Thirty Days of Doctor Who # 6--Least Favorite Companion

I cannot stand Tegan Jovanka. Hate, hate, hate her. The character was a fine example of how Doctor Who was either really good in the ’80’s or truly awful. There was no Laodicean Wholiganism to be had. Tegan was, of course, the lowest of the low.

She was loud, shrill, bossy, and worse yet, the lonest serving companion in terms of consecutive time in the TARDIS--three and one moth.

Yes, I have it calculated down to the month.

Tegan was an Australian flight attendant who never wanted to be a companion. She started traveling in the TARDIS because her aut had been killed by the Master. Shespent her entire three year, one month stint complaining because she wanted to go home and resume her job. Had I been the Fifth Doctor, I would have happily thrown her out the TARDIS. Preferably at a high rate of speed somewhere over Skaro.

The Fifth Doctor did leave her behind once, although accidentally. She became even more of a shrill harpy after she was rescued.

The writers did try to not only end her journey with a redeeming note, but also to use her as a maturing force for the more lighthearted Fifth Doctor. She finally left shortly after another companion, Adric, sacrificed himself to stop a Cybermen plot. Tean decided the Fifth Doctor was a monster himself for letting it happen while showing little emotion. Her departure and rationale for leaving did have an impact. Before regenerating, the Fifth Doctor’s last word was, "Adric!”

I give very little credit to Tean for her eventual impact, but I still despise her in general.

Thirty Days of Doctor Who # 4--Favorite Doctor

I am a Fourth Doctor fan. Probably not a very original choice coming from an American, but it is an honest. There are four reasons the Fourth Doctor is my favorite.

First, my introduction to Doctor Who came from PBS repeats in the mid-80’s and from that short time period the Sci Fi Channel aired the series in the mid ’90’s. Both emphasized the Fourth Doctor’s episodes, so I had seen them before ever watching another Doctor’s adventures. You always remember your first.

Second, the Fourth Doctor was around the longest--seven years. His lengthy stint gave mea good chance to see him duel with all the regular villains like Daleks, Cybermen, and the Master There were also some other memorable villains (Sutehk, Dr. Morbius, and the Robots of Death) and episodes (“City of Death,” “Robot,” and “Talons of Weng Chiang.”) Those count for a lot of fun experiences.

Third, There was a constant gothic horror vibe running through the Fourth Doctor’s adventures that reminded me of Hammer Horror Films, of which I am also a fan.

Finally, the Fourth Doctor had the mot interesting companions. Sarah Jane Smith, Leela, both Romanas--I will even give Adric faint praise considering how significant he woun up being later on when the Fifth Doctor took over. The doctor is only as good as the companions with whom he gets to interact.

I am going to give an honorable mention to the Ninth Doctor. His adventures came right after my health fell apart, ruining every life plan I ever had. He had been broken by the Time War and the loss of his people. The melancholy personality he exhibited throughout his lone season echoed my own. We were both guys who had nothing to live for, but kept on anyway.

We both developed a thing for Billie Piper, too.

Doctor Who--"The Pandorica Opens"

Now that was a set up for a season finale! Steven Moffat definitely knows how to pull out all the stops when it counts.

I recall back when it was first announced Moffat would be replacing Russell T. Davies, he said he wanted to create nostalgia for the for young fans, nt play to longtime hooligans like RTD had. Therefore, he was not going to bring back many classic villains. He publicly backtracked shortly thereafter. Whether it was pressure from the BBC or all just a ruse to make the army of aliens appearing in the finale a surprise, the thrill is still there. Everyone showed up for this party.

I was impressed with how it all came together. A vision of the TARDIS being destroyed lead to a Vincent van Gogh painting which found its way to Winston Churchill who contacted River Song who escaped prison to still the painting from the Queen of England in the 51st century and eventually lured the Doctor to Roman Britain. Threads of the entire season were weaved together before the title sequence.

That is not all. The Doctor’s enemies learned the exploding TARDIS was going to destroy the universe, so they used Amy Pond to create a scenario he could not resist investigating in order to lure him to Roman Britain so they could trap him in the Pandorica, a prison built especially for him. In the nearly fifty year history of Doctor Who, has something on that large a scale ever happened?

The episode ends with three cliffhangers, any one of which would have been enough to bring me back next week.

It was the smaller moments that made the episode. Amy tussles with a severed Cybermen head in a genuinely terrifying moment. Eventually, it recovers its body and Amy is forced to fight it off I a scene reminiscent of The Mummy. She is aved by Rory, who has inexplicably become a Roman soldier. Or has he? One of the cliffhangers says otherwise. The brief moment of recognition before Rory was revealed to be an Auton and seemingly killed Amy was touching.

I am still not entirely sold on River Song. She is not that interesting a character. Now that it looks like she will take part in the destruction of the universe, the rest of you can agree with me on what a bad character she is.

Someone is controlling the TARDIS. That is who is responsible for the ultimate destruction its explosion causes. There would have to be some hits laid out beforehand, but I am at a loss for a good guess. The Nestene Consciousness has been mentioned earlier this season. The Black Guardian? Omega? There has not been enough foreshadowing for those two. If it really is the Doctor himself, from the future I am goin to be disappointed.

I really liked the episode regardless of a few questions which will presumably be answered next week. The menageries of famous aliens, some of which have not been seen since the ’60’s--perhaps lending strength to the Black Guardian or Omega showing up out of the blue-- was awesome. Matt Smith has grown into the role of the Doctor better than Christopher Eccleston or David Tennant managed. I even appreciate how Amy’s role in the season arc, which is similar to the Bad Wolf theme of the first, has been carefully differentiated. I cannot wait for next week.

Rating: **** (out of 5)

Doctor Who: The Last Three Episode Titles

The BBC has revealed the titles for the final three episodes of the fifth season:

11. Reality Check
12. The Pandorica Opens
13. Enemies of a Time Lord

"Enemies of a Time Lord" would indicate the rumors of daleks, Cybermen, and Sontarans making a return appearance are true. I guess when the BBC wanted Steven Moffat to *ahem* reconsider his plan to not use old villains, he decided to give them want they wanted with a vengeance.

Doctor Who--"Flesh and Stone"

“Flesh and Stone“ is so far my favorite episode of the admittedly young Steven Moffat era. It is presented as a nightmare. The Weeping Angels are always just on the verge of snatching a victim, bishop one blink away from having his neck snapped, and Amy unable to open her eyes because an Angel will escape her mind, but having to walk through a forest among an army of other Angels anyway--it is creepy as all get out.

I also liked how the episode tied in with the overall story arc of the crack in the universe altering time. The crack’s existence is why Amy cannot remember the Daleks from ’The stolen earth/Journey’s End” and, presumably, why the history books never recorded a giant robot attacking 19th century London from “The Next Doctor.” the crack has something to do with the uncreative named Pandorica’s Box. River Song promises to return for its opening later this season.

I have to admit I am not terribly enthusiastic about heart this point. It was revealed she is a prisoner in special custody right now because she killed a great man. Strong hits, of course, that she killed a future incarnation of the Doctor. I cannot say the idea thrills me much because I imagine, assuming she did kill the Doctor, it is a story that will remain left up to the imagination like the Time War. Regardless of that, she came across very catty in this one. Her banter with the Doctor is not as amusing as it once was. Hopefully she will be a bit more interesting when she show up again for the last few episodes.

One relationship change with a companion I do like is the doctor’s aversion to carrying on romantically with Amy. She finally revealed she is getting married, but expressed the desire for the Doctor more than her fiance, Rory. Te Doctor resisted her every pass. It is about time. I was bracing myself for the Doctor to start talking about past mistakes with Rose, but thankfully, he did not. He just noted--adamantly--that she ages, but he does not and it ain’t gonna work. From the trailer, I can see they go visit Rory and bring him along on a trip in the TARDIS next time. Perhaps to keep Amy honest?

The only drawback to ’Flesh and Stone” was the resolution of the Weeping angels story was the same as “Doomsday.” They got sucked into the crack just as the Daleks and Cybermen fell into the Void at Canary Wharf. The move was an unnecessary throwback to Russell T. Davies. The season has already had enough of that. I would like to see Moffat do some more original material? Wat gives? Does he or the Bbc think we miss RTD already? I assure them I do not.

As I noted above, this is still my favorite so far of the young season in spite of its flaws. I really enjoyed the frightening tone of the bulk of the story. That eerie feeling more than made up for River Song’s annoying ways and the unoriginal ending.

Rating: **** (out of 5)

UPDATE: Eagle-eyed viewer alert! When the doctor leaves Amy with her eyes closed to go off with river, he is not wearing his jacket. A second later, the doctor appears again. he is wearing his jacket this time. He kisses Any o the forehead and tells her to remember what he said to her as a child in "The Eleventh Hour."

Fans speculate this is a different, future Doctor investigating the crack in the universe. He could not have left and returned to river that quickly and he was dressed differently. It is a subtle clue on how big the overall story is. it is running through episodes in less than obvious ways.

Cybermen v. Daleks in Doctor Who Finale?

Digital Spy recently interviewed monster voice actor Nick Briggs. He not only confirms the Cybermen will return for the finale, but so wil the Daleks.

The news is a further reneging of Steven Moffat’s early assertion he would not be using many classic villains because he wanted to create nostalgia for the future, not rehashing old characters for longtime fans. It was almost immediately speculated the BBC would force Moffat to reconsider. I have no idea if that is the root cause, but with the new colors of the rainbow Daleks having already appeared and the Cybermen central to the season’s story arc, Moffat’s moratorium on using old enemies is obviously off the table.

Rumors have been the cracks I reality that have appeared in every fifth season episode so far are going to allow the Cybrus Industry Cybermen trapped there in ’”Doomsday” come through to our reality. Or perhaps those from ’The Next doctor’ will crawl out of their graves. Maybe both. But word is they will engage in conflict with our universe’s Cybermen.

Where do the Daleks fit I? Many were trapped like the Cybrus Industries’ Cybermen in “Doomsaday.” They must be comig through the cracks I reality as well. Maybe that will mean those rainbow Daleks are not long for this world. I can dream, can I not?

Or is Briggs given us misdirection? I have a tough time believing a voice actor would do that. More than likely he is overstepping his bounds and talking about a script he should not be talking about. Or maybe the revelation isall part of building up hype. I donot know, but I am curious to see Moffat’s take on the doctor’s most major villains.

New/Old Cybermen for Series Five

The Cybermen who will appear in an upcoming episode of Doctor Who do not appear to be the Cybrus Industry versions which first appeared in "Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel." The chest emblem is not the stylize "C" used on those models.

Are these the original McCoys? If so, I believe this will be their first onscreen appearance since 1988's 'Silver Nemesis." Devout Wholigans may flog me in the comments if I am in correct.

That is unless you are going to bring up the severed Cybermen head shown in Henry van Statten's alien trophy case in "Dalek." Come on. Even I am not geeeky enough to make that as a counter argument.

Doctor Who Series Five Trailer

I spy one of the Cybrus Industries style Cybermen among the villains.