***
I guess that's right in a sense, but for the last several years, it appears Wolverine is "THE MAN" in films and animated series! X-Men film fan anyway, so it's nice to see they're utilizing some of the storylines of the animated series I enjoyed years ago; Apocalypse, the ascension of Wolverine, going back and forth in time, and endless potential!
***Apocalypse in the movie needs to be as much of a megalomaniac as the cartoon one was.***
They really should stick to Apocalypse's characterization formed in the animated series; the ego-driven rants, always plotting, but doomed to failure again and again b/c of his own hubris! He had superior support w/ The Four Horsemen, Mr. Sinister, and even Magneto and Mystique for a time!
***'X-Men: First Class' totally saved the franchise. W/o 'First Class', it would've been really, really difficult to make 'Days of Future Past' as good as it is (and whatever movies that follow). I won't say that the 'X-Men' trilogy no longer matters.....if nothing else, Wolverine still shares the same timeline as the audience and still remembers the events of the original trilogy. We will have to see where they go w/ that in 'Apocalypse.' I hate when people refer to this as a re-boot. It's most certainly not a re-boot. It's just obviously a dramatic shift in the timeline and story.***
You have the same dynamics w/ the reboot of "Star Trek!" Vulcan has been destroyed, Spock's mom is dead, and Spock himself can actually salute himself!
***"X-Men: DoFP" just didn't do it for me:
ReplyDelete-Wolverine did nothing
-After being a badass in the last 2 movies, Bryan Singer once again makes Wolverine a pussy
-Wolverine only stabbed 2 people
-Wolverine spent the movie standing around while everyone else talked
-Even BEAST got more action than Wolverine, Fuckin' Hell...
-Charles and Eric work together! Wow, I can't wait to see how they overcame years of conflict....oh, no, they completely gloss over it in the movie (apart from that 1 line they needed for the trailer)
-Magneto got stabbed by a piece of metal....by accident...through his armour...while controlling the metal...WTF?
-After seeing the X-men get the absolute shit kicked out of them by those Sentinels...and get killed...you get this nice satisfying solution that...oh...it never happened.
-Oh wow, Apocalypse is....a little kid who looks nothing like Apocalypse...AWESOME.
-Magneto got shot...by a piece of metal..in the neck....and lived....WTF?
-There is a whole new cast of Mutants who we have never heard of (except BISHOP, Wink, & Sunspot...obviously) and we never will, b/c they do nothing.
-Wolverine got rescued from under the sea....by Styker....who is actually Mystique...and then the movie ends....WTF?***
...I can be eternally adamant about not watching some movies; even "The Dark Knight" as I'm a huge Batman fan! Sometimes it's too long, the storyline too convoluted, or some other eventuality too unbelievable to watch all the way thru! Looking forward to "Apocalypse" for obvious reasons! Since I'm such a fan of the animated series; it can only be "all good" IMO!
***When "X-Men-Apocalypse" comes out, the movie is going to have to sucessfully juggle a lot of characters like the 'First Class' cast, younger versions of Jean Grey, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Storm, & the titular villain himself Apocalypse w/ his 4 Horsemen. Not to mention a slew of other possible characters may have to be introduced like Cable or the Scarlet Witch.
Sony Trap: When you stuff too many comic book characters into a movie and spend too much time setting up sequels and other things that the actual story turns to shit and the characters suffer from lack of attention and don't develop properly. Fox has already fallen into the Sony Trap once w/ 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine.' To Gambit fans, "do you really want Gambit to appear in this movie so badly, even if it's as another 5 minute cameo like with 'Origins?'***
Thank Gawd "Origins" producers aren't involved! I still haven't seen the whole thing; only checking out bits and pieces! IDK the character Ryan Reynolds played; even after looking it up a year ago! It just never stuck w/ me! I prove how non-descript some of these characters became "in the big picture!"
***...Apocalypse is a mutant integrated with alien tech. That's the suit you see him wearing. One of his powers is that he's a technopath or technomorph or something. ...In 'Ultimate X-Men,' I think they're basically the same; rather, Mr. Sinister is someone who worships Apocalypse and ended up being transformed into him.***
That's a nice effect in the animated series; metamorphic technology becoming a part of Apocalypse! I wonder will they go that far; and have that mechanical sound being made w/ every movement? Sinister has to be created for that next film!
***Why are the suggestions for Storm either light skinned or biracial?***
The white hair is the most important, no matter the skin tone! Storm always had a lot of white hair; w/ or w/o her crown!
***So why was the dwarf Trask so against the mutants? - Trask doesn't care about adversity, he cares about the survival of the human race. He knows that mutants have the power to eradicate humanity and he wants to stop them. While his methods are brutal and draconian, his initial perspective isn't strictly false.***
ReplyDeleteIt's that kind of paranoia that keeps the planet at war! Humans are such irrational, selfish beings! If we all looked the same w/ the same interests and moral sensibilities, we'd find a way to discriminate and "hate" on people! We just can't help it! India proves my points w/ their draconian "caste" system! Can you imagine being called a Dravidian or "Untouchable?" That was a big mistake w/ Dinklage; seemed more like self-hatred IMO!
I can't get enough of the Apocalypse storylines! It was almost eerie waiting to see what teaser they'd put at the end of credits! It was surreal knowing "he is coming!"
***Does anybody else besides me think that Jennifer Lawrence was the wrong actress for Mystique? I personally think that Evan Rachel Wood would have better. Rebecca Romijn was playing a different kind of Mystique, and what the producers wanted for 'FC' was an actress who could handle the emotional weight of a younger more innocent Mystique. - ...If they do, I'm guessing she'll be some kind of slave to Apocalypse. Still, I don't see Lawrence being good at being evil. It's hard enough buying her act in 'DoFP' when she wasn't completely bad.***
People like Mystique; I didn't see her as being innately evil! She was more a product of her environment and how treated by her fellow man! One of these days, society has to take responsibility for the bad things that happen! If you discriminate or "hate" on a group of people, do you expect them to just go into a cave and become underground dwellers? You have to expect resentment, jealousy, and animus that makes them lash out uncontrollably! A blue girl was only going to be accepted by another mutant; much to be expected!
***...It was shown that Mystique was captured and experimented on by Trask Industries in the 70s after she killed Trask. Obviously she escaped and was not killed after being experimented on since she was in the original trilogy. Therefore, her likely death would have had to come later, probably at the hands of the sentinels.***
Well since the past was changed, a lot of the events in the trilogy won't happen; including Jean and Scott being killed off!
***Apoc's voice was so incredibly awesome. Too bad the voice actor died.***
OMG, really? That would be like Kevin Conroy being lost to us as Batman! Those rants still haunt my sleep of Apocalypse; "I can not be touched! I can not be harmed! Watch me and tremble; for I bring the purity of oblivion!" Someone earlier mused about utilizing the "Legend" voice of Tim Curry! Professor X described him as a mutant driven "insane!" If you want or need to wipe out everything but oneself, I guess something is truly bent in Apocalypse since he's lived for so long! Nothing else is worthy of existing maybe; in his mind!
***Apocalypse is pretty much Darth Vader in 'A New Hope.' We don't need Darth Vader from the PT. He's this mysterious monster w/ a limited backstory. We don't want to see Apocalypse cry about being beaten by his father thousands of years ago so now he devotes his time to being the strongest. After all these thousands of years he wouldn't care about being related to humans. He's above human and sees himself that way. He wants people to follow it and/or die if you aren't among the strong.
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The action in 'DOFP' was lame. Everyone says their fave scene in the film is when the a teenage "Quicksilver" is running around knocking hats off of security guards in slow motion calling it awesome. That's some pretty low standards there for an X-Men film.***
***In the 90s, Gambit was 2nd only to Wolverine in the X-men comics in popularity.***
ReplyDeleteWell besides the fact that I was a DC fan and stopped buying them in '72, I must have missed a lot of that Gambit exposure!
***Clearly, Gambit was in the top 3 in all of Marvel for a few yrs in the 90's. - ...The question had to do w/ why Mystique was not in the pre-altered future. As such we're talking about what had happened to Mystique in the original timeline, not the new 1.***
Being a "Doctor Who" fan, it comes to mind; changes occur, but some events are predestined and can't be altered! You have to keep in mind a paradox; sorta like the remake of "The Time Machine!" Wells can't create a machine to go back and save his fiancé b/c if she lived, he wouldn't have built the time machine! You have to keep things like that in mind when you change events; or at least try!
***Ok, look... yes, of course the timeline has changed and things will now play out differently. Nobody has said otherwise.
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Sentinels versus Phoenix - We have already seen Phoenix as one of the most powerful mutant / spirit combo ever. What would happen if Jean Grey fused w/ Phoenix & went up against Sentinels? - Sentinels can adapt to mutant powers, but the Phoenix force is not a mutant power, it's cosmic energy that loves to inhabit the body of Jean Grey.***
Isn't that just "cannon" from the animated series? I thought in the movie, it was all her, Jean Grey! We can barely get a satellite in orbit! We'll never be able to legitimately go to that full story of other beings w/ powers in the Shiar Empire! It would be nice, but it w/b even more crowded w/ little background on each Shiar royal guard!
***Well, not just the animated series utilizes the alien cosmic force, but the comic books too. In the films however, it's all Jean Grey. No cosmic force was explored in the film version, which is why a lot of fans disliked Xmen 3.
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At the end Mystique, disguised as Stryker, retrieves Wolverine from the river. Why does she do this? The whole point was for Stryker to get him for his research. How does Stryker get hold of him if she has him? - There's also speculation that the events of 'DoFP' have already "unleashed" Apocalypse and that Mystique is working for him. We technically don't know how long Logan was down there.***
Then how is Logan supposed to acquire his claws; Apocalypse instead like when he created his 'Four Horseman?'
***There are dozen different ways he could get the adamantium (which is what I assume you mean). It's also possible that they don't have him get them. He's quite formidable w/o it though. His healing factor supposedly comes from his bone marrow - so the adamantium actually inhibits it a great deal. But yes, the best theory I think is that Apocalypse, directly or indirectly, gives Logan back his shiny claws.***
***I really didn't like "DOFP" mostly due to how weak the X-Men looked. Even Magneto and Storm didn't exactly last long in the small roles they got and it lacked the action the 1st 3 films had. Are the Sentinels that ridiculously overpowered in the comics? What were they made out of cause surely Magneto should have been able to tear their metal frames apart. If they're made from Mystique's DNA or the research in her DNA, why isn't Mystique one of the most powerful Marvel heros? Surely she should be adapting to her enemy and being equally as strong as a Sentinel... no?***
ReplyDeleteIn the animated series, The X-Men could go toe to toe w/ the Sentinels! Anyone remember the ep when Morph returned after treatment on Muir Island; recovered from Sentinel attack of his own? Master Mole had his minions collecting material to create a new body for himself!
***The idea w/ this movie is that all of the Sentinels of the future are basically Nimrod Sentinels, which is the more advanced, very tough to beat future design. This helps to drive the plot of the film, but also goes against the history of the source material, which is that most of the Sentinels are just basic giant robots, which the X-Men are able to stand up to and even destroy. It's their sheer #'s that can overwhelm the X-Men though. The Nimrod Sentinel is the one they send in when the regular Sentinels aren't getting it done. If comparing this to the Terminator, the regular Sentinels would be the plain old T-800 model while the Nimrod would be the advanced T-1000. Singer basically just put a bunch of T-1000s in the future scenes and put a few T-800s in the past scenes and in the process, ended up wasting the potential for both. We probably won't see the Sentinels again on film. So if you're not happy w/ what they did, you're pretty much out of luck unless they reboot the franchise, which is not likely anytime soon.
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Apocalypse in the movie needs to be as much of a megalomaniac as the cartoon one was. Do you guys think they will give him the ability to shape shift into important people scientists, etc; like in the animated series in this movie?
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They probably realized that this Fantastic Four movie is not going to be the hit they wanted since they had to rush to get it together before the rights reverted back to Marvel. They don't want to ruin what they have w/ the X-men by merging them. However, after this, they will have the rights to FF for another ~7 years and can do a more calculated reboot. At which point they can revisit the crossover idea.***
IDK why not! It was done enough w/ Loki in the "Thor" film! - Not like it would bother me to have a crossover, but all "superhero" movies seem to exist in a vacuum; never even invoking the name of another alien or superhuman being! Batman never references Superman or Wonder Woman in anyway; same w/ X-Men and the Professor not exactly trying to recruit Spiderman, Thor, or The Hulk! Strange how we accept 'The Justice League' & 'Avengers' w/o question working together when in individual circumstances, each has saved the planet at least once!
***Well the original DOFP comic was released in '81 and its said James Cameron took inspiration from the comic when he did the Terminator. So this film likely intentionally had 1 or 2 homages to the Terminator, including Jackman's nude butt shot when he arrives in '73.***
My meager recollection of the animated series featuring "Wolverine" had a future Professor X speaking through his comatose body of the past; contacting Logan about future events and the need for investigation on the circumstances of a Sentinel takeover! The future showed Mutants under constant assault and the Professor able to walk/run w/ the help of technology!
***Prometheus 2 (2016) - Let's assume we are talking about Ridley Scott version of the Alien (in which deleted scene we can see the Alien making his own eggs) and drop out the whole expanded universe of Aliens - Alien Queens hatching eggs, Predators, Blade Runners and Avatars. Just the original Alien that it seems to grow his own eggs.
ReplyDeleteSo we have this:
Alien:
Egg -> Facehugger + Human Host = Chestbuster -> Xenomorph
Prometheus:
Black Goo (Space Jockey bio weapon) + Human host (shaw) = giant proto facehugger + Space Jockey = Proto Human.
So we are yet to see how the eggs and the spaceship crash on LV moon and how we reach the moment of the xenomorph we see from Alien.
BUT ...Something remains unclear. If the very first Alien is the proto alien (ultramorph, deacon or whatever) why in the same movie do we see the original Alien depicted on the wall. Remember that back when the jockeys failed, there were no humans on that planet? Also, why they will put a space map on Earth?
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Not exactly. Here: The mural shows a Deacon/Xeno in a sacrificial pose. One of them was sacrificed so that its DNA could be used in a parasitic way.
This is the same thing that was done to the engineer in the beginning: He was sacrificed and broken down into a black goo which contained his DNA, altered to be a parasitic (or the parasitic part is the nature of the fluid that breaks him down; it's actually microorganisms that simply extract and ingest the DNA).
The translucent green fluid he drank was also identical to the color of that green crystal in front of the deacon mural. It's probably a solid/inactive form of that moving fluid (again, which is composed of microorganisms). Originally it was going to be an empty bowl identical to the one in the beginning, but that seemed too obvious.
According to the old script, the natural Deacon or its DNA is combined w/ the engineers' weaponizing agent, and then it becomes a xenomorph. Squidhuggers become facehuggers inside armored eggs. Weaponization and "armored" are both explicitly stated in that script, by David.
David seemed to extract pure Deacon DNA from a vial deep within that urn. He fed the pure strain to Charlie. However, there was another liquid all around those vials, which upon impact would immediately mix w/ the DNA.
That 2nd substance is probably the weaponizer, and it's probably the only thing that leaked out of the other urns. This means that the worms and Fifield were weaponized in the same way that causes a Deacon to become a Xenomorph.
Charlie was fed the parasitic DNA; what happened inside his body was an accelerated version of the engineer seeding Earth w/ life. Charlie's innards were seeded w/ Deacon life and it was going to burst forth from him most likely. That little worm in his eye was likely a Deacon larvae and one of them passed into Shaw w/ his semen, or else his sperm itself was already carrying the Deacon's DNA signature.
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The Urns/Ampules contained 2 substances:
- black goo,
- green glasses with some fluid,
Worms and Fifield were infected by black goo and became weaponized. The worms possesed Xenomorph like ablities - acid blood, aggression. David infected Charlie by a fluid from green glasses. At the end this leads to birth of Deacon.
So Frograma can be right that Urns/Ampules contained 2 substances:
1. Black Goo - Weaponizer.
2. Deacon DNA.
I can see a possiblity that:
Deacon + Weaponizer = Xenomorph.
This lacks explanation about eggs in Derelict which remain mysteries.***
Interesting!
***What if there had been a sequel to the 'B7' Afterlife novel? ...who do you think would have come out on top had there been a resolution to the cliff hanger ending set up at the end of the Afterlife novel and how do you think the story would have ended?
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I am not sure, but I loved - and thoroughly devoured the 'Afterlife' novel when it came out. It had the word "authentic" on the cover and that was good enough for me. I would have been left hoping that Dayna and or Soolin would have made an appearance in the 'State of Mind' follow up, along with a re-resurrected Tarrant.
To me the novel is part of 'Blake's 7' history, no matter how much people want to forget it happened now and I certainly prefer it to Paul Darrow's hopelessly Avon-centric recent efforts: so disappointing. There were other characters in the show apart from yourself Paul! I heard a rumour at the time that the BBC were considering making 'Afterlife' as a 5th season, but it came to nothing. I'm not sure how true that is. Perhaps Tony Attwood could write 'State Of Mind' one day? And yes, I too wondered what would happen next.
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Why did the script writers decide they had to get rid of the coolest ship ever to be on TV? I mean the 4th series was okay, but it was never the same.***
Yeah, Series 3 shb the end w/ The Liberator destroyed and our heroes stranded! It took well over a year to get back into production and I loved "the comeback" w/ Scorpio and Slave! It could "out run" anything in space w/ the help of Doctor Plaxton's, "Star Drive!" They were little more than mercenaries, but it's still my most favorite of "Space Soap Operas!" The finale still haunts me w/ even Slave having a "death soliloquy!"
***The Liberator sets were wearing out and falling apart. Since the sets were quite expensive, they didn't have the budget to make new ones that were so big and so costly. So they ditched the Liberator and built Scorpio sets, which were smaller and cheaper.***
... I'm just happy "DW" was re-booted in '05; hoping for the same w/ "Blake's 7," but I know it's doubtful!
***...As for a Blake's 7 revival... I've always felt like that's kind of what Firefly was! Obviously not exactly the same, but so similar in its premise that I at least consider it a big-time spiritual successor.
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I'm not sure about a Blake's 7 reboot. On the one hand, its premise and characters are timeless; it could easily be remade. On the other hand, IDK who you could get to play Avon as well as Paul Darrow? I mean seriously, this guy WAS Avon. He basically created the character even more than Terry Nation himself. Maybe it's just best to leave things alone. We will always have the original and it continues to gain new fans. I myself am only 20. I was born well over a decade after 'B7' finished and I love it as much as anyone who was born w/ it did.***
***10 Most Cringeworthy Moments from 2005 to '09 - All definitely cringeworthy.***
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately that's the way I've thought from the beginning of the "re-boot!" I don't watch the eps over and over like I used to w/ Classic Who! They've over-utilized the Daleks and Cybermen; sometimes in successive eps! It has been overkill even though most series have been entertaining enough! All I know is, it was more of an event to have those villains show up; now it's passe and almost expected!
***Amy Pond is my fave companion since Peri.***
Peri's whining and voice got on my last nerve! I prefer companions that can actually help out a situation rather than cause drama! Give me Romana I, Leela, or Nyssa anytime! I guess the Batman myths would start swirling if the Doctor just traveled around w/ young boys like Adric or Turlough!
***My theory is that the Rassilon in "The End of Time" is another Time Lord named Rassilon, not THE Rassilon who founded the TL's.
Another theory is Rassilon was resurrected to help fight the Time War, but that's messier.***
The way Rassilon eviscerated a Time Lord for giving up when all seemed lost makes me believe it's the original; all omniscient who doesn't suffer fools well!
***I remember the 2nd Doctor's line in "The Five Doctor's" about Rassilon being rumoured to have been something of a tyrant against which the other Time Lord's ended up rebelling. So "The End of Time" incarnation can sort of fit w/ established continuity if that's the reading you're going for!
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I noticed something about the saving Gallifrey scene in "DOTD." Specifically the audio clips used for the past Doctors and what stories they come from:
"Good luck" from Patrick Troughton comes from "The Seeds of Death"
"Stand by" from Jon Pertwee comes from "The Three Doctors"
"Soon be there" from Peter Davison comes from "The Five Doctors"
"Got to lock on to his co-ordinates" from Colin Baker comes from "Attack of the Cybermen"
"Across the boundaries that divide one Universe from another" from Sylvester McCoy comes from "Battlefield"
"And for my next trick" from Christopher Eccleston comes from "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways"
The stories these lines are taken from sort of speak to the type of story "Day of the Doctor" is or points w/ in the story.
The 3rd & 5th Doctors' lines come from 2 anniversary specials "The Three Doctors" and "The Five Doctors" respectively. The former has more than a few parallels with "Day" and the latter is the type of multi-Doctor story a lot of fans were hoping for. Both "Day" and "The Three Doctors" see Doctors being taken out of time to save Gallifrey.
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CE has an excellent work effort. When crap is going on behind the scenes it can drive people away. Davies and his back stage politics not only drove Eccleston away, but finally got Davies kicked to the curb, replaced by Moffet. - It's WIDELY known that Christopher Eccleston and Moffat did not get along while Eccleston was filming Series 1 of the show, which is probably why he made the decision to not come back for the 50th anniversary. I wouldn't want to work for a guy who was a nightmare behind the scenes the entire 1st series either.***
CE was an established actor like no other in recent memory! I still remember him in 'Elizabeth' as Norfolk! I always thought the idea was for him to only do 1 season! I also thought even if he committed to more, he probably thought a re-boot of something as iconic as "DW" would fail and be cancelled within a year!
***...ways DW has misused The Master - The #1 misuse has to be Missy. John Simm did a brilliant job and the character chose not to regenerate. The whole Missy issue is pretty much generational. Older fans see no reason to pacify the feminists by making a male character female, and if the Doctor becomes female, most older fans will desert in droves and the millennials can't sustain the series. It will die and deservedly so under Moffats reign. Just as those of us old enough to remember and love classic movies and series, we can't see the reason the younger generation refuses to accept non-special effects heavy movies. Character development means nothing now; it's all special effects.
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Overused in s8, though Roger Delgado makes him memorable in good ways. Missy is a misfire in every single way. Doctor Who never has continuity, though for a while a personal continuity could have been made. Until "The Mark of the Rani" when it was forgotten, the Master no longer had a Gallifreyan body. But time can be rewritten, even though before it couldn't be ("The Aztecs" had the Doctor truly knowing history always gets played out, and I suspect he knew that in "The Time Meddler" since he was making jokes).
Ever since and including the 80s, the Master was relegated to camp. Apart form 2 or 3 stories where his survival is the focus and not the takeover of the entire universe, ha. And whenever modern pop is used, forget the story even bothering to try to take itself seriously, which is why the classic run holds up more. What's sad is that 80s Master isn't anywhere as camp as 00s and 10s Master.
As for the latest incarnation, esp. w/ the use of biology, the Rani is the more logical choice. Or why either The Rani or The Master at all when the Cybermen's origin is that of replacing organic parts w/ spare parts and now they figured out how to revive the dead (just don't say now since the laws of physics lead to decomposing that makes any pointful revival pointless after a few hours or days, nevermind years or centuries...) Missy/Rani/Master = wholly unnecessary. Camping it up only made things worse.
And, yes, some will say that the Rani is a throwback to the past. So have been any # of references from the 1960s that weren't as well known or remembered as the Rani (or Kate O'Mara's performance, perhaps). If the older references didn't cause problems, the Rani's definitely and absolutely should not. - Still can't understand why people love Rose Tyler so much?***
Never liked her; from day 1! I found her selfish, childish, petulant, and unthinking of consequences! She is one of those damsels in distress that cause the drama like in "Dalek!" She caused time issues saving her father; that was the end for me! She needed a real reality check ages ago!
***I was thinking about "Father's Day" there. ...I am sure you would want to save your dad than think of what would happen next (no matter what the Doc says).***
You'd be wrong! My morality and common sense was solidified w/ the logic of "Mr. Spock" from "Star Trek" in the 60's! As a very young child I put myself above petty stuff and was very realistic; wouldn't have touched going back 'in time' to save someone! From a very young age, I learned "cause and effect" and wouldn't think of doing what Rose did! I remember a couple episodes where events were changed and caused disastrous results; Joan Collins was saved by "Bones" who went back in time which caused The Enterprise not to be built! I've never been that emotionally attached to anyone that I would cause other people pain or harm; includes my family and friends!
***Just saw the TNG remake of "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and the look the Traveler gives Wesley Crusher when Wes 1st takes over the computer made me want to call Child & Protective Services. How freaking Qweeer was THAT?!***
ReplyDeleteNothing I haven't heard before! Anytime an older person is mentoring a younger kid, MINDS "go there!" The same was said about "Batman & Robin" believe it or not even though Bruce dated and had female love interests! Anything Greek "goes there!" Even "The Mechanic" had a gay feel if you read the book! Nothing ever happens, but perverts abound! What are we going to do? Society as a whole has a dark soul and the imaginations of some of these people can't be helped I guess!
***I liked Dr. Pulaski a lot, despite her treatment of Data. It was nice to have someone w/ normal views of 24th century life. But I still preferred Crusher, and I think what was done to McFadden at the end of S1 was horrible.***
I felt the same, liked Pulaski, but didn't care for her attitude and treatment of Data! It wasn't like it was hurting his feelings, it just made her look more cold and uncaring since he was "a thing" in her mind! She didn't have to be warm and socialize w/ him, but her indifference like he was an inanimate, less than sentient object didn't make her look good!
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***The idea that Black Widow has had more impact or is just more historic than Storm is down right offensive on so many level. ...Which is why I really don't think Stan Lee deserves much credit for the success of the X-Men. Yes, he's responsible for the team existing as the X-Men, but that's about as far as it goes. Who these characters are, and what they've represented for the past 50 years has very little to do w/ him at all. The X-Men as a whole have naturally existed in a place that can be comparable to the MCU and the DCU as a whole. - I feel like X-men is an ensemble title though. It should definitely work in reverse to Marvel's model. Start w/ the team and then branch off w/ characters that are potentially interesting or popular.***
I'd rather the ensemble before individual movies! W/ "The Avengers" we get an idea Black Arrow is useless on his own, but makes a great back-up! Batman probably the only human hero that can excel w/o powers of any kind! Am I showing myself to be a "B-Man fan?"
***Apocalypse too big for prequel's britches? - ...It worked for Trask b/c he wasn't that big a deal, but Apaocalypse needs way more screen time than Trask got.***
Trask's importance only lasts for as long as it took for him to create the Sentinels! IIRC, "Master Mold" took over the directives and continuation of the Sentinel program!
***Yup, in the 90s cartoon, Master Mold enslaves Trask and forces him to work for him until the X-Men break him out and destroy the caves (one of my fave eps). - But the thing you are forgetting is that Magneto is the actual villain of the series. Any other villain that shows up is a sub-villain. Apocalypse takes a backseat to Magneto. This wouldn't be true if they took Magneto out of the movie. But then again, they'd have to take Mystique out also. They'd just replace him with her. - Magneto is a different situation all together. He's the enemy and friend of the X-Men. They fight along-side each other from time to time. You won't see that w/ Sinister, Apocalypse, etc.***
Gotta work Mr. Sinister in there serving Apocalypse in on of them!
***"Death in Heaven" continues the trend of terrible finales the show is notorious for having. Shame on everyone involved in writing that Hellish ending to the Brig's character. The closure to the Brig's character in "The Wedding of River Song" was classy to both the character and the sadly deceased Nicholas Courtney.***
ReplyDeleteGoing back to Classic Who and my beginning to take the series very seriously in '79, it was nice to have the Brigadier invoked 1 last time; doing something heroic by saving his daughter, then getting his final salute from the Doctor! Still get "verklempt!"
***I go quite a bit earlier than '79 and I consider it the opposite of necessary.***
Not that I've been thrilled w/ the re-boot, I'm thankful we have something of "DW;" good or bad! I thought it was "done" in the 80's before we got the Fox Movie in '96! Nothing was more shocking than a rebirth of the series that had been out of production for almost 20 years; pretty near "cannon!" They aren't as compelling as Classic Who, but I still collect them; just don't watch them over and over like I used! I did see both "DW" movies with Peter Cushing as a child in the 60's, so I go back further w/ "DW" as well!
***Davros - He would have been a good 1-off character in "Genesis of the Daleks," but the character was flogged to death in the old series, and his exit in NuWho looked pretty final. Enough is enough.***
In Classic Who, Davros almost appeared as much as the Master for a while there; twice w/ Tom Baker!
***There wasn't ever a Dalek story w/o him after that. Even thought the amount of Daleks stories drastically reduced after Pertwee; still too much if Davros. While ITA that Davros maybe shb a 1 story character, the damage was done long ago, so another appearance wouldn't make that situation worse, but if someone has an idea for him, I'd be interested. He was certainly well portrayed last time.
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In effect there were no more Dalek stories after 'Genesis' - only Davros stories in which he had Dalek henchmen. Given that his story was told in 'Genesis,' and that it was dramatically important that he had died at the end, he SNHB in any of the subsequent stories; and they were all the poorer for having him in there. But his complete lack of character; just a prop who rants all the time. This means his appearance does make things worse. I probably ought to give up on 'DW' and go back to reading proper sci-fi books, but it has a hold on me. - Aren't people too hard on Tegan, Adric & Nyssa?***
Pretty much! Only Tegan was totally useless while Adric and Nyssa more than competent to help the Doctor in major dramas!
***I think they worked better as a trio of companions than the Ben-Polly-Jamie combo. ...like "somebody wants to leave (or is being pushed to leave) better quickly stick a replacement in there. ...I guess it's arguable that Adric and Nyssa both fulfil the "young n brainy" slot in the crew, but then they had different enough temperaments to make it work... though obviously it was decided that they weren't both needed, thus... "Earthshock."***
***I'm not sure if this has made much sense. Still, Star Trek oversaturated the market and thus decreased it's value by having a constant run for 18 years. Lets try something new. - I'm so ready for a new Trek series you guys.***
ReplyDeleteI had to say the same thing about "Doctor Who;" when you have to start resorting to "magic" and "hope" to get past pending danger, you know it's time to go! I didn't watch every ep. of "DS9," but more than a few times Bajoran Prophets intervened when all else had failed the situation!
***Which would bring me to another point: Technobabble. I'd try to keep it to a minimum, or at the least, not invent any new technobabble than has already been established. Personally, I'd rather do w/o any of it, but it can be useful. I would make it a rule for the writers, including myself, not to use it to solve problems as TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT did. No more magical deflector dishes. And, like you said, the Gods will not help the Fed or anyone else here. The Organians might pop up to do something, comment on a situation, maybe even create a problem, but not much more. B/c the Romulan Star Empire is gone, Cloaking Devices now can be utilized by the Federation. But, the ship I intend to use would not have 1, for various reasons. Maybe they could steal 1 from another Fed ship for a mission or 2.***
It just came to be concerning technology; remember the ep. where the Fed had access to a device that could "phase" their ship to pass through solid matter? Someone had to have saved it even if Picard exposed it to "the other side!"
***Suppose Sirtis and Crosby had switched roles - I don't think I could buy Sirtis as rough-and-tumble, kick-ass fighter. Sure she did a good job w/ "Tough" in "Face of the Enemy", but that was in a completely different context. It was more of a "I can wreck your entire life w/ a single phone call" kind of intimidation, where as Yar needed more of a "I'm going to break your face w/ my fist" kind of intimidation. I really don't think Sirtis could do a scene like that w/o it coming off as laughable. And while I liked Crosby, I agree that she can ham it up quite often. So giving her "I'm literally feeling your pain" scenes would've been even more disastrous than Sirtis' infamous "Encounter at Farpoint" performance.***
IMO, neither kept that busy after "STNG!" I saw Sirtis in an ep of "Earth: The Final Battle" and Crosby in ep of "Bones" from a couple years ago! I think Crosby might be in my Beta videotape collection of movies if she's the mother in "Pet Sematary!"
***I saw Siritis in an ep. of NCIS (the one w/ MarkHarmon). She seemed believable in it. It was a pretty small part I think, but then again I missed part of the ep. - ...But it just occurred to me that I've never heard anybody ever refer to Troi as "Doctor." So, has it ever been explicitly stated that she actually has any kind of degree in psychology? Could it be possible that she simply thought "hey, my empathic abilities would make me an awesome therapist" and that's the entirety of her qualifications?***
What made her more valuable than an ordinary counselor was Troi could feel the emotions of aliens on another ship which helped Picard in his decision making!
***She had the power to state the obvious and when she lost that power it proved she was less than useless.***
I really disliked her in that ep! That calm, cool, rational woman "lost it" and became the most irrational person on the ship! Her rant at Beverly still gets me to SMH; and I'm no fan of the good doctor!
***Every time I see that ep I think that someone needs to tell her to get hold of herself and punctuate the advice w/ a slap across the face. In my mental recreation, Crusher, Riker, and JLP are at the front of a queue snaking down the corridor outside of Troi's quarters.***
***My interpretation of "Listen" - I’ve just re-watched it and come up w/ my own idea as to the ambiguous nature of that episodes plot. It occurs to me that the Doctor had been having a dream before the start of this episode where he awoke and rose, the result being that someone from the future grabbed his leg. The dream had obviously been from his subconscious and had been about his fear of not wanting to become a soldier and fighting in the Time War. He has blamed himself for centuries for not becoming involved sooner. Had that happened the Time Lords would have defeated the Daleks sooner and the Doctor and 2 of his former selves would not have had to trap Gallifrey in a moment in time.
ReplyDeleteWhen Clara travels back to the barn in the Doctor’s past using the TARDIS’s telepathic link, it’s b/c her timeline is of course linked to his. It senses the Doctor's own guilt that it sees within her memories and carries her back to a significant part of his childhood. Significant in that his fear of eventually becoming a soldier after graduating the Time Lords Academy parallels his fears of fighting in the Time War. Ultimately she has been sent back to offer the solace to him as a child as she will to him as an adult. Her hugging him near the end if representative of that as is her love for him.
The reason she eventually met Orson Pink is that he too had fears as a child, his was of being alone and afraid which is what eventually happens to him when he becomes stranded at the end of the universe as an astronaut in his personal future. Whatever was under his bed as a child was some sort of manifestation of his fear made solid. ...Why he had traveled back in time in the first place was it feeds off human fear by making them scared which is why Clara says fear is your constant companion. When that fear had eventually dwindled away it sought to reawaken it years later.
Why Clara had also gone back was how to cope w/ his fear so that the manifestation did not feed off it and haunt him, only returning centuries later. It had visited him before but her helping the Doctor rid him of it.
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I have a major issue w/ it regarding the Doctor's Time War guilt. I doubt it was that. Esp. after The Day of the Doctor, which pretty much sets the Doctor's turmoil at peace. I think the Doctor was reminded of the experience b/c it was symbolic of his ideals regarding free will. Missy's plot worked well enough, and the Doctor began seeing the hypocritical sides of his behavior, and thus subconsciously tried to remind himself of who he really is. Something which didn't happen until Death in Heaven.
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Interesting. But I still think it w/b a more interesting twist if the child in the barn turned out to be The Master, meaning that Clara was basically responsible for creating him. - It would also stand to reason seeing as the Master has been known for his cowardice. He admitted in The Sound of Drums to fleeing after being resurrected by the Time Lords to fight during the Time War. It is feasible after all that both the Doctor and the Master were childhood friends and may have used to visit that barn together. It would explain why the renegade would have been there as a child. But like you say Moffat would likely not go for it.***
***Well, I thought #7, McCoy was amazingly fun to watch. And while Nine will always be my favorite Doctor overall, I think #7 is probably my fave of the classics and perhaps my 2nd fave Doctor overall. I don't think I'd rank any of them after those 2 though. I loved all of them and so I wouldn't want to put any 1 of them last. And as Tom Baker has said, "No one has ever failed at being the Doctor." That's true. Everyone has their preferences so you're going to like some more than others, but none of the actors were bad Doctors. I admired every single Doctor.
ReplyDeleteAs for the 7th Doctor's companions: while Mel isn't my fave companion, she does not deserve the hate she receives from the fandom. But Ace was awesome. I feel like how Tegan was kind of like Donna, Ace was kind of like Rose in the way that we learned more about her background and pre-TARDIS life than most companions.
I said before, I had not heard the greatest words about the late 80s of DW and while I went into every single story w/ an open mind, I found myself agreeing w/ those thoughts when I was getting through Colin Baker's era, McCoy's - well, not so much. While "Time & the Rani" was pretty awful, and Paradise Towers was silly, the rest of his stories I really enjoyed. W/ "Remembrance of the Daleks" (my fave of 7th Doc's stories), "The Curse of Fenric," & "Survival" being real highlites.
Speaking of fave stories, if I were to list them from each Doctor:
1st Doctor: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
2nd Doctor: The War Games
3rd Doctor: Spearhead from Space
4th Doctor: City of Death
5th Doctor: The Caves of Androzani
6th Doctor: The Mark of the Rani
7th Doctor: Remembrance of the Daleks
Well anyway, it was quite the journey, w/ many highs and (a few) lows. I had a fun time watching and posting these little summaries and seeing other people's thoughts, having discussions, etc. And I feel successful for actually finishing what I set out to do: have a much broader view of the show's history and legacy.***
Congrats mate! Great picks as favs as well! Mel does grate on you though!
***How many times has the Doctor killed someone? - And he did destroy the entire Cyber race in "Silver Nemesis." One could pull the Davros card and say the Cyberleader actually destroyed his own race. But, didn't the Doctor actually order the 'Nemesis' to obey the Cyberleader's command directly? So, the Doctor really did pull the trigger on that one IIRC.***
The Doctor loves to give his opponent 'a choice' before they're destroyed! Back in Classic Who, Davros leading a faction of renegade Daleks were trying to beat rival Daleks to The Hand Of Omega in "Remembrance Of The Daleks!" The Doctor knew if he antagonized Davros, he would try and use the power of "The Hand!" It must have been preset to hit Skaro instead of it's sun! I think he was looking to create a black hole power source to rival Rassilon's efforts giving Gallifrey time travel! It was also to bounce back on Davros' ship, but he escaped at the last moment!
***You know, if you think about it, Davros's plan was doomed from the start. Let's say he got control of the Hand w/o being programmed to turn Skaro's sun nova. It would still alter it so that it either no longer shone on Skaro or burned too hot for the planet. The sun would have to go some kind of nova or black hole for Davros to replicate the experiments of the Time Lords. So, Skaro would either be uninhabitable, baked, or sucked into a black hole.***
Well Davros was insane! He thought he had complete control over science and technology thinking it's ultimate power was at his command!
***It just would make more sense to blow up someone else's sun. :) Destroy a lesser race's planetary heat source. After all, the Daleks wouldn't care about that.***
Blake's 7 - INFORMATION:
ReplyDelete***Jacqueline Pearce said she felt sorry for Brian Croucher having to take over the role of Travis
It's good that he did his own thing I think though, rather than copy Stephen Greif
I have to say that Gan's death is all Blake's fault IMO
He was so determined to find Control Centre that Blake got careless
And I wonder how many other people had died in Blake's cause over the years before he even got to The Liberator?
Avon talks mean, but at least nobody has died in his name; nor does he expect them to
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Just watched "Trial." There were a couple things that reminded me of Star Wars. There was a General(I think)that one of the guards referred to as Starkiller.
I'm looking forward to seeing how this Travis-on-the-run thing plays out. It looks like a very interesting development.
Then I watched "Killer." I saw those suits and immediately thought to myself "Those guys look like the Michelin Man!"
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I think Blake took a gamble on manipulating the crew into retrieving him from the planet in "Trial." As Avon said: "You handled them beautifully!"
I liked the Zil character and the concept of an ocean of spit!
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"Killer, Hostage, Countdown," and "Voice From the Past" are in the books and it's time for ep. 11..."Gambit."
"Hostage" had the most special effects in any ep. so far. The beginning was action-packed and was scored pretty well. They must have used much of the season's budget on that since they could only afford scuba gear for costumes and "Countdown" had no music what-so-ever that I can recall.
I'm glad to have learned a little more about who/what the Federation actually is. But what exactly are Mutoids & Crimos?
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I don't think the Crimos ever make another appearance. Mutoids I believe (based on the novelization of DUEL anyway) are criminals that have been altered to be slaves for the Federation. But they are admittedly bizarre really, w/ all that "Vampires, needing blood serum" thing.***
Mutoids were victims IMO; political prisoners who's families were killed! They were converted into "blanked" soldier/SLAVES working for the Federation as punishment!
***"Gambit" is a popular ep. w/ fans. It plays w/ wild west conventions and there's a character in it called Docholi, based on Doc Holiday. It was many years before I found that out!
ReplyDelete---
BTW, just reminded today that Marina Sirtis not only auditioned for a regular role in a later season, but she auditioned for Cally in S1! Like she was ever going to get cast as a telepathic alien in a show set on a spaceship! Silly Marina!
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S2 ends on a cliff-hanger that TNG seems to have borrowed from for their 'Best of Both Worlds' cliff-hanger, even down to the order to "fire." It was really good. They still don't seem to be able to make their external shots not look like models on a string. And I couldn't help but think the ships used by the alien invaders look like wind-up toys and possibly a spin top I had when I was a child. lol
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A ship facing off against an alien fleet, while the commander of the ship is compromised - and the 2nd in command giving the order to fire! Lol! Glad you spotted it. I doubt that the makers of TNG would ever admit to having seen 'Blake's 7' though!
Interestingly Terry Nation proposed that the alien invasion fleet would turn out to be (Drum roll!)....the Daleks! But his suggestion was shot down by the producer. Might have been interesting, but maybe whb a massive mistake too!
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I thought that scene at the end btw Avon and Blake was a touching. I think Avon admires Blake's idealism, but thinks he's a fool who needs protecting!
I also think Avon was genuinely hurt that Blake still didn't seem to trust him.
Another thing that observers have noticed is that Travis has ended up trying to destroy the Federation in "Star One," while Blake has been forced to defend it!
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"Powerplay" was pretty good. Del Tarrant looks an awful lot like Blake; from his hair to his outfit. Was this purposely done? And I was sort of picturing Blake and Jenna speaking the lines Del and Dayna spoke.
"Volcano" was largely forgettable except for a scene that had me scratching my head a bit. When a male and female Obsidian are approaching from way off in the distance, they suddenly jump closer and closer. I don't think they had special abilities, right? It was just bad editing? At least Dayna saved the day and got Orac back.
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Coming up is an ep. called "Harvest of Kairos" which is almost universally regarded as the worst ever - and is Paul Darrow's least favorite story. I like them all however, but would hesitate to re-watch certain 1's like "The Keeper."***
Funny, I love "H of K." It just proved how gutless Servalan c/b; her life more important than anything! She could easily be bluffed; esp. by Avon in that sad landing module used to intimidate her off the Liberator. The only thing that confused me was Servalan's reaction when Jarvik was killed. It made no sense, but that was the 3rd season.
***Season 7 of NuWho -
ReplyDelete7x01 Asylum of the Daleks - As much as I like seeing the Daleks again, this was just so-so. Although I loved the twist w/ Oswin at the end.
7x02 Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - I liked Brian, but this ep. bored me.
7x03 A Town Called Mercy - not too great, but the cyborg looked cool.
7x04 The Power of Three - I liked this 1. They could have done more w/ it, but seeing the Doctor trying to adjust to suburban life was funny.
7x05 The Angels Take Manhattan - Great ep. Whenever the series gets slow, just bring out the Weeping Angels! Great seeing River Song again too, but the end was heartbreaking! Esp. after the false happy ending. So sad seeing Amy and Rory go (for real this time? Who knows). So, can the Doctor heal someone anytime he wants w/ his regeneration energy?
Special The Snowmen - I've been waiting for someone to say "it's smaller on the outside" for a while! What made this ep. for me was the Doctor's humor, Strax and Clara. I knew she looked familiar, but it didn't register until the end. Great reveal and I can't wait to see where they go w/ this.
7x06 The Bells of Saint John - mildly interesting story, but what made this ep. was Clara. Is she the same girl from The Snowmen and Asylum of the Daleks? If so, how? Does she keep jumping around in time w/o her knowledge? Looking forward to finding out.
7x07 The Rings of Akhaten - Not too great. I like Clara, though.
7x08 Cold War - This one wasn't too good either. Did they ever explain how, when the Tardis translates languages, people's lips also make the movements for the English translation or are we not supposed to ask that kind of question?
7x09 Hide - I liked the love story angle, but not too much else here.
7x10 Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS - I learned a lot about the Tardis in this one. That made it enjoyable. So Clara learned the Doctor's name and then forgot it. Why do I have the feeling this will come back?
7x11 The Crimson Horror - I love Strax. Just about everything he says is hilarious. Still, the story was nothing new so not very enjoyable. This may be the worst season yet.
7x12 Nightmare in Silver - Not bad. Cybermen came back and I enjoyed Porridge. And the Doctor battling the Cyber Planner was fun too.
7x13 The Name of the Doctor - Great one! Now they need to go back and insert Clara into all of those old eps. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I'm glad they didn't spoil it by giving the Doctor's name. So, when and where did Clara come from originally? I assume the 21st century version of her is the "original."
Night of the Doctor - Great mini-ep., but now I'm confused. If there was another Doctor in btw McGann and Eccleston, then why did they skip it in the #'ing? Shouldn't Matt Smith be the 12th Doctor? It was great to see McGann again. I should have watched this one after the 1996 movie.
The Last Night - So I guess this is the beginning of the Time War. I wonder if we'll see it. I hope so.
IDK where the 7th season actually ends and the 8th season begins, but I'm calling this the end of the 7th season. All in all, probably the worst season, but the end was great. I'm glad i don't have to wait months to see how it's resolved.***
You seem to be on top of it! I can agree w/ a lot of what you said except about Clara! Sorry, but she gets on my last nerve; even worse than Amy! The Doctor seems to care about them too much and they take advantage of that at every opportunity! Going back to Rose, 10 spoiled her rotten by taking her to see her dead father causing all kinds of trials and tribulations! She's just a horrible person IMO! They're all selfish and don't seem to care how much trouble they cause at X's! Making them heroes in some way by saving the Doctor doesn't override their rotten behavior like Clara threatening the Doctor w/ throwing away the keys to the TARDIS! I w/b so done w/ her, but he got over it and helped her find "her man!"
***Rank the Masters -
ReplyDelete1. Delgado - the classic, the original. Yes he was a bit overused, but I love his mix of charisma, humor and the quietly subdued rage that he was brilliant at portraying. He perfectly embodied the "I want to join forces w/ the Doctor... but I kinda want to kill him too" idea of the Master. If they'd gone w/ their original idea of killing off the Master at the end of Pertwee's era, it whb a pretty fitting end to the character. They could have gone on to have a different Time Lord foe for each incarnation:
Hartnell - Meddling Monk
Troughton - the War Chief
Pertwee - the Master
Baker - ?
2. Pratt - A great subversion.. yet continuation of the character. He feels like what you would naturally expect of Delgado's Master if he ever got to that point... twisted and desperate and somehow blaming and hating the Doctor for what has happened to him.
3. Ainley - Yes, he was kind of seen as being a bit close to Delgado (right down to the beard), but I felt that he worked pretty well in most of his stories. He carried that sense of fun (he often seems to be enjoying himself, not just going around being evil for the sake of it) while still being dangerous and ruthless.
4. Jacobi - As many have said; he was good, but he was on for too brief a time to really judge. They should have kept him on rather than regenerating him into...
5. Simm - I guess, as has been said before, they wanted to have a Master to match the Doctor, so lots of shouting and hyperactivity... it occasionally works.
6. Gomez - I was okay w/ the sex change. She made a good sinister, dangerous Master... not so fond of bananas or the revising of the Doctor/Master relationship to include sexual tension though.
7 Beevers - Wasn't really much more than a watered down version of Pratt's portrayal. It s/b said too that I LOVE Keeper of Traken. I kind of feel that if they'd had Pratt and his mask from Deadly Assassin, it would have taken the story to another level.
8. Roberts - Yep, Roberts is my least fave. His portrayal just seemed to be all over the place, going from monosyllabic shades-wearing guy to grandiose, preening, eloquent guy. To be fair, he was the Master that probably best suited the movie. I couldn't imagine any of the others really fitting into that story.
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Please don't judge Geoffrey Beevers by just Traken. In Big Finish stories he's incredible. Remember he was Melkur as well in Traken; the deep evil voice. All his big finish stories are great, His portrayal is the epitome of sly, lustful wickedness; 2nd best behind Delgado.
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I'm in agreement that Delgado goes 1st and Roberts goes worst, but I must say I have a much higher opinion of Missy than I do the John Simm's Master. The performances are both good, but Simm had to do a lot of really embarrassing things that just boiled down to the Master being nuts. There's something far more purposeful about how Missy was written - she's nutty, but she's channeled a lifetime of obsession into trying to prove a point to the Doctor and doing something to make them the same. That's much more compelling to me than using the Master's backstory to explain the last days of the Time War. I just think there's more of a coherent vision for who Missy is versus what RTD did for The Master.***
I have to agree w/ most of the comments stated! My list would go succinctly as others; Delgado the best, but at the same X terribly overused to Roberts in that awful movie of 1996 being the worst!
***The Doctor is a very, very complex individual. His personality is more than 3 dimensional; layered and full of sometimes contradictory aspects. He is neither truly good, nor evil; neither truly young, nor truly old. He's neither overly serious nor overly jokey. He's neither totally selfish nor totally altruistic; both cocky and charismatic and yet utterly lonely and self-hating.... Would you agree, perhaps, that each incarnation 'represents' a different aspect of his overall personality?
ReplyDeleteThat each form carries all aspects of the overall personality inside of him, but has 1 or 2 particular traits in abundance compared to other incarnations. You might say each Doctor can be defined by 1 major attribute:
One - The Wise Doctor
Two - The Musical Doctor
Three - The Action Doctor
Four - The Bohemian Doctor
Five - The Young Doctor
Six - The Quirky Doctor
Seven - The Devious Doctor
Eight - The Romantic Doctor
Nine - The Melancholy Doctor
War Doctor - The Warrior Doctor
Ten - The Regretful/Lonely Doctor
Eleven - The Forgetful Doctor
Twelve - The Old Doctor
Each Doctor, you might say, besides being an incarnation, is also a representation of different parts of the whole man's personality, and each emphasizes a larger amount of a particular aspect of his personality. The Doctor in any incarnation is wise and clever and versed in lore, but One's personality emphasizes those traits the most, which is why he seems to know more than his later incarnations in The Five Doctors. The Doctor is quirky and cunning and tricksy, but Two's personality exuded those qualities the most. The Doctor is and has always been a man of action, but never moreso than w/ Three. The Doctor has always been an independent, free-spirited Bohemian wanderer, but Four showed that side of his personality the most....And so on.***
Interesting!
***Classic. I find the stories to be more interesting and the fact almost all of them are self contained makes it easier for rewatching. The new show, even in the RTD are too much a part of the overall season (like the family life subplots) and in Moffat era the plot arcs are ridiculously convoluted and interconnected. Something like "A Good Man Goes to War" barely made sense in the context of the season, so it w/b annoying to watch it on it's own.***
Old Who you can watch any episode and you're getting a movie length story. New Who you pretty much have to watch the whole season. Classic Who was indeed more "standalone" and you could come in to watch any season at anytime and still appreciate it! There wasn't much in the way of "carryover" except maybe the mention of a TIME WAR which didn't register to me until NuWho came along! The "Keys To Time" was the only thing that was comparable to NuWho in duration and needed to be seen from the beginning!
***Review of S8 -
ReplyDeleteSpecial - An Adventure in Space and Time - This was really nice and very touching. Made me wish they filmed more specials about the making of the rest of the classic series. Also, since they found such a good actor to portray Hartnell, it made me wonder if anybody ever thought about remaking the old lost episodes?
Special - The Day of the Doctor - Loved it! Awesome seeing Tennant again and the banter btw the 3 Doctors was hilarious. Unfortunately Billie Piper was wasted in this 1 and it whb nice to see Eccleston join them too. A great story though. Ever since I 1st started watching this show, I've been waiting for them to bring Gallifrey back. Tom Baker's cameo was awesome too. And I loved the lineup of the 12 Doctors at the end!
Special - The Five(ish) Doctors reboot - very funny special. Davison, Baker and McCoy were great at poking fun at themselves.
Special - The Time of the Doctor - I thought I wasn't going to like this ep. when it started, but I really enjoyed it. I think it was the whole philisophical idea of seeing the Doctor age and his life come to an end that intrigued me. So, when did he start carrying around a Cyberman head? I must have missed that. I like how the Doctor explained his regenerations too. I have to say I wasn't too sad about seeing Matt Smith go though. He wasn't too bad, but I guess I couldn't help but compare him to Tennant for these past 2 seasons. So, did he get 1 more regeneration or a new cycle of 12 or can he regenerate indefinitely now? And are they going to explain later how his new regeneration happened?
8x01 Deep Breath - So the Doctor is Scottish now. OK, I'll go with it. Still too early to tell if I like this one yet, but he reminds me of Jeremy Irons a little bit. Strax was hilarious as always, but I found the story only mildly interesting. Although that c/b j/b I'm trying to get used to Capaldi. Missy is interesting. Looking forward to hearing more about her. I found it interesting that "Paradise" at the end reminded me a lot of 1 of the rooms in "The Girl Who Waited." Is it supposed to be the same place? Also, IDK if this is intentional, but it seems like whenever a Doctor regenerates, he starts out emotionally cold and becomes warmer as he progresses - due in large part to the influence of his companion(s). I wonder if this will happen w/ Capaldi.
8x02 Into the Dalek - Interesting ep. Always like seeing the Daleks again. The 12th Doctor seems to be a bit of a grump though. So does this mean that Rusty is going to be travelling undercover w/ the Daleks as a double-agent?
8x03 Robot of Sherwood - The 1 thing I've always wanted to see is someone fighting Robin Hood w/ a spoon. I kind of liked this 1. Robin Hood and his Merry Men mixed w/ sci-fi robots made for a good tale.
8x04 Listen - OK, I get it. The 12th Doctor is crazy. That's his quirk. I like what he did w/ the Tardis, but what was the point of this ep.? Just to give us a glimpse of Clara's future maybe?
8x05 Time Heist - Good 1. I did not see the twist w/ the Architect's identity coming and I thought the real reason for the heist was great. It reminded me a bit of the end of "Hide." I thought Psi and Saibra were interesting characters too. I wonder if I'll see more of them?
8x06 The Caretaker - Interesting insight into the Doctor-Clara-Danny triangle. I liked the Doctor's attempt at working undercover and his reactions to the Matt Smith-like professor were also very funny. I found Courtney annoying though. The mystery w/ Missy deepens. Is she somehow extracting people at the moment of death to another dimension for some nefarious purpose? I guess I'll find out. I like the new Tardis design a lot too.
8x07 Kill The Moon - Courtney is still annoying and I found this ep. to drag at parts, but I liked the revelation and the ending. I wonder if they'll bring back the "moon creature" in another ep. I'd like to see it close up.***
(Continued) ===>
Continuation of S8 Review:
ReplyDelete***8x08 Mummy On The Orient Express - This 1 started out slow and reminded me of "Voyage of the Damned." I liked the last 1/2 though. This Doctor is starting to grow on me. Not in an "I'll miss him when he goes" way, but I do find his character somewhat enjoyable.
8x09 Flatline - I liked this 1. It reminded me of the book "Flatland" which I enjoyed a lot. Some very humorous moments w/ the miniature Tardis and Clara's solution to supply power to the Tardis was very clever. OK, so Missy put Clara and the Doctor together, but what does that have to do w/ how she's abducting people? And is Clara something other than just human?
8x10 In the Forest of the Night - This 1 was just OK, but the end was interesting. Where did Annabelle come from and will she be important later? My guess about Missy is that she is a Time Lord (Time Lady?). Maybe the latest incarnation of The Master. We did find out in Night of the Doctor it's possible for the Doctor to regenerate into a woman.
8x11 Dark Water. Wow, I called that 1! I'm usually not good at guessing this stuff. Either I'm getting better or the writers are getting less imaginative. So, does this mean that the Doctor could regenerate as a woman? I'm probably going to get some hate for this, but I hope not. It wouldn't be the same w/ a female Doctor and would open up a some issues w/ his relationship w/ River Song. Anyway, intriguing ep. and good to see the Cybermen again, but I have a feeling the next ep. w/b a bit of an anticlimax.
8x12 Death in Heaven - Not the best season ender, but a good 1. The Doctor flying into the Tardis was very cool. It brings up a whole theological can of worms though. How can the Master control the afterlife? And what happens to all the people that have died now that the Master's plan is ruined? Are they alive again somewhere else? What about the people that die going forward? On another note, the Doctor didn't find Gallifrey; I'm sure that's coming. So what was the Master trying to accomplish by giving the Doctor an army? Was she trying to corrupt him? And I still don't get how putting him w/ Clara helped her plan.
Special - Last Christmas - What made this 1 for me was the banter btw "Santa" and the others - "how do you get all the presents in the sleigh?" "Bigger on the inside." And I like the whole dream w/i a dream w/i a dream thing so much that I'll forgive that the writers stole the idea from Inception. Great story.
All in all, while Capaldi did grow on me a little, I can't say he's one of my favorites. I'm just not fond of his cold aloofness. But I have to say that I didn't find Clara annoying like a lot of you did. I liked her. Personally, I think Amy was more obnoxious and arrogant than her.
So I'm finally caught up and can roam the message boards freely! I'm disappointed that they didn't give more of an explanation as to how the Doctor got his extra regeneration. How and why did the Time Lords do that? And if they can do that to him, why don't they just do it to themselves and eliminate the 12 regeneration limit?***
Thanks for the review!
***Regarding Possibility of Female Doctor...I'm guessing it's been discussed before, like when it originally aired, but w. all the guessing and double-guessing, it's interesting to see that there's some kind of basis for it now since we have a female Master.***
I always knew it was possible, but that will be the end if they go w/ a female Doctor! I'm already ticked they brought the Master back that way! I won't be bothered if they go Glynis Johns on me! Is she still alive? I think not! lol!
***If there's ever a female Doctor, that will be the end from me too. I'll actively boycott the show and I hope other female Doctor haters will too.***
***The 5th Doctor Regenerates - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAlSS3kxqgU ***
ReplyDeleteI loved the character flashbacks, but couldn't stand Colin unfortunately! His regeneration was the closest to being as violent and destructive as NuWho except it was a physical attack on Peri! I wonder why they decided to go "Highlander" w/ the change; "there can be only one?" The explosions and absolutely destructive power is a little much! The last 2 were ridiculous; almost destroyed the TARDIS w/ Matt and it was used to knock off all enemies before going to Capaldi!
***To be fair about 11's regeneration, I think it was supposed to have been so explosive b/c he just got his new cycle and was swimming in regen. energy. So although over the top, I don't think it was THAT bad. IDK about 10. Some people say it's b/c of the radiation he absorbed. But honestly I think it was just RTD wanting him and Tennant to go out literally w/ a bang.***
Maybe 10's was a long X coming since his regeneration was aborted once by "the hand" in the jar absorbing part of the power!
***...I, for example, have come to dislike the Tennant era more and more w/ each passing year. Other's still call it the golden age of the show.***
Well Tennant did have a very long run; akin to Tom Baker really! They even aborted a regeneration and kept him in the role longer than I thought! I saw him as toast in "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End!" Nice save transferring the energy to a disembodied hand in a jar! lol!
***That was just an awful "twist" and misdirection by RTD - at that point. It was already known that David was stepping down as The Doctor.
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When did nuWho peak for you? - 'Human Nature/Family of Blood/Blink/Utopia' Best run of 4 in a row in all of Who.***
You can always dream! "Blink" was 1 of the best! "Utopia" just came out of nowhere w/ "the watch!" - "Angels" come close to usurping Dalek superiority! They are deep, whereas it's all b & w w/ the Daleks no matter how convoluted they want to make the plot! The Angels can get your skin crawling a lot easier than a Dalek's!
***It has never been est. where these regens come from, or what price needs to be paid for them. But it's something that apparently c/b done, but only in extreme circumstances. - Can you also offer up an explanation of how the Time Lords, who were FROZEN in X outside of our own universe managed to not only communicate thru the cracks in space and X (which were actually caused by the Tardis exploding, but were retconned I guess to lead to Gallifrey) to also offer up the Doctor a new set of regeneration energy through those same cracks? B/c that was a nice and awfully convenient trick.***
OCO, Clara got through to their soft side after an eternity of being the most cold-blooded guardians ever! lol! She implored them, "...if you love him....!" ;-)
***Lol exactly. I also love how she thought to ask the Timelords for more regeneration energy for the Doctor in 1 human day, when the Doctor sat beside the crack in X for 1000 years, fusing himself to a rocking chair, and didn't think to do the same for himself. It's yet more impotency delivered unto the Doctor for the sake of making Clara the greater character.***
Well someone's got to do it I guess! lol! Like you said, he sat there for a millennium; and for what? Clara was hanging onto the TARDIS for dear life! She would not be denied; sorta like Captain Jack in "Utopia!"
***As far as I can remember, w/ Captain Jack, he survived due to his condition. They changed it w/ Clara to suit their needs.***
His condition? You make it sound like a terminal disease! lol! Honey, it's virtual immortality; by age and physical restoration after mortal wounds! Some have discounted him being the Face Of Boe in "Gridlock!" How was it explained since Jack referenced himself w/ that moniker after "The Last Of The Time Lords?"
Bringing River Song back is a mistake and it doesn't make sense w/i the continuity either. I know that many of you insist that Doctor Who does not have a canon, therefore there c/b an ep. tmrow saying the Doctor has never regenerated and 12 is the only version of that character to have ever existed ...there is no canon so anything goes depending on the show runner. Still- are we all forgetting that River lived and died w/o ever meeting the 12th Doctor?
ReplyDeleteI say this b/c up until 'Time of the Doctor,' all the characters were living in a world in which 11 died on Trenzalore and was the final incarnation. The Time Lords granting the Doctor a new regeneration cycle changed the course of history.
Saying that it was 12 who showed up and gave him his screwdriver doesn't work- as it wasn't. Personally, I'm not happy w/ this decision. Peter Capaldi is truly getting all the leftovers of Matt Smiths era. He has inherited Vastra, Jenny, Strax, River, Osgood, Kate, and Clara. He doesn't have his own companion, and he doesn't even have his own screwdriver. Why can't Moffat give Capaldi his own sandbox to play in?
Honestly, its frustrating, and as someone who didn't enjoy Matt Smith's era and was hoping to finally go in a different direction w/ a new Doctor to see 12 dragged down by the worst things from his predecessor's era is truly depressing.
Moffat continues unintentionally doing RTD favors. ...have been on record hating Rose for daring to appear after her "last ep." in series 2 until RTD allegedly "ran her character into the ground." Moffat said this in an interview in DW Magazine:
“It’s always down to whether there’s a good story. My immediate instinct was that story’s probably done. Not that we saw all of it, but I never thought we should see all of it. I’m slightly tempted, b/c I imagine Capaldi and Kingston w/b absolutely hilarious together…”
“She could certainly have met other Doctors. So there’s nothing stopping us… But is there anything new we can do? Or is the new thing that Capaldi and Kingston w/b very sexy together? Is that enough? We’ve always had fun w/ the fact that they don’t look like a couple.”
“Peter Capaldi and Alex Kingston would look like a couple – that’s the thing. Whereas I thought Matt and Alex were gorgeous together, but it looked slightly strange, b/c he was so much younger. Alex is just great fun to have on the show. It’s when you want to throw the Doctor a bit, b/c what River does so well is to make him a bit on the back foot and a bit flustered.”***
Cont.,
ReplyDelete***...I can already tell you what it will mostly consist of. Kingston, smug as ever, lording over Capaldi, flirting, making sexual references, prob. throwing herself at the Doctor. And when she's not doing that she'll be parading around bragging to the villains to "look her up" even though they never give us any actual on-screen evidence of why the character is awesome or why we s/b rooting for her. They will insert this character in to say her obligatory "Spoilers" And "Hello, Sweetie!" as 1/2 of the fan base cringes and winces.
Why bring her back? They already announced a line for her all the herself on Big Finish. Is it in attempt to sell more copies of that as well? The cynical part of me thinks so. Having her meet the 8th Doctor makes as little sense as her meeting the 12th. Considering that that there's no way that her meeting 8th is going to be much different to the story of her meeting Tennant, I believe they should keep the fan fiction on Big Finish.
In a way River never left the show. The essence of the character is always there. A "flirty" older woman who doms the Doctor, is overtly sexual, etc. Moffat has wrote the same character in Missy, Tasha Lem, Nefertiti, etc. Why make such a fuss about bringing back a character who technically never left? It's the only type of female Moffat knows how to write! Much like a regenerated Doctor, we have gotten an unofficially regenerated River every season in some form. We do not need any more.
As for her return...why is a character who has had at least 3 send offs allowed to return, yet people wondered how dare Moffat bring back Rose for minor appearances in the rest of his tenure? Moffat can apparently not let go of the "successful" bits of his run. Clara was done w/ the Doctor in 'Kill the Moon,' was done w/ the Doctor in 'Death in Heaven,' was done w/ the Doctor in 'Last Christmas,' and now we're apparently getting a "final send-off" in series 9.
Amy was done at the end of 'God Complex.' From what I remember they had her "leave" 2 X's after that before being taken away in 'Angels Meet Manhattan' "never being allowed to see the Doctor again." Despite it being "written so therefore meant to happen" how much do you want to bet she and Rory will be back for the 2018 Xmas Special?
Finally we have River Song, who's story arc is completely over and there's nothing else they can do w/ the character. Died in her 1st appearance. Said her final good bye in 'Name of the Doctor,' finally being able to "let go", and now what? It just feels cheap;. It really does. Meanwhile, there are so many companions who would make sense coming back. Actors who are more than willing to become available and make it work, and Moffat refuses because he's too busy doing this:
- http://forums-cdn.appleinsider.com/6/63/350x700px-LL-63930ce3_dead_horse.gif -
I'm happy for those getting a character back that they enjoy. Must be nice! Meanwhile, the majority of the fandom groans, rolls their eyes, and prays for confirmation that Moffat is leaving in 2016.***
THX!
***Anyone else have a problem w/ Clara character progression in serie? - It was pretty much the worst character progression I've had the displeasure of seeing on TV in a LONG X. Clara in Series 7B at her start was a babysitter w/ absolutely no tech. skills. She mhb living underneath a rock as well considering that she didn't know how to use a computer or the Internet at all. Then suddenly, she's a badass biker chick who's also a school teacher - literally out of nowhere. She became a teacher because Moffat thought it w/b neat to reference Coal HS from X to X, not b/c he ever anticipated that the character wanted to become a teacher.***
ReplyDeleteI gave up ages ago trying to 'splain her ascension to "Time Lord!" lol! IIRC, she actually mused about it in a banter w/ the system in "Dark Water!"
***I always thought "Asylum of the Daleks" was a good ep. to jump in on since it was the ep. I jumped in w/ and got hooked instantly.***
If you're a newbie, probably so, but for us DW devotees of 35+ years, the Daleks were being terribly overused by then! There was a single Dalek, 4, hybrids, crazy ones, and scared Daleks! They even made one of Clara's splitters a Dalek! They're losing their edge IMO; Angels taking over as the big bad boogieman!
***The parallel w/ the Nazis was pretty clear from the start and blantant by the X they got to "Genesis of the Daleks."***
Down to the dark uniforms worn by the scientific community working on the Daleks! It was so NAZI-like to me! Hitler, ...errrr Davros eliminated them when they talked about giving them more of a conscience! Nyder was the perfect little henchman; taking every word as gospel from Davros, no matter how INSANE! He was standing there next to Davros as he gives the THALs the means to penetrate the Kaled dome and wipe out the civilian populous threatening their endeavors in the bunker!
***I liked Clara a lot in S7, but in S8 when she said that children were better off dead than orphaned, and was ready to murder-suicide the Doctor j/b she lost someone she loved, she turned from a loveable companion to being down right abusive and evil. She's now the epitome of the abusive relationship.***
Amen and hallelujah to that! Unfortunately the Doctor's companions of late have been little more than spoiled, petulant children! I whb done w/ her after that stunt w/ the keys, but of course The Doctor let her get away w/ it!
***The best 4-parter in this list for me is "Robots of Death." "Ark in Space" is also good, but some of the monster outfits don't quite work. The costumes in "Robots" hold up quite well looking back. - ...when the power is out and the Ark is in relative darkness. Once the lights come back on however, the costume isn't as convincing.***
That's how it is for all movies; hiding how ridiculous scenes and costumes are playing w/ darkness! The original "Alien" would be a comedy if not for playing w/ shadows and marginal lighting!
***Yes; that's why I think that "Robots of Death" actually holds up better over X b/c the robot outfits are actually pretty good even under glaring studio lights. The costumes for the futuristic people may be a bit dated, but that can be explained away that fashion is cyclical. "ROD" is 1 of the few Tom Baker serials where there's no cheaply constructed monster to spoil the reality of the rest of the story. It also happens to be a good mystery for the 1st 3 parts and has some scary moments mixed w/ comedy and some decent sci-fi aspects, such as the robo-phobia idea.***
I do not believe I've seen every ep. of 'Voyager' so I am currently on a complete run through of the shows. So what did I think of it?
ReplyDeleteWildly inconsistent. It didn't live up to its premise of having a mixed and potentially volatile crew. Despite being Marquis, they integrated w/ the crew almost immediately and very little came of the mixture.
B'Lanna. Just a grumpy person, hardly the idea of a fierce Klingon like we got in the great Michael Dorn's performance on 'TNG.' We get lots of talk about how she did this or that violently, like kill her spirit animal according to Chakotay. We rarely see her doing anything.
Tuvok. Tim Russ is excellent, and he does a better Spock than Zachary Quinto and isn't even trying to be Spock. One of the best actors on this show.
Neelix. I can't stand comedic characters that exist solely for that purpose. ...I also never understood the relationship btw him and Kes. Friends? Lovers? Friends w/ benefits?
Chakotay. 1 of the worst, most boring characters in all of ST, along w/ Ensign Harry Kim. Every X there was a Chakotay ep., prepare for pan flutes and primitive drum music . I think the actor was probably adequate, but either his lack of enthusiasm for being in a ST show or the writing, or both, made him dull and uninteresting.
Every X anyone's in a shuttlecraft, something immensely bad will happen. The craft will be attacked, stranded, ditched on a planet or someone will be kidnapped, brainwashed or have their memory affected.
EMH. Not only one of the best characters on Voyager, but in my top 10 or so for all Star Treks. He's wry, funny and also curmudgeonly. At X's he can be annoyingly upbeat and other X's cranky like DeForrest Kelly's 'McCoy.' It helps that Robert Picardo is a tremendous actor and has wonderful comedic timing.
Janeway was OK, but it was obvious at X's that the writers didn't know if they wanted her to be more like Picard or Kirk, or an awkward combo of the 2, which rarely worked. Kate Mulgrew did her best though, but was prone to moments of overacting.
Tom Paris. I may be weird in saying this, but I think the actor who portrayed this character is very talented. Despite the writers failing to make him their Kirk/Riker badboy, I think McNeill brought over 100% to his role and tried the best he could w/ what he had. His interaction w/ the Doctor was also one of the highlights, and a testament to those 2 actors and their talents.
Seven of 9. Wow! Her impression of the EMH (in the ep. where holograms are oppressed and the EMH has to "hide" in Seven's body) just nailed my views of her talent. She had to hold back a lot since her character was emotionally crippled, but when she was able to shine, she did so.
Too much Borg. The writers had an opportunity to really introduce some memorable aliens/races, but for the most part, they dropped the ball.
I also hated how they're supposed to have, what, like 150 people on board, yet you see Neelix manning a station on the bridge from X to X. Or Chakotay manning ops. Tom Paris being a medic didn't contribute much, but it did allow for some funny and memorable interactions w/ the EMH. I know the Enterprise-D had almost 1000 crewmembers, but it was still cool to see different, previously unseen people at the helm all the X.
Overall, although the writing was bad, I still liked the show. It definitely had it's great moments, like 'Year of Hell,' but some stinkers too, like when Paris and Janeway turned into *beep* lizards and had sex.
It isn't as binge-worthy as other ST shows, and doing so only highlights the poor writing and inconsistent/lacking characters. But watching an ep. once daily wasn't bad.***
I wasn't a big fan of the show and only periodically watched it; mainly during the repeats! The finale was the best; defeating the Borg Queen and getting home earlier through the help of a "future Admiral Janeway!"
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-1d_AdGu64 - Deploying ablative armor
***I've often wondered how much of Davros in "Genesis" was down to having Peter Miles as Nyder, probably the best henchman in all of Who. W/o the Daleks or a Nyder backing him up, Davros is a more vulnerable figure, something I feel comes across in the scenes in "Destiny" where the Doctor holds him hostage.***
ReplyDeleteNyder is regarded well w/ some, but to me he was more a weasel or pet! He couldn't really protect Davros; a real coward! As a matter of fact, he was barely threaten w/ a dirty look when he opened the safe to get the travel ring needed to get back to the TARDIS! Why a bracelet w/b something he would save in there still baffles me! Davros couldn't possibly have known it's significance!
***if a spy/enemy agent has something you're not sure about, lock it away... just in case it can be used by or against you. As for Nyder, sure he wasn't some brave henchman, but then given that the Kaleds were being modelled on the Nazis, the idea that he'd be a spineless, self serving coward who followed the tide of opinion wherever it went seems about right.
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It does beg a ???. For all we know that the Daleks know, they think Davros is dead at the end of 'Genesis Of The Daleks.' But, they somehow know he's still alive in 'Destiny Of The Daleks.' He doesn't revive until the end of Ep. 1, I think. So, how do the Daleks know this? Plus, the Daleks must have moved Davros at some point after they emerged from the bunker. Davros was in an entirely different room in 'Destiny' when he revived versus where he was "exterminated" in 'Genesis.' So, maybe the Daleks did know he was in suspended animation. There's also the scene removed from 'Genesis' that would go a ways to explaining this discrepancy. Originally, there was supposed to be a scene at the end of 'Genesis' where a light was seen still functioning on Davros's chair, implying that maybe he wasn't dead.***
"Animated suspension" is the way it was described by Davros in "Destiny!" So both Daleks and Davros knew his life was saved! Good catch that he was moved for storage purposes!
***The Daleks, the Thals, and Skaro - When the Daleks were destroyed at the end of the 1st Dalek serial, The Daleks, it seemed to imply the Thals inherited Skaro from them. That those Daleks destroyed were the only Daleks on Skaro. So, at some point the Daleks must have returned and reclaimed Skaro, right? The Daleks seem in total control of Skaro in "Remembrance Of The Daleks" and the Doctor says the Daleks had returned to their ancestral seat. Yet, the Daleks must have recaptured Skaro at some X before then b/c in "Planet Of The Daleks," doesn't the Dalek Supreme say, at the end, to notify Skaro to send a rescue craft?
What about the Thals, then? Were they still in control of Skaro in "POTD?" And what about in 'Remembrance?' As someone else has pointed out on this board, the Thals would probably be quite upset at the Doctor destroying Skaro w/ the Hand Of Omega. 1.) it was/is their planet 2.) it's their home world and 3.) the Thals could very well have BEEN on Skaro in 'Remembrance' when the Hand made Skaro's sun burn it up! My opinion is the Thals had left Skaro by the X the Daleks reclaimed it by 'Remembrance.' Or they simply wiped out the Thals on Skaro when they retook the planet. Oh, and there's "Evil Of The Daleks." The Daleks seem to be quite in control of Skaro in that story. So, where are the Thals in that 1?***
Thanks!
***I do think that Blake's 7 nicked the ceiling mounted computer, TIM w/ a similar wall mounted computer in ZEN though.***
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love "Blake's 7!" I was already a follower of Terry Nation, so it was a nice, not so change of pace that engulfed me before I saw
the 1st ep! My college roommate got me into both "DW" and "B7" and nothing's been better overall! When it came back for that extra 4th series, it was cheesy w/ our "friends" more like mercenaries than "freedom fighters," but it was so well done IMO! It didn't miss a beat downgrading from The Liberator to Scorpio! Thanks to Dr. Plaxton's, "Stardrive," it was the fastest ship in space! Loved the home-base w/ the ship's elevator; so Batman Cave-like! Holding onto ORAC obviously saved them X & X again! It slowly got to be better than "DW" b/c there was a continuing story, but not really that much of an arc beside the actual premise of the drama; the oppressive Federation expanding while a faction fought them at every turn! The ending still gets me "verklempt!"
***I just thought "Fake Missy and Clara deaths AGAIN?" Moffat is being so repetitive, predictable and manipulative it's annoying. "Apprentice" was better than "Deep Breath," but not as good as "Robot of Sherwood," "Flatline," and "Mummy on the Orient Express."***
This was another "Kill Hitler" story where the Doctor actually saves Davros as a child and regrets it! That is the age old question, "would you kill the child that grows up to be a tyrannical dictator or mass murderer?"
***Michelle Gomez and Capaldi - Seriously, just get those 2 a sitcom. The combined acerbity and all-round Scottishness w/b glorious to behold.***
I'm still struggling w/ Missy! (gack) She's more obnoxious than River Song; terribly overconfident and like the original Master (Dalgado), is behind or in control of every plot against the Doctor!
***Of course she's overconfident. Anyone who's spent the last however-many-centuries trying and failing to murder their only friend/ultimate nemesis sort of has to have a misplaced sense of their own competence, by definition.***
But by your definition, all of the Doctor's enemies should have the same "misplaced sense...;" including Davros, his Daleks, The Cybermen, Altons, Silurians, Sea Devils, etc!" They've all had him w/i their control, but seem to fail in killing The Doctor X and X again!
***The continuous killing and resurrection of the Master is getting tedious. Now they've gone and killed Clara. They killed the Tardis. Cartoonish w/ their overuse of creative license. And so is the ongoing diatribes btw Davros and the Doctor about genocide. Davros always waxes philosophic about compassion being wrong, always wants to destroy the universe, but then when the Doctor wants to stop him he becomes moral and accuses him of "Genocide!" As we heard in the upcoming previews. Also n the previews we see Doc going back in X w/o the Tardis ... which leads us to assume the Tardis really isn't dead ... as we'll inevitable learn Clara and Master aren't really dead.
How nice it whb for Missy to have a sudden change of heart and become heroic. Just for a second? Before she realizes it must have been a bad batch of fish and chips and she turns back into the evil queen. Otherwise I enjoyed the ep.! - Kate is seriously a disaster at her job. Lets see she gets completely overpowered and captured by the Zygons and has to get her anxious, scared PA Osgood to save her and her entire staff and then her solution to deal w/ a handful of Zygons? NUKE LONDON!***
Maybe that's the Zygon's that's really in control of UNIT! I already mentioned how I felt about the IQ of Clara going from cretin to a scientist on retainer today!
***...I can't do that w/ Missy, and the previous Masters. I've tried, but I can't.
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Thank you, you are already one of my fave users here LOL. It's just too hard to imagine Missy as the Master. I mean you look at her w/ the others and you just laugh. I have developed a theory that she is not really the Master, her and Simm. IMO the real Master is dead. He died in the '96 movie. The Time Lords did not bring him back in the Time War; instead brought Simm's Master back who is actually a different TL who was friends w/ the Doctor and a lot closer than the Doctor than the Master from Classic Who.
He had been a notorious renegade too, but not quite as bad as the Master or the Rani. After he got brought back, he decided to call himself the Master after the Master of old and he formed a group of other renegade, psychotic Time Lords who called themselves the Masters. They are like the Jokers Gang from "Batman Beyond." IDK if you have seen that show; it's basically about a 2nd Batman in 50 years X and there is a gang of criminals who call themselves "The Jokers."
Simm's Master is therefore the leader of the renegades; "The Masters" who are all crazy Time Lords and Gomez's Master is just another one of them who also knew the Doctor. Her and the Doctor were friends and lovers for years. Maybe she is Susan's grandmother? That c/b how the Cybermen knew Clara was lying b/c she said all 4 of his wives are deceased.
IMO someone should reveal that in NuWho. Have one where the original Master gets resurrected by another wannabe Master and then we could see the original proper Master back and he could look on his imitators w/ disdain for just being psychopaths as the old Who Master always saw himself as bringing order to the universe, which is the opposite of the NuWho Masters.
IMO that would explain so much. It would explain why Tennant wanted to help Simm and said to him "look around, you don't want to do this." Why would he say that? He must know that isn't true and if it is why has he never tried to get through to the Master in 26 years? It would also explain why no Master pre-Simm mentioned the drums and why Gomez hasn't mentioned them either? Simple b/c Simm isn't the classic era Masters. He is a different character who has assumed that name and he isn't Gomez either. He died when he faced Rassilon and Gomez is someone new.
IMO that would be a good story to do. They could have the original Master show up. He c/b played by Charles Dance or Simon Templeman. I'm not sure which of those 2 w/b best. Templeman has a better voice, but Dance has that more classic Master look to be fair. If he showed up, it would really let people know that he is THE Master.
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Well Gomez is funny; check out her stand up, but making the Master in love w/ The Doctor is ridiculous. The character is meant to be his Moriarty; his rival not Catwoman!***
***Isn't Davros, like Hitler, a fixed point in X? - It's implied via the Doctor never having gone through w/ wiping him out (Or all of Skaro)
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The Daleks have taken out countless planets, burned up the Universe by the end of the Time War. The Doctor was prepared for genocide in the 50th special and was working towards it. If he could have stopped all of that before, he'd have done it. If he does it b/c of Clara and Missy then he's being selfish. If he doesn't do it, then it is either a fixed point and must happen or his other genocides are against character. This is why Time Lords have rules. Once you let it be known that you observe you are no longer an outside entity w/i the 'conflict.'
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The Time Lords sent the Doctor to Skaro to kill Davros and the proto-Daleks in "Genesis of the Daleks." I know that in '75 they hadn't coined the 'Fixed Points' term, or the idea, but seeing as this story is a sort of genesis of "The Genesis of the Daleks," even including dialogue from it, I don't think Davros can be a Fixed Point; and there isn't the room in the continuity to make him 1.
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We won't see the Doctor kill Davros as a child. The consequences w/b too extreme and numerous to mention. Actually scratch that, the universe would end right there and then due to the amount of paradoxes created. Moffat is crazy, but not that crazy.
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I agree, so the Doctor talks him through what it is to battle and overcome against the odds and how important it is to have humility and compassion. This frees up The Daleks from Davros' control...but oh no! They're his children and he doesn't control them!?!
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At the end of series 4 when they faced the Daleks, the Doctor said the prior incarnations were remnants, not the full power of the Dalek empire. This Dalek force included the semi-imprisoned Davros and was led by a Supreme Dalek. We saw both in this episode so we can extrapolate that these Daleks have the capability of destroying a TARDIS. The Daleks did fight Gallifrey and its modern Time Lord technology to near annihilation so an out-of-date Type 40 TARDIS (and even more out of date by the TW) shouldn't be much of a threat to a high functioning Dalek military machine.
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There's always been some inconsistency in technology and its application from story to story, but much of it can be hand waved as differences in technology considering that we see many of these cultures / races / armies from different points in their hundreds, thousands, millions of years of history. Or something else was going on and it wasn't an extermination after all and the trick will be revealed.
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Doctor and Master as pals - Are you referring to the scene btw Delgado & Pertwee? It's the scene where the Doctor and Master reach out to shake hands to say goodbye, but the Doctor pulls his hand back and the Master gives him a knowing grin. I think it's from the "Sea Devils" episode.***
Just about every X there's a meeting of the minds btw the 2, it's w/ trepidations! You see how The Master needs the Doctor to fix 1 of his disasters like in "Logopolis!" Even when they work together, it's only viable as long as the Doctor is needed! When he turns his back, it'll get chopped each X! What kind of friend is that; esp. after he's saved his arse on several occasions? Like other protagonist in memory, I also think about their magnanimous acts of saving bad guys, only to allow them to do more damage and kill others! That's Superman's curse; every X he goes all out to save a bad guy, he becomes responsible for their future bad acts! The Doctor is responsible for all the murders, planet annihilations, and in the case of Logopolis, an entire solar system lost IIRC along w/ Traken!
***Actually more like a 1/4 of the Universe. It was pretty shocking at the X. It came up for discussion in a thread about a wk. ago or so as Doctor Who's highest death count ep.***
***You all know what little love I have for Moffat's writing, and for Clara, and for Missy - but somehow this ep. really stuck home w/ me in all of the right places. IDK for sure, but I honestly felt like Moffat was paying a lot of tribute to RTD's era of the show w/ this ep. It felt bigger, grander and while a lot of people don't really like that w/ DW eps in general, I appr. it here. This ep. felt more like a series finale than it did a series premiere. If this is any indication of how the remainder of the 2 part stories are going to play out this series, I think I'll enjoy the format of this series immensely. With Clara, my opinions of her are in flux. I will outright admit that I hated her in series 8. She was bossy, controlling, and weighted down by her "relationship" with Danny Pink - played by the terrible, Samuel Anderson. ...Clara wasn't totally unbearable (although I still think Name/Day/Time of the Doctor are some of the worst eps this show has ever had) and it made me dislike her a tiny bit less. I feel like I appr. her arc a little bit more, remembering how meek and unassuming she was back in The Bells of St. John and Rings of Ahkaten compared to how familiar she is traveling w/ the Doctor now. I don't think it's entirely unbelievable that Unit would reach out to her in the midst of crises when they can't locate the Doctor themselves. They knew she was his companion, and like Davros said, if you want to get to the Doctor you need to go through his friends. Rose and Martha experienced similar arcs to Clara in which they blossomed into stronger women that worked w/ large organizations in order to better understand alien threats against Earth, so I actually like that she seems to be headed in a similar direction. That being said, Kate remains almost totally incompetent as a leader in UNIT. She's putting the Brigadier to shame at this point.
ReplyDeleteMissy was also less annoying in this ep. than she was in Dark Water/Death in Heaven. Moffat definitely toned down the whole "The Doctor is my BF" thing she had going last series and it was appr. I still get kind of perturbed thinking about the fact that they're playing the Doctor and Missy as best friends, but I can only hope that they turn that angle on its head at some point. I also am slightly less annoyed that Missy is back and got "exterminated" by the Daleks, as I think both her death by Cyberbrig and by the Daleks is going to be explained away through her vortex manipulator. As long as they touch on how she escapes both of these instances, I will forgive Moffat for bringing her back.
I loved Davros and the angle of meeting a child Davros. I dunno, I had such a problem w/ Clara meeting the child-Doctor last series, but I feel like this just feels less forced. The Doctor and Davros' fates should always be intertwined, but inserting Clara into the Doctor's direct past as a child felt like overstepping - if that makes sense. I also loved Colony Sarrf. He was a properly creepy new villain that I feel like has the potential to be expanded on someday down the line.
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I love Classic Who, but there were some awful eps (most of #7, unfortunately) as well. And New Who has the Angels, and whatever the hell was on the train in 'Midnight,' the Vashta Narada. New Who tapped into the knowledge that what you can't see A) scares the crap out of you, and B) is cheap (Angels can be any and every statue- remember)***
I'm glad NuWho fans are appreciating the OG's of DW in Daleks, Cybermen, and the Master, but have nice additions w/ "The Angels," River Song, & Ghosts! The continuity hasn't been egregiously overlooked; some cannons still exist!
***I'm pleased that Moffat is giving the Daleks a little more respect then he did at the very beginning of his tenure. They hardly had any presence in Series 5, and in Series 6 they were serving a short 1-year hiatus.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that in both "Asylum of the Daleks" and "The Magician's Apprentice," Moffat seems to favour the Off-World Adventure style over the World Invasions. In both occasions the Daleks were actually present on Earth, in 'AotD' where they abduct Amy and Rory in broad daylight and in 'TMA' where they procure the TARDIS from 13th Century England.
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Even if the Daleks haven't, probably the creators have figured out that there's only so much you can do, tension- and probably originality-wise, in a "Oh No, the Daleks are invading Earth!"-storyline. I liked both eps. Clara's opening act was great (though could've done w/o the "DW?" at the end) and this ep... well, we'll just have to see, won't we? I liked 'Asylum' more, on the 1st 45 min though.
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Wouldn't it be intriguing if the Doctor was responsible for actually creating the Daleks? - The thing that's interesting to me is that if that's the angle they go w/, he won't have created Davros just by ditching him, but b/c of that speech about survival. - Esp. for a kid, I can see how what the Doctor said w/b taken to heart, and we all know that by the X he creates the Daleks Davros views survival as paramount to all else.
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The TARDIS was not used for 'Genesis' or the follow up story, but was a regular feature for most of the Classic series. The other exception was during the majority of Pertwee's 1st 3 seasons, when the Time Lords had exiled the Doctor to Earth and disabled the TARDIS.
The sonic was 1st introduced during the Troughton era IIRC, and was basically just a high tech screwdriver/skeleton key. During the later Tom Baker years, it became more of a magic wand, and in the Davison era it was destroyed, not to return until the McGann movie.
Physical confrontation was rare, but not unheard of, during the Hartnell and Troughton eras, but Pertwee's Doctor, trying to capture more of a James Bond feel, was very physical, being an expert in Venusian Karate/Aikido (depending on the writer). One of the 1st things T. Baker did was to demand a less physical Doctor, but he still got his knuckles bruised on occasion.
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...In fact it was a joke in "Day of the Doctor" when the 3 Doctors are surrounded and Tennent and Smith's Doctors take out their screwdrivers and point them at the knights/guards. John Hurt's "War Doctor" says: "put those away! what're you going to do? assemble a cabinet?"
As for the TARDIS: in most of the old Who stories, the TARDIS was originally just transport. The Doctor wasn't some intergalactic super swashbuckler (...well aside from maybe Pertwee's 3rd Doctor to some degree). He was just a traveler, wanderer more hobo than hero (which I believe Troughton's 2nd Doctor has been described). for most of the stories: the Tardis materializes, the Doctor and his companion(s) step out and the story begins, at the end they walk into the TARDIS and leave. That describes 90% of the old Doctor Who stories (aside from the stories while the 3rd Doctor was stranded on Earth).
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Hartnell's stories usually had scenes in the console room either at the start or end of the story whereas in Troughton's era there seemed to be more "the TARDIS materialises, everyone gets out and then that's it til the end of the story" ...and yes the sonic screwdriver has become ridiculous in the new series. In Classic Who, it was used as a lock pick (only effective on some locks) and then its other functions tending to be things that could realistically be SONIC, not like Tennant shutting door from across the street w/ it or Smith using it seemingly for medical and technical diagnoses.***
***The Witch's Familiar - Still a bit confused on the whole sewer and as to why it attacked its own. I fell for Davros' trickery too. I thought it so touching and then to hear him crack a joke and they both laughed! Now that was an excellent build up for the big reveal when it happened. Who knew Davros was such a great actor!?
ReplyDeleteI liked that the Doctor told Missy to run when seeing Clara in a Dalek casing. I thought, "Whoa, went a bit far. The Doctor may smack her one." I mean we all know what Clara went through and how they met, so it mhb hard on the Doctor to see a friend be something he knows later she will become. Can't wait to see if there is any affect on her from the X spent in the casing and wondering if any of the Time Lord energy made it to her.
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The way I figured it, was when the Daleks "aged" and broke down, they were literally poured out down the sewers. Only problem is, Daleks don't die. They lived on under the sewers, cursed to live eternally as slime under their own city. When the "living" active Daleks were granted regeneration energy, the slime revolted and rose from the sewers - possibly in an attempt to claim that energy for themselves. I thought the Doctor and Davros' scenes were so well done. Props to both Capaldi and the actor playing Davros.
I thought that Clara getting inside the Dalek casing was a wonderful callback to Jenna's 1st episode in the series. And I appr. that they reminded the audience that despite the fact that Missy is constantly cracking jokes, she is still evil as all get out.
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Will there be more to the hybrid prophesy? Two warrior races combining- Seems like too big an idea for 5 mins of screentime. - Yeah, I think it's safe to say, their going to go into why did the Doctor leave Gallifrey this season. ...I always assumed it would have to be a loss of epic proportions if he got sick of his life so much he would abandon his home planet for around 600 years.
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They explained in the ep. why he left, the TL's wanted to create a hybrid w/ Daleks and he wanted no part of it, that's why he ran away. But why on Earth would they want to make a hybrid w/ their enemy? And the only reason there are Dalaks is b/c the Doctor for some reason refuses to kill them. Every X the Doctor has to save people or himself from Daleks, but he won't do anything about it... here he had a chance and still acted like a coward.
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So why combine Time Lords and Daleks? A Dalek ages, but is kept alive & ready to fight in his "can." So even w/ age, he's the perfect killing machine. A TL can get very, very old & regenerate. So if you combine both, you get a very tough almost undying soldier.
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Why would the TL's want killing machines? Unless it's all nonsense, j/b Davros says they wanted to do it doesn't mean they did. Maybe it was Davros who wanted a hyprid. Also, a Time Lord/Dalek hybrid is just a bad as they Human/Dalek hybrid concept a few years ago.
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You still don't get it. At the X this idea mhb proposed both races were in TOTAL WAR. Planets died. Billions of people died. Reality got ripped into shreds. They would have done anything. The Doctor took weapons from the TL Council, b/c he was afraid what they would do w/ so much power ("the moment") and there are other examples of how they failed. The Time Lord Council was afraid that they would/could lose & tried desperate things. So it may not have been Davros alone trying to create things.***
***What the heck happened to Moffat btw series 8 & 9. This 2 part opener was far & away the best set of eps Moffat has ever made for this show. My fave series opener, possibly of them all and nearly perfect as well. I would rate the 1st part an 8/10, and the 2nd part a 9/10. The only thing I took issue w/ was the whole concept at the end of the Daleks not understanding 'Mercy' - b/c IIRC they've said it before. IIRC the Dalek in "The Big Bang" that River kills begs for mercy, but the Doctor definitely wasn't around to hear it. It's a pretty nifty call back to that moment though if that's what Moffat was intending to do.
ReplyDeleteMissy was GREAT in this ep. I have never even cracked a smile at Missy's lines in Dark Water or Death in Heaven, and here she had me ROLLING! I loved that the fact that she's indeed evil wasn't ignored, but was played up to make her a downright campy and hilarious villain and foil for Clara in this ep. Clara inside the Dalek, was an absolutely genius callback to Oswin from Asylum. Loved every moment of it.
And damn it, I bought Davros' acting and actually felt sympathy for him for a minute, right up until the Doctor lit his hand up w/ regeneration energy, and then it was like being punched in the gut. Capaldi was absolutely fabulous in this ep. He's now at the top of my list of fave Doctors. The scene of him in Davros' chair was great. I'm not sure what happened to Moffat, but if he keeps this up for the rest of the series I may well forgive him entirely for past transgressions.
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I loved the way the ep. managed to reference and pay homage to several other Dalek stories (like Asylum of the Daleks ofc) while never letting it get in the way of the story that's being told. I noticed quite a few and I'm fairly sure I might see even more after I watch it again.
I LOVED Capaldi's delivery when he said "I came... b/c you're sick and you asked. And b/c sometimes, on a good day, if I try... very hard, I'm not some old TL who ran away." He is magnificent in the ep. and I'm really happy you even have him on the top of your list now. I'm gonna have to wait until at least after this season in order for me to figure out where I'd put him, but if he continues like this... that #1 spot is not going to be that far away.
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...Those were mutants that Davros had stated were the likely ultimate fate of the Dalek's though it is unclear if this is really the case. They had been working to breed OUT the emotions he viewed as weakest.***
Funny how Davros wants to drive out all semblance of a weakness when he uses emotion against his adversaries all the X. He knows to go after the Doctor's friends to find him, played the "sick and dying card" that suckered us all, then gloats all too soon. It makes more sense to wait until success before belly-laughing prematurely.
***It is true, and the Daleks recognized it when they went looking for Davros in 'Destiny...' b/c they were unable to beat so many races despite being 'perfect' as far as they knew so they figured their creator needed to give them something else. Being able to think like the enemy is a big help, and this is exactly what you are talking about here. It was already safe to gloat as far as Davros Knew...there was nothing to go wrong except for that which he forgot. It's also worth noting that the trip back to 'help' Davros was 100% needed to make sure he would not kill Clara.***
***Rate the 1st story of each Doctor:
ReplyDeleteDoc 1: The Unearthly Child 6/10
(started off very well in the 1st ep., but the 3 after that is quite dull). Had it just been the 1st ep. it w/b 9/10
Doc 2: Power of the Daleks 7/10
(Heard it on audiobook)
Doc 3: Spearhead from Space 7/10
Doc 4: Robot 8/10
Doc 5: Castrovalva 9/10
Doc 6: The Twin Dilemma 6/10
(I am starting to enjoy this one every X I watch it)
Doc 7: Time & The Rani 6/10
(Something odd and nice about it, but IDK what it is. I prefer to watch it that most of S 8.
Doc 8: The Movie 7/10
War Doctor: Day of the Doctor 7/10
Chose that 1 as he's in that mostly
Doc 9: Rose 7/10
Doc 10: The Christmas Invasion 7/10
Doc 11: The Eleventh Hour 8/10
Doc 12: Deep Breath 7/10
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In "Genesis Of The Daleks," the Doctor puts forth a hypothetical to Davros. If he had developed a virus that could kill everything on contact, would he release it? Davros said he would b/c such power would set him up above the gods. But, the virus would also kill HIM. If everything is dead, nothing w/b left to remember his name. So, which is more likely for Davros's character; That he'd rather kill everything including himself just for the sake of knowing that he had killed everything? Or that he'd not release the virus b/c it would also mean his death and no one would remember him? His ego is so large that I doubt he'd kill everything and leave nothing behind to remember he did it. The Daleks make more sense for his kind of psyche. They would live on long after he was gone, even if as a symbol of hate.
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I think he'd do it, mainly b/c he's completely deranged. Davros would certainly enjoy being able to threaten other races w/ it and he'd have no hesitation in breaking the capsule.***
Well if you think about, the same result would occur w/ his plans in using the "reality bomb" way back when! He was willing to eviscerate the universe, wipe everything out of existence, but leave him and his Daleks the lone existing entities. Sounds almost like the same thing to me.
***Well, the reality bomb does leave him and the Daleks alive afterwards as the only life forms in the universe. W/ the vial of virus, it would kill Davros as well as everything else, leaving nothing behind to remember that he did it.
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...U.N.I.T. is Earth's 1st line of defence against aliens if the Doc ain't around.***
Their job has devolved into finding the Doctor when a crisis arises, but in lieu of him, they take the lead of his most current companion. I was sorta appalled watching Stu looking to Clara for all the answers.
***One X characters you wished had become companions***
Someone more current from the Orient Express ep.; the engineer The Doctor invited to travel w/ him. Probably whb as helpful as an Adric, Cap. Jack, or Turlough.
***I would have really liked him too. It's nice when there's someone on the TARDIS who also understands the technology. Besides ---- not a young woman from contemporary Earth.
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...I also liked the chief engineer from 'MOTOE.' Can't remember his name, but thought he worked well w/ the Doctor. -In the Fifth Doctor's era 1981-1984 in total he traveled w/ 3 women and there was never any tension***
Oh the jealousy scenes didn't start occurring until NuWho; Rose, Amy, Martha. Rose was almost going at it "catty-like" w/ Sarah Jane in "School Reunion."
***Yes I hate that. Sarah Jane should have said 'I traveled w/ Jon Pertwee & Tom Baker; I win, I also met Patrick Troughton & Peter Davison'***
Doctor WHO:
ReplyDelete***What do you think of S9 of NuWho? - Its obviously streets ahead of series 8; the worst of all DW.
Rate eps like this...
The Magicians Apprentice/ 5/10 There's some good and bad here. Julian Bleach obviously excellent Davros. The sets were visually stunning and it was great seeing all the Daleks together; also the opening w/ the young Davros was one of the most effective moments in Who history. Sadly however there was a lot of shit in this story too. Missy was as insufferable as ever in both her attempts to be menacing and funny. The tank bit made me cringe and the plot was paper thin.
The Witch is Familiar/ 7/10 Brilliant ep. For once I actually liked Missy. Why the fuck could Missy not have been written like this in her previous 3 eps? WHY? Here she was actually like Anthony Ainley. She was a cruel, manipulative, back stabbing worm ready to FK everybody over just to save her own miserable neck. She was smart, ruthless and she hated the Doctor. The bit where she tried to trick the Doctor into murdering Clara was perfect. Really showed you how vicious she was. Also refreshingly The Doctor HATED her and left her to die. No more kissing her after she does horrendous things to people! Michelle Gomez also having been given a character to play rather than a series of jokes was excellent! Also loved the Davros bits. Bit nervous about Davros at 1st, but I liked it being a trick in the end. Points off only b/c we didn't get more of Gomez and Bleach together. Still, even then it was funny when she poked him in the eye. Gomez is very funny, but the material she has been served had been shit in previous eps.
Under the Lake 8/10 fabulous old horror movie style ep. Really evoked the feel of classic era stories like "The Ark In Space" and the monsters were creepy as FK. Loved the Scots fan girl; was so gorgeous! All of the characters were well fleshed out though they weren't just red shirts.
Before The Flood 8/10 good, strong story, though the monster was a bit generic. It was still a decent adventure none-the-less. Was sad that the sexy Scots fan girl got killed, but the ending w/ her ghost and that guy admitting he loved her was very moving.
The Girl Who Died 7/10 Decent adventure. Maisie Wms was great and I actually didn't mind the resolution. I thought it made sense as those guys were clearly miles gloriouses. Capaldi was excellent too, but some of the moments in this were just too silly.
The Woman Who Lived 8/10 Maisie Wms was excellent and her and Capaldi played brilliantly off of one another. The ep kind of lost its way a bit when the Lion man showed up, but overall it was pretty good.
The Zygon Invasion 9/10 Best ep this season by far. And NO that's not b/c of a certain bespectled unbelievably cute UNIT scientist that I have a MASSIVE crush on, though that didn't hurt. This 1 was real old fashioned Pertwee era fun, the Zygons were great, and Jenna Coleman was brilliant as Bonnie the evil Zygon Clara.
The great thing about this series is that they seem to have tried hard to capture the feel of the classic era. The Witch is Familiar is real Terry Nation style fun. You have a trek through a dangerous cavern into a Dalek city, someone hiding inside a Dalek, and also look at the Dalek city too, whilst obviously the Zygon Invasion has a real Pertwee feel to it.
Overall brilliant series so far.***
***The Hybrid is a Warning about Immortality. - It’s no-one in particular but a warning from beyond the grave. It originated from the Matrix for a reason, it is a realization from dead Timelords about the purpose of mortality and the dangers of circumventing it. Bit poetic that it is found via deathbed confession, that to know it you have to be dead.
ReplyDeleteThe Hybrid is what happens when someone with the ability to exist for near perpetuity is ‘married’ to a mortal, that they can’t bare let death do them part so they toss out the rules and risk the universe to save them no matter the cost. The reason why it originates on Gallifrey is b/c they're the most advanced civilization in the universe w/ the means to extend life beyond natural death, as shown by them granting the Doctor more regens beyond his own lifespan.
...Interesting the Timelord Victorious plot is similar to the Hybrid. Upon saving Adelaide & co from their deaths, the Doctor was going down the dangerous path of playing w/ life. It’s no Hybrid as the Doctor was alone and not particularly attached to Adelaide. But it tackles the same themes. In a way you could say that the memory of Donna’s loss hanging over him does fulfil the Hybrid prophercy b/c it is about loss or fearing the loss of a loved companion.
Ashildr was another potential Hybrid b/c the Doctor couldn’t bare to have her die. But in X he saw his mistake and didn’t have any real connection or love for her. If he had struck a lasting bond w/ her and they had travelled as two near immortals, it would have brought on chaos. But w/ Ashildr, she also purposely avoid such relationships due to her nature.
Clara and the Doctor was another potential be/c the Doctor was willing to break whatever law that stood in his way to keep Clara going forever. You could say that Rose and the Doctor could have become another Hybrid too, since they were towards the end burning suns just to talk to each other, but at that point the 10th had enough respect for the natural order that he left Rose for good.
As for Jack, I think RTD explained in Torchwood that he's actually slowly aging and he threw in the bit about the Face of Boe to confuse Jack’s situation. So I guess he isn’t as immortal as RTD 1st intended.
Going a bit meta here but it is Moffat explaining why the Doctor has to say goodbye to his companions and why the Timelords have regeneration limits. Someday you have to say goodbye and that everyone must die for the natural order.
But it’s no mistake that the Sisterhood of Karn turned up on Gallifrey, as the other civilization that grants a form of immortality, they knew the dangers of what the Doctor was up to. They didn’t see it as the Hybrid, as that is a uniquely Timelord myth, a warning that other civilizations could only take to mean something else.
You can chalk the Hybrid up another bit of Timelord lore like Rassilon’s Tomb from "The Five Doctors." All designed to persuade Timelords away from dabbling in true immortality.
This gets a little philosophical now, but there's also different states of immortality. There is eternity and sempiternity; 1 meaning to exist outside of X and 1 meaning to exist w/i X. The Doctor getting close to the edge of X in an attempt to save Clara, only had 1 step close to testing the theory of existing outside of X and what that entails is probably the definition of chaos.***
***Ashildr is effectively immortal since she proved she could last till the end of X. So your point that immortality is an unprovable philosophic concept is not valid in the DW universe. When even the primitive Mire can produce a good-enough solution to immortality, that's when you know immortality ain't worth a whole lot.
ReplyDeleteThe problem started w/ RTD and continued w/ Moffat (though Moffat is more guilty) that everything has to be bigger and grander. Now everything is too big and too grand, which effectively makes everything equally small and meaningless (kind of like Hitchhiker when the colonists to Earth decide to make leaves their currency - everyone had tons of leaves, so the currency became meaningless).
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The Doctor was President twice and did nothing about the inequities.***
Technically The Doctor has been the "Lord President" since "Invasion Of Time" IIRC! If you're saying while he was in charge and on Gallifrey, he really didn't do anything about the inequities! ;-)
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***Yeah, the whole quality of mercy present in the Daleks makes no narrative sense. If the Doctor did eventually introduce mercy to Davros and he introduced that into his creations, how come the Daleks NEVER showed mercy before in the series? It should have retroactively taken effect NOT just been there conveniently when the Doctor needed it to save Clara.***
Well that's part of the reasons some have trouble dealing w/ the inconsistencies or lack of continuity. They can always deal w/ it later of course, a Doctor or 2 down the line. I'm still trying to figure out how they are to overturn "cannon" of 12 regenerations? Did River Song give him more incarnations? W/o the Time Lords, he will just continue to regenerate ad infinitum? I'm sure it's been discussed, but my attention span is short; novels posted won't even get a good scan. lol... ;-)
***The Time Lords peaked through a crack in the universe and gave him 12 new regenerations. Of course, that was the same story where we discovered he was on his final life, which retroactively messed up, among other things, a major plot point in "The Impossible Astronaut." Honestly "The Time of the Doctor" was a horrible ep. for me. It ages the Doctor more than 1000 years for no good reason and sees him do a bunch of silly things like run around naked for the 1st 20 mins of the show.
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What are some ex. of Dr. Who and Blake's 7 using the same assets?
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056751/board/nest/251007507?d=251205667#251205667 -
Crossover actors: Bruce Purchase (Captain -'Pirate Planet' & Gola -'The Keeper'), John Leeson (K9 & Toise -'Gambit'), Colin Baker (6th Doctor & Bayban the Butcher -'City At The Edge Of The World'), Michael Keating (Vila -'B7' & A Rebel -'The Sunmakers'), Paul Darrow (Avon -'B7 & Cap. Hawkins -'The Silurians' & 'Maylin Tekker' in 'Timelash'), Jacq. Pearce (Chessene of the Franzine Grig & Brian Croucher (Travis) showing up in 'Robots Of Death'), Richard Hurndall ('Assassin' & The Doctor -'The Five Doctors')***
And no one brings up the most important reason "DW" & "B7" are considered sisters in so many ways; TERRY NATION! :-)
***They took the most anticipated ep. since the 50th An. and turned it into a pathetic love story about Clara! The 1st 10-15 mins were outstanding and I thought this was going to be an all X classic. I sure ended up disappointed in "Hell Bent."
ReplyDelete#1 It negated a powerful death by a companion.
#2 Marginalized a powerful set up ep. last wk.
#3 Minimized the return of the Timelords.
Throughout the Doctor's entire life the only character he cares that much about is Clara? He's willing to break the laws of X and space for her? Wow, the show's producers sure fall over backwards trying to prove how important Clara is.***
I can't agree more to all that's been expressed! Another one of those sappy "ROSE" endings when he s/b as cold as a fish! ;-)
***I disagree, the Doctor never angsted THIS much over Rose. - Dont forgot the Doctors Valeyard like speech to Aslidir in "Face The Raven" felt redundant. I actually didn't think she w/b back, but oh well.
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All true. Not to mention that they went down almost the same path as they did w/ both Amy and Donna once again. Can't ever be together again for some reason. Come to think of it, even Rose had a similar departure. Funny how amongst all those spectacular departures it's actually Martha that gets to stand out as special being the only companion that actually gets to simply leave. Hah!
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...I neither liked nor hated Clara...she was just there and as far as companions go, was usually decent enough if a tad overbearing at X's. Perhaps then that was the real issue many of us had w/ the finale: major plot elements being relegated in favor of an ultimately unremarkable supporting character who eventually had two fucking emotional send offs, 3 bloody eps devoted entirely to her (even if her appearence in 'Heaven Sent' was fleeting).....yet not remotely having the gravitas to warrant it.***
Amen!
***Surprised we haven't had this brought up before, but the woman who turned up in the barn; is that meant to be the Doctor's mum? I know it was left ambiguous so people can make their own minds up, but what do people think? It could've been a regenerated version of the woman from "End Of Time."***
Every X there's a mystery woman on Gallifrey who the Doctor looks at w/ recognition, we seem to identify her as his mother! Most people I know think she's the one on the "High Council" of Time Lords who influenced him to shoot equipment in "The End Of Time!" The woman in this ep. more likely his mother since I recognize that barn he talked about where he was so scared as a child! Clara whispered in his ear and reassured him in a ridiculous ep. from last season!
***"She's the Doctor's son, obviously. It's the only answer that makes sense in Moffat's world." - I think you might be onto something there.***
I like it! This was only the 2nd X it became possibly that the sex can change of a TL after regeneration; the Master being the 1st IIRC!
***Rate: The Master: I think Roger Delgado as The Master was perfect and easily my fave Doctor Who villain ever, w/ "The Daemons & The Sea Devils" being my fave Pertwee stories ever w/ "Terror Of The Autons & The Mind Of Evil" being great too, though I enjoyed all his stories, he has never been surpassed.
ReplyDeletePeter Pratt and Geoffrey Beevers who appeared in "The Deadly Assassin" (Pratt) & "The Keeper Of Traken" (Beevers) as the dying Master were also good w/ Pratt being better.
Anthony Ainley, I thought was a joke as The Master and ruined the character; the annoying laugh every scene, the campness, etc were too annoying. How
he defeated and forced the best and strongest Doctor to regnerate was insulting, very unbelievable, in "Mark Of The Rani;" The Rani is easily better.
I didn't like Jacobi. John Simm was ok and I quite like Michelle Gomez as Missy.
Only seen the McGann film once, can't remember Eric Roberts much.
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Roger Delgado - 5/5. The role was written for him. So how could he possibly go wrong? Absolutely perfect.
Peter Pratt - 4/5. It's no easy feat to replace a much-beloved original and perform behind a mask w/ only your voice to add characterisation.
Geoffrey Beevers - 3/5. Another good addition. Almost as good as Peter Pratt, but didn't quite have the voice for it.
Anthony Ainley - 4/5. A fine actor forced to play the role as if he were a pantomime villain. Thank you very bloody much JNT.
Eric Roberts - 3/5. Not so much a pantomime villain as a comic book one. But he's an American after all. However, he still did quite a fair job.
Derek Jacobi - 5/5. A very fine actor. Just such a shame he was so short-lived. Such a waste.
John Simm - 5/5. The best interpretation of the Master since the original. No 2 Doctors are the same, so why should the Master be?
Michelle Gomez - 1/5. A fine actress, but the wrong gender for the role. She would have made an absolutely superb Rani. Such a waste. SM should have
his arse removed.
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Delgado: The 1st and still the best, IMO.
Derek Jacobi: Owned the role for but a few minutes, but cemented #2 position for me.
Anthony Ainley: His relish in playing the character guarantees him 3rd place in my affections.
Peter Pratt/Geoffrey Beavers: Joint forth as I couldn't choose btw them. The Master w/ his skin of charm removed, showing the vicious creature beneath.
Eric Roberts: Terminator impression notwithstanding, at least he remained merely camp, not zany.
John Simm: Overdoing the zany, in a supposed mirror of the Tennant Doctor.
Michelle Gomez: Is this a joke? Moffat called this - his idea - "an instant hit"?!? Not according to anyone I know or the people that they know; all of whom have boycotted the show b/c of their disgust at the "Mistress." Terrance Dicks is none too happy either and has said that Barry Letts whb unimpressed too. If only it had been the Rani. Too late now. Tragic.***
I have to agree w/ you:
- Delgado
- Pratt/Beavers
- Roberts
- Simm
- Gomez
***If you're watching all 52 eps of "Blake's 7" in a run, try them in this order:
ReplyDeleteThe Way Back
...
Blake
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OK Now for the re-arranged list W/ commentary
(out of original TV order are in *asterisks*)
-=S 1=-
The Way Back
Spacefall
Cygnus Alpha
Time Squad
The Web
Seek-Locate-Destroy
Mission to Destiny
Duel
*Breakdown*
*Bounty*
*Project Avalon*
Deliverance
ORAC
[Project Avalon-Redemption makes a nice linked 4-story arc. Travis is shamed & dethroned in PA, seen languishing in Deliverance & recruited for the mission to Aristo, then of course Ensor's son leaves the power cells w/ Blake...in Redemption]
-=S 2=-
Redemption
Shadow
*Horizon*
*Weapon*
Pressure Point
Trial
Killer
Hostage
*Voice From the Past*
*Countdown*
Gambit
The Keeper
Star One
[For the last 1/2 of Shadow, the crew are wearing white or light-colored, flowing hot weather garb, and are notably grumpy and irritated w/ each other. The logical progression of this idea is played out in the beginning of Horizon, where the crew are exhausted; presumably the beginning stages of this exhaustion are seen in Shadow. ...By the beginning of Weapon, they all seem to be refreshed and back to 100%. Cally mentions Blake plans to soon attack "Federation HQs on Earth itself," hence their needing to raid the weapons development base. This is the logical segway to Pressure Point.]
[I've flipped Voice and Countdown, j/b I like the idea of another linked 4-story arc... The quest for Star One: Provine-> Doccholi-> Lurgen's brain scan-> Star One!]
-=S 3=-
Aftermath
Power Play
Volcano
Dawn of the Gods
Harvest of Kairos
*UltraWorld*
*City at the Edge of the World*
*Moloch*
*Death-Watch*
*Children of Auron*
*Sarcophagus*
*Rumors of Death*
Terminal
[Some fairly heavy re-arranging here, ...Volcano has to stay in place ... I like to get Dawn-Ultraworld out of the way b/c in many ways these are some of the weakest eps of the entire show. ...]
For another VERY under-appreciated linked 4-story arc... enjoy Children of Auron-->Sarcophagus-->Rumors Of Death-->Terminal. I feel it more clearly depicts the "descent of Avon" you may have seen written about elsewhere.
[In Children of Auron, Avon is clearly evidencing wounded pride & desire via the scorn of sexual tension. Cally is traumatized by the senseless and indulgent massacre of her homeworld. This links nicely to the opening of Sarcophagus where Cally is expressing a forlorn longing for Auron and lamenting how she will never see it again. ...This makes a logical segway into Rumors Of Death where Avon feels the need to track down a former true love. By ep's end, Avon has truths of his true love's real identity revealed which deeply shock him, and Servalan's baroque attempt to dramatically synchronize her killing of Avon w/ the teleport process is thwarted. This sets the stage for Terminal, in which it c/b read that Avon's deep shock leads him to reach out for his last trusted relationship: Blake. W/ her typical classic scheming, Servalan attempts to finish what she started w/ Avon, perhaps having accurately assessed his psychological need to reach out for a terra firma relationship; someone whose "simple minded certainties would be refreshing."]
-=S 4=-
Rescue
Power
Traitor
*Animals*
*Stardrive*
Headhunter
Assassin
Games
Sand
Gold
Orbit
Warlord
Blake
[The least amount of rearranging here. ...instead of ruthlessly slaying Dr. Plaxton at the end of Stardrive, I would have kept her on board for my preferred next ep Headhunter. ...True, the Scorpio does make a fast getaway from Bucol 2 in Animals. This presumably was due to the fruition of Avon's payload booster modifications discussed previously in Traitor.]
[I've always thought the last 4 eps stood as a strong linked 4-story arc leading to the end of the show. Gold, Orbit, Warlord, Blake... Avon's misjudgements and ultimately false leadership become more and more pronounced; a bigger screw up each time, leading to... well, we all know what happens.]***
Thanks!
***Thoughts on the final ep.--rushed & cliched! - ..."OK, let's just kill everyone off in the last 3 mins."
ReplyDelete---
My impression immediately was that the final shot was from Servalan's POV, & Avon was pointing the gun @ her w/ the intention of killing her even if it meant he would die. Avon looks up from Blake's body & str. into the camera, looking not @, but btw the 2 troops in front of him. He raises the gun & then gives that spiteful grin he so often had afforded Servalan in past confrontations. It's also mentioned earlier in the ep. that a Federation inspector is due to arrive at Gauda Prime soon. To me, it always seemed obvious that it ended up being her & Avon was directing his last act towards her.
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The final ep.'s certainly controversial. On 1 hand, it WAS a success b/c it has always been talked about ever since it aired. As for thematic flaws, I think the series (as cast/staff interviews will confirm) had gone somewhat adrift on tone, theme & style.
The gritty, grimy 1st 2 yrs of the show depicted elitist plans for a brutal fascist police state, set against a brave-new-world-esque panopoly of technology. S 3 descended into a story-of-the-week format w/ a 'reset button' @ the end of every show, & morphed Avon & Servalan into arch versions of their earlier characters who espoused ever-rising hubris; a lord-of-the-plantation callous mentality. S 4 (responding to the oil-streaked industrial aesthetics seen in the newly released, popular films Alien & Outland) attempted a glossy, high tech rendition of the original crew's remnants as 'admirable rogue' space pirates beset w/ mundane difficulties of outrunning patrols, routine maintenance, & pulling off heist strategies.
...which of the shows running themes & motifs would you work with?
1] Gritty realism... as w/ real life rebels, despite their heightened reputation, often X's they are gunned down in an unglamorous 'back corner' setting.
2] A glossy, 'lyrical' sequence against a techno-backdrop... complete w/ slow-motion video effects, discotheque flashing lights, & a soundtrack that adds layers of audio elements in the same way electronica music's composed. The movements w/ which the multitude of guards surround Avon, the camera sweeping around, Avon raising the rifle... is all timed & choreographed.
3] A conclusion to the Avon/Servalan sexual tension... I have read consistent rumors of Servalan showing up at the last moment, revealing that all this was a trap for Avon & crew. Avon/Servalan represented huge personalities of 2 diff. criminal types (Avon as most wanted outlaw & Servalan as corrupt elitist coup-usurper) & together had espoused a "this town isn't big enough for the both of us" personality power struggle.
For Servalan to come wafting in at the last moment, seductively run her hand & forearm up and down Avon's chest & jawbone (as she does so well), then depart & snap her fingers to authorize the execution... that whb the tightest way to do it in terms of 'tying loose ends.'
How do you resolve & conclude a show that has had its theme & tone morph several X's? Do you try to incorporate the motifs of all the shows various phases?***
No 1 more of a deep down fan, but outside of the show & a couple radio plotlines set 20 yrs after "Blake," I just haven't devoted much X & energy experiencing fringe eps! Did you listen to You Tube's offering of "The Mark Of Kane" or "The logic Of Empire?"
***I think the idea in MARK OF KANE that Gan was actually a ruthless serial killer who had lied to Blake was a wonderfully chilling 1. It makes you see the character in a whole new light. ...It w/b a shame if these 2 audio efforts got forgotten though. Any Blake w/ the orig. actors' better than those Ben Aaronovitch efforts @ rebooting series.***