This is going to be a tough one. Its been a while since I have seen these episodes and since most of the Patrick Troughton era episodes are missing the majority of what I know is from the books I read based on the episodes. Here is something I found odd. I would read several of the books and then watch an episode and while watching it I was always surprised by how deep Patrick Troughtons voice is. I don't know what it was, if it was the description in the books or something else, but I always heard the Second Doctors voice in my head to be high pitched and squeaky. When in actuality his voice is quite deep and resonant. I liked his voice. The Second Doctors attire is almost completely opposite the First Doctor. He wears ill fitting and disheveled clothing. The thing he does have in common with the First Doctor is that he is always one or two steps ahead of everyone else. Unlike the First Doctor, who was always cool, calm composure while facing danger, the Second Doctor would show his emotions going so far as outright panic in some cases. Above all else, the Second Doctor was calculating. He knew how to get people to think or act how he wanted them to. Whether that was having them think he was a complete idiot to getting people to do what he wanted and having them think it was their idea. I think I am in the minority when I say that while he was a good Doctor I liked the First Doctor better.
Like the First Doctor, the Second Doctor had accompaniment on his travels. His first companions were Ben Jackson and Polly, who were there at the time of his regeneration. Its hard to get a read on these two because none of the episodes featuring them are complete except "The War Machines." They were alright but my take on them was that Polly was a little too "go get 'um" for her own good and Ben was kind of an oaf. Next is my favorite Second Doctor companion: Jamie McCrimmon. He is the first companion to come from a more primitive time that was not a burden. Not to mention how funny they were together. They were a riot. They were the comic relief their entire run together. "Tomb of the Cybermen" anyone? Next came Victoria Waterfield. The token damsel in distress, always boring. And most famous for her scream. I did like the fact that, for her last appearance in "Fury from the Deep," she saved the day with her scream. It was a nice send off for her. Finally, we have Zoe Heriot. She is a young, cute girl but, don't underestimate her. She was smart and knew how to handle herself in a fight. I think the final configuration of the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe is one of my top Doctor/Companion teams.
My absolute favorite Second Doctor serial would be "The Mind Robbers." In it the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe travel to the Land of Fiction. While there they encounter fictional characters like Rapunzel and Lemuel Gulliver, they have to solve riddles come to life, and face mythical creatures like Medusa and Unicorns. And one of the greatest dangers they face is that they themselves can become fiction. It was a work of genius. Whoever wrote it was a genius. I think it might be the greatest serial of Doctor Who ever. Some other note worthy serials are "The Tomb of the Cybermen" where they encounter cryogenically frozen Cybermen and a man who thinks he is smart enough to awaken and control them. Spoiler Alert: He is not. "The War Games" in which the Doctor encounters another of his Time Lord brethren in the shape of the War Chief. "The Faceless Ones" was pretty creepy. I can't say that very many of the Second Doctors adventures really grabbed me. I'm not one for monster-of-the-week type shows.
I think of all the enemies this Doctor faced my favorite would be the Cybermen. He faced them a few time in his run. Just based on their appearance alone they are imposing and ominous. I always like it when the Doctor runs into one of the Time Lords. If for no other reason the War Chief is memorable. I absolutely hate the Ice Warriors. Their raspy, breathy way of speaking grates on my nerves like no other. Then there is Salamander, The Doctors Doppleganger if you will. The most convoluted plan for world domination I ever saw. And poorly executed at that.
I have to say just one thing more. My favorite moment in the Patrick Troughton era happened in the serial "The Evil of the Daleks." Only one episode of the serial survives and the scene is not on film but playing it in my head always makes me smile. Its when the Doctor "infects" three Daleks with "the Human Factor" and the Doctor teaches them words and they play around. The Doctor gives them names when no Dalek has ever had one. Then they start to spin him around on a chair. He yells for them to stop, that he is getting dizzy and they all start chanting "Diz-zy Doc-tor." I can just imagine it in the Dalek diction and it makes me laugh.
http://www.pinterest.com/castleclown/
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Saturday, August 16, 2014
The Terminator
Terminator, Terminator, Terminator. What can I say about this crazy franchise? Don't get me wrong I enjoy this franchise even the bad movies but it is crazy. Usually I hate things that have to do time travel, which is weird since I love Doctor Who. I guess what I hate is when they try and over explain things and try and do things that don't make sense to me. Not that I know anything about time travel. But I digress. I recently watched all the Terminator movies and the television show.
The first movie was great as are most movies that spawn sequels. There is noting I do not like about this movie. The story was unique and the action worth watching. Sarah was a relatable, normal girl form that time and she behaved in a believable way when put into that situation. And I don't know about anyone else but I would let Kyle Reese rescue me from a killer robot from the future anytime. And man do I love me some Arnold Schwarzeneggar as a badass, kicking ass and taking names.
Then came Terminator 2: Judgement Day. What an awesome movie! I can't decide if it is just as good or better then Terminator.Either way it is a great film. I never liked John Connor. Punk ass kid. But Sarah Connor transformed into a badass bitch. She's crazy but still badass. I liked her better in Terminator but she is still awesome. Then, of course, there is Arnold, BA per usual.
Then there is Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Oh Terminator 3! What a piece of shit. That's one of the things I hate about this franchise. They fight and fight against judgement day but they can't stop it they just postpone it. It's an exercise in futility and I hate when they make time set in stone like that. Then how stupid is Connor that he thinks this Terminator is the same one from Judgement Day. He saw that one destroyed. He pushed the button that lowered it into the molten metal. The whole thing was stupid. The Terminatrix was kind of cool, I guess but also not really. The whole thing was a disappointment.
This part is going to have some spoilers for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. First of all it is a terrible television show but I watched it. I suffered through it cause I set goals of watching things in their entirety and I suffer through terrible television shows. I hated every second of it. From John Connor being a stupid emo teenager to Summer Glau being a teenaged terminator. What use is that? Not to mention she is defective or something. Then the flash forwards to the future where the resistance is like run by Terminators which is completely ridiculous. The entire show is completely ridiculous. The only thing I liked about it was Lena Headey as Sarah Connor. Lena Headey is a great actress and Sarah is the only well developed character in the show. Not very well developed but better then the rest of them. And Garret Dillahunt as the terminator avatar of the thinking computer John Henry was amazing. Of course, the show actually started getting good right before it was canceled. It ended leaving me wanting more. Such bullshit.
Terminator: Salvation was a great movie. Who doesn't love Christian Bale and Sam Worthington. Christian Bale plays a great down and out John Connor. That's what he was to me anyway. He was set up from birth, and his mother was always telling him that he was going to be this great leader. That's a lot to live up to. But, he doesn't know what it is he is supposed to be doing and he ends up as just some jarhead. I can see that soldiers would be necessary in a war against terminators but, I feel like they set it up in Judgement Day that John Connor was a whiz with computers, and I feel like those are the kind of skills that are vital for a war against skynet.
The first movie was great as are most movies that spawn sequels. There is noting I do not like about this movie. The story was unique and the action worth watching. Sarah was a relatable, normal girl form that time and she behaved in a believable way when put into that situation. And I don't know about anyone else but I would let Kyle Reese rescue me from a killer robot from the future anytime. And man do I love me some Arnold Schwarzeneggar as a badass, kicking ass and taking names.
Then came Terminator 2: Judgement Day. What an awesome movie! I can't decide if it is just as good or better then Terminator.Either way it is a great film. I never liked John Connor. Punk ass kid. But Sarah Connor transformed into a badass bitch. She's crazy but still badass. I liked her better in Terminator but she is still awesome. Then, of course, there is Arnold, BA per usual.
Then there is Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Oh Terminator 3! What a piece of shit. That's one of the things I hate about this franchise. They fight and fight against judgement day but they can't stop it they just postpone it. It's an exercise in futility and I hate when they make time set in stone like that. Then how stupid is Connor that he thinks this Terminator is the same one from Judgement Day. He saw that one destroyed. He pushed the button that lowered it into the molten metal. The whole thing was stupid. The Terminatrix was kind of cool, I guess but also not really. The whole thing was a disappointment.
This part is going to have some spoilers for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. First of all it is a terrible television show but I watched it. I suffered through it cause I set goals of watching things in their entirety and I suffer through terrible television shows. I hated every second of it. From John Connor being a stupid emo teenager to Summer Glau being a teenaged terminator. What use is that? Not to mention she is defective or something. Then the flash forwards to the future where the resistance is like run by Terminators which is completely ridiculous. The entire show is completely ridiculous. The only thing I liked about it was Lena Headey as Sarah Connor. Lena Headey is a great actress and Sarah is the only well developed character in the show. Not very well developed but better then the rest of them. And Garret Dillahunt as the terminator avatar of the thinking computer John Henry was amazing. Of course, the show actually started getting good right before it was canceled. It ended leaving me wanting more. Such bullshit.
Terminator: Salvation was a great movie. Who doesn't love Christian Bale and Sam Worthington. Christian Bale plays a great down and out John Connor. That's what he was to me anyway. He was set up from birth, and his mother was always telling him that he was going to be this great leader. That's a lot to live up to. But, he doesn't know what it is he is supposed to be doing and he ends up as just some jarhead. I can see that soldiers would be necessary in a war against terminators but, I feel like they set it up in Judgement Day that John Connor was a whiz with computers, and I feel like those are the kind of skills that are vital for a war against skynet.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
The First Doctor
My friend made the mistake of having me watch the first season of the 2005 Doctor Who series starring Christopher Eccleston. The mistake was not in having me watch it because I absolutely loved every second of it. The mistake was not knowing how much of a fanatic I can become. This of course does not effect her in the slightest. Me on the other hand: its become a problem. As I said I loved every second of watching Christopher Eccleston be the Doctor. Then I learned that he was the Ninth Doctor and I was like "there are eight more before him plus the ones after him." That, of course, blew my mind and started me on my fanatical journey to watch every episode of Doctor Who that has been or ever will be made.
Now I have only watched the first two seasons of the new series but I recently went back and watched William Hartnell portray the first ever Doctor. His reign lasting from 1963 to 1966. The first big hurdle to my endeavor: The Lost Episodes. Those episodes wiped from the BBC archives due to a policy they had in the 70's. A tragedy in hindsight. But I was still determined and came up with a sort of solution: I am going to read the the novelizations of the Missing Episodes. Also they now have the animated reconstructions of some of the episodes as well. It was kind of hit or miss but I still had great fun with the whole thing and I would like to share some of the highlights and lowlights.
Lets talk about The Doctor himself first. I liked William Hartnell as The Doctor. Sure he was crotchety but I warmed up to him. He was serious, stern and a bit egotistical. I got the distinct impression on several occasions that he enjoyed proving people wrong and proving he was smarter then them. Every companion has had to be convinced that The Doctor was telling the truth about traveling through time and space and he was always indignant until they believed him. There is, of course, no doubt that he is smarter then everyone in existence but he is also unflappable in the face of danger and quite magnanimous. Not to mention what a snazzy dresser he is :). Once or twice he even showed his comical side. Especially in the serial "The Romans." All in all a great Doctor.
Now for the supporting cast. He had a lot of good companions but also some duds. Susan Foreman was ok but she was kind of "non" to me. I don't know how else to describe it. I have to say my favorite of his companions were Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton and Vicki. Barbara and Ian were unwilling companions but they adjusted well and just rolled with it. Vicki was spunky but also very smart. She had great chemistry with The Doctor, Barbara and Ian. I think that Steven Taylor was the worst of his companions . He was arrogant and I just did not like him. The Doctor went through his companions Katarina, Sara Kingdom and Dodo Chaplet so fast they are almost not worth mentioning. Katarina and Dodo were both kind of useless but Sara was a kick ass woman. Polly and Ben were alright.
My absolute favorite First Doctor serial is "The Dalek Invasion of Earth." It was a great return of one of The Doctors greatest enemies and it had a heartwarming send off for Susan at the end. My least favorite serial was "The Gunfighter." I just couldn't get into it. Probably cause of Steven and Dodo. Another good serial is "The Edge of Destruction." A rare cerebral adventure.
There is no doubt that the Daleks are an iconic and crowd-pleasing Doctor Who enemy and I would not trade them for the world. But I have to say that my favorite villain that the First Doctor faced was The Celestial Toymaker. Having The Doctor and his companions play games for their lives. Creepy. And just as smart as The Doctor. The worst enemy he faced had to be the giant ant creatures that were afraid of dead spiders. Stupid.
... Oh, another good serial was "The Space Museum." Where the TARDIS crew was displaced in time and had to keep themselves from becoming exhibits in a museum.
... Oh and "The Chase." The Daleks chase the TARDIS through time and space in their very own TARDIS.
OK. I have to stop. I Love Doctor Who!
Leah
http://www.pinterest.com/castleclown/
Now I have only watched the first two seasons of the new series but I recently went back and watched William Hartnell portray the first ever Doctor. His reign lasting from 1963 to 1966. The first big hurdle to my endeavor: The Lost Episodes. Those episodes wiped from the BBC archives due to a policy they had in the 70's. A tragedy in hindsight. But I was still determined and came up with a sort of solution: I am going to read the the novelizations of the Missing Episodes. Also they now have the animated reconstructions of some of the episodes as well. It was kind of hit or miss but I still had great fun with the whole thing and I would like to share some of the highlights and lowlights.
Lets talk about The Doctor himself first. I liked William Hartnell as The Doctor. Sure he was crotchety but I warmed up to him. He was serious, stern and a bit egotistical. I got the distinct impression on several occasions that he enjoyed proving people wrong and proving he was smarter then them. Every companion has had to be convinced that The Doctor was telling the truth about traveling through time and space and he was always indignant until they believed him. There is, of course, no doubt that he is smarter then everyone in existence but he is also unflappable in the face of danger and quite magnanimous. Not to mention what a snazzy dresser he is :). Once or twice he even showed his comical side. Especially in the serial "The Romans." All in all a great Doctor.
Now for the supporting cast. He had a lot of good companions but also some duds. Susan Foreman was ok but she was kind of "non" to me. I don't know how else to describe it. I have to say my favorite of his companions were Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton and Vicki. Barbara and Ian were unwilling companions but they adjusted well and just rolled with it. Vicki was spunky but also very smart. She had great chemistry with The Doctor, Barbara and Ian. I think that Steven Taylor was the worst of his companions . He was arrogant and I just did not like him. The Doctor went through his companions Katarina, Sara Kingdom and Dodo Chaplet so fast they are almost not worth mentioning. Katarina and Dodo were both kind of useless but Sara was a kick ass woman. Polly and Ben were alright.
My absolute favorite First Doctor serial is "The Dalek Invasion of Earth." It was a great return of one of The Doctors greatest enemies and it had a heartwarming send off for Susan at the end. My least favorite serial was "The Gunfighter." I just couldn't get into it. Probably cause of Steven and Dodo. Another good serial is "The Edge of Destruction." A rare cerebral adventure.
There is no doubt that the Daleks are an iconic and crowd-pleasing Doctor Who enemy and I would not trade them for the world. But I have to say that my favorite villain that the First Doctor faced was The Celestial Toymaker. Having The Doctor and his companions play games for their lives. Creepy. And just as smart as The Doctor. The worst enemy he faced had to be the giant ant creatures that were afraid of dead spiders. Stupid.
... Oh, another good serial was "The Space Museum." Where the TARDIS crew was displaced in time and had to keep themselves from becoming exhibits in a museum.
... Oh and "The Chase." The Daleks chase the TARDIS through time and space in their very own TARDIS.
OK. I have to stop. I Love Doctor Who!
Leah
http://www.pinterest.com/castleclown/
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