New Who Review for "Parting of the Ways"

[puppetmaker]

Well this is the end of the first season of the New Who Review and Eccleston's Doctor in one swell foop. I still got a bit teary at the end. A lot of the threads that had been running through the season were tied up into a pretty neat little package with a bow on top. Solid performances by all I think. I liked Rose having to deal with things that she didn't want to deal with or be forced to find another way. I will miss Mr. Eccleston's Doctor but I am glad that he added his take on our favorite Time Lord. Someone (I think it was Terry O) described this Doctor as having post-traumatic Stress Disorder. I don't think they are far off considering what this Doctor when through before meeting up with Rose.

Now a question for the Doctor Who fans. Do all the Doctors have blue eyes? Or have we a brown eyed one finally? I believe that Paul McGann's are green. (I won't even go into the color of his jacket.)

Spoilers of course behind the cut and in the comments.

I am grateful to everyone who got Doctor Who back on the air.



Wrapping the Tardis and its force field around Rose to rescue her was brilliant. The Doctor came through in spades on this one. The dalek who was the emperor and now is the self-proclaimed Dalek God was fun as was all the Daleks saying Worship with the same vocal tones as exterminate. I can't decide if I like the fact that we now see the "pilot" for the machine almost every episode they appear now. It was almost more fun when we didn't know what the blobs within looked like.

"Bad Wolf" is finally explained sort of. The question is what it Rose or the TARDIS who did that or a combination of both. I really didn't mind that the TARDIS is basically presented as female. I had always assumed so since the Doctor first called her old girl with great affection. I can remember many years ago getting into a debate that almost turned into an argument about the reason that the Doctor didn't "do" Romana was that he was already committed to the TARDIS. The other question comes was it Mickey who opened the heart of the TARDIS or the TARDIS itself knowing that it was going to save the Doctor.

I loved Rose trying to explain to her Mother and Mickey why she was going to miss the Doctor so much and what her travels meant to her. They went for the obvious well you saw strange new worlds and stuff, where her explanation was much more emotional and intangible. "He showed me a better way."

I knew that Captain Jack was coming back at some point because I had heard about Torchwood and that the actor was connected to the project as Captain Jack. But he died a good death. Now did Rose heal the rest of the people on the station or just Jack? And I am still unclear what the Daleks did with the people that were trans-matted to them.
And then there was the sacrifice and the regeneration of the Doctor. Morphing technology has made that process look a lot smoother than in the past. I think the first one we saw was 3 into 4 and that was a very simple camera trick. Now they can do the whole head change. The final speech was wonderful and poignant all at the same time.

I have seen the first 7 1/2 episodes of the first Tennant season. So far School Reunion is my favorite of this season.

Comments

[kradical.livejournal.com]

I can't agree about Tennant. I've been watching the second season, and -- while Tennant is good -- I think Eccleston is better in every measurable sense.

Tennant is right in the mid-range of good, solid Doctors, along with the Troughtons and the McCoys. Eccleston, to my mind, is one of the absolute best.

But that's just me. *grin*

[ghilledhu.livejournal.com]

I would have to agree. I'm going to give Tennant a chance, as a lot of people really like him, but I wasn't blown away by his first lines the way I was by Eccleston's. Then again, Eccleston was my first doctor, and I suspect a lot of people "imprint" on their first.