Recently viewed: The Shakespeare Code

[viktor_haag]

Between pandering to Rowling and Zemeckis, and the tired "lets do something with the old bard" saw, I do think that "The Shakespeare Code" is just not as good as "Smith & Jones" right down to all the silly notion that it was all the Doctor and his Companion that thought up all the bard's best bits (which neatly and sadly defuses the chief premise of the plot's resolution).

Also, I can't help but notice the alarming, parallel similarity between this ep and "The Unquiet Dead". So similar, in fact, that it's almost as if the first is a re-write of the second (as I think "The Unquiet Dead" was a far more interesting episode).

I do hope that this season gets better: it's a bit nasty to be hitting a low-point in your second episode of the season.

And as for Agyeman's doe eyed longing flung Tennants way in the bedroom scene, well, I was really hoping we could have given the whole "Dr and Companion's Sexual Tension" bit something of a rest, but it appears that maybe we haven't.

The teaser for next week has re-seated the hook, but "Code" is a bit of fluff that ranks near the bottom of the list of Davies' efforts, I think.

Comments

[life-on-queen.livejournal.com]

I quite liked it, myself. I think the secret for Doctor Who for me is to stay far, far away from DW fandom. I thought SC was cute and fun and it amused me to ponder whether or not Cassie's forehead was always that high and I never noticed during "Hex". Shakespeare was fun and I hardly say that they "thought up all the best bits" - as far as Shakespeare's corpus goes, they didn't even scratch the surface. I thought it was fun, not remarkable but also something of a lovely change from the Sturm Und Drang - nice to see Ten and his Companion have a nice romp for a change. Of course, I'm also easy and the frequent ref's to Rose made me quite happy.

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

I'll give you "fun" -- it was obvious they were trying for light-hearted, and light-hearted it was. However, I think the best of the new series episodes combine that light-heartedness and mix it with a serious tone. Maybe comparing it with "Unquiet Dead" is a bit unfair, as I think that was one of the best of the new Who we've had so far; but, no the other hand, the similarities and in theme and construction invite that comparison.

However, I happily cop to over-reacting by calling it a low-point. 8)

[life-on-queen.livejournal.com]

I actually haven't seen the unquiet dead - it's before I started watching but I'll agree with you that light-hearted with seriousness is generally a very good tone for Doctor Who. Not that I know or anything but I think the idea was to have a bit of fun with Martha before ratcheting up the angst, less the entire viewing public rise up and say 'YOU'RE NOT ROSE!!" ;)

I like Martha, though. I do.

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

I like Martha, though

I do, too. I'm prepared to like her even more than ::gasp:: Rose. However, I grant that this may be a heretical position... 8)

Off the hop, I think I like her more than I liked Rose off the hop. We shall just have to see where it goes, though.

[life-on-queen.livejournal.com]

Off the hop, I think I like her more than I liked Rose off the hop.

I think they made a good choice with presenting Martha as intelligent, curious and happy - there's a sense with Rose that the Doctor's intervention rescued her from a life of anonymous mediocrity and openned Rose's eyes to her own potential. Martha, on the other hand, is a med student, the rock of her family, generally very stable. She's not really escaping with the Doctor, she's adventuring and I think that's much easier to like and understand off the hop. Also, she's educated and I think there's an ingrained bias in North America in that we equate education and intelligence to a greater extent than in the UK (for all sorts of reasons), which is another reason why I found myself taking to Martha while Rose had to grow on me a bit.

We shall just have to see where it goes, though.

Indeed. Rose grew into one of those iconic characters in my opinion, a sort of class apart. Then again, it took me forever to warm to the Tenth Doctor - I thought he was quite mean to good old Harriet Jones, PM (then agian, I am a bloody-minded Machiavellian git when it comes to alien invasions).

[waiwode.livejournal.com]

The sexual tension ... I certainly don't remeber it with the real Doctor (I'm #3, Jon Pertwee all the way. Velvet jackets, lace cravats and Venusian Karate for the win).

It's almost like the subtle, background thing that may have existed between the Doc and some of his companions back in the day* now needs to be: a) nurtured until it becomes an undeniable aspect of the show; then b) held up to the light of rigorous examination.

A friend joked recently that "saving the universe a million times is a poor excuse for sexual predation." He meant it in good fun, but the more they focus on it, the more it gives me a creepy kind of feeling.

Doug.

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

gives me a creepy kind of feeling

Yeah, there's no doubt that it's a bit off-putting to have Doctor swan around with companions that are so obviously young women. But I suppose that's part of the allure of the new series' writing: there's a strong focus on the travels as a sort of bildungsroman for these women.

This focus leands extra weight to the best of the new series episodes (like "Quiet Dead", "School Reunion", "The Girl In The Fireplace").

It's probably an artefact of being so far in the past, and me being so young at that point, but I don't remember the "young woman as companion" theme being so pronounced in the Who series that I grew up watching...

Obviously, I need at least one more Doctor Who icon

[life-on-queen.livejournal.com]

I remember the Doctor's companions as being primarily female, althought the only Doctor I truly remember is Four (Tom Baker? The scarf and the jelly babies) and I don't recall sexual tension. I think it's equal part Davies - he is, after all, the guy that created Queer As Folk - and the really lovely chemistry that Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston had. I think they carried that over to David Tennant's Doctor, where I found it more pronounced. Now they have to deal with that idea of with Ten and Martha but so far, I like the take that Martha would be happy to have a go with the Doctor and the Doctor's a bit clueless/not interested.

Re: Obviously, I need at least one more Doctor Who icon

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

Good observations: that makes me feel slightly less creepy about the situation. And come to think of it, I did get the strong impression that if the Doctor says "Rose" what the schmoopy tone in his voice one more time that Martha will swiftly lose patience with him... 8)