Just saw some of the ads for the new series of DOCTOR WHO, which starts on BBC 1 next Sunday. JODIE WHITTAKER's Doctor wittering on inanely and sounding like BRENDA BLETHAM's irritating VERA, with lots of running around while she does an impression of an egg whisk because of her 'lady' run, and looking and sounding as if it's all going to be one big jolly wheeze. It very much looks like the 'same old same old' and I hate it already. Oh, and her outfit looks like that of a clown - which says it all really. I'm more determined than ever not to watch it unless The DALEKS turn up. And, for once in my life, I really hope they don't.
I was a fan of William Hartnell from his days as Sgt Major Bullimore on The Army Game and was delighted with the anti-hero Doctor when it appeared.
ReplyDeleteIt was somewhat jarring when he was replaced by Patrick Troughton and it just went downhill from then on. Pertwee was earthbound but in colour and luckily I left for the US in 1974 and only saw the arrival of Baker. His shows caught up with me in the US and it was obvious the show was nothing but an in joke for the production staff. The only hint Baker was actually the Doctor was the story where he could have stopped the creation of the Daleks but declined, couldn't take life, even from the Dalek's.
The next three Doctors were just clowns and the best outing by McCoy was the Canadian filmed Paul McGann story which opened with McCoy being machine gunned to death, not a moment too soon.
When the relaunch finally happened Christopher Ecclestone stories had high technical values not just idiots running down corridors and good stories but the rot had started again in that the charactor was becoming a Marvel Style superhero, which he isn't.
After the Doctor being played by youngsters saving the Universe every week there was finally a mature version in Capaldi but the stories were bizarre and his brogue was getting out of control. It's hard enough trying to follow the gobbledygook that is the script with his also being indecipherable. The final straw was the Master becoming Missy which would have been an interesting twist if she were not played by a Scot leaving the dialog between the two characters being indecipherable.
Gave up on the Doctor then. Don't miss him, and the trailers for Whittaker as you say Kid, is like Vera. Even the Daleks couln't save this version.
The irony, T47 - the Doctor destroyed by himself. Or should that be herself? I remember William Hartnell was going to bash in a caveman's head with a rock in the first story, now he's/she's a non-violent pacifist who fights baddies in between practising his/her stand-up routine. If the trailers are an indication of what the shows are like, then it's obvious they're going to be sh*t. Must say though, never had a problem with the Scottish accents. Everything else you say I agree with. The show is treated like one big 'in-joke' by everyone concerned.
ReplyDeleteKid, you come by the Scottish Brogue honestly if you have one but for those of us that have to get attuned to it when the person is getting exited, understanding what is being said is hard enough without the fake technical rubbish/babble that is the dialog.
ReplyDeleteIt's as if in casting the Doctor now requires the actors to over emphasis any regional accent they naturally have. Eccleston at one point joked that other planets also have a 'North'.
Pertwee played the role sounding like his CPO Pertwee from The Navy Lark!
I have nothing against the Scots accent, indeed one of my favorite cousins is married to one and he couldn't be a nicer well spoken person. When he's with his Scots cousins the brogue does get more noticeable!
Well, of course, there are quite a few different Scottish accents, some more impenetrable than others - the same with most accents in fact. Personally, I feel that it's the gobbledeygook that's the problem, more than the accent it's delivered in. Bet you never misunderstood Sean Connery as Bond, eh? As for The Doctor - they really should've made David Bradley the 'new' Doctor. Now that would've been something. Instead they've gone for a woman dressed like Ronald McDonald with a terribly irritating, unimpressive voice.
ReplyDeleteIt's true Connery was able to control his diction as Bond and indeed Capaldi could if he tried it's really as if the BBC Wales staff insisted everyone in the role over emphasis their origins.
ReplyDeleteYou're dead on with Bradley taking the role. It would have been a great way to finally wind up the tale of The Doctor and the charactor could have been permanently retired.
Unless, of course, Bradley was a huge success and then we could have had some (hopefully) interesting new stories with the 'original' Doctor Who. That would've been grand.
ReplyDeleteHell maybe a Dalek will turn up exterminate Jodie who can then regenerate into Bradley and I will then begin watching the show again.
ReplyDeleteYet if Jodie regenerated into Claudia Cardinale in her underwear I think I would definately watch Dr Who then heh
ReplyDeleteBradley Walsh as The Doctor would've been a much better bet, LH. And I think I'd rather just watch Claudia's underwear on its own than Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor.
ReplyDeleteOn 3rd October the new Doctor appeared on a NYC based TV talk show. She explained that she chose the new costume to be comfortable during a long day of filming..........send in the clowns. The host showed a picture of Tom Baker with scarf showing 'his' Doctor for comparison.
ReplyDeleteGoing by the ads I've seen, she has absolutely no 'presence' in the role. Unfair to judge her on brief clips? Perhaps, but she just doesn't impress me as 'The Doctor' at all. It's ironic that the show actually needs a doctor, because it looks like it's in terminal decline.
ReplyDeleteI have no problems with a woman Doctor but I do have a problem with new Who in general. Since it returned in 2005 the show has been Americanized in my opinion with "humorous" quips and one-liners which make it feel like a comedy show half the time. Back in the '70s Dr. Who was genuinely scary and dramatic but new Who never feels scary and any dramatic moment will be ruined by the latest stupid quip. And yes, I know Tom Baker would offer a jelly baby to Davros etc but it was a rare bit of humour amid the drama not the constant rat-a-tat of supposedly humorous one-liners we get now. Make Dr. Who scary again!
ReplyDeleteI tell you who'd be a great woman Doctor - Theresa May. I'm serious! She'd have the perfect blend of gravitas and bossy headmistress which is what the Doctor needs not silly quips. And Boris could be her assistant, roaming the universe fighting daleks and cybermen - I'd watch it!
I wouldn't mind them having a woman Doctor if it was a different Doctor, CJ, not a transformed male. 'The Doctor' could be a title that is accorded to whoever performs the duties of Gallifrey's current 'roving ambassador' (if they really must have all that Gallifreyan nonsense), much like the current serving American president is called 'Mr. President' - as are all those still living who inhabited office before him.
ReplyDeleteAs I've said before, we live in an age where there is an agenda at work to reshape the world according to the tastes of certain vocal minorities. So gender distinctions are under threat, as are fixed sexual preferences. The LGBT mafia won't be happy until just about everybody is at least bisexual and girls and boys look and act the same. It's in this context that The Doctor has now changed sex - and although it's excused by the claim that Galifreyans are an advanced race, beyond fixed ideas on gender and that such things are unimportant, the fact is that (as well as courting controversy and attracting attention) it's intended to make a statement in support of those who would undermine traditional social norms.
"But The Doctor is an alien who can change genders, so what's the big deal?" you might say. To which I respond "But WHY is he an alien who can change genders? Why does he HAVE to be?" What began as a throwaway line to stir up controversy has now been seized upon by the LGBT mafia to further their cause and erode natural and perfectly normal distinctions between genders.
The new Doctor Who seems pretty much aimed at getting idiot adulation from transgender types on Twitter - people who used to be the lunatic fringe of the crossdressing world, who've been given a megaphone and a set of grievances to browbeat everyone else with. You might have seen that a certain online writer of Doctor Who criticism has turned into a trans "woman". I suppose it shouldn't have been a surprise since he said Missy was the best Master since Delgado.
ReplyDeleteI thought 'Missy' would have been a good character if she wasn't meant to be a regenerated 'Master', but that aspect destroyed any possibility of me taking her seriously. It's clear that they were laying the groundwork for The Doctor's gender change - softening us up to the 'possibility' as it were. Doctor Who is no longer aimed at a general audience (despite the claims) - it's a PC attempt to influence society for what a few misguided souls see as 'the better', but is, in actual fact, a pile of pathetic LBGT p*sh that is awesome in its tediousness.
ReplyDeleteWell according to all the hype shes the best thing to hit the TV screen watched by every single person on the planet. Cant really comment myself as I didnt watch it and have no interest whatsoeverin watching it. Wonder if Chibnall will get a knighthood.
ReplyDeleteI'd heard that opinion was divided, but that those who liked her, liked her, sort of thing. What seems to be getting the attention is the seemingly more accessible storyline, but it didn't need a gender change to effect that - that should've been done years ago. She'll end up getting the credit for changes that have nothing to do with her - as if the show is suddenly better because a woman is now in the role. Misandry anyone?
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