Wednesday, January 09, 2019
I guess the Doctor Who infection has been cured
I don't know if this means I am no longer a proper Whovian but I have not enjoyed watching Doctors Twelve *or* Thirteen. Twelve started off so nasty - not curmudgeonly, which would have suited him, but actually mean-spirited. Calling humans pudding-for-brains? Really? So unkind. And he only warmed up somewhat. When he did lighten up, it seemed forced. And what about his accent? There were two Scottish actors who played previous incarnations of the Doctor and they were both forced to use an English accent for the sake of continuity. Twelve not only remained Scottish but *called* himself Scottish. That makes no sense in the Whoverse. I doubt that there's a Scotland on Gallifrey. (Although I recall in Eleven's Vincent Van Gogh episode, the actor who played the Dutch painter was inappropriately and unapologetically Scottish and the character commented that he appreciated Amy's proper speech - of course, Amy also being played by a Scot.) Nine cheekily played off his Northern English accent by defensively saying, "Lots of planets have a north!" But I guess now that the rules are being broken left and right and Time Lords can now have as many lives as they want, they can also be from anywhere they want - so far only in the area of Great Britain but who knows? Thirteen is played by a woman who doesn't try to hide her Yorkshire accent. Her character hasn't been mean. It hasn't really been much of anything other than preachy. Her audience has been lectured on protecting the environment, gender equality and politics, among other topics. What happened to fun? What happened to escapism? I am actually somewhat relieved, if not pleased, that there will be no episodes this year until Christmas/New Year's, and am almost disappointed that Thirteen will be in the next series. Maybe Fourteen will be introduced at Christmas and that's why there are no episodes this year. But they have to get rid of the preachy writer if the show is going to get back on track.
'night.