What's That You Say? A New Whovie?

So news has broken (sort of) that a new Doctor Who movie is in the works and that they are lining up David Yates (Harry Potter) to direct. Aside from the fact that I'm not entirely sure I want another reboot hitting the screens - I'm perfectly satisfied with the current incarnation of Doctor Who - this movie is decidedly quite a ways off.

As this article points out rather well, the film is "in development" meaning most likely there's maybe a rough outline and probably not even a whole script yet. What this also means is that the entire project could be scrapped before anyone even says, "go."

And while I rather like this list of fan-picked Doctor's, if they do make a movie, I'd prefer it to stay in continuity with the TV show and have Matt Smith, or his eventual successor, snag the role. Which I think is probably the sentiment of most Whovians out there. Of course we want more exposure and more people to fall in love with the Doctor Who phenomenon, but do we really need to bastardize the show in order to do that?

I, for one, say we do not. Hollywood has this habit of taking a good thing and beating it to death. Literally. How many buddy comedies have come out lately? Rom-coms? Horror films? Thrillers? These were all inspired by good things - Hitchcock, Animal House, His Girl Friday, Nosferatu...And now those genres are almost synonymous with Hollywood fluff.

Sometimes you just need to leave well enough alone.

Two Mad Men With a Box

With the second half of series six of Doctor Who underway on BBC America, I thought it'd be fun to share my thoughts on the most recent Doctors.

There's the constant question...which Doctor is better, the best, more likable. They are constantly being compared to each other. I don't think that's quite the right way to look at it. When the Doctor regenerates, yes he changes physically, but there's very clearly psychological change that takes place. And let's think about it this way - if you died, something would change about you on a mental level as well. You might be grateful, pissed, resentful, overjoyed, relieved. About a million different emotions go into it.
When David Tennant's Doctor arrives, we find him re-awakened. Christopher Eccleston's portrayal is sardonic, angry, and in a lot of denial about the events of the Time War. By the time he regenerates to Tennant, we find that he's moved on to deep sorrow balanced out by a brilliantly curious quirkiness. This is a Doctor who grins like he means it. He says things like "alonzi," eager for plain fun adventure. He handles his foes with less anger and more of a controlled contempt for violence than anything.

Through three seasons, we peel away the layers of this Doctor who thoroughly enjoys life; he's genuinely excited and thrilled to be on this adventure. He's got no time for evildoers, and though he always presents the chance to change, when disappointed he can be ruthless. Which is one reason he needs a companion, to balance him out, remind him why he travels. 

This Doctor makes himself more accessible to his companions and we find that beneath his jovial exterior beat two very feeling hearts. By making himself more amiable, more available to love, he's made himself more open to heartbreak as well. He constantly must tear open the wounds of his past in order to save the people he loves. And that's the kind of thing that changes a man...or Time Lord. Towards the end, we see the Doctor alone, trying to figure out exactly who and what he is, and in one of the most heart-wrenching moments of the show, he's not ready to leave when it's his time to go. He's not done; but it's time.

And so Tennant's Doctor dies and Matt Smith's Doctor is born from the ashes. Right away, there's something a bit mad about him. It's no longer quirky; it's aloof bordering on insanity. Alien. And then there's the anger. I think the madness is a defense mechanism, hiding the anger deep away inside. If he can deflect long enough, maybe he won't think about all the pain he endured so recently, maybe he can forget the sacrifices he's made to save Earth. But that anger sits just below the surface - do anything to make it bubble through and instantly regret it.

A line Matt Smith repeats, "Never had that before," seems to be apt for the changes present in this Doctor. He's never been quite this angry, quite this vengeful, or confrontational. He's lost the people he loves before and now heaven help anybody who comes between him and his companions. The Doctor was always protective of his companions, but never quite to this extent.


This Doctor brings a whole new set of rules. He tends to lie and isn't as opposed to killing (or at least allowing killing) as he was before. I think if this wasn't balanced out with Matt Smith's incredible ability to act like a six year old and nine hundred year old at the same time, we'd lose our affection for him from time to time. He pushes the limits, but hey, the best heroes do.

And the best heroes evolve, which is the beauty of the temporal nature of the Doctor character archetype. A man who can change his face, change his self, but always retains some essence of the same person. 


So for all those imdb message board trolls going, "Tennant is way better, bring him back," or "No, you suck monkey brains, Matt Smith is the best ever," let's all try and remember that you're basically trying to compare performances of two different characters. And that never really works. So just enjoy them both and get on with enjoying this fantastic show.

Doctor Who: Top Ten Scary Awesome Enemies (modern)

EDIT:
So I needed to come back and do an update because (and I am really kicking myself here) I completely forgot one. After all that writing and editing and re-writing. At minimum they get honorable mention, but I really think they belong further down the list so I think a revised top ten would look like this:

Article proper:
What good is any fan blog without an old-fashioned countdown?! This is the first of many planned and hopefully I'll do all of them in time. As I've mentioned before, we're dealing with strictly Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat episodes here. As I become more of a Whovian, I will expand. Don't hate. Also, this is written assuming you are up to date on Who and let this serve as a spoiler warning to you if you are not.

So yes, the scariest enemies, meaning villains, monsters, or otherwise. Starting with:


10. The Monster From "Midnight"

Difficult to find a picture for this. We never actually see the monster from Midnight (or do we?). There's a lot of loud noises, the front of a tram ripped off, and some possession, but no actual monster. The Doctor and Donna visit a diamond planet called Midnight (fun fact), and while Donna soaks up the highly deadly sun, the Doctor hops on a tour bus for a quick eight hour trip. About half way through the journey out, the bus experiences some electrical difficulties followed by some minor possession of one Sky Silvestri (shown above). The begins repeating everything the other passengers say, eventually catching up to speak exactly at the same time and finally capturing the Doctor's voice.

What makes it scary: Well it's genius writing technique, playing on the basest of human fears - the unseen and the unknown. We have no idea what has happened except that something has attacked these people and that it has beaten the Doctor. Take that in for a minute, this monster literally wins. If not for that brave stewardess the Doctor would've been trapped in a state of repetition for who knows how long.

Why it's awesome: I love clever writing. And I love when you give a setting a confined, claustrophobic space and then add more tension. I also love the idea of throwing something completely new and unknown at the Doctor plus terrified uncontainable passengers and he just can't quite win. So simple, but gripping.

9. Rassilon

First of all, that's Timothy Dalton. Need I go on? No, but I will. Rassilon returns in the reboot near the end of Tennant's run as the Doctor in "The End of Time" Parts I and II. He's trying to break from the time lock the Doctor trapped them in and finish his plan to destroy the universe.

What's scary about him: For me, it's mainly the fact that he literally created the Master, or the Master's madness. But I mean, this is a super powerful Time Lord with a major hate-on for the Doctor. None of that is good news.

Why he's awesome: Timothy Dalton.


8. Melody Pond

Okay, so I had a bit of an internal debate on whether or not to include Melody since we haven't seen how this is playing out yet. I do want to draw attention to fact that I'm calling her Melody and not River. Take note of that.

What's scary about her: A trained psychopath, brainwashed to hunt and kill the Doctor, she's dangerous. Melody is also somebody the Doctor is very attached to and that makes her even more dangerous. On top of that, she's at least part Time Lord making her even more dangerous-er. She's at least as smart as the Doctor and at the moment quite a bit less sentimental.

Why she's awesome: Well, River Song is pretty amazing, as is Alex Kingston. So it stands to reason that Melody Pond is awesome, too.

7. The Dream Lord

In the episode, "Amy's Choice," a malevolent Dream Lord forces the Doctor, Amy, and Rory to choose between two given realities, each with a deadly and imminent peril.

What's scary about him: The end of the episode reveals that the Dream Lord is an alter ego of the Doctor, somehow brought to life by the energy of the TARDIS. So hold the phone. That right there is enough for me to go on to say this is freakin' terrifying! Some uncontrolled dark side of the Doctor (you know he's got at least one) walking about reaping havoc?! Come on!

Why he's awesome: Well Toby Jones is just a great actor. Plus the entire concept is great writing.


6. The Vashta Nerada

So I am incredibly upset with myself for going through my entire writing and editing process of this blog and FORGETTING one of the scariest enemies in the whole series. Floggings are in order.

What's scary about them: Well, they could be in ANY shadow anywhere in the universe. "Not every shadow, but any shadow." That's freakin' scary. And there's over a million, million of them that the Doctor is faced with in "Silence in the Library" and that's quite a bit if you ask me. Add to that the fact that they can maneuver and speak through our dead and you've got one terrifying little monster(s).

Why they're awesome: Well more than anything, this is why. But also genius, playing on our fears of the dark. I always knew that was justified.


5. The Flesh

Ah, yes! The Flesh! Part monster, part good guy, part victim! If you're like me and you go back and watch episodes over and over again, you'll notice that the term the Flesh first appears in series two! But they become real characters toward the middle of series six in "The Rebel Flesh" and "Almost People" where they run amok in an acid mine. Even the Doctor has his own Flesh Doctor, who could still be running about (dun dun dun).

What's scary about them: Not only are they silicon-y drones that become sentient in and of themselves, but it's then found that you can be a Flesh and not even know it! Amy for the whole first half of series six is revealed to be a Flesh Amy unbeknownst to us all, including Amy! And then Moffat gets us AGAIN with a FleshBaby! This creations ability to believe it's own lies, blend perfectly, make it totally scary.

Why they're awesome: Again, it comes down to excellent writing and acting. For one, it makes rewatching six totally fun. But the real beauty of the Flesh is the victimhood and its struggle for freedom. Plus, let's hold out hope that the Flesh Doctor can regenerate and that's what got killed on the beach in "The Impossible Astronaut."

4. The Master

The Master. Harry Saxon. One of the most prevalent enemies in Who lore, beautifully portrayed by John Simms in the rebooted series. He shows up time and time again, always going on about the drums going constantly in his head (we find out in "The End of Time" that Rassilon put that drum beat into his brain to instigate madness).

What makes him scary: Definitely one of the most formidable foes the Doctor has ever faced, the Master should strike fear into your heart! He's conquered the world. Twice. Beaten the Doctor a few times, and is a complete lunatic. He's kind of the Joker of the Doctor Who universe.

Why he's awesome: It's not often bad guys are given full circle development, but this character is given his space to roam. John Simms does an excellent job of balancing madness and rage with sympathetic longing for peace.

3. The Daleks

So these guys are not one of, they are the most infamous enemy the Doctor faces. Even his enemies are enemies with these guys. They have no friends. They exist to EXTERMINATE! They first appear in the reboot in the aptly named episode, "Dalek."

What's scary about them: How about the fact that their sole purpose is death and destruction of everything that is not Dalek? Which means everything. Or the fact that even the Doctor is frightened of them? Need I go on?

Why they're awesome: Did you not read what I just said? The Doctor is afraid of them.

2. The Weeping Angels

Steven Moffat introduced us to these bad ladies with "Blink" in series three and I've had one eye open ever since. These creatures exist in a quantum lock, which I don't understand either, but it means that they only exist when you aren't looking at them. Gaze upon them and they turn into stone, blink and they zap you into the past and feed on your unused time energy.

What's scary about them: Aside from the fact that you can't look away even for a split second, and they have gnarly evil faces beneath their pretty angel faces, I guess these guys are totally fine...if you're a moron. I mean, seriously?! The scariest part of these guys is that now whenever I see a statue of an angel, I have to stare at it for as long as possible.

Why they're awesome: Moffat created something that conceivably could already exist in this universe. I mean, I think there'd be stories, but like I said...I bet you stare at angel statues now, too.




And number one???





1. The Silence

I was originally going to place these guys a bit higher up on the list, but the concept just chills me to the bone, so here we are. The Silence. Hinted at for AGES, still not completely understood.

What's scary about them: Well, honestly, what isn't? They look like freaky alien g-men meet dementors, they have existed on our planet since the beginning of time, and they can control humanity through post-hypnotic suggestion. And we don't even know they've done it, because the moment you look away you forget about them. Can't even remember you've seen one. So they definitely could already exist and you'd just never ever know. Even the Doctor can't remember them once he's seen them. Moreover, we found out recently that The Silence is actually a religious order, unknown enemy of the Doctor, trying to kill him, and they believe that Silence will fall when the question is asked.
SCARY

Why they're awesome: In creating these creatures that you can't remember, Moffat has accomplished the terrifying effect of resonance. This is a creature that you put thought into after the show was over, no denying. It's such a genius concept I'm stunned it wasn't done before. Plus we got one of the best moments of Who when the Doctor tricks the Silence into ordering their own executions. Now that is scary awesome. You should be staying up late at night wondering how many of these creatures you've killed. Probably loads. But don't worry they deserved it.


and Honorable mention goes to....

House

Of course this is nearly impossible to find a picture of. This was the most interesting one I thought. Yes, it's House! Not to be confused with Hugh Laurie, from the recesses of Neil Gaiman's fantastic mind comes this sentient asteroid with a taste for TARDIS and mind games. In "The Doctor's Wife," House manages to transfer the soul of the TARDIS into a human woman and posses the TARDIS, with Rory and Amy trapped inside. 

What makes him scary: Well other than the fact that he's basically a really powerful disembodied voice, which is creepy enough, he's able to actually pull the wool over the Doctor's eyes for a bit. So much so the Doctor puts Rory and Amy in harm's way without realising it. 

Why it's awesome: Two reasons. Neil Gaiman. TARDIS becomes a woman. Nuff said.

Let's Kill Hitler

On Saturday, we welcomed Doctor Who back to our television screens with the midseries premiere, "Let's Kill Hitler." Such a great title, that I stole it (see above). A great title for a stunning piece of television, let's be honest - so many questions answered and yet somehow, even more crop up (but not in a LOST sort of "where are we going with this" way). Possibly the greatest aspect of the episode is that it is completely randomly set in Nazi Germany, which really makes for some hilarious one-liners. 

Spoilers so definitely lie ahead. Do not say I didn't warn you and get all pissy in the comments section. Skip to the end if you don't want an episode summary.

Here's the breakdown:

We start off with a crop circle which says, "doctor," - Amy and Rory's way of grabbing the Doctor's attention and getting him back to Leadworth. Unfortunately, he has no clues as to the whereabouts of Baby Pond. Sirens approach in the distance and soon appears Mels, best friend of Amy and Rory, hotly pursued by the Leadworth police. She hijacks the TARDIS at gunpoint and demands to go kill Hitler (and really, who doesn't want to?).

So off we are to Nazi Germany, where Hitler is already under attack. Not by the British (not yet anyway, it's only 1938) but by a robot filled with tiny people, disguised as a Nazi! How cool. They are a time traveling evil tracking machine intent on killing Hitler for his unspeakable crimes against the universe. No arguments from me, except the Doctor might tell you that it's fixed that Hitler always is a mass-murdering f***head, as many famous historians have said.

The TARDIS crash-lands into the robot, inadvertently saving Hitler from the tiny time travelers, and placing our squad in a rather odd position. When the robot gets up, Hitler freaks and tries to shoot it, but he's apparently a horrible shot because he hits Mels. Oh noetry! But wait, Mels starts...regenerating? You say what now? And she regenerates into...River Song?!? At this point I'm practically inches from the screen.  

(amazing one liner moment - "Shut up, Hitler!")

Then begins the dance between Mels/Melody Pong/River Song and the Doctor as she tries to MURDER him. We find out that she did not escape the clutches of the Silence soon enough and she was brainwashed into being an assassin with only one target - The Doctor. She hasn't even heard of River Song. Definitely mixed emotions here - this is a character we've come to know and love, moreover, the Doctor has come to know and love this person. Everything's gone all topsy turvy. The Doctor is able to match each of River's attempts on his life until she kisses him and heads towards the window. Confused for a moment, the Doctor suddenly falls - she's poisoned him. Devotees will remember River's hypnotic lipstick. Guess she has a more potent brand as well.

Amy and Rory chase after River while the Doctor heads to the TARDIS. Amazing one liner moment as River confronts armed Nazis. The Doctor discovers in the TARDIS that there is no cure and that his regeneration has been disabled. Meanwhile, Rory and Amy get sucked into the robot time machine, finally given a name - The Teselector (sp?) - and River sends a bunch of German bougie diners running away in their undergarments. The crew aboard the Teselector have acknowledged Melody Pond/River Song to be the killer of the Doctor and are hunting her down now in the form of Amy and they find her in the restaurant. The Doctor soon joins with his TARDIS.

So the climax of the episode, here it is. Final showdown between the three forces at work - Doctor, River, and the Teselector - Doctor still dying. Amy saves her daughter by turning the Teselector's defense against the crew and River in turn, moved by the Doctor's will to help his friends, saves Amy and Rory by flying the TARDIS into the Teselector to retrieve them. She says the TARDIS showed her how to fly it and that she is the daughter of the TARDIS. They hurry back to the Doctor, who says nobody can save him. He asks Mels/Melody Pond/River Song to give River Song a message, which he whispers in her ear, inaudibly. Then he dies.

Shocked, Mels/Melody Pond/River Song stands back and asks who River Song is, only to be shown it is in fact her. She uses her remaining regeneration energy to bring the Doctor back to life. Thus River Song has killed the Doctor. And River Song has brought him back to life, but at a cost - she used all her remaining regenerations in that one selfless act. They leave her in a hospital to heal as they continue their search for the infant Melody Pond and the order of the Silence. The Doctor gives her a TARDIS-blue notebook, brand new and wrapped in red ribbon. We last see River applying for a position as an archaeologist. 

COMMENTS:

Okay, so like I said, a lot of questions brought up here. The one that it really left me with is, "Is River Song still out to kill the Doctor?" The way the episode ends you can't really tell. River says she wants to get into archaeology to find someone, obviously the Doctor, but its difficult to tell if that smile is one of an assassin or not. Something that we will clearly find out though.

We also know a bit more about the Silence now. They aren't just a creature, it's a religious order who believe, "that Silence will fall when the question is asked." But nobody knows what the question is! Definitely something for the internet forums - I'm sure they're all aflutter with theories. All I know is that the answer is 42. 

This episode also provides a truly great character moment for the Doctor. When he is dying inside the TARDIS and asks for an interface, he's first given a hologram of himself to which he responds, "No! Give me someone I like!" The moment is glossed over, but I really want to call attention to it because that is huge. He doesn't like himself. I'm not saying this is brand new or anything, but here he is, plainly saying it. Big character moment.

So definitely a 10/10 for this one. Please note in the comments if there's anything here you want to hear more about!

Introduction

Right, so if you've been following my other blog, you'll have noticed that I've done a couple Doctor Who associated articles. I've since realised I have lots more to write about Doctor Who than would be prudent on a movie review blog, so viola! Here we are! Feel free to check out my editorial from Ranting Cinephile first and then a review of Let's Kill Hitler to start everything off.

Cheers!